Elmira's Contract for Excellence:

2007-08 Overview

2007-08 Funding Allocations by School

2007-08 Program Initiatives by School

2007-08 Cost of Initiatives by School

2008-09 Overview

Contract Narratives

Maintenance of Effort Report

Fiscal Summary Report

Performance Matrix

Options, expenditures and Metrics Report

Integrated Planning Report

Elmira City School District
Contract for Excellence Overview

Elmira has been allocated $3,405,707 for its Contract for Excellence in 2007-08. The district has identified several areas on which to focus with these additional funds.

Class Size Reduction:

The Elmira City Schools District is committed to lowering class sizes in its elementary schools. The district will support 17.45 full-time positions (FTE) during the 2007-08 school year using C4E dollars. This reduction in class size will support the district's aggressive plan to remedy its deficiencies in teaching students with disabilities at the elementary level as well as support the district's Literacy Model as it moves away from Reading First funding. Providing favorable class sizes allows instructional staff to facilitate teaching and learning in a meaningful and engaging way, fosters positive relationships in the classroom and provides opportunities for individualized instruction to support all students.

The implementation of small class sizes will improve student academic achievement through support for the following research-based best practices:

• Direct, implicit instruction across all core curriculum areas
• Support for implementation of 90-minute literacy blocks in all kindergarten classes
• Teacher time for implementing research-based, prescriptive intervention for struggling students
• Additional teacher time for differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all students
• Additional time for implementing needs-based flexible grouping

In order to achieve these goals, the district reviewed projected class sizes in common branch classrooms in kindergarten through grade five as well as student achievement data for all of the district's eight elementary schools. As a result of the analysis, the district developed a plan that will use C4E funds to reduce class sizes at Beecher, Broadway, Coburn, Diven, Hendy, Pine City and Riverside Elementary Schools.
The impact on class size for each school is outlined in the table below, projecting class size for 2007-08. The overall impact on the affected elementary schools is as indicated below.

School	Number of teachers via C4E funding	Average Class size via C4E funding
Beecher	2.6	18.9
Broadway	1	19.4
Coburn	2	20.5
Diven	3	18.2
Hendy	4.35	18.7
Pine City	3	17.7
Riverside	1.5	18.5

It is the district's desire that every student have access to every opportunity to excel in his or her educational endeavors. In addition to projected class size, the district reviewed the following performance indicators consistent with the District Comprehensive Education Plan.

• 4th-grade New York State achievement in English Language Arts and Mathematics
• 3rd Grade Terra Nova testing in Reading and Mathematics
• New York State Early Literacy profile
• Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment results
• Percent of students qualifying for free or reduced lunches
  

The Elmira City School District Early Grade Class Size Reduction Plan will not reduce the teaching staff at the upper grades to increase the staffing in kindergarten through grade five.

Teacher and Principal Quality Initiatives:

The district is committed to supporting new teachers and re-tooling its veteran staff with research-based instructional strategies to meet the needs of all students. Additionally, given the high turnover in administrators in the district, there exists a clear need to provide laser-like focus on supporting leadership at the school level. To that end, the district will use C4E funds to support its instructional program by focusing on the following three high-need areas:

• Principal coaching;
• Recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff; and
• Professional mentoring for teachers
  

Principal Coaching:

The district will support new administrators (Principal/Assistant Principal Coaching) by assigning one Principal on Assignment to the elementary program and one Principal on Assignment to middle-level programs. The table below represents the average years of experience of building-level administrators in their current appointment:

School	Principal Experience	AP Experience (avg)	School Status
Beecher	3 yrs.	1 yr.	In Good Standing
Broadway Elementary	6 yrs.	Vacant	In Good Standing
Coburn	3 yrs.	2 yrs.	In Good Standing
Diven	Vacant	1 yr.	SINI
Hendy	9 yrs.	1 yr.	In Good Standing
Fassett	Vacant	Vacant	In Good Standing
Pine City	1 yr.	N/A	In Good Standing
Riverside	2 yrs.	8 yrs.	In Good Standing
Broadway Middle	1 yr.	1 yr.	SINI
Davis MS	1 yr.	1 yr.	SINI
EFA	1 yr.	15 yrs.	In Good Standing
Southside High School	3 yrs.	3 yrs.	In Good Standing
Alternative	3 yrs.	7 yrs.	In Good Standing

