School Improvement Plan

What is a School Improvement Plan?

A School Improvement Plan (SIP) is a strategic blueprint that schools use to enhance student learning and improve educational practices. It outlines specific goals for improvement, actions to achieve those goals, and methods for measuring progress.

Key Points of a SIP:

Goals: Clear objectives the school aims to achieve to enhance student outcomes.
Actions: Steps and strategies the school will implement to reach its goals, based on research and effective practices.
Monitoring: Regular review of progress with adjustments made to ensure the school stays on track toward its improvement objectives.

The purpose of a SIP is to provide a clear roadmap for schools to improve educational outcomes for all students, particularly focusing on eliminating disparities and ensuring equitable opportunities for every student.

Every school in Washington State is required to have a School Improvement Plan.

Monitoring and Adjusting:

A SIP is not set in stone. It's reviewed regularly, with progress monitored against the set goals and activities adjusted as needed to stay on track toward improvement.

Visit the Issaquah School District SIP website to learn more about SIPs.

District - School Improvement Plans

Achievement Goals

By the spring of 2025:

83% of Pacific Cascade MS students will meet standard on the Smarter Balanced Assessment in ELA.

By the spring of 2024:

Special Education
- 50% of students who receive Special Education Services scoring below grade level in i-Ready Reading on the fall diagnostic will have reached 75% or more of their stretch-goal.
Latinx
- 50% of students who identify as Latinx below grade level in i-Ready Reading on the fall diagnostic will have reached 75% or more of their stretch-goal.
African American
- 50% of students who identify as African-American scoring below grade level in i-Ready Reading on the fall diagnostic will have reached 75% or more of their stretch-goal.

Guiding Questions

Reflecting on previous action plans

What actions were successfully implemented?

Pacific Cascade SIP 21-22 Action Plan supported successful implantation of three main actions: Tier 1 i-Ready Implementation, Whole-staff professional development was dedicated and focused on reading and technology, and MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) reorganization at the building level.

Tier 1 i-Ready Implementation

Our Data Task Force team continued its work, offering after-school help with Math, Social Studies `and Language Arts, Tier 1 i-Ready implementation and MTSS Tier 1 reorganization at the building level.
ELA staff trained by i-Ready trainer in proctoring the diagnostic assessment- 9/21
School- wide assessment of students in the i-Ready diagnostic- 9/21, 1/22, 4/22
ELA/Special Education staff collaboration/i-Ready use in co-taught ELA sections (G 7, G 8) and Study Skills (ELA) class/ i-Ready use in Special Education Recovery Services- 10/21-6/22
i-Ready training for ELA staff and administer student diagnostic - 9/21
October ELA Department meeting focused on i-Ready and the use of this tool in classrooms.
Newsela/NoRedInk collaboration.
December ELA Department meeting focused on effective use of i-Ready as a classroom learning tool.
January 2022 issues survey to ELA staff about use of i-Ready. Follow-up professional development based on survey results. Administered Student Diagnostic #2. Recovery Services began for students with IEP goals in reading (and math)
February 2022 staff meeting offered GLAD strategies to support struggling readers outside of ELA classes. Homeroom Data training on identification of students in each teacher’s classes that needed additional reading support based on historical and current reading data.
March staff meeting provided the i-Ready Reading tool demonstration to whole staff.
ELA staff student growth goals focused on ELA- Reading. (ongoing)
Study Skills with an ELA Focus elective offered each trimester 21-22.
April 2022: administered the i-Ready Student diagnostic #3.

Professional Development

Whole-staff professional development dedicated to and focused on reading and technology

Focus on i-Ready training during August LID 8/2021
ELA staff trained by i-Ready trainer in proctoring the diagnostic assessment- 9/21
School- wide assessment of students in the i-Ready diagnostic- 9/21, 1/22, 4/22
i-Ready PD for whole staff- 1/22, 3/22, 5/22
Creating systems for students’ technology support
- Reflecting on process and making changes for the current school year
Flow Chart (Tech Support)
- Student
- Staff
- Password
- Onboarding new students
- Loaners
- Canvas training for parents on Curriculum Night
Video of training posted on website as a tutorial
- Incorporating UDL (Universal Design for Learning) in Canvas and Classroom Technology
Accessibility
Reminders
Training
Tech Tools
- Actively Learn
- Gizmos
- Brain Pop
- NearPod
- Drop-in Tech Workshops (Wed Mornings)
Teachers came in to get questions answered
Specific help regarding tech and incorporating into lessons
- Encouraging teachers to have Canvas set up consistently building- wide
Weekly Agenda
Use of buttons within Canvas
- Consistency in design

