What types of changes have been made based on needs assesments within your school/county? Can any of these changes be a product of the social processes presented?
In Henry County there has been several changes with out ELL program. It was apparent through test results that our ELL students were struggling with content. The county has now enhanced the ELL programs at all levels. These studnets are receiving group time, as well as individual pull out time to get extra help. They are also recieving after school tutoring when necessary. The school has adopted a new reading program due to the test scores involving reading and comprehension. Both the ELL and Reading program had to be upgraded to benefit the students because of the unmet needs they have. There was a descrepany between what the students new and what they need to know. Be enhancing the programs their needs should be met.
In my school, many changes have been made to meet the needs of our students. We have begun using the inclusion model with our special education students after finding that "pull-out" services were not effective. We are also utilizing a writing program across all grade levels because we did not have continuity in the teaching of the writing process. I think that these changes occurred based on the needs of students and the need for continuity in our school.
My school also has enhanced its ELL program. An additional ELL teacher was hired last year. Our hispanic population has grown over the last few years. Our teachers have been trained on instruction to ELL students as well as communication strategies in dealing with their non English speaking parents. We have been encouraged to learn spanish and have hired two instructional assistants who also translate when needed. Many of our newletters are also in Spanish.
I am in complete agreement with Samantha Sigmon. Our school has also seen many changes aimed at meeting the diverse needs of students. We use a great deal of differentiating in the classroom to meet student ability and learning styles needs, and we also employ an inclusion approach in math. Also in agreement with P. Beckman, we have been doing a lot to reach out to our Hispanic community - hosting a monthly meeting to discuss school policies and programs in Spanish, and sending out all flyers in English and in Spanish.
I agree with all of the above statements. As our region continues to grow, we are constantly forced to adapt. Until this year our county did not employ a ESL teacher. This year our county has received 5-10 students who are learning English as a second language. Our school also, continues to push our pre-engineering program very hard. Local businesses in the area continue to push for students who can "think on their feet" and have good communication skills. These courses do an excellent job in those areas. As educators, we must continue to adapt the curriculum to meet NEEDS!
In our school, we have been forced to make many changes with the consolidation of another school into ours. Our new teachers have had to adapt to a new Reading program and we have more children who need assistance because of special needs or ELL. We have a very extensive focus on vocabulary for all our students this year due to the number of ELL and special needs students. This change has also helped students at all levels be more successful with all vocabulary, not just with SOL test vocabulary. In the last few years, we have also been expected to adapt lessons to create differentiation. In doing this, it allows for all learners to learn the material on their levels. There has also been a conversational Spanish class that was offered to teachers in order for us to better communicate with our students and their parents.
Our county has definitely had to adapt to community needs. Our county has recently welcomed two new technology businesses. Curriculum planners have incorporated more in depth technology proficiency skill into our curriculum. Areas such as computer programming have became top priority. This curriculum change has also occurred at the community college level. The community college recently implemented accelerated computer programming courses to prepare students for jobs at the new businesses. Our county has also implemented an intensive day treatment program to serve elementary students. We are seeing so many more students that have psychological, social and emotional disorders. It seems that we are constantly adapting to changes in the world around us. Our goal is prepare the students to be ready to adapt as well.
I agree with all of the above statements. Our schools, too, are adapting to the changes around them. They are trying to meet the needs of special ed students whether that means fully inclusive or self-contained, it depends on the individual needs. They also differentiate instruction within the classrooms and work on remediation for students with low test scores. They are striving to set into place an ESL teacher to meet the needs of our hispanic community. In the mean time, they are utilizing an ESL resource teacher to help with testing, reading, etc. Other programs have been put into place, especially in the area of technology. Our school system has received an iLearn grant, so is working to get an ipod in the hands of every student in order to give them educational benefits they may not have otherwise.
The county in which I teach, has adopted a new computer program known as SuccessMaker to help elementary students develop comprehension in reading and math. Our county adopted this program based upon the needs of our students in these two highly important subjects. This program identifies strengths and weaknesses or students as well as tracks their progress. I feel that our county has adopted this program to enhance the curriculum and better meet the needs of our students. This program will not only benefit students in the present but it will help them to succeed in future classes.
