Blue Valley School District

School Information

District Name:  Blue Valley School District
District Address:  15020 Metcalf, PO Box 23901
                         Overland Park , Kansas 66283-0901
District Phone:  (913) 239-4000
District Fax:  (913) 239-4150
Superintendent:  Tom Trigg
Contact: Dennis King
Contact E-Mail:  DKING@bluevalleyk12.org

Demographics

Number of Students:  20,490
Number eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch:   829
Percent of Limited English Proficient:  2.04%
Percent of Special Education:  8.3%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

• White  (85.5%)
• Black  (3.8%)
• Hispanic  (2.5%)
• Asian/Pacific Island  (7.9%)
• Other  (<1%)

Present Student Achievement Data in at least three points to demonstrate trends – for example, three consecutive years or the first, third, and fifth years. The data report should always include the most recent school year and should always offer a basis of comparison (for example, state scores, national scores, similar SES schools).

k-12	2002 (District/State)	2004 (District/State)	2006 (District/State)
Reading	70%/61%	72%/69	92%/77%
Math	60%/55%	70%/65%	90%/71%

Source: OH Dept. of Education, 2005-2006

The District also administers the Measure of Academic Progress exam created by the Northwest Evaluation Association. The tests are administered twice a year, fall and spring, to students in grades 3 through 10. Unlike standardized achievement tests that compare students to a national norm, MAP tests are diagnostic and are intended to determine a student’s instructional level and are scored on an equal interval scale (like feet or inches). Each unit of change represents the same degree of growth. This allows a school to track a student’s progress from fall to spring and from year to year. Once a student takes the test in the fall, an anticipated score is established to demonstrate a year’s growth for that student. Every grade level in Blue Valley exceeded the anticipated growth in both reading and mathematics.

 

 

 

The ACT is America's most widely accepted college entrance exam. It assesses high school students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. Over 80% of our high school students completed the exam in 2006, and in 2006 they again earned the highest scores in the Kansas City metro area.

Composite ACT Scores for all Blue Valley High Schools

	Blue Valley	National	Kansas
2002	23.6	20.8	20.4
2004	23.7	20.9	21.5
2006	23.9	21.1	21.6

Advanced Placement Exams  

The Advanced Placement Exam assesses a student’s ability to complete college-level work in specific courses while still in high school. Advanced Placement examinations are considered among the most rigorous assessments available to high schools students. Since 2001, participation in the AP program has increased by almost 200%.

Please feel free to comment on any aspect of the data that you feel is particularly significant.

Scores have risen steadily across the district in all areas since it implemented PLC concepts.

All of Blue Valley’s 30 schools achieved AYP standards in 2006.

All subgroups in the district achieved AYP standards in 2006.

One hundred forty-nine of the possible 162 (91%) grade levels in buildings throughout the district achieved commendations for achieving the state’s Standard of Excellence.

One-hundred percent of the district’s schools achieved the state’s Standard of Excellence in reading.

Ninety-three percent of the district’s schools achieved the state’s Standard of Excellence in math.

Students at all grade levels are outperforming state and national norms.

The number of high school students pursuing college-level curriculum continues to grow dramatically each year.

Please present any additional information that indicates your efforts to build a professional learning community have had a positive impact upon students and/or teachers.

For the past 4 years, leaders within the district have focused upon a research base for selection and implementation of school improvement and professional development initiatives. Teams of professionals have studied the work of Drs. Rick DuFour, Bob Eaker, Robert Marzano, Heidi-Hayes Jacobs, Rick Stiggins, Lynn Erickson, Jay McTighe, and Grant Wiggins. As a result of this study, the district adopted the Professional Learning Community model of DuFour in 2004. Principals and school leadership teams have immersed themselves in the PLC research via (1) DuFour presentations in the district beginning in 1999, (2) study groups, and (3) coaching provided by district administrators and more recently school improvement specialists.

