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Describe your instructional challenge and how you identified it.

• I began this journey with one idea in mind after feeling frustrated with the inflexibility of some teachers. I sent out this survey to all employees in the building and found that while my colleagues enjoy their jobs and where they work, no major challenges were identifiable. I then met with my building administrator who indicated that one area that he would like to see growth and change in our school is with transition from grade to grade. We discussed our current practices of Move Up day in the spring, and Open House in the fall which we agreed could use some revamping. We also discussed the use of transition folders and how we could get more information about students to teachers. Further research on the topic (see below) overwhelmingly pointed to the success of transition being in the careful planning and preparation of school staff in readying themselves and students for change. Continued discussion with administration and other teachers involved what should be included in a transition folder as well as some stakeholders who would need to be identified in the process. As I continued my learning about diversity and equity it became obvious that this was an area where teachers could share pertinent information in order to help students with their growth without losing the time it often takes to gather informations and put interventions in place.

Describe your learners (students and diverse stakeholders) for this project and how you selected them.

• Students really want to do well in school. They want to feel success academically as well as fit in socially and have friends. Teachers love receiving and reviewing basic information about students before they have them in class. Aside from students and teachers I felt it was important to get insight from parents and school specialists.

Why is it important for your learners (students and diverse stakeholders) that this challenge be addressed?

• Students deserve every opportunity to succeed from the very first day of school. If they have a smooth transition from year to year the student will be able to immediately start from where they left off and all school personnel will have the information they need in order to help the student grow. Easing the transition to a new classroom and teacher while decreasing the "summer slip" in academics will make the beginning of the year more productive for both students and educators.

In what ways will your addressing the challenge promote or support diversity, equity, cultural competence?

• Each student is an individual. They have a different background, different level of support at home, and different academic abilities. If a teacher begins the year armed with information about not only academic data, but on who their best friends are, how involved their parents are, struggles they have had in previous years, or interventions that have been effective the student will be successful from day one.

Is it your intention to change an existing practice/program or implement a new practice/program? Explain.

• In the past teachers have filled out the "pink and blue sheets" in order to give the next teacher some information about a student's performance. This practice provides some good information but needs to be revised, and exist not only from one year to the next, but follow the student through all of the elementary grades. I also want to examine our practices of Open House and Move Up Day. These are really important days for students, but very stressful for teachers. Creating practices that allow families to get to know teachers without the teacher feeling rushed will promote a more positive relationship for all.

Why might this practice/program be a viable solution for your challenge?

• Tracking a students progress academically and social/emotionally will provide school staff a great snapshot of a student's abilities. It will allow teachers to connect with families and provide quick information as to interventions that are effective for the student. Transition folders will also allow teachers to share with one another the most effective ways to work with a student and communicate effectively with the family. The more information we can share with one another, the easier transitions will be on families.

On which two Overarching Competencies will you focus in addressing the identified challenge?

• I will be focusing on the Reflective and Interpersonal competencies. I chose these two because Reflective practices encourages teachers to gather data to lead instruction and to reflect on their own teaching and how it impacted a student's learning while working with others to reflect on their teaching and the impact on students and student learning. I chose Interpersonal Effectiveness because it stresses creating a shared vision of student learning and making sure that every stakeholder has a seat at the table.

On which competency within Diversity-Equity-Cultural Competence will you focus in addressing the identified challenge?

11. • In Exploring and Challenging Inequities I focused on making sure that school staff has the tools they need to help alleviate the stress of transitioning from one grade to another. The more we know about a child, the better equipped we are to help them navigate the world of education. Understanding a child's cultural background allows us to form connections and build relationships that are vital to student success and happiness.

Which competency in the Instructional pathway will you focus on in addressing this challenge?

11. • Facilitating Collaborative relationships will be the focus of this challenge. The transition folders that will be created will be used by all classroom teachers. It will take collaboration and a shared vision to create a product that my colleagues and I feel will be most helpful in helping students grow. It will also take leadership and support to ensure that teachers are trained to use the folders and that they provide as much information as necessary for the teachers that follow.

With whom will you work in addressing your identified challenge?

11. • I will get input from staff members including classroom teachers, our school counselor and other specialists. In addition, I will work with parents and students.

    • It would also be helpful to involve our Indian Education tutor as well as our newly formed CSCT therapy team. Other helpful resources may be our school secretaries, nurse, and paraprofessionals.

Which resources (people, money, programs, time and space, etc.) do you have to address the challenge?

• I will need to create the documents that will go into the folder and obtain a folder for each student.

• My principal plans to purchase the materials using the building budget.