Volunteer State Virtual Academy Elementary School (2024 - 2025) Export Export
Goals
G 1 By spring 2025, increase student success in grades 3-5 ELA
We believe if we raise the expectations for all students through the use of high quality instructional materials and supported professional development that we will see improvement in teacher practice, student daily work expectations, and student literacy performance. We believe a strong focus on literacy and numeracy with explicit and systematic foundational skills instruction will increase student performance more rapidly.
- For the 2024-2025 School year VSVA will increase the percent of students scoring on track/Mastered in ELA.
Performance Measure
- Performance Measure:
- Increase the 3rd-5th Grade ELA achievement by 5% by Spring 2025 as indicated by TVAAS scores.
Sections
- Academic Achievement & Growth
S 1.1 Provide high quality instructional resources for each ELA classroom
We are currently using a standard based K12 Stride curriculum during the 2024-25 school year. Training was conducted on how to use the platform at the beginning of the 2023 school year. The ELA and Math teachers received more information on all related resources and the effective implementation of these resources in their classrooms. The process of adding supplemental resources to the primary curriculum must continue to assure that all materials and resources are vetted and meet the requirements of high quality. Teachers also received training on IReady usage which will be used to supplement the RTI program.
Benchmark Indicator
- Ongoing training and collaboration with educators and administration to ensure knowledge of up-to-date teaching strategies and curriculum.
- Training of administrators to assure that implementation of new materials is of high quality and sustainable by July 2025
- Professional development for teachers to continue to align curriculum with standards and instruction held twice a year (Fall and Winter)
A 1.1.1 Action Steps for High Quality Instruction
- BM Indicator: Ongoing training and support.
- Collaboration through weekly Common Planning Time
- Professional development for teachers to continue to align curriculum with standards and instruction held twice for the year.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Administration | 2025-05-30 |
S 1.2 Professional Development for Content Knowledge, Instructional Strategies, and Differentiated Learning
Professional development for ELA and Math content knowledge, teaching strategies, standards alignment, rigor of curriculum and instruction, instructional shifts, classroom environment, and classroom management are necessary to support educators in providing effective learning and a literacy rich environment. Opportunities such as state sponsored training, online training opportunities, East and West Tennessee Title I conferences, PIE Conference, LAT conference, National Literacy Association Conference, TCTE and NCTE professional development are examples of the type events that our educators may attend. All trainings must be high quality and sustainable.
Benchmark Indicator
- BMI: Professional development logs showing attendance at different professional development opportunities.
A 1.2.1 Professional Development
- VSVA will create a year long calendar with important Professional Development opportunities for Teachers and Administration.
- Monthly reminders from K12 to keep up with Cyber Security and Safety measures for virtual teachers.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Administration | 2025-05-16 |
S 1.3 Learning Accountability an Ownership for Students
High learner expectations are one of the top indicators for student success. By building in the processes of tracking benchmark data, progression of mastery of standards, intervention data, and completion of teacher expectations and goals, students can have ownership in mastery of learning.
Benchmark Indicator
- BMI: Student goal chart containing benchmarks and mastery of standards
- Student plan to show progression tracking throughout the school year
- Learning talks with parents during parent-teacher conferences
A 1.3.1 Accountability and Ownership
- Setting up Student-Teacher conferences each 9 weeks to discuss student progress and collaborate with parents to aid learning.
- Strong Start Connection Calls each year as students enroll to better understand student needs and develop rapport with families.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom teachers and overseen by administration | 2025-05-31 |
S 1.4 Collaborative Learning for Educators, Leadership, and Instructional Coaches
There will be several opportunities for collaborative learning through the use of Best Practices training and conferences. Collaborative meetings designed to increase teacher content knowledge, instructional shifts, standards, and teaching strategies. The leadership team is trained in Project Coach which is utilized for teacher observations. Teachers receive one observation each month, followed by a 1:1 conference to discuss glow and grow. The leadership team also meets in person on a monthly basis to participate in a collaborative meeting to help support teachers effectively with academic success.
