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From Theory to Practice. Implementation of Common Core at MS/HS 223. Context. South Bronx middle school located in the poorest congressional school district 450 students, Title I 95% Average teacher experience is about 4 years 50% teachers are alternatively licensed in BX
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From Theory to Practice Implementation of Common Core at MS/HS 223
Context • South Bronx middle school located in the poorest congressional school district • 450 students, Title I 95% • Average teacher experience is about 4 years • 50% teachers are alternatively licensed in BX • 40% of principals with 3 years or less in BX • No book stores, lack of parks, lack of mixed housing, lack of extracurricularactivities • D7 proficiency rates 20% ELA and Math
First Year Understanding Common Core • Reevaluated what we had been doing • Aligned with District 2 • We had already initiated several of the “shifts” to common core in ELA and Mathematics • Connected Math school on the 6th and 7th grade • Coherence, Fluency, and Application was taking place. Conceptual understanding was a struggle • Literacy instruction in all areas • Context of prepping students for college and career success
Challenging All Student-Rigor • Instructional practices were inconsistent • Turn and talks were more spontaneous and less planned • Turn and talk with staff- critical friends • Assessment did not line up with these practices • Too many alternative licensed teachers without the content knowledge base meant our teachers are learning both content and instruction.
Second YearFocus on Professional Development • Uniting professional development around common language with a common purpose • Teachers started to practice performance tasks • PD focused on English Language Learners and most restricted special education • PD focused on expanding practices to the content areas • Developing Common writing rubrics for Narrative, Information, and Argument writing. • Finding experts outside the school
Struggles for Year 2 • Lack of CCLS real world performance tasks in existence. • Created our own database. • Unpacking the standards • Lots of details in a general format-few examples • So many initiatives at once-assessment, curriculum, certification, and evaluation • Alternatively licensed teachers • Expecting rather than requiring • Balancing differentation w/grade level texts
What do you Need to do to Make Common Core a Reality • Passionate people • Common planning time • Content knowledge and experience • Resources to support people-More examples of tasks. • Monitoring and accountability • Quality of experiences for all kids
