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EXAMPLE Submission: Project Detail Section

In the space below, please detail how your project activities support your district plan and in what areas. For EACH district goal/objective/strategy area your project addresses, make sure to include the following. (See attached example project detail.)

• First District goal/objective/strategy your project aligns with
Goal A: Student Achievement
By 2018-19, the percent of 3rd, 6th and 9th grade students who score Level 3 and above on the state-mandated Reading assessment will increase

• Details of your project’s activities and how they align with your district plan

Polk Reads provides tutoring services to struggling readers, identified by their classroom teacher, who are in the kindergarten, first, second and third grades. Students are tutored in one-on-one prescribed reading sessions to meet their individual needs. Students receive formative assessments very five weeks using Rigby PM Benchmark Assessments, which are part of the Rigby materials Polk County reviewed then purchased to use with Polk Reads. The Rigby program provides specific assessment guidelines for tutors to ensure proper measurement and recording of each student’s reading ability. To ensure precise reading level placement, tutors complete Assessment Records which track and document students’ abilities and understanding of texts. During the evaluation process students read the text multiple times so tutors can assess multiple reading skills such as the students’ ability to retell texts, answer comprehension questions, and reading fluency. Assessment Records detail student abilities for each text and offer evidence of reading competency with students progressing to the next reading level when they reach 95% reading proficiency. With frequent assessments, tutors and the classroom teachers can determine what skills students are lacking, and the strategies used in tutoring sessions can be adjusted accordingly to meet each student’s needs. It is important to note these frequent assessments are not done to “score” a student’s reading, but rather assess reading learning gains and to be able to appropriately adjust tutoring tactics to help them succeed. A final comparison at the end of the service year (school year) of each student’s base line reading abilities is compared to their ending reading abilities, to determine the grade gains. Those scores are compared against the program benchmarks set for each grade level. Those are: 80% of the kindergarten students served will master 80% of the Language Arts skills section of the Polk County Schools report card. 80% of the first grade students served will read with comprehension on the basic primer level as evidenced by the Rigby PM Benchmark Assessment Kit and recognize by sight at least 80% or more of the Dolch Basic Sight Words through first grade. At least 80% of the second and third graders served will increase their reading ability by at least one month, for each month as outlined in the Rigby PM Benchmark Assessments. During the 2017-18 school year, 482 kindergarten – 3rd grade students were served in our Polk Reads program. 345 students completed at least 15 weeks (half of the school year and completed 3 assessments). 311 of those students (90%) showed academic achievement as it related to our programs performance measures. The biggest gains were seen in second grade where 105 of the 108 students (97%) who were in the program through at least 3 assessments showed academic achievement. A minimum of 400 K-3 students will be served in Polk Reads this school year.

Teacher to Teacher Connection targets PreK – 8th grade teachers. Having multiple facets, this program cycles throughout the year. The program starts out with the Developer mini grants worth $600; $400 to the teacher for classroom materials and $200 as a stipend for the additional work required in publishing their program. School to School grants total $1000 - $800 to the school for materials and $200 as a stipend for the additional work required in publishing their program. Programs must be original and innovative; one that the teacher has already successfully implemented and worked through so they can fully explain how it works along with its successes to other teachers. Once chosen as Developers, these teachers work with Polk Education Foundation to produce an online IDEA Catalog of Excellence, where a summary of their program, at least two lesson plans, materials list and student evaluation are permanently posted.

The IDEA Catalog of Excellence is the “teaser” for our IDEA Expo. Each Developer designs a booth to represent their program at the Expo. During the hours of the Expo, Developers stand with their display and network with other teachers sharing the details of their program. The sharing that takes place at the IDEA Expo is amazing! Not only do the visiting teachers leave with new ideas, but the teachers who have the displays also gain a lot from the dialog in the form of possible extensions and other new ideas. The Idea Expo is the hinge for the program. It is a drop-in style event where teachers network and gather ideas for their classroom. As a past participant, I left energized and ready to mix things up in my classroom.

Any teacher visiting the IDEA Expo who would like to replicate a program that would benefit their students can then apply for an Adapter Grant (worth $400 - $800). Money from this grant allows teachers to purchase the materials necessary to implement a Teacher to Teacher or School to School program. The lessons plans, activities and materials needed are already prepared for them and stored in our online library. As a requirement of this program, the teachers who are Developers become mentors and help Adapters throughout the implementation process.

The Teacher to Teacher Connection focuses on three key areas: Supporting low-performers, literacy and/or STEM. The last several years have shown Reading as a priority across subject areas with many schools reporting on Literacy and STEM or Literacy and supporting low-performers.

By rewarding best practices in the classroom, we are ensuring that teachers who are working with our students have the best resources and knowledge available, which will positively increase student achievement and academic interest.

• Goals and objectives of your project activities
1. Serve students at failing and or low performing schools to help with their reading achievement deficient.
2. To serve a minimum of 400 students and at have at least 320 of them (80%) meet or exceed their grade level goals.
2. Help students who are reading below grade level, raise their reading ability to read on grade level and meet the program goals set for their grade.
3. Provide reading tutoring at no cost to families and the schools where the students attend.
4. Provide tutoring during the school day, in the student's regular reading block, to eliminate transportation barriers to before and after school tutoring.
5. Showcase successful innovative instructional ideas designed to increase student achievement and or interest in literacy at the IDEA Expo.