Benchmark Indicator
- BMI: Calendar invites to monthly leadership trainings
- Project Coach rubrics
A 1.4.1 Collaborative Learning for Educators, Leadership, and Instructional Coaches
- AA's will complete TN state required observations each year for teachers using Project Coach to help increase teacher effectiveness.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Administration and appropriate collaborators. | 2025-05-21 |
S 1.5 Parental Engagement
It is vital that parents be informed and engaged in student learning. One of the ways to do this is by hosting quarterly parent teacher conferences. Bi-weekly Student and Family newsletters are also sent to the parents so they can be aware of the different events and programs that the school offers. Parents receive I-Ready reports that include a list of resources that they could utilize to help support their children.
Benchmark Indicator
BMI:
- Monitoring parent engagement with newsletters that are sent biweekly
- Sign in sheets for parent teachers conferences.
A 1.5.1 Parent Engagement
- Parent outreach through technology
- Parent Community Meetings
- Biweekly Student/Family Newsletters
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| School AA | 2025-05-16 |
G 2 By spring 2025, increase student success in 3-5 numeracy.
We believe by supporting educators through implementing high quality instructional materials, quality professional development, supporting high expectations for learning, and providing quality collaborative planning for math educators we will see increased performance for our students.
- For the 2024-2025 School Year, VSVA will increase the percent of students 3-5 who are on-track/mastered in Math.
Performance Measure
- Increase the 3-5th Grade Math achievement by 5% by Spring 2025 as indicated by TVAAS scores.
Sections
- Academic Achievement & Growth
S 2.1 Implementation of aligned high quaility curriculum
Reviewing curriculum and resources for rigor, alignment, and effectiveness is essential in providing high quality instructional materials that students need to be proficient and teachers need to be effective. Teachers will need to collaboratively plan to ensure materials are high quality and meet the rigor and focus of the standards as well as have curriculum pacing alignment. Training in implementation and use of state approved high quality materials will be provided.
Benchmark Indicator
- Data from i-Ready benchmarks three times per year.
- Project Coach observation data once per semester, progress monitoring data after ten days of instruction, TVAAS data (high approaching). Data will be disaggregated amongst the subgroups of Black/African American students, Students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students.
A 2.1.1 Instructional Support
- State Aligned Curriculum- Teachers will utilize i-Ready with K12 standards-based curriculum and will be followed 100% within our online platform.
- Teachers will use the teacher manual to guide live instruction as well as student work in class connect sessions.
- Lessons will be added to our platforms. Follow-through with instructional moves will be captured in evaluations and walkthroughs.
- Teachers will collaboratively plan weekly and plan units quarterly. Principals, supervisors, and coaches will monitor the implementation of these plans for quality and consistent planning by participating in PLC collaborative planning meetings, conducting walk through observations, PLC discussions of plans, and through formal observations.
- Principals and supervisors will participate in PLC collaborative planning in order to monitor the effectiveness of the planning.
- Feedback to teachers during learning walks to determine the implementation rate of plans and materials that meet the instructional shifts of the standards.
- Title I funds have been allocated to support the purchase of i-Ready, an online program for reading and mathematics. i-Ready assists teachers in determining students' needs, personalizing learning experiences, and monitoring progress throughout the school year.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Director, Director of Academics, Academic Administrators, Master Teachers, and Testing and Data Administrator | 2025-05-16 |
S 2.2 Empowering Administrators as Instructional Leaders
Empower all administrators to be instructional leaders through job-embedded professional development activities and continued academic support. Administrators will continue with weekly meetings with the Executive Director and Director of Academics. These meetings will be around instructional and leadership practices related to TN Mathematics and ELA Standards. This will allow administrators to provide more effective feedback to math and ELA teachers regarding instructional strategies during Project Coach observation conferences and walkthroughs. Administrators will have first-hand knowledge of TN Mathematics and ELA Standards and how to help teachers with lesson planning. Provide all administrators with tools and training to lead effective common planning, make connections between what students are doing in class and their ability to complete grade-level work, and dig deeper into pertinent student data to inform decision-making.
Benchmark Indicator
Documentation of administrator meetings, professional development documentation once per nine-week grading period, Project Coach observation data once per semester, principal evaluation data
- Teacher effectiveness
- Self-reflection
- Teacher Pulse Check
- Feedback from manager
- Project Coach observation data
A 2.2.1 Teacher Leads
- Grade Level Points of Contact will collaborate with Academic Administrators and Master Teachers to make decisions and support specific grade levels.
