Using Data to Make Student-Centered Decisions

Data is sometimes thought of as a "dirty" word in education.

My Assistant Principal and I are some of the weird ones that really love looking at it as an incredible source to help make informed student-centered decisions.  I'm lucky to have a tribe that also feels that accountability and transparency are important in order to make decisions that are best for our students.

Here is what we utilize at Vero Beach Elementary to see grade level trends.  Our school grade is based on a 700 point scale created by the state of Florida.  However, in order to really understand our school, we felt there were a series of indicators that we needed to study beyond the 7 areas to analyze to keep us all on track.

This is a close up of our hallway grade-level data wall. 


We decided that in addition to English Language Arts (ELA), Math, and Science; we needed to study our school wide writing data, STEM units and essential questions, office discipline referrals, attendance, and AR reading data.  These 8 areas are tracked by grade level and are fully visible at all times in a main hallway of our office.  We take parents and guests to VBE by the wall to show them the progress and areas of growth and improvement we are working on.  Our School Advisory Council uses it to help show progress towards our school improvement plan goals. We also use it to help determine areas that may need additional support, and areas that we can celebrate.  It's amazing each month to see our data continue to roll in based on our interventions and tier one instructional support.

This is done through our team being committed to the data.  It's everyone working together in our tribe to keep it updated and relevant.  Our amazing secretaries, Sara Milliman and Claudia Villadrosa, pull attendance data each week by grade level to assist; our coaches pull updated benchmarks and test, and our grade chairs update writing data, units, and essential questions.  Administration adds discipline data and celebrations.  What's great about the board is that is shows that EVERY child is OUR child.  It doesn't point fingers at any particular teacher, it really is meant to help us see how each grade level is moving forward.

What next?  We needed a more personalized private approach to individualize the data.

We have recently added a more specific data analysis.  We took a day to work with each grade level team to analyze our benchmark data.  Our teachers had a chance to personalize this by creating a single teacher folder.  Each student was represented by name and data.  This allows our teacher to create personalized intervention plans for them in ELA and Math.  There's no magic wand at VBE to make improvements.  It takes every single adult being willing to deeply invest in every single child in order to get them the tools they need to be successful.  This allowed each teacher to see who needs tier 2 and tier 3 additional support, and who may need more challenge and enrichment.  We were also able to have open conversations about tier one instructional improvement when we noticed grade level trends based on benchmark data.

 

I know most of you are probably snoring right now, but I find this all so very interesting!  I love data and how it helps us really hone in on what WE need to do for our kiddos!

Finally, we had an opportunity to visit a school that had gone through the process of school improvement.  Our third grade team visited Principal Kelly Baysura, at Treasure Coast Elementary.  We were able to see such great tier one instruction and support from their third grade team.  One of our biggest takeaways as a leadership team, however, was from the data walls.  We realized that, while having our teacher personalize the data, we needed to have our coaches do the same.  We came back to VBE ready to work on our "Little Indian WAR WALL."  We are committed to fight against any barriers our students have that may be preventing them from reaching their true potential.

What exactly did we do?
We wrote every single student in each class on a post it note, designated in color by the students teacher.  On the post it we put last year's FSA scale score and level, the students baseline (for 3rd grade ELA) the benchmark score and left room under that for more data points.  On the very bottom left hand corner we added a red, yellow, or green star to indicate current iready level based on the diagnostic test our students took.  We indicated if the student is receiving services for English as a second language, or ESE services as well to help us ensure we are meeting their needs.

Finally, we added a red dot on our students who are counted in our bottom quartile. 

We did this for grades 3-5 in ELA and Math creating two separate boards.  Finally, our STEM coach made a separate board for our Science Benchmarks for our 5th grade students.  This is a very important indicator for us because the percentage of 5th grade students proficient last year at VBE was only 22%.  This counts as 100 points of the total 700 our school must earn in order to be graded by the state.

Once we finished labeling, we went through and categorized our students based on their scores and placed them in the red, yellow, or green... the closer they are on the board to the next level in proximity, the closer we are to moving them up.

