Presented byMary Zigman, AdministratorAmy Stuhr, Student ServicesKevin Pearson, Teacher

Introductions and Overview

The Ivy School offers a Montessori education with Spanish-language study. Our mission is to inspire children of diverse backgrounds to be lifelong, independent learners who value

responsibility and embody peace.

•Response to Intervention•Equity and Diversity•Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment•Teacher Staffing and Retention•Community

Response to Intervention (RTI)

“Respect all the reasonable forms of activity in which the child engages and try to understand them.”

Maria Montessori

Why is RTI utilized at Ivy?

• Every child in every district receives the instruction that they need and deserve… every day. (OrRTI Vision)

• RTI is the practice of providing high-quality instruction and intervention matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about change in instruction or goals and applying child response data to important educational decisions (NASDSE, 2005)

• RTI is targeted instruction to match each student’s needs (RTI From All Sides, Mary Howard, pg. 3)

• Montessori is RTI - Record keeping and observation are part of everyday life in the classroom. It is ongoing and consistent. RTI is not a supplemental measure, but a natural part of the Montessori environment.

• Montessori record keeping and anecdotal records are of great importance in understanding the students and addressing their developmental, academic, and behavioral needs.

• Through constant and consistent observation, Ivy teachers address areas of difficulty on a daily basis, by intervening with support materials to increase understanding in specific areas. Interventions are personalized and fit each student’s particular needs.

Why is RTI utilized at Ivy?

• easyCBM™ is an enhanced district assessment system designed by researchers at the University of Oregon as an integral part of an RTI (Response to Intervention) model. (https://easycbm.com/)

• Progress monitoring is used to assess students’ academic performance, to quantify a student rate of improvement or responsiveness to instruction, and to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. Progress monitoring can be implemented with individual students or an entire class. (National Center for Response to Intervention - http://www.rti4success.org/)

• RTI at the Ivy School combines assessment (easyCBM™ and Fountas and Pinnell) and instruction in making data-based decisions about a student’s progress by continually monitoring that progress.

• Montessori’s ongoing intervention and assessment strategies support students on a continual basis. Multi-grade classrooms allow for teachers to track and teach interventions over multiple years rather than one.

1-5%

Intensive, Individual Interventions

5-10%

Targeted Group Interventions

80-90%

Universal Interventions

Academic Systems

1-5%

Intensive, Individual Interventions

5-10%

Targeted Group Interventions

80-90%

Universal Interventions

Behavioral Systems

What RTI Looks Like

Designing Montessori Systems for Student Success

Tertiary Interventions (most intensive):•Highly individualized work plans.•Developmentally appropriate scope and sequence.•Data-based decisions (easyCBM, Fountas and Pinnell, etc.).

Secondary Interventions (targeted group):•Additional staff in the room enables small group and one-on-one instruction.•Modified work plans.

Universal Interventions:•Uninterrupted work cycles.•Universal screening (easyCBM™ and Fountas and Pinnell).•Constant, consistent observation.•Appropriate materials that increase understanding.•Independent work plans.•Self-correcting materials / Immediate feedback.•Mixed-age classrooms.

Middle School Student RTI'd for Math

Student B entered 8th grade below grade level expectations in math. She had a high level of frustration, and avoided math.

Interventions•One-on-one instruction four times a week.•Relationship / Story-Based instruction to build meaning into the lessons.•Connection with a peer mentor to work with every day.•Instruction from a fully Montessori trained, master teacher using hands-on manipulatives to build the missing conceptual pieces that effect her ability to understand abstract math concepts.

Results• First unit pre-assessment: 0%• First unit assessment: 79%• Second unit pre-assessment: 45%

Interventions continued.• Second unit assessment: 90%• Student now teaches math lessons to 6th graders

to demonstrate mastery.

Elementary Student RTI'd for Reading

Student A entered 4th grade below grade level expectations in reading.

Interventions•Daily one-on-one and small group instruction in reading.•Natural, child-centered scope and sequence (curriculum flowed at her own pace, allowing for big cognitive leaps).•Used developmentally appropriate materials.•Targeted one-on-one instruction in reading.•Highly individualized work plan.

