School-wide Plan Research Articles

Re-examining the Relation Between Social Validity and Treatment Integrity in Ci3T Models

Educators across the United States have designed and implemented Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-tiered (Ci3T) models to meet K–12 students’ academic, behavioral, and social and emotional well-being needs. As part of implementation efforts, educators collect and use social validity and treatment integrity data to capture faculty and staff views of the plan’s goals, procedures, and outcomes and the degree to which the plan is implemented as designed (e.g., procedures for teaching, reinforcing, and monitoring). In this study, we re-examined the relation between social validity and treatment integrity utilizing hierarchical linear modeling with extant data from a research partnership across 27 schools in five midwestern districts. Findings suggested an educator’s fall and spring social validity score on the Primary Intervention Rating Scale (PIRS) predicted their treatment integrity scores on the Ci3T Treatment Integrity: Teacher Self-Report (CI3T TI: TSR) in the same timepoint. Schoolwide average fall PIRS scores also statistically significantly predicted spring Ci3T TI: TSR scores. Results suggested schoolwide context is important for sustained implementation of Tier 1 procedures during the first year. Findings demonstrate the complex nature of implementing a schoolwide plan, involving each individual’s behavior while also relying on others to facilitate implementation. We discuss limitations and future directions.

Prevention of Sex-Based Harassment in K–12 Schools

Student sex-based harassment has a negative impact on individual students and on the school environment. This review of the literature describes the evolution of sex-based harassment from elementary through high school, clarifies the relationship between bullying and sex-based harassment, and summarizes the research-based system and individual factors that support the development of such harassment in schools. Based on the research, we recommend the adoption of a comprehensive planning process for prevention that addresses the factors that reinforce student sex-based harassment and supports the school’s bullying prevention efforts. School counselors can advocate for and play a leadership role in both developing and implementing a school-wide plan that includes needs assessment and evaluation. We offer suggestions for system-wide and individual interventions for school personnel and Tier 1–3 prevention and problem-solving interventions for students to support a healthy school environment free of sex-based harassment.

School Culture and Instructional Leadership of High-Performing and Low-Performing Schools: Patterns of Variation and Relationship

Abundant literature posits that leadership and culture are linked to each other in all organizations. In school organizations, instructional leadership has been asserted as the most crucial type of leadership that is closely linked to professional culture in schools. The main reason is that instructional leadership pertains to the core functions of education, instruction, and learning in classrooms, which also constitute the main elements of a school culture. The purpose of the study presented in this paper was to examine and analyze the patterns of variation and relationship between instructional leadership and school culture of some high- and low-performing secondary schools. This study found that the school culture and instructional leadership of high-performing schools were markedly different from that of the low-performing schools. In high-performing schools, the school heads maintained positive attitudes toward students, staff, and parents, created a school culture and climate conductive to learning, and predominantly emphasizedteachers’ professional values and collegiality. Communicating the vision and mission to the staff and maintaining positive attitudes toward students, staff, and parents were the most striking aspects that differentiated the two school-types in terms of instructional leadership. As for culture, collaboration and school-wide planning were significantlylinked to instructional leadership. The important implication from this study was that the selection of school heads must take into account their human-oriented skills, and consequently, training sessions and seminars should be directed at human relation skills for the new and upcoming principals. Apart from that, to be a high-performing school, a school head should establish clear school vision and mission, set professional goals for staff, and build a two-way communication channel with teachers. School heads also should set high expectations onteachers and students, and create a positive school culture and climate of learning.

What are the school-wide strategies that support sustained, regular and effective instructional reading programmes for 10–13-year-old students? A New Zealand experience

There is a significant body of international research indicating that reading instruction does not consistently occur in the final years of primary schooling and progress drops-off as students move through the schooling system. This paper uses case study research to investigate the interactions and the self-perceptions of five literacy leaders, eight teachers of 10–12 year-old students and their principals in five New Zealand primary schools. The schools had been nominated as succeeding in teaching reading in the upper primary school by literacy experts. The article is part of a wider ongoing research project based on a substantial investigation of reading in the final years of primary schooling. All schools had a designated literacy leader who played a key role in supporting literacy development across the school. They were supporting teachers in further developing their knowledge of reading processes and strategies to improve instructional reading at the Year 7 and 8 levels. At all five schools the principals strongly supported the whole school ongoing professional development in reading. The literacy leaders played a significant role in supporting teachers and providing a cohesive alignment within their long-term, school-wide plan to improve reading achievement. Teacher knowledge of literacy processes was evident with teachers planning explicit instruction around text. Vocabulary knowledge and comprehension strategies were recognised as two key areas. School-wide assessment data and in-depth analysis of the implications of the results were discussed amongst staff.

“Have They Learned to Swim Around in the Big Puddle?”: Cultural Awareness and Engagement of Christian High School Students

This article assesses to what extent and how 18 Protestant and Catholic religiously based high schools in Alberta, British Columbia, and Washington state prepare students for cultural awareness and engagement. All schools claimed to educate students to make constructive and significant differences in culture and society. While this was evident in most schools, the range, depth, and kind of cultural perception and immersion usually depended on the initiatives of individual teachers rather than on school-wide planning. Almost all schools involved their students in service activities both locally and overseas, but these were seldom well integrated with their curricula. Nevertheless, the results of the study challenge the commonly assumed stereotype that religious schools isolate students from culture and neglect social justice issues.

