New Turnaround Option Plan Phase 2 - Florida Department of … · 2017. 10. 11. · Turnaround...

This form, to be used by districts planning in 2016-17 for implementation in 2017-18, satisfies the requirements

of Form TOP-2, which is incorporated by reference in Rule 6A-1.099811, F.A.C. (2014).

Turnaround Option Plan – Phase 2 Lee County Public Schools

Turnaround Option Plan – Phase 2 for districts planning in 2016-17 for implementation in 2017-18

[District] –

East Lee County High School

DMT

Part I: Needs Assessment

Item 1: Description of the needs assessment methodology and summary of the results.

The School District of Lee County Administrative TEAM, in collaboration with the school administration

team and the community assessment team, analyzed East Lee County High School’s data to determine areas

of strength and opportunities for improvement. The TEAM conducted a needs assessment compiling both

quantitative and qualitative data, and identified school needs within the five domains of the key areas

determined as the 5Essentials Framework: Effective Leadership, Collaborative Teachers, Involved Families,

Supportive Environment and Ambitious Instruction.

Effective Leadership

Turnaround Schools require strong leadership with a proven record of leading schools and successful

evaluations. The staff in the school must be consistent and have effective and highly effective evaluations. A

review of student achievement data will be a reflection of the classroom leadership. A review of student

achievement data, teacher turnover, school choice selectivity and evaluation data indicated the District

designate East Lee County High School as the highest priority for support to ensure student achievement

improves. As a result, East Lee County High School has been identified as a Tier 3 school and is in District

managed turnaround.

The district has provided significant resources to assist in ensuring student achievement at East Lee County

High School. Sue Zellers, principal at East Lee County High School, in two years has already raised the

graduation rate from 76% to 81% and increased college and career acceleration by 10 points, 37 to 47. Ms.

Zellers will be increasing her administrative support team for the 2017-2018 school year to include a sixth

assistant principal along with adding two teacher leaders to support student achievement. The assistant

principal team will be restructured to support academics and focus on increasing student proficiency. Each

of the four core areas has an administrative team member assigned. The principal also has team support for

discipline and overall school curriculum. The entire team works collaboratively to implement a clear and

strategic vision for school success.

Teacher Turnover Data

2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017

Number

of Teachers

Turnover

Rate

Number

of Teachers

Turnover

Rate

Number

of Teachers

Turnover

Rate

37 37.9% 40 39.8% 36 35.10%


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Professional Capacity

School Grade Trend

2015 2016 2017

School Grade D D D

Student Assignment/School Choice Trend

2015-16 2016-17 2017-18

Rank of First

Choices

(Out of 4 Schools)

3rd 3rd 3rd

Total 348 362 352

Ambitious Instruction and Learning

Student gains in proficiency occurred in Math and Science for 2016-2017. Math achievement increased 26

points and Science 12 points overall. Although East Lee County High School made significant gains in


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student achievement last year, ELA and reading continue to be a concern. 2016-2017 school data indicated

that East Lee County High School had the lowest percentage of student proficiency in ELA in the

district. The school made significant staff changes for 2017-2018 in the area of ELA, to include increasing

teacher leaders, instructional staff and a reading coach. The district increased the number of teacher leaders

to support staff at East Lee to six (6) for 2017-2018 school year. The increase allows for two teacher leaders

in ELA, one in each of the other three core areas and the final teacher leader will support the international

center. Teacher leaders teach and model lessons 50 percent of the time in at-risk classrooms. The remaining

time is spent supporting classroom teachers in areas that may need additional guidance and direction.

