Colorado's Unified Improvement Plan for Schools

Bear Canyon Elementary School UIP 2024-25

      
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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
  • Writing Achievement
    		•
  • Lack of a building-wide writing framework
    		•
  • Adopt and implement the thinkSRSD writing framework
    		•
  • Reasoning in Math
    		•
  • Dependence on teacher modeling leading to a lack of student discourse.
    		•
  • Implement the student-centered discourse instructional model
    		•


    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


    School Setting: Bear Canyon Elementary is a neighborhood PK-6th grade school. We are located in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Our school mission is to Unlock the Potential of our Students. Our vision statement: At BCE we value a positive culture and climate, high academic expectations, an inclusive community, and a student-centered approach. In order to unlock the potential of all Bear Canyon staff, students, and families, we will continue to foster relationships. We are committed to academic excellence with rigorous opportunities for growth, achieved through a collaborative, student-centered, community approach. As a school we value community, positive climate and culture, high academic expectations and a student centered approach. Preliminary School Performance Framework: Our 2024 SPF status is Performance Plan with a score of 89.3. Process for Developing the UIP: The BCE administration collaborates with the Building Leadership Team and School Accountability Committee to identify assessment instruments, academic gaps, resources needed, and professional development opportunities that support student and teacher growth. The collaborative effort drives continual improvement and vision.

    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


    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).


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

    Current Performance

    The decision to prioritize Writing Achievement and Mathematical Reasoning as key student performance challenges is based on data showing both areas consistently underperforming. Over the past three years, students have scored below 50% on writing assessments, with the majority failing to meet proficiency levels on state exams such as CMAS. On average, students have earned less than half the available points in the writing component, indicating a significant gap between their performance and grade-level expectations. Despite efforts to improve writing instruction, the data shows minimal growth, and writing remains a clear area of concern. When compared to district and state averages, our school’s writing scores continue to lag behind, further highlighting the need for focused improvement. Additionally, students struggle most with writing tasks that require analysis and synthesis, particularly in the ''Integration of Knowledge and Ideas'' domain.

    Similarly, Mathematical Reasoning scores have consistently fallen below 50%, reflecting students' difficulties in explaining their thinking, applying mathematical concepts in new contexts, and solving multi-step problems. The data reveals a widening gap between students’ basic computational skills and their ability to apply those skills to real-world problems. Over time, math reasoning scores have shown a downward trend, suggesting that current instructional practices are not adequately developing students' higher-order reasoning skills. Furthermore, when compared to other math domains like computation, reasoning consistently shows the weakest performance, with students scoring significantly below district and state averages. Both Writing Achievement and Mathematical Reasoning are persistent areas of underperformance, and addressing these will be crucial for improving overall student outcomes and closing achievement gaps.

    Priority Performance Challenge and Associated Root Cause

    Priority Performance Challenge:  Writing Achievement

    Area of Focus: English/Language Arts achievement


    Root Cause: Lack of a building-wide writing framework

    The root cause of school-wide writing scores below 50% is the absence of a cohesive, school-wide framework to support writing instruction. This lack of structure leads to inconsistent instructional practices, as teachers may employ varying approaches to writing, resulting in gaps in foundational skills and knowledge across grade levels. Students may not receive comprehensive exposure to different writing genres, such as narrative, expository, and persuasive writing, which hinders their overall development in writing skills. Additionally, without a standardized assessment framework, it becomes challenging to measure student progress effectively; inconsistent rubrics and assessments prevent teachers from accurately identifying student needs and tracking growth.

    Root Cause Category: Instruction


    Priority Performance Challenge:  Reasoning in Math

    Area of Focus: Math achievement


    Root Cause: Dependence on teacher modeling leading to a lack of student discourse.

    The root cause of math reasoning scores below 50% is a heavy dependence on teacher modeling, which has resulted in a lack of student discourse during lessons. As a result, students may struggle to internalize mathematical concepts and develop critical reasoning skills. They often miss out on the chance to learn from their peers, who can provide diverse perspectives and problem-solving approaches.

