Southeast USD, KS - Educator Effectiveness System Case Study

Educator Effectiveness System Case StudySmall Rural School District Increases Student Engagement and Success

with Effective Teaching Practices

“The Educator Effectiveness System is making a positive

impact on our teachers and as a result, increasing the

quality learning experiences of our students. Administrators

are witnessing signifi cant changes in the schools.”

Dr. Glenn A. Fortmayer, Ph.D Superintendent of Schools, Southeast USD 247, Kansas

Profi le

The settlers of Cherokee, Kansas were eager to establish

an education resource for their children and opened the

town’s fi rst school without delay. A mining settlement,

it rapidly became a thriving boomtown until the demand

for coal fell, mines shut down, businesses closed, and

people left. The town nearly disappeared but the fertile

land appealed to a few who settled in and built productive

farmsteads.

Today, Cherokee is a quiet farming community of 714

people with the goal of providing good education in their

school district, Southeast USD 247 serving approximately

640 students in fi ve schools. Despite a declining enrollment,

shrinking budget, as well as diffi culties recruiting and

retaining teachers, there are also student advantages in

a small, rural school system such as personal attention, a

safe environment, and opportunities for everyone to be

involved in extracurricular activities. District highlights

have included:

• A unique, state-leading K-12 Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Math (STEM) program.

• Additional high school courses and high school credit

classes offered at the junior high level.

• 100% reimbursement of dual credit college courses for

high school students earning a B or better.

• A partnership with the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air

Patrol has earned USD 247 a $600,000 grant to supply

afterschool learning opportunities and an eight week

summer camp.

Focus

Located in a disadvantaged area, USD 247 knows that

personal issues affect many students such as no computer

access at home, inadequate nutrition, busy parents with

two jobs, and working students with limited study time. In

an effort to incorporate the highest quality personalized

educational experience for all students, it is focusing on

the areas below:

• Authentic student engagement

• Differentiated instruction

• Data to drive instruction

• Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports

Solutions

Optimistic, innovative, and committed to increasing

student success through teacher growth, Southeast

USD 247 Superintendent Glenn A. Fortmayer, Ph.D. is

an amazing administrator who is transforming local

education. He was intrigued in 2011 when he heard of

PD 360 and rapidly recognized its great potential. He

began finding ways to save district monies, including the

restructuring of a $1.4 million School Improvement Grant.

He then purchased the Educator Effectiveness System

(EES) with its components PD 360, Observation 360,

Evidence 360, and Common Core 360 to manage district

focuses.

• Dr. Fortmayer has encouraged authentic student

engagement for higher achievement but the teachers

have struggled. PD 360 is training teachers with

programs such as Classroom Management Framework,

Conscious Classroom Management, Teaching

Strategies, and Working on the Work, all showing

teachers using the practices in real classrooms.

• To ensure that everyone receives an individualized

education, PD 360 programs Differentiated Instruction

for All Students, Differentiated Instruction Applied,

Practical Student-Centered Learning, and Teaching

Strategies are clarifying differentiated instruction for

USD 247 teachers.

• PD 360 programs like Using Data to Close the

Achievement Gap and Data Driven Decisions to

Improve Results are developing the teachers’

comprehension of using data to drive instruction.

“Data is the foremost tool for identifying areas of need in

classrooms. As teachers learn to track the spikes and dips

in achievement, they can reproduce the triumphs, boost

the spikes, and curb the dips.”

Dr. Glenn A. Fortmayer, Ph.D.Superintendent of Schools, Southeast USD 247, Kansas

• Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS) is a

framework for Kansas schools to maintain the success

of each child in the areas of reading, math, and behavior

by aligning resources. It is beneficial to identify those

requiring intervention as early as possible. PD 360

supports USD 247 and its realization of MTSS with the

largest on-demand professional progress suite available

that includes an ever-expanding library of over 2,500

videos on 130 topics.

IMPLEMENTATION AND USAGE

After EES training, USD 247 teachers were required to

watch PD 360’s Compliance Series which includes safety

concerns such as blood borne pathogens, bullying, and

harassment.

As encouragement to explore programs, $50.00 was given

to each teacher completing a PD 360 scavenger hunt and

$25.00 is given to the teacher with the highest monthly

usage. Both incentives have worked very well and teachers

have quickly learned to appreciate the program’s ease and

flexibility.

To accomplish professional growth goals, USD 247 utilizes

EES components in a variety of ways:

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

PD 360 is a perfect resource for PLC planning and

structure. Groups choose a focus, watch a video segment

either individually before the meeting or together

during the meeting, and then open discussions about

implementation.

Licensure Renewal Points

Because PD 360 is convenient and user-friendly, USD

247 teachers are pleased that usage is applicable to the

required license renewal hours.

