Archived Information

Assessment/Accountability
School and District Accountability and Assistance

Panel Report
Compass School Candidate Review
Cobbet Elementary School - Lynn Public Schools

Introduction

The Program

The Exemplary Schools Program is one part of the Massachusetts School and District Accountability System. The purpose of the Exemplary Schools Program is to recognize and celebrate improvement in Massachusetts' schools, and to disseminate information and encourage networking and sharing of ideas, effective practices, and models for success. The program is intended to provide a means for the se schools to share their expertise with other schools in the state.

Based on the School Performance and Improvement Ratings issued in January 2001, and continued and/or significant improvement on the 2001 MCAS test results, the Department identified 175 schools that exceeded their expectations for improvement and invited them to participate in the program by applying for consideration as candidates to serve as 2002 Commonwealth Compass Schools. Of the 84 schools who chose to apply by submitting information on the initiatives they have undertaken to improve student performance that they think have had the most positive impact on their results seven high schools, eight elementary schools, and three middle schools were selected as finalists and scheduled for an on-site review to determine their willingness and capacity to serve. Data and information gathered from the applications and the review process of these schools will be published in a report this fall.

Schools selected to serve as 2002 Commonwealth Compass Schools will receive special recognition and a $10,000 grant to support the participation of their administrators and staff in information sharing and dissemination activities over the next year.

The Report

This report summarizes the findings and analyses of the visiting team based on their March 14, 2002 site visit review of the Cobbet Elementary School. The report will assist the Commissioner in determining which schools from among those visited will be designated to serve as Compass Schools in the state's new Exemplary Schools Program.

The review panel evaluated data and written information on the school's performance and improvement efforts, visited the school, and met with school and district officials in order to answer the following two key questions:

1. Is this school using effective improvement initiatives that could be replicated in other similarly profiled schools?
2. Are the conditions in place for this school to serve as a model of effective practices and successful improvement initiatives?

The panel's responses to these two questions frame the report. The findings and conclusions presented here are the product of analysis, discussion, and observation, and are based on the evidence made available to the panel before and during their visit. A list of panel members who participated in the Cobbet School review is provided in Appendix A. A detailed schedule of the panel's activities is provided in Appendix B.

Cobbet School Profile

The Cobbet School is one of nineteen elementary schools in Lynn. In 2001, 548 students were enrolled within a PreK - 5 grade configuration. Cobbet identified 42.5% of its 532 students as Hispanic, 21% as Asian, and 17.5% as white. More than eight out of ten students (83%) students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, and over one half (55%) spoke a first language other than English. The school identified 21% of its students as Limited English Proficient in 2001.

In 2000 (the most recent attendance data available to the panel), the school's daily attendance rate was 95.4 percent, with students missing an average of eight to nine days per school year. Six students received out-of-school suspensions, and there were no in-school-suspensions or exclusions in 2000. The retention rate at the Cobbet School increased from 4.7% in 1998 to 7% in 2000. Thirty-eight students were retained in grade in 2000.

Staffing

Cobbet students are taught by 37 full time teachers for an approximate pupil-to teacher ratio of 20 to 1. There are 9 teacher aides. The central staff consists of the Principal and two instructional facilitators. The school reported that all of its full-time teachers, except one, were certified to teach in their current positions; 15 have a master's degree, and 8 have multiple certifications.

Cobbet MCAS Results

The Cobbet School's overall performance category for Cycle I was Very Low, and the school Met or Exceeded its improvement expectations for 1998-2000 by achieving a 1999/2000 average score that was 6.5 points higher than the 1998 baseline score. The school demonstrated significant improvement between 1998 and 2001 in English Language Arts, decreasing the number of students in the Warning category from 56% to 35% and increasing the numbers of students scoring in the Proficient and Advanced categories from 0 to 18%. Results in Mathematics during this same period of time saw declines in the Warning category from 77% to 39% and an increase in the Proficient and Advanced categories from 0 to 11%. All Special Education students participated in the MCAS in 1998 and 2001

Panel Reponses To The Key Questions

KEY QUESTION 1: Is This School Using Effective Improvement Initiatives That Could Be Replicated In Other Similarly Profiled Schools?

Cobbet Elementary school is using effective improvement initiatives that could be replicated in other similar schools so long as the same degree of district level support is provided.

