BESSEMER ACADEMY MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP PLAN CHARLOTTE MACALUSO, SUPERINTENDENT 315 W. 11TH STREET, PUEBLO, CO 81003 719-549-7148 CONTACT: SUZANNE MOREY, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF TEACHING AND LEARNING SERVICES 719-253-6243 [email protected] JUNE 2017 Pueblo City Schools ♦ Bessemer Academy Management Plan ♦ June 2017 Page 1 ​ ​ ​ ​ |​ TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 ……………………………………………… MANAGEMENT PLAN OVERVIEW 4 ……………………………………………… NEED FOR MANAGEMENT PARTNER 4 ……………………………………………… MISSION AND VISION 15 ……………………………………………… DISTRICT SYSTEMS 19 ……………………………………………… SCHOOL DESIGN PLAN 20 ……………………………………………… ACADEMIC SYSTEMS 20 ……………………………………………… TIME 20 ……………………………………………… CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION . 23 ………………………………………… …… ASSESSMENT AND DATA 29 ……………………………………………… SPECIAL POPULATIONS 34 ……………………………………………… CULTURE OF PERFORMANCE 35 ……………………………………………… SYSTEMS TO PROMOTE HIGH EXPECTATIONS .. .. 35 ………… ……………… … CODE OF CONDUCT & DISCIPLINE . .. 37 …………… ……………… STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ... 38 ……………………………………… …… TALENT MANAGEMENT 39 ……………………………………………… RECRUITMENT AND HIRING 39 ……………………………………………… PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ... 41 …………………… … …………………… EVALUATION 47 ……………………………………………… RETENTION 47 ……………………………………………… MANAGEMENT PARTNER 48 ……………………………………………… SELECTION OF PARTNER 48 ……………………………………………… SCOPE OF WORK 51 ……………………………………………… PERFORMANCE CONTRACT/MOU 66 ……………………………………………… COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES 66 ……………………………………………… RESPONSIBILITIES/RIGHTS 66 ……………………………………………… ACCOUNTABILITY FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT . 67 …………………… ………… SUMMARY 71 ……………………………………………… ATTACHMENT 1: BESSEMER CALENDAR 2017-2018 . 72 …… ………………………… ATTACHMENT 2. PBL INTEGRATED PLANNING PROCESS . 73 …………………… … ATTACHMENT 3. INNOVATION ZONE COMPACTS . 77 …………………… … ATTACHMENT 4. ANET LETTER OF SUPPORT . 80 …… ………………………… ATTACHMENT 5: ANET SYSTEM PARTNER FRAMEWORK . 81 ………………… …… ATTACHMENT 6. PRINCIPAL MANAGER ACTIVITIES/CALENDAR .. 83 … ……… … … …… ATTACHMENT 7. DRAFT CONTRACT .. .. 88 ………… ………… ……… Pueblo City Schools ♦ Bessemer Academy Management Plan ♦ June 2017 Page 2 ​ ​ ​ ​ |​ Executive Summary Bessemer Academy is a neighborhood PK-5 elementary school located in the heart of south central Pueblo. Currently 306 students are enrolled. Nearly 90% of students are eligible for free/reduced meals; minority students comprise 85% of our enrollment. We have an average daily attendance rate of 93.6%. In addition to special education programs for Speech/Language Therapy and Specific Learning Disabilities, Bessemer Academy has a center-based program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) identified students in preschool through fifth grade. In total, 12% of our students have Individual Education Plans (IEP). Gifted and Talented students on Advanced Learning Plans (ALP) comprise less than 1%, and English Language Learners (ELL) are 14% of our enrollment. Bessemer is in its fifth year of Turnaround status. Changes in leadership (four principals in seven years) and a 90% staff turnover has not yet resulted in significant school improvement. However, building off foundational ​ ​ work around data driven structures and STEM-related instructional strategies implemented during the 2016-17 school year, and with the help of a management partner, Bessemer school leadership and staff is now poised to continue this growth in order to effectively address school needs and accelerate student achievement. We believe that innovation status, membership in our district’s Innovation Zone, consistent and committed support of newly hired district senior leadership with a proven track record in turnaround, as well as a robust partnership with The Achievement Network (ANet), our proposed Management Partner, is a winning combination towards Bessemer’s student and school success. In 2013 Pueblo City School District 60 (PSD60 was the recipient of a $9,628,235 Magnet School Assistance Program Grant (MSAP). This grant serves four STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) themed schools, grades pre-k-12 including Bessemer. Since the initiation of the MSAP grant, our STEM schools have been involved in several STEM initiatives including professional development and training, collaboration amongst the STEM schools, technology implementation and building improvements, and celebration events engaging families and community. Grant funds also provided extensive STEM technology and tools which ensure opportunity for blended and project-based learning approaches. With extensive staff turnover, many Bessemer teachers have limited teaching experience. Some have lacked the confidence and depth of teaching expertise and training required to fully integrate STEM and Project