October 03, 2024 – Leawood Elementary students are leaping for the stars in literacy. According to the Ohio School Report Card, Leawood students are making significant gains in both Achievement and Early Literacy. And behind every student's accomplishment is a teacher, administrator, or staff member dedicated to their success.

"Last year was my first year at Leawood," said Principal Shonte Ivey-Spears. "I immediately took a step back to see how they did things at the school and what could be tweaked. I realized data analysis would be the perfect place to start."

In just one year, Leawood saw a 0.5 star increase – going from 2 stars to earning 2.5. The Ohio School Report Cards are based on a 5-star system, with five stars being the highest accreditation.

Details are in the Data

Ivey-Spears went right to work by observing and studying assessment data. She looked specifically at the Beginning of Year (BOY) and End of Year (EOY) Tier 2 data. Tier 2 is a level of support for students who need more targeted interventions, such as small group instruction, but not as intense or as individualized as students in Tier 3. Tier 2 is designed to help students at risk of academic failure but not yet considered high risk. 

After gathering the data, Ivey-Spears helped train her staff to apply what they learned to the state report card. Heading into the start of the 2023-2024 school year, Ivey-Spears ensured that her Building Leadership Team, often referred to as BLT, understood each part of the state report card and what it takes to excel in each section. 

"It takes, as a leader, being open to feedback, delegating, feeling safe enough to trust your team and that they will do the work – but it also goes both ways – your team has to trust you," Ivey-Spears said.

She gained the support and trust of the staff, which is a challenging feat for a new principal. Teachers and staff were encouraged to share in a safe space, knowing their ideas and input were valued. 

"It was a team effort, and we spent some time digging deep into the report card using historical data," Ivey-Spears said. "The BLT then communicated that information to our Teacher-Based Teams, so the entire building had some knowledge of the state report card."

Strategic Focus

Armed with data information, staff then focused on a few specific topics and Tier 2 students. After almost a semester of planning, it was time to watch their ideas take shape.

The data gathered was used to improve teaching within the building and to create a school-wide writing plan for grades K-5. Leawood's primary literacy specialist and its primary instructional assistants worked in small groups of Tier 2 students on foundational skills, using the District-approved curriculum Fundations, helping them read, and focusing on their writing skills.

The staff also decided to hone in on a specific topic each semester, and its first topic last year was narrative writing. 

"We were intentional about the types of writing we used," Ivey-Spears said. "We ensured that it aligned to the state assessment and our primary rubrics."

For example, the second graders were excited when they wrote on the topic, "If my favorite color crayon didn't exist, how would that change my life?"

"It was awesome to see that they were able to process what's your favorite color, and if you didn't have that favorite color, how would that impact your life?" Ivey-Spears said. "They had to think about why they liked that color and what would be different if it wasn't there. To see them go through that whole writing process that we taught them was amazing, and we were able to keep progressing."

Strategy for this Year

Leawood's goal for the 2024-2025 school year is to improve another 0.5 stars and achieve a 3-star rating. They admit there is still a lot of work to be done, but the staff is willing to keep putting in the time and energy required for their students to thrive. 

"We're talking about data; we're looking to see how we can earn three stars this year, and we just hit the ground running again," Ivey-Spears said. 

One thing they will do differently with their BOY data is change the group size of their testing schedule, specifically for grades 3-5.

"With the i-Ready diagnostic last year for primary, we made a small group testing schedule," Ivey-Spears said. "It took a while for the primary students to finish the BOY assessment. This year, we also extended that to third, fourth, and fifth grade."

Thanks to the previous year's i-Ready diagnostics, this year's testing schedule will help obtain accurate baseline data on third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students.

"This year we came up with a testing schedule, and we are going to take it to the deadline because we're taking our time," Ivey-Spears said. "We hope to get more accurate data for our third, fourth, and fifth graders. That way, we can see more growth because that is an area that we need to work on – gap closing, and that's how we close those gaps."

After last year's implementation phase of their intentional Tier 2 planning and writing plan, the staff was eager to see their state report card stars increase by 0.5 from a 2 star rating to 2.5 stars. Leawood staff are looking forward to the improvements they will make this year.

"We have a solid plan, and I'm excited to see what improvements we will make this year," Ivey-Spears said. "Everything we did last year was worth it because of every meeting we've had this year – everyone is prepared and ready!"

Early Literacy Results

According to Ivey-Spears, the Early Literacy section of the State Report Card has three components: proficiency in third-grade reading, improving kindergarten-to-third-grade reading, and promotion to fourth grade. Leawood made significant progress in two categories during the 2023-2024 school year.

• Proficiency in Third Grade Reading: 35.7% to 42.1% (+6.4%)

• Improving Kindergarten to third-grade literacy: 28.4% to 33.3% (+6.4%)

Achievement Results

Overall in the Achievement category, the school increased from 48.8% in 2022-2023 to 57.5% in 2023-2024, which is over a 10% positive increase. That percentage change earned them another star in that category.

“We are extremely proud of the continual progress in literacy achievement at Leawood,” said Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Kelly Rivers. “It is a reflection of the hard and focused work of the principal, teachers, support staff, families, community partners, and most importantly, our students.” 

Academic Terminology and Acronyms Key

BLT - Building Leadership Team 

The purpose of a Building Leadership Team, as defined by the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council, is to:

• Support improvement in instructional practice on a school-wide basis

• Establish priorities for instruction and achievement

• Support the effective and ongoing use of data to monitor adult follow-through and student progress

BOY - Beginning of Year - BOY assessments are optional assessments that schools can use to measure student understanding of the curriculum at the start of the school year. They can help identify gaps in student learning and inform instructional practices. 

EOY - End of Year - EOY assessments also known as summative assessments, help teachers understand how students have progressed throughout the year. They also help teachers prepare for the next year by understanding students' starting points. 

i-Ready - online assessment and instruction that helps teachers provide all students a path to proficiency and growth in reading and mathematics. It gives each student a personalized learning path for both reading and mathematics and it's based on their diagnostic results.

TBTs - Teacher Based Teams - groups of teachers who work together to improve teaching and learning for students. 

Tier 1 Instruction - Tier 1 instruction is the first level of support in the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, and is the foundation for all students' learning. It's also known as core instruction. Tier 1 instruction is designed to meet the needs of most students in a classroom, regardless of their learning profile.

Tier 2 -  a targeted intervention for small groups of students who are struggling to learn and need more support than Tier 1 instruction. Tier 2 instruction helps students who are falling behind, have difficulty based on screening, or aren't making progress in the classroom. The goal is to remediate academic skill deficits so that students can succeed in the regular classroom without additional support. 

Tier 3 - Tier 3 instruction is a more intensive and individualized form of intervention for students who have not made adequate progress in previous tiers of instruction. Tier 3 instruction is often used for students who are struggling with reading, but the principles can be applied to other areas as well.