SLIDE 1
Elementary Trimesters
Presentation to the Board of Directors
Emily Gainor - 2nd Grade Teacher Amy McKelvey - Instrumental Music Teacher Christy Sauers - Kindergarten Teacher Stephanie Welak - 5th Grade Teacher
Elementary Trimesters Presentation to the Board of Directors Emily - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Elementary Trimesters Presentation to the Board of Directors Emily - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Elementary Trimesters Presentation to the Board of Directors Emily Gainor - 2nd Grade Teacher Amy McKelvey - Instrumental Music Teacher Christy Sauers - Kindergarten Teacher Stephanie Welak - 5th Grade Teacher Quarters vs. Trimesters Quarters
SLIDE 2
SLIDE 3
Why Trimesters?
- Teachers requested trimesters.
- Provides more opportunities to build relationships and rapport with students
before formal grade reporting.
- Gives teachers a longer window of time to provide instruction, collect and
analyze data, monitor growth, and allow for reteaching and enrichment prior to formal grade reporting.
- Provides students with the time they need to reach the required levels of
mastery of PA Core and Academic Standards prior to formal grade reporting.
- Shifts the focuses to the quality of student work.
- Greater focus on student learning rather than testing.
- There is a conference in the first and second half of the year.
SLIDE 4
Review Process
- Superintendent’s Advisory Committee
- Proposed Trimester Calendar was
posted on the Website August 2018
- Trimesters Committee Formed
- Visit to Derry Township School District
- Elementary Principals’ Meeting
- Special Education Director Input
- Faculty Meetings
- Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)
- PTA Meetings
- Teacher Survey
- Parent Survey
SLIDE 5
Teacher Survey Analysis
- 352 out of 423 Elementary Professional Staff Responded
(83%)
- Teacher view on moving to trimesters:
○ 79.83% Like or Extremely Like ○ 4.54% Dislike or Extremely Dislike
SLIDE 6
Teacher Survey Analysis
- Science & Social St., Specials, K & 1st Grade grades: (352 Responses)
- Second conference moved from January to March: (352 Responses)
○ 63.92% Like ○ 13.64% Dislike
- Those with prior experience (child’s school, former teaching experience, etc). Only 60 of
the 352 Responses had prior experience. ○ 88.33% of the 60 Liked trimesters ○ 11.67% of the 60 Disliked trimesters
SLIDE 7
Teacher Survey Analysis
- Advantages of Trimesters: (293 Responses)
○ More time... ■ between reports & IPRs to help students be successful; to see student growth ■ before 1st conference to get to know students (learning habits/abilities/etc.), establish classroom norms, and provide instruction ■ to implement interventions ■ to gather information/collect evidence of student learning & gauge student needs ■ between conferences ■ for students to set goals, master content, and improve grades ○ More information to provide parents at conferences ○ Less report card work but measuring the same amount of time - able to show more progress between report cards ○ Less focus on grades, more focus on growth, learning and mastering standards ○ Conferences in fall & spring; Conferences in March ○ Puts CDSD on par with surrounding districts including, but not limited to, Cumberland Valley, Derry Township, Lower Dauphin, and Palmyra
SLIDE 8
Teacher Survey Analysis
- Disadvantages of Trimesters: (276 Responses)
○ Change - teacher/parent understanding & adjustment; dealing with push back
■ This PowerPoint available on the District Website
○ Conference concerns - week of Thanksgiving; March is close to PSSAs/late in the year; affected by snow days; more time between teacher/parent face-to-face meeting ○ Grades: ■ More time between report cards & IPRs - less feedback
- Teachers are expected to continue to communicate regularly with parents
■ How grades are reported for Science/Social Studies/Specials/K/1st Grade
- All feedback will be considered when making this determination
■ May prevent identification of struggling students with fewer reported grades
- All schools are following the MTSS/RtII framework which includes ongoing
review of student progress.
SLIDE 9
Teacher Survey Analysis
- Disadvantages of Trimesters: (276 Responses)
○ Scheduling: ■ Elementary grade reporting being different from secondary grade reporting
- There will be an adjustment period
■ More challenges for students transitioning from 5th to 6th grade
- We will look at how to best prepare the students
- Discussion with other districts - see no issues with student transition
○ Minor changes to the LA and Math curriculums to adjust to the schedule change
■ No foreseen changes to these curricular areas
○ IEPs that state progress reports are issued quarterly
■ Can still issue progress reports quarterly that are based on IEP goals
SLIDE 10
Teacher Survey Analysis
- Questions/Concerns - not previously addressed: (132 Responses)
○ How will the report card change to reflect trimesters (competencies)?
