ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Instructional Programs, Practices, And Arrangements

Theme: Instructional Programs, Practices, and Arrangements

 

System level: School

 

Practice: Choose instructional materials that efficiently and effectively support teacher and student achievement.

 

 

What does this practice look like in Arkansas?

 

Teachers focus on covering content as well as student mastery of the content. The focus of teachers is mainly on student mastery of content, rather than covering a certain amount of content within a given time frame. Teachers are constantly monitoring and adjusting their teaching based on their perception of student mastery.

 

Instructional practices center around all core content areas, with integration used as much as possible. Integration of content is a common practice. At the time this study was conducted, math and literacy were the only two content areas tested by the state. High-performing schools focus on math and literacy, but not to the detriment of other content areas, such as science and social studies.

 

The school administration has a clear discipline plan. All teachers are aware of the discipline plan. The discipline plan for the school is clear, and teachers follow the discipline plan closely. Teachers are aware of what steps the administration will take when a student is referred to the administration for discipline problems.

 

The school schedule is structured to minimize interruptions and to give teachers large blocks of teaching time. Principals structure the school schedule so that large blocks of time are available for teachers to cover core content areas. In most cases, teachers have ninety-minute blocks of uninterrupted time. Additional classes, such as art, music, and physical education are scheduled carefully so as to maximize instructional time. Assemblies and other interruptions are scheduled at the end of the school day. The goal of the school is to provide as much continuity in scheduling as possible.

 

Documents related to practice:

 

At Ida Burns Elementary, every Wednesday is an early release day.  Students are dismissed at 2:40, and teachers meet for curriculum meetings.  These meetings may be vertical or horizontal, but are used to track curriculum development and revisions.

Examples:

 

At Ida Burns Elementary, the school schedule is tailored to meet the needs of their students.  Ida Burns faculty noticed that many of their low socio-economic status students had difficulties with basic skills such as eating properly, cleaning up after themselves, and waiting in line.  Their school schedule was changed so that students in different grades eat lunch at different times.  For each lunch period, a faculty member instructs the students on how to pick up their lunch, which utensils to use, and how to return their lunch trays to the kitchen.  In addition, students are released at different times so that not all students are outside at the end of the school day at the same time.

Examples:

 

At Ida Burns Elementary, every program is carefully inspected before adoption.  The Writing Workshop is an example of the research that the faculty at Ida Burns examined before choosing to adopt the program.

Examples: