Click here for a colorful pdf

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Excellent Teachers - a feature on KC Mandeville

Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) - Professional Development

Student Achievement Results

November Bond Question

All Star Alumni of Eagle County Schools

A Letter from the Superintendent

"Our focus on providing excellent instruction is improving student achievement."

Dear Parents & Community Members,

This fall marks the beginning of our fifth year of implementation of the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). We are pleased with the results of our hard work as evidenced by the achievement gains of our students. Don't miss the article on page three of this newsletter that highlights the increase in student achievement attributable to TAP. There is no question that our focus on providing excellent instruction is improving student achievement.

A couple of weeks ago an article appeared in The Vail Daily titled, "Some teachers don't talk TAP." It is disappointing that some teachers are not willing to speak on the record about the program, but it is not surprising. Interestingly, I have had many frank discussions with teachers, some who believe the program is resulting in very positive change, and some who have issues with aspects of TAP. We do listen to constructive feedback from teachers and have refined areas of the program as a result of those conversations. There are teachers who simply disagree with the philosophy of performance pay and remain resistant to change. The tension this creates is a difficult, but normal, part of dealing with a systemic change of this magnitude.

What most teachers do agree on is the value of professional development provided on an on-going basis as part of TAP. We ask a lot of our teachers and feel strongly that it is our obligation to provide them with the instructional strategies and skills to meet these demands. This newsletter will tell you more about the training our teachers receive.

Please feel free to contact me at 328-6321 or at jbrendza@eagleschools.net.

Best regards,

John Brendza

Superintendent

Excellent teachers make the difference!

Kathleen "KC" Mandeville's first love was art. She received her Bachelors of Fine Art from Ft. Lewis College in 1993. After a year of painting for a gallery in Durango, she found a new outlet for her creativity - the classroom. She now begins every fall at Gypsum Elementary with a fresh new canvas...of smiling 3rd graders. And there is no question that the result is a masterpiece!

"I really care about every child in my classroom, and they know it," says KC, who is beginning her eighth year in teaching. "It is important to have fun while learning. Kids need to laugh a lot and if it takes me being silly, I'll do it."

All joking aside, KC gets results. "For the past three years, KC's classroom not only met but exceeded their student achievement growth targets," says Mitch Forsberg, Principal of Gypsum Elementary. "KC has a reputation for excellence within the district. Before I became the Principal at Gypsum, I heard about KC when 100 percent of her students were Proficient or Advanced on CSAP. I'm not sure that has ever been done again," added Forsberg.

KC is quick to credit great team-work for the high achievement in Gypsum Elementary's third grade. "We have a really great third grade team and our success comes from collaboration," says KC. "Last year, one of our goals was to focus on improving student learning of main ideas and summarizing. With the guidance of our Master Teachers, we worked as a team of 2nd and 3rd grade teachers to develop specific instructional strategies and activities to help children grasp the concept. By working together, we work smarter," added KC.

KC says that someday she may want to be a Mentor Teacher, but for right now she is happiest as a Career Teacher. Her husband, Eric Mandeville, is the new Assistant Principal at Eagle Valley High and they have a two-year-old daughter. "One new career move in the family plus a toddler is enough right now," laughs KC.

There are certainly plenty of current and former students and their parents who are thrilled to have KC at Gypsum Elementary. Erika Kelly is now an 8th grader at Gypsum Creek Middle School, but Ms. Mandeville is still her favorite teacher. "Ms. Mandeville helped me learn to be more confident and to be more comfortable talking in front of the class," says Erika. "She was very patient and she made her lessons fun and creative."

We are lucky to have teachers like KC who make a lasting impact on the lives of countless students.

Professional development is an important part of the Teacher Advancement Program

This is the second in a 4-part series of articles about Eagle County Schools' on-going efforts to have a highly qualified and well-trained teacher in every classroom, everyday. This fall marks the fifth year of implementation of the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), a school reform effort which is designed to increase student performance through effective classroom instruction.

TAP is comprised of four key elements, and each of these elements will be highlighted from August through November.

1. Multiple Career Paths (August)

2. Ongoing, Applied Professional Growth (September)

3. Instructionally-Focused Accountability (October)

4. Pay for Performance Awards (November)

Ongoing, Applied Professional Growth

Before the implementation of TAP, teachers and principals didn't have time within the school day to learn new techniques and strategies to help them become more effective teachers. Our professional development for teachers was conducted through workshops, courses and conferences designed and led by "experts" from outside and inside the school. This did not allow teachers time to address what their students specifically needed in order to achieve academic growth. Also, this method of professional development did not provide ongoing assistance to teachers in their classrooms as they implemented new instructional strategies.

With TAP, the school schedule is structured to provide a minimum of 120 minutes of pupil-free time each week during the regular school day. During this time, teachers and administrators focus on specific instructional strategies and student work to effectively improve student achievement. This time is called a "Cluster" meeting.

Cluster meetings focus on increasing student achievement

Each Cluster meeting is facilitated by a Master Teacher and/or a Mentor Teacher. The make-up of these groups varies from school to school to meet individual building goals. In many elementary schools, the Clusters are made up of similar grade levels (e.g. all 1st and 2nd grade teachers). In middle and high schools, Clusters are sometimes set up by department (e.g. all math teachers).

Master and/or Mentor Teachers present new learning strategies to their group of teachers in Cluster based on school goals for student achievement. The strategies presented represent research-based best practices that have proven to be successful in other classrooms.

Making sure students are learning

One of the major shifts that has occurred with TAP is the shift from a focus on 'teaching' to a focus on 'learning.' Before new concepts are taught, teachers do pre-assessments to see what students already know. That way they can individualize teaching for each student. Then, after the lesson, students are assessed to make sure they have learned the concept before moving on to something new. This helps keep students from slipping through the cracks.

Multiple Career Paths

See the August Newsletter at www.eagleschools.net for more information.

MASTER TEACHER

• Teach 30 percent of the day
• Work additional 20 days a year
• Oversees professional development of 14 to 16 teachers
• Facilitate curriculum and assessment planning
• Team teach with colleagues & provide demonstration lessons
• Conduct teacher evaluations

MENTOR TEACHER

• Teach 70 percent of the day
• Work additional 10 days a year
• Oversees professional development of 4 to 6 teachers
• Develop benchmark lessons and team teach with colleagues
• Demonstrate model instructional skills
• Conduct teacher evaluations

Research shows that the most important factor effecting student achievement is the quality of the teacher, not the size of the class. However, Eagle County Schools wants the best of both - great teachers and low class sizes. Eagle County Schools' class sizes are in the lowest one-third in the state.

• Elementary class sizes average from 16 to 26 students, varying by school and grade level.
• Middle school class sizes average 22 students.
• Battle Mountain High and Eagle Valley High class sizes average 23 students.

Q&A

What are students doing while teachers are in Cluster meetings?

In most schools, all Clusters do not meet at the same time. For instance, the 1st and 2nd grade Cluster may meet at 9:00 on Tuesdays and the 3rd and 4th grade Cluster may meet at 1:00 on Wednesdays. This allows school schedules to be arranged so that Cluster meetings can take place while students are involved in their "Specials" classes such as art, music or P.E.

What kinds of things do teachers learn in Cluster?

At the beginning of each year, the leadership team in each school establishes school goals. These goals are based on an analysis of student achievement data from the previous year, which helps the school to determine areas where they need to improve their instructional techniques. For instance, data may indicate that a majority of students in the school are showing a weakness in reading comprehension, leading the school to set this as a goal for improvement.

Once the school goal has been set, Master Teachers develop a series of training sessions to provide new, research-based strategies to meet the goal. After a discussion of the teaching strategy in Cluster, teachers try it in their classrooms and come back to the next Cluster meeting to discuss how it worked. Master and Mentor Teachers sometimes teach demonstration lessons of a new strategy for the other teachers to watch and evaluate before trying it out on their own.

The Results

English Proficient students made academic gains from 2005 to 2006.

The district has recently been criticized for disaggregating our achievement scores to look at the performance of English Proficient students versus the performance of those students who haven't mastered the language yet. The reason we do this is to provide the public with the most accurate view of our student achievement gains as measured by CSAP. The CSAP test is in English. In order for the test results to be a valid representation of what a student has learned, the student must be able to read and write in English. For a Spanish-speaking student who has just arrived in the United States, CSAP is not a valid representation of what they know. It is important to note that English Proficient students are an ethnically diverse group of students, and nearly 30 percent of them are Hispanic. This includes Hispanic students who are native English-speakers and native Spanish-speakers who have attained English Proficiency.

Spanish-speaking students are becoming English Proficient more rapidly.

