Archived Information

Assessment/Accountability
School and District Accountability and Assistance

Panel Report
Compass School Candidate Review
Frank M. Sokolowski School-Chelsea 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 these 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 Frank M. Sokolowski 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, including the school's application to serve as a Compass School. The panel then visited the school to meet with school leaders, staff, parents and students and visit classrooms 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. In the process of answering these questions, the report focuses primarily on the initiatives that the school identified in its application as having had the most positive impact on student performance.

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 Sokolowski School review is provided in Appendix A. A detailed schedule of the panel's activities is provided in Appendix B.

Sokolowski School Profile

The Frank M. Sokolowski School is one of four elementary schools in Chelsea, all of which are housed together in the Mary E. Curley Complex. The Sokolowski is a grade 1-5 school serving 478 students. In 2001, 70 % of the student body were Hispanic, 18 % White, 7% Asian, 5 % African American. Twenty percent of the students are enrolled as Limited English Proficient (LEP). Sixteen percent of the students receive Special Education services. Seventy-one percent of the students have a first language other than English (FLNE). With 88% of its students eligible to receive free and reduced price lunch, the school has a School-Wide Title I program.

In 2001, 45% of the 4th graders taking the MCAS tests reported attending the school since 1st grade, 36% reported entering in Grade 2. Enrollment declined between 1998 and 2001 by 100 students. The school shows increased enrollments of low-income (71-88%) and FLNE (57-71%) students during that same period.

In 2001, the school's daily attendance rate was 94.4, with students absent an average of ten days per year. In 2000, 23 students were retained in the first grade and 15 in the second grade. The principal attributed this high rate to the large number of second language learners and the large number of students entering first grade with no preparation in language or literacy.

Staffing

Sokolowski's 478 students are taught by 40 full-time teachers, including a lead teacher at each grade level. There are also 13 Teacher Aides. The administrators include Principal Nancy M. Birmingham, Assistant Principal Adele E. Lubarsky, a Guidance Counselor, an Occupational Therapist, and a Speech and Language Pathologist. The school reported that of the 40 full-time teachers, all but 4 were teaching in their area of certification, 27 have multiple certifications, and 21 also have a master's degree.

MCAS Results

The Sokolowski School Met or Exceeded its improvement expectations for Cycle 1 (1998- 2000), and was among the most improved schools on the ELA and Math tests in 2001. The school has demonstrated significant overall improvement between '98 and '01, both decreasing the percentage of students scoring in the Warning category from 47% to 20%, and increasing the percentage of students scoring in the Proficient and Advanced category from 0 to 31% in ELA. The school decreased the percentages of students scoring in the

Failing/Warning category from 57% to 21%, and increased the percentages of students scoring in the Proficient/Advanced categories from 6% to 20% in Mathematics during that same time period ('98-'01). (If mid-cycle ratings were done, the school would have moved up one Performance Category from a Very Low performance in 2000 to a mid-cycle performance in the Low category).

The school's Warning rate of 21% in Math in 2001 was lower than the district's 25% and slightly higher than the state's 19% for all students. The percentage of students scoring in Warning in ELA was 20%, lower than the 23% Warning rate for the district, but significantly higher than the 11% for the state, for all students.

Students receiving Special Education services have improved in both ELA and Math, decreasing the percentage in the Failing/Warning category in ELA from 87 to 39% and increasing the percentage of students scoring in Proficient from 0 to 9%. In Math, the Warning rate dropped from 80 to 35%, and the rate of students scoring in the Proficient category rose from 7 to 13 % between '98 and '01. The number of Special Education students enrolled increased slightly, along with the percentage of SPED students tested during that period.

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?

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

The Sokolowski School leadership and staff attribute the significant improvement in their students' performance to the implementation of a range of literacy strategies and initiatives focused on creating a "School of Readers." A lead teacher model also helps ensure stability and consistency in the instructional program.

Teachers and parents also reported an increase in the number of parents participating in school activities as well as the number of students who have made significant academic gains in the time that they have been attending the school.

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

According to the teachers and principal, the School Improvement Committee is responsible for developing and implementing the School Improvement Plan (SIP). The committee is comprised of twelve members including the principal, assistant principal, lead literacy teacher, the lead math teacher, and members of the School Site Council.

The panel learned from interviews with the teachers and principal that while the MCAS is an impetus for the current SIP, it was not the catalyst for the original school improvement initiative at the school. The school's leadership-with help from a newly created School Improvement Committee-began implementing initiatives to improve student performance, especially in the areas of math and literacy, when they became concerned that their students were not all performing at grade level. The school was then able to use the educational model that was being developed by Boston University throughout the Chelsea school district as the framework for its school-wide change initiative.

