Collaboration
Central Valley School District is implementing the next step in a series of continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen student learning and teaching. Launched in August 2004 with the district’s adoption of the Nine Characteristics for High Performing Schools, Central Valley’s continuous improvement initiatives focus on answering three critical questions:
1. What is it we expect students to learn at each grade level?
2. How will we know when each student has learned it?
3. How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty or exceeds expectations? Using Washington State’s learning requirements and the creation of Central Valley School District’s Curriculum Frameworks for grades K-8 and course guides for grades 9-12, along with our own district assessments we’ve been able to address the first two questions. The implementation of one hour of dedicated time each week for collaboration will allow us to address the third question. The Central Valley School Board voted unanimously on May 22 to allow collaboration time during the regular school day with a "late start one day per week" schedule, beginning in the 2006/07 school year. During collaboration time, school professionals will be working in teams using assessment (testing) data to evaluate student learning and intervening as a team when they find students are not learning or are excelling. Collaboration time allows school professionals to share ideas for instructional improvement, giving students access to the strengths of all teachers. As school professionals work together, instead of in isolation, a sense of shared responsibility and accountability is created, focused on the success of each student. Collaboration time will be built into the schedules of all Central Valley elementary and middle schools with a one-hour late start for students on Thursday mornings, beginning September 14, 2006. The district’s high schools built collaboration time into their schedules nearly two years, with a one hour late start on two mornings each week. High school schedules will remain unchanged in the 2006/07 school year. Summit School, Barker High School and other special programs are following a different collaboration schedule.
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