Reorganization

MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) reorganization at the building level

Pacific Cascade Staff worked very hard to re-structure our Tier 1 systems of support. We focused on three common goals for PCMS: Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful. Throughout the school year, we set expectations, re-taught beliefs, behavior and academic expectations and also focused on re-enforcing positive behaviors, specifically through daily and monthly HERO slips for students.
We also monitor our D/F list at mid-trimester and the end of trimester grades. Students with more than one D or F meet with their counselor to discuss barriers and to problem-solve for future success. Those with three or more D’s or F’s have individual, goal-setting meetings to complete a Student Support Plan. From the fall of 2021 to the spring of 2022, we had decreased our number of students receiving three or more F’s from 81 students to 15 students.

The Tier 2 Team has spent time evaluating and revamping the needs of students for in-person learning. Students needing additional supports are identified through a variety of processes including: monthly grade level team meetings, weekly admin/counseling/PBSES support meetings, Student Intervention Form, At-Risk Indicator, SWIS referrals, grade reporting (2 times per trimester), daily attendance, Counseling Needs Assessment, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and teacher/staff/family referral.

Students who are identified through these avenues are then discussed at weekly Tier 2 meetings. In these meetings, the Tier 2 team reviews data, discusses progress, coordinates interventions and implements plans for these students. Once the progress- monitoring, as listed above, indicates a student needs more support or intervention, the Tier 2 team moves in to action. Examples of interventions and supports utilized to support students continue to include:

After School Academic Supports: enroll in the after-school Math or LA/SS Support Classes.
Attendance Intervention: check-in system for students struggling to get to school on time
Behavior Contract: agreement between student and teacher to repair relationship, improve behavior, and encourage academics.
Binder Boot Camp: organizational and executive function support for general education students.
Canvas Support: explicitly teaching showing students how to access embedded reader, use the highlighting function, and showing parents how to turn on notifications.
Check-In/Check Out: to build relationship between students and teachers and to encourage student to meet expectations on a daily basis.
Classroom Pop-ins: by Admin and PBSES to support teacher’s’ classroom management and build relationships with staff and students.
Forced Choice Survey: taken by the student to provide data on incentives (PCMS created an electronic version of the district-provided survey). Data is used to determine rewards for interventions.
Individual Counseling: through referral to the Swedish Mental Health Counselor.
In-School Academic Supports: Data informed decisions for enrollment in Study Skills support classes.
School Home Note: to strengthen communication between home and school/teachers.
Student Support Plan: PCMS created academic intervention that is individualized for the specific needs of the student. The SSP is filled out by the student when meeting with an admin, PBSES coach, or counselor and is followed up on with weekly check-ins. Students are able to set a goal and, together with a trusted adult, monitor and adjust their own progress.
Tech Support: assistance utilizing 1:1 devices.
Weekly Check-In: with counselor for social-emotional and mental health supports.

What was observed? What evidence did you use to determine impact?

How did actions impact disproportionality and equity?

We continued to work with our family liaison to work with our families of color. We believe that relationships and developing relationships with our families is the key to this work. We focused on SEL (Social Emotional Learning) lessons during our Lynx Life Advisory. Specifically, we focused on restorative justice practices and communities each Friday during Advisory.

What actions would you continue or change?

Backed by Data

Schools use multiple data sources to inform their planning. Progress toward school improvement in overall achievement and disproportionality is monitored using state and district measures using a common School Improvement Data Dashboard.

Data Workbook for Middle School

Process
Findings

Process

Our Building Leaders and Data Task Force shared and discussed longitudinal SBA study/trends, SGG process, data from i-Ready/SBA/ALEKS and attendance records. Based on those data points, we felt focusing on non-fiction literacy, specifically, technical reading, was an area all subject areas touch in some way.