Results•Student did not meet RTI goals in reading.•Student did not meet Grade Level Expectations on OAKS.•At the BSC (Building Screening Committee), the education team recommended testing.•In the spring, the student qualified for an IEP (Individualized Education Plan).

• Math 32% of Ivy 6th graders

are on RTI or SPED.

21% of Ivy 7th graders are on RTI or SPED.

22% of Ivy 8th graders are on RTI or SPED.

Special Education Data

• Reading 38% of Ivy 6th graders

are on RTI or SPED.

31% of Ivy 7th graders are on RTI or SPED.

22% of Ivy 8th graders are on RTI or SPED.

• The district average of students on Special Education is 14%, the charter average is 12%, and the national average is 12%. Overall, Ivy’s population of students on Special Education is 12%. 17% of incoming first graders arrived with an IEP. 55% of students on an IEP came to Ivy with an IEP already in place. 19% of Ivy 6th / 7th graders are on SPED. 16% of Ivy middle school students are on SPED.

• 90% of Ivy students who are RTI’d to the top level are placed with an IEP.

• During the 2014-2015 school year, a combined number of 63 students are on Special Education and RTI.

This represents 25% of the total student population at Ivy.

Special Education Data

"Special education students at Ivy are woven seamlessly into the academic and social fabric

of the school, and are successfully maintaining a

strong presence."

Equity and Diversity

“We must lay the foundation of peace ourselves by constructing a social environment, a new world for the child

and adolescent, so that their individual conscience may develop. A vast education reform and above all a vast social

reform for today.” Maria Montessori

Building Diversity at Ivy

• Diversity at Ivy: Diversity at Ivy is a complex concept. There is a unity with community

members who are 'otherized.' This unity is felt despite individual

demographic numbers.

• Student In-reach: Students care. All students have a voice because of our processes. Curriculum encourages respect for individual differences.

• Community Outreach: Targeted community center outreach Neighborhood partnerships Building personal relationships

Professional Development at Ivy

•On-going equity training for staff and Board.

•Current plan for intensive equity training event for all staff, to support an inclusive environment for all children and families:

Taking it Up! Oregon Center for Educational Equity.

Focus on Diversity Series Events.

Consistent, on-going, authentic conversations regarding the achievement gap in Oregon.

Peace Education Strategies Employed at IvyEducation as peace, not education for peace.

•Peaceful Conflict Resolution: Ivy students practice peaceful

mediation to resolve conflict. Teachers scaffold skills by modeling

for students the process at lower grade levels and for new students.

Older students peer mediate and/or use mediation skills to resolve conflicts independently.

•Restorative Justice Principles: Restorative justice practices including restorative circles, mediation, and

classroom circles are used to guide these principles:o Accountabilityo Responsibilityo Repairing harmo Rebuilding relationships

Peace Education Strategies Employed at IvyEducation as peace, not education for peace.

• Service Learning: Service learning is integrated into the curriculum and can be student- or

teacher-led. Service learning’s guiding principle is that all members are active citizens and

are partners in community life.

• Classroom Environment: Throughout all subjects, the Montessori teacher has the opportunity to instill

in her/his students a sense of being connected to all things in the universe. Encourage in each child the skill and ability to become the peacemaker. Montessori teaches to look inward and take note of their own beliefs and

values.

Equity and Diversity

Equity and Diversity

Ivy students are clearly invested in their school community, as seen through student behavior, community service, and school activities. •Ivy students are guided on how to handle conflict through mediation and Restorative Justice practices.•All Ivy staff have engaged in cultural training.•The suspension rate at Ivy for the past two years has been under 1%, compared to the district average of 4-5%.•The suspension rate for African American students at Ivy has been 0% for the past two years, compared to the district average of 17%.

Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by

experiences in the environment.”Maria Montessori

Montessori Instruction

"The outcome of education is peace."Maria Montessori

• Mixed age environments.

• Concrete materials to support conceptual understanding.

• Three hour, uninterrupted work periods.

• Independence in learning and self-directed learning.

• Trained Montessori teachers.

• Highly individualized work plans.

• A full compliment of Montessori materials.

• Interdependence on community.

• Students learn respect, kindness, compassion.