The district provided embedded content support during 2016-2017 in the academic areas with the assistance

of Professional Development Leadership Specialist, which resulted in significant gains. The support

provided by the PDLS directly correlated in no F schools and one of the largest gains in state ranking history

for our district. The district Professional Development Leadership Specialists are experts in their fields; they

provide coaching and support to teacher leaders and school administrators on using student achievement

data to drive instruction and focus leadership efforts. PDL Specialists are high performing teachers who

dedicate 80% of their time to coaching and 20% of their time to instruction in a high need classroom. East

Lee High School will have four (4) PDLS assigned to the school for 2017-2018, an increase of 50% from the

2016-2017 school year. They teach three days a week at the school, model lessons and provide intense

academic support for the students in all of the core areas: ELA, Math, Social Studies and Science. The

Teacher Leaders and the PDLS are the most qualified in their fields and receive a financial supplement to

support the school and the district-$10,000 plus an extended year calendar. The district has provided

intensive training for teachers on new research-based reading curriculum and will be providing weekly

content support in ELA and reading.


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Safe and Supportive Environment

East Lee County High School has reduced the percentage of students receiving referrals or receiving out-of-

school suspensions compared to other high schools in the District. During the 2016-2017 school year, East

Lee County High School implemented the use of Restorative Practices as one tool to reduce discipline

issues. The use of a Restorative Practice room provides students time to be counseled and participate in

reflection activities.

Staff participated in professional development to learn effective communication and fair process activities.

The 2017-18 school year will include the addition of a Peer Mediation program for students and additional

staff trainings in an effort to promote positive behavior throughout the school. The Positive Behavior

Support and Crisis Prevention Intervention trainings will be occurring throughout the year.

The district will support East Lee with wrap-around services beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. East

Lee County High School will hire two full time social workers, a full time nurse, a full time parent

involvement specialist and an additional school counselor. All will be dedicated to serving as the liaison

between student, home, school, and community resources such as family services agencies.

Family and Community Engagement

East Lee County High School will hold quarterly SAC and Title I meetings throughout the year. In August

the school hosted an Open House on the Saturday prior to the start of the 2017-2018 school year. The Open

House is an orientation for ninth graders and allows students the opportunity to meet teachers and acquaint

themselves with the school facility. East Lee County High School hosts ESOL Parent Workshops to assist

parents with high school graduation requirements and provide support for college applications. ESOL

technology nights provide supports for both students and parents in technology tools. Lee County Schools

have a 1:1 Chromebook initiative, and school staff continue to provide supports to ensure all students have

the resources for success. Financial Aid nights are available for parents to receive individualized support for

graduation.


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The school reaches out to many business and community partners for support of the academic and athletic

programs. A Community Liaison and parent involvement specialist works with community and business

leaders to identify ways that the school and its stakeholders in the local community can create mutually

beneficial partnerships. East Lee also reaches out to its local elementary schools to provide student mentors,

reading buddies, and collaborative assistance for specialized programs (i.e. Blessings In a Backpack, Teen

Trendsetters).

Monthly family events will occur on Saturdays to build the school and family relationship. The parent

involvement specialist will conduct a needs assessment to determine the theme of the month. This will

ensure that programs are designed to be topics of interest to all stakeholders.

Item 2: Rationale for the turnaround option(s) selected.

The School District of Lee County developed a plan to provide leveled support to schools. The plan ranked

schools using a formula based on proficiency, lowest 300 status and Differentiated Accountability status.

Schools were then divided into tiers based on the number of criteria met in the formula. This tiered level of

support is referred to as Innovative Support Design.

East Lee County High is the most at-risk of the Tier 3 schools. Analysis was completed to determine the root

cause of the lack of student achievement at East Lee County High School resulting in the district managed

turnaround option. The Step Zero Toolkit and DMAIC tool were both used to plan supports for East Lee

County High School. The root cause analysis indicated areas of need in: Leadership, Human Capital,

Standards-Based Instruction, Wrap-Around Services and Community Support; all components that are

essential to school turn-around.

Professional Development Leadership Specialists will support the school with Standards Based Instruction.

PDLS will provide 20% instruction at the school- 2 hours a day/ 3 days per week. They will work with at-

risk students and model lessons. PDLS will also provide content support in ELA, Math, Science and Social

Studies and conduct bi-monthly content support meetings with teacher leaders and administrators. Analysis

of progress monitoring data will occur at the meetings to drive instruction. The District will provide funding

that is needed to support the school needs. Additional administrators have been placed at the school to

provide the necessary support to move the needle on proficiency. ESOL supports will be added for 2017-

2018 to reduce the achievement gap. The International Center will allow students to focus on language

development and build an academic foundation to ensure success.

