CalSTAT Leadership Profile Series
The California Institute on Human Services
Casey J. Morrigan Associates - November 2006
Marine View Middle School (MVMS) enrolls 937 students in grades 6 through 8. Located in Huntington Beach, Orange County, it received a Leadership Award through CalSTAT for the core message area of literacy in 2005. Almost 20% of MVMS’ students are English Language Learners; 8% are in special education; and 20% are in the Free and Reduced Price Meal program.
About eight years ago, the administration and teachers at the school became concerned about their students’ low reading scores. They knew that some of their 8th grade students were leaving school reading more than two years below grade level, and they were concerned that students were not prepared for high school. They embarked on a concerted effort to increase literacy levels at their school.
Their approach was twofold. First, they began researching literacy programs so that they could identify those that would best serve their school. Second, they decided that they needed to shift how teachers were delivering literacy instruction so that more of their students could receive intensive intervention. Because they had no special funding, the school leveraged its resources by including students receiving special education services in general education classrooms, and grouping all students by ability levels for literacy instruction. Resource and general education teachers for one classroom began collaborating outside the classroom in assessment, placement, modifications, and curriculum standards tracking.
At the same time that the school was selecting and implementing new literacy interventions, the English Language (EL) and Special Day Class (SDC) teachers turned over and new staff that were familiar with collaboration joined the school. The general and special education staff had collaborated on a very small scale before then to blend students and provide support to students regardless of special education labels; but the scale of collaboration expanded greatly with the new staff. Teachers were encouraged and supported in this expansion by school and district administration. The principal particularly encouraged general education teachers toward ownership of outcomes for all the children in the school.
“…[I]t is a shift in thinking…so when they’re having a problem with a child and they say, ‘Well, send him to Special Ed.’ [then we say] ‘They’re your child. What are you going to do in your classroom?’”
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School
The school’s approach was further refined after staff participated in ERIA (Effective Reading Intervention Academy, hosted by Kevin Feldman, Ed.D.) in January 2005. Through this training, provided through CalSTAT, staff realized that they needed to better match children’s needs to specific elements of literacy intervention. This is the foundation of Marine View’s approach.
Planning begins in the August before the school year. The school starts by reviewing CST (California Standards Test) scores in the aggregate and for individual children. Those students who appear to need support are further assessed using the Johns Basic Reading Inventory (BRI) for more specific information; the cum file is also reviewed; and the school consults with parents to round out the picture. Students are invited into the discussion as well. Parents and incoming students are made aware of MVMS’ programs the previous school year, since the principal meets with all 5th grade classes in the previous spring, and provides orientation to parents as well.
“Our elementary school parents hear how much success the middle school kids are making in their middle school career.”
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School
Once the children who need intervention are identified, and the intervention type is matched to the child, those instructional blocks are scheduled and the rest of the school schedule is built around them. The school uses research-based interventions for the particular element of literacy that any student or group needs to strengthen.
The reading interventions usually used at Marine View include Language!, for students reading more than 2 years below grade level; High Point for those who need to focus on English language acquisition; and, to further supplement English learning, Step Up to Writing is also used. A reading support class for students who are no more than 2 years below grade level is provided during school hours. English Language Learners may work after school for additional work in fluency and vocabulary using Read Naturally or REWARDS (these interventions are also available to students who speak English only). Students receive literacy interventions by ability groupings, regardless of special education designation.
Collaboration time has in the past been mainly informal; teachers do get one release day per trimester and four late start days per year for planning and tracking progress of their children.
In order to increase parent buy-in and also to support instructional staff, the school has trained parents to help with literacy interventions, assessments and data collection. Parents, together with students, are convened annually by the principal and school site council to evaluate the school’s programs and governance. Data on schoolwide achievement is shared then and the school has implemented many of the suggestions that parents and students have made at that venue.
The school generally uses a “train the trainer” approach to staff development. Teachers receive training in literacy programs, and then return to train others. The district provides support by ensuring that teachers have all curriculum and support materials and supplies.
“I think it’s a fairly pervasive belief that we really can do it ourselves. Just give us the opportunity and get one training and we can help everybody else do it here.”
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School
Planning
Marine View began its search for a more effective model with a comprehensive fact-finding and planning process that included staff development workshops with experts in literacy instruction. Literacy specialists, such as Kevin Feldman and Janet Allen, were recommended to the school by a district administrator who was working with them. A school team, usually consisting of the principal and several general and special education teachers, would attend trainings and workshops and then debrief the school’s staff at monthly planning meetings. More than 10 of these trips were made over the course of the planning process. Costs were limited to workshop fees, mileage, substitutes for releasing teachers during the school day, and teacher per diems for trips taken during the summer. Travel costs were minimal because all of these activities were within driving distance of the school.
The planning process was aided by the participation of the school’s literacy teachers in monthly, district-wide Teachers of Literacy Council meetings. These meetings provided a forum for the district’s middle school literacy teachers to discuss instructional strategies and share their experiences with effective practices and ongoing challenges. Although the meetings were held after school, the participating teachers were not paid for their time.
Ongoing
As a school with few discretionary resources, Marine View’s new approach had to be implemented within the limits of its current budget. This was accomplished by moving the school’s special education staff from small pull-out classes exclusively for students with IEPs into general education classrooms where they could provide support to more students who were struggling with literacy.
“The big picture is really looking at things differently… [W]hat do the kids need? How do we take our resources and allocate those resources based on what kids need, not just on what we’ve always done?”
