All LGUSD students, K-8, 2,500 Students

Projected shortfall for the 2006-07 school year budget from state funding is $240,000. This translates to salary for 3 certified teaching staff. This grant will allow the district to:

• Maintain low student-teacher ratio
• Maintain existing electives at the middle school
• Retain Literacy Specialists

Without this grant, teaching staff would be terminated and class sizes would increase, the variety of middle school electives would decrease and we could lose our specialists in literacy and math & science that district staff depends upon. Teachers are ranked by order of seniority, specialization and qualifications. Teachers most vulnerable to layoff are the recently hired teachers at Fisher.

This continues the expanded music program K-5, Choral music at Fisher, additional zero period music classes and—allows our music specialists to focus most on their areas of expertise while at Fisher.  An important dual benefit of this grant is that all grades at a school are taught music coincidentally, thus enabling the grade level teachers 45 minutes per week of collaboration time. This time is used to review, share and plan lessons that further ensure consistency across all classes at a grade level. Teachers have been explicit in their appreciation of the opportunity to plan and learn together and to access the support of our instructional resource teachers during those collaboration times. Parents have noted the benefit of grade level teaming that supports a common curriculum.

• Achieve 100% student participation in K-5 music program
• Parent and teacher survey results indicate 75% satisfaction with the district music program
• 75% of teachers will report effective use of collaboration time in annual teacher survey.  The range of activities surveyed will include analyzing student data, scoring student work, curriculum mapping, discussing differentiated instruction, designing support plans for at-risk students, and planning grade-level units of instruction

Expansion of the science program in K-8

Maintain certified science specialist at full time

Improvements have been made over the past years in the K-5 science program with the implementation of hands-on science kits at each grade level. There is still a need to maintain and improve science instruction K-5. Training for teachers on the 18 grade level kits will be funded. More assessment development will be performed with this funding. This funding combined with Parcel Tax funding would support a certified full-time science resource teacher.

• FOSS kit usage – 80 % of teachers will report regular use of FOSS kits on the Teacher Survey
• STAR Science Assessment Grades 5 and 8 (5% increase in 2005/06 data)
• Develop three new FOSS science assessments

A continuation of the 05-06 grant. The amount has been reduced as a Noyce grant is supplementing LGEF funds. This grant has two parts:

• Math Leadership Team of classroom teachers (District Funds)
• Math Specialists – Two certified Math Teachers, one to focus on 6-8 math instruction and the other to focus on K-5. ($130K LGEF + Additional Noyce Grant)

For several years, the district literacy and science initiatives have supported instructional improvements in reading/writing and science to increase student achievement in those areas. While the district will continue its efforts in literacy and science, it is time to include a focus on math. Strategies for this initiative will include:

1. K-8 Math Leadership Team of classroom teachers to help build Math leaders and to guide the district initiative, to be facilitated by the Math Specialists. The district will provide stipends to those teachers participating.
   
   
   • Identify and articulate key standards K-8
   • Provide professional development to deepen content knowledge of teachers.
   • Develop consistency of quality of math instruction across all classrooms K-8
   • Provide differentiated instruction and flexible groupings so as to better meet the needs of all students in the development of math conceptual understanding and procedure skills.
     
     
2. Math Teachers—to serve K-5 and 6-8
   
   K-5 Math Teacher Specialist would focus on math content and instruction at the K-5 level. The specialist would provide coaching, modeling and teacher support for improving math achievement of all students K-5.
   
   6-8 Math Teacher Specialist would focus on 6-8 math instruction for the Fisher Math Department. By working directly with students who need instructional assistance, this specialist would be in a unique position to cycle information back to classroom teachers regarding instructional improvement in the classroom.

• STAR Math Assessment Data (5% increase in 2005/06 data)
• Complete Curriculum Maps for grades K-6 by 6/06
• Establish Math Study Group to increase leadership, coaching, and presentation skills.

• Conduct a student survey to gather benchmark perceptual data regarding academic integrity, student responsibility and school safety
• Complete 6th, 7th and 8th grade course curriculum for social emotional literacy at Fisher
• Help-a-Thon participation rates will indicate 20% student participation.

A continuation of an 05-06 grant. This grant has three parts:

1. Two Arts Specialist teachers to be responsible for teaching the arts standards to children. ($175K)
2. Artist in the Classroom ($20K)
3. Art Docents ($10K)

Part I. This is a continuation of the 05-06 Arts Spcialists grant which current provides instruction in Dance and Drama for all elementary schools.  The focus of the Arts Specialists will depend on the evaluation of this years program.  Schools are working on clustering specialists time in order to extend the time available fore grade level collaboration and consistency and to provide larger blocks of time for student instruction.

Part II. This would allow the district to continue the very popular “Artist in the Classroom” program.  Jack Toolin has been the artist who works in each elementary classroom for 4 or 5 sessions.  He teaches the children a lesson in visual arts.  Classroom teachers participate as a professional development activity.

Part III. Funding of $10,000 Art Docents Program.

• 100% gr. K-5 students served in Dance and Drama
• STAR scores improve or remain consistent
• Teacher and parent surveys will indicate 75% satisfaction with the arts programs
• Art Docents provide Art History for all students gr. K-6

What happens for students if teachers attend the Academy during the school year? The district would identify a core group of substitutes, who themselves would receive special training to ensure that quality instruction continues and who would be guaranteed a certain number of work days in exchange for committing to the program.

This level of funding would support attendance for approximately 35-50 teachers. The summer training choice is the most expensive, but most ideal of the options.

• 16-20 teachers (gr. 4-8) will participate in Institute
• The percent of gr. 4-8 students scoring advanced or proficient will increase by 5% on the Spring 2007 STAR assessment.
• Teacher Surveys (gr. 4-8)
•    85% of teachers who attend the in-service will report regular use of math strategies and techniques during 2006/07 school year
•    80% of parents (gr. 4-8) responding to district parent survey will report satisfaction with district math program

This grant will support two specialists.

K-5 Certificated Librarian ($95K)

• Library as Learning Center
• Support library clerks at K-5.
• Selection of print materials
• Informational Literacy - development and implementation

Instructional Technology Specialist K-8 ($95K)

• Train teachers, Computer Lab Specialists, develop integrated curriculum
• Weekly, "just in time" drop-in trainings
• Work with Library Committee
• Standardized software

This grant will begin to develop the recommendation of the E2  Elementary Task Force.  We envision the library to be “learning centers” where librarians collaborate with teachers and library clerks to teach students the skills of Informational Literacy.  The technology specialist will train teachers and computer specialists in ways to use technology for meaningful curriculum projects.  

• Develop and articulate a new vision for library media centers (information literacy based on State and National standards)
• Update the 2001-2006 Educational Technology Plan
• Develop and implement information literacy benchmarks