The principal will participate in the National Institute School Leadership Executive Development program.

This provides leaders with the knowledge to identify effective instruction and the skills necessary to provide

an appropriate level of coaching to improve student achievement. NISL emphasizes the role of the principal

to improve instructional practices in which all students meet high standards.


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The District TEAM will conduct walk-throughs twice monthly to monitor classroom rigor and fidelity of

program implementation in the core areas.

Part II: Implementation Plan

A. Areas of Assurance

Item 3: Description of how the district will address the Areas of Assurance required by the selected

turnaround option(s), as acknowledged in Phase 1.

District Capacity and Support

The Turnaround Team will be led by the Superintendent of the School District of Lee County. The

District has identified an Executive Director for Turnaround Schools & Middle Schools for the 2017-

2018 school year to provide support to the Tier 3 schools as identified in the Innovative Support Design.

Additional members of the District Leadership TEAM are members of the Academic Cabinet: Executive

Director for Elementary Schools, Executive Director for High Schools, Executive Director for Academic

and Support Services, Director for Elementary Curriculum, Director for Middle Curriculum, Director for

High Curriculum, Director for Research, Assessment and Accountability, Director for Intervention

Services, Director of Exceptional Student Education and Assistant Director of Professional

Development. The Academic Cabinet is committed to providing the ongoing support needed for the

academic success of East Lee County High School.

Other District support includes the Chief Human Resources Officer, Chief Finance Officer, Chief

Information Officer, Chief Operations Officer and their teams. All District staff understand the

importance of tiered support and will make Tier 3 schools a high priority to ensure student proficiency

and achievement. All Tier 3 principals report quarterly to cabinet. The principal reports on the goals the

school has set and the status the school has made toward achieving those goals. The principal reports

progress monitoring data and provides an update on staffing and resource needs.

District staff have developed policies and procedures for the 2017-2018 school year that will ensure

students are progressing toward proficiency, achievement gaps are closing and the graduation rate is

increasing. The district is using the early warning system K-12 to identify students that may be at risk.

Classroom walk-throughs will focus on the rigor of instruction. Quarterly progress monitoring data in

ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies will be shared at the Data Force meetings and will drive

instruction. Data entered into the early warning system will be key to identifying that students are on

track for graduation. The graduation committee will be monitoring and suggesting interventions for

students lacking credits for “on time” graduation. Extended day and extended year along with other

credit recovery opportunities will be available. The goal is to identify and eliminate the risk factors and

barriers to graduation.

The School District of Lee County will continue to give schools operational flexibility in the areas of

staffing, scheduling and budgeting. The District will provide additional resources for the 2017-2018

school year for Tier 3 schools. The District Turnaround Team will use the Innovative Support Design


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model to provide resources to schools for staffing, increasing graduation rate and scheduling to ensure

student achievement.

Turnaround Principal Role

Lee has created the role of a turnaround principal. Turnaround principals are experienced, effective and

highly effective school principals as determined by the school district of Lee County Administrator

Evaluation System, including the manager portion and the VAM (value-added model) portion. In order

to be eligible for a senior turnaround principal position, an administrator must have successfully led a

turnaround school and received an effective/highly effective administrator evaluation rating to include

the Value Added Model.

The Superintendent has the authority to appoint a turnaround principal or senior turnaround principal to

a school as defined by Florida Statute 1008.33. The Superintendent is authorized to offer a monetary

incentive up to $10,000 above the base principal salary for three years, for the purpose of recruiting and

retaining a highly qualified candidate.

The base supplement for the turnaround principal and senior turnaround principal will be $5,000. This is

comprised of the $5,000 in addition to the compensation based on need outlined below. Sixty percent

(60%) of the base and additional compensation will be paid upon Board approval of the appointment,

and the remaining forty percent (40%) will be paid at the conclusion of the school year, based on goal

attainment of deliberate practice goals set by the supervisor. If the administrator stays employed by the

District, and upon the Superintendent’s annual reappointment recommendation at the turnaround school,

the administrator will remain at the location for a minimum of three (3) school years.