    Root Cause Category: Instruction

    Action and Progress Monitoring Plans

    Major Improvement Strategy and Action Plan

    > >

    Adopt and implement the thinkSRSD writing framework

    Describe the research/evidence base supporting the strategy:

    		CMAS data reveals a trend: while we are continuing to increase our writing scores over the past three years, there are still many students scoring below proficiency in writing, with significant variability across different grade levels and classrooms. This inconsistency indicates that while some students perform well, others struggle to meet expectations, suggesting a lack of a cohesive instructional approach to writing across the school. Additionally, classroom writing samples further highlight this need for improvement. Many samples show limited development of ideas, weak organizational structures, and insufficient use of writing conventions. These issues point to gaps in students’ writing skills that could be addressed through a structured framework like SRSD, which focuses on teaching specific strategies for planning, drafting, and revising. Together, the inconsistent CMAS scores and the analysis of classroom writing samples demonstrate a clear need for a comprehensive writing framework. By implementing SRSD, we can provide students with the tools and strategies they need to improve their writing skills systematically, leading to more consistent and higher-quality outcomes.

    Strategy Category:

    		Research-based Instructional Practices

    Associated Root Causes:

    Lack of a building-wide writing framework: The root cause of school-wide writing scores below 50% is the absence of a cohesive, school-wide framework to support writing instruction. This lack of structure leads to inconsistent instructional practices, as teachers may employ varying approaches to writing, resulting in gaps in foundational skills and knowledge across grade levels. Students may not receive comprehensive exposure to different writing genres, such as narrative, expository, and persuasive writing, which hinders their overall development in writing skills. Additionally, without a standardized assessment framework, it becomes challenging to measure student progress effectively; inconsistent rubrics and assessments prevent teachers from accurately identifying student needs and tracking growth.

    Implementation Benchmarks Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Benchmark Name Description Start/End/Repeats Key Personnel Status
    Weekly use of the thinkSRSD writing strategies used across the building

    		Building Leadership

    Action Steps Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Name Description Start/End Date Resource Key Personnel Status
    a05PU0000032bJV
    		05/01/2024
    08/01/2024     		Assistant Principal
    a05PU0000032bbF
    		07/01/2024
    08/12/2024     		Principal
    > >

    Implement the student-centered discourse instructional model

    Describe the research/evidence base supporting the strategy:

    		The CMAS data reveals a concerning trend that emphasizes the need for focused improvement on math reasoning within our School Improvement Plan. While we have seen continued growth in math modeling scores, reasoning scores remain below 50%, indicating a significant area for development. This discrepancy suggests that while students are becoming more adept at applying mathematical concepts, they struggle with the underlying reasoning necessary to solve problems effectively.

    Strategy Category:

    		Research-based Instructional Practices

    Associated Root Causes:

    Dependence on teacher modeling leading to a lack of student discourse.: The root cause of math reasoning scores below 50% is a heavy dependence on teacher modeling, which has resulted in a lack of student discourse during lessons. As a result, students may struggle to internalize mathematical concepts and develop critical reasoning skills. They often miss out on the chance to learn from their peers, who can provide diverse perspectives and problem-solving approaches.

    Implementation Benchmarks Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Benchmark Name Description Start/End/Repeats Key Personnel Status
    Weekly application of the discourse model

    		Building Leadership

    Action Steps Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Name Description Start/End Date Resource Key Personnel Status
    a05PU0000032bbG
    		07/01/2024
    08/16/2024     		Principal
    a05PU0000032Vag
    		09/01/2024
    08/12/2024     		Principal

    Progress Monitoring: Student Target Setting

    Priority Performance Challenge : Writing Achievement

    Performance Indicator:

    Measures / Metrics:
    ANNUAL
    PERFORMANCE
    TARGETS
    2024-2025: Students will average at least 47% of the points possible on the CMAS ELA Writing Overall Subclaim.
    2025-2026:

    INTERIM MEASURES FOR 2024-2025:

    Priority Performance Challenge : Reasoning in Math

    Performance Indicator:

    Measures / Metrics:
    ANNUAL
    PERFORMANCE
    TARGETS
    2024-2025: Students will average at least 46% of the points possible on the CMAS MATH Reasoning Domain.
    2025-2026:

    INTERIM MEASURES FOR 2024-2025:

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