Colorado's Unified Improvement Plan for Schools

Basalt Elementary 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
  • Academic achievement ELA
    		•
  • Lack of impactful instruction in English for ELL students
  • Lack of student ownership of learning
  • SEL Challenges
    		•
  • Dual Language Excellence
  • Holding High Academic Expectations
  • Holding High Behavior Expectations
    		•
  • Academic Achievement Math
    		•
  • Lack of impactful instruction in English for ELL students
  • Lack of student ownership of learning
  • SEL Challenges
    		•
  • Dual Language Excellence
  • Holding High Academic Expectations
  • Holding High Behavior Expectations
    		•


    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



    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

    About BES: Basalt Elementary School serves approximately 500 students in grades Preschool through 4th grade in the heart of downtown Basalt, Colorado. BES has a diverse population of students. About 60% of the BES student population are Native Spanish speakers and English Language Learners. At Basalt Elementary School, our mission is to partner with our community, to inspire students to thrive by building relationships, achieving academic success, and providing enriching learning opportunities in both Spanish and English.  Our Dual Language program is a wonderful and growing program for our families and students as well as many other rich learning experiences for all of our students.

    The Dual Language model has been part of the Basalt Elementary School programming for 26 years. Over
    those years it has been modified and improved to support the learning needs of all students. The Dual
    Language program is an option for enrolling families.
    The Dual Language Program is a form of education in which students learn in both Spanish and English. The
    program goals are as follows:
    ● High Academic Achievement
    ● Biliteracy and Bilingualism
    ● Sociocultural competency
    BES is a two-way (bilingual) 50/50 or partial immersion program. Our goal is to enroll a balance of native
    English speakers and native Spanish speakers in the homeroom class. We are a program that focuses on
    teaching 50% of the time in English and 50% of the time in Spanish. Research indicates that students who
    spend more time in the partner language do better in that language (Howard, Christian & Genesee, 2001;
    Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Lindholm-Leary & Howard, in press) and that language minority students (in the U.S>,
    those whose native language is not English) do better academically when their native language is supported
    and developed (Thomas & Collier, 1997; 2002). BES continues to use new research and strategies to improve
    the program for all students. Our school divides language through the daily schedule. Within the Dual
    Language Program, students speak and study in one language at a time, and the times for each language are
    explicitly defined. At BES, students rotate speaking one language one week and the other language the next
    week during Crew, Math, Science, Social Studies and Health in Kindergarten through the 4th grades. In grades
    K-2 students have equal parts Spanish Literacy and English Literacy daily. This will continue to move up each
    year throughout the grade levels. Next year (22-23) 3rd grade will continue to move up using this model as
    well. By 23-24 all grades K-4 will be using the same DL model aligned with best practices for dual language
    learning.

    In addition to high academic achievement and biliteracy/bilingualism, classrooms with dual language learners
    also benefit from each other’s language expertise and diverse cultural experiences throughout the school year.
    We are proud of our program at BES and believe that dual language learning is for all students - regardless of
    home language or learning styles.

     This program has been in our school community since 1994. Our school also offers many programs to meet student needs including a Gifted and Talented (PEAK) Program, Environmental Education with ACES (Aspen Center for  Environmental Education, Outdoor Education Field Trips, Grade Level Plays, Counseling Services, and English and Spanish Language instruction.

    Culture: Our school’s motto is ''ExPECT the BESt!'' which reflects our commitment to the Habits of a Scholar that are defined in the acronym ExPECT: Executive Skills, Perseverance, Enthusiasm, Compassion, and Teamwork.  These habits along with being a school that is trained in restorative practices, mindful strategies and tools all implemented in both English and Spanish that support the important relationships we build with each child in our school community.

    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

    We are celebrating our growth from Priority Improvement to Performance, and know that the attitude and culture of our school is one that supports further growth for our students.  
    It is exciting to see our MGP in Academic Growth at the 55th percentile.  Areas for us to improve are Academic Achievement, especially in Math with all sub-groups and ELA with English learners and Students with Disabilities.  According to CSLA we also have a lot of ground to make up with our 3rd to 4th grade Spanish Language Arts students.  According to our BOY DIBELS Composite score 51% of 4th grade students were below benchmark.

