Activity 7

Goals Addressed: 1. Increase student achievement; 2. Foster collaboration and communication;

3. Strengthen parent and community involvement; 4. Build an infrastructure for professional development.

Performance Objective(s) Addressed:

1. The attendance rate for all SAISD students will improve from 94.1% in 1997-1998 to 95% in 1998-1999.

2. The dropout rate for all SAISD students will decline for each identified group in 1997-1998 and 1998-1999.

3. The percent of students in grades three through eight and grade ten passing the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Reading Test will increase from 1998 to 1999 for each group of students identified.

4. The percent of students in grades three through eight and grade ten passing the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Mathematics Test will increase from 1998 to 1999 for each group of students identified.

5. The percent of students in grades four, eight, and ten passing the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Writing Test will increase from 1998 to 1999 for each group of students identified.

Strategies: 1. We will commit District resources to student learning and achievement.

2. We will strengthen our community of learners through continuous learning.

Activity 7: Begin the process of defining what it means for students to exhibit personal growth and serve others in the community.

Subactivities:

a. Create a Task Force consisting of students, teachers, parents, principals, counselors, community liaisons, community leaders and Expeditionary Learning School Designers. The committee should be representative of the elementary, middle and high school levels and consist of about 20 people.

b. Begin an awareness campaign to inform the community and all employees about the intent of the task force.

c. Create a process (such as a survey) to gather information from students, staff and the public about what comprises exhibitions of personal growth and students' service to others in the community.

Activity 7

d. Complete a district-wide definition of exhibitions of personal growth and service to others in the community that include the following parameters:

Consequential projects

Projects integrated into academic content

Sustained relationships rather than one time events

Students' reflections on their growth and service

Answers to the following questions will be incorporated into the definition:

How will students' personal growth be measured?

Will personal growth and/or service to others be used as benchmarks

Before students can move from elementary to middle school, middle

school to high school, or as a high school graduation requirement?

e. The Task Force will complete a set of recommendations and a plan of action for implementing exhibitions of personal growth and students' service to others in the community in 1999-2000.

Resources:

Human: Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, the Service Learning Facilitator and members of the Task Force

Financial: $6,000

Materials: Print materials as appropriate for the members of the Task Force

Person(s) Responsible: Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

Timeline: August 3, 1998 - May 1, 1999

Formative Evaluation: The Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, the Service Learning Facilitator and the Task Force will provide information about progress on the following: the dates that the Task Force has met; that the data gathering process has been established, completed and the data analyzed; and that definitions of student growth and student service to others have been completed.

Summative Evaluation: The Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, the Service Learning Facilitator and the Task Force will provide a set of recommendations and a plan of action for 1999-2000.