Findings and Recommendations from an evaluation of the Gifted - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Presented by Kristina Ayers Paul, Ph.D. Special Assistant to the Superintendent for Program Evaluation

Findings and Recommendations from an evaluation of the Gifted Education Services Program

January 8, 2018

2 Special Meeting of the Board of School Directors January 8, 2018

Please see the written summary for more details.

Table of Contents:

• About the Study
• About the Program
• Commendations
• Findings & Recommendations for

6 Key Program Features:

• Programming Philosophy
• Service Delivery Model
• Screening, ID, and Assessment
• Professional Development
• Family & Community Collaboration
• Operations

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Please see the written summary for more details.

Table of Contents:

• About the Study
• About the Program
• Commendations
• Findings & Recommendations for

6 Key Program Features:

• Programming Philosophy
• Service Delivery Model
• Screening, ID, and Assessment
• Professional Development
• Family & Community Collaboration
• Operations

Special Meeting of the Board of School Directors January 8, 2018

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• Teachers – dedicated, skilled, valued by students and families
• Introduction of Universal Screening (although not perfected yet)
• Support and interest in evaluation for program improvement

Commendations

Special Meeting of the Board of School Directors January 8, 2018

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Please see the written summary for more details.

Table of Contents:

• About the Study
• About the Program
• Commendations
• Findings & Recommendations for

6 Key Program Features:

• Programming Philosophy
• Service Delivery Model
• Screening, ID, and Assessment
• Professional Development
• Family & Community Collaboration
• Operations

Special Meeting of the Board of School Directors January 8, 2018

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• The mission statement is hidden.
• The mission statement is not actualized.
• Program goals and objectives are not articulated.

Key Feature 1. Programming Philosophy, Goals, and Objectives in LMSD

Findings

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1. Develop an actionable mission statement with clearly-aligned program goals and objectives to define the purpose and structure of gifted education services in Lower Merion. 2. Include affective learning needs in the vision. 3. Develop a communications plan to facilitate shared understanding.

Key Feature 1. Programming Philosophy, Goals, and Objectives in LMSD

Recommendations

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• Primarily focused on an enrichment curriculum delivered during

in grade-level classes of students identified as gifted.

• Differentiation is the responsibility of regular education

teachers.

• Enrichment curriculum is loosely similar across buildings, but

variable according to teachers’ discretion.

• Staffing model limits gifted education teachers’ availability to

support students and their teachers outside of the Challenge/Seminar class.

Key Feature 2. Service Delivery Model

Findings

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1. Redesign or adopt a new service delivery model that includes, but is not limited to, a pull-out enrichment time. 2. Provide professional development to all regular education teachers to support differentiation for high-ability students. 3. Establish a framework, guidelines, or curriculum for the types of enrichment experiences that gifted students receive during pull-

• ut enrichment.

4. Reconsider the staffing model to create new possibilities for case management and the delivery of support for gifted students

• utside of the Challenge/Seminar classroom.

Key Feature 2. Service Delivery Model

Recommendations

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Key Feature 3. Screening, ID, and Assessment in LMSD

• Disproportionate representation of racial/ethnic student groups,

gender, and students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds.

• The current universal screening process has led to unintended

consequences that restrict fair access to services.

• The current student evaluation process (identification), while

compliant, is lengthy and relies too heavily on school psychologists to determine whether or not a student is in need of gifted services.

• There is no system or expectation for assessing students’ growth

as a result of participation in gifted services.

Findings

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Key Feature 3. Screening, ID, and Assessment in LMSD

Recommendations

1. Consider hiring a consultant with expertise in screening and identification for gifted services to: a) Reduce bias in the process, b) Introduce more holistic methods of screening, and c) Help Gifted Multidisciplinary Teams (GMDTs) make more explicit connections among academic strengths, cognitive talents, personalized GIEP goals, and the types of educational interventions and experiences that would serve individual students well. 2. Establish expectations and procedures for measuring and monitoring student progress toward their individualized GIEP (or IEP) goals.

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Key Feature 4: Professional Development in LMSD

• Gifted education teachers have not been offered specialized

professional development to advance their professional knowledge and skills in gifted education.

• Professional collaboration time for gifted education teachers has

compromised the District’s efforts for providing more consistent gifted service offerings across the District.

• Gifted education teachers have a wide variety of advanced

training in gifted education.

Findings

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• 1. Provide time, space, and resources for gifted education teachers

to focus on professional and programmatic development.

• 2. Ensure that all gifted education teachers have, or are working

toward, a minimum level of advanced training in gifted education.

• 3. Reminder of previous recommendation…

Provide ALL staff with training in differentiation strategies for advanced learners.

Key Feature 4: Professional Development in LMSD

Recommendations

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Key Feature 5: Parent & Community Collaboration

• There is a lack of publically-available information about the

program.

• Most parents would like to have increased information about

what their children are doing in Challenge/Seminar and how they are progressing.

Findings

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Recommendations

• 1. Increase the amount of information about the program through:
• a. Website
• b. Brochure/Program Literature

c. Public information sessions

• 2. Develop expectations and suggested methods for teachers to

provide more consistent information about what is happening in the Challenge/Seminar classes.

Key Feature 5: Parent & Community Collaboration

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Key Feature 6: Program Operations in LMSD

• Frequent turnover in program leadership has been detrimental

for the organization of the program.

• The student data systems used within the District do not have

consistent information about students’ gifted status or their history of screening and identification.

• The completion of administrative tasks associated with annual

GIEP meetings constitutes a substantial amount of teachers’ time.

Findings

Special Meeting of the Board of School Directors January 8, 2018

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Recommendations

• 1. Ensure strong procedural supervision AND leadership for

supporting advanced learners through appropriate curriculum and instruction.

• 2. Establish stronger connections with the Curriculum and

Instruction department to leverage their expertise and resources and to work collaboratively on systematic, Districtwide initiatives to support the needs of advanced learners.

• 3. Streamline the procedures and tasks associated with annual GIEP

meetings.

• 4. Identify ways to streamline the syncing of and access to student

data related to gifted education services.

Key Feature 6: Program Operations

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Next Steps

• Dr. Adil Nure, Lead Supervisor of Clinical Services & Gifted

Education and Ms. Kimberly Fraser, Director of Special Education and Student Services, will lead the Evaluation Use Committee through an action planning process to develop a 5-year plan for responding to the findings and recommendations from this evaluation.

Special Meeting of the Board of School Directors January 8, 2018