Welcome Back Teachers to the 2016-2017 School Year

The following was the message sent to the Laurel School District Faculty.

August 10, 2016

To Spartan Educators:

It is a great time to be an educator. It is a stressful time to be an educator. As public school educators we are under enormous pressure to perform and to do so with less. The Laurel School District is not immune from this unique dynamic.

The good news is that as a unit we can enjoy the great times and handle the stress. We need to be there for one another. We need to support one another. We need to grow together. We will look to follow the fearless attitude of our mascot, the Spartan. By coming back with our shield or on it, we will advance the district rather than regress.

We will begin to scaffold our professional development. We will look to embed literacy and content literacy into our instruction. We will launch a k-12 writing across the curriculum (WATC) initiative. We will differentiate our instruction. We will have lessons centered on Big Ideas and Essential Questions that generate understanding.

We will continue to scaffold our professional development. We will be on a year-long journey that will focus on:

·         Integrating Big Ideas and Essential Questions, and Quadrant D Assessments into instruction.

·         Evaluation v. Differentiated Supervision

·         Exploring Moodle technologies

We will remain a school that has an inclusive differentiated educational process. We will continue to provide authentic connections to what we do.

Our first two in-service days are August 22^nd and August 23^rd. The agendas are available on district server under superintendent 2016-2017. We will start with breakfast in the HS cafeteria at 8:00. A specific schedule governing the in-service days and first 3 days of school will be distributed during the morning meeting.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns. Go GREEN!

Yours in education,

Leonard A. Rich

Superintendent

Findings and Recommendations Pursuant to Act 1 of 2016

After reading the PDE report: Findings and Recommendations Pursuant to Act 1 of 2016, I am encouraged and infuriated. I am encouraged by the changes that are on the horizon. I am infuriated at the cost of this lesson. Common sense said the original plan would fail. Hundreds of millions of tax dollars spent on a futile plan that has ultimately failed.

Please review the report on Act 1. Some highlights include:

FINDINGS

·         Among high school graduates for 2015, barely half scored proficient on all three Keystone exams.

·         Passing high school exit exams is NOT the sole valid measure of mastery

·         Project Based Assessments (PBA) have proved to be an ineffective an inefficient strategy to demonstrate mastery of the required content.

RECOMMENDATIONS

·         Adopt and implement 4 options to demonstrate postsecondary readiness

·         Discontinue the use of PBA

·         Allow local education agencies (LEA) to determine whether or not to include Keystone exam scores on student transcripts

INTRODUCTION

·         The state level graduation requirements currently set forth in Chapter 4 of the PA Code fail to provide PA students with a sufficient number of measures to demonstrate mastery of standards-based subject matter content and readiness for postsecondary success.

·         In practice, the considerable number of students who became eligible for PBAs signaled a larger instructional challenge.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KEYSTONES

·         Annual pass rates are below 60% across all 3 Keystone exams for more than half of all districts and charters statewide, with lower pass rates on average for students of color and economically disadvantaged students.

·         By the winter of 2015-2016, there were approximately 740,000 Keystone exam modules requiring supplemental instruction and a corresponding PBA.

·         Schools began to limit extracurricular activities and CTE program to insert remediation.

·         PDE has recognized that postsecondary success looks different for different students.

OVERARCHING RECOMMENDATIONS

·         Postsecondary success looks different for different students

·         Discontinue the use of PBAs

·         Allow LEAs to determine whether or not to include Keystone exam scores on student transcripts.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED OPTIONS FOR GRADUATION

·         Option 1 = Pass the Keystone exams

·         Option 2 = Use an approved alternative assessment (SAT/ACT/AP/PSAT, IB), for those content areas where the student was not proficient

·         Option 3 = Student passed Keystone trigger course but failed Keystone exam. Student can attain Industry Based Competency Certificate (NOCTI/NIMS) or demonstrate likelihood of success on assessments by meaningful engagement in Program of Study

·         Option 4 = Student passed Keystone trigger course but failed Keystone exam. Student provides at least 3 pieces of evidence that reflect readiness for meaningful engagement consistent with a student’s career goals as represented in Career Portfolio.