Reflections on action initiatives

Prior to this school year I have not held  improvement plans in very high esteem because my experience had been that a committee met and made some decisions without the input of most of the faculty and then the document went on a shelf until the next year.  This year I found that an improvement plan that addresses specific issues in a specific manner can be a very useful tool in our goal of providing the best possible education for our students.

This year my campus was given an academically unacceptable rating by TEA because our African American students did not do well on the math TAKS tests.  We have long struggled with math scores and had not been able to make significant progress.  Because we were forced to take a careful look at our entire math program by TEA and with the assistance of a representative of TEA we were able to write an effective, useful, and practical plan to address our shortcomings.

One of the significant outcomes of these meetings and a recommendation of the committee was that the district purchase CSCOPE for our curriculum.  We discovered that our teachers had not been using any formal curriculum and the one that was on record as our curriculum had been put together by three teachers many years ago.  Basically, our teachers were using the textbook and the supplemental material that went with them as the curriculum.  We found that the textbooks did not follow a scope and sequence that was addressing many of the issues we were facing with our struggling math students.

Purchasing CSCOPE was a huge investment for our district.  $20,000 per year, in a year in which we had a reduction in force and significant budget cuts, could’ve been an insurmountable issue.  We were fortunate to have a non-profit foundation in our town that agreed to pay for the program for the first year so we did not have to take on the entire amount without time to include it in the budget.  The other costs included training teachers, purchasing needed supplies, and paying for substitute teachers when additional, more specific training was needed.

The next big issue was to make sure that our teachers followed the curriculum with fidelity.  Because we did not purchase the program until late in the summer and the teachers did not get formal training until October, we did not require them to implement CSCOPE fully.  I have asked for the teachers to begin including CSCOPE more each six weeks and we have planned further training this summer so that it can be fully and effectively used next year.  Our math teachers have been using the program more than the other teachers due to the influence of our TEA representative and their recognition that what was being done in the past was not working.  Other teachers are beginning to see the benefits and are encouraged by the success that the math teachers are experiencing.  Just yesterday, a biology teacher with 30+ year’s experience related to me that he had begun using CSCOPE and thought it was a great asset.

As we move forward with the program we are monitoring our grades, benchmark results, and of course, the all important state tests.  The early indications are that CSCOPE is making a difference in the classes in which it is used with fidelity.  An administrative concern is that all teachers be fully competent in the program by the start of next school year.  I believe starting slowly and letting teachers get accustomed to the change in curriculum is important.  It is an expensive “practice” year, but the long term success of our students is the goal and I believe we have taken the appropriate steps towards that goal because of this specific improvement initiative.