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Key Components of the Greenleaf Vision

Key Elements

Planning

  • History of creating curriculum based on:
    • Complex Grade Level Units embedded in year long plans and cycles, including:
    • Backwards map from the Common Core Standards and OUSD Scope & Sequence, and Blueprints
    • Create and implement daily and weekly mastery objectives that are focused, rigorous and measurable.

Teaching

  • Lesson Structure:
    • Intro
    • Mini-Lesson and modeling
    • Active Student Engagement
    • Extension Aligned, Independent Practice
    • Small Group instruction or conferring
    • Sharing
    • Closing
  • Lesson delivery: Teaching Methods: explanation with an example, modeling, coaching, inquiry
  • Active Student Engagement
  • Backwards map differentiated and small group interventions from specific data.

Assessment

  • Teacher and student goal setting
  • Teachers collaborate to design and refine Formative and Summative Assessments based on Common Core Standards and Student Achievement needs
  • Academic conferences with leadership team and teachers after each data cycle
  • Grade level Academic Conferences, to identify focus students to accelerate for the next data cycle

Collaboration, Professional Development and Planning Opportunities to analyze assessments and research for best practices to improve student achievement.

Collaboration Structures

  • Instructional Leadership Team (ILT): meets twice a month:
    • Grade Level Teacher Leaders: one per grade level
    • Content Teacher Leaders: they can have some release time to observe, participate in Academic Conferences, or plan for PDs.
  • Professional Learning Communities (PLCs): grade levels meet 3 times a week, 40 min. to plan their instruction and reflect on data and teaching practices: designated by subject, COI once a week, one administrator per grade level once a week
  • Middle School PLCs: Grade Levels and Departments meet at least once a week. Whole Middle School Team meet once every other week.
  • Cycles of Inquiry (COIs): Teachers meet with principals or coaches  once a week to reflect on data
  • Minimum days for Grade Level planning: Minimum days to work on our data from each cycle, and plan for the next cycle
  • ALPs (Action Learning Plans): Differentiated investigation groups that work together to analyze a specific academic area and implement research-based practices in their classes.This could include: peer observation cycles, other school visits, vertical groups meetings, coaching cycles.

Professional Development Opportunities

  • Opportunities to attend OUSD PDs (Professional Development) trainings.
  • School PDs differentiated for the school site and teachers specific needs.
  • Teacher led sessions based on identified needs and data
  • Individualized or small group coaching sessions with Support Staff and Leadership Team as needed and requested
  • Coaching or Peer observations

Planning Structures

  • Individual and grade level prep times to plan and collaborate
  • Minimum days in between cycles to analyze data and plan
  • Flex weeks between cycles to analyze data and plan
  • STIP Sub to cover classes to have additional planning and coaching time with support team and leadership team
  • Additional stipends to plan for specific projects: family engagement, technology, intervention, lesson planning

Support and Leadership Team

  • Leadership Team continuously visiting classes for coaching and support
  • Instructional Team continuously visiting classes for coaching and support
  • Reading Intervention Specialists pulling students from different classes for small group intervention
  • Partnership with volunteer associations, like Temple of Sinai, to pull students from classes and provide one on one intervention
  • After School programs
  • Counseling services
  • School Culture Working Group

Leadership Opportunities

  • Instructional Leadership Team (ILT): meets twice a month to analyze data and review instructional plans, including Professional Development and Coaching opportunities
    • Grade Level Teacher Leaders: one per grade level
    • Content Teacher leaders: they can have some release time to observe, participate in Academic Conferences, or plan for PDs.
  • Dual Language Working Team: meeting once a moth to develop the Dual Language Program and Vision

Content Areas

Literacy:

  • Balanced Approach to Literacy:
    • Word Study: Words their Way
    • Readers Workshop
    • Writers Workshop
  • Use scaffolding strategies, such as GLAD and RALLI to ensure that all students read and analyze complex text.
  • Leveled Library in each classroom
  • Genre Library in each classroom
  • Book Room: books for Guided Reading, resources for Reading, Writing, ELD, Word Study…  (Lesson plans, Lesson Plan Templates)
  • Print Rich Environment: Anchor Charts, HGOs (Hypothetical Graphic Organizers, based on RALLI), Sentence Frame, Vocabulary Walls

Science:

  • Backwards plan for the Opinion Writing and Science Writing Task
  • Focus on students using evidence to interpret observations, support ideas, and construct observations
  • Focus on students using Science Academic Language and models to communicate understanding orally and in writing

Math:

  • Backwards plan each Math unit from the Performance Tasks and Entry Task Data
  • Focus on productive struggle and facilitation of high level academic discourse around problem solving during performance task lesson series
  • Focus on spiral review of power standards and skills
  • Focus on progress monitoring using aligned and rigorous assessments
  • Continue focus on reading and writing in Math, requiring students to justify their thinking in Math with claims and evidence
  • Small group instruction based on focal students

Social Studies:

  • Use a block of integration for Social Studies
  • Include Social Studies during the informational and Opinion Reading units

Transitioning into a Dual-Language Program

VISION: At Greenleaf, academic excellence is our goal.  We will use bilingualism and biliteracy as a vehicle to achieve educational equity for all students. We set high goals, and hold high expectations for all students and adults. With community as our foundation, we build deep relationships based on cross-cultural competency--the ability to interact with a variety of people, across cultural and linguistic boundaries, and collaborate successfully. Together, we work and live by the Greenleaf Principles of Learning: Pride, Inquiry, Integrity, and Determination and Principles of Being: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be a Team Player.

  • Overarching Long Term Goal: 8th grade students will leave Greenleaf biliterate and proficient in Spanish and English Literacy and Math Common Core Standards enabling them to be successful in exploring career, college and life options.
  • 2016-2017: Accelerated Bilingual Program: Spanish accelerated, English accelerated with transferability  (Bilingual K-2 Goals), phasing out year by year.
  • OLD, grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, guided reading, ELD in all classes.
  • Integration: K-2: the three classes are mixed for Social Studies and Science Instruction.
  • Bilingual Leveled Library.

Family Engagement

  • Monthly Parent Leader meetings with Leadership Team
  • Data night and monthly workshop opportunities with families
  • Home visits project
  • Monthly SSC meetings
  • Parent involvement in School Board Meetings
  • Parent Outreach Coordinator