PCMS’s Team Leader group continually works with data to inform school decisions and promote a culture among staff to frequently review data. So far this year, this group has reviewed the Counseling Needs Assessment, SDQ, fall i-Ready, trimester, grade data, classroom survey data, and content area test data.

In the SIP data study, the specific data reviewed was past achievement data, SIP plans, WSIF 2021-2022 data, fall off-grade 2022 Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) data, and i-Ready reading data. The team focused specifically on the WSIF data and the recent SBA data for analysis and understanding. ALEKS math data and i-Ready reading data informed the data study conversation.

Findings

Spring 2022 SBA data indicates a decrease in ELA (English Language Arts) and Math scores when compared to WSIF 2020-2021 data in the All-Students category and significant gaps for nearly all student groups, despite the assessment being off-grade.
Spring 2022 SBA ELA data indicates the largest achievement gaps in ELA between All-Students and other student groups were found in the following groups: Black/African American Students (-26.8%), ELL (-9.3%) and Students with Disabilities (-10%).
Spring 2022 SBA Math data shows significant growth for all historically marginalized groups.
WSIF 2022 data indicates a high rate of proficiency in Math and ELA for All-Students but significant achievement gaps for many other student groups.
WSIF ELA 2022 data indicates the largest achievement gaps in ELA between All-Students and other student groups were found in the following groups: Students with Disabilities passed with a 34% rate, ELL 31%, Black/African American 44% and Low Income 46%.
WSIF Math 2022 data indicates the largest achievement gaps in Math between All-Students and other student groups were found in the following groups: Students with Disabilities passed with a 27% rate, Black/African American with a 40% rate, and Low Income with a 37% rate.

School-Based Action Plan

Action	Implementation	Impact: Evidence/Monitoring
Advisory (Lynx Life) dedicated to literacy and staffing directed to reading/literacy support	Review course enrollment/demographic breakdown with equity lens. Paraprofessional staffing directed to support Tier 3 reading intervention in classrooms.	Identify student data standard for determination of support class sections and enrollment. Decrease underrepresentation of student groups in accelerated/support classes. Identify patterns representing disproportionality in data review and plan actions to reduce it. Tier 3 support directed to students farthest from grade level reading proficiency.
Professional Development/Staff Meeting focus on Literacy/Technology and MTSS systems	i-Ready training for all staff (data and tools) New Tier 1 and Tier 2 systems created so support students	Increase in staff use of Canvas tools supporting HLP (High Leverage Practices) will increase student engagement and learning progress. Commitments to common building practice. Increase access to reading intervention in the general education classroom setting. Building leadership capacity in literacy support. Increase in access to reading supports in the general education classroom setting
i-Ready	Fall i-Ready diagnostic data reviewed by Data Task Force One day a week in Advisory (Lynx Life) dedicated to i-Ready implementation Weekly targeted lessons created/assigned to individual students based on i-Ready data weekly.	Connections with Tier 2 and Tier 3 families All students have access to i-Ready diagnostic results and lessons. Increase staff awareness of student performance on i-Ready diagnostics

SIP Team & Final Review

Principal: Jeff McGowan
Site Council/PTSA Review Date: January 12, 2023
Supervisor Review: Sherri Kokx: January 4, 2023
School Board Review Date: March 1, 2023

Leadership Team:

Casey Stookey, Assistant Principal
Susan McDonald, Science Teacher
Brian Arnot, Math Teacher/Data Task Force
Meg Lozada, Social Studies Teacher
Katrina Murphy, LA Teacher
Kari Barker, Spanish Teacher
Katy Cohen, Special Education Teacher
Erin Kwok, LA Teacher/Data Task Force/Ed Tech Lead
Craig McGhee, Social Studies Teacher
Jayme Miller, PE/Health Teacher
Michael Riddick, PE/Health Teacher
Terry Shade, Orchestra Teacher

Checklist

Action plan includes use of educational technology.
Action plan includes strategies for family engagement.
Action plan includes strategies for engaging students and/or addressing the social, emotional and/or mental health needs of students and barriers to learning
Action plan includes a school-based action to implement one (or more) of Culturally Responsive Practices, Universal Design for Learning, Trauma Informed Practices, &/or the 4 High Leverage Instructional Practices.

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