Since the start of the new year we have been busy focusing on the most impactful instructional strategies according to research by John Hattie and Robert Marzano. They have conducted a wealth of research which have culminated in the best instructional strategies for all teachers. These strategies and other district goals are shared with all staff through my (here is one example) "Thursday's Teaching and Learning Tidbit." The top 7 strategies that Hattie and Marzano agree upon are: 1.A Clear Focus for the Lesson, 2. Offer Overt/Explicit Instruction, 3. Get the Students to Engage with the Content, 4. Give Feedback, 5. Multiple Exposures, 6. Have Students Apply Their Knowledge, and 7. Get Students Working Together.

Over the next several weeks we are continuing to break each strategy down into practical ideas and including multiple resources and hyperlinks. Through sharing this type of information with our teachers, as well as building based and district professional development, we hope to continue to strengthen our instructional core.

We are visiting schools, classrooms, and students every week and building important relationships with all. It is wonderful to be a part of our students’ learning! Some of the events we have been part of: School events, concerts, Special School Academic, P.B.I.S., and Community Events. We are very proud to be a part of the North Providence School Community!

#npsdpride #npsdlearns #npsdfeedthepositive

• AIMSWeb Plus Universal Screening P.D. (Third round) for both Reading Specialists Teachers and Special Education Teachers at the Elementary Level to support conducting assessments, analysis of data and progress monitoring for students
  
• Completed Winter District Universal Screening Assessments at the Elementary (AIMS Web Plus) and Secondary Levels (STAR); Utilizing data to provide interventions and progress monitor students; At both the Elementary and Middle School Levels students are showing evidence of improved reading proficiency
  
• Completed Winter Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment to support identifying and improving students' reading instructional levels
• Examining data at all levels using templates for school wide conversations
  
• Received and sharing results of screenings with administrative team, staff, and families.
• Recieved RICAS data https://lms.backpack.education/public/ride and have reviewed and analyzed all data at district and school level in an effort to target areas of need in Reading and Math Grades 3-8
• Created District Wide Action Plan to respond to our RICAS/SAT/PSAT Data https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bm8EguMz-ubeT3ivy58miGz4H2hLzGrG6RQIEq1j9hg/edit?usp=sharing
• All of our Principals have created School Based Action Plans in response to related RICAS and SAT/PSAT data for NPHS
• Continuing our work on consistent systematic review and analysis of district and school wide data to improve both instruction and achievement
• Fundations program (Phonics/Pre-Reading Skills) in Grades K - 2 is going very well. www.wilsonlanguage.com/programs/fundations
• Successful piloting of the Summit Learning program www.summitlearning.org in Grade 5 at both Whelan and Stephen Olney Elementary School to support personalization of students' learning; Parents continue to be kept informed about this program's and our students' success
• Working on a pilot of the Summit Learning program at both Birchwood Middle School and Ricci Middle School in Grade 7 for next year to bridge the Elementary program and the Middle to High School program
• IXL Program continuines www.ixl.com for all students in Grades K - 8 to support Math and Reading Interventions and Enrichment; Our student usage continues to grow each month with many classes and students receiving special awards from IXL for their success!
  

• Achieve 3000 Program continues www.achieve3000.com for all students in Grade 7 to support Reading Comprehension through Social Studies, Science, and ELA content; Usage and success in this program continues to grow at both Middle Schools; We are seeing improvements based on our STAR Reading Winter data.
• Achieve 3000 ongoing Professional Devlopment including coaching and classroom teacher support
• Granted pilot of https://www.lexialearning.com/ to support literacy instruction through this personalized platform for our most at risk students in ELL, Reading and Special Education for Grades K - 12.
• Continuing curriculum professional development at both Elementary and Secondary levels: Math, ELA, and integration of Blended Learning resources in all curriculum.
  
• Just completed Reading Grade level P.D. for Grades K - 5; Teachers collaborated to examine Fundations program success and continued success in their Reading Workshop and Grades 3-5 collaborated in improving Guided Reading strategies and continued success in their Reading Workshop
• Middle School Content Professional Development will be conducted again in the Spring in collaboration with one of our teachers and FUSE Fellows, Mrs. Katie Bowers
• Our NPHS Science - Chemistry department was awarded a grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) to support further Blended Learning experiences
• Ongoing Science Professional Development in coordination with East Bay RI Collaborative at the Elementary level and ongoing support of RI Science Assessment, Spring, 2019
• NAEP Assessment was conducted at Stephen Olney, Greystone, Birchwood and Ricci Schools

• Technology: 1:1 Devices for all students Grade 3-5; continuing to add more devices for primary students at the Elementary Level; ongoing 1:1 at Middle School Level; adding more Chromebooks at NPHS.
  
• Continuing new 504 forms and procedures Grades K-12 introduced last year.
  
• Continuing our District R.t.I./M.T.S.S. Committee to review our current District Guide and how procedures, intervention forms and intervention resources are moving forward.
  
• Continued Universal P.B.I.S. programs at Elementary and Middle level with further expansion at Elementary schools with no formal behavioral support programs.
  
• Continued M.T.S.S grant work (American Institutes for Research) with McGuire Elementary and Birchwood Middle School.
  
• Our PTECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) program at North Providence High School continues to be a huge success and is recognized statewide for its achievements! We are so proud of our 82 students' outstanding work in the health field led by our Director, Mrs. Melissa Caffrey and team.
  
• Our Marine Trades program at both the North Providence High School and Birchwood Middle School continues to be an outstanding and real world pathway for our students. Our Marine Trades Program at NPHS has received preliminary accreditation as a CTE program.
  
• The Mechatronics Program at Ricci Middle School and S.T.E.A.M. Program at Birchwood Middle School continue to be successful and growing!
• We have applied for CTE program approval for our Pre-Engineering/Robotics program at NPHS
• Awarded Champlin Grant for S.T.E.A.M. program at Birchwood which will be utilized to build a greenhouse/outdoor classroom; construction starting soon!
• The American Institute for Research (A.I.R.) continues to support our teachers at the Middle and High School levels in Math as part of the Better Teaching Math Network (B.T.M.N.). They will be working on improving Mathematical instructional practices and student engagement. Here is a recent article from the Valley Breeze regarding the successful B.T.M.N. program: https://bit.ly/2EwQYpI

• Continuing to conduct, review, and revise current Elementary and Secondary curriculum documents and resources on district teams in an effort to improve coherence and consistency of curriculum K –12
  
• Met with all NPHS Department Chair teachers to review and discuss all curriculum documents
• Coordinating meetings between NPHS Department Chairs and Middle School related Content teachers to collaborate on vertical alignment of curriculum Grades 6-12
• Monthly meetings with K-12 Reading Specialists to work on curriculum, data analysis, and support collaboration. Continued work on a District Reading Website to share resources, materials, and strategies for teachers and families.
  
• Monthly meetings with Administrative Team, Elementary, and Middle School Administrative teams. Our goal is to improve communication, collaboration and support best leadership and instructional practices at all levels.
  
• Met with District Family Engagement Committee to support efforts for increased parent/family involvement at all levels. We are planning several activities for this year.
  
• Continuing to mentor an Elementary student in the district this year.
  
• Both Middle Schools and the High School P-TECH program sent student teams to the Junior Achievement Fair this month in Providence
  

It has been such a pleasure and honor to share and celebrate all of the exemplary teaching and learning we have experienced in the past several months. We have the best students in the world!!