Each Principal on Assignment will provide mentoring support as well as provide partner leadership in each of the schools by:

• Conducting classroom walkthroughs with the Principal
• Co-observing instruction
• Supporting professional development
• Coordinating the writing and submission of SINI plans (Diven, Broadway MS, Davis MS)
• Supporting the implementation of the Special Education Audit recommendations

The Principals on Assignment will also coordinate curriculum and instruction programs by:

• Chairing committees in math, ELA, science and social studies
• Restructuring 6th grade in the middle schools
• Providing research on best practices in 5th-6th and 8th-9th grade transitions
• Supporting programs to reduce high school drop outs
• Identifying interventions to reduce Special Education referrals   
• Supporting the Co-Teaching Special Education Instructional Model
• Coordinating summer school programs
• Identifying opportunities for summer enrichment
• Supporting administrators in gathering and reporting appropriate data

Recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff: 

The district is invested in recruiting highly talented and skillful teachers and administrators. To support this initiative the district has assigned an Assistant Principal to a .65 FTE position to support the recruitment efforts in high-need certification areas including languages other than English, technology, special education and administrative positions. This administrator works collaboratively with the teachers union, administrators union and the Director of Human Resources and Employee Relations in recruiting highly qualified staff.

Professional mentoring for teachers:

The District will provide 1 FTE Instructional Support Teacher/instructional coach for each of its 13 schools. An Instructional Support Teacher is a certified teacher who serves as a support to classroom teachers and supports staff in meeting the needs of students. The IST has no assigned classes or case load of students. Working with staff, through a student data-informed problem-solving process, the IST assists teachers and support staff in implementing effective research-based practices in curriculum, instruction and assessment through the following:

• Supporting teachers' efforts in identifying students who are failing, are at risk of failing or are in need of enrichment/acceleration
• Supporting teachers in conducting curriculum-based assessments to discover the individual student's instructional level and learning needs
• Helping teachers to identify instructional strategies and practices that meet the student's needs
• Teaching strategies to staff and students
• Modeling instructional strategies and practices through staff development and within the classroom
• Supporting teachers in the implementation of effective instruction in classrooms throughout the school
• Encouraging and facilitating networking among teachers within each building
• Assisting grade-level and building Classroom Intervention Model teams (CIM) in developing effective team practices
• Supporting teachers in gathering and reporting appropriate data
• Delivering staff development within the school and the district, as requested and agreed upon
• Applying learning technology across the curriculum
• Facilitating district-wide continuity in standards-based curriculum, instruction, assessment and reporting
• Working collaboratively with principals as a member of the school's leadership team
  

The table below represents the average years of experience of the Instructional Support Teacher in their current appointment:

School	IST Experience	School Status
Beecher El.		In Good Standing
Broadway El.		In Good Standing
Coburn El.	New Appointment	In Good Standing
Diven El.	1 yr.	SINI
Hendy El.	New Appointment	In Good Standing
Fassett El.		In Good Standing
Pine City El.		In Good Standing
Riverside El.		In Good Standing
Broadway MS		SINI
Davis MS		SINI
EFA		In Good Standing
Southside HS	1 yr.	In Good Standing
Alternative	New Appointment	In Good Standing

District initiatives:

The district is committed to serving its hardest-to-reach students. To this end, it has developed three focus areas at the elementary and middle levels to provide student support and enrichment programming:

• Counselors at the elementary schools
• Behavioral Specialist at Diven Elementary
• Reading teachers

Counselors at the elementary schools:

Elementary school years set the tone for developing the knowledge, attitudes and skill necessary for children to become healthy, competent and confident learners. Through a comprehensive developmental elementary school counseling program, counselors will work as a team with school staff, parents and the community to create a caring climate and atmosphere. By providing education, prevention, early identification and intervention, school counselors can help all children achieve academic success. The professional elementary school counselor will hold a master's degree and required certification in school counseling.

