INNOVATION PLAN COVER PAGE ** PLEASE SUBMIT THIS PAGE AS THE FIRST PAGE OF THE INNOVATION PLAN** Direct innovation plan questions to Kelly Rosensweet ([email protected]) Innovation School Name: Bessemer Academy Location (address): 1125 E. Routt Ave. Pueblo, CO 81004 Plan Contact (name and position Suzanne Morey, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Services Email: [email protected] Phone: 719-253-6243 Please answer the following questions to help us review the innovation plan as efficiently as possible. Is this plan for a new school or an existing school (circle one)? New / Existing ∗ If this plan is a new school, is the new school (check one): ⬜ Replacing legacy schools on turnaround status; or ⬜ Part of a district plan to create a portfolio of schools necessary to serve the Act’s purpose of improving student performance and addressing the issues identified in chronically failing schools or student populations? Has the school submitted a request to CDE for a new school code, grade change, name change.? Y N ∗ If so, when was the request made and what was it for? ___________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Has the school been granted status as an Alternative Education Campus (AEC). Y / N ∗ If the school does not have AEC status, does the school plan on submitting an application for AEC status before opening? (Please note that the deadline is July 1st.) Y / N Is the school in Priority Improvement or Turnaround? Y / N ∗ Is the school a recipient of the federal School Improvement Grant (10039g)? Y / N Will the school be seeking a waiver for graduation guidelines? Y / N ∗ Please indicate in the plan if the school will follow district requirements and include the district graduation policy as an appendix. **SUBMIT THIS DOCUMENT AS THE FIRST PAGE OF THE INNOVATION PLAN** Pueblo City School District 60 ♦ Bessemer Academy ♦ Innovation Plan | Page 1 Bessemer Academy Innovation Plan Pueblo City School District 60 ♦ Bessemer Academy ♦ Innovation Plan | Page 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary 4 Innovation Plan Overview 6 Need for Innovation 6 Mission and Vision 16 Student Learning Opportunities 18 Implementation Timeline 20 Academic Systems 25 School Calendar and Schedule 25 Curriculum and Instruction 28 Assessment and Data 36 Special Populations 41 Talent Management 43 Recruitment and Hiring 43 Professional Development 44 Evaluation and Retention 51 Compensation 52 Culture of Performance 53 Culture and Climate 53 Stakeholder Engagement 56 School Leadership and Governance Structure 58 Budget and Operations 60 Budget 60 Facilities and General Operations 61 Information Technology 64 District Systems 65 Accountability and Supervision 65 District Systems 65 Innovation Zone 66 Unifying theme or Concept 66 District Systems of Support for Innovation Zone 67 Collaboration/ Shared PD 67 Performance Management 69 Summary 70 Attachment 1: Proposed Budget 71 Attachment 2: Letters of Support 73 Attachment 3: 2017-18 Calendar 75 Attachment 4: PBL Integrated Curriculum Example 76 Attachment 5: PBL Integrated Curriculum Planning 83 Attachment 6: Sample Zone Contracts/ Compacts 87 Attachment 7: ANet PD Cycle Continuum and Levers 90 Attachment 8: Staff Vote 96 Attachment 9: Updated Letter of Support from Bessemer School Accountability Committee 99 Attachment 10: Vote Attestations from Innovation Zone Schools 101 Attachment 11: Letters of Support from Innovation Zone School Accountability Committees 107 Attachment 12: Zone administrator support 113 Attachment 13: Board Resolution 115 Attachment 14: Requested local, state, and collective bargaining waivers 117 Pueblo City School District 60 ♦ Bessemer Academy ♦ Innovation Plan | Page 3 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, 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, Pueblo City School District 60 ♦ Bessemer Academy ♦ Innovation Plan | Page 4 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, 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 include job-embedded instructional coaching and implementation of data-driven professional learning communities, school-wide professional development to establish consistency across grade levels, 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