East Providence principals address School Committee upon RICAS scores release

Building administrators review results during annual “Report Card Night”

By Mike Rego
Posted 12/11/19

EAST PROVIDENCE — Principals from each of the district’s buildings were present at the December 10 School Committee for what has become their annual “Report Card Night” to …

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East Providence principals address School Committee upon RICAS scores release

Building administrators review results during annual “Report Card Night”

Posted

EAST PROVIDENCE — Principals from each of the district’s buildings were present at the December 10 School Committee for what has become their annual “Report Card Night” to lend their thoughts on the previous year’s Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) test scores.
The RICAS results were released recently by the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). Ten of the district’s 11 individual schools measured were awarded three out of five stars or, in other words, met average standards. Martin Middle School earned two stars. The district’s early learning/Pre-Kindergarten program at Oldham and Martin were not included in the survey.
East Providence, which as could be deduced placed cumulatively at the state average, received a rating of three stars. The rating was based on eight information points: Accountability, Assessments, Civil Rights Data, Educator Data, Finance, Graduation Rates, NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) and Postsecondary Participation.
Superintendent Kathryn Crowley opened the discussion, saying, “I would like to introduce what I consider the ‘All-Stars’ of the district and that’s the principals who are here to make a presentation to you on their RICAS scores.”
The superintendent told those in attendance, the speakers would explain in part what the district is doing in response to the test scores and how it intends to close the gaps.
She later added, “I’m very proud of where we are as district with our RICAS scores…We are making progress and I think that’s all we can ask for is continued progress.”
Rebekah Gendron, Director of Instructional Technology for the district, gave a brief overview of what each principal would discuss, including the RICAS results in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math, comparing scores from 2017-18 to 2018-19, the growth of schools in test scores, their accountability ratings and suspension rates.
Some comments from each of the principals were as follows…
Riverside Middle School Rob Perry: “Our scores are very similar to prior year.”
“In general, if we were to look at all the middle schools in Rhode Island you would Riverside Middle School is right in the middle of the pack,” said Mr. Perry, adding “we’re working hard to figure out where gaps exist.”
Martin Middle School Bill Black: “We’re shrinking the red, so those are our most needy students and we’re taking that on. They’re moving into the yellow and green,” Mr. Black said, referring to the colors on the chart showing the substandard (red), standard (yellow) and excelling (green) performances of pupils.
Mr. Black continued, MMS is a “big school” and that there’s “a lot happening here…We’re still behind…Our growth is there…It’s steady growth…growth over time.”
Waddington Elementary Karen Goncalo: Ms. Goncalo said among other things, the school is conducting a data review every six weeks, teachers are including RICAS tasks in regular instruction and they are also “deep dives” with district coaches.
Hennessey Elementary Lindsey Reilly: Ms. Reilly said, “The piece of data that I can say on behalf of behalf of my team that we’re most proud of is that Hennessey no longer has any low performing subgroups, which shows significant growth for us.
“So I would say that this data is critical for us. These indicators help us inform what we do. Sort of tell us what we need to continue to do and what we need to change.”
Whiteknact Elementary Laurie Marchand: Ms. Marchand began by saying, “We are incredibly excited to note the nearly 10 percent improvement in English…and likewise in Math we had growth.”
Ms. Marchand said this is attributed to the departmentalization and affording teachers the ability to focus on content in “great, great depth.” She said instructors were able to “dig deeply” into the material, adding, ”We are moving in the right direction both in ELA and Math.”
Silver Spring Elementary Fatima Avila: Admitting to some disappointment upon seeing the figures for her school, Ms. Avila said, “We have some growth, but we certainly have some ways to go.”
She added staff is having some “really rich discussions” about the data and how to address lingering matters of achievement and growth.
Kent Heights Elementary Lloydanne Leddy: Ms. Leddy said upon the RICAS results, one of her efforts is to “promote a school-wide culture of literacy” as well as emphasizing the professional development of staff.
Ms. Leddy concluded by saying another of the goals is to improve teacher morale, adding about raising the level of instruction, “When we can create environments where teachers feel safe to take risks, I think it will help students to have the same mindset to do that.”
Orlo Avenue Elementary Lisa Pita: Ms. Pita noted increases of four and over 10 percent in ELA and Math year-over-year were points of pride for staff.
Of her school specific report card, she added, “We’re really trying to look at this data in three ways. We’re looking at RICAS in terms of students and what individual students need. We’re looking at programatic changes and programatic need. And we’re looking at instructional need.”
Francis Elementary Anne-Marie Scott: Taken from the notes of Ms. Scott, short and long term action is being taken to tackle deficiencies in growth and efficiency. Specifically “growth is a concern that has not gone unnoticed and will be addressed.”
East Providence High School assistant principal George Currier on behalf of principal Shani Wallace: Mr. Currier, referring to the school’s overall score, said, “We’re working hard and we still have a lot of work to do.”
Specific to the paltry Math scores at EPHS, Mr. Currier said the administration and staff are seeking to determine what parts of instruction are relevant and to build upon those.
In general, he said they have “high hopes and expectations” student RICAS performances will improve this term and that staff is “working very hard” to make that happen.
Pre-K Martin Annex Karen Rebello: Ms. Rebello said knowing the impact of Pre-K on performance is still a few years away, considering those students who began with the program are now only in second grade.
While noting curriculum and social-emotional development instruction is based on national and statewide standards, she added, “Everything we do in Pre-K is based around play. That is really, really important to stick to because they are still babies.”
Oldham Pre-K and Early Learning Center Donna Peluso: Ms. Peluso emphasized the collaboration between her building’s administration, staff and parents of the students.
She added because of the number of pupils enrolled in the early learning program, there’s likely a need to increase the number of full-day Kindergarten classes by one.
From a district perspective, curriculum “coaches” also addressed the RICAS data, including elementary level Literacy coach Kelly Vasey, who spoke on behalf of the team which also includes Numeracy coach Amy Watson and Induction coach Crystal Monteiro.
Among the points of emphasis, Ms. Vasey said RICAS practices are “embedded” in instruction. In addition, the coaches work with teachers on an individual basis to review performance and formulate instruction plans.
As well, Director of Pupil Personnel (Special Education) Julian “Bud” MacDonnell: Ms. MacDonnell noted Special Education is woven throughout each of the district’s schools.
He said his group takes a “targeted approach” to implementing RICAS instruction, adding, “When students are feeling good about themselves, there’s a major, major improvement in performance.”
Yanaiza Gallant, the district’s Multi-Language Learning director, said the emphasis of her group at the moment in response to the results is on making sure students are “talking” about Math, engaging in productive discussions on the subject, and using a new system called “elevation” giving access to proficiency and growth statistics during the current term in response to the RICAS scores.

View the complete RIDE “Report Card” results at reportcard.ride.ri.gov.




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