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 May/June 2023:
- 80% of Grand Ridge students, Grades 1-5, will maintain or increase by at least 0.1 on the detail report in the domain of numbers and operations on the i-Ready Math assessment. Growth will be measured from Fall 2022 to Spring 2023.
- 75% of the striving math group (Level 1 & Level 2) will increase by at least 0.2 on the detail report in the domain of numbers and operations on the i-Ready Math Assessment. Growth will be measured from Fall 2022 to Spring 2023.
Guiding Questions
Reflecting on previous action plans
- What actions were successfully implemented?
- What was observed? What evidence did you use to determine impact?
- How did actions impact disproportionality and equity?
- What actions would you continue or change?
What actions were successfully implemented?
What was observed? What evidence did you use to determine impact?
How did actions impact disproportionality and equity?
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.
School-Based Action Plan
Action | Implementation | Impact: Evidence/Monitoring |
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Professional Book Study: From Reading to Math by Maggie Siena We are focusing on this book to make the connection for staff that high leverage practices transition across subject matter. Strong instructional practice in reading should be the same as strong instructional practice in math. (for example, decoding, fluency and vocabulary) |
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Establish ongoing partnership with ISD Math TOSA, Rowena Duane, to provide timely and impactful professional development for staff in regards to evidence-based instructional practices. |
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Partnering with Sunset Elementary to build a professional learning community (collective learning) across schools to broaden and deepen thinking focused on data-driven instructional practices. |
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Student interaction/responses on Seesaw blog, Flipgrid |
Establishing a common Student Growth Goal (SGG) framework building-wide to support ongoing cross-grade level student-focused conversations. Common SGGs provide an opportunity for all staff to use common language when discussing student progress in numbers & operations. |
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Use of common assessment tool in numbers and operations for all students, grades K-5. |
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Family Math Night |
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Math Padlet |
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Learning Walks – Critical Friends Groups (focus on math) |
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Grizzly Dens |
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Student of Focus (SoF) Roundtable |
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Counselor & Admin-Led SEL Follow-up Lessons |
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SWIS |
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Community Events (Sock it to me! And Apple Cup Food Drive) & Monthly Spirit Days |
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Fifth Grade Leaders on-time attendance increases due to community engagement before/after school |
Fifth Grade Leaders |
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Great Kids/Monthly Character Traits, videos, etc. |
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Cross-Grade Level Buddies |
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Equity Events: Reading Without Walls |
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Students who complete the challenge have their name displayed on a “Reading without Walls” school-wide bulletin board |
Hour of Code |
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Students are able to independently, or with a partner, solve future coding challenges on their own |
Optional additional explanation/rationale/researchWhile we would like to acknowledge that we have continued work to do in the area of literacy, which has been our SIP focus for the last 3-plus years, we have strategies and practices in place that align our academic practices in this area with our MTSS structure. We feel confident with the Tier 1 practices (diagnostic assessments, progress monitoring, Success Blocks) we have in place and that when we are then looking at students for potential Tier 2 support through our Tier 2 Team, we have multiple pieces of data and strategies that help inform our thinking in terms of “next steps”. We feel that with these structures and strategies in place, our literacy scores will continue to increase over time, including real progress for our students with gap-closing goals. When looking at math, we do not have these same structures and strategies in place, hence the shift of focus to math for this SIP cycle. We currently use a whole class lesson instructional model and do not have a consistent practice of small group and additional interventions in place. We have i-Ready that helps to inform our instruction. The i-Ready Math assessment is given three times a year but unlike reading/literacy, we do not use the data in the same way and in alignment with our MTSS structure. When we look at students who struggle in math, we do not have as many data points nor do we have as many strategies and built-in structures of support. Our district scores indicate that our students, as a cohort, have lost more ground in math than in any other academic, post-pandemic. Results for students who took the test in spring 2022—the first main National Assessment of Educational Progress administration for these grades since the pandemic began—show the biggest drop in math performance in 4th and 8th grades since the testing program began in 1990. (Education Weekly, 10/24/22) “The results show the profound toll on student learning during the pandemic, as the size and scope of the declines are the largest ever in mathematics,” said National Center for Education Statistics commissioner Peggy G. Carr in a press release announcing the report. The steepest declines were found in 8th grade math, both nationally and in the Northwest. In Washington, students scored 10 points lower. (U.S. Department of Education, Nation’s Report Card) Rationale to change our SIP focus from literacy to math would be that we currently have district-mandated practices in place for literacy (dyslexia law, SLPs, LAP, Success Blocks, newly adopted Benchmark Phonics at the Kindergarten Level, Really Great Reading and the data-driven process to qualify, Words Their Way, etc.) as well as robust interventions for Tier 2 and anticipate an increase in our SBA Literacy scores due to these adopted practices. We currently lack this depth of practice, as well as student-centered strategies for our struggling mathematicians and would advocate that with increased focus on strong instructional practice and MTSS-aligned strategies, we can work to close the gap for our most struggling students and increase math scores for all students. |
SIP Team & Final Review
- Principal: Jill Ravenscraft
- Site Council/PTSA Review Date: January, 2023
- Supervisor Review: Susan Mundell
- School Board Review Date: February 15, 2023
Leadership Team:
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Gary Aguilar, Assistant Principal
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Judith Fernstrom, Counselor
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Pearl Doherty, Kindergarten Teacher
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Lindsey de Haan, 1st Grade Teacher
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Holly Polak, 2nd Grade Teacher
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Patty Elmer, 3rd Grade Teacher
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Emily Melograna, 4th Grade Teacher
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Leah Stettler-Schug, 5th Grade Teacher
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Laura Kamau, Building-Based Equity Lead