For three years, Blue Valley has provided monthly opportunities for administrators to engage in professional development. Through monthly district administrative team training, monthly principals meetings, and on-going interaction with executive directors of school administration, principals have acquired the knowledge and skills to implement professional learning communities. The administrative team analyzed the ISLLC standards for administrators and identified evidence that would support the standards. ISSLC Standard 1 notes that effective school leaders facilitate the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.

The district’s approach to the implementation of PLCs involves staff in each school in the district. Leadership teams of teachers from across the district were provided on-going opportunities to learn about PLCs from Rick DuFour during summer conferences in the district. Teams were encouraged to travel to Stevenson High School near Chicago Illinois to immerse themselves in the culture of PLCs that Dr. DuFour established there during his tenure. Following these learning experiences, book studies were established allowing teachers in a small group setting to learn more thoroughly about learning community practices. Once PLCs were established at schools, teacher leaders and administrators coached teams to refine their practice. The theme of “building shared knowledge” permeates each school. Now, our nine school improvement specialists train and coach leadership teams and staff in each building to support the PLC model for school improvement.

Please elaborate upon strategies you have found to be effective in any of the following areas:

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

The monitoring of student learning takes place by each grade level/subject specific ( PLC) collaborative teams throughout the district. The district has formalized specific formal reporting periods (every 3 weeks) in which parents and students can view the student’s performance via an online teacher grade book. However, teachers are communicating on a more frequent basis regarding student performance in their classes through a district voicemail system. Teachers and principals have direct access to a voicemail system linked to each household in the district. The use of the voicemail tool provides ongoing and constant feedback to parents as teachers and teams constantly monitor student learning throughout the district.

The ongoing monitoring and communication of student learning is a common expectation throughout the district. Both the district office and each school are constantly developing strategies to monitoring student learning. When it becomes apparent that a student is not learning, a systemic intervention process is implemented throughout our schools to find additional time and support to allow the student to learn and comprehend the material before moving on with new instruction.

2. Creating systems of intervention to provide students with additional time and support for learning.

Each school continues to work with their leadership team to develop the appropriate inventions to support student learning in a variety of formats. A common structural intervention pyramid has been developed by the district to allow schools to identify common components for each type of intervention. The development of a common vocabulary on key PLC terms across the district is essential to ensure systemic student achievement. As various components are developed for each category, schools are kept mindful that the structure of the pyramid is to move to from least restrictive to most restrictive. Therefore, this common intervention format is divided into six categories; early interventions, grade level or departmental interventions, school interventions, district interventions, problem solving teams and special education. The components of each category are developed by each school and their various teacher teams. Specific interventions are shared throughout the district on a regular basis between schools in a facilitated discussion to build shared knowledge on the intervention topic.

Students may transition through the various levels of interventions in a seamless manner throughout the school year. Additionally, a student who is identified as special education in the least restrictive environment my still utilize the intervention pyramid with an over-arching goal of transitioning out of their special education placement.

A brief explanation of each category and a few examples are provided below.

• Early interventions – Students are identified who need extra time and support prior to the end of the school year and invited to participate in a variety of activities prior to the start of the new school year.
• Examples:
• K-8, Early Intervention Summer School
• 9-12, Start up academies in math, reading and advanced placement (2 weeks prior to the start of school)
• Grade level or departmental interventions – If students are not learning after individual teacher interventions have been developed, each grade level or department PLC team develop interventions as a team to support learning within the identified level.
• Examples
• Elementary - flexible groups, extended learning time, class to class groupings, personalized instruction
• Middle – flexible groups, additional grade level support before and after school, customized study skills support
• High – individual and small group tutoring, modification of assignments, parent and student conferencing
• School Interventions - If students are still not learning after the appropriate team interventions, the school develops appropriate interventions for students.
• Examples
• Elementary – tutoring with reading and math specialists, before and after school tutoring
• Middle – Friday study sessions, after school tutoring, teacher mentors assigned
• High – required attendance in academic resource center, math labs, academics first (after school) studyhall, Super Saturday academic support
• District Interventions – If students are still not learning, the district provides support for the implementation of research based interventions.
• Examples
• Elementary – Read Naturally
• Middle School – Read 180, Larsen Math
• High – Read 180, Larsen Math
• Problem Solving Teams – If the student is still struggling to learn, each school has a district-mandated, problem solving team to investigate previous interventions and make a determination for special education placement.
• Special Education – This is the most restrictive intervention. Students with an IEP utilize regular education intervention support in addition to their IEP accommodations.

