1. Elizabeth Marshall
School Improvement Plan
1. Briefstatement of your studentlearningproblem
Minoritystudents,whoare a majorityof the studentpopulationof the school,are performingbelow proficiency
standardsat the muchhigherfrequencythantheir white counterpartsenrolledinthe school inthe subjectof
reading.
2. Most probable root causesyou identified
Probable rootcausesare:
 Low teacherexpectationsforminoritystudents
 Poordata and informational management
 Financial alignmentof budgetwithschoolspurpose andgoals
 Lack of assessmentutilizationonthe behalf of teachingstaff
 Infrequent,inconsistent,and/orunhelpful feedbacktostudentsregardingacademicperformance (aside
froma numericorlettergrade)
3. Brieflydescribe the process you usedto identifyand selectthe instructional intervention strategy
I reviewedthe probable rootcausesandconsideredwhatwasthe commonthreadlinkingmanyorall of these
causes?What I determinedisthatinstructional practicesare notdatadriven—andconsequentlyclassroomslack
sufficientreadingdifferentiation.Afternarrowingdownacommonalitybetweenmostof these rootcauses,I
conducteda quickinternetsearchaboutdatadriven anddifferentiatedreading instructional practices. Iselected
the readingworkshopstrategytobe implemented.Additionally,Iattendedaconference onthisstrategythis
summerandhave beenreadingprofessional textsregardingitsimplementationandeffectivenessinschoolswith
highminoritypopulationsandlowreadingscores.
4. Rationale for selectingthisinterventionstrategy
Studentsare not reading.A National Endowmentforthe Artsreport in2007 documentedadownwardtrendin
readinghabitsamountsecondarystudentssince 1992; lessthanone thirdof thirteenyearoldsare dailyreaders,
and fifteentotwenty-fouryearoldsspendonlyseventotenminutesperdayvoluntarilyreading(PennyKittle,
BookLove,2013). This isnot onlya huge problemfromreadingsuccessandmasteryinhighschool,butthis
statistichasseriousimplicationsforcollegiatesuccessaswell because the averagecollege freshmanisrequiredto
read200 to 600 pagesa weekfortheircourse work(Kittle).Increasingthe amountof requiredreadingisnot
effectivebecause asmostEnglishteacherswill tellyou,manystudentsfake read.TheygotoSparknotesandother
websitestogetthe informationrequiredtopassthe testor complete the essay;theydonotactuallyread. If we

2. wantstudentstoincrease theircomprehension,fluency,stamina,andcritical thinkingwe needkidstoactually
read.So to do that kidsneedtoreadwhat theywantto read.The necessaryskillstoreadcriticallyandinsightfully
can be taughtusingmentortextsandthenstudentscanfindtheirownexamplesinthe textsthattheyare reading
independently.
There are several well-knownprofessionalswhochampionthisstrategyandactivelypromote itsimplementation
inschoolsthroughprofessionaldevelopmentseminarsandprofessionaltexts.Someof these professionalsare
Nancie Atwell,PennyKittle,andLauraRobb.
5. Insert (or append) a logic model that depictsthe overall instructional and capacity building(adultlearning)
strategy for your action plan
6. State your theory of change that is representedbythe logicmodel
Implementingreaders’ workshopandincreasingreadingacrossthe curriculumwill increase studentengagement
and testscoresand will diminishachievementgapsinreadingscores.