Lead the Way (PLTW) units without compromising Tier I instruction. This resulted in siloed PLTW curriculum that was not consistently implemented with fidelity. Equipment and technology resources were abundant but, again, the lack of teaching experience and adequate coaching resulted less in blended learning and more in tools to supplement curricular units. In addition to the MSAP grant, Bessemer also received a 2016-2017 Reading Ignite grant. While needed, the grant requirements added more professional development to an already overwhelmed staff. Therefore, Innovation strategies will focus on tackling the school’s most pressing issues: 1. Consistent, systemic Tier 1 focused instructional practices and lesson planning. ​ ​ 2. Increasing teacher understandings of instructional strategies that will both engage student ​ ​ learners as well as meet their differentiated academic and social-emotional needs. 3. Incremental, prioritized and targeted professional development related to student needs, ​ ​ Pueblo City Schools ♦ Bessemer Academy Management Plan ♦ June 2017 Page 3 ​ ​ ​ ​ |​ teacher competencies and job-embedded classroom feedback. The Achievement Network (ANet) in collaboration with school and district administration will provide the structure, coaching, and accountability for these reforms. Actions will include job-embedded instructional ​ coaching and implementation of data-driven professional learning communities, school-wide professional development to establish a solid understanding and use of standards, interim student assessments to drive instructional planning and delivery, and leadership development for both school and district administration to ensure school systems are fully developed to support innovation initiatives. Other critical needs related to school culture and meeting the social emotional needs of learners are fully addressed in the innovation implementation. Both the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Services and the Executive Director of Continuous Learning and Innovation have extensive background in turnaround and will provide hands-on accountability and weekly coaching support to the newly-hired Bessemer principal and senior staff throughout the year. Innovation denotes change, taking a leap forward using non-traditional methods of reform. By focusing on best first instruction, we will establish teaching and learning cycles that include unpacking standards, writing intentional lesson plans, administering rigorous assessments, and understanding data. We have reconfigured curriculum, scheduling, and staffing for 2017-18 to strengthen teacher confidence and competence in differentiated, data-driven instruction and to provide needed teacher 1:1 coaching, daily professional learning community (PLC) time as well as scheduled student interventions and approaches. We have prioritized daily project-based learning units to support our STEM initiative, and we will enhance our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) systems using Capturing Kids Hearts, to positively connect students to adults ​ ​ and peers. Participation in the Innovation Zone will allow us to learn additional innovative ideas and designs which have proven successful at other elementary schools within Pueblo’s Innovation Zone. To enact innovation, Bessemer Academy needs the support of the school district and requests waivers for: teacher and administrator work schedules; extended school year/school day; employee recruitment, hiring, compensation, stipends, evaluation; Professional Learning Communities and professional development scheduling; non-traditional staffing for non-core subject areas include the hiring of community experts and the utilization of community volunteers; assessment scheduling; and the use of assessment tools and methods beyond those required by CDE or Pueblo City School District 60. Rationale for waivers reflect the need for autonomy and flexibility to meet the school’s unique needs and our willingness to actively partner with and learn from fellow Innovation Zone schools. To accomplish our ambitious goals to accelerate student achievement, Bessemer will also need and is committed to an intense management partnership with the Achievement Network (ANet). Management Plan Overview Need for Management Partner Background Nestled snugly against the massive stacks and stoves of the old Colorado Fuel and Iron Steel Mill, Bessemer ​ Academy is located in the heart of south central Pueblo. Bessemer was developed in the 1880s as a company ​ town for the blue-collar steel workers. It remains one of Pueblo’s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods but ​ Pueblo City Schools ♦ Bessemer Academy Management Plan ♦ June 2017 Page 4 ​ ​ ​ ​ |​ the decline of the steel industry reflects low area socioeconomics with limited possibility for growth. Many Bessemer students enter school with a limited vocabulary,