Education is always in a time of change. Our school is currently working on RTI. We are learning many new ways to meet the needs of all students. I would love to know more about SuccessMaker.
Any changes made by the VDOE and national accrediting organizations (NCATE, for example) affect curriculum development at Radford University. Those changes that affect teachers at classroom level affect the instruction they receive while becoming certified teachers.
Technology is vastly changing our society and in turn our schools/curriculum. In our county's high schools, we have seen a large increase in classes taken on Virtual Public High School. The enrollment in our high schools has increased each semester in the last two years. We have a wide range of students with different levels of capabilities taking classes online with a very high success rate.
Currently, our school is experience many educational changes based on data that is being collected through a variety of assessments. Teachers are looking at their whole and small group teaching, differentation and tiered teaching is occuring across all grade levels.
My school just recently added a program call MASH (Math Assisted Study Hall) based on the need of students get more help with math during the school day. Students are assigned to a study hall with a math teach so that they can get help with math homework assignments and preparing for quizzes or tests. This program was implemented based on the need that students need help, but for whatever reason are not able to get that help before or after school.
My school has made a few changes within the past few years based on assessment of needs. The first one is that of Response to Intervention (RTI). Our division has dismissed the previous "child study" model and has replaced it with a tiered approach to provide individual needs for students. Through implementation of RTI, we have had to adjust curriculum to accomodate different types of learning for students. RTI is data driven, so researching various assessment tools and training staff to adequatley use the data has been challenging. RTI was implemented due to an increase of student's referred for special education testing AND because so many students were reaching the high school and were not able to read.
Another new program recently implemented is the Olweus Bullying Prevention program. Our division purchased this program two years ago based on a needs assessment at the middle school level. There has been a great deal of resistance to this program by teachers, as it "cuts in" to instruction time each week. However, research indicates that students can not learn when their school enviroment is poor and when they are being abused by their peers.
Our county has recently begun a new writing curriculum based upon the needs of our students. Our Director of Instruction compiled the data from SOL scores over the past several years, and although we were 'passing,' the number of advanced scores were declining. Seeing this disaggregated data helped the English departments in the county see that we were falling short in this area. The entire program (designed to enhance our pacing guides) should be in full implementation next year with the 2011-2012 freshmen. It is exciting for us!
I have not seen any evidence of a REAL needs assessment in my district, but at the school level, we are responsive to student needs and societal changes in a few ways. A few years ago, as the economy took a turn for the worse, many of our older students (who are also parenting) struggled with consistent attendance, a direct result of needing to work more hours, struggling to pay for their own childcare, etc. In response to those problems, we changed our bell schedule and embedded a period called FIT (focused instructional time) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which gives students additional instructional time in classes where they find themselves behind. Responding to the economy and to student needs in that way has assisted in keeping students on track.
Becuase we are a private special education day school we have made many chages to meet the needs of every student. A big one that is not even curriculum related is the need to feed our students. We feed them breakfast and hot lunches usually because it is the only time that they will get to eat.
I have noticed a change in math. Our county has really attacked moving math to lower and lower grades. It is a goal to have all students in algebra by 8th grade. I am not sure the needs for this change are broader than SOL success but I like to believe that is in an answer to the needs in the business world for our students to compete. Other regions, states and countries are ahead of our kids and it is being addressed.
Even though I am in a public school, I agree with Kirby. There is a proposal to feed our high school students "free" breakfast as is done in elementary schools. Also, Rich Acres Elementary sends home every Friday, a bag of food for the 20 most needy students in that school.
In my school we had a needs assessment because our reading scores were low. It was decided that even though the curriculum in our previous reading program was all there, we needed something that was scripted to ensure all of the teachers were teaching the material to its fullest potential.
