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Woodside Intermediate School



School Information

School Name: Woodside Intermediate School
School Address: 30 Woodside Road, Cromwell, CT 06416
School Phone: 860.632.3564
School Fax: 860.613.3970
Principal: Bo Ryan
Principal Email: bryan@cromwell.k12.ct.us
Web Address: http://www.cromwell.k12.ct.us/

Demographics

Number of Students: 467
Percent eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 19%
Percent of Limited English Proficient: 0.014%
Percent of Special Education: 11%
Racial/Ethnic Breakdown:

  • White:357
  • Black:52
  • Hispanic: 29
  • Asian/Pacific Island: 27
  • Other: N/A

 

Student Achievement Data

Cohort scores at Woodside with students proficient/goal on state test:

Woodside Scores
 
Math
Reading
Writing
Science
2007-08
78/57
71/51
81/63
2008-09
78/60
77/67
84/58
2009-10
88/74
83/69
90/77
92/69
Connecticut State Scores 
 
Math
Reading
Writing
Science
2007-08
80/60
68/52
82/63
2008-09
84/63
74/60
85/64
2009-10
87/72
75/61
87/68
82/60
 

 

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

Our school is a grades 3 – 5 school.  We get students in September from the local K-2 school and from a large city through the Choice Program.  We have 6 months to get our students to achieve on the Connecticut Mastery Test in September.  The data above shows a tremendous increase over 3 years in the percentage of students that scored goal or higher on the CMT.  The students who leave our school showed a 16.3 gain in Math, a 16.9 percent gain in Reading, and a 14.0 percent gain in Writing.  At Woodside, we also use other data besides the state test to measure our growth.  In 2007, we had 75 students who were on our Early Intervention Program or EIP for being significantly below benchmark.  Currently, we have 23 students in the school on EIP.  In 2008/2009, there were 35 students on EIP in grade 3.  In grade 5, 2 years later, we have 2 students on EIP.   In 2007, we administered the first reading common formative assessment and 43% of the students met proficiency.  In 2010, 90% of the same students met proficiency- and 86% scored goal- on the same type of reading common assessment for an increase in the cohort scores of 47% in 3 years.  Our stretch goal in 2009 was 80% of our students reaching goal on all CFAs.  This year, our school has been averaging over 80% on reading and math CFAs.  Lastly, in 2006, there were 255 office referrals in the school and 47 suspensions.  Currently, in 2010/11, we have 3 office referrals and 2 suspensions.  Lastly, we have a relentless focus at our school to help all students achieve at high levels!!  

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

We are a true professional learning community with a relentless focus on helping all students achieve at high levels.  We are also committed to continuous learning as a staff.  Every book, every article, and every best practice that we find we immediately try to include it into our practice.  In 2007, was our first year implementing the PLC process in the school.  We immediately started getting teachers working together in teams, focused on results, and discussing best instructional practices.  In years past, teachers met in teams for common planning not to analyze data or to talk about instructional strategies, but to talk about field trips and problems at recess.  Starting the data team process was a major initiative in 2007.  The principal walked the team through the process, the team created their first ever common assessments, and eventually the teams started to lead themselves.  Other initiatives that year were to implement standard-based lesson plans, create a positive behavior system, begin to have teachers visit other teachers to view instructional practices, partner with the local high school, and create an Early Intervention Process.  In 2008, we continued to build on the practices initiated the year before but needed to face the brutal facts about the instructional practices in the school.  We did not have a standard time block for reading, a common way to teach reading, or room arrangements fit for teaching reading. A change was needed.  We created the Woodside Workshop for reading, had our teachers present to each other on reading, and learned by “doing” from each other in collaborative teams.  Teachers who had experience with the Workshop Model taught other teachers in teams.   Also, we created daily schedules for all classrooms that consist of daily time frame for each class: 80 minutes of reading, 40 minutes of writing, 60 minutes of math, 20 minutes of skills work (aligned to the most essential standards) and 30 minutes of intervention/enrichment.  In 2009, we focused on deeper implementation of Best practices and found more time for staff to meet in collaborative teams.  Our teams met every Friday but we also used the mornings of district mandated half days to focus more time for staff to work in teams.  The principal, along with some paraprofessionals and parents, organized and monitored whole school assemblies for the students.  We also created a list of expectations for Tier II reading support and instruction.  In 2010, we added Science and DRP common assessments, extended the day for the students, use the Lexile reading test, combined the EIP and data team process, and aligned our school goals with the data team process.  We have school-wide SMART goals for reading and math and align the school goals with the teachers’ action plans.  The teachers’ action plans are focused on data teams.  Also, teachers all have professional portfolios with 5 parts: student information, lesson plans, data team minutes, school expectations, and professional development.   Currently, we are a true professional learning community where every member of the school takes responsibility in helping all students achieve at their highest levels.  We are a Professional Development School aligned with Central Connecticut State University.  Interns, student teachers, and college professors are in our building on a daily basis.  We also have a partnership with Wesleyan University’s Athletic Department.  Numerous athletes visit our school on a weekly basis to work with our students.  Lastly, the Helping Hands Committee is a group of parents that volunteer at our school.    All of the organizations are focused on helping all students learn. 