Additional Compensation for Turnaround Principals Additional compensation may be earned based on school need. Additional need and compensation

levels are as follows:


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Support for Principals All principals are assigned a Principal Lead. A Principal Lead must have four or more years of

experience as a Principal and received an effective or highly effective evaluation. The Principal Lead

guides a group of Principals in all areas of school operations and instructional practices. Principal Leads

meet at least twice a month with their assigned principals for coaching and support.

East Lee County High School Principal

Susan Zellers took over as Principal at East Lee County High School, July 2015. Mrs. Zellers is a

veteran with The School District of Lee County. She has been in the district since 1998. She is a Sterling

Quality facilitator with extensive experience in developing long-range plans.

Zellers began her education career in Indiana in 1977 as a high school English teacher. She continued

her work in Indiana and Illinois until 1994 working as Director of Curriculum, Director of Educational

Technology and working for the State of Indiana as an Instructional Consultant. Susan Zellers was

named Associate Superintendent in Orange County, Florida in 1994.

The School District of Lee County hired Susan in 1998 as Assistant Superintendent of Instructional

Support Services. She worked directly with research and testing, exceptional student education,

intervention programs and student support services. In 2003, she took on the role of assistant principal of

curriculum at Riverdale High School. Her focus was curriculum alignment, standards and assessments

and utilizing data to drive instruction. Her vast leadership led her to be appointed in 2015 to East Lee

County High School. Mrs. Zellers has been successful in building relationships with the community and

families in East Lee County area. The school serves a unique student population of 100% economically

disadvantaged and more than 83 percent minority. Zellers has invested herself over the previous two

years in the school and community to gain the trust of both students and parents to make a change for the

future.

Zellers led East Lee County High School to its highest gains in 2017 since the implementation of the

FSA. East Lee County’s 50 point gain in the School Grading system was better than 80% of Lee County

schools. The gain under Zeller’s leadership was also better than 92% of Lee County’s other high schools.

Susan Zellers’ leadership has turned East Lee County High School around.


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The Administrative team at East Lee has six assistant principals. Each assistant principal comes with

more than 10 years of experience in education. The team consists of leaders with high school ELA and

Math teaching experience. Team members are also ESE certified. Expertise with exceptional student

education and MTSS is a positive for East Lee due to the low proficiency of the students. The team is

dedicated and committed to both students and school. They also come with a mission to lead East Lee

County High School to the highest performing high school in the state of Florida.

Educators

The Human Resources Division has recruitment and retention of quality educators as its highest priority.

Placement of effective and highly effective staff in high needs schools is a District commitment to

student achievement.

Recruitment and Retention Incentives:

● Recruitment incentives

○ Opportunity School Sign-on bonus

■ Eligibility Information:

● Must sign a 3 year commitment agreement with the District

● Must teach at an opportunity school*

● Must teach a minimum of 60% in a critical shortage area/opportunity

school subject area

■ Amount - $2,000.00

○ Critical Shortage** Area/Opportunity Subject Area Sign On Bonus

■ Eligibility Information:

● Must sign a 3 year commitment agreement with the District

● Must teach a minimum of 60% in a critical shortage area/opportunity

school subject area

■ Amount - $1,000.00

○ Relocation expenses

■ Out of County (more than 100 miles) - $500.00

■ Out of State - $1,500.00

■ U.S. Territory - $2,000.00

○ Speech/Language Pathologist Sign On Bonus

■ Amount - $10,000.00

● Retention incentives

○ Opportunity school bonuses

■ Effective/highly effective teachers who sign a three year commitment qualify for

an annual bonus of no less than $2,100

■ Effective/highly effective teachers who sign a commitment and teach at an

opportunity school in an opportunity school subject area qualify for up to a

$1,000 bonus

■ Highly effective teachers who earn the rating for two years and agree to teach in

an opportunity school for two years qualify for up to a $1,500 bonus

○ Career ladder opportunities for teacher leaders

■ Teacher Leaders:

● Experienced highly effective teachers who teach part of the day and

provide professional development for part of the day

● Effective/highly effective teacher leaders qualify for a $10,000 supplement

at the end of the school year


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● Priority in Hiring

○ Schools are able to advertise positions 1-2 weeks prior to other locations

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement allows the district to transfer employees and provide for

incentive pay. Contract language is outlined in policy. The District has also created a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) that further outlines the details to support the efforts at East Lee County High

School.

