TEA+Learning+System+Components+(EDLD+5335)

Collaborating on this project are Kim Icenhower, Kim Braswell and Tammy Leimer. **// A desirable local provision allows high school students who meet certain criteria to attend designated college courses and receive credit towards their required high school degree plan. The student must have principal and parent approval, must cover all costs incurred to attend the college course, and must earn a grade of “C” or higher to earn the credit. The student must meet specific requirements before enrolling in a dual credit course and may not drop it after the second week of instruction. Upon the successful completion of a dual credit course, the student will earn one-half credit towards their high school graduation plan. (Sealy Independent School District, 2001) //** ||  **//While there are certain criteria that must be met before a student can enroll in a dual credit course, this does not ensure the student will be successful. Attempting a dual credit, college level course is a very demanding task to be placed on the student. To provide these students with the best possible opportunities to succeed and receive the credit, the district should take a very strong supportive lead. If five or more students are attending a local college during the school day, transportation should be provided to and from the school. This will allow all students, regardless of economic status, the opportunity to attend the classes, while also allowing the district to monitor attendance. The district should also make available a computer lab after-hours for those taking online dual credit courses. Access to such a resource may allow a student who does not have Internet access at home the chance to complete a course. Finally, the district should also assign each student enrolled in a dual-credit course a mentor teacher, someone who can help guide the student through the course, and giving the student a reliable source for information and support. //** || There are no rules for the methodology for each teacher or the pace at which the teacher or student covers the information. ||  The local provision for instructional program is a Kindergarten through 12th grade alignment of curriculum. In Sealy the curriculum used is C-Scope. This curriculum is aligned from elementary to high school. Students recieve a spiraling education through out the year and the years that they are in the school district. This curriculum is closely aligned with the TEKS. All TEKS are documented in the curriculum. Sealy ISD also provides leveled classes and bilingual or ESL classes for those students that need a seperate setting or arrangement. There are also inclusion classrooms for special education students that need seperate arrangements. ||  To improve the instructional program there should be a constant evaluation of the curriculum and it's results. If the curriculum method of instruction is not producing the desired results, the schools should assess and make changes where necessary. The same should go for special arrangements of classrooms. These particular offerings should be evaluated periodically to assess strengths and weakness in instruction program. || A second aspect to administrative procedures is for principals to meet accrediation requirements for course offerings. Especially at the high school level this is critical. Campus principals must provide the correct classes for students that meet accreditation requirements and contribute towards the students' diploma. ||  The local provision of the campus improvement plan is played out in the campus improvement committee. Each campus must have a campus improvement committee that meets every six weeks. This committee is comprised of one to two teachers from every grade level, a representative from the instructional aid team, a representative from the fine arts division, a parent, and a community member that is not a parent. The principal attends and leads the committee meetings. Once goals are put into place at these meetings and needed resources are determined, the principal seeks for budget approval and hires or places the needed staff for the goal to be met. All ideas and goals that are deemed necessary are relayed to the entire faculty during a following faculty meeting. The local provision of course offerings is for the schools to offer courses that contribute to each student's diploma and provide courses that can be used as college credits. ||  Weak areas that I see in the campus improvement plan are lack of plans being carried out and the lack of motivation. I believe that these two things go hand in hand. It would be advantageous for the campuses to start manageable improvement plans that can be accomplished in one year and be able to see the difference these changes made. Then once these changes are seen to be for the better or worse, take a step further. The goals of these committees generally tend to be grand and too large to take on in one sitting. Therefore, the goals are not met because they are not fully carried out and the committee loses motivation to continue with improvements. ||
 * Collaborator #1: |||||| Collaborator #2: ||
 * Component  ||||  Minimum State Provision   ||  Desirable Local Provision   ||  Preliminary Suggestion for Improvement   ||
 * Learning Goals  |||| 
 * //The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS for short, is the guideline provided to all districts regarding every student in Texas should know and be able to do. The TEKS can be located in the Texas Administrative Code and districts are required by law to follow them. The TEKS are comprised of the foundation curriculum and enrichment curriculum requirements. Additional elements may be provided by the school district, but the deletion of any required instruction is not allowed. (19 TAC 74.1, 2007) //** || <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;">
 * Curriculum Documents <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> **//<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Curriculum and curriculum documents are the guiding principles available to a school district. The written curriculum provides a districts administrators and teachers with a roadmap of what to teach their students. Both a foundation curriculum and enrichment curriculum are required by the Texas Administrative Code. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Foundation curriculum components are English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. Beyond the foundation curriculum, a school district must also provide an enrichment curriculum, including languages other than English, health, physical education, fine arts, economics, career and technology, and technology applications. The TEKS are further broken down by grade level, giving a guideline on what each grade level should be learning through the curriculum. Once again, a district may add to the curriculum but must also include instruction on all required elements of the TEKS. School districts are provided with text books <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">that have been evaluated and approved by the State Textbook Review Panels. These are the books that the state will purchase for a district. In the case of enrichment subjects, non-adopted instructional documents may be purchased and districts will receive partial reimbursement through the state. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">(19 TAC 74.1, 2007)   //** || <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">**// The Sealy Independent School District’s local policy for textbook selection and adoption calls for the creation of a committee primarily consisting of classroom teachers. The Superintendent will take the committee’s recommendations to the school board for ratification. If the school board rejects any recommendations, the Superintendent must bring another ecommendation until all textbooks are adopted. (Sealy Independent School District, 2005).  //** || <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">**// To improve the selection process, I would suggest that all members of the textbook selection committee meet certain requirements. First of all, any teachers who serve on the committee should have a minimum of five years classroom experience. Furthermore, preference should be given to instructors who have completed a master’s degree that focuses on curriculum. Finally, the instructors should serve a minimum of three years on the committee, to ensure continuity across the years as textbooks are adopted. //** ||
 * Instructional Program <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> Instructional Program is the strategies used to teach or how an objective is taught. The state requirements are broad and simple here. Schools must provide instruction in the required curriculum and TEKS and must provide this instruction in a variety of settings and arrangements to meet the needs of all students. This simply means that schools must provide instruction (teaching) of all required TEKS for each grade level and must use the approved and required curriculum to do so. In giving this instruction, the schools must provide it for all students in all population groups. (Ex. Provide instruction in a bilingual setting for students that are ELL.)
