Inside Litchfield Schools’ new plan to improve student learning

By Stacy Mantle
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Litchfield Elementary School District students and teachers are starting the school year with revised writing lessons, new assessments and expanded classroom resources developed by educators who spent part of their summer reviewing the district’s curriculum and support systems.

District administrators presented the results of the summer committee work to the LESD governing board Aug. 11, outlining changes spanning English language arts, math, science, special education, teacher mentoring and student intervention.

The work focused on four broad areas: curriculum and instruction, professional learning, assessment and alignment, and student support systems.

Assistant Superintendent of Programs and Instruction Bridget Stockwell told the board the work was designed around students and collaboration.

“Everything that we have done is student-centered and collaborative,” Stockwell said.

English language arts changes

For students in kindergarten through fifth grade, teachers revised English language arts materials to add daily grammar instruction and practice, more opportunities for students to write about what they read and at least one extended writing assignment during each instructional unit.

District staff also reviewed common summative assessments in English language arts and math to determine whether questions were appropriately aligned with state standards and the expected level of rigor. Point values were standardized across grade levels and assessment resources were consolidated on the district's staff website.

The district's middle school science program also will see changes.

Educators reviewed the Amplify Science curriculum for a second consecutive summer to determine how well it aligns with Arizona's science standards. They created supplemental lessons and resources to address gaps.

The district also is replacing Amplify's end-of-unit assessments for grades 6-8 with assessments administered through its district assessment platform.

During the presentation, district officials said the existing Amplify assessments covered material across multiple grade levels and did not provide the specific data teachers wanted to determine which grade-level standards students had mastered.

“They're really rigorous assessments, and we found value in them, but we really wanted to be able to have that actionable data,” a district presenter told the board.

The new assessments are intended to measure the standards taught at each grade level while more closely resembling what students encounter on Arizona's statewide science assessment.

ADE Professional development and mentoring

The Arizona Department of Education is scheduled to provide professional development for middle school science teachers Sept. 2 and Jan. 13, focusing on critical thinking, reading strategies, inference and data analysis. Additional training will address academic vocabulary.

Teacher support was another focus of the summer work.

The district updated its mentoring program for early career educators and developed a separate second-year track focusing on assessment, differentiation and advanced instructional strategies. Materials also were revised to include more resources specifically for middle school, special education and special-area teachers.

Classroom management will receive additional attention this year after administrators, instructional coaches and behavior coaches reported that new teachers needed more support.

Early career educators will receive classroom-management training through the district's professional development sessions throughout the year.

Special education changes

Special education staff also used the summer to formalize mentoring and procedural guidance, including processes for new students, IEP and multidisciplinary evaluation team meetings, digital records and student transitions between programs.

Special Education Director Tom Coyne said some procedures already existed but had been passed between employees informally.

The summer work included “some processes that have existed but maybe existed by word of mouth,” Coyne said, adding that documenting those procedures gives new and returning teachers a resource when they need to determine how something is handled in Litchfield.

Classroom management tools

The district also created a centralized multitiered system of supports hub containing intervention resources, training materials and guidance for teachers working with students needing academic or behavioral support.

District officials emphasized teachers helped to determine what needed to be changed rather than simply implementing changes developed by administrators.

Board members praised the work completed and the effort to consolidate resources so teachers do not have to locate or develop them independently during the school year.

Board President Melissa Zuidema said she hoped the work ultimately reduces some of the demands on teachers.

“Hopefully, this work that they've done in some of these areas really gives them the gift of time somewhat this year in not having to find all this stuff on their own,” Zuidema said.

Editor’s note:  A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.