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In the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP), school leaders and educators are empowered to make decisions typically reserved for school district management.  These decisions are made at the school level by the principal and Teacher Leadership Team (TLT), a body of educators selected by their peers to represent them in determining the priorities and key policies of the school.  The TLT serves as a decision-making body and is also charged with ensuring educators across the school have an opportunity to provide feedback on policy proposals before decisions are fnalized.  Each year, school teams create annual plans for improvement aligned to the Massachusetts state turnaround practices, which include setting priorities and making decisions about critical school elements.  These plans are approved at the school level after teams receive feedback from the SEZP non-profit team and key partners.  The final plans are reviewed by the SEZP non-profit team only to ensure compliance with required policies and laws.

Ongoing School Support Opportunities

Accelerated Math Improvement Learning Suite Overview
Accelerated Math Improvement Learning Suite: Whole-School Support
UnboundEd Communities of Practice (UnboundEd CoP) 
Based on feedback from recent UnboundEd CoP meetings, along with MCAS and MAP results, the SEZP has extended the math focus of the UnboundEd CoP into the winter and spring instead of shifting to a focus on ELA.  For principals continuing or newly opting in to this CoP, please develop or expand team membership to include:
  • Key teachers and leaders from your school who can consistently attend CoP sessions.
  • Teachers on a leadership track or with peer influence who can turnkey session learning and help build capacity at your school.
  • If possible, select teachers/leaders who have attended a Standards Institute, as it would be ideal to continue to build on the  experience.
The following Math CoP schedule details session dates for the remainder of the year. These are full-day sessions from 8:30-2:30 and sessions will rotate among host schools across the SEZP.
  • December 6th
  • January 10th
  • March 7th
  • May 23rd
Math Intervention Strategy Communities of Practice (Intervention CoP)
Based on data gathered during our Mock Quality School Review (QSR), we are supporting the investigation and implementation of multi-tiered systems of support via a principal-led community of practice.
With peer exemplars, school site visits, exploration of available resources, and access to partners to assist in the change process as school leaders accomplish the following:
  • Identify, understand, and co-construct multi-tiered systems of support for your school
  • Identify and plan for operationalization of universal screening, dosing, schedules, entrance and exit criteria for tiers, formal data team roles and protocol, and more
  • Observe these systems in action in schools
  • Serve as accountability partners to peer leaders for implementation goals and deadlines
*Schedule TBD by participants.
Accelerated Math Improvement Learning Suite: Grade-Level Support
Guided Math Rounds and Feedback Fishbowls
Participate in guided walkthroughs of mathematics classes across various host schools in the SEZP in grades 6-12 in order to accomplish the following with principals, assistant principals, and other supervising school leaders:
  • .Co-construct critical feedback for delivery following observations and calibration
  • Simulate and practice coaching actual teachers using a fishbowl protocol
  • Replicate practices at individual schools and track improvement efforts
*Schedule TBD by participants for 5 half-day sessions.
 Guided Module Study for Teachers and Leaders
Teachers and leaders will engage in a deep-dive of each upcoming module for EngageNY during one monthly full-day session for each grade level (e.g., one full day in December for grade six teachers, one full day in December for grade seven teachers, and one full day in December for grade eight teachers) to accomplish the following:
  • Analyze and identify the major work of the grade for EngageNY modules in grade level teacher/leader teams
  • Do the actual mathematics of the module for all major standards and determine anticipated student needs based on mid-module and end-of-module assessments
  • Annotate lesson-by-lesson needs, along with anticipated misconceptions, student questions, teacher responses, and effective think-alouds
  • Prepare lesson annotations for submission at the building level, in lieu of standard lesson plans
*Schedule TBD based on number of participants.
Accelerated Math Improvement Learning Suite: Classroom-Level Support
 Math Teacher Content Course: Asynchronous Online 
Participating teachers will engage in the online, asynchronous course Seeing Math: Linear Functions for educators in grades 6-12 to accomplish the following:
  • Understand the teaching of linear functions through the use of real-world problems and a procedure that encourages students to use varied approaches to arrive at solutions
  • Immerse in coursework and participate in asynchronous discussions with graded feedback
  • Dedicate approximately 30 hours of time spent online, with additional time spent completing offline coursework and assignments
 Math Teacher Content Course: Self-Paced Online 
Select from numerous topics of self-paced online video-based courses focused on specific math content relevant to each grade level. Courses range in online time commitments from three to fifteen total hours per course. Sample courses include the following:
  • Algebra in Simplest Terms
  • Learning Math: Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability
  • Learning Math: Geometry
  • Learning Math: Measurement
  • Learning Math: Number and Operations
  • Learning Math: Patterns, Functions, and Algebra
Cross-School Visits to Observe High-SGP Math Educators in Action and Related PLCs  
Join this CoP to engage in cross-school visits to observe high-quality, high-rigor core math instruction in SEZP schools using host classrooms that have demonstrated SGP success. Dates and host schools will be customized to participant needs and interests.
Additional School Supports: Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Programs and Networks
 School-Based Coaching and Support for Programs, Redesign, and Partnerships  
Work with Dr. Nancy Houle and your school-based teams to accomplish the following tasks, based on findings from your Mock Quality School Review (QSR) and other data sources:
  • Establish/refine multi-tiered interventions for social, emotional, and behavioral needs during the school day
  • Develop partnerships with community organizations to establish and/or build on networks to strengthen support for social, emotional, behavioral needs
  • Identify areas of potential growth and improvement for social, emotional, and behavioral programming, environments, staffing, and redesign
Additional School Supports: Coaching and Supervision and Assessment
Observing and Driving High Quality ELA Instruction
Join principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, and other building leaders with supervisory and/or coaching roles on five half-day sessions throughout the year to accelerate and deepen the use of the Instructional Practice Guide (IPG) to accomplish the following:
  • Walkthrough classrooms at host schools together with a focus on ELA instruction using the IPG as a look-for tool
  • Calibrate data-gathering, ratings, and feedback formulation using the IPG
  • Co-construct feedback based on observation and simulate/practice effective delivery for actionable results
NWEA MAP Training
Given the importance of MAP in providing data for intervention, and its prominence in the SEZP Performance Framework, we strongly suggest schools take advantage of the ongoing centrally-funded support for NWEA MAP use of data for intervention planning. The following dates and focal points remain for sessions this year in tracks #1 and #2.
  • Track #1 is for schools in which teachers are fairly proficient using MAP as a tool for intervention.
  • Track #2 is for schools in which teachers are just beginning to use MAP effectively or who are new to MAP

School Support Calendar (COMING SOON!)
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