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

Apollo’s School Improvement Goal 2022- 2024, by spring of 2024, is that 75% or more of students will reach typical growth on the i-Ready spring assessment.
By the spring of 2024, 60% or more of students in subgroups (MLL, Low Income, Hispanic, and Students with Disabilities) scoring below grade level will reach 80% of their target growth goal in i-Ready reading

Reflection on Previous Year School Improvement Plan

Guiding Questions:

What actions were successfully implemented?
What impact was observed (or not)? What evidence did you use to determine impact?
How did actions impact disproportionality and/or engagement with families of disproportionally impacted population?
What actions would you continue? What actions would you change? Why?

Apollo’s SIP improvement goal for 2021-2022 focused on Reading using the i-Ready assessment data to track improvement. The Apollo MTSS Leadership Team made a priority focus on the students who were below and significantly below grade level in reading. Title and LAP programs utilized the Really Great Reading, Benchmark Phonics and Heggerty curricula in their targeted small group(s) intervention program. In the classrooms, teachers utilized 30-minute “Success Block” structured time for focused word work and reading comprehension in small group and independent settings four times per week to improve students’ vocabulary and reading skills. Additionally, grade level teams identified a teacher to instruct the Really Great Reading curriculum as gap-closing intervention for those students whose fall i-Ready reading diagnostics score was below grade level but did not rank low enough for TLAP intervention.

Apollo’s academic and behavior intervention teachers serve on the MTSS Tier 2 team; providing input on academic data and student growth; which in turn gave specific diagnostic instructional targets and actions, through i-Ready data, for students’ reading growth. Overall, students did make gains in the academic strands of high-frequency words, phonics and phonemic awareness, while reading comprehension and comprehension from informational text and vocabulary continue to be areas of improvement focus.

Apollo’s 2021-2022 school improvement goal was for 80% of students, grades 1-5, to meet or exceed their typical growth via i-Ready diagnostics and 25% of students that were two or more grade levels below standard to meet or exceed their stretch growth. Through three diagnostics given in 2021 –2022, 69% of students met their typical growth and 31% met their stretch growth. Absences, due to the restrictions of COVID-19, made an impact on instructional consistency for students, which contributed lower-than-expected typical growth. Conversely, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding their stretch growth exceeded expectation and that is due to more targeted instructional material, time dedicated to targeted instruction through intervention services, and the ability to practice with i-Ready at home with continued support through educational technology applications.

i-Ready learning and diagnostic data is readily available for parents and students to view through students’ Clever pages, which has made an impact with regards to families’ knowledge and understanding of student work, progress, and learning strands. Additionally, providing Family Night Meetings dedicated to i-Ready programming, Guided Language Acquisition Development, as well as conducting Recovery Service Meetings and services during the school year contributed to the growth of students impacted by aspects of disproportionality.

Apollo’s 2022-2024 SIP Goals continue to be focused on reading improvement as targeted growth recovery and acceleration of students in disproportionality subgroups and who are not meeting standard (Multi-Language Learners, Hispanic, Low Income, and Special Education) being paramount.

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 Elementary School

Process
Findings

Process

Apollo’s MTSS Leadership began in August 2022 through October 2022, reviewing i-Ready reading data from spring 2022 and fall 2022. Based on the outcomes of the fall 2022 i-Ready reading diagnostic data for grades 1 to 5, there were 58% of students meeting or exceeding grade level and 42% of students who were one to two grade levels below grade level. The team determined that the components of targeted instruction that need explicit instructional focus are vocabulary and overall comprehension of literature and informational text as well as striving for continued growth in all reading skills areas. The intended outcome would be to deepen knowledge of vocabulary and overall reading comprehension as an essential element to student academic achievement based on the instructional practices of the Reading Foundational Skills Curricula.

Findings

Apollo’s MTSS Leadership Team reviewed the most recent WSIF data study and 2021-2022 ISD SIP Data Dashboard and determined Apollo’s student population who qualify for Special Education, MLL, and/or were identified in the subgroup categories of Low Income and Hispanic-Latinx are progressing with 27% proficiency and the goal for 2024 is an increase of proficiency to 38%.

Students in the disproportionality sub-groups, have made gains from the start of the 2021-2022 school year and a positive root cause of this progression can be attributed to the adoption of the Reading Foundation Skills curriculum, which, when used efficiently and effectively, negates the root cause of students in disproportionality groups not closing the gap due to lack of resources and time used effectively to close those gaps.

