Sarah Sharkey

Continuous Improvement Plan

12/6/2015
Introduction
Over the past few years, our school has experienced approximately
50% of students meet or exceeds typical fall-to-fall growth on the
mathematics portion of the MAP test. For example, in the 2014-2015
school year, 54% of third grade students and 48% of fourth grade
students met or exceeded the growth standard. That means nearly half
our students did not grow as much as expected throughout the school
year. In order to address this, grade levels have integrated many
strategies such as differentiating math groups, formatively assessing
students and utilizing results to regroup students among grade level
classrooms during certain times of the day, co-teaching, and
integrating inquiry time into daily practice. Some strategies have
shown to improve common assessment scores, and some have not.
One that stood out as having an impact on multiple subject areas is
inquiry time. During this time, students explore topics of interest,
individually or in small groups, utilizing resources available and
applying learned classroom knowledge to create a product
demonstrating new understanding. As a school, most classrooms have
adopted similar practices appropriate for specific grade levels. This
approach pulls in learned knowledge from all core subject areas and
provides the opportunity for students to put this knowledge into
practice.
With the district initiating a Digital Transformation, iPads are readily
available to all students. Third and fourth grades have 1:1 classrooms,
while kindergarten through second grade classrooms each have six
iPads available. The iPads can be used within inquiry time to
research, explore, control, and demonstrate new knowledge. The iPads
can easily be used with other resources to transform learning in a way
that was inconceivable in the past.
As a school, we will create a MakerSpace so that 60% of third and
fourth grade students meet or exceed the growth standard on the MAP
test by the end of the 2018-2019 school year. The MakerSpace will be a
dedicated room within the library for classes to utilize various
resources. This space will enhance inquiry time in a flexible way on
an as-needed basis. Resources may include technology as well as a
variety of permanent and consumable materials. The MakerSpace will
reflect all core subject areas, but will have an emphasis on science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics. Through the MakerSpace,

students will apply 21st Century Skills through communicating,

collaborating, thinking creatively and critically, and practicing
citizenship.

Philosophy
As a leader, I believe every child has the potential to learn. Educators
must constantly assess and reflect on the learning opportunities
presented to students to determine the effectiveness of the
opportunities, as each student population differs from the others.
Three core areas should be evaluated in relation to student outcomes:
the environment, interactions between the child and the teacher, and
the educational experiences presented to the students.
The environment should be arranged to provoke interest from students
and support the curriculum at the same time. Students should have
opportunities to interact with the classroom environment in meaningful
and appropriate ways. The environment itself can initiate deeper
learning through exploration and familiarity. The classroom should be
warm and inviting with student-centered materials throughout. When
reviewing the effectiveness of the classroom environment, the teacher
and the educational leader should be aware of the purpose for the
environment and take care as to not over stimulate the environment.
Overstimulation can lead to confusion and misunderstandings from
students. The classroom needs a clear purpose for the students in
order to witness successful interactive learning.
The interactions between the child and teacher enhance the learning
that takes place within the classroom environment. Teachers value the
opportunities to ask students thought-provoking questions while
encouraging deeper learning and understanding. Observations of and
conversations with students provide the opportunity for the teacher to
know each individual child as a learner. As the teacher obtains this
knowledge, he or she can integrate that understanding into the
classroom environment and future conversations with the individual
student. As an educational leader, encouraging these types of
interactions and conversations between the teacher and child creates
a greater awareness and appreciation for the child as a learner that
can be integrated into the curriculum and classroom environment.
Within the classroom environment, planned educational experiences
are provided throughout the school day that deepens student
understanding of a given subject of study. The teacher purposefully
plans these experiences through unit design that carefully scaffolds
student knowledge and understanding in order to build meaningful
learning within each child. The educational leader promotes
professional development in creating stimulating meaningful student
learning experiences integrated with deeper thinking through thoughtprovoking questions, a variety of engagement opportunities, and a

clear understanding of assessments as reflection and a demonstration

of mastered knowledge.