This helped us hone in on two key areas first.  What enrichment opportunities are we offering our students who are at proficiency in Math and ELA, and do we have tiered 2 and 3 interventions in place for our students who are showing need?

This visual helps us quickly see if there are students who have been overlooked, or if students are receiving tier 2 support that can be adjusted back down to tier one based on growth.

This visual has allowed our team to continue our journey of accountability, transparency, and student-centered data based decision making at Vero Beach Elementary.

On our way to an A.

Invest in Families and Literacy!!!

VBE 1st annual Family Literacy Lantern Competition

VBE 1st Annual Storybook Parade. 

We have learned that if we invest in our families and in literacy, we can't go wrong!

Little Indians, Big Dreams! 

Dream Big Little Indians!

We have had so many reasons to celebrate lately.   Pride of the tribe, grade level awards, 179 students with perfect attendance, discipline down 92%, and a loving environment full of academically engaged students.   The vibe is strong at VBE!  While this journey to an"A" will not occur overnight, we are on the path to excellence!  At our awards ceremony, we had record numbers come out to support their children.  We asked families to write down their dreams for their kiddos.  Upon reading the messages it was hard not to get emotional.  We are so blessed.  We wanted to share what our families and community want for the future of our amazing students.

This just shows how much they deserve the very best of us every day to help then accomplish their dreams.  Our staff is working hard on a daily basis to support these dreams and build up the confidence in our students.  We have such big goals for our Little Indians and nothing will stop us from helping each one reach their potential.

Keep believing in Vero Beach Elementary.

Every child.

Every day.

No exceptions.

Student-centered decisions

This week, like many, has been filled with opportunities for reflection and growth as a tribe.

The big picture is sometimes hard to see in the day to day tasks that can sometimes seem overwhelming.  However, there was a moment yesterday that had me overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude towards our tribe.

To really understand the impact I must first tell you the story of a student.

The story is about a fourth grader that transferred into Vero Beach Elementary last year.

He was vocal about how much he hated school.  He was commited to disrupting learning in any and all ways possible.  Let's just say, I was a frequent visitor to his classroom.  He would throw items, curse, defy authority, and make open threats.

Despite this, I knew we could reach him.

There was a breakdown in my office last year.  He started talking to me about the show, "Full House."
Boom.  Connection.  You see sometimes it's that easy.  We immediately started talking about it and how much we both loved the show.  The morals and values that were engrained in it.  The complex characters that overcame tragedy and how a family came together to support each other.

The conversation ended with him telling me that I remind him of DJ Tanner and that in the new version, she's a mom.

This kid melted my heart in that moment.

Fast forward to this year.  Structures have been put in place and this student is thriving.  Not only is he academically improving, but he has built friendships and has developed strong leadership skills.  He became a member of our first media production team and always has a smile on his face.

This doesn't happen by accident.

Thank you to all the VBE tribe that make student-centered decisions and encourage, connect, and push our Little Indians.

Yesterday his teacher tweeted out a writing sample.  It was absolutely impressive to see the student's growth.  However, I cried (more like sobbed like a baby) when I found out the work was his.

It's not the test score that will matter in his life.  It's the teacher that takes time to celebrate his growth and share it with the world that will make the change.

#tribepride

#onestoryatatime

It Takes a Tribe!

It started out innocently.  We had great intentions.  Our leadership team was sensing some anxiety that typically emerges around the end of first quarter on every school campus.  The honeymoon is over, as educators tend to say.  We met as a team to go over what we felt was needed based on observations and data.  We created a blueprint and delegated responsibility.  The team sent out invites to the teachers for our planning period meetings. I have to say,  I left the meeting thinking, "we got this!!!"

It was ready to go.

Then at 2 am that night I woke up in a panic. 

Were we missing the most important element?

The answer was, yes.

We pride ourselves on giving our students choice and voice, but I had a weight in my chest telling me we  were missing the target with our faculty and staff. 

