Embedded Files
Open Letter to the Community
Dear Community,As I write this, I am about to begin my 19th school year serving the students and families of Columbus School District. For the majority of my career, I taught English at Columbus High School. I have had the privilege of knowing many of you as students, parents, colleagues, and community members.
Throughout my various district roles over time, I have learned a lot. As my friend and colleague, CES/DCS Principal Beth Hellpap, occasionally still tells me, elementary needs are not the same as high school needs. I have put in time learning from staff at the elementary, middle, and high school levels and have discovered that while needs and even opportunities at the different levels may vary, there are three things I am certain of:
1. I am just as committed to the students of Columbus as when I began in August 2001;2. I wish I had known as a teacher even an ounce of what I have learned about literacy in the years since leaving my classroom;3. My unwavering goal as Columbus School District's Director of Curriculum & Instruction is that ALL students have access to guaranteed curriculum and learning opportunities to reach their individual potential and be college and career ready. All students deserve to be prepared to pursue wherever their dreams take them.
This purpose of this communication is to help the community understand how the district is working toward continuous improvement in literacy and math. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,Becky Schmidt, Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Disrupting Literacy Was Essential
Disrupting Literacy Was Essential
During the 2017-2018 school year, Columbus School District began the first phase of a multi-year plan to improve literacy and math curriculum and instruction. Student achievement on state assessments was not acceptable for a significant amount of time. Reading achievement declined in 2015-16 and again in 2016-17. Math achievement also was decreasing.
Also, the Department of Public Instruction began issuing "accountability report cards" to schools and districts in 2011-12. While to this day, different schools have different criteria applied and weights used to determine the overall accountability score and rating may differ from year to year or even from report card to report card within the same year, the district saw a sharp decrease in some report card ratings, particularly at Columbus Elementary School which was ranked Significantly Exceeds Expectations under 2013-14 standards and Fails to Meet Expectations by 2016-17. Ironically, because certain sections of state report cards use five years worth of data, some of the same data was used to determine the final overall ratings in both 2013-14 and 2016-17.
Additionally, at the school level, in 2012, Columbus Elementary School was identified by the Department of Public Instruction as a Title 1 Focus School because of large gaps in subgroup reading achievement. Interestingly, at that time, Columbus Elementary School was identified as Exceeding Expectations on the State report card yet concurrently, was flagged by the federal government because students in subgroups were performing considerably below the overall student body and below students of the same subgroups at the state level. Columbus Elementary School participated in the Wisconsin State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) program for four years following Focus School identification and the district has taken additional steps to address equity.
However, what became obvious is that improved, systemic change in literacy curriculum along with providing staff with high quality, ongoing professional learning became essential to disrupt these trends and work towards improvement for students.
Addressing the Issues
Addressing the Issues
When student achievement was dropping, teachers were asking for a consistent curriculum and the district wanted systemic improvement. The district decided to adopt Units of Study in Reading and Writing for grades K-8 (*does not go to high school). Units of Study is based on over 50 years of research by Teacher College at Columbia University in NY and is utilized by many districts across the state of Wisconsin. Simultaneously, staff needed to be trained on how to use this resource effectively.
The following is the plan of improvement for literacy and math the district has followed since the decision to adopt Units of Study in Summer 2017. It has been updated from earlier versions released to accurately show what has happened.
Cost of Improvement
Cost of Improvement
Professional development is not cheap, but our students are worth it. The total amount the district is spending on professional learning and on-going coaching support for staff may surprise some of you, but we believe that when one considers what it actually costs per student or per staff member, it is well worth the investment in our students' futures.
Columbus teachers focus on their professional learning to implement curriculum and improve instruction.
Columbus teachers focus on their professional learning to implement curriculum and improve instruction.
Our Consultants
Our Consultants
Since 2017-18 in literacy and 2018-19 for 6-12 math, Columbus School District has worked with an educational consulting company called BlackBlack. A variety of consultants who specialize in different grade levels and disciplines work with our staff throughout the school year. In addition to Columbus School District, BlackBlack currently is working with 46 districts throughout Wisconsin!
As part of Columbus School District's work with this company, different schools have worked with several of the company's consultants. Please see BlackBlack Consultant biographies at this link.
Impact of Units of Study 2019.mp4Units of Study Teacher Testimonials
Units of Study Teacher Testimonials
No change is possible without the hard work and dedication of the staff. In addition to their professional learning, staff have devoted countless hours to planning, revising and layout of their classrooms, collaboration around lesson planning and assessment, etc. Please watch this short video to hear from them directly about what Units of Study has meant to them and the impact they have seen on their students.