 * Staff Development Program <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> |||| Through the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS), the state of Texas is trying to make sure that the staff development programs are aligned with the teacher evaluation system. Along with a 45 minute observation and a Teacher Self Report, all Texas teachers must have staff development training each year. The Texas Education Agency has hired another agency, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, to review the implementation of the professional development in reading, math, and science, and to report best practices of all the programs. Best practices, which have eight focus areas, should always be considered when planning and implementing staff development programs. || <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> The local provision for the PDAS ensures that the criteria is being met. All teachers are evaluated for a 45 minute observation once per school year with several 15 minute walk through visits to each classroom. The local district also plans for staff development training the week before the students come back to school, along with many staff development opportunities throughout the school year. After the Teacher Self Report I and II are complete, the evaluator meets and discusses the year's progress and goals with each teacher. || To improve the PDAS process, there needs to be more communication between the evaluator and the teacher being evaluated. Besides the 45 minute observation, the teacher should have the opportunity to meet beforehand, if needed, and even be able to discuss throughout the year processes that need to be worked on and not wait until the end of the evaluation. The evaluator should also provide, maybe for new educators, some form of assistance with modeling instruction. So often since the evaluator is out of the classroom, there is no example by doing or showing, and that evaluator should be able to show the importance of teamwork and support in that area. ||
 * Measurement System <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> The measurement system of public schools in the Texas Education Agency learning system is achieved through AEIS, or Academic Excellence Indicator System. The performance of students and every district in Texas is identified through this system. Every fall, the information that has been compiled is puplished in an annual report, which includes performance on the TAKS, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, other state mandated tests, dropout and completion rates, college readiness indictors, and progress of English language learners. The report also shows information on the schools, employees, finances, programs, and student demographics, while also breaking the data into student status, such as low-income, gender, ethnicity, special education, limited English proficiency, and those students who are at-risk. || <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;">Local assessment and evaluation of the AEIS data is discussed each year at the district level and on each campus. The information compiled is a quick and easy reference to test scores and campus improvements in certain areas. Each school evaluates the test data to see what kinds of programs are necessary for remediation to improve those areas the next year. It also gives the district valuable information on drop out rates, finances, staff and student demographics, and ethnicity, which helps with the school district's goals that may need to be updated and revised in the Campus Improvement Plan. || <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> To improve this process there may need to be better guidance to understanding these reports. The AEIS data is very beneficial, but if the information is confusing, it is not serving its purpose to the full potential. There also may need to be some committees formed to dissect and evaluate the data for each campus and compile the information for the school district as a whole. Using this information the school district could provide programs to certain schools that could help improve the weak areas. ||
 * Administrative Procedures <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="font-style: normal; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;"> Administrative Procedures include the key Campus Improvement Plan and accreditation requirements ofr course offerings. The Campus Improvement Plan is a key component in Administrative Procedures. The campus principal and campus site-based committee collaborate each year to create, edit, restructure, and approve the plan. This plan is set in place to improve campus student performance based on AEIS data. The committee can assess student achievement in special populations or groups to determine if improvements are needed and how those improvements can be attained. Once the needs are determined, the committee sets up goals to be met for the year. Resources and staff needed to meet these goals are also determined and appropriated. A timeline then is set up for these goals to be met and ways to assess if goals are met are set up.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; color: #be151d; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Resources **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif';">Sealy Independent School District. (2001). Extended Instructional Programs College Course Work/Dual Credit. Retrieved August 30, 2009 from **<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif';">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Sealy Independent School District. (2005). Instructional Materials Selection and Adoption Textbook Selection and Adoption. Retrieved August 30, 2009 from []. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||