Focusing on the Participation and Engagement Gap: A Case Study on Closing the Achievement Gap

In this case study, we focus on 2 variables often neglected in conversations about closing the achievement gap. Most recommendations for closing the achievement gap center on extending learning time, including afterschool programs, extended year programs, and supplemental instruction. Our school focused on attendance and student engagement in our effort to close the achievement gap. By developing a schoolwide plan that ensured that attendance was noticed, corrected, and celebrated, students at our urban school began attending on par with their suburban counterparts. In addition, we focused on student engagement once they were at school. Through a number of schoolwide instructional routines, including teacher modeling and productive group work, students became involved in learning and their achievement improved. Together, these initiatives further closed the achievement gap.

Using the Effective Behavior Supports Survey to Guide Development of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support

As the use of school-based positive behavior support (PBS) spreads nationwide, the development of assessment strategies to identify intervention priorities becomes more critical. This study addresses the validity of the Effective Behavior Supports Survey (Lewis & Sugai, 1999) by examining reliability, determining whether rating differences exist across the four PBS systems and among schools, and reporting the use of the scale in schoolwide planning. Total scale internal consistency reliability reflects a moderate to high level, suggesting that the instrument does contain a cohesive set of items. A large effect size was also found differentiating ratings for the PBS systems, indicating that Individual Student Systems were considered least in place. A case example illustrating the use of the scale as a vehicle for collaborative action planning in a middle school is also discussed.

Schoolwide Planning to Improve Paraeducator Supports

This study chronicled the use of a process of planning for paraeducator supports, by teams in 46 schools, in 13 states during the 2000–2001 and 2001–2002 school years. Data reflect the utilization and outcomes of the process along with the perspectives of 331 individual team members. Findings indicated that the process assisted school teams in self-assessing their paraeducator practices, identifying priorities, and developing action plans and implementing them. Individual team members reported that the process did what it purported to do and rated it highly on consumer-oriented variables. Culminating reports documented impact on school personnel and student outcomes. Implications for schools and future use are discussed for improving paraeducator supports and educational supports for students with disabilities.

A positive behaviour support: a preliminary evaluation of a school-wide plan for implementing AAC in a school for students with intellectual disabilities

This study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention as part of a school‐wide positive behaviour support plan for enhancing the communication behaviours and reducing behavioural problems of students with intellectual disabilities. The whole staff was involved in developing an educational AAC positive support plan for enhancing communication in the school. An inventory was administered to evaluate differences in communication behaviours and behavioural problems before and after intervention. Teachers learned to assess the communication level of each child, use AAC strategies, incorporate graphic symbols into the students' educational programs and incorporate AAC into the class curriculum. After intervention, communication behaviours increased and problem behaviours decreased significantly. Directions for future research are discussed in the context of positive support plans and AAC.

"Becoming" Effective: Lessons From One State's Reform Initiative in Schools Serving Low-Income Students

Inadequate attention has been paid to the process by which schools serving low-income students change to become more effective. This article presents findings from a longitudinal case study of 50 low-income and racial, ethnic, or language minority schools that participated in a state-funded school improvement program. Using a framework for analyzing organizational change, the authors found that schools in which the adults in the building perceived a real opportunity to improve the academic circumstances of their students were able to transform their schools in more substantial ways than those schools in which the adults perceived little hope for increasing student learning. This perception is fostered by 6 key factors: (a) ongoing professional development, (b) a high degree of staff involvement, (c) a strong focus or vision of the school based on improving student learning, (d) continuous monitoring and evaluation of both program and student achievement, (e) reallocation of resources to support the school-wide plan, and (f) strong principal leadership. Initial findings indicate that a comprehensive approach to school reform that addresses the organizational structure is most effective at improving student achievement. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Inclusion of a competency-based curriculum in medical pharmacology.

Medical education programs have emphasized the acquisition of basic scientific knowledge and practical skills in well-defined subject areas using lecture and role modeling as the principle means of instruction. The need to address changes in the practice environment, the recognition that alternative instructional models may be desirable in some cases, and the fact that instruction in the traditional subject areas does not prepare students for all aspects of medical practice have driven recent curricular changes at many schools. Indiana University School of Medicine, with multiple instructional sites distributed throughout the state, has adopted a school-wide plan that specifies desired educational outcomes and provides an instrument for rating student achievement. In this report we describe the implementation of new media and pedagogical methods in a two-semester medical pharmacology course with the goal of fostering and assessing competency in the nine areas outlined in this educational plan. The general conclusion is that these changes not only furthered the broader educational goals of the competency-based curriculum, but also may exert a positive influence on student learning of discipline-specific material.

Schoolwide Planning to Improve Paraeducator Supports: A Pilot Study

This pilot study chronicled the use of a process called, A Guide to Schoolwide Planning for Paraeducator Supports, by teams in four schools, grades K-12. Data reflect the utilization and outcomes of the process along with the perspectives of 27 study participants. Findings indicated that the process assisted all four schools to self-assess their paraeducator practices, identify priorities in need of improvement, develop action-plans, and implement them. Study participants reported that the process did what it purported to do and rated it highly on a series of consumer-oriented variables (e.g., ease of use). Implications for schools and future use are discussed for improving paraeducator supports.

Technology-enhanced distance education: from experimentation to concerted action.

Despite the rush to embrace technology-enhanced learning (TEL), descriptions of how schools of nursing move toward systemwide implementation of this type of teaching are scarce. There is a wide gap between sporadic dabbling by individual instructors in specific courses and adoption and implementation of TEL throughout a program. This article describes the experiences of a group of nursing faculty who helped move one school of nursing from experimentation with TEL in distance education to concerted action toward a strategic schoolwide plan. J Prof Nurs 17:135-140, 2001.

Instructional Leadership: Focus on Time To Learn

Here are 11 strategies that principals can employ to develop a schoolwide plan to improve academic learning time. This writer believes that these approaches provide a rich array of alternatives from which to build a school plan, and that his model pro vides a useful framework for analyz ing time in a school.