Another needs assessment that my school uses is the same as what Sherry mentioned, Response to Intervention (RTI). This program has tiers that accommodate to the students learning. This was implemented in our school to try to dwindle down the number of students put through the child study process without having a true reason to be in it.
At Martinsville City, we have incorporated a number of new things within the past two years. in order to meet high expectations for all students and to raise the bar for achievement, our students must make 80% and above on weekly assessments in order to pass. The use of weekly assessments is new too. Its our way of checking for understanding. We then use the RTI model to tier our students based on their score. This allows us to provide remediation to students who are below 80%. This allowed the Middle School to make AYP last year and its part of our vision, mission, and goals to provide learning for all, whatever it takes.
Many changes have been made but the biggest improvement will come next year. All of our students are receiving their own laptop (5th-12th graders) to use during the school year. They will have to return them when they leave for summer break but what a way to improve student needs huh? Many of my students are unable to improve their knowledge of computers/writing because they do not have enough money to buy a computer. This way, we can differentiate instruction and integrate even more in our subject areas.
Our school has endured many changes to increase academic achievement and success for all students. Every teacher is aligning objectives with pacing and curriculum guides and making sure that they fall within the New Blooms Taxonomy guidelines. A process of analyzing and charting student success and weaknesses has been implemented.
Donna Fortune Our county has undergone a few changes based on 'needs assessments'. Many of our schools also send home 20 bags of students, (which has increased to 27 since the beginning of the school year) each week, we have also underwent Ruby Payne training, Olweus training, and RTI has become our new program for intervention for low achieving students. I think all of these can be based on the social processes presented in our text.
In my school district did a needs assessment to help students on the weekends that do not have food, we incorporated the “bookbag” program. Snacks are sent home on the weekend to ensure the students are getting something to eat. Also, we are using RTI, which is used to catch struggling children early, provide appropriate instruction, and prevent the need to refer the child for special education.
In my school district the needs improvement I have been affected by has been going to total "Inclusion" for our students with a special need. We are working on incorporating them into the classroom along side their peers. We are working on RTI for the past couple years to keep students out of being referred to special ed, only if we can see other ways are not successful for the student.
At my school, we have focused on the integration of two Reading programs. Based on the Golden Package of both schools(consolidated), we saw that neither the Direct Instruction nor the basal alone was AS effective. Now we are trying to use the two together. This decision was also based on the strong encouragement from teachers who disliked one program over another.
The big thing in our county now is RTI. Each school is doing more with interventions and remediation. All schools have a team of teachers set up to brainstorm with fellow teachers when they do not know what else to do to help a student. Common assessments are being used to assist with remediation of students. We are also making sure we know which tier every student is on and if they are on tier 2 or 3, that they are receiving any help that is necessary and available.
In our school we conducted a needs assessment for the Social Studies program, because the drop in scores from last semester to this semester. Thus, we realize that the test change drastically and our teaching methods were going to have to change drastically.
In response to the lack of space in our school, we have leaned more toward inclusion and co-teaching. There are not enough classrooms and one of the superintendents initiatives is to remove trailers from school grounds. The school board does not like trailers. Our school has started pushing for coteaching and larger class sizes. We have even looked into prof development for those teachers who are against change.
As Patty said, our school, too, has moved more toward inclusion and team-teaching. I think this not only benefits those students receiving services, but also the regular ed students in the classroom. It allows them a different "face" and quite possibly a different approach from the teacher.
As a special education teacher I have found that needs assessment is a strong tool that we utilize in assuring that the placement of our students is correct. At the end of each school year our special education teachers write IEPs that may place a student in inclusion or a smaller resource room. At the beginning of the next year it is important to make sure that each student is in the proper least restrictive environment. The results of this needs assessments impacts not only passing the particular class but also in achieving credits toward graduation.
Our county has added many resources for math, an area that we have been historically weak based on needs assessments. We have purchased access to Interactive Achievement as a way to create benchmark tests. The program instantly disaggregates test data and is now being used in other subjects.
