English Language Arts

1. English Language Arts Ewing Township Public Schools July 2010

2. New in 2009 – 2010 • Achievement Academy and LEAP Academy to Build Skills • November 2009 through May 2010 • July 2010 and August 2010 • Response to Intervention at Parkway and Fisher Schools • Alternative High School Assessment (AHSA) Focus…Data Driven Decision Making

3. Alternative High School AssessmentClass of 2010 • March 2009 – 219 EHS students passed HSPA • October 2009 – 20 additional EHS students passed HSPA • 11 students participated in the AHSA process during the 2009-2010 school year • 100% passed the Alternative High School Assessment • No students were denied a diploma for failing the state assessment

4. AHASData Analysis and Program Review • 7 of the 11 students (64%) entered the Ewing Township Public Schools within the past two years • 3 of the 7 were new to the country • 1 student attended Ewing Schools for only four academic years • 3 of the 11 students attended Ewing Schools at all levels

5. Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science • Reading and Writing across the Curriculum • Reading to Develop Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills • Writing as a Craft • 21st Century Learning

7. Revised Language Arts CurriculumGrades K - 12 • Backwards Design (Wiggins and McTighe) • Focus on the Common Core State Standards • Inclusion of cross-content reading, especially nonfiction texts • Writing across the curriculum • Vertical alignment, K-12

8. Data Analysis and Needs Assessment • Grades K – 5 • Reading • Fluency vs. comprehension • Responsive writing and the NJ ASK • Writing • Formulaic writing vs. structured writing • Writing as a craft…with compositional risks • Grammar and the conventions of writing

9. Data Analysis and Needs Assessment • Grades 6 – 8 • Reading • Focus on higher-level questions and responsive writing • Supporting struggling readers • Empowering students with a desire to read • Diversifying the Book Rooms at all grade levels • Writing • Writer’s notebook • Formulaic vs. structured writing • Including compositional risks

10. Data Analysis and Needs Assessment • Grades 9 – 12 • Reading • Supporting struggling readers • Empowering students with a desire to read • Expanding the Book Room to include fiction and nonfiction texts by authors of color and female writers • Writing • Including “compositional risks” when writing • New Expository Prompt on HSPA • Linguistics and code-switching

11. Professional DevelopmentProvided by Language Arts Supervisor • Test Data Analysis and Reflection • Quantitative data • Analysis of written responses • Backwards Design • Teaching Grammar in the Writing Workshop • Using the DRA2 to Drive Instruction • Supporting Struggling Readers in Grades 6 – 12 • Model writing lessons • Effective Practices of Culturally Diverse Schools

12. Professional Learning Communities and Professional Book Clubs

13. District Literacy Coach • Supporting K-5 teachers • Collaborative lesson planning • In-class demonstration lessons • Peer observation and collegial feedback • Professional development • Turnkey training • Curriculum revision, K-5 • Collaborate with District Supervisor to analyze data and reflect on needs

14. National Writing Projectat Rider University “The NWP is a professional development network that serves teachers of writing at all grade levels, primary through university, and in all subjects. The mission of the NWP is to improve student achievement by improving the teaching of writing and learning in the nation's schools.” - www.nwprider.org • Invitational Summer Institute • 4 teachers attending July and August • Open Institutes • 3 teacher attending • Administrators’ Workshop, July 2010

15. Best Practice is the Best Test PracticePresented by National Speaker Barry LaneMonday, August 23, 2010Sponsored by the Ewing Public Education Foundation NOTE: As of July 15th, fifty-four Ewing teachers and administrators registered to attend this summer workshop.

16. Gifted Programs • ACE • Review and revision of program and curriculum • Humanities • Revision of curriculum • The curriculum adopted in 2001 is now used in all reading classrooms. • Honors English • Revision of curriculum

17. Advanced PlacementEnglish Literature Composition • 2008-2009 • 15 students took AP English • 6 chose to take the AP Exam • All 6 earned passing scores • 2009-2010 • 36 students took AP English • 15 students took the AP Exam • 1 student scored a 5 • 10 students scored a 4 • 2 students scored a 3 • 2 scored a 2

18. Students who scored a 4 Princeton University Boston University Rutgers University American University Albright College Johns Hopkins University Oberlin College Middlebury College Shenandoah University Continuing Education Students who scored a 3 • Stevens Institute of Technology • Clarion University Students who scored a 2 • American University • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

19. The student who scored a 5… • was only a junior! This student will be attending Ewing High School in the fall. Fourteen of these fifteen students attended Ewing Township Public Schools from the elementary level. One student entered the Ewing Township Public Schools in middle school.

20. Preparing Students for Post-Secondary Education • AP teacher worked with TCNJ librarians and met with EHS students on TCNJ campus to assist with research (i.e. primary vs. secondary sources, literary criticism and reliable sources) • Secondary Education Teachers Association met with AP students at TCNJ Library to assist with college-level research