Colorado's Unified Improvement Plan for Schools

DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School UIP 2023-24

      
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Content


  • Document icons and definitions

  • Priority Performance Challenges
  • Root Cause
  • Major Improvement Strategies
  • Action Steps
  • Progress Monitoring
  • Trend Direction

Executive Summary


Priority Performance Challenges Root Cause Major Improvement Strategies
  • Need to Achieve Above-Average Growth for All Students
    		•
  • Opportunity to Strengthen Lesson & Curricular Planning
    		•
  • Improving Instruction Through Unit and Lesson Planning and Internalization
    		•


    Access the School Performance Framework here: http://www.cde.state.co.us/schoolview/performance

    Access the Literacy Curriculum Transparency Dashboard here: https://www.cde.state.co.us/code/literacycurriculumtransparency-dashboard

    Improvement Plan Information


    Additional Information about the school


    GVR High School serves students 9th-12th grade with a focus on college preparedness. We have made improvements in our SAT/PSAT growth in all categories and continue to have 100 percent college acceptance for our graduating Seniors. GVR Hugh has had some significant leadership turnover in the past few years. To address this, a School Director on Special assignment who has over a decade of leadership experience was hired to support a leadership transition and create systems and structures that will lead to a more stable leadership team and allow for increased and focused support for staff. Our focus this year is increasing our supports and differentiation for our second language learners and students with learning difference, increase social and emotional supports, and increase instructional strategies in all classrooms, The school continues to be the number one requested high school in  Denver Public Schools.

    Improvement Plan Information

    The school/district is submitting this improvement plan to satisfy requirements for (check all that apply):


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    Narrative on Data Analysis and Root Cause Identification


    Description of School Setting and Process for Data Analysis

    School Information

    Year

    Enrollment

    % SOC

    % FRL

    % MLL

    % SWD

    23-24

    567

    97%

    NA

    23%

    12%

    22-23

    565

    97.0%

    75.9%

    25.3%

    10.1%

    21-22

    565

    96.6%

    67.6%

    25.0%

    9.7%

    20-21

    580

    95.3%

    70.0%

    27.6%

    9%

     

    DSST's Mission

    DSST Public Schools transform urban public education by eliminating educational inequity and preparing all students for success in college and the 21st century.

     

    DSST’s Core Values

    DSST Public Schools is a values-driven organization and a deliberately integrated community, serving students from all walks of life. Our six Core Values are central to our program and to our results. These values are embedded in everything we do.

     

    Respect: We appreciate each person and their story through our words, actions, and attitudes. We value their unique perspective and treat others with dignity.

     

    Responsibility: We acknowledge that our actions and choices impact ourselves and our community. We take ownership for what we do and how we choose to do it.

     

    Integrity: We act and speak with honesty, fairness, and thoughtfulness. We consistently align our words and actions.

     

    Courage: We possess the confidence and resolve to take risks, push ourselves, and persevere in the face of pressure, adversity or unfamiliar circumstances.

     

    Curiosity: We are eager to learn, question, and explore. We have a thirst for knowledge, a love of investigation, and a desire to learn about ourselves, our community, and our world.

     

    Doing Your Best: ​We put our best effort into everything we do. We know that individual and collective effort are required for our community to thrive.

     

    UIP Information

    This UIP was written with input from multiple stakeholders including the campus leadership team (School Director, Instructional Leadership Team, and Culture Leadership Team), students, alumni, parents, and families.


     

    Prior Year Targets

    Provide a summary of your progress in implementing the Major Improvement Strategies and if they had the intended effect on systems, adult actions, and student outcomes (e.g. targets).

    We made strong progress on the inputs of our strategies, but still have work to do in ensuring those inputs are done with excellence that leads to the desired final outputs in student results.

    • We focused on Acting on Data, but the 22-23 school year saw us down at least one (at some points two) admin the entire year. As a result we were not able to do as good a job at weekly data meetings as we would have liked. Focus during this time ended up being more on our 3rd strategy - curriculum fidelity.
    • We got to strong fidelity of Reading Reconsidered and Achievement First curriculums in reading and math respectively. We have work to do on ensuring there is enough writing practice in the Reading Reconsidered units.
    • Our skills-based work with students paid off, and our retention of students and student experience surveys reflect student and family satisfaction. We do know that the new strategic plan alignment for all DSST schools will help clarify boundaries around that skill work.


    Based on your reflection and evaluation, provide a summary of the adjustments that you will make for this year's plan.

    This year, we are implementing the first phase of our Strategic Plan. Through intentional research, stakeholder engagement, and diagnosis, we identified five critical priority areas. These priority areas will drive our core work over the next five years. Priority areas include STEM-centered, college prep program; excellent instruction; thriving community; transformational talent; and collective impact. Each of these priority areas consist of key initiatives that articulate how we will achieve success. 

     

    This year, we plan to narrow in on strong school and classroom culture systems as well as the use of high quality curriculum in math and ELA in order to strategically improve our results from last year.

    Current Performance

    Performance

     

    20-21

    21-22

    22-23

    P/SAT

    GVR HS

    Network

    GVR HS

    Network

    GVR HS

    Network

    ELA CR

    59%

    59%

    64%

    61%

    58%

    61%

    ELA MGP

    		  

    59

    51

    55

    54

    Math CR

    41%

    41%

    49%

    46%

    48%

    49%

    Math MGP

    		  

    64

    59

    65.5

    57

    SWD ELA MGP Gap

    		  

    -7

    -10

    -17

    -12

    SWD Math MGP Gap

    		  

    -40

    -18

    -22.5

    -15

    MLL ELA MGP Gap

    		  

    -13

    -15.5

    -13.5

    -15

    MLL Math MGP Gap

    		  

    -19

    -26

    -7.5

    -10

    SOC ELA MGP Gap

    		  

    -24.5

    -16

    -17

    -12

    SOC Math MGP Gap

    		  

    -3.5

    -7

    -14

    -13

     

    Reflection

    Over the last year, we have made progress on our major improvement strategies with mixed results. Our MGP for math was higher than the network and met our goal of 65%, showing an increase year over year. Our MGP in ELA dipped slightly. While we reduced the gap for our MLLs, there is still a significant gap for how our second language learners are performing on the PSA/SAT.

