2024-25 District Comprehensive Improvement Plan

District: Salmon River Central School District

Superintendent: Dr. Stanley Harper

Priority 1

Our Priority

What will we prioritize to extend success in 2024-25?

Provide an Inclusive, Nurturing Environment

Why is this a priority?

Things to potentially take into consideration when crafting this response:

• How does this Priority fit into the District’s vision, values and aspirations?
• Why did this emerge as something to prioritize?
• What makes this the right Priority to pursue?
• How does this fit into other Priorities and the District’s long-term plans?
• Districts with schools identified for TSI, ATSI, or CSI should also consider 
  • In what ways is this influenced by what was learned through the Envision-Analyze-Listen activities in your school(s) identified for TSI/ATSI/CSI supports?
  • In what ways does this support the SCEP Commitments of your school(s) identified for TSI/ATSI/CSI supports?

Students have identified that this is an area of concern for them, as they don’t feel welcomed, nurtured, or safe in school. During discussions within our schools as they completed the Data Triangle Survey, it became apparent that our district needs to put more attention toward providing an inclusive, welcoming, safe environment.

This priority aligns with district initiatives for implementing the culturally responsive framework and SEL programming to provide a safe supportive learning environment while honoring individuality. The staff and parents emphasized the importance of the school addressing these social-emotional needs of students so that they can feel secure enough to succeed academically.

Key Strategies and Resources

What strategies will we pursue as part of this Priority?

Develop authentic connections with and among students.

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Administrators, staff, and students continue to build relationships. Examples: Greeting students at the door in the morning, addressing each student by their preferred first name, acknowledging their presence in the hallway, cafeteria, shared area, etc.

Social-emotional check-ins.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Funding will be needed for the BIMAS program.

Human resources- counselors, classroom teachers, administrators, coaches, & PD consultants

Funding for Triangle survey.

Building partnerships with families in the community.

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Continue partnerships with community agencies to provide support to families.

Strengthen Parent-Teacher Organizations and involvement in each building to include trending topics and activities. Provide alternative means for parent participation. Examples: Zoom, Google Meet, Facebook live, or other technological tools.

Communication with families and community using multiple tools. Examples: Parent Square, Webpage, Facebook, Class Dojo, radio, and newspaper.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Funding for the Data Triangle Surveys and parent-engagement activities.

Human resources- Home-school coordinator, Ombudsman, staff and students

Funding for Triangle survey

Provide activities and programming for students to participate in order to develop deeper connections within the school community. Create positivity within our school culture and community in support of the PRIDE initiative.

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Such as: Book celebrations, awards nights, school mixers, literacy nights, dances, Family Paint Nights, Spirit Days, Class Olympics, reading buddies, big brother/big sister program, Sources of Strength, Agricultural Inquiry programs, Alcohol and Chemical Dependency Program, Holistic Life Foundation, Shamrockin’ at the River, Back to School Event, orientations, sports, after school clubs, show choir, Entrepreneurship Fair

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Human resources- staffing

BOCES COSER funding

Ensuring safety measures are in place.

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our school?

We will hold conversations with students about concerns regarding safety at school.

At building levels, brainstorm plans to address safety in school.

Monitor progress through Schooltool behavior data and student survey data.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Staffing to conduct and analyze survey and student interview data.

Measuring Success

End of the Year

What will success look like for this Priority at the end of the year?

Provide quantitative data and/or qualitative descriptions of where the district strives to be at the end of the 2024-25 school year.

BIMAS: We are going to track the progress in “Areas of Concern”/”High Risk” categories three times a year.

Data Triangle Survey: We will show improvement in positive student responses related to questions that incorporate feeling safe, supported, and welcomed in the school.

Building level student surveys regarding safety

Throughout the Year

In order for the District to reach the end-of-the-year success criteria above, there will need to be progress throughout the year. What are the benchmarks and milestones the district will look for during the year to know that we are on track to meet the end-of-the-year success criteria listed above? Consider both implementation milestones and improved outcomes.

• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • BIMAS: We are going to track the progress in “Areas of Concern”/”High Risk” categories three times a year.
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Tri-Annually (Three benchmarks throughout the year)
• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • Building level student surveys regarding safety
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Quarterly

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Priority 2

Our Priority

What will we prioritize to extend success in 2024-25?

Restorative Practices District Wide

Why is this a priority?

Things to potentially take into consideration when crafting this response:

• How does this Priority fit into the District’s vision, values and aspirations?
• Why did this emerge as something to prioritize?
• What makes this the right Priority to pursue?
• How does this fit into other Priorities and the District’s long-term plans?
• Districts with schools identified for TSI, ATSI, or CSI should also consider 
  • In what ways is this influenced by what was learned through the Envision-Analyze-Listen activities in your school(s) identified for TSI/ATSI/CSI supports?
  • In what ways does this support the SCEP Commitments of your school(s) identified for TSI/ATSI/CSI supports?

Through our surveys, many indicated that there is a need for students to learn to take ownership for their actions through the process of restorative practices. The DCIP Committee also discussed a continued need for a safe place for students to be able to share their concerns within all buildings. The team discussed the need to continue to reteach students the everyday routines and expectations of the school and classroom environments. The students are presenting with a lack of empathy for others and are not acclimating well to school community expectations.

Due to our school’s strong belief in providing a safe, supportive learning environment, we believe that implementing restorative practices will greatly enhance our school culture. We plan to begin to shift to restorative practices by implementing mindfulness, community-building activities, continuing with crisis counselors/assistants, creating safe spaces for students, providing continued training for staff, and continuing to shift to a restorative approach to student behavior incidents by providing continued professional development for all staff on restorative practices, including differentiated restorative practices for veteran staff to better meet the students’ needs.

Key Strategies and Resources

What strategies will we pursue as part of this Priority?

Mindful Practices

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Expanding and utilizing and building sustainable systems in mindfulness resources, such as Holistic Life Foundation, and Mindfulness spaces. The system must include clear expectations for teachers for consistent proactive implementation of mindfulness and strategy use of daily breathing techniques/practices. Create or access daily mindfulness videos, cue cards, anchor charts for teachers to use at more appropriate times in their daily schedule so teachers and students learn it and use it, thus reducing the need for students to leave the classroom.

PD sessions to build a staff tool box. HLF staff push in to classrooms.

Opportunities for parents to learn mindfulness/yoga practices.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Funding for Holistic Life Foundation

Space for Mindfulness Rooms

Process such as walkthroughs and Week at a Glance for administrators to monitor continued implementation of mindfulness strategies in classrooms

Teacher Handbooks

Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Second Step curriculum is taught and reinforced Pre-K through 8th grade.

Reinforcement/connection making by all staff and reminders using PA system.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Funding for Second Step curriculum

Pacing calendar

Teachers of curriculum share topics and themes with all staff to reinforce practices schoolwide

Community-building activities

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our school?

Social circles

PTO events

DEI Professional Development

Open House/Parent Nights

Book of the Month reinforcement through interactive topic-focused conversations; copies shared with local groups for use in family/community spaces

Summer transitions/orientations for students.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Home-School Coordinator

Outside agencies

Ombudsman

Teachers and administrators

Attendance supervisors

Funding-
Vendors, books of the month, supplies

Creating safe spaces for students

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

The use of the Holistic Life Foundation and counselors to provide support in an area of the school that students can go to where their perspectives and differences are affirmed and valued.

Continued professional development on cultural sensitivity and trauma-informed practices.

CRT training will be provided to staff to turnkey in the district for de-escalation.

District Mental Health Team and admin – District crisis intervention process will be revisited and communicated to all staff. Training will be provided as needed.

Consistently incorporate district transition protocol (Title I) for students returning to school from an extended absence.

Consistent documentation of ABC charts for behavior data

Counselor assistants will provide additional support to our intervention system.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Holistic Life Foundation

Counselors/Assistants

Sources of Strength

Attendance Supervisors

Ombudsman

Home-School Coordinators

Funding- PD costs and survey costs

Shifting to a restorative approach to student behavior incidents.

