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Superintendent
Samuel G. Chimento
Superintendent's Message
Archive Superintendent Messages
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| | September 7, 2007
An important step in the school improvement process is to be accountable for results. As Palermo School District Superintendent, I want to ensure that the Governing Board, district staff and public are informed; and that we are accountable and use results to improve learning for all students.
The 2007 Academic Performance Report (APR) presents a mixed bag of results for our district. Our API declined 13 points from a base score of 710 to 697 interrupting a pattern of improvement that has been occurring since 2004. API scores at Palermo and Helen Wilcox also declined. Golden Hills' first year API score is 741. We show a 2% gain in ELA test scores and a 4% decline in math scores. Although the district did not meet its AYP criteria, we are not a Program Improvement District.
Candidly, for me these results are both a surprise and a disappointment. I say this because as a district and at each of our school sites we have been intensely engaged in implementing strategies to improve student achievement. Our staff has participated in quality professional development activities and is working collaboratively to improve student learning. Although my reaction is surprise and disappointment, I am not at all discouraged and I remain very confident that we are on the correct path to establish and maintain a pattern of continuous improvement.
It is also important to recall that our focus is on student learning in a more comprehensive manner than a high stakes test score. The annual state test is but one measure of student learning. To quote winning Super Bowl coach Tony Dungy, the son of two teachers, “Learning is more important than the test.”
The District Improvement Plan is represented by our Learning for All Framework. The Learning for All Framework is designed to focus all of our resources and services on student learning. It prescribes that the District “system” support our school sites as they plan and implement school improvement strategies. Under this framework we have been engaged in a study of the research of the best and most successful practices to raise student achievement for all children. Among the strategies we are implementing we find professional learning communities, “Smart Goals”, full day kindergarten, Response to Intervention, technology integrated into daily instruction, staff involvement in systemic reform, alignment of local assessments, materials and instruction with standards, and staff development aligned with improvement plans.
So what do we do when faced with results that disappoint? The simplest answer is we do the same thing we do when we see results that show increased achievement. We examine the data to identify what we are doing well and to identify areas where we need to improve. You see the work does not change. We still are confronted by the great challenge of our time, to transform a system of opportunity to learn into a system of learning for all.
Therefore, our focus must remain on what goes on in the classroom and what we are doing to support teaching for learning. It is also important to emphasize that our intention is not only to raise test scores but to cause students to master core academic subjects and to develop the personal qualities and character traits that will enable them to be positive productive citizens and family members. Improved test scores will be the result of effective systemic reform that supports learning for all students.
To learn more about Palermo’s APR and standardized test results go to the following links.
http://api.cde.ca.gov/AcntRpt2007/2007GrthAPIDst.aspx?allcds=0461523
http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2007/Viewreport.asp (select ButteCounty; Palermo Union Elementary) | |
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