Professional Growth Plans

As part of the evaluation process, all USD 247 teachers

have professional growth plans. Relevant to each teacher’s

specific needs, PD 360 programs are incorporated into the

plans.

www.schoolimprovement.com | 801-572-1153

Cost Effective

With continued state budget cuts, Dr. Fortmayer has

found PD 360 to be more economical than traditional

conferences and because educators have unlimited access,

it is never just a one-shot training. EES has met his concern

of finding development that is premium yet affordable.

“Our district is the poorest in the state and that is a

key block to teacher development but the Educator

Effectiveness System is cost-effective and supplies

everything we need.”

Dr. Glenn A. Fortmayer, Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools, Southeast USD 247, Kansas

Student Aptitude

USD 247’s testing scores have been the lowest in the state,

but they are steadily rising and are now in the top three

of its peers. Students are reaching advanced proficiency

scores in reading and math. They are also achieving

“standard of excellence” ratings in reading and math as well

as 100 percent in science.

Leadership Skills

PD 360 is not only for teachers but also administrators

with leader-specific training programs such as Motion

Leadership by Michael Fullan and Principals as Leaders

of Change.

“PD 360 programs help administrators build credibility with

their teachers with continued leadership training to know

and understand the best classroom practices.”



Teacher Enthusiasm

USD 247 teachers like what they are seeing on PD 360.

Their enthusiasm for its personalized flexibility as well as

their own professional growth is shown by their strong

usage numbers.


Common Core State Standards

Common Core 360 has all the tools and resources needed

to prepare teachers. It has an ever-growing library of 300+

training videos, including 70 in-class examples of teachers

applying Common Core.

“Using Common Core 360 for standards alignment is very

popular with our teachers. They are so pleased with the

Math and Language Arts lesson plans that they would like

plans for every area.”



BENEFITS

Teacher Accountability

In the past, it was difficult for supervisors to verify how

much teacher learning occurred and more importantly, if it

had any effect. Now USD 247 regularly tracks participation

and follow-through.

“Most teachers are not ready for training that is completely

online, so follow-up is vital. The accountability in PD 360’s

reflection use, instruction practices, observations, and

teacher evaluations are essential to improvement.”



Improved Observations

Observations are indispensable in schools and Observation

360 makes them more efficient for administrators and

valuable for teachers. In addition to the extensive tools

for performing detailed observations, principals can give

teachers immediate feedback recommending pertinent PD

360 videos, all on their mobile device.

“PD 360 improves our walkthroughs with nationally vetted

best practices; Observation 360 helps us take instruction

to a new level, while Evidence 360 makes the whole

process easy and effective. Personal responsibility is

growing because more dialogue is happening between

leaders and teachers.”




About School Improvement

Founded in 1991 by teachers, School Improvement

Network has spent decades researching and documenting

the best practices in education. From this research, School

Improvement Network has developed the Educator

Effectiveness System. This system delivers a process to

improve teacher practice, and gives educators a set of

powerful tools to drive the process. Research shows that

districts and schools that use the tools in the Educator

Effectiveness System produce better teachers and,

as a result, experience dramatic increases in student

achievement, driving up student test scores by as much as

30 percent in a single year. School Improvement Network

works with thousands of schools and districts in every

state and around the world and has visited over 3,500

classrooms to document best practices in action. Learn

more at www.schoolimprovement.com

Southeast USD 247 PD 360 Usage February 2013 – March 2014

Registered Users 63

Collective Programs Viewed 327

Collective Segments Viewed 822

Collective Minutes Viewed 6,165

A 2011 independent study of PD 360 use in schools like

those in Southeast USD 247 showed elevated minutes

per user resulted in more than twelve times the gains in

math profi ciency rates and twice the gains in reading

profi ciency rates than district averages.

Math Change

2.50

2.00

High Min/UserSchools

District’s Average

1.50

1.00

0.05

0.00

Comparative Change forHigh Min/User Schools vs. Districts

Reading Change

12.0 timesgreater gains in Math vs. District

71.5% greater gains in Reading vs. District

CONCLUSION

As a forward-looking administrator, Dr. Fortmayer

recognized the need for better development and was

proactive in acquiring PD 360, Observation 360, Common

Core 360, and Evidence 360 for his teachers. His tenacity

is paying off with skilled teachers and outstanding

education for every student.

“PD 360 is revolutionizing education with practices to en-

gage every student at every level. It is real, hands-on, and

at the grassroots of what teachers want: the capability to

search and fi nd what they need when they need it and the

ability to watch real classrooms to see the implementation.”

Dr. Glenn A. Fortmayer, Ph.D.Superintendent of Schools, Southeast USD 247, Kansas

Southeast USD, KS - Educator Effectiveness System Case Study

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