Cartwright School District Number 83

 

School Information

School Name:  Cartwright School District Number 83
School Address: 3401 N 67th Ave, Phoenix, AZ
School Phone: 623.691.4000
School Fax: 623.691.5922
Interim Superintendent: Dr. Jacob Chavez
Contact Person: Cindy Segotta-Jones, Assistant Superintendent
Contact Email: segotta@mail.cartwright.k12.az.us
Web Address: http://www.csd83.org/

2011 Demographics

Number of Students: 17777
Percent Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 91%
Percent of Limited English Proficient: 20%
Percent of Special Education:11%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

• White: 4.4%
• Black: 4.76%
• Hispanic: 88.8%
• Other: 1.8%

Student Achievement Data:

Percent of Students Passing Statewide Assessment

Table 1 - percentage meeting standard

Galilio Benchmarks - average % passing	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
2nd grade math	55	60	70	72
2nd grade reading	40	50	64	45
3rd grade math	54	59	68	63
3rd grade reading	40	48	66	61
4th grade math	52	60	70	62
4th grade reading	35	50	58	58
5th grade math	54	59	67	59
5th grade reading	46	57	65	66
6th grade math	51	54	60	65
6th grade reading	45	48	58	58
7th grade math	56	61	69	57
7th grade reading	45	50	51	58
8th grade math	45	52	65	59
8th grade reading	38	45	53	55

Note: The Arizona Mathematics standards changed in 2010 resulting a slight dip in scores across the state.
Cartwright School District mathematic scores declined at lesser rate than the State average.

Schools in the district.

Pre-K - 8th grade	Kinder - 8th grade	6th - 8th grade	Kinder - 5th grade
Borman	Cartwright Glenn L. Downs CW Harris	Desert Sands Estrella Marc Atkinson Raul Castro	Frank Davidson Heatherbrae Holiday Park John F. Long Palm Lane Manuel Peña Peralta Justine Spitalny Starlight Park Sunset Bret Tarver Tomahawk

Please comment on any aspect of the data that you believe is particularly significant.

The Cartwright School District Governing Board believes that as a Professional Learning Community it is essential for us to build and maintain a collaborative culture throughout our entire school system.

Schools improve when teachers are given the time and support to work together to clarify essential student learning, develop common assessments for learning, analyze evidence of student learning, and use that evidence to learn from one another.

The Cartwright School District believes that all students have a right to the opportunity to develop full command of the English language and to be provided at their local school with an English language education. English Language Learners (ELL) shall be educated through Structured English Immersion Models (SEI) as set forth under Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 815-756.01.

Effective September 21, 2006, under the authority of Laws 2006, Chapter 4, the Arizona English Language Learners (ELL) Task Force was established.  The Arizona ELL Task Force was charged with developing and adopting research based models of structured English immersion (SEI) programs to be used in school districts and charter schools in Arizona.  Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.). §15-756.01, requires that the models include a minimum of four hours per day of English language development (ELD) for the first year in which a pupil is classified as an English Language Learner.

The Structured English Immersion (SEI) Classroom content is a minimum of four (4) hours daily of English Language Development (ELD).  ELD is a type of instruction that has as its orientation the teaching of English language skills to students who are in the process of learning English.  It is distinguished from other types of instruction, e.g., math, science, or social science, in that the content of ELD emphasizes the English language itself.  ELD instruction focuses on phonology (pronunciation - the sound system of a language), morphology (the internal structure and forms of words), syntax (English word order rules), lexicon (vocabulary), and semantics (how to use English in different situations and contexts).  While there are some obvious connections to English language arts instruction, ELD is foundational for English language acquisition work, since listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks conducted in English are considerably more difficult in the absence of knowledge about how English operates.  Reading and writing, aligned to the Arizona K-12 English Language Learner Proficiency Standards, are also considered content in SEI Classrooms.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is the measure by which schools, districts, and states are held accountable for student performance under Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). NCLB requires states to use a single accountability system for all public schools to determine whether students as a whole, as well as subgroups of students (i.e., ethnic groups, English Language Learners (ELL), students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students) are making progress toward meeting state academic standards. The law also requires that all students reach a "proficient" level of achievement, as measured by their performance on state tests, by the spring of 2014.