A. Which improvement initiatives have had the greatest impact on student performance results?

District and school leadership, as well as faculty and support staff, attribute improved student performance to an intensive district level instructional focus in English language arts and mathematics. Initiatives in these areas have been well planned and uniformly implemented with appropriate professional development support. Specifically, the Cobbet School faculty and administration feel that the following improvement initiatives have had the greatest impact on student performance results:

• John Collins Writing Program designed to improve student writing in all content areas and at all grade levels. Teachers given 30 hours of training with follow-up support.
• Growing with Mathematics (Mimosa) is an activity-based, language-oriented approach to Mathematics. There are monthly grade level meetings and support from the Instructional Facilitator.
• Wilson Phonics is a direct teaching approach to decoding skills. A Wilson Mentor teacher is assigned to support the teacher.
• Balanced Literacy through Reading Excellence Act. The on-site Literacy Coach provides teacher support.
• Science Kits provide hands on learning experiences for students. Support is provided to teachers by the Instructional Facilitator.
• Instructional Facilitator supports the teachers in curriculum implementation and Best Practices in teaching.
• All-day Kindergarten-assessment results are positive and teachers report improved student readiness for the first grade.
• Accountability--the District personnel, school leadership, faculty and staff agree that strong accountability throughout the system has insured a better implementation of instructional initiatives in the classroom.

Assessments made as part of program initiatives show improvement in student achievement. Anecdotal evidence from teachers and the Leadership Team also indicate student improvement. While the overall MCAS ratings for grade 4 remain in the very low performance category, the school has exceeded the improvement target in l999 and 2000 over the l998 baseline data. The 2001 ELA MCAS scores also show improvement in all categories but are not comparable to previous years' results as they are based on a new set of performance standards.

B. How did the school plan their improvement initiatives and put them into practice?

During the interview with the District Superintendent and Acting Director of Staff Development and Instructional Support, it was noted that an in-depth analysis of test results began in the Lynn School District several years ago and showed District-wide problems with student performance in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Based on this analysis, the District adopted a long range approach to school improvement by implementing, over a period of years, district wide initiatives in literacy, math and science. There was, in fact, a cycle of adoption which included training in implementation, assessment of results and accountability for student improvement by teachers and administrators. Programs were introduced gradually and always with abundant professional development. The John Collins Writing Program began about six years ago. The Math program - Growing with Mathematics - was piloted in l998 in grades K-2, K-3 in l999, K-4 in 2000 and in pre- K-5 in 2001.

A three-year grant for Balanced Literacy provided by the Reading Excellence Act began in April, 2000. Science kits began in l999. In the fall of 2000, three classes of all-day Kindergarten were started at Cobbet. Since the fall of l998, the Cobbet School has had an on-site Instructional Facilitator to assist teachers. The facilitator has received training in Collins Writing, Mimosa Math and hands on Science kits. The Cobbet school facilitator participated in the work aligning these programs with the State frameworks.

From the beginning, adoption of these programs was mandated and support by the district. Since 1999, the school system has supported two staff development days per year to provide site based training in subjects such as examining student work, analyzing data to improve student performance and writing a school improvement plan. These new skills have enabled the Cobbet faculty to analyze test data on their own, to see the rationale behind the programs adopted and to further refine the programs to meet their students' needs.

At this point in time, both the John Collins Writing and the Wilson Phonics programs are fully implemented, Mimosa Math is in its final implementation year and the Balanced Literacy model is in its beginning stages.

When the MCAS results are released each year, the District, together with the school leadership team, analyzes the data as a capacity-building activity. The school also monitors the effectiveness of the key initiatives in a variety of ways. Students in the John Collins Writing program have frequent writing assignments that are maintained in folders. Teachers are evaluated annually on the folder contents, and the principal is evaluated on the supervision of the teachers' work with the folders. Students in the Wilson Phonics program take a pre- and post-test each year in September and May as well as the Morrison McCall test. Data is submitted to the District office and reported back to the school the following September. A Wilson mentor also monitors teachers year round. In the Math program, the Instructional Facilitator models lessons and monitors folder accountability. There are also district wide grade level meetings monthly to monitor the math program.

There is general agreement in the school that next steps include continued item analysis of MCAS and other assessments on the school and district levels. In focus groups, teachers said that sustaining progress will depend on the administration and faculty continuing to be held accountable for student progress as they are now. The district also needs to remain consistent in its support of the curriculum, professional development and the funding for an Instructional Facilitator at the school.

C. Does the school think these initiatives can be successfully used in similar schools?

The school believes that these initiatives can be successfully implemented in similar schools. The school asserts that there is evidence that when correctly implemented programs such as the Collins Writing project, Growing with Math and the Wilson Phonics Program have been effective in increasing student achievement. The same is true of a Balanced Literacy program utilizing a Literacy Coach. Many schools also have Instructional Facilitators to support the classroom teachers' efforts.