5.03 – TRANSFER

(2) Involuntary Transfer

(a) Correct and Proper Operation: Transfers shall be made on a voluntary basis, whenever possible;

however, correct and proper operation of the School District may require that involuntary transfers be

made.

(c) Financial or Student Need: Involuntary transfers may be made in the event of a school closing,

reconstituted schools, District or state mandated restructuring, new schools, or magnet schools.

10.02– SALARY SCHEDULES

(a)Career Ladder: Effective July 1, 2014, TALC and the District agreed to the implementation of a

Career Ladder for the advancement of instructional staff on the Performance Salary Schedule. Elements

of the Career Ladder are outlined in the FY17 Teacher Compensation System that is posted on the

District website and includes establishment of Career Ladder levels and the requirements for movement.

(1)Opportunity Schools – Commitment Form: Teachers with “effective” or “highly effective”

evaluations that teach in one of the District’s Hard to Staff Schools as determined by the Hard to Staff

School Index, shall receive a supplement as agreed to by the parties. Those teachers serving at the

District’s Hard to Staff Schools with an “effective” or “highly effective” evaluation, teaching in a Hard

to Staff Subject, as determined by the Hard to Staff Subject Index, shall receive an additional supplement

as agreed upon by the parties. In order to qualify for a supplement under this paragraph a teacher must

sign an agreement stating they will remain at the school for three (3) school years.

The newly formed Professional Development Department will provide additional support as outlined

below.

Professional Development Plan

One-on-one coaching and support

Five week coaching cycle with targeted teachers

Coaching cycle will include: model, plan, co-teach, observe/debrief and repeat

throughout the school-year

Recommendation to occur on the same day each week (e.g. Mentor Monday)

Assessment: Administrator walk-through data


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Person(s) responsible: HR PDLS and coordinators

Small group professional development

Weekly meetings for formative assessment data analysis

Weekly lesson planning sessions in alignment with Collections academic plan

Utilize daily formative assessment exit tickets

Assessment: STAR progress monitoring data

Person(s) responsible: Marrero and Malone

Whole group professional development

Targeting Achievement Gaps (TAG) training

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) training

Assessment: STAR progress monitoring data

Person(s) responsible: Houchin, Martin, and Herrell

Support for Administrators

Analyze student achievement data from 16/17 FSA

Make recommendations for student course schedules if needed

Coordinate support for new teachers

Person(s) responsible: Deming, Martin, and Herrell

In the event of unexpected vacancies, the Human Resources Division will work with the Executive

Director for Turnaround Schools to identify an available certified district staff member to take over the

teaching responsibilities until an appropriate teacher can be hired.

The chart below represents the percentages of Unsatisfactory and Needs Improvement teachers at

ELCHS after the release of the FY17 State VAM scores. Human Resources is in the process of

relocating the seven ELA teachers with Unsatisfactory VAM Scores. A recruitment effort is underway.

Human Resources has identified Highly Effective teachers certified English 6 – 12 and is offering the

incentive outlined in the MOU.

Unsatisfactory Needs Improvement

District 16.72% 16.09%

East Lee County High School 33.00% 13.00%


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The following chart represents the percentage of core teachers who do not have a Professional

Certificate. Human Resources will work with Principal Zellers and the Executive Director for

Turnaround Schools to monitor Temporary Certification credentials. HR staff is in the process of

developing individualized plans to assist in meeting their requirements. Professional Development will

provide resources and targeted professional development to assist the teachers.