Montessori Research and Outcomes

• Kathryn Rindskopf Dohrmann , Tracy K. Nishida , Alan Gartner , Dorothy Kerzner Lipsky & Kevin J. Grimm (2007) High School Outcomes for Students in a Public Montessori Program, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 22:2, 205-217

This longitudinal study of Milwaukee high school graduates showed that students who had attended Montessori preschool and elementary programs significantly outperformed a peer control group on math/science scores. “In essence,” the study found, “attending a Montessori program from the approximate ages of three to eleven predicts significantly higher mathematics and science standardized test scores in high school.”

• East Dallas Community Schools: Montessori OutcomesEast Dallas Community Schools operates two inner-city Montessori schools that serve an ethnically and

culturally diverse group of primarily low-income families. In over 30 years of using the Montessori approach to education, EDCS has proved that all children, regardless of race or income, can succeed in school when you start young and involve parents. In a neighborhood in which the high school dropout rate is over 50%, children who attend EDCS have graduated from high school at a rate of 94%, with 88% of those graduates attending college. A ten-year study of standardized test scores found that third grade students’ average scores were in the top 36% nationwide in reading and math. Even though many of these children start school without speaking any English, 100% of the children test as fluent in English by the end of the third grade.

Academic Achievement at Ivy

Ivy students will engage in a dynamic Montessori curriculum which allows for exploration of the world around them. Through creative and

challenging multi-sensorial instruction, Ivy students will develop critical thinking skills necessary to be global citizens. The Ivy educators are

reflective by implementing best practices through Montessori philosophy and materials, state standards, authentic assessment and student interest. By partnering with parents and the community, the Ivy School will

be a safe place where all students can thrive.

•The Overall Academic Achievement at Ivy is a Level 4, which is above the state average.

Literacy

• Staff completed a literacy practice self-study.

• Implemented Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Benchmark Assessment System. This established a school-wide, shared language to identify where students are on the literacy continuum across Ivy.

• Instruction includes: Phonics Word Study Guided Reading Reading and Writer's Workshop Public Speaking Independent Reading with texts to match

individual student reading level Continual assessment and observation Reading literacy interventions

• 2013-2014 Reading Scores Reading Academic Achievement improved to a Level 4. Reading Academic Growth improved to a Level 4. Subgroup growth for Underserved Races/Ethnicities doubled in

progress, from a 2 to a 4. 2013 Reading Scores: 68% Meets and Exceeds in Grades 3-6. 2014 Reading Scores: 77.5% Meets and Exceeds in Grades 3-6. Overall Reading Scores 72% School-wide Meets and Exceeds.

Literacy Data

Math

• Intensive focus on math instruction and student growth.

• Staff planned curriculum all summer and continue to meet weekly.

•Montessori math professional development.

• Ivy follows Common Core Curriculum map for lower elementary, and Oregon State Standards / Common Core Curriculum for upper elementary and middle school.

• Provides highly individualized math instruction for students, including small group instruction and one-on-one.

School-wide Math Interventions

•Montessori math materials provide concrete materials to facilitate understanding of abstract concepts.

• Easy CBM

• Khan Academy for Common Core aligned supplemental instruction.

• Pre- and post-unit assessments used to shape instruction.

• After school math enrichment classes.

•Math test scores raised 10 percentage points in one year.

2013 Math Scores: 50% Meets and Exceeds in Grades 3-6.

2014 Math Scores: 60% Meets and Exceeds in Grades 3-6.

• All students showed positive math trends.

Math Data

Science

• The Five Great Montessori Lessons The story of the universe, life, humans, writing,

and math. Children learn to grapple with the essential

questions of who we are in the scientific world. Encourages research and scientific process.

• Science as Inquiry Activities through which students develop knowledge and

understanding of scientific ideas through personal interactions.

• Real World Applicability Oregon adoption of Next Generation Science Standards. Component of real world science.

• Read about the origin of fish.• Made a map of rivers of Oregon.• Learned about parts of a fish by drawing.• Dissected a real fish.• Listened to a local guest-speaker share stories

about the Steelhead salmon.• Participated in the Oaks Bottom Wetlands

cleanup.• Studied different types of salmon and their

life-cycles.• Made a permanent art installation at the Prescott

campus of a mosaic of the life cycle of salmon.• Performed a song at Work Share night about the

Columbia River.