My principal has began to offer examples and devote staff development opportunites and faculy meetings to providing information on various instructional models and methods. We haven't conducted an official needs assessment, but during meetings of the School Improvement Committee when came across evidence that suggested we needed to vary our instructional practices. I dont think this change is related to the social processes.
Our institutional models as well as our mission and vision have changed because of needs assessments. These were in response, I think, to changes in the population as we become a more diverse community.
One of the major products which has been purchased on our count pertaining to needs assessment is Interactive Achievement. One of our middle schools was to the point where the state was going to come in and take over to help improve math score. Interactive Achievement has allowed them to use benchmark testing to determine where students are throughout the year to better prepare them for the state tests.
My school system has also begun to use Interactive Achievement in order to conduct formative assessments on a weekly basis. This program has been implemented so teachers can be made aware and address specific needs in both math and english more efficiently. Recently, My school has experienced a change in the school population with increased enrollment of ELL, Economically disadvantaged, and minority students. One way we have addressed this change academically is to target these subgroups in remediation programs before, during, and after school. Next year, Roanoke County will also move to block scheduling which I feel will allow for a more differentiated, flexible approach to classroom instruction in order to better address needs across the three domains of learning.
Although a formal needs assessment wasn't conducted, my school has revamped our reading program midstream. When it became apparent that the previous reading program was leaving our students deficient in certain areas, a change was made to incorporate supplementary materials and additional instruction.
Our division has been moving toward an RTI (Response To Intervention) to help determine and address the needs of our students. Also, we have been doing a great deal of professional development on teaching children of poverty based on our community needs.
In our county there has been little done in the way of a needs assessment in the past, but that will soon change. Our county is currently going through a needs assessment of the CTE departments. This will hopefully bring about much needed changes in the way of technological improvements, better textbooks, and more district level guidance for our business teachers.
In Henry County there has been several changes with out ELL program. It was apparent through test results that our ELL students were struggling with content. The county has now enhanced the ELL programs at all levels. These studnets are receiving group time, as well as individual pull out time to get extra help. They are also recieving after school tutoring when necessary. The school has adopted a new reading program due to the test scores involving reading and comprehension. Both the ELL and Reading program had to be upgraded to benefit the students because of the unmet needs they have. There was a descrepany between what the students new and what they need to know. Be enhancing the programs their needs should be met.
ReplyDeleteIn my school, many changes have been made to meet the needs of our students. We have begun using the inclusion model with our special education students after finding that "pull-out" services were not effective. We are also utilizing a writing program across all grade levels because we did not have continuity in the teaching of the writing process. I think that these changes occurred based on the needs of students and the need for continuity in our school.
ReplyDeleteMy school also has enhanced its ELL program. An additional ELL teacher was hired last year. Our hispanic population has grown over the last few years. Our teachers have been trained on instruction to ELL students as well as communication strategies in dealing with their non English speaking parents. We have been encouraged to learn spanish and have hired two instructional assistants who also translate when needed. Many of our newletters are also in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteI am in complete agreement with Samantha Sigmon. Our school has also seen many changes aimed at meeting the diverse needs of students. We use a great deal of differentiating in the classroom to meet student ability and learning styles needs, and we also employ an inclusion approach in math. Also in agreement with P. Beckman, we have been doing a lot to reach out to our Hispanic community - hosting a monthly meeting to discuss school policies and programs in Spanish, and sending out all flyers in English and in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above statements. As our region continues to grow, we are constantly forced to adapt. Until this year our county did not employ a ESL teacher. This year our county has received 5-10 students who are learning English as a second language. Our school also, continues to push our pre-engineering program very hard. Local businesses in the area continue to push for students who can "think on their feet" and have good communication skills. These courses do an excellent job in those areas. As educators, we must continue to adapt the curriculum to meet NEEDS!