    Response to CDE feedback regarding READ Act to include READ Act data from last two years by grade level:
    These data show a significant number of students below benchmark at every grade every year.  Generally the number of students below benchmark goes down from BOY to EOY and the average score goes up over the year and from grade to grade.  
    DIBELS scores by grade from 20-21SY

    DIBELS 20-21
    DIBELS scores by grade from 21-22SY
    DIBELS scores by grade from 21-22SY

    DIBELS scores by grade from 22-23SY
    User-added image

    Trend Analysis

    Trend Direction: Increasing
    Performance Indicator Target: Academic Achievement (Status)

    Positive trend for BES students with IEPs. Students in 3rd and 4th grade with IEPs increased their CMAS overall mean scale score from 694.4 in 2019 to 712.3 in 2022. This is notable because even though this sub-population is trending upwards, we are still not meeting expectations.
    Trend Direction: Decreasing
    Performance Indicator Target: Academic Achievement (Status)

    Slight decline for English Learners, FRL Eligible Students and Minority Students. Students who are ELL fell in their overall CMAS mean scale score from 720.9 in 2018 to 708.5 in 2022. Students who are eligible for FRL fell in their overall CMAS mean scale score from 725.6 in 2018 to 713.4 in 2022. Minority students fell in their overall CMAS mean scale score from 724.5 in 2018 to 711.3 in 2022. This is a notable trend because none of these sub-populations are meeting expectations.
    Trend Direction: Stable
    Performance Indicator Target: Academic Achievement (Status)

    DIBELS scores holding stable. DIBELS scores for grades K-4 are generally stable with slight reduction in the number of students below grade level from BOY and MOY to EOY over a 2 year period. In the 20-21SY We had 47.6% of our kindergarten students at or above benchmark and at EOY 48.6% of our fourth graders were at or above benchmark. In the 21-22SY had 25.2% of our kindergarten students at or above benchmark and at EOY 55.7% of our fourth graders were at or above benchmark. So far this year we have 36.0% of our kindergarteners at or above benchmark.
    Trend Direction: Stable then decreasing
    Performance Indicator Target: Academic Achievement (Status)

    Slight decline for English Language Learners. According to CMAS ELA, BES third and fourth grades who are English Language Learners have decreased from 724.4 in 2019 to 720.9 in 2022.  This is notable because it dropped us below "approaching" for English Learners and FRL Eligible students.
    Trend Direction: Increasing
    Performance Indicator Target: Academic Growth

    Positive Growth Trend for All Students ELA. BES third and fourth grades are on a significant increase in MGP for academic growth in CMAS ELA from the 27th percentile in 2019 to the 55th percentile in 2022.  This is a notable trend because this 18 point jump is significant and indicates benefits of changes made by school. 
    Trend Direction: Increasing
    Performance Indicator Target: Academic Growth

    Positive Growth Trend in Access. BES students (K-4) who take ACCESS assessments showed a positive trend from the 55th percentile in 2019 to the 61st percentile in 2022 for all students.  Students FRL Eligible went from the 60th percentile to the 64th percentile.  Students not qualifing for FRL went from the 38th percentile to the 57th percentile in the same time.

    Additional Trend Information:


    Please see BOY data reflection here.
     

    Priority Performance Challenge and Associated Root Cause

    Priority Performance Challenge:  Academic achievement ELA

    CMAS Language - Third and fourth grade students who are English Language Learners did not meet expectations.


    Root Cause: Lack of impactful instruction in English for ELL students

    English language learners were not accessing instruction in English in subjects taught in English.

    Root Cause Category: Instruction

    Root Cause: Lack of student ownership of learning

    Students were not feeling connected to their own academic achievement data.

    Root Cause: SEL Challenges

    Due to a lack of consistency in behavior expectations, time and resources were being spent on behavior corrections rather than rigorous instruction.

    Root Cause Category: Behavior Systems


    Priority Performance Challenge:  Academic Achievement Math

    CMAS Math - All Students were approaching expectations, however English Learners, FRL Eligible Students and Minority Students, and Students with Disabilities did not meet expectations.


    Root Cause: Lack of impactful instruction in English for ELL students

    English language learners were not accessing instruction in English in subjects taught in English.

    Root Cause Category: Instruction

    Root Cause: Lack of student ownership of learning

    Students were not feeling connected to their own academic achievement data.

    Root Cause: SEL Challenges

    Due to a lack of consistency in behavior expectations, time and resources were being spent on behavior corrections rather than rigorous instruction.