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

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

  1. We created a Pyramid of Interventions for our school for academics and behavior. 
  2. Common formative assessments are administered every 5 weeks in reading.  Also, reading mid-tests, short tests aligned to the common assessment, are administered at the half way point.  After the mid-test, the teachers score the work, reflect on the data, and use the data to drive their instruction.  Both tests measure student learning on grade level.  Common formative assessments are also administered every 4-6 weeks in math, writing, DRP, and science.  After the CFAs are administered, data teams meet to chart the data, discuss instructional strategies, reflect on practice, discuss immediate interventions, and create an action plan.  Data teams meet in teams of 4 every Friday for 30 minutes.  Teams also have the opportunity to meet 2 other times during the week to score work and complete data sheet.  On Fridays, we have a designated block of time every week, from 2:30 – 3:10 for Team Time.  During Team Time, students receive immediate feedback on tests, set goals, analyze results, graphically track progress in their portfolio, and are allowed to retake the tests.  Students who met goal on the test receive enrichment and students who did not meet goal receive immediate reteaching of the essential skills.   Every teacher in the school is involved in intervention or enrichment: the PE teacher researches sports, Art teacher has enrichment, the Music teacher has musical instruments, our reading specialist and librarian both have book talks, the principal has free reading, college students from Wesleyan and Central work with small groups, and a professor from Central Connecticut State University teaches a magazine class. 
  3. All staff must use the standard based lesson plan template that aligns with the Workshop Model.  There are five parts to the lesson and the teacher must check for understanding throughout the mini-lesson and have a product at the end of the lesson.   Data from the lessons must be used to drive future lessons or skills block activities.  At Woodside, we are constantly checking for understanding during the lesson, using the data to change instruction immediately, and checking for understanding at the end of the lesson.  We truly use assessment for learning. 
  4. An instructional calendar is used to give all staff clear expectations of when the common assessment are to be administered, when the data teams will meet, and the focus of our Team Time block. 
  5. We utilize the Workshop Model for all subjects.  Every lesson must have a mini-lesson, practice time, and sharing or evaluation time.  During the mini-lesson, is expected that all teachers check all students understanding of the skill using different strategies like think-pair-share, whiteboards, paired responses, quick writes, or hand signals.  During practice time, teachers check students understanding in conferences or small groups and give them immediate feedback in their learning.  Finally, all students must have a product to see if the objective was met. 
  6. Our EIP team, early intervention process, meets bimonthly with the data teams to discuss students who are at the basic level or are not making progress.  At the meeting, they discuss student strengths, baseline data, teacher concerns, create a SMART goal, design an intervention plan, and review.  During the Tier II instruction, the student’s progress is monitored during every session with written work.  Our reading support team completes the intervention log after every session with a student to record the number of students in the group, date, time, focus, and monitoring tool.  It is expected that all student read for 70% of every intervention.    The EIP teams will meet to follow up to see if the SMART goal was met, debrief about the intervention, evaluate plan effectiveness, create new SMART goal, and modify the interventions. 
  7. We also monitor student ability daily to be on the “RAFT”.  The RAFT stands for Respect others, self, and property; Always be under control and always learn; Follow all rules, directions, and procedures; and Try your best at all times.  Students caught on the RAFT can earn a ticket.  Tickets can be used for classroom incentives, school-wide incentives, café incentives, and for the school store.  We give out thousands of tickets a month to students.  Teachers can also nominate students for Principal of the Day by filling out a positive referral.  Students “off the RAFT” can be sent to the Thinking Center or the office.  Data is collected and monitored daily.  The Positive Behavior Team meets monthly. 
  8. Collaborative teams also examine Lexile data in September, December, and May.  Lexile scores are given to each student after the test and assist them in selecting “Just Right” texts. 
  9. We expect all students to read 50 books.  Students document books read in log, complete book review, and post review in our reading hallway. 
  10. Staff are also monitored on a regular basis by the principal:
  • Daily classroom mini-observations by the principal with documentation
  • Common Formative Assessment Reviews- collection of all the common assessments and score sheets
  • Data Team Minutes forms collected after every meeting
  • Lesson plans checked along with student work samples bi-monthly
  • EIP meeting minutes checked
  • Student and staff portfolio checks