Some of the steps that the School Improvement Committee took in order to get the school improvement initiative underway included, but not limited to:

1. Meeting during the summer to analyze the results of student performance on schoolwide assessments;
2. Using student performance data to develop areas of emphasis within the school-wide curriculum;
3. Redesigning the school schedule to include common planning times for grade level teachers;
4. Identifying and creating targeted professional development opportunities for teachers as a way of improving the instructional practices at the school; and
5. Developing a system that facilitates the on-going dialogue between teachers and the members of the School Improvement Committee.

The School Improvement Committee also has the responsibility of assessing the quality and level of implementation of the improvement initiatives at the school. The information collected from these assessments is used to refine the existing initiatives. It is also used to reflect on the improvement planning and implementation process itself. The Committee identifies areas of strengths and weakness in its own operations and develops strategies to address areas of needs.

It appears that the Committee was able to identify specific strategies in the three general areas-(1) create a "School of Readers"; (2) increase parent participation in school-wide activities; and (3) improve teaching and learning at the school-that they believed they needed to work on in order to raise student academic performance. By doing this, they were able to develop a coherent and systemic plan for accomplishing these goals.

Strategies for creating a "School of Readers:" The panel concluded that the Sokolowski Elementary School is becoming a "School of Readers" due in part to the coherent and systemic literacy initiative that the leadership is currently implementing at the school. Some of the strategies that are being used to bring this about include:

• Develop classroom libraries that are stocked with a variety of fiction and non-fiction books that are at different reading levels.
• Create a "Take Home Library" and encouraging students to use it on a regular basis. Students are given a Red Triangle Calendar that parents sign every time they read a book at home. Once they have filled out the calendar, students are given an award-usually a book-for reading outside of school.
• Create reading corners in various parts of the school where students and teachers can go to read. The reading corners are beautifully decorated with posters, have comfortable chairs, and are well stocked with a variety of books.
• Create a 30-minute block in the daily schedule for uninterrupted, independent reading. According to one teacher, "This is not down time for students. This is an instructional time because [the teacher] does one-on-one conferencing with the students their progress as readers to ensure that they are reading materials that are at their independent reading level."
• Integrate poetry and songs into their classes as a way of building students' fluency as readers.
• Assign a Title I teacher to every classroom. This teacher is responsible for providing direct service to struggling readers within the classroom setting.

Strategies for increasing parent involvement at the Sokolowski: In interviews with the panel, both teachers and the principal often spoke of the need to increase parent participation in school wide activities. They believe that by having parents actively involved in their children's education, they will be able to reinforce many of the skills and content knowledge that are being taught in the classroom. They have done the following to get more parents involved in the Sokolowski community:

• Conduct a survey of the parents to find out which time works best for them in terms of participating in activities at the school. Although most parents stated in the survey that they prefer to participate in evening activities, the school does make accommodations for those who can only do so in the mornings.
• Organize and host workshops that are designed to provide parents with tips and strategies for helping their children. For example, they organized a "Homework Helpful Hints' workshop that provided parents with tips and strategies for helping their children with their homework assignments. They also hosted another in which they educated parents about the MCAS. Parents have reported they found the workshops to be extremely helpful and that they feel better prepared to support their children for the MCAS and with their schoolwork, in general.
• Invite parents to the weekly School Meeting where they can see their children perform or be recognized for doing well in school.
• Make regular phone calls to the home to update parents about their children's progress. These phone calls are usually positive in nature, which according to one teacher "makes it easier for us to deliver the not so good news to the parents."
• Send notes and newsletters home to parents as a way of informing them about what is going on in the classroom. Parents have to sign and return the notes to the teachers to let them know that they have read them. It is important to note here, that since the Sokolowski has a large bilingual population, the school provides information about the school in the parents' native language. This has helped to facilitate the communication between the school and the home.

In interviews with the panel, the parents expressed their satisfaction with the school because they feel that both the teachers and the leadership are making real effort to include them in the children's education. One parent stated that he felt like a valued partner in the school.