    Root Cause Category: Behavior Systems

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

    Academic Progress As noted in the narrative, Basalt Elementary has a long history of being a pioneer in dual language education.  After completing a self assessment on the current, best practices of dual language, we identified that our students would benefit academically from this change we are making to heterogeneous language groupings.  This more rigorous model for students will not only strengthen their literacy skills in English and Spanish, but also help our English Language Learners understand other content areas better.
    Social Emotional Wellness Similar to many students, our students returned from the pandemic with more SEL concerns than cohorts in previous years.  For our students to reach the high levels of academic achievement we expect, we need to create a learning environment that is both nurturing and rigorous.

    While our growth data indicate positive impact on student learning, the achievement of our students is still lagging.  We believe that our dual language model is the most effective model to have sustained high levels of student achievement.  Therefore, we are investing significant time, money and energy to improve our dual language in three areas:
    • Best practices in dual language
    • Holding high academic expectations
    • Holding high behavior expectations.

    How were the Root Causes were selected and verified:

    These root causes were selected and verified through our Building Leadership Team and District Administration.

    Action and Progress Monitoring Plans

    Major Improvement Strategy and Action Plan

    >

    Holding High Behavior Expectations

    What will success look like:

    		A learning environment that is nurturing and rigorous with clear, common expectations. School wide we will have a matrix that explains common behavior expectations and hand signals for bathroom requests, water requests and reminders to be "listening Longhorns". We will also have public celebrations for students who meet their individual goals. We will also have high frequency positive recognition notes for students to take to families.

    Describe the research/evidence base supporting the strategy:

    		PBIS is approved by CDE, additionally we have historically taken advantage of several SEL models. Our students will benefit from consistency under one model.

    Associated Root Causes:

    SEL Challenges: Due to a lack of consistency in behavior expectations, time and resources were being spent on behavior corrections rather than rigorous instruction.

    Implementation Benchmarks Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Benchmark Name Description Start/End/Repeats Key Personnel Status
    Common behavior expectations Set of expected behaviors for all locations across the school. 09/01/2022
    01/10/2023
    		 Action Team
    Common hand signals School wide consistent hand signals for communication. 09/01/2022
    10/03/2022
    Monthly     		Action Team
    Schoolwide recognition for positive behavior School wide system to encourage and recognize students meeting expectations 09/01/2022
    05/24/2023
    		 Action Team

    Action Steps Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Name Description Start/End Date Resource Key Personnel Status
    Recognition system
    		Develop a school wide system of recognition of students who are meeting expectations and to encourage those behaviors. 09/01/2022
    01/10/2023     		"Teach Like a Champion" Action Team
    Social Emotional Wellness
    		Following discussion by Action Team, whole school will implement hand signals to align expectations. Also create a matrix of behavior expectations and system of recognition when those expectations are met. 09/01/2022
    10/03/2022     		BES Goals Tracker Action Team
    Common Behavior Expectations
    		Action Team develops common schoolwide behavior expectations for all locations in school. 09/01/2022
    01/10/2023     		"Teach Like a Champion" Action Team
    > >

    Holding High Academic Expectations

    What will success look like:

    		Consistent use of (90% of observed classrooms) effective learning targets in all classrooms. Every student will have data binders that hold small amounts of critical progress monitoring data. Students will know and understand their progress represented in the data in the binders. From the BES student poplulation 80% of students will be recognized for their individual goal acheivment. Positive Longhorn Notes will be handed out with a high level of frequency.

    Describe the research/evidence base supporting the strategy:

    		We are basing most of our work in this strategy on the book, Leaders of their own Learning from Expeditionary Learning supports

    Strategy Category:

    		School or District Climate and Culture

    Associated Root Causes:

    Lack of impactful instruction in English for ELL students: English language learners were not accessing instruction in English in subjects taught in English.