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

  1. Create unit maps for common pacing to ensure a guaranteed and viable curriculum
  2. Common formative assessments created with common standards for advanced, goal, proficiency and close to proficiency
  3. Team Time is a designated block every Friday for immediate intervention or enrichment based on the common formative assessment administered that week.  During Team Time, students receive immediate feedback on tests, set goals, analyze results, graphically track progress in their portfolio, and are allowed to retake the tests.  Students who met goal on the test receive enrichment and students who did not meet goal receive immediate reteaching of the essential skills.   Every staff member in the school is involved in intervention or enrichment.
  4. Designated blocks of time in schedule for intervention and enrichment, 3 days a week, for 30 minutes.  There is no new instruction taking place during this time.  Special Education and EIP students are pulled during this time for extra support in reading.   The interventions are timely, systematic, and directive.  Students can not opt out of the intervention. Students who are left in the classroom receive enrichment or intervention provided by the classroom teacher. 
  5. The skills block is another daily intervention block the first 20 minutes of every day.  Every teacher  must have a “Do-Now” posted for the students as they enter the classroom: use as a reteach tool to review skills students struggled to master on last common assessment, spiral in skills previously learned to keep learning sharp, revisit the previous day’s objectives, or free read.  The skills block is also a time for students to receive extra support.  In the computer lab, students receive extra reading utilizing Read Naturally.  The Principal also meets with a group of 3rd grade students who did not score goal on the reading common assessment. 
  6. A Floating Tutor is assigned to classrooms based on need as evident from the common formative assessment results. The tutor’s schedule changes after every common assessment.
  7. We also have a coordinator at our Thinking Center.  Teachers can send students to the center for minor behavior problems to receive immediate support.  The teacher in the room is also assigned to various classrooms during reading to conference with students and make sure they have “Just Right” texts. 
  8. The Principal is an integral part of the collaborative process at Woodside.  Programs, taught by the Principal, are held afterschool to give the students extra support and time for learning.  In September, a comprehension class was taught after school for students in grade 3 and 4 who were below goal.  Permission slips went out over the summer and additional slips were mailed after the Lexile test in September.  The program was 1 hour a day, 4 days a week, for 5 weeks.    There were other additional programs after school taught by the Principal: Girls Writing Group, Math Camp, Reading Camp, and Boys Writing Group.   There was also an additional writing group taking place during recess and lunch. 
  9. The Boys Writing Group was another highly successful after school program.  The Principal met with teachers to see which students needed extra support in the area of writing.  The data from our state tests and from our writing common assessments clearly showed that the boys were behind the girls in the area of writing.  The program lasted for 5 weeks, 1 hour a day, 4 days a week.    The curriculum consisted of lots of choice writing and interesting topics like superheroes, sports, comics, and Greek Mythology.
  10. We had a winter enrichment camp during vacation.  Girls from the high school cheerleading team worked with our students. 
  11. Lastly, we have numerous, other after school programs at Woodside for just pure enjoyment.  Students can “Rent” the gym with friends, attend Earth Club, and we have a running club that meets every Tuesday. 

