6 minute read
Layers of Support: Meridian Begins Instructional Transformation
Brock Turnipseed
Meridian High School (MHS) started an archery team in January, and newcomers to the sport first had to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow. They hit the target at their first event, but they got closer to hitting the bullseye with each following competition.
The team finished the season ranked third in the state — a finish that showed students they, along with the right guidance and support from leaders, can accomplish big goals.
Dr. Joe Griffin, MHS’ first-year principal, is trying to build a similar foundation for future success with teachers in a school identified for the Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) designation in 2018 by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) through an Every Student Succeeds Act requirement.
Schools are identified for TSI because their subgroup is in the lowest 50% of overall accountability index, in the lowest quartile of three-year average gap-to-goal and in the lowest quartile of three-year improvement toward gap-to-goal closure.
Those with a subgroup meeting all three of the criteria are ranked annually by an overall accountability index, with the bottom 5% of those not identified for CSI being identified as TSI.
Through TSI, MDE administrators support schools as they uncover areas of deficiency and start making strides toward instructional transformation that affects all students.
“The value schools place on discovering the root causes of the challenges their learners encounter is vital to improving outcomes, not only for one student subgroup, but for each child in the school regardless of subgroup assignment,” said Dr. Sonja Robertson, the executive director of MDE’s Office of School Improvement.
Top: MHS students participate in a kickoff celebration for the GEAR UP initiative. The Meridian Public School District is one of three school districts in the state receiving assistance with staff professional development and student academic preparation for college through the national program.
For Griffin, laying that foundation of instructional transformation began with creating a positive culture.
“You want to set the tone for culture. You want to be visible and interactive so people can understand where you're coming from,” he said. “Ultimately, the teachers are going to eventually take on the attitude of their leader, so you want to provide a positive culture through positive interactions.”
Entering his first year, Griffin knew the school was trying to raise its academic performance and address deficiencies. He said the school improvement plan has targets in place to address several areas, including mathematics and special education populations.
Robertson commended MHS for devoting support to students with disabilities, saying, “If you look at the most recent statewide data for students with disabilities as a student group, it is not difficult to understand why the MDE is working to ensure that supporting our students in this subgroup is high priority.”
She added: “Dr. Griffin and his team’s intentionality on how their plan for supplemental funds has been developed to support their students with disabilities in the area of math demonstrates that they are framing their support for learning around instructional transformation and culture shift, two key domains from our school improvement framework which get to the heart of teaching and learning.”
MHS student Jalen Gillespie proudly displays his Class of 2021 yard sign.
Addressing the deficiencies in special education instruction was a very important piece of the school’s improvement plan. One of the ways educators addressed those deficiencies was by reassigning some teachers to areas in which they might be stronger.
The district also used school improvement funding to identify a math academic coach who, like the school’s English language arts coach provided by separate funding, can share knowledge and support to the school’s general and special education teachers.
“They help quite a bit with data processing and data management. They are also a big help with lesson planning, coaching teachers on instructional practices, delivering and following up with information and helping the teachers get organized for state testing,” Griffin said.
Kelli Speed, the Meridian Public School District (MPSD) director of federal programs, said academic coaches evolved from a deep examination into what led MHS to be identified for TSI. As administrators asked what could be done to improve the situation and help the students, they realized more professional development was needed for the teachers.
“Achievement will improve as instructional practices improve,” she said. “The only way to address instruction is to focus on the teachers.”
MHS Counselor Tiffanie Roberts (right) presents KeXavious Burton a Class of 2021 sign.
Griffin said he hopes to implement more professional development opportunities in the school’s improvement plan after COVID-19 forced some shifting to occur.
He also said he believes MPSD's designation as one of three districts in the state to receive assistance in staff development and college preparation through the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative administered by Mississippi State University (MSU) will offer additional supports and resources as the school continues to navigate TSI.
Through a partnership with Get2College, the Woodward Hines Education Foundation, ACT and Mississippi Public Universities, GEAR UP, which is housed at MSU’s Research and Curriculum Unit, strives to increase academic performance and preparation for postsecondary opportunities, the rate of graduation and enrollment in postsecondary education and students’ and their families’ knowledge of postsecondary opportunities.
“There are many parts to GEAR UP that will benefit our students now and in the long run,” Griffin said. “We’re going to take advantage of the ACT opportunities, and students have the opportunity to go to Meridian Community College for free if they choose to do so. There are many positives to GEAR UP.”
Kelli Speed, MPSD director of federal programs
The first students supported in 2019 by GEAR UP were eighth graders in the district. As rising sophomores, those students are now part of MHS’ TSI plans.
Those students went through the district’s Freshman Academy, and Speed said an emphasis is placed on accountability at the elementary and middle school levels to help the transition to high school, which led the district to implement the Leader in Me program.
“So many kids want out because school has not been successful for them. The classroom has always been a struggle, and they just need somewhere and something to be proud of,” she said. “MPSD has been putting emphasis on K-8 to give MHS an even stronger student through the Leader in Me initiative. We will continue that implementation by doing a soft roll into the high school. As our eighth graders transition to MHS, they bring two years of the Leader in Me culture and experience with them. We’re hoping this is going to be the next piece that’s going to assist the high school.”
While not part of MHS’ TSI improvement plan, the Leader in Me program is another piece that can supplement the school’s efforts to change its instructional foundation.
Griffin is excited to put more of the improvement plan into action following the challenges presented by COVID-19. He said it is going to take repetition, accountability and patience. Based on his previous experiences, he said he is confident the school can keep getting closer and closer to hitting the bullseye.
“You have to continue to be positive, push forward and do what works,” he said. “We’ve seen progress. We know that we have a way to go, but we have implemented some of the foundational pieces that we’ll be able to build off moving forward.”
He added: Those foundational pieces are “loving to instruct, loving what you do daily and loving to be at work so the students can feel free and learn in a positive environment. The students are going to follow the teachers."