Our mission is to educate every student for success, and that includes all of our second language learners. Through more focused English language instruction, we have decreased the time it takes for students to gain English Proficiency. Colorado requires that English Language Learners take a test each year called CELA (Colorado English Language Assessment). We are pleased to report that approximately one-third of the students who were Non-English Proficient (NEP) in fall 2005 have moved to the Limited English Proficient (LEP) classification, and 22 percent of LEPs in fall 2005 are beginning this school year as Fluent English Proficient students.

Students achieved their individual growth targets in 22 out of 27 testing areas.

The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) assessments measure the academic growth of a student or group of students from fall to spring. Out of all of the testing areas (e.g. 5th grade math, 6th grade reading, etc), students, on average, achieved their growth targets in over 80 percent of the testing areas.

What do teachers say about Cluster meetings?

"Professional development is extremely important, as well as collaboration among teachers. It not only improves my own teaching, but most importantly, it increases student achievement!"

Elementary teacher, 2 years experience

"We are actually doing data analysis as a staff in Cluster meetings. It is great to see how kids are doing on an individual basis and talk about ways to increase their learning."

Middle school teacher, 14 years experience

"I was very negative about TAP at first, but after four years I know I'm a better teacher because of it. My kids are going further. I feel I have grown a lot as a teacher because we have learned new strategies in Cluster that are very useful and help us to become more insightful."

Elementary teacher, 6 years experience

"The part I like best is the time we set aside in our K-2 Cluster each week to collaborate and set student achievement goals. I feel like breaking it into grade levels because the collaboration is more powerful. I get more out of the meetings we have. Our Mentor is extremely organized. The first year of TAP, I wasn't as positive because it just felt like we were lost in Cluster. It took a couple of years of fine tuning, but it has been fun to watch it grow. I remember not wanting to go to Cluster the first year and now I look forward to it."

Elementary teacher, 7 years experience

"The staff development is key. It is in-house and can be tailored to the needs of the school and the specific needs of grade levels. It's not just a one shot deal. It is on-going and interactive. You can talk about an approach in Cluster, try it in your classroom, come back to Cluster and share your thoughts and ideas."

Elementary teacher, 30 plus years experience

Bond Question Certified by Board of Education

On August 23, the Eagle County Schools Board of Education certified a $128 million bond question for the November 2006 ballot that includes the following projects:

• Replacing Battle Mountain High School with a new 1,000 student facility on Miller Ranch.
• Remodeling Eagle Valley High School to meet the same educational specifications as the new Battle Mountain High School.
• Repairing facilities throughout the district with projects ranging from upgrading heating and ventilation systems in older buildings to increasing energy efficiency to replacing roofs.
• Building a new elementary school on Miller Ranch.
• Improving technology infrastructure and instructional capabilities across the district.
• Purchasing land on the west end of the valley for future school facility needs.
• Remodeling of the existing Battle Mountain facility for future educational uses.

What will it cost?

A $128 million bond will cost an Eagle County home owner $2.57 per month, per $100,000 in property value. For example, the projected tax impact for a home with a market value of $400,000 would be about $10.28 per month.

For a Fact Sheet about the bond question, visit our website at www.eagleschools.net.

ECS Alumni: WE ROCK!

Successful....

Tess Eklund - BMHS '01

Vail Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, EMT

Vail, CO

Robert Cuevas - EVHS '97

Berry Creek Middle School, Principal

Edwards, CO

Eric Dorf - BMHS '88

University of Virginia Health System, Chief Resident in Orthopaedic Surgery

Charlottesville, VA

Chris Jarnot - EVHS '85

Vail Resorts, Senior VP of Marketing & Sales

Broomfield, CO

Travis Potter - BMHS '01

Goldman Sacs, Analyst

New York, NY

Lacy Ramunno - EVHS '02

Garden Creations

Avon, CO

John Buckley - BMHS '94

Peeples Ink Public Relations, Senior Client Services Mgr.

Vail, CO

THIS MONTH'S FOCUS...Justin Potter

Now:

Assistant Estimator

RA Nelson & Associates, Vail

Then:

Eagle County Schools:

Meadow Mountain Elementary

Eagle County Charter Academy

Battle Mountain High, 2002 Graduate

College:

Cornell University, 2006 Graduate

"In my experience at Battle Mountain High School, I would have to say that I remember Dave Cope's class the best. Not only was he purely entertaining, he obviously cared so much about his students. One assignment in particular that stands out in my mind was when everyone in the class had to teach a chapter from the history book. My particular chapter happened to be very similar to one of the essays on the AP History exam, which taught me that you never know when your hard work will pay off."

Do you know Eagle County Schools' alumni? Let us know how to get in touch with them. Email us at: communications@eagleschools.net.