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

  1. All members of the school meet in data teams at least once a week for 30 minutes.  They also have 2 other additional data teams blocks designated for sharing or collaborative scoring of work.  Also, every staff meeting is designated for time for teachers to meet in teams.  Lastly, additional time is provided by the Principal by having whole school assemblies or covering grade level classrooms.
  2. During data team meetings, we split our grade level teachers into 2 teams of 4.  The reason why is because we want everyone to have an opportunity to lead the meeting and to participate.  They work together to build shared knowledge of the essential CT standards, our district maps, and to engage each other in continuous learning.  During Data Team Meetings:
    • Teams work together to achieve SMART goals
    • Norms followed
    • Roles selected for meetings
    • Work shared
    • Chart the data- % of students that scored advanced, goals, proficient, and close
    • Strengths of the students, obstacles, and questions mastered
    • Create focus for intervention and enrichment
    • Discuss instructional strategies
    • Plan Lessons
    • Create a new common assessment, discuss expected standard for levels of performance, and create a rubric to use daily in the classrooms 
    • Create a common pacing guide or unit map
    • Create a Team Action plan
    • Teacher Reflection
    • A copy of the minutes form is given to every member and principal
  3. Our assistant principal and reading specialist meet with the data teams to discuss the students who are on EIP or below benchmark.  During the meeting:
    1. Discuss student’s strengths
    2. Baseline Data
    3. Teacher Concerns
    4. Create SMART Goal
    5. Design an intervention plan and review
  4. Woodside is designated as a Professional Development School with Central Connecticut State University.  Teachers have an intern in their classroom every semester.  They must meet with the intern, discuss best instructional practices, and evaluate the interns’ effectiveness as a classroom instructor.  Some classroom teachers will take on the challenge of having a student teacher.  Currently, we have 6 student teachers in the building. 
  5. Woodside also has a solid partnership with Wesleyan University.  Members of the athletic teams visit the school every Friday and have taken on a variety of roles from tutor to mentor. 
  6. Our staff has presented at numerous professional development days at Woodside. “Curriculum Clips” is when we had 8 teachers present in their classrooms a best instructional practice.  The rest of the staff spent time in each room.  “Learning Walks” is when we had a group of teachers and interns visit classrooms with a focus, meet in the hall, and discuss observations.  “Academic Fair” when we had teachers have on display a research-based practice or tool for other staff to observe.  The Principal also visits classrooms on a daily basis always looking for best instructional practice.  When a practice is found, a picture is taken, and the picture with a brief explanation, is emailed to the staff. 
  7. Our teachers meet in vertical teams to discuss essential skills needed for the next level.

 

List awards and recognitions your district has achieved:

  • Connecticut State Department of Education visited our school and labeled Woodside a “school with Best Practices that align with SRBI”
  • SERC, State Educational Resource Center, labeled us a school with “promising practices” and has had our staff present all over CT on SRBI, data teams, schedules, and climate.   
  • SERC has placed a video of our presentations on their website
  • SERC called us a “model for the state” for our positive discipline system
  • CREC, Capitol Region Educational Council, chose our school to be involved in their “It’s a Go” video for our outstanding practices with the Choice Program.  The Greater Hartford Region Open Choice Program is a part of a statewide choice program that offers students the opportunity to attend public schools in suburban towns, and suburban students the opportunity to attend public schools in Hartford at no cost to the student’s family. Its purpose is to improve academic achievement; reduce racial, ethnic and economic isolation; and provide a choice of educational programs for children (CREC website).
  • The Connecticut Association of Schools had members of Woodside present on SRBI to all new principals and their mentors. 
  • The Connecticut Association of School had members of Woodside present on SRBI to all executive coaches in CT. 
  • Connecticut Reading Association had members of Woodside present on our Reading Workshop Model and intervention process.
  • Conn Case called us a “model intermediate school” and had us present on SRBI
  • Numerous schools and districts from all over CT have visited Woodside to learn about our practices.