B. Instruction

The increased rigor/levels of cognitive demand related to the standards are fully integrated into the complete cycle and culture of K-12 instruction. Miami-Dade County Public Schools has aligned the standards and their higher levels of rigor with District Pacing Guides, instructional planning, District-developed assessments, monitoring tools, and Instructional reviews. These tools are used for planning instruction that ensures the delivery of rigorous instruction.

District Pacing Guides: In 2008 the District developed Pacing Guides and Instructional Focus Calendars (IFC) in the core academic areas. These guides align the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) with the District's Interim Assessments and ensure the consistent implementation of a rigorous K-12 curriculum across the District's 392 schools. A detailed description of the District Pacing Guides can be found in section A-2.

Instructional Planning: Contractually, teachers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools are required to develop daily lesson plans or a long-range plan that includes objectives and/or goals, learning activities, home learning assignments, and a way of monitoring student progress through formative and summative assessments. While no specific lesson plan format is prescribed for teachers in this District, the Curriculum and Instruction core content areas have developed suggested lesson plan templates based on research-based instructional practices correlated to the increased rigor and cognitive demand of the standards. The District developed lessons are loaded into Learning Village, the District's online instructional resource. The site is located on the teacher portal and access can be provided if requested. On-going professional development, both at the elementary and secondary levels, is provided to assist teachers with using strategies to promote rigor. Samples of the strategies are included in this section.

Assessments: In June 2005, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) developed the Interim Assessment Program and aligned the tests to the District Pacing Guides. The purpose of the Interim Assessment Program is to provide educators with meaningful and timely information about the academic achievement and needs of every student. The Interim Assessment tests provide valid, reliable information regarding content mastery, based on the cognitive complexity of the standards. Interim Assessment samples have not been attached for obvious security reasons. However, samples can be viewed upon request. Additionally, students with disabilities who have been designated as requiring a modified curriculum are assessed through a performance format involving student profiling and progress monitoring that insures delivery of a rigorous curriculum tailored to each student's unique learning needs.

Monitoring Tools: The District currently supports the use of one instructional walkthrough tool. The tool is centered on four distinct areas: Learning Environment; Lesson Delivery; Student Engagement; and Classroom Culture. The use of the tool provides reliable qualitative data, focusing on what students are doing in the classroom and highlighting the rigor or lack thereof of teacher instruction. Training on the use and purpose of the walkthrough tool is highlighted in the training on the teacher evaluation system and all data training for administrators. A sample of the Classroom Walkthrough tool, its companion guide, and a professional development presentation are included in this section.

Instructional Reviews: The Offices of Curriculum and Instruction and Education Transformation Schools coordinate and conduct instructional reviews and follow-up support to evaluate school-wide implementation of the curriculum. One of the main objectives of the review is to determine the rigor of the instructional delivery and materials used. The Interdisciplinary District teams visit classrooms and make necessary recommendations to improve and/or modify implementation. The state's review form is utilized during the first visit to the District Targeted Differentiated Accountability (DTDA) schools and District Follow-Up forms are used for all subsequent visits. Literacy Instructional Reviews are conducted for all schools. Samples of the Instructional Review Forms are provided in this section.

The District’s emphasis on creating and supporting a data-rich environment for instructional decision-making provides teachers with a wealth of data resources they can use in identifying student learning needs, and instructional strengths and weaknesses, so teachers know “what” to teach to “which” students. This is coupled with an essential focus on differentiation throughout instructional practice (the “how best to teach this/these student(s)” which is reflected in District professional development provided to teachers and coaches at all levels (from novice to mentor), as well as to administrators.

There are a variety of professional development offerings on differentiated instruction aimed at teachers for all students on the continuum from students requiring intervention at their specific level to students taking advanced instruction.

Differentiated instruction is explicitly addressed in the required training for new and early career teachers through the Mentoring and Induction for New Teachers (MINT) program. Mentors and teacher leaders have access to professional development focusing on understanding and analyzing multiple sources of data to identify learning needs and develop instructional strategies, and in communicating effectively about student data with mentees, colleagues, students, and other stakeholders.

As new assessment and data resources come online, from the Interim Assessments to the Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading (FAIR), to deployment of new features available through the teacher portal, professional development offerings are developed and deployed to facilitate teachers’ understanding and effective use of new information to inform instructional planning and delivery.

Content-focused professional development workshops also incorporate additional instructional delivery strategies to broaden teachers’ skill set are addressed in the professional development offerings for teachers, instructional and data coaches, and administrators regarding data analysis and effective use of data to inform instruction. In addition, the Response to Intervention model employed in the District focuses on providing training and resources for teachers to provide differentiated instruction and support for struggling students within a tiered model of support.

