Dr. Lissette Brizendine

Assistant Superintendent

The School District of Osceola County, Florida

Egle Rodriguez-Marshall

Education Specialist

The School District of Osceola County, Florida

Data Establishes Our Need

Our data indicated a need for vertical articulation to address the decrease in percentage proficiency in 2013 vs 2014 in grades 5 through 10.

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A three-day vertical alignment professional development activity that impacts fifth through tenth grade teachers of ELA and Math.To improve student learning and achievement through the continued support of the curriculum and instruction teams in collaboration with the professional development group and our post-secondary partner, Valencia College.

Go Vertical Institute

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G The first day began with a keynote speaker Ignite Learning with a Growth Mindset by Janna Peskett on developing academic growth mindsets:

• Step 1. Learn to hear your fixed mindset voice.

• Step 2. Recognize that you have a choice.

• Step 3. Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice.

• Step 4. Take the growth mindset action.

ELA deconstruction focused on the following standard clusters: Reading Literature, Reading Information, Writing, Language, and Speaking & Listening. It covered standards progression through the grade levels and include vertical alignment discussions.

Math deconstruction was based on grades 5-8, algebra I, and geometry, which also included standards progression and vertical alignment discussions. Afternoon sessions focused on common summative assessments.

ELA teachers ended the first day with a visit to Valencia College (Osceola Campus) to hear an address concerning the vertical alignment of public school instruction between the elementary and secondary levels and also with postsecondary education.

Day 1

ELA teachers began a focused examination of assessment, best practices, scales, effective questioning, and data usage through rotating sessions.

Math teachers focused the entire day on the examination of formative assessments, rigor in lesson design, gaps and additions in the new standards, scales, and math tools through rotating sessions. Math teachers deconstructed and evaluated targeted benchmarks.

Science teachers ended the second day with a visit to Valencia College (Osceola Campus) for a tour of the science labs and explore the Science Framework with post secondary instructors.

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Day 2

ELA teachers continued the focused examination of assessment, best practices, scales, effective questioning, and data usage through rotating sessions. They collaboratively constructed lesson plans based on a chosen standard on which they focused during their small group rotations. The day culminated in a round table share out of these lesson plans, which demonstrated the vertical alignment of the grades and standards.

Math teachers continued the focused examination of formative assessments, rigor in lesson design, gaps and additions in the new standards, scales, and math tools through rotating sessions.

Math teachers ended the third day with a visit to Valencia College (Osceola Campus) to discuss Course Outlines and Competencies for MAT1033C and MAC1105. They toured the Math Depot campus library and Learning center.

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Development of lesson plans, which provided a model for addressing the new standards' rigor and requirements

PLC groups to ensure all teachers were working on creating standards-based lessons and implementing the new Florida Standards

The process of devising action plans was equally applicable to all content areas and replicated as part of the district's professional development system

ELA and Math teams continued to monitor and provide guidance and support to ensure the effective transition to the new Florida Standards

Lessons reflected the vertical articulation of student movement through the continuum of grade levels as well as address the increased rigor

By the end of the 2014-15 school year, these enhancements were measurable by observation of classroom best practices, use of appropriate texts, and application of evaluation tools that reflected teacher knowledge of student expectations. The development of rigorous English lessons and Math instructional tasks and common assessments aligned to the Florida Standards was evident during the reflective visits conducted by the curriculum and instruction grade level teams (which included classroom walkthroughs) and during school-and district-based PLCs. Participants in this professional development initiative shared their learning with the teachers at their school and completed the action plan as designed in the Go Vertical Institute. E

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Evaluation data collected during the 2014 summer institute revealed a high degree of learning and understanding occurred.

District’s reflective visit data indicate an increase in standards-based instruction, communication of learning goals, and adherence to Florida Standards curriculum maps.

The District continues to prioritize the implementation efforts of instructional coaching and higher education collaboration to further impact the vertical alignment of standards at all levels.

A Fall Go Vertical 2.0 was provided to enrich and extend participant’s learning..

The Go Vertical Summer Institute for 2015 expanded to include Science and Social Studies for grades 4th through 11th.

In December 2015 a half day Science STEM follow up was offered .

The Go Vertical Institute for 2016 will include ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies for grades 3rd through 11th.F

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Dr. Lissette Brizendine, Assistant Superintendent

Mrs. Egle Rodriguez, Educational Specialist

Osceola School District

Curriculum & Instruction

2016