What are the most pressing challenges or needs of this school (academic and other needs)? How do you know?
The 2020-2021 school year started with all Oakview Elementary students participating in a virtual learning environment, with approximately 50% electing to return to in person learning when school buildings reopened in late October. My mentor and I moved to the school late September. At the time of our arrival, it was evident that the most pressing challenges were maintaining student engagement and attending to the social emotional needs of the students and staff. Our greatest concern were students who may not have adult support not supervision while engaging in their daily learning. In previous years, the school needs focused on increasing achievement in all subgroups, as well finding ways to appropriately address student behaviors.
Oakview’s Elementary School Improvement Team meets once a month. During the October meeting, the team discussed last year’s priorities and specific areas of focus for the 2020-2021 school year. Due to the nature starting school during a pandemic, one area of focus discussed was the social and emotional well being of staff and students. The school has been using resources from the Positivity Project to engage students in character education. The team decided that the Positivity Project would be a key component in addressing Core Behavioral Health challenges amongst our students. Survey Data and Principal Chat Discussion indicated that student engagement during virtual learning varied and teachers were concerned with student’s participation. Grade Level PLTs increased collaboration efforts to share strategies and best practices for increasing student engagement.
The school improvement team decided to keep goals from last year and create necessary action steps appropriate for the 2020-2021 school year. Goals focus around organizing dynamic learning experiences, witnessing staff and students show empathy and listening intently and launching a dialogue. Professional learning teams will align on the development and use of asynchronous and synchronous instructional resources. Positivity project, SEL and PBIS professional development would be offered to teachers periodically throughout the year to assist teachers in addressing social emotional needs of their students. Although not a pressing need with students learning remotely, the team will be addressing behavioral challenges. The School Improvement Team will work collaboratively with PLTs to conduct a Data Dig into TWC Survey and Behavioral Health Needs Assessment to determine root cause of student behavior and determine solutions.
What student performance trends can you identify?
The school opened up during the 2016-2017 school year, since then the school’s overall performance grade has remained a B. In 2017, Oakview did not meet growth, every year after that, the school has been able to meet growth. CCR and proficiency composite scores over last 3 years have shown decreases in percentage of students proficient. CCR scores decreased by 4.8% and proficiency by 2.4 percent. Science scores continue to be the lowest out of all 3 subject areas. EVAAS growth scores shows proficiency in all subgroups and subjects except science. AIG and White students. continue to score lower in science compared to all other subgroups. Long term goal targets were only met in math for students with disabilities. Disaggregation of the data by subgroups shows students who are identified as White and Hispanic consistently and significantly outperform their peers. Achievement gaps are consistent for the past 3 years as presented below.
The 2020-2021 school year started with all Oakview Elementary students participating in a virtual learning environment, with approximately 50% electing to return to in person learning when school buildings reopened in late October. My mentor and I moved to the school late September. At the time of our arrival, it was evident that the most pressing challenges were maintaining student engagement and attending to the social emotional needs of the students and staff. Our greatest concern were students who may not have adult support not supervision while engaging in their daily learning. In previous years, the school needs focused on increasing achievement in all subgroups, as well finding ways to appropriately address student behaviors.
Oakview’s Elementary School Improvement Team meets once a month. During the October meeting, the team discussed last year’s priorities and specific areas of focus for the 2020-2021 school year. Due to the nature starting school during a pandemic, one area of focus discussed was the social and emotional well being of staff and students. The school has been using resources from the Positivity Project to engage students in character education. The team decided that the Positivity Project would be a key component in addressing Core Behavioral Health challenges amongst our students. Survey Data and Principal Chat Discussion indicated that student engagement during virtual learning varied and teachers were concerned with student’s participation. Grade Level PLTs increased collaboration efforts to share strategies and best practices for increasing student engagement.
The school improvement team decided to keep goals from last year and create necessary action steps appropriate for the 2020-2021 school year. Goals focus around organizing dynamic learning experiences, witnessing staff and students show empathy and listening intently and launching a dialogue. Professional learning teams will align on the development and use of asynchronous and synchronous instructional resources. Positivity project, SEL and PBIS professional development would be offered to teachers periodically throughout the year to assist teachers in addressing social emotional needs of their students. Although not a pressing need with students learning remotely, the team will be addressing behavioral challenges. The School Improvement Team will work collaboratively with PLTs to conduct a Data Dig into TWC Survey and Behavioral Health Needs Assessment to determine root cause of student behavior and determine solutions.
What student performance trends can you identify?