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Provide PD to addresses how challenging behaviors will be met with a restorative approach by teachers, support staff, and administrators as needed, requiring students to reflect, have empathy, and take action to make things right. Partner with parents as appropriate.

Begin to create a system that will utilized to transition students back into the classroom through repairing harm and restoring relationships.

Provide professional development for all staff on Restorative Practices.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Funding-
PD Restorative Practice Consultants
Surveys
BIMAS

Individuals-
Counselor assistants
Psychologists/ Counselors
Ombudsman
Home-School Coordinator

Measuring Success

End of the Year

What will success look like for this Priority at the end of the year?

Provide quantitative data and/or qualitative descriptions of where the district strives to be at the end of the 2024-25 school year.

Data collected from annual Surveys will indicate an increased level of feeling safe in school.

Absenteeism rates will indicate a decreased level on an annual basis.

Student discipline referral rates will indicate a decreased level on an annual basis.

Student and parent participation in activities (i.e. Social circles, PTO events, Open House, Summer transitions/orientations for students) will increase on an annual basis.

Behavior Intervention Monitoring Assessment System (BIMAS) data: Percentage of students in the SEL category will decrease annually.

Walkthrough data will indicate an increase in mindfulness practices in the classrooms.

Throughout the Year

In order for the District to reach the end-of-the-year success criteria above, there will need to be progress throughout the year. What are the benchmarks and milestones the district will look for during the year to know that we are on track to meet the end-of-the-year success criteria listed above? Consider both implementation milestones and improved outcomes.

• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • BIMAS: We are going to track the progress in “Areas of Concern”/”High Risk” categories three times a year.
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Tri-Annually (Three benchmarks throughout the year)
• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • Building level student surveys regarding safety
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Quarterly
• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • Discipline Data: decrease in discipline referrals
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Monthly

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Priority 3

Our Priority

What will we prioritize to extend success in 2024-25?

Promote continued growth in effective, culturally relevant curriculum and instruction.

Why is this a priority?

Things to potentially take into consideration when crafting this response:

• How does this Priority fit into the District’s vision, values and aspirations?
• Why did this emerge as something to prioritize?
• What makes this the right Priority to pursue?
• How does this fit into other Priorities and the District’s long-term plans?
• Districts with schools identified for TSI, ATSI, or CSI should also consider 
  • In what ways is this influenced by what was learned through the Envision-Analyze-Listen activities in your school(s) identified for TSI/ATSI/CSI supports?
  • In what ways does this support the SCEP Commitments of your school(s) identified for TSI/ATSI/CSI supports?

Key aspects of Salmon River District’s vision are valuing academic achievement and cultural diversity. Therefore, the team believes that a goal of having a strong culturally relevant curriculum, effective instruction, and academic success for students is essential.

The team plans on implementing many strategies to reach this goal. We plan to further our understanding and use of culturally-responsive practices, continue opportunities for vertical and horizontal collaboration, provide more PD on effective teaching practices, implement more authentic learning experiences, and utilize data to provide targeted support for students in academic need.

Key Strategies and Resources

What strategies will we pursue as part of this Priority?

Culturally Responsive/DEI Practices

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Differentiated Professional Development will be provided to staff to further their understanding of culturally-responsive practices.

321 Insight digital program for Parasharp and Trauma Informed Trainings for all staff as needed, targeted for new staff and paraprofessionals

Incorporate Consistent “Circles” and similar activities to model and building community

Update Week at a Glance (WAG) to incorporate these expectations; monitor curriculum flows and WAG in each building for teacher lessons that incorporate culturally relevant materials and instruction.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Funding for PD – trainers and consultants to work with staff and students regarding culturally-responsive practices.

Vertical and Horizontal Collaboration

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Teams will collaborate on student needs, cross-curricular planning, grade level decisions, curriculum alignment, interim assessment data, and state testing planning.