2007-08 AYP	2008-09 AYP	2009-10 AYP
5 schools	14 schools	12 schools

In November of 2001, Arizona voters approved Proposition 301, which, among other things, provided funds to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to develop “a system to measure school performance based on student achievement, including student performance on the AIMS test.” The legislative requirements for the accountability system are stated in section 15-241 (ARS § 15-241) of the Arizona Revised Statutes. The accountability system created to satisfy the statute is referred to as the Arizona LEARNS. Schools in Arizona are labeled as Excelling, Highly Performing, Performing Plus, Performing and Underperforming. The school evaluation given by ADE to each school is referred to as the school’s achievement profile.

2007-08 State Label	2008-09 State Label	2009-10 State Label
11 underperforming schools	0 underperforming schools	2 underperforming schools
4 performing schools	3 performing schools	3 performing schools
6 performing plus schools	18 performing plus schools	15 performing plus schools
0 highly performing	1 highly performing	0 highly performing

• Note. The district’s budget cuts led to the loss of 156 teachers in 2009, and 98 more in 2010.

District-wide assessments are designed to measure student achievement of the academic standards.  The fundamental purpose of benchmark assessments is to provide information that can be used to guide instruction in reading, mathematics, writing, and science. Galileo benchmark assessments measure student mastery of standards targeted for instruction.

On August 26, 2008 the Cartwright School District Governing Board adopted a resolution:
Whereas, the Cartwright School District Governing Board of Education believes that a Professional Learning Community is an entire system of educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of structured collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students that they serve.
Whereas, the Cartwright School District Governing Board of Education believes that as a Professional Learning Community the fundamental purpose of our work in schools is to ensure high levels of learning for all students and it is essential for us to build and maintain a collaborative culture throughout our entire school system.
Whereas, the Cartwright School District Governing Board of Education believes that as a Professional Learning Community we must focus on results; and this belief about a focus on results is based on the understandings that:

• We will measure our effectiveness on the basis of results rather than intentions
• All programs, policies, and practices will be continually assessed on the basis of their impact on student learning
• All staff members will receive relevant and timely information on their effectiveness in achieving intended results

We believe that because the Cartwright School District Governing Board of Education is committed to establishing the concepts of a Professional Learning Community and the creation and annual review of a Professional Learning Communities Scorecard that recursively reports the progress of our students, our journey has received support from all stakeholders and will be the driving force that keeps our journey on course.

 

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

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

The monitoring of student learning takes place at all levels throughout the district. Educational Services reviews district and school data. This data is reviewed during a Quarterly Review Process that includes the Superintendent and the Executive Team. The Executive Team includes the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services, and Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services.

Principals review district and school data with school leadership teams and all grade level collaborative teams are responsible for reviewing grade level data and monitoring student progress.

In August 2009, the District launched its first District Data Dig facilitated by Dr. Sharon Kramer, Solution Tree Associate. Participants included members of the Governing Board, Superintendent, Executive Team, Educational Services, Principals and Assistant Principals. This two- day data dig provided a structure for schools to look at data through four lenses: student data, program and structures, professional practices, and family and community. Schools were then able to conduct data digs at their own sites.

In August 2010, the District launched their now, Annual Data Dig facilitated by Educational Services. Participants included members of the Governing Board, Superintendant, Executive team, Principals and Assistant Principals. The data dig provided school administrators an in-depth look at their school data and developed a plan of action for their sites.

The ongoing monitoring of student academic achievement and a focus on results is an expectation throughout the district. As a district, we continually ask ourselves the question:

How do we know our students are learning?