• Organic Gardening• Animal Care and Reproduction • Physics• Chemistry • Geometry• Construction

Grades 4-8 Outdoor Classroom

Grades 1-3 Life-Cycle of a Salmon

Teacher Staffing and Retention

“An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking; it involves the spiritual development of man, the

enhancement of his value as an individual, and the preparation of young people to understand the times in which

they live.” Maria Montessori

Teacher Staffing and Retention

• The Challenge of Staffing a Public Montessori School Ivy teachers are required to be credentialed teachers as well as Montessori

certified. In addition, Ivy needs to find staff who speak Spanish. Working together with De La Salle.• Professional Development Teachers participate in leading professional development / or determining

what development is needed. Opportunities to attend professional development conferences and

seminars. Staff are invited to participate in some and can choose opportunities they are directly interested in.

• Extensive Staff Orientation 10 days of staff orientation and planning before the start of the school year:o Teachers receive training in RTI.oMontessori math professional development.oCurriculum and Instruction — mapping out the curriculum for the year.

Teacher Staffing and Retention

• Collaborative Planning Time and Instructional Planning Time Recent research and public conversation in

effective educational practices centers around shared, collaborative teacher planning time. o Teachers need more time to refine and perfect

their instructional strategies.o The success or failure of Common Core may

depend largely on whether or not teachers get the needed time.

Ivy teachers have weekly time allocated together:o To review curriculum initiatives and instructional

strategies (professional development) to support those initiatives.

o To check in at the grade level, at the campus level, and at the school wide level.

oDedicated time for RTI and student issues.

Voices of Ivy Teachers

Community at the Ivy School

“A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic and social rights

the biggest and most powerful possess.” Maria Montessori

The Cycle of Community at Ivy

SchoolCommunity

School Events

Partnerships

Community & Neighborhood

• $450 raised through in-kind and monetary donations. Student-led.

• 40+ volunteer hours on Greenhouse Build alone.

• $400 in donations raised from Farmers Market. This money was used to buy an incubator.

• Three newly formed, long-term neighborhood partnerships.

The Ivy School Garden & Farmers Market

• 95% attendance at Fall 2014 Parent/Teacher Conferences.• 150 parents attended

Parent Communication Night.•Parent volunteer hours

(greater than 3000) have been logged for activities such as: • Field Trips• Fundraisers• Greenhouse construction

and maintenance

Parent Community

• Community Service and "going outs" at the Ivy School are culminating events in student life.

• During the younger years, teachers plan traditional field trips and community service around themes or interests.

• As students age up through the program, they begin to plan going outs based on works or interests.

• Student-led programming leads to attachment to the learning and creates a real connection.

For example, a student in the upper elementary expressed an interest in birds. He researched going out opportunities, coordinated times and days for availability, planned for transportation, and built interest within the classroom for the trip. Students now maintain a bird feeder and raise funds to purchase bird feed.

Community Service and Going Outs

Accomplishments at Ivy

• Northwest Accreditation / AdvancEd Accreditation: After an extensive self-study and a site visit by a team of education professionals, Ivy was granted full accreditation.

• Purchase of Prescott Campus: Through the capital campaign and community generated funds, Ivy purchased a $1.25 million dollar dedicated facility for the lower elementary classrooms, with room for future expansion.

• Outdoor Classroom: Under the leadership of Matthew Voedisch, local Portland permaculture instructor, Ivy has implemented an outdoor classroom for grades 4-8.

• Outdoor Experience at Camp Wi-Ne-Ma: Ivy facilitated a week long community building experience for all students in grades 4-8.

• Ivy developed an expensive after school enrichment program, offering over 30 high-interest classes for all students to participate in regardless of their ability to pay.

Future Planning at Ivy

• Create summer committees for developing increased curriculum and instruction around math, reading, and science.

• Continue researching best practice or alternative assessments that complement the state tests.

• Continue staff development around equity and diversity. Use these trainings to promote and build continued student awareness and tolerance.

• Support staff development for training around a building-wide record keeping program that aligns Montessori curriculum with Common Core State Standards.

• Opening a Kindergarten classroom.

• Permanent location for all Ivy students.

Thank You!