Demographic Description
Our school demographics are as follows: 88.9% Caucasian, 3.9% as
Hispanic, 2.8% as Asian, 2.3% as two or more, 1.5% as Black, and 0.9%
as American Indian (WISEdash, 2015. During the 2014-2015 school
year, 18.5% of students received free or reduced lunch (WISEdash,
2015).
As explained earlier, our school has experienced approximately 50% of
students meet or exceeds typical fall-to-fall growth on the mathematics
portion of the MAP test. With this data in mind, instruction will focus on
integrating STEM subject areas within reading, as well as create a
hands-on experiential approach to learning, especially when it comes
to mathematics. Since the MakerSpace will be supported by current
curriculum, the areas of math students experience while using the
MakerSpace will align with the areas tested using the MAP test.

Vision of Student Achievement

Foundation

Our Mission
Ensure that every child reaches his or her maximum potential.
Core

Beliefs

High quality programming to promote academic achievement for all learners

Safe Environment
Supportive Environment

Vision

What our School will look like

Library Vision: The hub of 21st Century Learning.

Forest Glen Elementary School starts with a foundation expressed

through its mission: Ensure every child reaches his or her maximum
potential. The MakerSpace helps students reach their maximum
potential by providing a non-traditional outlet for students to express
their thinking, demonstrate learning, and explore new ideas in a
fashion familiar to them: play. The MakerSpace will have a variety of
options of things for students to tinker with, allowing choice in learning.
Allowing this choice puts learning in the childrens hands, which helps
all students reach their maximum potential.
Forest Glen holds three core beliefs: provide high quality programming
to promote academic achievement for all learners, a safe environment,
and a supportive environment. The MakerSpace meets the needs of all
three beliefs. First, professional development and PLCs will connect
the MakerSpace to the curriculum, therefore enhancing the academic
achievement through high quality program already in place. Second,
expectations for the MakerSpace will remain consistent school wide
with the support of PBIS and our school expectations: Be Safe, Be
Respectful, Be Responsible. Finally, creating an environment where
students have choice in learning, yet teacher and curriculum support
to help scaffold learning will encourage risk-taking through

personalized instruction that is tailored to meet the needs of each

student.
The Library Design Committee created a vision aligning with the
mission and core beliefs stated above. The library will become the hub
of 21st Century Learning. The Howard-Suamico School District adopted
the 5 Cs to represent 21st Century Learning: creativity, critical
thinking, collaboration, citizenship, and communication. The
MakerSpace addresses all 5 Cs. It also plays a large role in
transforming the library into the hub for this type of learning. The
idea is to change thinking about the library acting as a place to visit
once a week for story time and book check. With the MakerSpace,
students will flow in and out of the library as necessary. Students will
begin to view the library as a resource rather than a place to go for one
specials period.

Accomplishing the Plan

Action

Steps

How we make strategy a habit

Step

Timeline

Responsibility

Book Study: Invent to Learn: Making,

Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom
by Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary Stager,
Ph.D.

January 2016 June 2016

MakerSpace Committee

Develop plans to redesign library computer

lab into the MakerSpace

January 2016 October 2016

MakerSpace Committee;
Library Design Committee

Brainstorm ideas for integrating MakerSpace

tools into the curriculum

September 2016
- December 2016

MakerSpace Committee,
School Staff, PLCs

Design and Offer Professional Development

on integrating MakerSpace into the curriculum

December 2016 June 2017

MakerSpace Committee

The MakerSpace committee will be involved in every step of the

process. The committee will attend monthly meetings with a focus that
will shift as the steps progress. Other groups within the school that will
be influential throughout the process include the Library Design
Committee (the parent group of the MakerSpace committee), PLC
groups and school staff.
The first step is to initiate a book study in order to build common
understanding and organize the committees thinking about the space.
The book, Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the
Classroom by Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary Stager, Ph.D. serves as a
springboard for initiating the process and provides guidance of
integrating this space into Forest Glen Elementary. Through discussion
throughout the spring semester, the committee will have a clear
understanding and vision for the MakerSpace. They will also have the
ability to provide information to the entire staff about what a
MakerSpace actually is and how that applies to this specific school.
With current floor plans in mind, the Library Design Committee and the
MakerSpace committee will work together to create a space that meets
the needs of both committees. The Library Design Committee holds a
vision of The hub of 21st Century Learning. The Library Design
Committee will have a solid understanding of the needs of the