• We create and administer District Benchmark Assessments aligned with the Arizona State Test
• We hold quarterly reviews to monitor each school’s results
• We continue to train administrators and teachers on the use of data
• We administer common assessments as grade level collaborative teams
• We conduct frequent checks for understanding in the classroom each day through formal and informal common assessments

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

Cartwright School District shows a high percentage of students who were falling fall below the standard in reading. To provide assistance to school sites, the district developed a district wide RTI model to accelerate the learning for the identified students.

Cartwright School District has designed a multi-faceted 3- Tiered model for our Response to Intervention Program.  Each school has a reading interventionist who has been trained in the three Tiers of RTI. Tier I is provided to all students. Tier I consists of a balanced literacy program in which students receive whole group, small group and individual reading instruction and is provided by the classroom teacher. Students whose data shows reading gaps, are placed in Tier II or Tier III. K-8 students, who are in RTI, take part in differentiated reading instruction with a certified reading specialist. Students receive prescriptive reading intervention three to five times a week, depending on their individual needs and the level of Tier in which they qualify. Students in RTI are on an individual learning plan, which is designed and monitored by the Reading Interventionist. Students are progress monitored every 1-3 weeks. Intervention classes are held during the school day and outside of their regular classroom’s reading block.

In addition to RTI support for students who fall below grade level expectations, each of our four middle schools has a Pyramid of Interventions in place, otherwise known as POI. These interventions are based on the mastery of each performance objective (essential outcomes). This is referred to as a “just in time” intervention. POI is 30 minutes daily and is embedded throughout the school day. During this time, students work on specific performance objectives in which the common assessments show they did not master. A highly qualified math teacher teaches students, who are struggling in math. Students, who are meeting the performance objectives, receive quality instruction in vocabulary, using Marzano’s Six Steps to Vocabulary. Highly qualified teaches in reading are providing services to those students who need additional support in reading.

Our district has a group of 12 reading specialists called Team Read. This team of teachers work directly with students at identified schools where the data shows there is a need for additional reading intervention. Team Read provides direct and explicit instruction to students in grades K-3. The reading intervention provided is different than what the classroom teacher does as part of the daily reading block. Team Read also provides professional development for the classroom teachers on the campuses they support in balanced literacy, data analysis, learning centers and lesson planning. Team Read is part of the District’s RTI pyramid.

3. Building teacher capacity to work as members of high performing collaborative teams that focus efforts on improved learning for all students.

Cartwright School District believes that as members of a Professional Learning Community we must focus on results; and this belief is based on the understanding that:

• We will measure our effectiveness on the basis of results rather than intentions.
• All programs, policies, and practices will be continually assessed on the basis of their impact on student learning.
• All staff members will receive relevant and timely information on their effectiveness in achieving intended results.

To implement Professional Learning Communities at all schools within the district, the expectation is for all collaborative teams to come together weekly for a minimum of 30 minutes to plan as grade levels and/or departments. The focus of each planning time is:

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

Each Thursday is an early release day for students so that teachers may attend professional development at their sites. All professional development plans must support their School Improvement Plans. Schools are responsible for developing differentiated professional development for their teachers. All professional development plans are reviewed by the Educational Services Department. The template used for plans must include and respond to the following questions:

• What data supports this professional development?
• The specific task addressed to this offering
• Who is it for and how is it differentiated?
• How will you provide ongoing support and monitoring of implementation?
• What do you expect students to know or be able to do as a result of these strategies?
• What will you use to measure impact on student learning?

4. IC MAPS: All staff use innovation configuration maps that serve as a tool to improve first best instruction and monitor student learning.

List awards and recognitions your school has achieved

2009 Cartwright School District recognized by Arizona Department of Education as showing the highest academic growth in Reading of any large urban district in the state.

2010 Cartwright School District selected by Arizona School Board Association to present at state conference focusing on their Journey to Becoming a Professional Learning Community.

2010 Cartwright School District selected by Arizona Department of Education to present at their Annual Summer Leading Change Institute for Arizona school administrators focusing on Professional Learning Communities, A Focus on Results.

2011 Cartwright School District selected by National School Board association to present at national conference focusing on Professional Learning Communities At Work: Increasing Student Achievement.