APPENDIX

Denver Public Schools

Content Standards

Standards for Success

GOAL: Develop literate elementary students.

OBJECTIVE

Seventy-five percent of all DPS students completing second grade will be reading at grade level by 1998.

Seventy-five percent of all DPS students completing fifth grade will be reading at grade level by 2000.

Strategy A

Provide effective reading and writing instruction for all students.

Tactics

1. Implement a balanced reading and writing program which includes

· explicit instruction;
· shared reading and writing instruction;
· paired/cooperative reading and writing;
· independent reading and writing providing students with time, choice, and responsibility;
· reading aloud;
· guided reading and writing; and
· ongoing assessment and evaluation process.

2. Focus instruction on comprehension and decoding strategies so students understand what they read and know what to do to help themselves when they confront difficulty in reading and writing.

3. Include literacy instruction based on meaningful learning experiences and opportunities which are active and participatory. Principal will monitor and assess implementation of effective reading and writing instruction tactics in class rooms on a regular basis.

4. Assure that instruction is presented in a variety of literary genres (biographies, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, picture memoir/autobiography, realistic fiction, historical fiction, narrative nonfiction, textbooks, non-narrative fiction).

5. Provide for a variety of flexible grouping structures to address the needs of all students (e.g., whole class, small strategy/skill groups, interest groups, language groups, literature groups, and individual assistance).

6. Implement specific intervention strategies for students experiencing reading difficulties.

7. Form a committee to collaborate with the Department of Educational Technology in the development of an electronic Individualized Education and/or Learning Plan for students.

Strategy B

Provide professional development which includes content and process to implement effective reading and writing instruction for all students.

Tactics

1. Coordinate and evaluate all district, school-based, and external staff development efforts in reading and writing (committee oversight).

2. Provide staff development for teachers and administrators that is intensive, ongoing, and focused to address the literacy goal.

3. Utilize teams of master teachers and instructional specialists to provide staff development at the school and district level.

4. Develop a team of expert substitute teachers to deliver effective instruction when master teachers are participating in staff development and coaching.

5. Provide principals with the structure, time, and leadership necessary for the achievement of the literacy goal.

6. Promote collaboration and professional growth among teachers through establishing a literacy team at each school site which will facilitate

· staff development in literacy instruction;
· faculty discussion to share information and expertise;
· team planning;
· team teaching;
· peer coaching and mentoring; and
· cross categorical/grade-level sharing.

7. Develop and/or identify effective classrooms as model literacy teams/sites for teachers and administrators to visit.

8. Create a data base of personnel, research, seminars, etc.&emdash;inside and outside DPS&emdash;to provide timely information regarding effective practices and opportunities for teachers in literacy development.

Strategy C

Support schools in the acquisition of appropriate quality instructional reading materials for all students.

Tactics

1. Provide leadership and direction for schools, classrooms, and media centers to acquire appropriate reading materials for children at their independent and instructional levels which consist of the following:

· picture books;
· big books;
· predictable books;
· patterned books;
· interactive books (CD ROM, etc.);
· content area materials including high content/easy-to-read books;
· high quality literature (e.g., Newberry, Caldecott winners, etc.);
· newspapers/magazines;
· readers' theater/plays;
· novels and short stories; and
· song books/chants/poetry books.

Note: Classroom and library collections are to include multicultural, bilingual, fiction, and nonfiction materials.

2. Develop and implement a written school plan to increase student reading time at home and at school (e.g., book checkout system, extended library hours, family book clubs, RIF).

3. Provide a literate environment throughout the school (e.g., displays of student writing, poetry, language experience charts, graphs, songs, messages, and the alphabet chart).

Strategy D

Implement content standards to measure the achievement of the student literacy goal.

Tactics

1. Establish and implement the content standards for reading and writing instruction.

2. Develop district content standards for reading and writing which are aligned with the state standards.

3. Promote and provide content standards information to educators, parents, and school community groups.

Strategy E

Implement literacy benchmarks to monitor student progress toward the literacy goal.

Tactics

1. Collect and analyze available assessment instruments that address state and district standards.

2. Create a continuum of measurable literacy indicators with input from teachers across grade levels.

3. Identify benchmarks (districtwide and/or site-based) along the continuum to indicate progress toward the literacy goal.

4. Provide guidance in training teachers to conduct ongoing student assessment and benchmark evaluations.

5. Align curriculum and district reading and writing content standards with the benchmarks.

Strategy F

Implement district assessments to measure the achievement of the student literacy goal.

Tactics

1. Utilize standards-based assessments.

· Form a districtwide committee to identify and/or develop assessment strategies and instruments to evaluate literacy development at each school site.
· Monitor performance of students and classrooms.
· Analyze and evaluate results to provide more effective instruction to meet literacy standards.
· Create a feedback loop to schools and teachers that is timely and supportive of continued professional development.

2. Provide effective staff development that prepares teachers to administer various types of student performance assessment in their classrooms.

3. Utilize norm-referenced tests.

· Provide students with test-taking skills through out the school year.
· Monitor performance of students/classrooms and report results.

Strategy G

Provide parents and community with information regarding the district Literacy Plan and elicit support for increasing student literacy.

Tactics

1. Distribute the Literacy Plan to parents, school community groups, and the general public.

2. Report student assessment data to parents/community and articulate the relationship to student literacy goals.

3. Involve school governance groups to support the district Literacy Plan and address the needs of family/school literacy issues.

4. Provide training in the instruction of reading and writing to school volunteers, mentors, and parents of school-age children.

5. Communicate the Literacy Plan to speakers of other languages.: Develop literate elementary students.