To lead with integrity we must include the stakeholders that are making the greatest impact on our kiddos and I admit, as a leader, we did not include them in the conversation.  Immediately there was a sense of urgency to invite them into the conversation, so an email went out to our grade-level teacher leaders asking the following questions.

Question 1-
What is working for your team?  What support is helping?

Question 2-
What are areas the team needs to improve on?

Question 3-
How can we better support your teams needs and alleviate stress?

Finally-
What are areas you would like us to focus on for our school based PD?

The feedback we received was insightful, deliberate, and action-driven.  

The leadership team met back up and re-aligned to the needs of our team.  Instead of us focusing on what we felt was important, we focused on what our teachers needed.  

We are lucky to have a tribe that is open to growing.  We are open to change.  We are open to building the foundation that will bring Vero Beach Elementary back to an "A."  

We do this putting our hearts 110% into our vision and mission.  I'm so grateful to work with a tribe that always focuses on what's best for the kiddos.  Our meeting took place on Friday with each grade level and were focused on what they needed.  We were transparent.  We were focused.  We were teacher and student-centered.

Then we did something not many are willing to do, we asked for feedback.  How can WE continue to grow for you?  What support do YOU need moving forward?

We must continue to give our tribe a voice. 

Tribe work makes the vibe work!

We also took time to reflect on why we teach.

Our team also took time to each write a hand-written postcard to a student who is making improvements in their class.  Over 70 postcards will be sent home to our kiddos to let them know how much we appreciate their efforts.

Our Tribe Rocks! 

Fearless to Fail Forward

The past few weeks have been saturated with moments of highs and lows.  Our discipline is down significantly, in fact we have the second lowest number of office referrals in the entire district.  Our Little Indians are showing kindness, empathy, and utilizing strategies pro-actively to calm themselves.  I watched a first grader the other day tell his friend to calm his amygdala down and helped him control his breathing (which was impressive in so many ways).  It's evident to everyone on our campus that our staff is working hard to implement every strategy they can to keep our campus calm and put the focus on our academics.

Then there have been the lows.  We have some new students that are showing signs of trauma and stress conditions.  It's hard not to feel overwhelmed trying to get them services they need to be successful in life.  It's just a testament to the fact that our public schools can't do it alone.

We need everyone.
The families, the community, everyone.

Luckily, we have that support at Vero beach Elementary.  Just one phone call to Ladell Young, head School Resource Officer, and he was at our school ready to mentor one of our students who professed that he plans to be an officer when he grows up.  If you knew his past, this would be such a welcomed surprise.

The lows also come streaming in with the reality of how much work we have to do to help our students meet proficiency.  Looking at our current conditions, over 80% of our students are below grade level in reading and in math.  This means we have an urgent need to get them the very best teaching, diagnostics, and interventions.

Our staff is working so hard.  They are here at night, on the weekend, before the sun comes up and after the sun goes down.  They are the hardest working faculty I have ever seen.  Ever.

The work we have to do will not come unless every single person is willing to do the following:

1. Take risks
2. Reach out for support
3. Admit when they don't know how to move forward
4. Be willing to get coaching
5. Realize that they can't do it alone
6. Collaborate, and not just share ideas
7. Find value in each others strengths
8. Acknowledge that we all have weakness

If we can do this together, we are unstoppable.  I'm a firm believer in our TRIBE of fearless educators.  We just have to be willing to hear that we may not be perfect... yet.

We currently started a VOXER group for the Innovators of Indian River County.  One of the innovators tonight mentioned that she wants to work with her students on growth mindset. That really resonated with me. 

While we may not be an "A" school right now, if we can be willing to take risks, admit shortcomings, grow together through collaboration and our mistakes... then the real statement is we are not an "A" school YET.

#failforward 

#failtogether 

#growtogether 

#vbevibe 

#notanAyet

Resiliency or Growth??

