As input was gathered during the opening months of the 2022 school year, stakeholders revealed their greatest concerns: student learning loss, lack of student engagement, student social/emotional/mental well-being amid the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, remediation support for students, an increase in academic rigor -- especially in the middle school, and access to summer learning opportunities are the focus of the Little Compton School Department’s ESSER III Plan.  

The "high-value activities" and high-quality resources (as recommended in the LEAP Report) outlined below reflect a strategy to address identified student needs. 

 

Priority 1: Learning Acceleration and Academic Renewal

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Goal #1 -  Accelerate student learning in reading and writing through teacher training/integration of RIDE-approved high-quality resources.

Objective: Replace Wilbur McMahon School's K-8 English Language Arts curriculum (EngageNY 2014) with RIDE-approved high-quality curriculum resources –  EL Education K-8 Language Arts from Open Up Resources to include job-embedded training in the delivery of the new resources. (RIDE recommendation: Section 4, Part 1b:  “High-quality instructional materials and associated resources that are Culturally-responsive and sustaining”)

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SUPPORTING RESEARCH:

Source: RIDE's Learning, Equity &  Accelerated Pathways (LEAP) Task Force in its LEAP Report (2021).

• "Ensure all students have access to high-quality instruction as well as personalized support from adults, through extended learning, partnerships for before and after school, and summer learning opportunities that are undergirded by high-quality materials and resources (p. 30)."

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• "... implementation of high-quality instructional materials that are culturally responsive and aligned to Rhode Island Core Standards (p. 37)."

 

Goal #2 -  Increase academic rigor for all students across the middle school, where data reveals engagement/attendance drop off. 

Objective: Provide all Wilbur McMahon School middle school students with access to meaningful and rigorous culturally-responsive educational opportunities, steeped in real-application of knowledge by “braiding” current .6 position to Middle School IB Coordinator/Pre-AP Spanish I position. (RIDE recommendation: Section 4, Part 2e: “Repurposing roles to blend or braid responsibilities across job descriptions e.g., creating halftime classroom teachers and half-time instructional coaches or interventionists”). 

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SUPPORTING RESEARCH:

Source:  Learning, Equity & Accelerated Pathways (LEAP) Report and Recommendations, 2021. 

• "We stand now at a crossroads for the future of education in Rhode Island. We can rebuild our educational system as it was before, knowing that there are cracks in the foundation into which our most vulnerable students’ futures disappear. This might be easier, cheaper, more politically expedient. Or we can rise to the challenge before us and create a new and better system—one which gives every student the support and opportunity they need to succeed no matter their circumstance. We have chosen the latter, and we are ready to do whatever it takes to provide the children of Rhode Island with equal access to meaningful and rigorous educational opportunities. We are building a system that will meet students where they are and propel them forward."

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Source: Research Report. International Baccalaureate Programmes: Longer Term Outcomes. Katie Wright. January 2015:

• "Engagement is important for such considerations, as it is is commonly understood to be a critical dimension of student learning and achievement (Connor 2009). In addition, the IB is widely acknowledged as an academically rigorous programme that promotes positive attitudes towards learning (Aulls and Peláez 2013; Coca et al. 2012), which in turn, also has important implications for the promotion of lifelong learning." 

 

Goal #3: Train all K-5 teachers  in the Science of Reading (Rhode Island Right to Read Act, 2019), given that i-Ready (reading) data indicates that the majority of our learners were severely impacted by COVID-19.
 

Objective:  Purchase, train teachers in, and implement AIMS Pathways to Proficient Reading -- which is designed to empower educators to transform their instruction by applying their specialized knowledge in the science of reading to increase student literacy outcomes through evidence-based diagnostic and prescriptive instruction and intervention. (RIDE recommendation: Section 4, Part 3b: “Providing training and coaching on the Science of Reading – RI Right to Read Act, 2019, given the data that indicates that our youngest learners were more severely impacted by COVID-19”)
 

SUPPORTING RESEARCH:

Source: A Case Study Of The Impact Of Reading Intervention In Early Elementary School Grade Levels, Bonnie S. Smith 2015 

• "Literature supports the benefits of direct instruction, small group instruction, early intervention for struggling readers, collaboration, and student motivation linked to academic success. Purposeful instruction and early intervention is an important component in the process of helping students to become good readers. The type of instruction is especially important when working with at-risk learners. The Glossary of Education Reform (2014) defined direct instruction as an instructional approach that is structured, sequential, and teacher-led. Direct instruction can also be a presentation of the content to students from the teacher in lecture or demonstration form. In both of these examples, the teacher is directing the instruction to the learners." 

