Narrative

At Winfield City School System, we take the time to evaluate STEM initiatives. As a part of our continuous improvement process, a focus on student learning and development is placed when evaluating our STE(A)M initiatives. We believe improving professional and teaching practices will have the greatest impact. As an initial assessment, we apply student, parent, and teacher survey results to guide us in determining program effectiveness. These surveys include but are not limited to, student engagement, teacher inventory, and technology accessibility. Additionally, as a means to track continued effectiveness over time, we take into consideration student achievement data, classroom observations, school attendance, and more. Data collection is a key component in monitoring the impact and effectiveness of the programs we have in place. This data guides us in terms of helping us see which areas need our attention the most. For example, through the consistent use of iReady Personalized Instruction, students have experienced significant growth in math and reading. To highlight this growth, students have participated in data chats, monthly challenges, and reward days that also serve as motivational achievement tools. In conjunction with data-driven evaluation, initiatives such as project-based learning, Engineering Design Process, and technology integration are key aspects of student growth and development. The evaluation process for these initiatives includes student surveys, student behavior, and final student product. Though these initiatives are difficult to evaluate at times, we are committed to continuous improvement.

Secondly, to monitor the continued improvement of professional and teaching practices we utilize learning rounds, observation feedback, Instructional Leadership Team collaboration meetings, horizontal and vertical alignment meetings, and ACIP Team meetings. We seek to offer teachers ample opportunities for professional development relative to STE(A)M and its implementation. For example, this past year we were able to hire a teacher under the TEAMS act. The TEAMS program is designed for teachers that teach in a STEM field full-time. As a requirement for this position, teachers must currently hold or plan to obtain an Advance Credential from either the National Institute for STEM Education or National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification in math or science. Our teacher is currently working towards a National Certificate for STEM Teaching. This program guides teachers through a study of implementing STEM and provides strategies for doing so within the context of ongoing instructional practices. It is our goal to offer more of these positions and encourage teachers to grow their instructional practices through STE(A)M education. As further means of evaluation, our Leadership Team utilizes eProve Diagnostic. This diagnostic provides a tool to help Winfield City Schools accomplish the task of continuous improvement in regard to STEM and other benchmarks. This diagnostic is embedded with a needs assessment, reform strategies, family and community engagement, evaluation process, our budget, and intentional coordination of federal, state, and local resources.

Strengths: Implementation is a strength that Winfield City School System has for Standard 16. We continuously evaluate and adjust according to schoolwide needs to increase the quality and effectiveness of our strategies.

Opportunities to Improve: Winfield City School System needs improvement in Results and Embeddedness. The school system continuously sends out surveys to parents, students, faculty, and staff, but parent and student responses are often low. We are working on different ways to gather data from parents and other stakeholders that will prove to be more effective in obtaining responses. Also, Embedded program evaluations are the idea at Winfield City Schools, but in reality, there are many other operations that often negatively affect the ability and/or time to go through evaluations every day.