Included are sample course descriptions of professional development for teachers of students ranging from gifted to Advanced Placement. The strength and depth of this professional development has contributed greatly to the high success rate of high-level students and increasing the number of students exposed to higher-level instruction.

Included in this section are samples of presentation materials, agendas, and protocols from: training on the Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading (FAIR); MINT Differentiated Instruction; Data Coach training provided to curriculum support specialists, school data coaches, grade level leaders, team leaders, and instructional coaches; and training on Response to Intervention provided to school-site administrators.

In order for a student to best understand the lesson being presented, he/she must be actively engaged. Teachers need to ensure that students are participating rather than just paying attention. Therefore, District staff actively seeks out high-quality resources which can be leveraged through professional development to support effective instruction and provide teachers with strategies to increase student engagement. Sample of strategies for engaging students is included in this section.

As an example, the District has developed professional development modules based on Robert Marzano's Classroom Instruction that Works (CITW). National Board Certified Teachers have been trained as trainers to deliver this professional development across the District. The CITW strategies are taught in order to promote student engagement and improve academic outcomes for students.

The training modules themselves are designed to model the CITW strategies as well as other classroom strategies and techniques which promote student engagement, like movement, discussion, hands-on learning activities. Sample materials from Module 8, Generating and Testing Hypotheses, are attached. The full modules and supporting materials can be accessed at:

In addition to the CITW modules, the District has provided training on Harvey Silver's Increasing the Power of Student Thinking and Professional Learning with The Strategic Teacher to teachers and administrators in many schools. Those trained then serve as school-site resources and trainers to disseminate this information to their colleagues. Specifically, they were directed to lead Professional Learning Communities groups and/or book studies based on the four key strategies: Compare and Contrast (rigor, engagement), Reading for Meaning (rigor), Task Rotation (differentiation, engagement), and the Interactive Lecture (rigor, engagement). All staff in the PD department has been trained on the strategies so that they are incorporated into all professional learning on program delivery.

Miami Dade County Public Schools and the Education Transformation Office (ETO) use multiple assessments to gauge a student's progress during the course of a year. This includes prior FCAT data, district Interim Assessments and the Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) .

The Interim Assessment(IA) tests provide data regarding overall performance and content mastery, based on curriculum pacing guides produced by the Division of Curriculum and Instruction. The tests are administered in Reading (grades 3-10), Mathematics (grades 3-8), and Algebra.

• IA tests are administered as Baseline, Fall, and Winter to measures progress, and
• Benchmark Assessment Item Bank are provided to classroom teachers for their use in creating classroom assessments for further remediation.

The IA tests have also been linked to the State FCAT Assessments and provide for each student a status indicating whether the student is on target to be proficient at the time the FCAT is administered in the Spring.

In addition to the Interim Assessment Program, students also participate in the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) which is a screening, diagnostic, and ongoing progress monitoring assessment that measures phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In grades K-2, the assessment is administered individually to students. In grades 3-12 the assessments are computer-adaptive and delivered on Internet-connected computers. Results are immediately available to teachers and schools for targeting instruction through the Progress Monitoring and Reporting Network (PMRN).

Additionally, ETO uses data from the Standardized Test for the Assessment in Reading (STAR), ETO monthly assessments, mini-assessments through Successmaker, Voyager, Imagine Learning, Carnegie and Achieve 3000 to help determine which interventions students should receive. After each assessment (both formal and informal) data is disaggregated and students are placed in groups accordingly to facilitate Differentiated Instruction. This process is tied directly to the Intervention/Enrichment Process which categorizes students and provides necessary interventions and enrichment depending on individual student needs. This data is shared with administration, instructional coaches, teachers, and students to effectively target individual student needs. Enclosed are sample reports from these assessments, which were used when planning interventions.

Education, a pillar of the M-DCPS Strategic Plan 2009-2014, focuses on student achievement as its one District goal. We serve a continuum of learners' needs, ranging from remediation to acceleration, for our diverse community of learners. M-DCPS strives to meet these varying needs through myriad interventions, programs and strategies to enhance instruction and foster optimal conditions for learning. Recognizing the power of technology as a tool for instruction, motivation and differentiating instruction, the District utilizes various core and supplementary technology-based interventions, as well as online applications available 24/7 for remediation, acceleration and enrichment purposes.