Strategies for improving teaching and learning: Both the principal and the teachers agreed that good teaching and learning is at the heart of student success at the Sokolowski. As a resulted, the leadership has done the following initiatives to strengthen this area:

• Assign new teachers instructional liaisons. The lead literacy and math teachers usually serve as liaisons for new teachers. They help new teachers to internalize the school's vision and mission. Most importantly, though, they are instrumental in raising the quality of instruction among the new staff. According to the principal, they are able to do this by modeling effective instructional practices and providing new teachers with feedback about the quality of their instruction. They also work collaboratively with them to develop their lesson plans;
• Assign a Title I teacher to every classroom. By doing this, the school is developing its "pushing in" model for supporting struggling students. In this model, the Title I teacher provides direct service within the classroom for students that have difficulty achieving academic success. The Title I teacher is also responsible for developing lesson plans and delivering instruction with the regular education teacher.
• Institute an inclusion model for special education students. The special education teacher, like the Title I teacher, provides direct support for students in the classroom. They work collaboratively with the regular education teacher to modify the general education curriculum to address the learning needs of these students.
• Create opportunities for teachers to participate in targeted professional development opportunities, especially in the area of literacy instruction. For example, teachers participated in workshops that provided them with tips and strategies for conducting Silent Reading and Read Aloud in their classrooms.
• They are encouraged to apply what they learn in their classrooms as well as to do presentations on what they have learned for their colleagues.
• Create advance classes in math and literacy for students who are strong in these areas. For example, the district created a Project Challenge class for fourth and fifth graders who have strong math skills. In addition, the school developed a similar program for selected second and third graders who have shown an aptitude for math. This helps students to advance at their own pace.
• Encourage grade level teachers to plan their lessons together. As mentioned above, grade level teachers have scheduled common planning time that makes it easy for them to get together to do this work. Teachers reported that they find the common planning time helpful because it gives them the opportunity to share best practices as well as materials that they can use to strengthen the instruction in their classrooms.

How does the school monitor the effectiveness of the key initiatives?

The school uses a variety of strategies to frequently assess the success of its educational program. In the School Leadership Questionnaire and in the SIP, the principal has outlined some of the strategies used to monitor the effectiveness of the key initiatives. They include:

1. Regular classroom visits by the principal and assistant principal;
2. The completion of a survey by parents, teachers, and students;
3. The completion of a Math Assessment that is done three times a year in math in grades 2-5;
4. The administration of a one-minute oral reading exam three times a year to students in grades 2 through 5;
5. The implementation of a tracking system that monitors students progress during independent reading time
6. The analysis of student scores on standardized tests; and
7. The implementation of log to keep track of the number of parents who visit the school and participate in school-wide activities

As mentioned above, the information collected is used to improve the curriculum, instructional practices, and parent involvement at the school. Consequently, the teachers are all in agreement that "assessment drives instruction at the school" because they are always revising and strengthening their instructional practices.

In conversations with teachers, panel members were pleased to learn that the teachers did not see the focus on accountability as a negative. They, instead, saw it as an opportunity for them to improve their instructional practices so that they can better address the learning needs of the students in their classrooms. It was clear to us that they saw themselves as learners and that as learners they needed to be open to feedback. They may have been able to develop this attitude because as one of them stated, "[they] are working in an environment where everyone is supportive of each other."

The school also uses its Red Triangle Calendars to assess the number of students who are borrowing books from the "Take Home Library" and are actually reading them at home. This is evident in the fact the classroom that has the most completed Red Triangle Calendars is awarded the Blue Ribbon for reading. Teachers claim that this is an incentive to get more students reading more at school and at home.

Parents have reported to the panel that they see improvement not only in their children's reading abilities, but in their general knowledge, as well. They attributed this improvement to the fact that the students are reading more than before.

does the school think these initiatives can be successfully used in similar schools? Why?

In interviews with panel members, both the teachers and principal agree that other schools can replicate some of the initiatives, particularly those that increase parent participation in the school, and those to raise academic performance. They both, however, were quick to point out that certain things have to be in place in order for schools to experience success with these initiatives. First, all the teachers and administrators have to be committed to doing the work that is required to successfully implement the initiatives. Second, the leadership at the school has to be strong and have a well-articulated plan for moving the initiatives forward. And third, there has to be a strong support mechanism in place for everyone as they go through the process of whole school change.

KEY QUESTION 2: Are the conditions in place for this school to serve as a model of effective practices and successful improvement initiatives?

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?

Both the leadership and staff use a common language to describe the initiatives that have led to the improvements in teaching and learning at the Sokolowski Elementary School. For example, they consistently spoke about the school's plans to increase parents' involvement in the children's education, build the fluency level among students, and effectively meet the individual learning needs of each child in the school. In addition, they all were able to clearly explain how the implementation of these initiatives fits into the school's overall plan to create a "School of Readers" as a way of raising student achievement level.