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School
Staff
The role of the school’s RSP (Resource Specialist Program) teachers is now primarily to teach literacy intervention classes tailored to students’ needs. These classes serve both IEP and non-IEP students and in some cases may be taught along with a general education teacher. The intervention classes are part of the school’s regular master schedule as opposed to pull-out.
Time
Instructional Time. The school’s schedule building process was changed to give priority to the new leveled intervention courses. Time was made for these classes by eliminating pull-out instruction and reducing the number of general education classes.
Collaboration Time. Teachers make use of whatever free time they can find for collaboration, often meeting before or after school or during lunch. In some cases teacher teams may have a common planning period, but this is not universal. During the 2006-07 school year, for the first time, more significant blocks of time are being set aside for collaboration by providing one release day each trimester and five late start days per year for curriculum planning and tracking student progress. While the school now has more planning time than in the past, it could use even more time. Ideally, the school would like to expand the number of late start days to two per month.
Other Resources
Discretionary Funds. The majority of the school’s literacy approach has been funded through the reallocation of its current general fund resources, though it does receive limited support from external sources. The district supplies much of the school’s general education and intervention curricula and also provides for teacher release days during the school year. The school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Association also raises money for instructional materials and supplies. The school uses its CalSTAT Leadership Site grant rimarily for staff development purposes.
Intervention Programs. The school provides varying levels of intervention programs based on the needs of its students, using the research-based intervention programs Language!, High Point, Read Naturally, REWARDS, and Step Up to Writing.
Students who are two grade levels or more behind in reading, math or social studies are assigned to an Intervention Class. Intervention classes offer small class sizes, usually twenty or fewer students, and are taught by both special and general education teachers. The small class size is achieved by increasing the average class size of other general education classes. Students who need more intensive help with math may have an additional math intervention class in lieu of science. The school is exploring ways for increasing the amount of time available for intervention classes.
Students struggling with reading are placed in a Reading Support Class in place of their regular English/language arts class. The intervention programs used in the Reading Support Classes is determined by the needs of the students.
The school also provides a Read Naturally lab after school. The program is offered three days per week for one hour and is staffed by a teacher and two bilingual aides. It is primarily used to support students who are not proficient in English.
Professional Development. School site funds and the CalSTAT grant are used to fund most of its professional development activities. The school tries to stretch its professional development dollar by using a train-the-trainer strategy, under which one or two teachers attend formal training and then train the remaining school staff on site.
Parent training is provided by the school so that parents can support the literacy interventions their children are receiving.
Much of the school’s success in adopting the collaborative literacy model may be attributed to the commitment of its teachers to improving outcomes for students. The school has been relentless in staying focused on improvement, constantly evaluating how well its programs are working.
“They’re [the teachers] absolutely committed to making it work for kids.”
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School
Marine View’s reputation as a high quality school has spread and parents move into the attendance area in order for their children to go. The level of parent support is high.
Teacher morale is also high, and is demonstrated in their enthusiasm for supporting and encouraging all students toward high expectations and standards.
“…[T]he parents notice the growth [in student reading skills]…It’s been so drastic that they’ve noticed it and even have made a point to say, ‘Thank you so much for helping them.’ And the students themselves see that they are growing.”
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School
As students become more successful academically, their behavior improves and they become more engaged, resulting in less time spent on discipline and more on instruction.
Relationships between parents and the school in IEP meetings have improved.
“We do have some 6th graders with some parents who move into the area…and they have advocates [for IEP meetings], and [the advocates] are usually fired within the first year. We do such a great job of customizing…that parents don’t have to scream and yell at us…Advocates have melted away…the parents are very happy because their children are succeeding.”
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School
The school has experienced a dramatic decrease in the number of special education referrals since the approach was adopted. During the 2005-06 school year only two referrals were made. Special education case loads have also declined significantly, and teachers feel they are spending far less staff time on assessments, IEP meetings and paperwork.
As teachers built trust they were able to move to ownership of all children, beyond boundaries of special and general education. However, this took time to develop.
“[I]t’s just a constant pushing…against conventional wisdom in education that… ‘I’m in my own ittle box and I’m going to stay there.’”
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School
Teachers needed training and support on the additional workload of collecting and using data from some of the literacy programs which rely on periodic and/or frequent testing. Much of this was solved by involving parents, but the workload issues have engendered some resistance.
Marine View is currently focusing its improvement efforts in two areas. First, it is working to make better use of data for matching student needs with the appropriate interventions. Second, because the school has a high level of student mobility, it is searching for strategies to accelerate the learning of struggling students who will be enrolled for only one or two years. Their goal is to have all students at grade level when they leave the school. To accomplish this, the school is looking into increasing instructional time through greater use of extended day or summer school programs.
While the district does not have plans to expand Marine View’s programming to other schools, the school is ready to focus on mathematics, and staff would like to expand their expertise in academic language, active participation, and vocabulary development in all content areas. In-service’s with Dr. Anita Archer and Dr. Jan Hasbrouck are planned.
“I don’t think it’s so much about…one individual child, although definitely I’ve had kids who made great growth. But I think when I first came here my big concern was the number of long time English learners--the kids who were born in this country who were still in ESL at twelve and thirteen years of age…I thought, something is not right. Something is not right here. And so when I first came here I was looking at the data…we had sixty-seven ESL kids and I was servicing about sixty of them in my classes. This year we have 101 ESL kids and I’m only working with thirty-nine…[I]t’s not so much necessarily about my being…this fantastic amazing teacher, [but rather] other teachers’ having strategies…skills…training…and being able to see that ESL is not necessarily the place for a child who is now thirteen.
-Interviewee, Marine View Middle School