Subject area core intervention programs provide remediation to students who demonstrate academic deficiencies, as evidenced by assessment data. Each core subject area, reading/language arts, mathematics, and science, has identified programs or guidelines for supporting struggling students. These are described in, Subject Area Core Intervention Programs and Support Guidelines, which is included in this section.

In addition to these programs, a District-based initiative, the Success Academy, is facilitated for selected schools to provide additional learning time in reading, writing, mathematics and science for students in need of extra support. The Success Academy model of instructional support was designed and implemented during the 2008-2009 school year and has continued to the present time. A detailed description of this initiative is provided in the attachment, Success Academy.

The District also provides opportunities for students who are academically advanced and benefit from acceleration and enrichment through the gifted programs. These programs are overseen by the District Office of Mathematics, Science and Advanced Academics. A description of the gifted program is provided in the attachment, Subject Area Core Intervention Programs and Support Guidelines.

Curriculum and Instruction also develops summer and winter activity packets in reading, mathematics, science and social sciences for students with the goal of ameliorating loss of learning while providing enrichment. The activities are fun and engage students through exploration and creativity. Current research indicates that students, especially economically disadvantaged students, experience a decline in reading skills during the time that they are not in school. Reading is emphasized as a goal for all students, K-12, over the summer months and during breaks.Samples of the summer and winter activity packets are included in this section.

In 2010-2011, The Education Transformation Office (ETO) was created to support the Rising 19, or those schools identified as persistently lowest-achieving by the Florida Department of Education. The ETO functions as a hybrid Region and collaborates with and supports the schools in operations, advocacy, curriculum and instruction, school improvement, and professional development. As part of their work, Intervention/Enrichment Plans are developed through collaboration of ETO Instructional Supervisors, school administration, and instructional coaches. Students are grouped according to deficiencies or enrichment needs and receive support from interventionists in a small-group setting. Various instructional models, co-teaching, inclusion, and pull-out or push-in tutorial sessions are used in addition to Saturdays, before school, and after school sessions. Using data, plans are modified throughout the year and students are regrouped accordingly. Students' intervention plans are adjusted to meet individual needs.

Effective classroom management is an essential element of effective teaching and learning. The District is committed to providing Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) teachers with professional development and support necessary to cultivate successful classroom managers. To that end, M-DCPS has adopted the research-based classroom management practices of Dr. Harry Wong and incorporated the Wong Toolkit as part of the required professional development to be completed by every new teacher. National Board Certified Teachers, instructional coaches, and new teacher mentors have all been trained in the use of a module developed by the District on the Wong classroom management strategies. This trained network of professional development providers works with new and early career teachers, teachers in the District-delivered alternate certification track, and struggling teachers in the implementation of Wong's classroom management practices. In this way, evidenced-based classroom management strategies have been infused as standard classroom practice.

This section includes a PowerPoint presentation for the District's course entitled Classroom Management: Creating a High-Performing Learning Environment. This class provides an overview of the content of the required core courses for new teachers, is open to any teacher in the District, and is offered numerous times throughout each school year. In addition to the face-to-face courses, teachers have the opportunity to enroll in and complete Harry Wong's online course through a license agreement purchased by the District. The link to access the Harry Wong Classroom Management online course is https://www.classroommanagement.com/.

For those schools in which classroom management and discipline must be a school-wide targeted effort, Positive Behavior Support (PBS) provides the means for a school-wide discipline management approach to increase academic performance, increase safety, decrease problem behaviors, and establish positive school cultures. Additional information on the PBS Project can be accessed at https://flpbs.fmhi.usf.edu/. The PBS team approach provides a positive alternative to traditional school discipline by relying on discipline data and analyzing the data to provide information for school leadership teams to positively impact student behaviors. In M-DCPS, the PBS initiative began in 2004 with four schools. This initiative has grown in 2010-2011 to 25 schools, with 5 of those schools having achieved model school status during the 2009-2010 school year. Professional Development is provided yearly to the PBS school leadership team members. Each PBS school team consists of approximately 6 to 8 staff members from each school, including the school's administrator, the PBS Team Leader, and a PBS Coach, who meet monthly. During the Professional Development that is provided to administrators and school staff each year, PBS Action Plans are developed by each school and submitted to the PBS District coordinator. Webinars are also held, and on-line chats take place on a monthly basis in order to disseminate information regularly in the areas of student achievement, parent engagement, school climate, etc. Dropout Prevention strategies are infused into each PBS action plan, and data are utilized by each team member when making school-level decisions.