3. 7. Describe how your instructional strategy addressesthe three criteria for instructional program coherence
The instructional programhasa fairlyhighlevel of coherence,if implementedtothe extentof the logicmodel and
actionsteps(listedbelow).There are some potential problemareashowever.Forone,the districtwouldhave to
be willingtoabandonthe requiredreadingforeachgrade level forthe currentEnglishcurriculuminorderforthe
workshopmodel tobe implementedeffectively. Idonot foresee thisbeingaproblembecause mydistricthas
alreadyadopted the MAISA curriculumunitsforEnglish/languagearts,whichare a readinga writingworkshop
focusedcurriculum. AdditionallyourPrincipal,assistantprincipals,curriculumdirector,andschool boardwould
have to be on board andwouldneedtosupportthe staff in thisreadinginitiative. Idonot foresee thesefirsttwo
criteriaforcoherence beingaproblem;itisthe thirdthat concernsme most.Our districtisinfinancial crisisand
our testscoresare declining(becomingapriorityschool isdefinitelyapossibilityinthe nextyearorso,if nothing
changes).Because of these pressingproblemsfacingthe school,Iamnot 100% confidentthatthe resources
requiredwouldbe allocatedtoadvance the framework.Itwouldreallydependonhow confidentthe districtwas
that thisprogram wouldreallyincreasetestscores.Forthisreason,buy-inatthe administrativelevel iscrucial for
the successof thisprogram.
8. Complete the table belowto create a step-by-stepactionplan for implementingthe interventionstrategy
depictedinyour logicmodel
Action Steps Staff Responsible Timeline for Activity Resources needed
Begin End
1. Staff will read “Book Love” by
Penny Kittle and “Deeper Reading”
by Kelly Gallagher
All staff Summer
2016
Oct. 2016 Funding for books,as
indicated in Action Steps.
2. Collaborative meetings (all staff,
department, and grade level) to focus
on reading mini lessons,booktalks,
and reading engagement strategies.
All staff
SI team
Administrators
Sept. 2016 June 2017 No Cost
Building meetings on early
release days
3. Training for all English staff on
MAISA units
English department June 2016 Funding $325 per teacher +
hotel stay
4. Reading across the curriculum in-
service training
All staff, except the
English department
Sept. 2016 Funds for training
5. English teachers will meet at least 6
times a year to discuss MAISA
curriculum implementation:
effectiveness,book talks,
engagement strategies,classroom
management in workshop, student
achievement data.
Other content area teachers will be at
least 6 times a year to discuss reading
in their classrooms: frequency,
strategies,lessons,reading
engagement strategies.
All staff
Department heads
Principal
Curriculum Director
SI team
Sept. 2016 June 2017 No Cost
Building meetings on early
release days
6. Using data, teachers will monitor and
adjust reading instruction to timely
intervene as needed and identified
All staff Oct. 2016 June 2017 No Cost

4. Monitoring
Questions
Information
Needed
Data source Data collection
method
Timeline Responsible
person(s)
Adult (Fidelity)
How many staff
members read the
professional texts
assigned?
survey Anonymous
online survey
October/November S.I. team
How well and how
confident are non-
English teachers in
their ability to
address reading in
their classrooms?
Staff
discussion
response and
observation
Department
meeting notes
and
observational
notes
Monthly
throughout school
year
S.I team
Department
Heads
Principal
Curriculum
Director
How well to
English teachers
implement the new
curriculum and
workshop format?
Staff
discussion
response and
observation
Department
meeting notes
and
observational
notes
Monthly
throughout school
year
S.I team
Department
Heads
Principal
Curriculum
Director
Do teachers feel
supported (through
meetings,
resources,and
time) in this
increased reading
focus?
Survey Anonymous
online survey
At end of each
trimester
S.I. team
Curriculum
Director
Student (Impact)
How often do you
read in your
classes?
Survey In class short
survey at the
conclusion of 3rd
hour
In the middle of
each trimester
S.I. team
Principal
Curriculum
Director
How often do you
read outside of
school?
Survey In class short
survey at the
conclusion of 3rd
hour
In the middle of
each trimester
S.I. team
Principal
Curriculum
Director
What evidence is
there that increased
reading time and
lessons is
impacting reading
achievement?
Student
achievement
data
NWEA scores
SAT/MME
scores
Comparison of fall
scores to winter
(mid-year) and
spring scores.
Comparison of
scores to previous
year.
S.I team
Department
Heads
Principal
Curriculum
Director
Evaluation
Questions
Information
Needed
Data source Data collection
method
Timeline Responsible
person(s)
Adult (Fidelity)
Was the reading
workshop
implemented
correctly and
consistently as
intended in English
classes?
Survey and
observational
Self-reflective
survey on
implementation
Multiple
classroom
observations and
pop-ins
Survey- Midyear
and end of year
Observations-
throughout school
year
Principal
S.I. team
Curriculum
Director
Were reading
lessons
Survey and
observational
Self-reflective
survey on
Survey- Midyear
and end of year
Principal
S.I. team