Results
Results
Some say that true change takes approximately 5-7 years, but initial student achievement indicators were promising on the 2017-18 State assessment, after only one year of Units of Study writing implementation. EVERY grade level that had taken the state assessment in 2016-17 (before implementation) had grown in total percentage of student proficiency. (Note: 2018-19 State assessment results are currently embargoed by the State of Wisconsin and cannot be released at this time.)
Beginning with the 2018-19 school year, Columbus School District began using ACT Aspire interim and Summative assessments in the fall, winter and spring to benchmark levels of student proficiency and monitor student growth at various points during the school year. This data also allows staff to make data driven instructional decisions based on student need. (Note: The State of Wisconsin gives ACT Aspire Summative as the Grades 9&10 State assessment.) The district chooses to give the ACT Aspire Summative assessment to grades 3-8 students; while it is a grade appropriate version of the same assessment, unlike state assessment data, it is district data that is NOT subject to embargo.
Another measure of immediate impact is on the Report cards released by the Department of Instruction. In general, movement on the report cards is incremental because priority areas use 3-5 years worth of data. Both the District and the Columbus Middle School report cards were given an overall score of Meets Expectations in 2016-17 (No Units of Study). Units of Study writing was implemented in 2017-18; based on student performance results from that year being averaged in, both the District and Columbus Middle School report cards ratings improved to Exceeds Expectations. During this same time frame, the report cards for Columbus Elementary School (please note-based only on Grade 3) and Discovery Charter School (please note-based only on one Grade 3 classroom) remained steady.
What is next?
What is next?
Institutional change and progress will take time, Columbus School District is encouraged by initial improvement in student achievement literacy data, but continues to focus on implementing curriculum with fidelity and fine tuning elements of instruction.
In 2019-20, Columbus High School English classes will adopt a high school appropriate workshop approach to instruction, similar in feel to what students experience in middle school. Teachers are redesigning curricular units around themes and instruction around ELA standards. Instead of “teaching a novel,” students will have more choice in what they read and assessment will focus on skills developed. Additionally, students have access to three new classes: English 3, Social Justice Literature, and Contemporary Literature.
Ongoing instructional coaching will be available to all K-12 English Language Arts teachers as well as Grades 9-12 Science and Social Studies teachers in disciplinary literacy strategies.
K-12 math is Columbus School District’s priority focus for new learning in 2019-20. Grades 6-12 math teachers began began some of this work in 2018-19 due to student need and because the teachers do not teach English Language Arts whereas K-5 focused on just English Language Arts initially.
K-12 math and special education math co-teachers participated in math professional learning on July 9-10 in standards of mathematical practice and best practices in math instruction with emphasis on conducting a math workshop that uses groups, student inquiry and stations for math learning.
Math Pilots
Math Pilots
Columbus School District is looking to upgrade all math textbooks and other math curricular materials for the 2020-21 school year. In order to make the best possible decisions for our students, the district is conducting pilots of likely curriculums in 2019-20 in volunteer classrooms.
Under current Wisconsin Statute, school boards must approve the adoption of textbooks. Columbus School District will take an adoption recommendation to the Board in January 2020; volunteer teachers will be piloting the potential new curricular resources throughout the 2019-20 school year. Students and parents in the pilot classrooms will be asked for feedback before final recommendation decisions are made.
All math curriculums that are being piloted in 2019-20 are fully “green-lighted” by EdReports and compliment the instructional PD in math workshops and standards of mathematical practice teachers have been engaging in.
Please click here for information on pilot grade levels, descriptions, and websites for pilot curriculum companies; please click on on the curriculum name to link to the full EdReport.
Parent Resources
Parent Resources
These are a few suggested parent resources for supporting your child in literacy and math. Please watch for parent and family opportunities in literacy and math that will be scheduled throughout the school year.
Literacy
Literacy
Common Sense Media for all educational resources.
Reach Out & Read also has a great resource section for parents. One of the doctors on their board is from American Family Children's Hospital, Dr. Dipesh Navsaria.
Scholastic has a helpful article.
Mathematics
Mathematics
Everyday Mathematics Resources (K-5)
Connected Mathematics Project 3 (6-8)
Literacy and Math (K-12)
Literacy and Math (K-12)
History of Wisconsin State Assessment System
History of Wisconsin State Assessment System
One final piece of this puzzle that is confusing but important to understand is that when districts talk about state assessments like the Forward Exam or ACT, the state of Wisconsin changed multiple variables over time, making data comparisons over multiple years a real challenge.
For more information on the History of the Wisconsin State Assessment System, please visit https://dpi.wi.gov/assessment/historical
The state assessment system we have now is rigorous. College and Career expectations are rigorous. Therefore, Columbus School District is raising the expectation on ourselves by making changes in our curriculum and preparing our teachers to provide the highest quality of instruction to your child as possible.
Page updated
Report abuse