- VSVA Lead teachers will be ELA or Math content-specific and will be highly involved in decision-making about their specific content areas, as well as, helping other leaders in finding and implementing professional development.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Administrators and Master Teachers | 2025-05-16 |
A 2.2.2 Academic Administration Support
- Academic Administrators will meet weekly with the VSVA Executive Director and the Director of Academics to support the needs of students, teachers, and the leadership team.
- Academic Administrators will be provided with support from the regional K12 team and the district partner (Lewis County).
- The director of Academics and Executive Director will help academic administrators in their professional development and in building effective teachers and teacher leaders.
- Academic Administrators will be held accountable for all TCAP Achievement and Growth Measure.
- Academic Administrators will be evaluated on the Project Coach Rubric and provided feedback on performance.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Director and Director of Academics | 2025-05-30 |
S 2.3 Effective Teachers
Support all teachers through effective content delivery, rich professional development opportunities, coaching, mentoring, and collaborative partnerships to promote teacher and student success. The activities will improve teachers' instructional skills and proficiency by providing an increased number of effective instructional strategies. Support all teachers through job-embedded professional development activities and mentoring; emphasizing subgroups of Black/African American student, economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities.
Benchmark Indicator
- Project Coach will be utilized to evaluate teacher instruction
- Academic Administrators, Master Teachers, and Math will complete teacher assessments and walkthroughs and provide feedback,
- Documentation of teacher collaborative meetings with Academic Administrators, Master Teachers, and Math Acceleration Coach twice per quarter to build shared expectations for excellent high-quality content delivery
- Build shared expectations for excellent implementation of ongoing high-quality professional development (AimswebPlus data and i-Ready) Data will be disaggregated amongst the subgroups of Black/African American students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities.
A 2.3.1 New Teacher Support
VSVA teachers gradual release into the classroom by the following steps:
- VSVA will ensure that new hires are supported with onboarding issues, providing credentials, programs, and all other relevant information needed for success during the 24-25 SY.
- New teachers are assigned a mentor teacher preferably within the same grade level and/or content area.
- New teachers will complete all of K12 training, Lewis County Safe School training, and VSVA-specific training.
- Shadow mentor teacher for 2 weeks before launching their classroom.
- New teachers will be provided with opportunities to ask questions and observe other teachers' best practices.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Administrators and Training POC's | 2024-11-30 |
A 2.3.2 Professional Development Support
- Collaboration in the RTI processes and implementation from the state-given guidance.
- Data-driven instruction professional development for SPED teachers.
- Compliance-focused professional development.
- Teachers will be provided with training and support for implementing best practices in the classroom to engage students and promote student growth.
- Teachers will participate in instructional rounds to address academic problems of practice and develop best practices.
- Train VSVA staff on the various accommodations and needs of students with disabilities.
- Teachers will participate in a community mapping exercise to understand the diversity of students by economic status, communities, and challenges.
- Regular education and special education teachers will participate in training to understand i-Ready Benchmarks and Aimsweb to support all students better.
- Provide professional development on diversity, equity, and inclusion, emphasizing subgroup of Black/African American students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Administrators | 2025-05-30 |
A 2.3.3 Instructional Support
- Collaborative Planning focuses on providing teachers with constant feedback on grade-level instruction and examining student work.
- All grade levels have a curriculum that supports TN state standards. Teachers will implement the curriculum provided by LCS and K12 to support and enrich scholastic opportunities for students.
- The structured Data Insight Action Outcome process within Project Coach model will be utilized versus Data Conferences with broader scopes to include all important departments (RTI, GENED, SPED).
- Conduct extra screeners for 3rd-5th grade students to identify skill gaps for intervention.
- Began RTI2 instruction for tiers 2 and 3 in the first week of school versus delaying it until later in the semester.
- Teachers will be evaluated with the Project Coach evaluation rubric.
- Special education teachers will hold data conferences to review student data.
| Person Responsible | Estimated Completion | Funding Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Director, Director of Academics, Academic Administrators, Master Teachers | 2025-05-30 |