Prior to the adoption of the Reading Foundation Skills curriculum, a root cause for slow or stagnant progress for students who were behind academically and socially can be attributed to those students receiving their reading instruction in their grade level class that was less likely to be at their current levels and receiving their reading intervention instruction outside of class and away from whole-class-learning, resulting in the absence of valuable exposure to other subject area instruction with their grade level peers. The Reading Foundation Skills curriculum provides students with accessible tiered levels of gap-closing instruction along with the dedicating consistent daily exposure to the content through the staggered daily Success Blocks schedule, which also creates the ability for Apollo’s interventionists to conduct their small group reading intervention instruction at the same time as the grade level teachers are conducting their small group instruction for students not attending interventionist groups.

Apollo’s MTSS Leadership team reviewed the adjustments made in 2021-2022 with regards to how and when students receive intervention instruction with the Reading Foundation Skills curricula and noted 1) the impactful changes made to the service delivery models, 2) additional instructional time dedicated to reading improvement, 3) the ability to provide students receiving targeted instruction in Really Great Reading with their teachers in the general education setting coupled with 4) professional development training of intentional use of high-level teaching modalities will continue to produce an increase the percentage of students progressing to proficient readers.

School-Based Action Plan

Action

Implementation

Impact: Evidence/Monitoring

Improving attendance of students in disproportionality sub group(s)

Weekly texts/calls to families via admin and Family Support Liaison about importance of being in school without interruption
Voice Mentor/Student Partnerships
Celebration Incentive/recognition for demonstrated improved attendance

Monitor weekly attendance: increase in % of days attended

Communication has produced improvements to reducing absences as well as is acting as a conduit for family support
Voice Mentors creating a positive link to school experience (i.e. Students at school on days with mentors)

Increase Apollo Leadership team to include Equity, MLL, Special Ed leaders, Ed Tech Leader and Tier 1 team members

Focus on data and implementation of: academics, assessment, and instructional practices for T-1 with emphasis on high- leverage practices through a culturally responsive lens
Student Support: Expectations, Incentives, Guidance, Instructional Practices
Apollo’s initial Tiered Fidelity Inventory Assessment with Dr. Maggie Schulze

Improvement methodology is the focus with all stakeholders in leadership roles participating in the implementation of high- leverage practices in academics and social instruction through a cultural lens of delivery. Apollo’s focus in 2022-2023 is Universally Designed Instruction through the lens of Trauma Informed Practices.
Utilizing data from Student Soft Skills Data from Spring 2022 and monthly SWIS Data to understand where social gaps can be retaught and improved and survey students to assess where gains are being made. (i.e. teaching listening methods and skills so all students feel heard by peers and teachers).
Dr. Schulze’s assessment data of Apollo’s Tier 1 practice showed the team was meeting expectations and offered ways to increase the effectiveness of the team’s work:
- Parent involvement in Tier 1:
  - Site Council and Principal’s Report during PTA General Meetings.
  - Provide end of trimester parent surveys to determine effectiveness of supports.
  - MTSS Leadership Team to assess feedback on current needs and determine if those are still applicable to the direction of improvement.
- Update Behavior Matrix
  - To include social emotional interventions
  - Additional details to flow chart and actions

Action: Providing additional Tier 1 SEL lessons and support for student character growth with Character Strong’s “PurposeFull People”

Apollo awarded an ISF Grant for "PurposeFull People” PreK - 5th grade social & emotional learning and character development
Counselor directing whole class lessons that are aligned and in addition to the SEL instruction with the Second Step curriculum.

Students are receiving additional instruction in how to adopt and grow their character traits that is meant to increase their confidence and aptitude of community and cultures.
Classroom teachers are able to participate with the students as a partner in this setting which is growing the “classroom community.”
Additional lessons lengthen the MTSS SEL instruction to 38 weeks for all students

SIP Team & Final Review

Principal: Jane Harris
Site Council/PTSA Review Date: December 16, 2022
Supervisor Review: Melinda Reynvaan, December 8, 2022
School Board Review Date: February 15, 2023

Leadership Team:

Alex Merritt, Asst. Principal & Student Support Lead
Jessica Ferranti, Academics
Hailey Woodbury, Student Support
Jennifer Reuland, Academics
Andrea Wolfe, Student Support
Tiffany Henry, Academics
Amanda White, Student Support
Kristal Sherrid, Academics
Angela Louser, Student Support
Susan Carr, Academics
Alyssa Wales, Student Support
Emily Mitchell, Academics
Courtney Mentzer, Student Support
Erin Courtmanch, Academics and Special ED.
Rebecca Kennedy, Academics and MLL
Sarah Shero, Equity Lead
Sydney Hall, Counselor
Jennifer Quimbey, Academics and Specialist

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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