MakerSpace and areas for 21st Century Learning that have already
been addressed throughout the rest of the library space. The two
committees will create a plan for a flexible learning space using the
understanding gained from the book study and the list of needs
created for the library space combined into one room. This will take
place throughout much of the year in 2016. The process will begin with
the MakerSpace committee and open up to the Library Design
Committee for input and adjustments.
Throughout the Fall of 2016, the plans will be well-thought out and
understood by the MakerSpace committee. At this point, the
committee will be ready for ideas and input from the school staff,
especially supported through PLCs. Beginning the school year with a
solid introduction defining the MakerSpace, PLC groups will begin to
address how the MakerSpace can specifically help students. The focus
of these conversations will be around closing the achievement gap
using methods that are practical to each group of students yet still able
to make an impact on learning. Connections will be made to current
curriculum so the MakerSpace does not simply become one more thing
to do throughout the school day. Integration into current practices will
be key to the success of the MakerSpace.
In the Spring of 2017, the MakerSpace will be put together. At this
point, the Makerspace committee will develop professional learning to
support the newly created space. Professional development will reflect
the conversations found in PLCs the previous fall. The big idea will be
to integrate the MakerSpace into current curriculum. The professional
learning will take place over many months in order to meet the needs
of the staff and emphasize the importance of utilizing this space to
impact current scores.
Commitment

and Support Resources

What we need
Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom by Sylvia Libow Martinez and
Gary Stager, Ph.D.
Monthly Meetings
Flexible and timely staff development
Donations and Community resources for materials

Committee of grade level representatives and one specialist representative

PLC support to connect essential mathematics learning to the MakerSpace

Evaluation
In order to address our primary goal (we will create a MakerSpace so
that 60% of third and fourth grade students meet or exceed the growth
standard on the MAP test by the end of the 2018-2019 school year), we
will monitor scores on the MAP test over the upcoming years, with an
emphasis placed on the 2018-2019 scores, since the MakerSpace will
have been in place for two school years at that point. Test scores will
continue to be the focus after that school year, with adjustments made
as necessary to continue to raise the percentage of students meeting
the growth standard.
When evaluating MAP test scores, specific sub-groups of student
populations will be evaluated due to demonstrating low growth on the
MAP test in the past. With the ELL population, 75% or more of the
identified students will meet or exceed the growth standards on the
Map test by the end of the 2018-2019 school year (currently 25% meet
or exceed the growth standard). With the Economically Disadvantaged
population, 75% or more of the identified students will meet or exceed
the growth standards on the Map test by the end of the 2018-2019
school year (currently around 43% meet or exceed the growth
standard).
Other data will be valuable to the understanding of the impact the
MakerSpace has on the test scores. A survey will be sent out to staff
inquiring about the amount of regular use of space, curriculum
connections, and personal stories about the use of the MakerSpace.
There will also be an area to indicate suggestions for improvement.
Since the space will be open to all students, PBIS data can be analyzed
to determine the effect on behavior while the space is in use. Minor
and Major forms indicate area of the school the student struggled with
behavior. Connecting this data to the MakerSpace can help determine
future considerations for the space.
Finally, tracking attendance at professional development opportunities
can provide information about making the link between test scores and
the use of the MakerSpace. While some professional development
opportunities will be mandatory for staff, others will be offered for
teachers to access on an as-needed basis both in person and online.
Data would show the impact professional development has on the use
of the space as well as student test scores.
Once the impact of the space has been evaluated after the 2018-2019
school year, the committee can adjust the MakerSpace and other

connected areas (such as professional development, use of the

MakerSpace, connection to the curriculum, and so on) for future use.