■ The competencies that teachers complete will be realigned to trimesters
○ Will personal leave the week of Thanksgiving be approved due to conferences?
■ The teacher contract will be followed
○ Would benchmarking be adjusted?
■ No - This will actually align better with benchmarking
○ Specials: teachers want input for grading decisions; move to O, S, N for grading; competencies only for trimesters 1 & 2 with a final grade for trimester 3.
■ Specials teachers will have an opportunity to give input
○ Only grade using competencies (no letter grade)
■ Standards-based report cards will be looked at in the future
SLIDE 11
Parent Survey Analysis
- 576 Parent Responses
- Parent view on moving to trimesters:
○ 60.94% Like or Extremely Like ○ 16.67% Dislike or Extremely Dislike
SLIDE 12
Parent Survey Analysis
- Science & Social St., Specials, K & 1st Grade grades: (576 Responses)
- Second conference moved from January to March: (576 Responses)
○ 46.70% Like ○ 34.55% Dislike
SLIDE 13
Parent Survey Analysis
- Advantages of Trimesters: (425 Responses)
○ More time... ■ between reports & IPRs to help students be successful ■ to get to know students (learning habits/abilities/etc.) before grades & conferences; for students to readjust after summer break; more information to provide to parents at November conferences ■ to provide instruction, reteach and evaluate student comprehension ■ to group students by levels, make accommodations, know student abilities ■ between conferences ■ for students to master content, improve grades, and show what they learned ○ Report cards and conferences spread evenly throughout the year; More efficient grading for teacher; More naturally divides up the school year ○ Better communication; Conferences in March; Conferences near Thanksgiving; Having conferences in both halves of the year ○ Able to show more progress between report cards ○ More focus on mastering skills ○ Better knowledge of my child’s academics
SLIDE 14
Parent Survey Analysis
- Disadvantages of Trimesters: (408 Responses)
○ Change - teacher/parent understanding & adjustment; less familiarity with schedule; confusion for parents who have children in both elementary and secondary schools
■ We will make this PowerPoint available on the District Website
○ Conferences/Communication: ■ Parent/teachers first meeting is later; longer time between major feedback; week
- f Thanksgiving
■ Lack of communication; Teachers must keep in contact with parents; Cannot wait until conference time for first contact ■
Teachers are expected to continue to communicate regularly with parents
○ Consistency with middle school calendar
■ We will look at how to best prepare the students ■ Discussion with other districts - see no issues with student transition
○ This is not teaching proper time management - will not help them in the future ■
We can still teach time management with a trimesters schedule
SLIDE 15
Parent Survey Analysis
- Disadvantages of Trimesters: (408 Responses)
○ Grades: ■ More time between report cards - less feedback
- Students will still be receiving regular feedback from their teachers
- A strong focus will continue on home/school communication
- Grades are available on HAC for 3rd - 5th grade
■ Students and parents not checking grades
- The district will continue to encourage parents and students to regularly
check HAC
■ Limited time in 3rd trimester due to testing
- This actually alleviates the 4th marking period time issues caused by
testing
■ Each trimester grade will hold more value ■ May take longer to notice a student is having difficulties and address needs
- All schools are following the MTSS/RtII framework which includes ongoing
review of student progress.
SLIDE 16
Parent Survey Analysis
- Questions/Concerns - not previously addressed: (187 Responses)
○ What other school districts in the area use trimesters?
■ Derry Township, Lower Dauphin, Cumberland Valley, Palmyra
○ Does this change the calendar year? Less days at school; Cutting subjects; Students have less time with their teacher; Fewer parent/teacher conferences
■ Same amount of time at school; No subjects are being cut; Same amount of time in all subjects; Students will have same amount of time with their teacher; Still having 2 conferences
○ Will the parents still receive progress reports, and how often?
■ Yes - mid-trimester. Parents and students are encouraged to review grades on HAC frequently
SLIDE 17
Parent Survey Analysis
- Questions/Concerns - not previously addressed: (187 Responses)
○ Decreasing “checks and balances”
■ It only changes the amount of times grades/mastery are formally reported. Teachers will continue to check student progress and make adjustments while providing instruction. Grades will continue to be posted on HAC.
○ How will this impact/affect state testing?
■ State testing will still take place in the required window
○ Consider doing this at the middle and high school levels
■ Not at this time