5. implemented in
non-English
classrooms?
implementation
Multiple
classroom
observations and
pop-ins
Observations-
throughout school
year
Curriculum
Director
Student (Impact)
Did student reading
proficiency rise as
indicated in the
short term goals of
the logic model?
Student
Survey
Achievement
Data
End of Year
reading survey in
English classes
NWEA and
SAT/MME
scores
June English staff
Principal
S.I. Team
CommunicationPlan
Stakeholders Details to be Communicated Method of Communication
Students New focus on reading, student progress in middle of year,
and results at end of year
Flyers around school, announcement
during grade level meetings, teachers in
classes
Parents Vision and mission statement, and core values; New strategy
being implemented; progress with strategy; results
Parent Letters, handout at conferences,
and on schoolwebsite
Community
Members
Vision and mission statement, and core values; New strategy
being implemented and how it matches our vision; progress
with strategy; results
School website, stakeholders meeting
at beginning of schoolyear, letter to
important community members,
ad/letter in community newspaper.
School Board Vision and mission statement, and core values; Overview of
strategy and rationale; student achievement data progress
and results,staff fidelity results,reviews of strategy from
other stakeholders.
Board meetings, SI meetings when
board member present
School Staff Vision and mission statement, and core values; Rationale for
strategy; student achievement data progress and results,staff
fidelity results,reviews of strategy from other stakeholders.
Reports of student achievement data to
be given at staff meetings, department
meetings, and/oremail. Discussion of
staff fidelity results and strategy
reviews from other stakeholders.

6. Letter to Stakeholders:
Dear RomulusCommunity,Friends,andFamily,
I am writingto expressourrenewedcommitmenttomakingRomulusHighSchool aschool of excellence.Here at
RHS, my teachersandstaff worktirelesslytoprovide rigorouscurriculumforall of our studentsthatwill promote
highlevelsof studentachievementandgrowth. We believe thatthroughempowermentandengagementwitha
stimulatingandchallengingcurriculum all of ourstudentscanimprove upontheirownindividualtalents,their
critical thinkingabilities,andmanyotherskillsthatwill helpthemtobecome productive membersof ourRomulus
communityandthe world.
While we have a wonderfulteachingandsupportstaff thatwill inspire andnurture learningandgrowthinour
students,we know thatwe are justpiecesof a muchlarger puzzle.We needourfriendsand neighborshere in
Romulustohelpencourage ourstudentstopushfor success. Our RHS studentsneedandwantyoursupportas
theytackle our challengingcurriculumandstrive forhigherlevelsof achievement.
Thisyear we are increasingourfocusonreading.Studentsare goingtobe askedto read more independently
outside of the classroom.OurRHS staff wouldlike toinvite ourlargerRomuluscommunitytotake part inthis
challenge withus!We are askingour studentstoreadfor at least2 hours outside of school eachweek,andwe
challenge youtodothe same!Whenyousee a RHS student,askthemwhattheyare readingandtalkto them
aboutwhat youare reading.Helpusencourage themtoread more and expandtheirreadingexperiences! Our
studentswanttohear and learnfromyoutoo.
We are committedtomakingRHS a highperformingschool andwe are workinghardto achieve thatgoal.We ask
for yourcontinuedsupportaswe strive fornew levelsof studentachievement.Ihope youwill helpusinour
effortstoprepare our studentsforsuccessinschool andbeyond.
Sincerely,
ElizabethMarshall
Principal