Guidance will be provided to vertical teams by administration.

Continue to update curriculum flows that include writing and teaching methods on how to teach content while bringing in authentic practice, voice, & choice for students.

Continue PD to implement writing across all content areas.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Scheduling of regular meetings and PLCs.

Structured agendas and protocols to ensure goals of alignment, rigor, progression with NG standards, and efficient use of time in meetings.

Consultants for Science, Social Studies, and Math standards connections.

Increasing instructional capacity and raising student achievement

What does this strategy entail? What will implementation look like in our district?

Continue implementation of a consistent system that includes data collection and provides actionable feedback to teachers regarding Week at a Glance, walkthrough data, observation process (clear expectations and reflections), and Professional Development surveys.

Plan and implement differentiated effective teacher trainings for staff to develop their classroom strategies and authentic teaching and learning experiences.

Frequent walkthroughs conducted in classrooms by administrators.

Coaching cycle menu will offer training on effective teaching practices for nontenured teachers and others as appropriate.

What resources (Schedule, Space, Money, Processes, Individuals) are necessary to support these strategies?

Individuals- Classroom teachers, Peer facilitators, Administrator, Instructional coaches, Staff Developer

Funding- Professional development, classroom libraries and materials, assessment materials

Process for admin to share walkthrough data with staff on a regular basis

Time- Regularly scheduled time for administrator discussions regarding monitoring of systems and structures

Measuring Success

End of the Year

What will success look like for this Priority at the end of the year?

Provide quantitative data and/or qualitative descriptions of where the district strives to be at the end of the 2024-25 school year.

By the end of the school year, staff responses on surveys will indicate an increased understanding and application of best practices in their classrooms.

High participation rates in staff trainings.

Department and grade level meeting agenda/minutes will provide evidence that staff have regularly shared strategies, resources, and strategies students are using.

School leader walkthrough data will indicate that an increased use of common strategies are used across classrooms throughout the school year.

Student Benchmark assessment Data (iREADY, interim assessments, etc.) will show improvement in growth measures (Data collected and reviewed for DDI 3 times per year)

Throughout the Year

In order for the District to reach the end-of-the-year success criteria above, there will need to be progress throughout the year. What are the benchmarks and milestones the district will look for during the year to know that we are on track to meet the end-of-the-year success criteria listed above? Consider both implementation milestones and improved outcomes.

• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • Growth from tier 3 to 2, 2 to 1 on iREADY and interims
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Mid year and end of year
• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • Pass rate on interims and quarterly report cards
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Quarterly
• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • Growth in attendance at PD
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Staff development days

• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • Minutes of discussions at grade level and vertical meetings
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Quarterly
• Success Criteria (What data will we review and what improvements do we hope to see when reviewing that data?)
  • Walkthrough data re: teacher practices
  • When we would want to achieve that success criteria
    • Quarterly

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Our Team’s Process

Stakeholder Participation

Background

The DCIP must be developed in consultation with parents, school staff, and others in accordance with §100.11 of Commissioner’s Regulations.

Our Team

• Angela Robert, Assistant Superintendent
• Ben Barkley, Principal of Salmon River High School
• Teresa Van Dunk, Assistant Principal of Salmon River High School
• Erin Toomey, Principal of Salmon River Middle School
• Lorraine Childs, Assistant Principal of Salmon River Middle School
• Alison Benedict, Principal of St. Regis Mohawk School
• Rebecca Pentalow, Assistant Principal of St. Regis Mohawk School
• Danielle French, Principal of Salmon River Elementary School
• Rebecca Sanger, Assistant Principal of Salmon River Elementary School
• Allen Gravell, Director of Special Education
• Hailey Cartier-Jacob, Home School Coordinator
• Breanne Herne, Parent
• Kayla Johnson, Parent
• Deanna Lauzon, Teacher at Salmon River Elementary School
• Melissa Miller, Teacher at Salmon River Middle School
• Charity Sprankle, Teacher at St. Regis Mohawk School

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