% of all Teachers with

Temporary Certifications in

core areas

District 4.28

East Lee County High School 4.27

School Capacity

Administrators

The principal at East Lee County High School will focus on addressing the key areas of the 5 Essentials.

The administrative team will work with the teachers to implement a clear and strategic vision for the

school’s success. The principal will interview identified effective and highly effective teachers to join

the team at East Lee County High School to bring the school grade to a C or higher on the 2018 FSA.

The principal will be granted the opportunity to increase the administrative team at East Lee County

High School to support the new initiatives that will be occurring. The implementation of East Lee

County High School’s mission: “to provide a learning environment which prepares all students to be

successful adults” will be the focus of the 2017-2018 school year. The school’s vision statement- to be a

world-class provider of academic, career and technical education will be embedded into the instruction.

The Administrative team will ensure the staff receives strong professional development that supports the

direction of the school. There will be a safe and orderly environment that supports both students and

staff. The district is committed to the success of East Lee County High School.

Educators

Teachers will collaborate together to provide engaging lessons that are rigorous and academically

challenging. The staff at East Lee County High School have embraced the commitment to provide high

levels of learning for all students. As members of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), the

educators will make job-embedded learning part of their routine practice. The staff will work together to

build the school family and develop relationships with families and community stakeholders.

All East Lee teaching staff VAM data has and will continue to be reviewed carefully. Any staff member

with a VAM score of unsatisfactory that is teaching in a core area at the 12-day count will be replaced.

The staff members will be assigned other responsibilities in the district for the remainder of the school


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year. The School District of Lee County and Superintendent Dr. Gregory K. Adkins are dedicated to

ensuring that every student at East Lee County High School will be provided instruction in the areas of

ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies by high quality effective or highly effective teachers.

JobCode Descr Courses

State 1617

3YR Agg JobCode Descr Courses

State 1617

3YR Agg

ELA MATH TCH Language Arts Sec English 2 Unsatisfactory TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 #N/A TCH Language Arts Sec English 3 #N/A TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 Effective TCH Teacher Leader Pre-AICE Effective TCH Math Sec Geometry Effective TCH Language Arts Sec English 1 Unsatisfactory TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 #N/A TCH Language Arts Sec English 4 #N/A TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 #N/A TCH Language Arts Sec English 1 Unsatisfactory TCH Math Sec

Liberal Arts Math 1 #N/A

TCH Language Arts Sec English 4 Unsatisfactory TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 #N/A TCH Language Arts Sec English 4 #N/A TCH Math Sec Geometry #N/A TCH Language Arts Sec English 2 Unsatisfactory TCH Math Sec

Pre-AICE Math Effective

TCH Language Arts Sec

English thru ESOL #N/A TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 #N/A

TCH Language Arts Sec English 3 Unsatisfactory TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 #N/A TCH Language Arts Sec English 3 #N/A TCH Math Sec Calculus #N/A TCH Language Arts Sec English 2 #N/A TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 #N/A

TBA English 3 TCH Math Sec Algebra 2 #N/A

TBA English 1 TCH Math Sec Liberal Arts Math 2 #N/A

TCH Math Sec Algebra 1 #N/A

TBA Algebra 1

SOCIAL STUDIES SCIENCE

TCH History Sec World History #N/A

TCH Science Sec

Environmental Science #N/A

TCH Teacher Leader

US Government #N/A TCH Biology Sec

Environmental Science #N/A

TCH Social Science Sec

World History #N/A TCH Physics Sec Physics #N/A


AP US History #N/A

TCH Chemistry Sec Chemistry 1 #N/A


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TCH ESE VE US History Effective TCH Biology Sec Biology #N/A TCH Economics Sec Economics #N/A

TCH Science Sec

Earth Space Science

Needs Improvement

TCH History Sec World History Effective

TCH Chemistry Sec Chemistry 1 #N/A

TCH History Sec US History #N/A

TCH Science Sec Biology #N/A

TCH History Sec US History #N/A TCH Biology Sec Earth Space Science #N/A


US History/World Cul #N/A TCH Biology Sec Biology #N/A


US Government #N/A TCH Biology Sec Biology #N/A

TCH History Sec Government #N/A

TCH History Sec World History #N/A

B. Areas of Focus

Item 4: Area(s) of Focus selected by the district based upon the school’s needs assessment.