What is more valuable in leadership and school climate coming into an underperforming school... a growth mindset or a resilient mindset?  When speaking in terms of mindset, perhaps resiliency is even more important with schools that were previously struggling.  Acknowledgement of students that show grit and moxie, families who see our vision and are devoted to our mission despite what the state determines is our "grade," patience and determination of staff trying to make multiple years of gains with our students who deserve to have the achievement gap closed; these qualities are not always necessary in high-performing, low-poverty schools but are imperative in ours. While I feel a growth mindset is extremely important, I believe in order to succeed in a high-needs school, one must have a resilient mindset.

According to the article: http://psychcentral.com/newsletter/issue005/resilience.htm  This set of assumptions, or attitude, is referred to as a 'mindset.' A resilient mindset encompasses the following features:

• Feeling in control of one's life, or being confident.
• Knowing how to strengthen 'stress hardiness.'
• Being empathic.
• Managing strong feelings and impulses.
• Displaying effective communication and other interpersonal capabilities.
• Applying problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Establishing realistic goals and expectations.
• Learning from both successes and failures.
• Being a compassionate and contributing member of society.
• Living a 'responsible' life based on thoughtful values and ethics.
• Feeling special, but not self-centered, while helping others to feel the same.
• Being more optimistic rather than pessimistic.
• Being flexible and adaptable to change and obstacles.

Having a resilient mindset does not mean that one is free from stress, conflict, or pressure. It just means that one is better able to solve or cope with problems as they arise.

The urgency to move forward a school that was failing the students can sometimes be overwhelming.  The teachers put in extra hours, the students are not only learning content, sometimes they are learning real-life character skills that should be celebrated as well.  Learning to share, manners, evidence of respect; for some of our students these skills were missing last year and are now overwhelmingly evident.  However, that emotional intelligence data isn't always measurable on a standardized test, so it isn't always recognized by outsiders.  We must take the time to celebrate growth in that regard but also ensure that it doesn't become the pseudo-focus.  One example that comes to mind is a student who has made an incredible turn around this year.  Last year, he ran out of class, cursed at teachers, openly was defiant about doing work or putting in effort.  You would not recognize him this year. He's on task, excited about learning, engaged in class, and has a deep love for the school evident by the many posters he takes time to make at home.  This won't show up on a standardized test, but it's a HUGE gain for our school.  It's an even bigger gain for our kiddo who has not been in trouble one time this year. He has found himself as a leader, he's resilient and has overcome some very serious issues outside of school and we are incredibly proud of these emotional gains. 

You see, the day of a leader is typically filled with highs and lows, I just notice that they tend to be heightened in a school in our position.  Any misstep or disappointment from a parent ends with the following statement... "and this is why you're an 'F' school."

Example- "Your school lunch isn't nutritious enough"... Wait for it... "and this is why you're an F school."

"You're hallways don't have enough student work... and this is why you're an F school."

"You're letting the students have too much fun..."

"You're not letting the students have enough fun..."

"You're under disciplining other children.."

"You're expecting too much from my child..."

We wear it, we accept it, and at this point we expect it.  I'm one of the weird administrators that loves feedback and genuinely tries to grow from it.  In fact, I spent Friday night calling back a parent who wanted to share some observations.  I appreciate the feedback and we are always looking to improve. 

Honestly, I think what drives us forward isn't our growth mindset as a school it's our resilient mindset.  This is not a sprint.  This won't happen overnight.  We know that huge gains today may slide back tomorrow, and that's ok.  We are on a journey. If we focused only on our growth mindset we might get discouraged when we don't see the results of our labor immediately.  This is tough work people.  Only the strongest can handle this type of pressure and accountability.  

We are in this together.

It's a fragile system... but our resilient mindset, #failforward moments, and hunger to consistently improve will be the game changer.

My point of view is that in our position, having a resilient mindset might be even more important than a growth mindset.   

Thank you to an incredibly resilient TRIBE of Very Brave Educators!
We can and we will do this!


http://psychcentral.com/newsletter/issue005/resilience.htm