FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions:


1. What do we specifically need to do in our classrooms?

    1. Use the effective practices across all courses, all day that include our Year 1 focus areas.
      • Implement effective lesson objectives in all classrooms, all day
      • Consistently use launch, explore, summarize
      • Effective use of ongoing formative assessments to inform classroom instruction
    2. Engage students in rigorous and relevant educational activities (we will discuss these in the Sept. 18 departmental PD).
    3. Ensure that every student has the ability to participate actively in each class every day.


2. What can we do as teachers to support the turnaround efforts?

    1. Support each other to implement the best practices listed above
    2. Personally commit to the process, which includes attending professional development
    3. Assist your colleagues when you see that they need it


3. How will the responsibilities of a classroom teacher change?

    1. Many teachers are already implementing these practices
    2. We need these practices to be uniform across all classrooms at all times
    3. Moving from good to great will take the dedication and effort of the entire school. This is likely to require teachers to help colleagues who may need additional support, either through personal sharing of expertise or through other channels (PLCs, department, administration, etc.).


4. How does the turnaround plan impact teachers and students?

    1. More consistent instructional strategies will be evident to students across the building
    2. Students will see consistency in objectives, agendas, and expectations across the building, which creates a recognizable roadmap for learning
    3. Teachers will have to be more mindful of student outcomes, not just instructional delivery
    4. Formative assessment will be as important, if not more important than, summative assessment. We will all need to expand our use of formative assessment in every class.


5. How will data on Turnaround practices be gathered?

    1. In terms of practices, please see #3
    2. In the classroom, we will focus on student growth
      • Each department is working toward developing effective assessments that can be used to track and analyze student growth
      • We believe that if we focus on student growth, student achievement will follow
    3. In this process, DESE looks at: student growth, absentee rates, suspension rates, MCAS performance, graduation rates, dropout rates, and participation in advanced coursework


6. How will we know if we succeed? If we succeed, we will see:

    1. improved attendance,
    2. better MCAS participation and scores,
    3. an increase in the number of students taking advanced courses such as AP and DE,
    4. teachers writing effective objectives, using the L/E/S lesson format, and using formative assessment data effectively.

Administration and the ILT will report out informally on our progress toward these goals and DESE will provide formal reporting on our progress toward these goals. The state DESE website provides more information at http://www.doe.mass.edu/turnaround/level4/faq.html#B12


7. What new supports from administration will be offered?

Supports include:

    1. professional development - the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) will design and offer professional development during early release days to support the requirements of the Turnaround Plan.
    2. a cohort of LHS teachers and administrators participating in MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) training. This training will be expanded to all staff in Years 2 and 3.
    3. a cohort of LHS faculty and staff participating in SEL (social-emotional learning) training to support our students. This training will be expanded to all staff in Years 2 and 3.
    4. common planning time for teams of teachers, specifically targeting MCAS grades and subjects.
    5. resources (staffing, materials, stipends, equipment, etc) dedicated to more directly support the target populations (Asian students and students with disabilities).


8. How will the Turnaround plan be monitored?

The ILT has established benchmarks to monitor progress toward our goals. The full Turnaround Plan, and these benchmarks, will be published on our Turnaround communication page. Various data sets (attendance, drop out rates, pass/fail rates, student growth) will be analyzed regularly. The state will also be monitoring our progress.


9. Is this work tied to evaluation?

Yes. The instructional practices of TAP 2 focus on classroom practices that ensure that every student receives great instruction. Our instructional focus is on sharing well-crafted lesson objectives explicitly with students, following the Launch-Explore-Summary (L-E-S) format of lesson development, and increasing our use of effective formative assessment practices in every class period. These will be evaluation look-fors across all departments.


10. Do your Teachpoint goals have to be tied to Turnaround?

Teachers are not required to adopt a mandated goal. Ideally, teachers will work in teams to design goals that directly support the instructional practices outlined in our Turnaround plan. Teachers will be able to apply the professional development they engage in throughout the year to these goals.