    Implementation Benchmarks Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Benchmark Name Description Start/End/Repeats Key Personnel Status
    Data binders Every student will have an individual data binder with their academic progress. Students will understand and take ownership of their data and reference it during the year. 12/16/2022
    06/01/2024
    		 Clsm Teachers & students
    Learning Targets Visible, student articulated LT in lessons with 90% consistency 12/16/2022
    06/01/2024
    		 Admin & coaches
    Individual student goal setting At least 80% of our students will be recognized for meeting their goal (ring the LH bell, have Poloriod on the wall). 10/16/2023
    06/01/2024
    		 counselor, teachers

    Action Steps Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Name Description Start/End Date Resource Key Personnel Status
    Learning Targets
    		Clsm observations tracking LT 09/01/2022
    06/01/2024     		SchoolMintGrow Admin & coaches
    Data binders
    		Students trained on use & purpose of binders with periodic check ins. 10/01/2022
    06/01/2024     		binders, assessment data clsm teachers, interventionists
    Individual Goal Setting
    		Each student will write a goal. When they meet their goal they come to the office, ring the LH Bell and have their Poloroid hung on the wall 09/01/2023
    06/01/2024     		goal setting time for teacher and student teachers, office staff, counselor
    > >

    Dual Language Excellence

    What will success look like:

    		Students will be heterogeneously grouped by language. Teachers will use effective translanguaging strategies. Coaching team will be tracking frequency and use of these strategies during walkthroughs with data recorded school wide (EOY goal of at least 2 strategies 90% of observations). All students especially English Learners will be better able to learn in their L2. BES student average score in CMAS ELA scores, will meet expectaions (740 scaled score) and in CMAS Math BES student average score will be meet expectations (734). Update: We met our goal according to CMAS ELA 2023 BES student average was 742 (goal of 740). And in CMAS Math 2023 we were close (728) to meeting our goal of 734. New goals for 2024 CMAS ELA 744 math 734. For L1 Spanish speakers, our goal is 730 ELA and 720 Math.

    Describe the research/evidence base supporting the strategy:

    		Guiding Principals of Dual Language -Center for Applied Linguistics. Book study of Teaching for Biliteracy. Amy Fairbanks PD one ERW a month all year.

    Strategy Category:

    		Continuous Improvement

    Associated Root Causes:

    Lack of impactful instruction in English for ELL students: English language learners were not accessing instruction in English in subjects taught in English.

    Implementation Benchmarks Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Benchmark Name Description Start/End/Repeats Key Personnel Status
    Common DL strategies Through the DL Action Team, identify 3-5 strategies that are implemented school wide. 09/01/2023
    12/15/2023
    		 DL Action Team
    Hosting DLENM Outside consultants gathering information (walkthroughs, interviews, etc) 09/12/2023
    09/13/2023
    		 Admin & coaches and DLENM
    Implement recommnedations After reviewing the findings and recommendations of DLENM, we will prioritize and implement the highest leverage strategies at BES 10/16/2023
    06/01/2024
    		 Admin & coaches

    Action Steps Associated with Major Improvement Strategy

    Name Description Start/End Date Resource Key Personnel Status
    Hosting DLENM
    		DLENM will be paid to be at BES for walkthoughs, observations and interviews with families, teachers, students and admin and staff. 09/12/2023
    09/13/2023     		DLENM
    Common DL Strategies
    		DL Action Team will identify 3-5 DL strategies that will be effective for all classrooms. 09/15/2023
    06/01/2024     		DLENM report, "Teaching for Biliteracy" DL Action Team
    Implement recommnedations
    		With Admin & Coaches Team and BLT, analyze and implement recommendations. 10/16/2023
    06/01/2024     		Report from DLENM Admin & coaches and BLT

    Progress Monitoring: Student Target Setting

    Priority Performance Challenge : Academic achievement ELA

    Performance Indicator:

    		 Academic Achievement (Status)

    Measures / Metrics:

    		 R
    ANNUAL
    PERFORMANCE
    TARGETS
    2023-2024: All students especially English Learners will be better able to learn in their L2. BES student average score in CMAS ELA scores, will meet expectaions (740 scaled score). Update: We met our goal according to CMAS ELA 2023 BES student average was 742 (goal of 740).
    2024-2025:

    INTERIM MEASURES FOR 2023-2024:

    Priority Performance Challenge : Academic Achievement Math

    Performance Indicator:

    		 Academic Achievement (Status)

    Measures / Metrics:

    		 M
    ANNUAL
    PERFORMANCE
    TARGETS
    2023-2024: All students especially English Learners will be better able to learn in their L2. BES student average score in CMAS Math BES student average score will be (734). Update: In CMAS Math 2023 we were close (728) to meeting our goal of 734.
    2024-2025:

    INTERIM MEASURES FOR 2023-2024:

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