Introduction:

This document outlines the steps that will be taken during my transition to the role of principal at John Jay Elementary School during the 2014-2015 school year.  As I have already begun the transition and have a familiarity with the building due to the internal move from assistant principal to principal, processes incorporated during the transition began in April 2014.  The primary focus of the first 100-days will be to listen and learn, to ask questions, to identify successes and challenges, and to develop a long-term plan that aligns with the district vision, mission, and priorities while continuing to move John Jay forward along its journey of success for all students.   The plan includes three phases: Pre-entry, Entry, and On-going Planning.  Each stage addresses essential first steps and goals.

Three phases of the plan:

1. Pre-entry:  April 1 – June 30, 2014
2. Entry:  July 1 – December 31, 2014
3. On-going Planning:  January 1 – May 30, 2015

As a member of the Community Consolidated School District 59 Administrative Leadership Team and as the Principal of John Jay Elementary School, I am responsible for ensuring that our students are prepared for success in the 21st century.  To do this, a series of goals, outcomes, areas of focus, and activities to meet these goals have been identified and are outlined in this document.  These steps were developed in response to feedback collected during individual pre-entry conversations with John Jay staff and to addressalignment with John Jay School Improvement Rising Star goals and District 59 priorities.

Goals:

To prepare students for success in life and to support school and district priorities, the following goals will be addressed:

1. To identify the successes and challenges that are present at the school and to gather and listen to stakeholders feedback.  These conversations will guide planning for next steps to ensure a culture of learning that is supportive of students, staff, and the community.
2.  To build trust, to be available and to listen and ask questions in order to ensure open and honest communications, to gather and provide feedback from all stakeholders, and to support the social and emotional needs and academic learning environment for students and staff.
3.  To assess the learning landscape and identify processes to support the on-going implementation of the six instructional practices and three big shifts (see Appendix A), to ensure the implementation of 21st century teaching and learning that supports next best practice instruction and to identify on-going professional development topics to support implementation.
4.  To ensure that the managerial processes of the principal are efficient and effective in order to provide maximum time to focus on the role of instructional leadership.  To identify and perform the key characteristics of leadership that demonstrates the essential elements of one who leads and inspires others.

Expected Outcomes:

The following outcomes will guide the principal during the entry phase and will inform next steps for on-going and long-term planning.

• Results from 360 feedback survey demonstrates that the building principal has established a process for communication that has developed supportive relationships, built trust, provides opportunities for stakeholder feedback, and listens to staff feedback regarding challenges and successes.  Survey gathers feedback on areas of strength and areas for growth that contribute to the culture for learning.
• Evidence and data indicate that social/emotional programs and instruction have been provided to meet the social/emotional needs of students.  On Wednesdays, the SEL block provides additional opportunities for social emotional learning activities.
• Evidence of school-wide activities that engage students in collaboration through a variety of learning opportunities which may include but are not limited to: buddy activities, extension activities through biliteracy model, school-wide PBIS activities and celebrations, and social/emotional learning activities guided by PBIS data and students needs.
• Formative data collected through conversations with staff and from classroom observations.
• Feedback from professional development sessions will provide guidance in next steps both during the entry phase and in the on-going planning phase after the first 100 days.
• Evidence of efficient management of building processes and procedures as demonstrated through efficient building operations and fiscally sound budget management.

Pre-entry (April 1 – June 30)

1. Building Leadership:  Increased role and responsibilities as building administrator to support instruction and on-going needs at the building level during the transition period.
2. Professional Development Meetings:  Increased facilitation of Wednesday Early Release Professional Development meetings.
3. Teacher Meetings:  Gathered feedback from every staff member during one-on-one meetings.  Staff member responses will help inform next steps for promoting a positive and supportive climate and culture, identifying social/emotional learning goals and academic learning goals, and planning opportunities to increase parent and community engagement.  Guiding questions included:

*As you reflect on this year, what has been the greatest success?  What has been the greatest challenge?

