Turnaround Talk

May 2024

Food for Thought

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Important Dates

May

School Principals Day...May 1
Turnaround Audit - J.F. Shields...May 1-2
Turnaround Audit - Faine Elementary...May 2-3
Teacher Appreciation Week...May 6-10
Turnaround Audit - J.E. Hobbs...May 7-8
Turnaround Audit - Hemphill...May 9
Turnaround Audit - ABC Elementary...May 13-14
Turnaround Academy (Virtual)...May 15...9:00 am
ACAP Summative Reading subtest results available...May 17

June

CLAS Conference...June 9-12...Mobile
SSA Conference...June 16-19...Point Clear
AETC Conference...June 19-21...Mobile

July

MEGA Conference...July 8-12...Mobile
Turnaround Academy...July 10...12:45-3:30 (at MEGA)

Each day the precious children of the State of Alabama enter through the doors of our schools. They come regardless of the weather, if they are sick, or whether or not they have supplies or appropriate clothing. Regardless of how they show up, our students are our future, and their success hinges on how we serve them right now.

Thank you for using your sphere of influence to create the conditions that allow our students to learn at high levels. It is an honor to be affiliated with the professional educators that make up our Turnaround Schools. We salute you for all you do on a daily basis to ensure every student under your care is successful.

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Turnaround Academy - May 15, 2024 (Virtual)

Please make plans to participate in the next Turnaround Academy meeting on Wednesday, May 15th starting at 9:00 am. This session will focus on end of year items for our Turnaround Schools. Members of our OSI team will be onsite with building principals to assist with items needed to wrap up this school year and begin planning for the next.

Schools will discuss their ACIPs, summer learning plans, and future professional learning needs.

We look forward to seeing everyone on May 15th!

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Assessment Results Timeline

The ACAP Summative Reading Subtest scores will be available on May 17 within the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) Identity Management (AIM) Portal and the Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) Interactive Reporting System. Within the DRC Interactive Reporting portal, you will print the student’s Individual Student Report (ISR) and the parent letter that will be provided for each ISR.

As a reminder, the Alabama State Board of Education approved cut scores for the ACAP Summative Reading Subtest on September 14, 2023. Those approved scores are 455 for Grade 2 and 435 for Grade 3. These cut scores will be applied to the results of the 2024 administrations.

Four Domains of Rapid School Improvement

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May Focus

Below are a few areas to focus on for May:

Turnaround Leadership

The end of school is a busy time for everyone, especially our principals. The myriad of activities that are going on the last few weeks of the school year can be overwhelming. However, it is important to remember the end of school presents many opportunities. For many of our stakeholders, perceptions about the kind of care and attention we provide for their children and loved ones will be developed based on this brief window into our schools. It is critical that the leader set the expectation for excellence from the grounds and facility to the quality and detail of any activities that happen on campus.

Talent Development

Many of you have already started posting positions for the upcoming school year. The level of interest has been encouraging based on feedback from our Turnaround Schools. Some of the interest has been attributed to incentive plans. This is a great example of the out-of-the-box thinking promoted by this initiative. It will be interesting to see if this plan delivers its intended outcome.

Instructional Transformation

Many of you will host Summer Learning Camps. While I'm confident planning has been ongoing for several months, now is a good time to double-check plans so our summer programs will have their intended outcomes of improving our students academic success.

Culture Shifts

Many schools survey their stakeholders at the end of the year to get feedback on the perception of a variety of areas. This is especially true for our faculty. The things that evidence indicates have been successful need to be captured so we make sure to include them in plans for the upcoming year. By the same token, things that did not work are still fresh on everyone's mind and it is a good time to capture this thinking as well. Conducting surveys can help build trust with school staff by providing a way for teachers and staff to share their voices and contribute to decision-making. This can help improve culture, morale, and the learning experience in the classroom.