LEAPS is a computer-based behavioral curriculum that has been provided for school personnel working at PBS schools. It provides lessons to assist with interventions that can also be used at all three tiers of the RTI process, https://www.goleaps.com/. The School-Wide Information System (SWIS) has also been provided to all PBS schools and is also a web-based system that uses information provided on schools' office discipline referrals to help design school-wide and individual interventions. A sample SWIS screen has been included for easy reference.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools serves a community of diverse cultures and languages. By utilizing each student's cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance style to make learning more appropriate and effective, M-DCPS believes all students will achieve their full educational potential. The District's commitment to cultural responsiveness is demonstrated through a number of initiatives.

Multicultural education is an integral part of the K-12 curriculum and instructional program in M-DCPS. Cultural responsiveness and sensitivity are embedded in much of our curricula across all the content areas. Rather than merely celebrating the contributions of various racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, or gender groups during typical month-long celebrations such as Hispanic Heritage Month or Black History Month, M-DCPS provides year-round opportunities for students to study the rich diversity that exists within the local community and nation. Additionally, Heritage Panels help students develop greater sensitivity to cultures other than their own. Conducted in collaboration with the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews, approximately 10 students from each participating school are trained to reflect on their life experiences and to consider what makes them unique, but also similar to their peers. They share these stories in Heritage Panel discussions in their own schools, enhancing cultural sensitivity.

Frequently, an individual's first exposure to a culture is through language. As a result, M-DCPS offers a myriad of language programs from elementary through secondary which provide all students the opportunity to acquire proficiency in English and at least one other language while simultaneously understanding and appreciating other cultures and heritages. During the last four year, the average number of students participating in these programs is over 200,000 (see participation chart included in this section).

Cultural responsiveness goes beyond language acquisition and exposure to other cultures. The Student Services Department provides a variety of cultural sensitivity and responsiveness programs. To ensure the physical and emotional well being of all students, comprehensive anti-bullying and anti-harassment curriculum programs are offered throughout the District in grades K-12. Nationally, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) students are one of the most fragile and at-risk groups of students. The Sexual Minority Network, a program unique to M-DCPS, also provides counseling and support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in the District. The Sexual Minority Network provides for a more supportive, accepting environment at the school. No Place for Hate, a program offered in cooperation with the Anti-Defamation League, further helps students to challenge anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia, and all forms of bigotry. The program seeks to provide a model for responding to and preventing acts of hatred and for developing projects that enhance diversity.

Another initiative, Ready Schools Miami, is a multi-year, multi-partner effort to improve the quality of early childhood education through ongoing, job-embedded professional development and services that address all areas of teaching and learning and are responsive to the cultural heritage of the students they serve. The success of this partnership led to M-DCPS being recognized by the U.S. Department of Education when the Florida Master Teacher Initiative was selected for funding in the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant.

District staff trained 1,000 mental health professionals in cultural competence to be ready to receive students fleeing the earthquake (see PowerPoint included). Additionally, students have demonstrated the ability to act on what they have learned in school. One such opportunity presented itself in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti when the M-DCPS' school family joined together to provide resources, instructional supplies and materials, buses, and monetary donations to the children and families from Haiti.

To appropriately monitor student referrals the District maintains a student case management system. The system provides information relative to student absences, percentages of attendance, student mobility rates and disciplinary referrals.

Through the Student Case Management System, data on disciplinary referrals district-wide is collected. The system provides information that is relevant to each school regarding indoor and outdoor suspensions. District School Operations works closely with schools to ensure that additional support is provided to those exhibiting high levels of suspensions. Included in this section are screenshots of this system available to Administrators and selected student services staff.

With respect to expulsions, District/School Operations monitors data through the Office of Alternative Education to ensure that all students receive due process, prior to School Board action. School Operations/Alternative Education oversees non-traditional programs that serve at-risk youth. As a result of these measures, there has been a significant decline in the number of expulsions as of 2007-2008 school year to present. For your review, a chart has been prepared that shows the District’s expulsion trends.

The Office of Assessment, Research, and Data Analysis generates detailed reports that provide attendance percentages by schools; mobility of students across the District and the number of indoor and outdoor suspensions for the respective years. The links that follow provide access to these reports for the designated years - 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011. A graph has also been included in this section to demonstrate the trends.

Additionally, the Student Case Management System collects data elements of code of conduct violations. Each year staff analysis data related to violation of the Code of Student Conduct. This information is provided by the Office of Assessment, Research and Data Analysis every July 1 for the previous school year. The data is reviewed and monitored by the District for the development of strategies that lead to alternatives to student disciplinary action.