• Expected timeline for project activities
July 2018 – interested elementary schools apply to have a Polk Reads tutoring team at their site. Based on school scores and reading cut scores (and other criteria such as space available for tutoring) sites are selected. With knowledge of the geographic location of sites, interviews can take place to secure tutors willing to travel to the various sites.

August 2018 – tutors receive two weeks of training on tutoring instruction, making lesson plans, phonetic awareness, district policies and procedures etc., and they start in their schools setting up their tutoring areas. At the same time K-3 teachers will be assessing their students to determine who may need remedial tutoring. Students are selected and start meeting with their tutors. Tutors do a pre-test with each student to determine a baseline ability. Developer programs will be published in the online IDEA catalog of Excellence. Developer Reception/Publishing Party to honor the Developer Grant recipients and showcase their completed programs.

August 2018- June 2019 – tutoring takes place during school in one-on-one sessions. Tutors consult weekly with the classroom teachers on lesson plans to meet individual student’s needs. Once a month (or so) tutors receive professional development to enhance their tutoring techniques. Every five weeks assessments are done to make sure lessons are providing students the tools they need to make gains, if not, lessons / plans are changed to meet individual students' needs. January 2019 – mid-year assessments done to determine gains made. Students who have met their grade level goal may be exited from the program with permission from their classroom teacher. If so, another student is assigned in their place. If not, they continue their tutoring services.

October 2018 -- IDEA Expo. All preK through eighth grade teachers in Polk and Hardee counties will be invited to network and pick up awesome ideas to take back to their classrooms. Ideally, teachers peruse the IDEA Catalog prior to attending the Expo to prioritize the booths and developers they are interested in networking with. Adapter Applications are due in early Dec, with previous developers helping evaluate the proposals. Developer financials due.

February 2019 -- Adapter financials due. Developer Grants due

April 2019 Adapter grant final reports due. Developer information meeting.

May 2019 – Posttest Polk Reads assessments are done thru the end of the school year. Surveys are also done of the classroom teachers who had students in the program and of the school administration to gauge the success of the program, poll for areas of improvement, share successes

• Estimated Number of Primary Participants
o Students: 400
o Teachers: 84

• Estimated Number of Secondary Participants, if any
o Students: 2,000
o Teachers: NA

• Second District goal/objective/strategy your project aligns with
Goal 4: Staff Learning and Growth
Retain qualified and valuable instructional personnel through support and quality professional learning.

• Details of your project’s activities and how they align with your district plan
The Free Teacher Market (FTM) is one of Polk Education Foundation’s (PEF) programs supporting teachers and students in Polk. The Free Teacher Market is currently located in two portables on a neighboring school campus. The FTM maintains a supply of school supplies, arts and crafts items, books for classroom libraries, gently used organizational items, instructional tools, and the like. In a collective effort with our community, the Free Teacher Market accepts donations of school supplies collected by community members and organizations as well as monetary donations. Polk Education Foundation utilizes district contracts to purchase school supplies at a discounted rate. Donations are used to purchase school supplies to stock the Free Teacher Market.

The Free Teacher Market is open 2-3 times a month September to May. All teachers have the opportunity to shop twice a year, once each semester. Visiting teachers pick up much needed school supplies for students in their classrooms who might not have the school supplies they need to succeed in school. Since the Free Teacher Market opening in 2010, over 5,700 teachers have shopped for free. Looking at data collected from visiting teachers, teachers spend an average of $408 a year out of their own pocket for supplies. Although we do not target only Title 1 schools, teachers from Title 1 schools make up over 83% of the visiting teachers. An average shopping trip is valued at $75 - $100 or more. There is not a designated staff person for the Free Teacher Market. Although this year, we have received funding from a local family foundation for a part time person (up to 40 hours a month). In addition, one of the Polk Education Foundation staff members designates a portion of time to the Free Teacher Market, ordering supplies, stocking shelves, and organizing volunteers to help out when needed. The Free Teacher Market has several great groups who volunteer their time throughout the school year. From students at our local career center, AmeriCorps volunteers, as well as local business and civic groups. We continue to look for ways to involve the community in this unique outreach. With the additional help, we look forward to growing our Free Teacher Market.

• Goals and objectives of your project activities
Goal 1: Reduce the amount of money participating teachers spend out of their own pocket on school supplies by May 2019 Objectives:
• Open the Free Teacher Market registration to all preK-12 teachers 2-3 times a month from September 2018 to May 2019.
• Provide the opportunity for teachers to shop for school supplies and other classroom resources at no cost to them.

Goal 2: Supply students with the tools they need to be successful in school throughout the 2018-2019 school year
Objectives:
• Open the Free Teacher Market registration to all preK-12 teachers 2-3 times a month from September 2018 to May 2019.
• Provide the opportunity for teachers to shop for school supplies and other classroom resources at no cost to them.

• Expected timeline for project activities
August – Prepare store for future openings
Early September - (pre) survey teachers
September - May -store front will be open 2-3 times a month from 4:40 – 6:00 / Purchase and organize supplies
Late April/Early May - (post) survey teachers
June 30 - Final report due to CFEF

Utilizing volunteers to sort and organize supplies and donations will take place throughout the year.

• Estimated Number of Primary Participants
o Students: 0
o Teachers: 351

• Estimated Number of Secondary Participants, if any
o Students: 40,000
o Teachers: NA