The principal and teachers reported that they frequently use the faculty meeting and common planning times to discuss the improvement initiatives that are being implemented at the school. Panel members, therefore, have concluded that this continuous dialogue has been instrumental in helping them deepen their understanding and appreciation of the changes that they are instituting in the school.

It is important to note here that new teachers are also able to speak fluently about the improvement initiatives at the school. In an interview with a panel member one new teacher stated that she felt that having a mentor, collaborating with her colleagues during the common planning time and attending the staff meetings helped her to quickly internalize the vision and mission of the school. "It was good to have an experienced teacher that I could talk to about things at the school." This has been confirmed in conversations with veteran teachers and the principal.

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?

Panel members found that the teachers and administrators were able to effectively articulate the connections between the improvement initiatives that are being implemented and the improvement in teaching and learning at the school. For example, one teacher talked about her success in getting students to become more actively involved in reading by simply introducing poetry and songs into her fourth grade class. (The use of poetry and songs in the classroom is one of the initiatives that the school has instituted to raise students' fluency levels in reading.)

According to teachers, since "assessment drives instruction at the Sokolowski" they are encouraged to track student progress and to use that information to revise their curriculum and lesson plans throughout the school year so that they can better address the individual learning needs of the students. It was clear to the panel that while the school is interested increasing students' test scores on the MCAS, it is not their primary focus. They have stated on numerous occasions that their goal is to help students "realize their fullest potential as learners." It is fair to say that the teachers and administrators at the school believe that helping students to become good learners translates into higher MCAS scores.

Most noteworthy is the fact that the parents and students understand and share this philosophy. In the student focus group, one student told the panel that they are "being taught how to learn." The parents confirm this in interviews with the panel because they are able to describe the improvements that they have observed in their children's academic performance.

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

Both the leadership and staff at the Sokolowski understand that while they have made a lot of gains over the years, they have not accomplished their ultimate goal of helping every student to realize their fullest potential as learners. As a result, they are committed to continuing and expanding the improvement initiatives that have been instituted at the school. In interviews with the panel, both the teachers and principal were able to outline what they see as the next steps to build on the school's accomplishments. For example, the teachers talked about expanding the literacy initiative to include strategies for building students' reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. This is in alignment with the vision that the principal has for the school.

Neither the principal nor the teachers believe that the improvement initiatives at the school would be negatively impacted if the Chelsea school district were to end its partnership with Boston University. They were unanimous in their belief that after years of working collaboratively with BU to implement its educational model in Chelsea they "have come to own it." It was clear from their conversations with the panel that "owning the model" will allow them to continue to do the work that they have already started.

The principal reiterated the concern that was described in the SIP about the school's inability to create a pool of veteran teachers due to the turn over rate of its staff. While she does not believe that this will prevent them from continuing their work, she thinks that it might hamper the process because there will be a continual gap in the institutional memory of the school and some of the energy that could be directed to furthering improvement initiatives will continue to be diverted to the school's strong efforts to train and orient new teachers. However, the principal also believes that the school's turn over rates are caused by external factors and not by burnout or any issue at the school. She feels that sufficient numbers of teachers do stay to maintain the culture and institutional knowledge of the school.

does the school appear to have the capacity to host site visits and to participate in various activities to share effective strategies and practices with other schools in the state?

The school appears to have the capacity to host visits and lead discussions with other teachers and administrators. The School Leadership Questionnaire that was submitted to the panel for review documents the various activities that the staff has participated in. Some of these activities involve (1) teachers making presentations at workshops; (2) "sharing ideas gathered from conferences with their colleagues;" and (3) working collaboratively with each other through the co-teaching initiative. Most importantly, they know their school very well and can explain the reasons for their successes.

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

The panel cannot identify any reasons why the Sokolowski Elementary School should not become a Commonwealth Compass School. There are many elements in their instructional program which could be adapted in other schools; and the leadership and the staff demonstrated the ability to provide articulate and substantive information on what they are doing to improve student learning and how they are doing it.

Appendix A
Team Members

Denise Delorey, Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Aretha Miller, Consultant, SchoolWorks
Ann Marie Carr-Reardon, Title I Director, Waltham, MA
John Foscaldo, Director of Curriculum, Foxborough, MA
Nancy Voght, Teacher, Attleboro, MA

Appendix B
Compass School Panel Review Visit Schedule

All activities take place at the school.