3. Building the capacity of teachers to work as members of high performing collaborative teams who focus the efforts of their team on improved learning for students.

The Blue Valley School District has been pursuing the implementation of district-wide professional learning communities. Five years ago, Blue Valley High School began a journey towards becoming a PLC. BVHS and the district hosted Dr. Rick DuFour for 2 summer institutes in Blue Valley beginning in the summer of 2004. Dr. Rick DuFour has identified PLCs as the most significant systemic change in schools focused on student learning. Writing in his book, Professional Learning Communities at Work, DuFour and Eaker note that “the best hope for significant school improvement lies in transforming schools into professional learning communities.” They challenge teachers to collaboratively answer these four questions:

• What do we want students to learn?
• How do we know students know it?
• What will we do when the students don’t learn?
• What will we do if students already know it?

To accomplish district-wide PLCs, the district has asked schools to provide 30 minutes of collaborative time weekly to address these questions. Schools have completed an annual professional development plan which identifies the PLC time each week. The district developed a template outlining annual professional development plans that are submitted to the Director of Professional Development. The professional development plans support the School Improvement Plans which each school prepares annually. Planning for PLC time and building professional development occurs at the school level.

Elementary school collaborative teams consist of grade level teachers addressing student data and curriculum and instruction implications for the students they teach. These same teachers may meet as a part of vertical teams identifying gaps and overlaps in teaching and learning.

At the middle level, teachers typically meet by content areas to address learning. Horizontal and vertical teams of teachers, grades 6-8 meet during daily team planning. During that time, teachers can address gaps and redundancies in teaching and learning. In addition to daily team planning, middle school teachers and elementary staff have extended collaborative team time during eleven early release days during the school year. These eleven PLC opportunities have increased over the past 5 years.

High school staff have opportunities for PLC collaboration during weekly late starts when students arrive 30 minutes later and teams of teachers may collaborate in addressing the PLC questions.

Each PLC team, whether at grade level, or departmental level has developed mission and vision statements. These collaboratively developed statements focus each team of professionals on the important business of schools- student learning. They remind teams that student learning data is the critical marker of professional accountability. Teams develop SMART goals identifying specific, measurable, attainable, results-based and time-bound statements of learning. Each team develops norms of behavior that facilitate their weekly work. Teams are supported in this work by 14 content district coordinating teachers and 9 school improvement specialists.

List any Awards and Recognition Garnered by Your School

All Blue Valley High Schools were included in the listing of America’s best high schools by Newsweek Magazine.

The College Board cited Blue Valley North High School as the highest ranking school in the state of Kansas in terms of student access to and success in the AP program.

Blue Valley Northwest High School was one of fifty in the United States to receive the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement. The award is given to schools leading the nation in AP performance and participation in math and science.

Blue Valley was cited as a “Gold Medal District,” one of the top four percent in the nation, by Expansion Management Magazine. (2006)

Parent satisfaction in the district is the highest in its history. Ninety-two percent of parents give the district a grade of “A” or “B.”

In 2006 Blue Valley was the only district in Kansas with more than 10,000 students to achieve AYP as a district and to have every school within the district achieve AYP.

The Blue Valley School District received the Systemic Learning Award from Kansas Staff Development Council for 2006-2007. The award recognizes district level commitment to growth in professional learning and support for change. Specific criteria for growth include the time, money, management, materials, and authority allocated to the adult learning effort in the district to foster improved student learning. The district provided evidence of growth and achievement via the KLFA/KSDC/KSDE Staff Development Rubric. The rubric is based on the National Staff Development Standards (NSDC) and includes all of the NSDC Standards.