*What looks different in your classroom this year compared to last year?

*What skills/talents do you think you possess that you would feel comfortable sharing with other staff members?

*As we think about our journey over the past three years, what will take us from great to exceptional?  What next steps will help us continue to move forward?

Entry Plan (July 2014  – January  2015)

Areas of  Focus:

To address the four goals, to maintain focus on the school improvement priorities for John Jay, and to align with the District Vision in Action: One District – One Population – One Core Purpose: Preparing Students to be Successful for Life, the following five key areas of focus have been identified:

1.  Climate and Culture

2.  Social/Emotional Learning

3.  Academic Learning

4.  Operations and Management

5.  Parent Community

Climate and Culture:

Essential to ensuring a culture of collaboration and a positive school climate, leadership practices must provide an environment where these exists a high level of trust, a willingness for teachers to take risks and to share celebrations and successes.  It will be essential to foster an environment of open and honest conversations and feedback.  To support this, I will:

• Listen and gather feedback from all stakeholders frequently
• Communicate weekly with staff through a variety of communication modalities.
• Distribute a monthly newsletter to parents and community that shares information and celebrates students and staff at Jay.
• Participate in team meetings weekly and facilitate communications with multiple team members to ensure the academic, social, and emotional needs of students are addressed and supported through open and transparent communications.
• Model effective teaming practices as an administrative team at John Jay.  Identify and share Assistant Principal role and responsibilities with staff.
• Support collaboration opportunities for staff, which includes but is not limited to grade level team meetings, vertical and horizontal collaboration, instructional planning meetings, RTI data meetings, coaching opportunities, collaborative conversations during Wednesday professional development sessions, partner and cluster school sharing, and support of district level collaboration across all content areas.
• Collaborate with Administrative Leadership Team members, District Administrators, and Partner School Team.

Social/Emotional Learning:

Essential to student learning is providing an environment where students feel safe.  Our PBIS program fosters an environment where a focus is placed on positive recognition and celebration of student behavior.  Our staff ensures that students’ social and emotional needs are supported and addressed in a positive and proactive approach.  Areas for focus were identified during Wednesday professional development sessions in May 2014.  Activities to support this area  include:

• Evaluating current social/emotional learning activities, including use of the Second Step curriculum, PBIS Cool Tools, Stop-Walk-Talk curriculum, and Zones of Regulation.  Explore other options to meet social/emotional needs on a daily basis.
• Investigate the use of other SEL activities to support social/emotional learning.
• Continue to support the use of Speaking and Listening lessons during the first weeks of school.  Identify activities that support students in working together in collaborative activities with peers.
• Continue to support implementation of Secondary PBIS Check-in/Check-out.  Identify and plan for professional development needs to support implementation.
• Seek support and guidance from Director of Social Emotional Learning.
• Support and facilitate the implementation of the SEL extended block on Wednesdays.
• Listen, ask questions, and gather feedback from staff in order to identify areas of success and areas for growth and support.
• Support PBIS Universal and Secondary teams in leadership role to continue to foster growth and positive direction for our social/emotional learning program at John Jay.  Identify new members to support learning goal as needed.

John Jay has identified the following school improvement Rising Star Goal in the area of Conditions for Learning:  The environment of the school (physical, social, emotional and behavioral) is safe, welcoming and conducive to learning. (CL7)  These activities also support and align with the tasks identified for this Rising Star goal.

Academic Learning:

Data from a variety of sources (MAP, AIMSweb, ISAT) indicates that student achievement over the past four years in the areas of reading and math has demonstrated significant gains.   As we continue to transition to 21st century teaching and learning and engage in new ways of thinking about curriculum, instruction, and assessment, the following activities will support this shift:

• Principal and Assistant Principal will spend two hours each day in classrooms to support instruction, to provide feedback, and to identify the characteristics of the learning landscape in order to provide on-going support.
• Ensure that professional development sessions align with the district and school improvement goals at John Jay.  This includes supporting the implementation of  a new building schedule that allocates time to support the following priorities:  Curriculum Design Units, the Biliteracy Model, the Integrated Literacy Block, CCSS Mathematics Instruction and Shifts, and Social/Emotional Learning activities and goals with a 21st century focus.
• Ensure professional development sessions model and engage staff in collaboration to support the implementation of the six instructional practices and three big shifts.
• Include teacher leaders in the planning and facilitation of professional development activities with staff.
• Gather feedback after professional development sessions to identify areas of success, areas for support and improvement and use this feedback to inform next steps in professional development.
• Ensure instructional coaching support provides opportunities for staff to collaborate through a variety of opportunities which include:  Collaborative instructional planning conversations with colleagues during daily team meetings, Innovative and Instructional coaching conversations to support instruction and innovation,  Wednesday extended planning meetings, and Wednesday professional development sessions.
• Collect data from new assessments (FAST and PARCC) and analyze student achievement results, the implications for teaching and learning, and plan for next steps.
• Collaborate with Administrative Leadership Team members, District Administrators, and Partner School Team.

John Jay has identified the following school improvement Rising Star Goal in the area of professional development:  Professional development for the whole faculty includes assessment of strengths and areas in need of improvement from classroom observations of indicators of effective teaching. (IF08)  These activities will support and align with the tasks identified in the Rising Star Plan.

Operations and Management:

Efficient and effective management of school processes and procedures allows the principal to focus work in the area of instructional leadership.  To do this, the following steps will be taken:

• Work with district Business Services Department to learn about the school budget and the requirements that must be followed for efficient and fiscally responsible budget management.
• Support and ensure open communication to provide a welcoming office atmosphere.  Meet monthly with the office team to support open communication and gather feedback.
• Identify and share leadership responsibilities with assistant principal.   Allocate leadership responsibilities to ensure a co-principal, administrative team approach.
• Continue daily morning check-in with custodial staff.
• Consult with members of the Administrative Leadership Team, including my principal mentor, to seek support in this area and in all other areas of focus.

Parents and Community:

The partnership with parents and community is essential to support student success.   Providing opportunities for parents to engage in the school and their child’s education is a critical component.  To begin to address this focus area during the entry phase, the following activities will be provided:

• Meet and Greet with Principal and Assistant Principal on the first day of school
• Back to School Supplies Drop-off Night before the first day of school
• Curriculum Night in August
• Open LRC nights and Family Literacy and Math Nights
• Continued use of Thursday folders for home/school communications.
• John Jay newsletter sent home monthly
• Attend monthly PTO meetings to support and facilitate a collaborative team approach with PTO board and John Jay families and staff.
• Begin to identify additional ways in which to engage and support family involvement at John Jay, including using additional technological communication methods.

On-going Planning (February 1, 2015 – June 30, 2015)

As each area of focus is addressed, on-going feedback and monitoring will inform next steps.  Repetition of  key messages, a focus on 21st century teaching and learning, and a consistent approach that includes asking “why?” will guide on-going planning and long-term planning.  Throughout this year, the Building Leadership Team will review our progress towards meeting our school improvement goals.  As these goals align to the priorities of the district, the BLT and building staff will also monitor progress and share challenges and successes through collaboration as we work to implement curriculum design units of instruction, the six areas of instructional focus and the three big shifts.  Essential throughout this plan and this year, is gathering feedback from all stakeholders, building relationships and trust, and fostering a climate and culture at John Jay where “The Sky is the Limit” and endless possibilities are available to all students to pursue their passions and to be prepared for success in life.

Appendix A

Six Areas of Instructional Practices

• Creating thinking classrooms
• Utilizing claim and evidence in daily instruction
• Including 21st Century learning skills in daily instruction
• Providing increased class time practice and focused feedback to students
• Transitioning to outcomes-based thinking and planning
• Developing a deeper understanding of all content standards including the new CCSS

Three Big Shifts

• Lower-level thinking to higher level thinking
• Analog to digital
• Teacher-led to student-led