     

    We need to continue to prioritize MLE  support for our students and the MTSS process. Our teachers have all received development on a lesson planning structure that includes daily content language objectives and other sheltered instruction strategies. Additionally, we have had school-wide development about increasing opportunities for students to demonstrate proficiency through outputs (speaking or writing) in order for instructional staff to be closely monitoring learning in daily lessons. 

     

    Increasing our MTSS process will allow us to focus more clearly on the students who are struggling and address the issues quickly, which should result in better outcomes for all scholars and increase both academic outcomes, but increase student satisfaction as they feel supported and seen within the building.


     

    Trend Analysis

    Trend Direction: Decreasing
    Performance Indicator Target: Academic Growth

    ELA MGP decreased from 59 (21-22) to 55 (22-23).
    Trend Direction: Increasing
    Performance Indicator Target: Academic Growth

    Math MGP increased from 64 (21-22) to 65.5 (22-23).

    Priority Performance Challenge and Associated Root Cause

    Priority Performance Challenge:  Need to Achieve Above-Average Growth for All Students

    We see gaps in our most vulnerable learners, and we see a simultaneous need to achieve substantial P/SAT growth this year for all


    Root Cause: Opportunity to Strengthen Lesson & Curricular Planning

    Teachers start with grade-level content and standards to use as the anchor for their instruction. Students need to engage with grade-level material daily.


    Why were these challenges selected and what is the magnitude of the overall performance challenges:

    We continue to see gaps in our most vulnerable learners, and we see a simultaneous need to achieve P/SAT growth this year that is above expected due to COVID and the impact on learning loss that persists even after some of our most challenging years in education.

     

    We believe that two things are core to fulfilling our mission and serving all students well: great instruction and great culture. We know that laying the foundation for an excellent school culture and excellent instruction will drive results for every child and family. We are focusing on strong Tier 1 instructional and cultural practices to reset expectations across our campus.  This will increase student engagement thereby leading to stronger gains for students.


     

    Action and Progress Monitoring Plans

    Major Improvement Strategy and Action Plan

    >

    Improving Instruction Through Unit and Lesson Planning and Internalization

    What will success look like:

    		Teachers will strengthen their planning and instruction through meaningful assessment unpacking, unit internalization, lesson planning, and implementation of grade-level, engaging, and rigorous content. Teachers start the planning process with grade-level material and follow a clear CFS for unit and lesson planning and have accountability structures in place for submitting plans and receiving feedback. 100% of students engage with a grade-level, rigorous activity every day in every class. 100% of teachers meet CFS consistently related to unit and lesson planning. 100% of coaches are following through consistently on feedback cadence and providing bite-sized and actionable action steps.

    Describe the research/evidence base supporting the strategy:

    		The New Teacher Project’s report “The Opportunity Myth” followed nearly 4,000 students in five diverse school systems. The report found that most students spent the majority of their school days in environments that lack grade-appropriate assignments, strong instruction, deep engagement, and teachers with high expectations. Unfortunately, these findings were even more pronounced for the most vulnerable students: students of color, those from low-income families, those with mild to moderate disabilities, and English language learners.

    Associated Root Causes:

    Opportunity to Strengthen Lesson & Curricular Planning: Teachers start with grade-level content and standards to use as the anchor for their instruction. Students need to engage with grade-level material daily.

    Implementation Benchmarks Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Benchmark Name Description Start/End/Repeats Key Personnel Status
    Math + ELA Curriculum Fidelity By the end of Quarter 2, 90%+ math and ELA teachers implementing curriculum meet expectations for curriculum fidelity as defined by curriculum specific implementation fidelity tool. 08/16/2023
    12/15/2023
    		 Teachers, coaches, SD
    Lesson Planning By the end of Quarter 4, 80% of observed unit and lesson planning meetings meet the criteria for success. 08/16/2023
    06/05/2024
    		 Teachers, coaches, SD

    Action Steps Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Name Description Start/End Date Resource Key Personnel Status
    Lesson Plan Template
    		Our team has built a document to support lesson internalization for all teachers and is implementing professional development for teachers to help them with lesson planning 08/16/2023
    06/05/2024     		Lesson Planning Prep Document SD, ILT
    Regular Coaching Meetings
    		Teachers regularly meet with coaches to discuss unit internalization, lesson planning, or recent student data 08/16/2023
    06/05/2024     		Check-in Meeting Template Teachers, coaches
    Implementation of high-quality math and ELA curriculum
    		Math and ELA teachers will implement high-quality, grade-level curriculum daily so students regularly engage with rigorous material. 08/16/2023
    06/05/2024     		Curricular Resources Teachers, coaches

    Progress Monitoring: Student Target Setting

    Priority Performance Challenge : Need to Achieve Above-Average Growth for All Students

    Performance Indicator:

    		 Academic Growth

    Measures / Metrics:
    ANNUAL
    PERFORMANCE
    TARGETS
    2023-2024: Math MGP: 65 ELA MGP: 61
    2024-2025:

    INTERIM MEASURES FOR 2023-2024:

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