Introduction to
Dodgeville School District Initiatives
The Dodgeville School District has a proud history of
successfully educating our community’s children and youth. As we respond to new
requirements from the state and federal levels, our main focus will always remain
on providing excellent educational opportunities. At the same time, we
recognize the need to raise achievement for all students, and to close gaps in
achievement for students from low-income families and students with disabilities.
These are also the main focus areas in the new state report cards by which all
schools are rated.
For many years, the Dodgeville School District has been a regional
leader in adopting research-based educational practices. We are excited to
continue this process, using the most effective curricula, assessments, and
interventions to better meet the needs of our students while we address the
focus areas in the state report cards. With that in mind, we are implementing
six initiatives, all of which are directly connected to student achievement and
pro-social behaviors. Some of these have been developing for many years (i.e.
Response to Intervention, Balanced Assessment Systems) and are in the latter
stages of implementation. Others are entirely new (Educator Effectiveness
Evaluation, Common Core State Standards, Smarter Balanced Assessments). The
final initiative represents a new way of organizing our work on student
behavior using strategies we have known about for many years (Positive Behavior
Interventions and Supports or PBIS). Five of the six initiatives are required by
the State, either through law or rule. The other initiative (PBIS), while not
required, has been shown to raise student achievement while also improving
school climate. This has been shown to be true in our schools.
What are these
initiatives?
·
Response to Intervention is the
process of using assessments to identify skills that students have not learned
and quickly providing them with interventions to teach those skills.
·
Balanced Assessment Systems use
multiple types of data to inform decisions about student needs. Rather than
waiting for the annual WKCE, we review data more frequently.
·
Educator Effectiveness Evaluation
is the new state model for teacher evaluation involving short, frequent classroom
observations, watching for critical teaching strategies.
·
Common Core State Standards are
higher academic standards that focus teaching on complex skills requiring data analysis,
teaming, and higher order thinking skills.
·
Smarter Balanced Assessments are the new WKCE statewide
achievement tests given to all students in grades 3-8 and 11 beginning in 2015.
Results are used for state report cards.
·
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports include the ways
we help students learn how to behave in school and maintain high levels of
positive behaviors.
Our district leadership team has created a 3-year timeline
for implementation that culminates with the advent of the new statewide
assessments mentioned above. By that time, we expect to have modified many of
our practices to better identify and meet the learning needs of our students.
In summary, we are in the midst of significant changes, and we look forward to
reporting on our progress to our community.