☒ 1. Assessments ☐ 4. School Leadership

☒ 2. Instructional Programs ☐ 5. Increased Learning Time

☒ 3. Differentiated Instruction

Item 5: Summary of the strategies the district will implement to reduce or eliminate internal systemic

barriers and address the needs of the school, including a description of how the district will address the

selected Area(s) of Focus.

1. Assessments:

Every school in Lee County will utilize the STAR360 progress monitoring assessment for reading and

math each quarter. Students enrolled in Biology and/or US History will take the Compass Learning

assessment focused on specific standards and benchmarks, quarterly. Data will be analyzed by the

Research and Accountability department at the close of each assessment window and uploaded to Castle

for principals to review prior to their quarterly Data Force meeting with the Superintendent and Cabinet

members. The principal and cabinet will discuss any changes to instructional practices needed to

improve student proficiency in ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Every school sent teacher

representatives to Summer Cadre in June to learn how to train their colleagues on STAR360 and

Compass along with appropriate testing environments and strategies to encourage students to do their

best. Professional Development and Leadership Specialists from the Curriculum and Instructional

Innovation department will follow up with schools throughout the school year if further training is

needed.


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2. Instructional Programs:

The School District of Lee County will be implementing new Reading supports districtwide K-12 with

the 2017-2018 school year. In prior years, the approach to reading instruction at the high school level has

been a one-size-fits-all model. Students in high school with severe decoding deficiencies will receive

targeted instruction that is individualized to meet their needs.

The high school reading plan is divided into tiers of support with resources aligned to meet the needs of

each learner. Tier Three is for students needing an accelerated intervention (Lexile level below 600).

Students will be using System 44 which is endorsed by The Council of Administrators of Special

Education. Tier Three, Level 1 is designed for students with Lexile Levels above 600. Read 180 will be

used with these students. What Works Clearinghouse Research (WWC) indicates that Read 180 has

proven positive effects on comprehension and general literacy achievement and positive effects on

reading fluency. Students with no decoding deficiencies fall into Tier 2. These students will be leveled

using Edge, by Cengage, and Teengagement.

Providing high intensity support and accelerated intervention for at-risk students is the key to school

success. Multisensory teaching and differentiating instruction creates high expectations for English

Language Learners and students with special needs.

Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the School District of Lee County’s high school science

course progression is changing to include Environmental Science and Environmental Science Honors as

9th grade courses. Incoming freshmen will be scheduled into a science class aligned with their 8th grade

FSA ELA scores, STAR Reading scores, and class grades. All Level 1 and 2 students will be enrolled in

Environmental Science. Level 3 students will be recommended for Environmental Science Honors, and

Level 4 and 5 students will be scheduled into Biology or Biology Honors. FSA and EOC data compiled

by our Research and Assessment department has shown a high correlation historically between student

performance on the FSA ELA Assessment and their performance on the Biology EOC. Both the

Environmental Science and Environmental Science Honors courses will incorporate daily literacy

strategies to help students improve their literacy skills while also covering multiple Biology standards

that will prepare students to be successful on the Biology EOC as a tenth grader.

The high school math progression has been expanded to include additional course options. Students can

be enrolled in the course necessary to meet their needs while also allowing for opportunities to take

advanced courses. Through the use of STAR Math and Compass Learning resources, teachers are able

to monitor student progress and differentiate instruction while strengthening students’ foundational math

skills. Compass Learning has compiled research showing a high correlation between the amount of time

students spend working in their individual Compass Learning Paths and their proficiency growth on state

standardized assessments.