The school opened up during the 2016-2017 school year, since then the school’s overall performance grade has remained a B. In 2017, Oakview did not meet growth, every year after that, the school has been able to meet growth. CCR and proficiency composite scores over last 3 years have shown decreases in percentage of students proficient. CCR scores decreased by 4.8% and proficiency by 2.4 percent. Science scores continue to be the lowest out of all 3 subject areas. EVAAS growth scores shows proficiency in all subgroups and subjects except science. AIG and White students. continue to score lower in science compared to all other subgroups. Long term goal targets were only met in math for students with disabilities. Disaggregation of the data by subgroups shows students who are identified as White and Hispanic consistently and significantly outperform their peers. Achievement gaps are consistent for the past 3 years as presented below.
EOG performance composite scores are still over the county average, but Oakview is not keeping up with the other schools in the area. English and science proficiency scores are at their lowest since 2016-2017. At Oakview, on average 95% of AIG and 82% of White students pass the state EOG tests every year.
What teacher working conditions trends can you identify?
The 2018 TWC had high teacher agreement with the majority questions. Teachers responded with less agreement to class sizes being reasonable (59%) and assigning homework that requires internet access (66%). When comparing results from 2018 and 2020, managing student conduct questions had the greatest decrease in % agreement (see chart below). In 2018, 100% of staff agreed that they worked in a safe environment compared to 85% in 2020. Surveys for both years showed teachers strongly supported questions about parent and community involvement and instructional materials and resources.
Overall results from the 2020 TWC describes a school where students do not follow the rules of conduct (50% agreement), teachers lacked enforcement of student conduct rules (33% agreement) and consistent administration support (47%). If not dealt with bullying could become an increasing problem, 2020 survey results indicate 58% of teachers agree that bullying is not a problem. In speaking with the assistant principal decrease in percentages can be attributed to how teachers view the way administration deals with behavioral issues. Lack of communication and follow-up has also attributed to the decrease.
Compared to the district score, a higher percentage of teachers at Oakview agreed that their school is a good place to work and learn. The first step in creating a positive school culture is for staff to want to come to work and are confident in their capabilities. The fact that 100% of teachers believe that they are effective leaders in the school is a great starting point to strengthening weaknesses showcased in the TWC data.
The 2018 TWC had high teacher agreement with the majority questions. Teachers responded with less agreement to class sizes being reasonable (59%) and assigning homework that requires internet access (66%). When comparing results from 2018 and 2020, managing student conduct questions had the greatest decrease in % agreement (see chart below). In 2018, 100% of staff agreed that they worked in a safe environment compared to 85% in 2020. Surveys for both years showed teachers strongly supported questions about parent and community involvement and instructional materials and resources.
Overall results from the 2020 TWC describes a school where students do not follow the rules of conduct (50% agreement), teachers lacked enforcement of student conduct rules (33% agreement) and consistent administration support (47%). If not dealt with bullying could become an increasing problem, 2020 survey results indicate 58% of teachers agree that bullying is not a problem. In speaking with the assistant principal decrease in percentages can be attributed to how teachers view the way administration deals with behavioral issues. Lack of communication and follow-up has also attributed to the decrease.
Compared to the district score, a higher percentage of teachers at Oakview agreed that their school is a good place to work and learn. The first step in creating a positive school culture is for staff to want to come to work and are confident in their capabilities. The fact that 100% of teachers believe that they are effective leaders in the school is a great starting point to strengthening weaknesses showcased in the TWC data.
Identify potential barriers for innovation and improvement in the school. How do you know?
Oakview is a tight knit community. The sense of family is strong which can be a barrier when it comes to making professional decisions that is best for students. Many of the staff live in the surrounding community and have relationship with each other and the families of their students outside of the building. The fact that the school continues to perform well is also a barrier. Conversations with the literacy coach, instructional facilitator and administration indicates that staff may unknowingly look past equitable practices which encourages achievement for all students because they are comfortable with the school performing at a B level. Majority of the students identified as AIG are traditionally white students, which can hinder the school’s focus on equity.
Virtual learning has proven to be a barrier for student achievement and engagement. A virtual learning environment is not the best environment for every student. Students who do not have the support needed at home to be successful, continue to fall behind their peers that have extensive support. Not only do students need support but teachers need support too. They have been tasked with creating successful virtual environments that keep students engaged and achieving at the appropriate level.
Oakview is a tight knit community. The sense of family is strong which can be a barrier when it comes to making professional decisions that is best for students. Many of the staff live in the surrounding community and have relationship with each other and the families of their students outside of the building. The fact that the school continues to perform well is also a barrier. Conversations with the literacy coach, instructional facilitator and administration indicates that staff may unknowingly look past equitable practices which encourages achievement for all students because they are comfortable with the school performing at a B level. Majority of the students identified as AIG are traditionally white students, which can hinder the school’s focus on equity.
Virtual learning has proven to be a barrier for student achievement and engagement. A virtual learning environment is not the best environment for every student. Students who do not have the support needed at home to be successful, continue to fall behind their peers that have extensive support. Not only do students need support but teachers need support too. They have been tasked with creating successful virtual environments that keep students engaged and achieving at the appropriate level.