Elementary School Counselors will follow the American School Counselor Association guidelines by providing:

School guidance curriculum

1. Academic support, including organizational, study and test-taking skills
2. Goal-setting and decision-making
3. Career awareness, exploration and planning
4. Education on understanding self and others
5. Peer relationships, coping strategies and effective social skills
6. Communication, problem-solving and conflict resolution
7. Substance abuse education
8. Multicultural/diversity awareness 

Individual student planning

1. Academic planning
2. Goal setting/decision-making
3. Education on understanding of self, including strengths and weaknesses
4. Transition plans
   

Responsive services

1. Individual and small-group counseling
2. Individual/family/school crisis intervention
3. Conflict resolution
4. Consultation/collaboration
5. Referrals

System support

• Professional development
• Consultation, collaboration and teaming
• Program management and operation

Behavioral Specialist at Diven Elementary:

Diven Elementary is the only SINI elementary school in the district. Diven has the highest number of behavioral referrals and the highest mobility rate in the elementary schools in the past two years. Providing a safe, consistent and student-centered learning environment at Diven is a top priority for the district. To this end, the district has created the position of Behavior Intervention Specialist.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders present a great challenge. These students often lack the basic academic, behavioral and social skills needed to be successful within and outside of school. Our data indicates that the numbers of children displaying these challenging behaviors in the classroom are increasing at Diven. The purpose of the Behavioral Intervention Specialist program is to address this need by training educational personnel to directly address the behavioral needs of students.

The Behavior Intervention Specialist will implement a high-quality, comprehensive and individualized intervention program to assist children with appropriate behavior within the regular school day. The Behavior Intervention Specialist utilizes community resources and local professionals to develop a strong quality program for the whole school and each student in need.

Specifically, the Behavior Intervention Specialist will:

• Use clinical insights, educational and motivational techniques and commitment to excellence to promote individual student growth in the classroom and the community
• Develop a safe and successful positive behavior individual and school wide plan designed to reduce the number of disruptive behaviors of each client in the classroom and the community
• Provide solution-focused counseling, crisis intervention and management to students throughout school day as needed
• Develop and implement effective behavioral management techniques consistent with goals and behavior plans
• Provide on-going family contact and quality support services linking child and family with well researched, relevant and affordable community resources and services
• Participate actively in all team meetings, staff meetings, case conferences, treatment reviews, individual and group supervision meetings and school meetings as requested and collaborate proactively with treatment team to deliver quality services
• Develop relationships and ongoing communication with teachers and other staff; provide concrete strategies for positive and feasible individual and class intervention strategies that are in line with client treatment and goals
• Train staff to implement individual and school wide behavior plans<
• Monitor and modify the behavior management system, as needed
• Be able to set appropriate limitson intervention techniques
• Maintain all appropriate records including incident reports, and behavioral tracking forms and other documents consistent with goals and objectives

Reading teachers:

Reading teachers provide the additional support needed to fully implement a school-wide model of literacy that ensures all students are reading at or above grade level by the end of third grade. Using this model permits schools to fully meet the needs of all students. Reading teachers are a critical component of a school-wide system for identifying students who need intensive reading interventions, providing intervention services and monitoring student progress.

Elementary reading teachers provide reading intervention services to at-risk students and those students with intensive reading needs on a daily basis. In many of our classrooms the number of students in need of intensive interventions may exceed 40-50 percent. Classroom teachers do not have the time or resources to provide the amount of instruction for all at-risk students. Reading teachers provide the additional instruction that these students require.   

Reading teachers provide reading interventions in the following ways:

• Skill-based instruction during the 90-minute reading block to small groups of students
• Additional instruction to small groups of students outside of the reading block
• Use of reading assessment data for instructional decisions
• Use of an accelerated model of intervention
• Providing differentiated, scaffolded, explicit and systematic instruction