ReplyDeleteIn our school, we have been forced to make many changes with the consolidation of another school into ours. Our new teachers have had to adapt to a new Reading program and we have more children who need assistance because of special needs or ELL. We have a very extensive focus on vocabulary for all our students this year due to the number of ELL and special needs students. This change has also helped students at all levels be more successful with all vocabulary, not just with SOL test vocabulary. In the last few years, we have also been expected to adapt lessons to create differentiation. In doing this, it allows for all learners to learn the material on their levels. There has also been a conversational Spanish class that was offered to teachers in order for us to better communicate with our students and their parents.
ReplyDeleteOur county has definitely had to adapt to community needs. Our county has recently welcomed two new technology businesses. Curriculum planners have incorporated more in depth technology proficiency skill into our curriculum. Areas such as computer programming have became top priority. This curriculum change has also occurred at the community college level. The community college recently implemented accelerated computer programming courses to prepare students for jobs at the new businesses. Our county has also implemented an intensive day treatment program to serve elementary students. We are seeing so many more students that have psychological, social and emotional disorders. It seems that we are constantly adapting to changes in the world around us. Our goal is prepare the students to be ready to adapt as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above statements. Our schools, too, are adapting to the changes around them. They are trying to meet the needs of special ed students whether that means fully inclusive or self-contained, it depends on the individual needs. They also differentiate instruction within the classrooms and work on remediation for students with low test scores. They are striving to set into place an ESL teacher to meet the needs of our hispanic community. In the mean time, they are utilizing an ESL resource teacher to help with testing, reading, etc. Other programs have been put into place, especially in the area of technology. Our school system has received an iLearn grant, so is working to get an ipod in the hands of every student in order to give them educational benefits they may not have otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThe county in which I teach, has adopted a new computer program known as SuccessMaker to help elementary students develop comprehension in reading and math. Our county adopted this program based upon the needs of our students in these two highly important subjects. This program identifies strengths and weaknesses or students as well as tracks their progress. I feel that our county has adopted this program to enhance the curriculum and better meet the needs of our students. This program will not only benefit students in the present but it will help them to succeed in future classes.
ReplyDeleteEducation is always in a time of change. Our school is currently working on RTI. We are learning many new ways to meet the needs of all students.
ReplyDeleteI would love to know more about SuccessMaker.
Any changes made by the VDOE and national accrediting organizations (NCATE, for example) affect curriculum development at Radford University. Those changes that affect teachers at classroom level affect the instruction they receive while becoming certified teachers.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is vastly changing our society and in turn our schools/curriculum. In our county's high schools, we have seen a large increase in classes taken on Virtual Public High School. The enrollment in our high schools has increased each semester in the last two years. We have a wide range of students with different levels of capabilities taking classes online with a very high success rate.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, our school is experience many educational changes based on data that is being collected through a variety of assessments. Teachers are looking at their whole and small group teaching, differentation and tiered teaching is occuring across all grade levels.
ReplyDeleteMy school just recently added a program call MASH (Math Assisted Study Hall) based on the need of students get more help with math during the school day. Students are assigned to a study hall with a math teach so that they can get help with math homework assignments and preparing for quizzes or tests. This program was implemented based on the need that students need help, but for whatever reason are not able to get that help before or after school.
ReplyDeleteMy school has made a few changes within the past few years based on assessment of needs. The first one is that of Response to Intervention (RTI). Our division has dismissed the previous "child study" model and has replaced it with a tiered approach to provide individual needs for students. Through implementation of RTI, we have had to adjust curriculum to accomodate different types of learning for students. RTI is data driven, so researching various assessment tools and training staff to adequatley use the data has been challenging. RTI was implemented due to an increase of student's referred for special education testing AND because so many students were reaching the high school and were not able to read.
ReplyDeleteAnother new program recently implemented is the Olweus Bullying Prevention program. Our division purchased this program two years ago based on a needs assessment at the middle school level. There has been a great deal of resistance to this program by teachers, as it "cuts in" to instruction time each week. However, research indicates that students can not learn when their school enviroment is poor and when they are being abused by their peers.