In addition to the proven efficacy of the school's initiatives, the faculty identifies sustained district support for chosen approaches and adequate professional development to properly implement the adopted approaches in the classroom. The faculty states, and the team agrees, that the staggered implementation of district initiatives accompanied by continual training in implementation procedures would be necessary to insure replication in other similarly situated schools.

KEY QUESTION 2: Are the Conditions in Place for this School to Serve as a Model of Effective Practices and Successful Improvement Initiatives?

A. Do leadership and staff have a shared understanding and use a common language to describe the changes/initiatives that have led to improvements in teaching and learning?

Leadership and staff have a shared understanding and use a common language to describe the initiatives that have led to improvements in teaching and learning. This is remarkable since the principal is just finishing her second year at the school, and the initiatives are at various stages of implementation after five years. Credit must be given to the faculty, staff and principal for this consonance and also to the District office for seeking this match in the hiring process.

The faculty and administration speak confidently about the connection between improvements in ELA MCAS scores and the successful implementation of the Collins Writing program and the Wilson Phonics program. The faculty has also seen a positive difference in readiness to learn in their first grade students since the school started an all-day kindergarten.

The school's common language about improvement is likely to remain since the staff turnover rate is low. Collegiality is high among the staff and faculty and there are many formal and informal supports for new and experienced faculty alike such as the Literacy Coach and the Instructional Facilitator. The District office conducts summer professional development programs for all new staff to smooth the transition into the District-based initiatives at the schools. Its strong culture and induction process indicate that the school is well-prepared to communicate its work to a broad audience.

B. How effectively do leadership and staff articulate the connections between specific changes and improvement initiatives they have implemented, and the improvements made in teaching and learning?

The principal and teachers, in interviews and focus groups, have articulated that:

• all programs emphasize language concepts and vocabulary which are critical student needs
• the Growing with Math program emphasizes concept development and mathematics language
• MCAS item analysis leads to refinement of teaching practice to target student needs
• classroom observations to insure proper program implementation leads to changes in practice better targeted to students
• a continued cycle of data analysis by both the district and school leads to appropriate revisions of programs.

C. Is there a school wide focus on, and sufficient investment in, continued improvement of student performance?

Cobbet Elementary school serves children in the most densely populated area of Lynn. Other demographics provide unique challenges: 80% minority student population, 25% with a first language other than English, 90% eligibility for free and reduced lunch, 31% mobility rate.

However, in classroom observations, focus groups and interviews teachers have consistently expressed clear standards and high expectations for all their students. There is a visible focus on teaching and learning in the school. And for this reason and for the following reasons the team believes that these improvements are becoming imbedded in the climate and culture of the school and will continue to inform teaching practice.

In the absence of common planning periods the teachers have created a strong, informal support network to share best practices and discuss student work. They have impressed the team as a hardworking, caring and committed staff who exemplify teamwork. The leadership team provides a strong formal support to the instructional program.

Five staff members including the Principal, Instructional Facilitator, and Literacy Coach have completed Saphier and Gower's Research for Better Teaching 30 hour course, "Understanding Teaching One". Four more staff members will be taking the training in the spring and summer. The Lynn School District has implemented a district-wide curriculum to try to insure uniformity in content and to address student mobility issues.

A strong component of support for the teachers at Cobbet is the Instructional Facilitator who on a daily basis provides modeling, mentoring and professional development. The Principal has indicated that this position is of critical importance to the continued success of school improvement initiatives.

D. Does the school appear to have the capacity to host future visits?

Although the facilities are not ideal, the Cobbet School does appear to have the capacity to host site visits. The school is located in the former Lynn School District Department offices and the old town high school. The rooms are clean and neat and the walls are covered everywhere with student work. Interviews with all groups show a knowledge of and positive attitude toward the school improvement initiatives and see continued success as these initiatives are refined. Teachers opened their classrooms graciously for observations and willingly discussed their teaching practices. The Superintendent is a major influence on the school's initiatives and was able to discuss its progress and programs in detail.

The team found it necessary to piece together a comprehensive view of the entire improvement process of data collection, program adoption and professional development by consulting many written and oral sources. It would be beneficial to have this written in one document so as to effectively share the school's improvement initiatives with similar schools.

E. Are there any reasons why the school should not be used as a Commonwealth Compass School?

The team found no reason why the Cobbet School should not be used as a Commonwealth Compass School.

Appendix A
Team Members

Jack Monbouquette, Consultant, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Joe Trunk, Consultant, SchoolWorks
Erin Furey, Administrative Apprentice, Lowell, MA
Debbie Spinelli, Title I Director, Foxborough, MA
Joanne McInnis, Elementary Curriculum Director, Lowell, MA

Appendix B
Compass School Panel Review Visit Schedule

All activities take place at the school.