Monthly Updates

January - February 2007 Central Dauphin School District We started the New Year with a great deal of activity.  We got back to work right after the Holiday break, meeting with all Reading Specialists and IST teachers in the district to review administration and scoring procedures for the DIBELS.   Although the teachers were familiar with administrating these measures, we wanted to make sure that all questions were answered and that everyone was “on the same page” prior to our Winter Benchmark Testing, which occurred for the three MP3 schools the following week.  Benchmark testing was conducted in the same manner as in the Fall, with a “swat team” of professionals from CD, Lehigh, and PaTTAN administering all appropriate measures.  Data were then entered into the DIBELS website, and in the case of Phillips, AIMsweb as well. After the data were reviewed, it was time to evaluate the placement of students in skill groups.  According to the results of the DIBELS, many students moved from a more intensive to a less intensive tier which warranted a change in skill group.  In addition, for those students that did not make adequate progress, an intervention change may have been necessary.  A meeting was held on January 24th to review all individual student data to determine appropriate group placement.  The review team consisted of selected members of the Data Decision Making Team, including Debbie Stover, Janet Walsh, the Reading Specialist; Connie Igou, the IST teacher; Carol Uveges, the Learning Support teacher; Carla Doyle, a second grade teacher; Lehigh Staff; Deb Fulton from PaTTAN, and Mary Kay Gainor from CD. The group spent the entire day reviewing all available data for each student and determining the most appropriate group.  We used the results of the DIBELS testing, as well as 4Sight, Maze, and classroom performance data to make preliminary decisions.  Once students were grouped in this manner, the groups were shared with the entire Data Team who further reviewed the groups and made changes.  Finally, the groups were shared with all classroom teachers at our grade level team meeting in January.  Teachers reviewed the groups for their grade and suggested any changes they felt were appropriate.  The new intervention groups were started on February 5th.  In addition to moving students to existing groups, we also formed new, comprehension focused groups at grades 2-5 to address the concerns of the teachers.  Progress monitoring is continuing to occur, and we should have enough data soon to begin to evaluate the effectiveness of the current intervention groups. In addition to our continued work with Phillips, we also had the opportunity to meet with the two schools that will begin MP3 next year.  During a two hour in-service in early February, the Lehigh team met with both Lawnton and Rutherford Elementary Schools to re-introduce the project and answer any questions that teachers had.  During these meetings, the major concerns that came up from staff were related to scheduling and how this project would effect current instruction, who would implement interventions, how and when the necessary training would be provided, and how decisions are made related to grouping students. We tried to answer all questions, or let teachers know when those questions would be addressed in subsequent trainings. The meetings were very positive and we look forward to working with both schools throughout the Spring and Summer as we prepare for September! Stop back in next month for an update on the project. Alexandra Hilt-Panahon, Ph.D. - Project Coordinator, Lehigh University Back to Monthly Updates Main Page