Our county has recently begun a new writing curriculum based upon the needs of our students. Our Director of Instruction compiled the data from SOL scores over the past several years, and although we were 'passing,' the number of advanced scores were declining. Seeing this disaggregated data helped the English departments in the county see that we were falling short in this area. The entire program (designed to enhance our pacing guides) should be in full implementation next year with the 2011-2012 freshmen. It is exciting for us!
ReplyDeleteI have not seen any evidence of a REAL needs assessment in my district, but at the school level, we are responsive to student needs and societal changes in a few ways. A few years ago, as the economy took a turn for the worse, many of our older students (who are also parenting) struggled with consistent attendance, a direct result of needing to work more hours, struggling to pay for their own childcare, etc. In response to those problems, we changed our bell schedule and embedded a period called FIT (focused instructional time) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which gives students additional instructional time in classes where they find themselves behind. Responding to the economy and to student needs in that way has assisted in keeping students on track.
ReplyDeleteBecuase we are a private special education day school we have made many chages to meet the needs of every student. A big one that is not even curriculum related is the need to feed our students. We feed them breakfast and hot lunches usually because it is the only time that they will get to eat.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed a change in math. Our county has really attacked moving math to lower and lower grades. It is a goal to have all students in algebra by 8th grade. I am not sure the needs for this change are broader than SOL success but I like to believe that is in an answer to the needs in the business world for our students to compete. Other regions, states and countries are ahead of our kids and it is being addressed.
ReplyDeleteEven though I am in a public school, I agree with Kirby. There is a proposal to feed our high school students "free" breakfast as is done in elementary schools. Also, Rich Acres Elementary sends home every Friday, a bag of food for the 20 most needy students in that school.
ReplyDeleteIn my school we had a needs assessment because our reading scores were low. It was decided that even though the curriculum in our previous reading program was all there, we needed something that was scripted to ensure all of the teachers were teaching the material to its fullest potential.
ReplyDeleteAnother needs assessment that my school uses is the same as what Sherry mentioned, Response to Intervention (RTI). This program has tiers that accommodate to the students learning. This was implemented in our school to try to dwindle down the number of students put through the child study process without having a true reason to be in it.
At Martinsville City, we have incorporated a number of new things within the past two years. in order to meet high expectations for all students and to raise the bar for achievement, our students must make 80% and above on weekly assessments in order to pass. The use of weekly assessments is new too. Its our way of checking for understanding. We then use the RTI model to tier our students based on their score. This allows us to provide remediation to students who are below 80%. This allowed the Middle School to make AYP last year and its part of our vision, mission, and goals to provide learning for all, whatever it takes.
ReplyDeleteMany changes have been made but the biggest improvement will come next year. All of our students are receiving their own laptop (5th-12th graders) to use during the school year. They will have to return them when they leave for summer break but what a way to improve student needs huh? Many of my students are unable to improve their knowledge of computers/writing because they do not have enough money to buy a computer. This way, we can differentiate instruction and integrate even more in our subject areas.
ReplyDeleteOur school has endured many changes to increase academic achievement and success for all students. Every teacher is aligning objectives with pacing and curriculum guides and making sure that they fall within the New Blooms Taxonomy guidelines. A process of analyzing and charting student success and weaknesses has been implemented.
ReplyDeleteDonna Fortune
ReplyDeleteOur county has undergone a few changes based on 'needs assessments'. Many of our schools also send home 20 bags of students, (which has increased to 27 since the beginning of the school year) each week, we have also underwent Ruby Payne training, Olweus training, and RTI has become our new program for intervention for low achieving students. I think all of these can be based on the social processes presented in our text.
In my school district did a needs assessment to help students on the weekends that do not have food, we incorporated the “bookbag” program. Snacks are sent home on the weekend to ensure the students are getting something to eat. Also, we are using RTI, which is used to catch struggling children early, provide appropriate instruction, and prevent the need to refer the child for special education.
ReplyDeleteIn my school district the needs improvement I have been affected by has been going to total "Inclusion" for our students with a special need. We are working on incorporating them into the classroom along side their peers. We are working on RTI for the past couple years to keep students out of being referred to special ed, only if we can see other ways are not successful for the student.
