Assessment/Accountability
School and District Accountability and Assistance

Report of Fact Finding Review
E. J. Harrington Elementary School
Lynn Public Schools

Executive Summary

The Fact Finding team assigned to the E.J. Harrington School conducted a visit (Sept 30- Oct. 2) to determine the underlying causes of the school's poor student performance and to explore its prospect for improvement. While the assignment of a new and expanded leadership team has established a positive roadmap for change, the school still confronts substantial challenges in the delivery of instruction as it prepares for a focused approach to improving teaching and learning.

I. Curriculum and Instruction

The school is still in the very early stages of developing a clear and coordinated plan to examine the results of various assessments instruments and daily student work to improve instruction and student performance.

• The assessments accompanying Growing with Mathematics remain challenging because of the test's subjectivity and language issues associated with the program.
• Teachers have had little practical experience with the interpretation and use of results for STAR math assessments and SRI. Staff will require guidance for these assessments to provide meaningful guidance for teaching and learning.
• A K-2 benchmarked assessment (DIBELS) is being administered for the first time this year. Staff dialogue about the impact and application of these results (three times a year) is critical but has not yet taken place.
• Although Collins Writing and Growing with Mathematics folders will be reviewed by school leaders, it is not clear if the screening will be for exclusively for pacing purposes or to evaluate the quality of program implementation.
• Classroom observations indicate the need for increased teacher attention to the assessment of student work during the course of a lesson.

The Fact Finding team observed a wide range of pedagogical skills among teachers, with variations most notable in lesson pacing, student engagement, academic rigor, teacher monitoring of understanding and providing meaningful feedback to students.

• There was ample evidence that the school's key student learning objectives in math and ELA were consistently addressed in all classrooms.
• The preparatory lesson elements such as developing clearly stated content objectives and setting an agenda for academic tasks were well managed and provided a structure to learning activities.
• The team observed the need for increased attention to the differentiated learning needs of students, to open ended and inquiry based questioning, and to refining transitions of students to independent and group work.

II. School Climate

The school's new leadership has created a structure for increased professional collaboration and provided an opportunity for meaningful dialogue about data on student performance, best practices, the needs of second language learners, and increased staff understanding of their role in plan implementation.

• The school schedule and the addition of six curriculum and instruction teachers (CITs) allows for substantive common planning time among teachers, with school leaders as active participants.
• Widespread summer professional development work in rubric training, ELL strategies and the development of the PIM plan brought the staff together for a common academic purpose and created an increased sense of cohesiveness, an atmosphere helpful to the integration of many new teachers to the staff.
• The Coaching Instructional Modeling and consulting roles of the CITs and the collaborative follow-up analysis of their work with teachers provides a focused professional development vehicle for the staff and helps maintain attention to the key PIM initiatives.
• Numerous policy and procedure changes initiated by the principal have improved the behavioral tone of the school by establishing and reinforcing clearly articulated expectations for students and parents.

III. Organizational Structures and Management

The school's principal has initiated changes that establish standards of performance for teachers and will guide the processes personnel evaluation and the supervision of instruction.

• All classroom teachers maintain a box of folders logging an ongoing history of the main instructional change objectives covered in math and ELA. This provides an effective tracking tool for staff and represents a coverage and pacing resource for the principal to gauge the progress of individual teachers.
• The principal reviews all lesson plans and provides extensive and constructive comments for teachers on content and pedagogical issues. The remarks are incisive, thorough and appreciated by the staff.
• Although the weekly common planning time is a crucial collaborative forum, it is only thirty minutes in length.
• An accountability calendar has been created to remind teachers of due dates for submitting plans and samples of student work.

IV. Leadership and Planning

The strong instructional leadership at the school promotes the development of the improvement plan based on an analysis of data.

• The leadership team's examination of data identified gaps in the performance of subgroups. Findings were developed about the school's consistency in teaching ELA topics and the failure to meet the learning needs of the ELL population and students requiring individualized reading assistance.
• An analysis of weaknesses in math vocabulary led to the adoption of student math notebooks and the standard usage of math word walls throughout the school.
• The principal has launched a number of outreach efforts to community institutions to seek ways to provide intensive tutoring in reading for its students.
• The adoption of the SIOP model for the school has unified the staff around a quality instructional approach that has the promise to improve teaching competencies, if supported by regular, consistent, effective professional development.

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