3. Differentiated Instruction: The District will use many strategies to ensure student needs are meet. The School District of Lee

County supports teachers in multiple methods. One of the most effective ways has been job embedded

modeling and coaching of teachers. The Professional Development Leadership Specialists (PDLS) at the

district level work at the schools with the Teacher Leaders. The coaching and modeling allows teachers

to see the strategies at work with students. Each student’s data will be carefully monitored to determine

which instructional strategy will challenge and engage the student to ensure student success. The

Innovative Support Design model will provide job-embedded content support and coaching to all


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teachers and administrators at East Lee County High School through instruction, modeling, learning

walks, PLC facilitation, and planning and curriculum resource support.

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is implemented districtwide. All students are considered in

Tier 1 during instruction. Student data is monitored and Early Warning Systems (EWS) are key to

identifying students at risk. Students showing progress/meeting goals continue in the “whole class”

setting. Students needing additional instruction are in Tier 2 pull-out intervention for supports in small

group settings of 1:7 ratio. Tier 3 pull-out intervention will follows after the student has been in Tier 2

for approximately eight weeks and is still needing supports. Tier 3 has a ratio of no more than three

students to one teacher. The MTSS process ensures that each student is receiving differentiated

instruction to meet their needs.

As a school district, we look at each child to determine the best setting for the child and use the inclusion

model in a responsible manner. Student support is focused on what is best for the child. Planning time

for the teachers to develop the learning path and the weekly lessons for the students is essential.

Teachers create the push-in activities that will be done as a team and identify the lessons that each

student will need to complete independently in a pull-out setting.

Classroom teachers will use the components associated with Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol

to increase student involvement and interaction. SIOP is extremely effective with English Language

Learners because it scaffolds the learning. SIOP enables teachers to focus on the language skills students

need. SIOP strategies are effective to use with all students.

Limited English Proficient students (monolinguals) will have guided acculturation to the school system

while they acquire beginning English language skills by attending International Centers. East Lee County

High School’ International Center is a “school within a school”. The program will emphasize listening,

speaking, reading, and writing. Students will receive intensive ESOL strategies to support their core

classes. Students will interact with native English speakers to promote language learning.

Use of the Flexible Scheduling process is a comprehensive method of examining the needs of students

with IEPs and building a master schedule with the appropriate levels of support for those students. The

process is facilitated by the district’s Learning Resource Specialist for Inclusion with a school based

team comprised of the principal and/or assistant principal for curriculum, staffing specialist, ESE

teachers and general education teachers who know the students. Additional support in the areas of

needed trainings for teachers is also identified and planned for during this process. This strategy is

another way to benefit students and differentiate instruction in the classroom setting.

Teachers will design lessons using the Universal Design for Learning approach. UDL is aimed at

meeting the needs of every student in a classroom and can be extremely helpful for students with

learning and attention issues.

Teachers will use research-proven practices for teaching students with special needs, including

multisensory teaching, scaffolded and differentiated instruction, progress monitoring, and data-driven

instruction. Instruction will include software features such as video captioning and alternate color

schemes to accommodate students with audio and visual impairments.

Customization of each student’s instructional learning path through technology and collecting their

individual performance data allows teachers to monitor progress. Teachers then plan data-driven

instruction to optimize instructional time and maximize acceleration.


[District] –

Rotation of whole-group instruction and targeted small-group instruction allows for vocabulary

development and encourages independent reading. Support students with word analysis, vocabulary,

language and grammar, writing and comprehension.

Students will be engaged in meaningful issues through reading, writing, critical thinking and discussion.

Classrooms will deliver project-based curriculum, assessments, and instructional blueprints online. All

topics that students study and practice will be relevant, meaningful and current. Teachers will provide

units with three Lexile levels and in ACT style that is guided by an essential question. Students will

receive Close Reading opportunities with high-interest and technical articles to explore various

perspectives of the issue. Students with receive instructional strategies to synthesize multiple texts to

answer a short-response question.

East Lee County High School’s mission is “to provide a learning environment which prepares all

students to be successful adults.” Differentiating the instruction through multiple strategies and

personalized learning will result in student achievement and closing the gap.

New Turnaround Option Plan Phase 2 - Florida Department of … · 2017. 10. 11. · Turnaround...

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