ReplyDeleteAt my school, we have focused on the integration of two Reading programs. Based on the Golden Package of both schools(consolidated), we saw that neither the Direct Instruction nor the basal alone was AS effective. Now we are trying to use the two together.
ReplyDeleteThis decision was also based on the strong encouragement from teachers who disliked one program over another.
The big thing in our county now is RTI. Each school is doing more with interventions and remediation. All schools have a team of teachers set up to brainstorm with fellow teachers when they do not know what else to do to help a student. Common assessments are being used to assist with remediation of students. We are also making sure we know which tier every student is on and if they are on tier 2 or 3, that they are receiving any help that is necessary and available.
ReplyDeleteIn our school we conducted a needs assessment for the Social Studies program, because the drop in scores from last semester to this semester. Thus, we realize that the test change drastically and our teaching methods were going to have to change drastically.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the lack of space in our school, we have leaned more toward inclusion and co-teaching. There are not enough classrooms and one of the superintendents initiatives is to remove trailers from school grounds. The school board does not like trailers. Our school has started pushing for coteaching and larger class sizes. We have even looked into prof development for those teachers who are against change.
ReplyDeleteAs Patty said, our school, too, has moved more toward inclusion and team-teaching. I think this not only benefits those students receiving services, but also the regular ed students in the classroom. It allows them a different "face" and quite possibly a different approach from the teacher.
ReplyDeleteAs a special education teacher I have found that needs assessment is a strong tool that we utilize in assuring that the placement of our students is correct. At the end of each school year our special education teachers write IEPs that may place a student in inclusion or a smaller resource room. At the beginning of the next year it is important to make sure that each student is in the proper least restrictive environment. The results of this needs assessments impacts not only passing the particular class but also in achieving credits toward graduation.
ReplyDeleteOur county has added many resources for math, an area that we have been historically weak based on needs assessments. We have purchased access to Interactive Achievement as a way to create benchmark tests. The program instantly disaggregates test data and is now being used in other subjects.
ReplyDeleteMy principal has began to offer examples and devote staff development opportunites and faculy meetings to providing information on various instructional models and methods. We haven't conducted an official needs assessment, but during meetings of the School Improvement Committee when came across evidence that suggested we needed to vary our instructional practices. I dont think this change is related to the social processes.
ReplyDeleteOur institutional models as well as our mission and vision have changed because of needs assessments. These were in response, I think, to changes in the population as we become a more diverse community.
ReplyDeleteOne of the major products which has been purchased on our count pertaining to needs assessment is Interactive Achievement. One of our middle schools was to the point where the state was going to come in and take over to help improve math score. Interactive Achievement has allowed them to use benchmark testing to determine where students are throughout the year to better prepare them for the state tests.
ReplyDeleteMy school system has also begun to use Interactive Achievement in order to conduct formative assessments on a weekly basis. This program has been implemented so teachers can be made aware and address specific needs in both math and english more efficiently. Recently, My school has experienced a change in the school population with increased enrollment of ELL, Economically disadvantaged, and minority students. One way we have addressed this change academically is to target these subgroups in remediation programs before, during, and after school. Next year, Roanoke County will also move to block scheduling which I feel will allow for a more differentiated, flexible approach to classroom instruction in order to better address needs across the three domains of learning.
ReplyDeleteAlthough a formal needs assessment wasn't conducted, my school has revamped our reading program midstream. When it became apparent that the previous reading program was leaving our students deficient in certain areas, a change was made to incorporate supplementary materials and additional instruction.
ReplyDeleteOur division has been moving toward an RTI (Response To Intervention) to help determine and address the needs of our students. Also, we have been doing a great deal of professional development on teaching children of poverty based on our community needs.
ReplyDeleteIn our county there has been little done in the way of a needs assessment in the past, but that will soon change. Our county is currently going through a needs assessment of the CTE departments. This will hopefully bring about much needed changes in the way of technological improvements, better textbooks, and more district level guidance for our business teachers.
ReplyDelete