PLC Story

Westbrook Elementary School (WES) serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade. It also serves as the cluster Emotional Disabilities (ED) Program for students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade with ED. While the program is self contained with two classess (K-2 and 3-5), students are mainstremaed into general education classrooms as appropriate.

WES has a continuous tradition of academic excellence, high student achievement, student service in the school and community, and committment to the arts. On the state's standardized assessment, the Maryland School Assessment (MSA), students typically score very high. With that said, as a school community we took on the challenge to best serve our students and worked to raise the bar and close the gap. To accomplish this goal, we instituted Professional Learning Communities (PLC) for each of our grade level teams and practiced the tenets of PLCs. Not only did our students consistently score with 90-100% scoring proficient and advanced, but WES students in all sub groups were able to score 100% advanced.

Additonally, Staff Expectations for Student Learning, School Culture, and Teacher Satisfaction are all high, as evidenced by school data. The district's 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2009-2010 Surveys of School Environment shows that 95% - 100% of teachers have high expectations for student learning, work in a positive school culture, and get satisfaction from their work.

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

Student achievement is regularly monitored, shared, and discussed with students, teachers, and administrators. Students maintain personal data notebooks. They regularly meet with their classroom teacher to discuss data and their goals. Teachers meet weekly with their grade level team, review student assessments and achievement data, and collaboratively develop an instructional plan to implement the curriculum. Teachers also meet on a weekly basis for the specific purposes of analyzing student performance data. Administrators meet quarterly to review student achievement data, monitor progress, and plan for student intervention, support, enrichment, and acceleration. Professional development tailored for grade level teams or teachers is also discussed, planned for, and scheduled. These quarterly meetings also include other key professional staff members including the Special Education Teacher, ESOL Teacher, Staff Development Teacher, and Reading Specialist.  These same key professional staff members also attend grade level team meetings with teachers.

 Additionally, each teacher develops an approved Student Learning Objective (SLO), which aligns with the School Improvement Plan. SLO’s are measureable instructional goals established by the teacher for a specific group of students over a set period of time. They are monitored twice yearly with the teacher or respective grade level team.

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

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

Students in need of intervention and support are monitored through a school wide data base. The school’s master schedule, including the schedules for Instructional Assistants and non-classroom based staff, is developed to provide additional plug in and pull out support of students.

The development of the students’ master schedule is driven by student need and the ability of staff to support student learning. Grade level teams are given common planning time throughout the week.

 

Student performance with respect to various support and intervention instructional programs, including authentically designed programs, is regularly monitored and adjusted. This structure provides reading and math intervention at each grade level. These student interventions are specific and based on student needs.

 

Staff members providing these student interventions attend weekly data meetings with respective grade level teams to share, discuss, and adjust programming for students.  

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

3. Building high performing, collaborative teams that focus efforts on improved student learning.

Several systemic processes are in place to build and maintain high performing collaborative teams focused on improved student learning.

Grade level teams, and content specialists, are provided monthly half-day professional development authentically designed based on teacher and team need as well as prescribed need from administrators or system perspectives.

 

Quarterly half-day data chats are planned for and conducted with grade level team members as sell as content specialists. These half-days are broken into analysis of students achievement data followed by authentic and timely professional development modules for teachers.

 

Monthly staff meetings briefly address administrative matters followed by substantial school wide professional development based on student achievement data, teacher needs, and administrators’ focus areas.

 

Additionally, authentic, sanctioned, and system conferences, modules, and workshops are provided for staff as needed.

 

Achievement Data Files

• ewald-j--wes-35-eoe-1718-data-template-1-18-19-3901.xlsx

Awards and Recognitions

• Recipient, Maryland State Department of Education Performance Recognition Program

• Hosted visits by numerous local and national organizations, schools and school districts, including:

  • School Based Administrators from the United Kingdom

  • Baldrige Guided School Performance Examiners

  • BROAD Foundation

  • New Leaders for New Schools