 

Priority 2: Social Emotional Wellness and Safety of Students and Staff 

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Goal #4: Support identified student needs and social-emotional wellness and campus safety measures so all students continue to progress in their learning, in spite of the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: Leverage existing Student Support Services Staff (additional 10 hours of  Guidance services) to ensure all students whose learning and social-emotional health have been adversely affected by the pandemic (isolation, quarantine, family loss and trauma) continue to progress in their learning. (RIDE recommendation: Section 4, Part 2a: “ Additional social workers or guidance counselors to support mental health and wellness”)

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In addition, to support whole-campus physical health and wellness, the LCSD will lease an outdoor storage unit to safely store the numerous additional cleaning, disinfecting, sanitizing, purifying and filtering materials and supplies necessary for providing safe, in-person teaching and learning for all students and staff and dedicate additional over-time funds for staff (i.e. Athletics Scheduler/Coordinator, Nurse-Educator) who, in times of high transmission, are tasked with verifying that all students, staff, visitors, volunteers, and vendors are complying with the district's mitigation measures (weekly BinaxNOW testing, mask wearing, proof of vaccination when appropriate). 

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SUPPORTING RESEARCH:

Source: Evidence-Based Practices For Assessing Students’ Social And Emotional Well-Being (Hough, Witte, Wang, & Calhoun, 2021): 

• "The pandemic has introduced a great deal of hardship into many students’ lives, which may make it difficult for them to learn. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provides a framework for thinking about how students’ basic needs such as mental health, social systems of support, and a safe and functional learning environment are necessary preconditions for higher-level learning."

• "Disruptions to students’ mental and emotional health, social systems of support, and learning environments require a new focus on social and emotional well-being."

• "A comprehensive system for monitoring student well-being helps educators support students in schools and classrooms and allows for tiered referrals for special services."

 

Priority 3: Summer Enrichment Opportunities

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Goal #5 - Offer evidence-based academic enrichment activities for summer learning that target areas most impacted by COVID-19 (i.e. reading, math, STEM, arts, music, Health and PE) and target student groups most in need of summer learning through a continued partnership with community-based organizations. 

Objective: Leverage enrichment opportunities within the community as a tool for re-engaging and re-energizing students with identified learning and social emotional vulnerabilities (students with IEPs, 504 Plans or who are in the RTI process for more regular attendance or services at school) to help prepare them for return-to-school while also, through sharing resources and physical spaces (RIDOH/CDC guidance-compliant), rebooting and amplifying high-yield school-community collaborations that were paused during the pandemic.

(RIDE Recommendation: Section 5, Parts a-g:  “ Intentional partnership and collaboration with community-based organizations, through the LEA's procurement process to provide out- of-school time enrichment opportunities for students and their families. In doing so, consider:

a.  Ongoing and regularly scheduled two-way communication

b.  Providing explicit programming and/or supports for differently abled

     students and multilingual learners

c.  Sharing of FERPA-compliant student information and data

d.  Sharing of physical space, staff, professional development opportunities, 

     and other resources

e.  Intentional staffing and consistent adult presence for students

f.   Programs focused on enrichment as a tool for re-engaging and re-energizing

     students to help prepare them for return-to- school

g.  The role of physical movement and outdoor activities should be considered 

      in conjunction with academic and other enrichment activities”)

 

SUPPORTING RESEARCH:

Source: Learning, Equity & Accelerated Pathways (LEAP) Report and Recommendations, 2015.

• "Dr. Jennifer McCombs, RAND Corporation - As Senior Policy Researcher and Director of the Behavioral and Policy Sciences Department at RAND, Dr. McCombs focuses on combining evaluations using implementation and outcome data to provide practitioners and policymakers guidance on how to improve programs and promote positive outcomes for children and youth. She shared the April 2021 Learning, Equity & Accelerated Pathways Task Force Report which revealed recent findings from the National Summer Learning Project regarding the characteristics and positive impacts of effective, high-quality summer learning programs that blend academic and enrichment opportunities for youth."

 

Financials:

Goal 1: $5891.80 (EL Education ELA curriculum components)

Goal 2: $20,000 2022SY / $20,000 2023SY (two+ years, IB/Pre-AP Coordinator 2 days per week)

Goal 3: $3600 (Virtual Community of Practice Workshop rate for K-5 Teachers)

Goal 4: $2620 (storage unit) + $14000 (COVID Coordinator/Sports Scheduler) + $4000 (commercial-grade portable tent- canopies) +  $18000 2022SY / $18000 2023SY (additional Guidance Services 45 Days ea yr for 2+ years / daily rate of $400)

Goal 5: $16000 2022 / $16000 2023 / $4000 (Summer Camp 2022 and Summer Camp 2023 plus tutoring)

Associated expenses (Medicare taxes): $1357.2

TOTAL : $143,469