The University of the State of New York

The State Education Department

DIAGNOSTIC TOOL FOR SCHOOL AND DISTRICT EFFECTIVENESS (DTSDE)

BEDS Code
500402060000
District
East Ramapo Central School District
District Address
105 S. Madison Avenue, Spring Valley, NY 10977
Superintendent
R Joel M Klein
Date(s) of Review
4 -5 June 2015
SED IIT Review Team
Name
Affiliation/Title
NYSED Co-Lead
Tanya England
Outside Educational Expert (OEE) Co-Lead
Juliet Jaggs
Regional Bilingual Education Resource
Rosa Delgardo
Network (RBE-RN) Representative

East Ramapo Central School District

July 2015

District Information Sheet

Grade
Configuration

K - 12

Total Enrollment

% Title I Population
% Free Lunch
% Limited English Proficient
% American Indian or Alaska Native
% Hispanic or Latino
% White
Years Superintendent Assigned to District
# of Principals

# of Teachers

8485

Number of Schools

District Composition (most recent data)

% Attendance Rate
46.8%
% Reduced Lunch
73.1%
% Students with Disabilities
29.3%
Racial/Ethnic Origin (most recent data)
% Black or African American
0%
% Asian or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
50.4%
% Multi-Racial
4.8%
Personnel (most recent data)
# of Deputy/Assistant Superintendents
5
# of Assistant Principals
14

684

Avg. Class Size

% of Teachers with No Valid Teaching Certificate

% Teaching Out of Certification
0
% Teaching with Fewer Than 3 Years of Experience
Average Teacher Absences
10%
Teacher Turnover Rate Teachers < 5 years exp.
Teacher Turnover Rate All Teachers
12%
Student Performance for Elementary and Middle Schools (2013-14)
ELA Performance at levels 3 & 4
Mathematics Performance at levels 3 & 4
14%
Science Performance at levels 3 & 4 (4th Grade)
Science Performance at levels 3 & 4 (8th Grade)
74%
Student Performance for High Schools (2013-14)
ELA Performance at levels 3 & 4
Mathematics Performance at levels 3 & 4
80%
Credit Accumulation High Schools Only (2013-14)
4 Year Graduation Rate
6 Year Graduation Rate
60%
% of earning Regents Diploma w/ Advanced Des.
12%
Current NYSED Accountability Status
# of Reward Schools
# of Priority Schools
0
# of Schools In Good Standing
# of Focus Schools
8
# of LAP Schools
5

14
94%
7.1%
19.7%
39.2%
4.7%
0.9%
4
8

elem 24;
secondary
25; AP
secondary
28
0
94.2%
4.1%
15%
56%
68%
79%

0
1

District Accountability Status

Met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in ELA (indicate Y / N / N-A)
American Indian or Alaska Native
Black or African American
N-A
Hispanic or Latino
Asian or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
N
White
Multi-Racial
N
Students with Disabilities
Limited English Proficient
N
Economically Disadvantaged
N
Met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in Mathematics (indicate Y / N / N-A)
American Indian or Alaska Native
Black or African American
N-A
Hispanic or Latino
Asian or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
N
White
Multi-Racial
Y
Students with Disabilities
Limited English Proficient
Y
Economically Disadvantaged
Y
Met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in Science (indicate Y / N / N-A)
American Indian or Alaska Native
Black or African American
N-A
Hispanic or Latino
Asian or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
N
White
Multi-Racial
N
Students with Disabilities
Limited English Proficient
N
Economically Disadvantaged
N

Y
N
Y
N

Y
N
Y
N

N
Y
N-A
N

DISTRICT PRIORITIES AS WRITTEN BY THE DISTRICT

Improve graduation rate
Improve student performance on local and state assessments, particularly for underperforming demographic groups
Reduce dropout rate
Match fiscal and human resources and professional development to schools with greatest need as evidenced by NYSED
accountability status

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

Information about the review

The review of the district was conducted by an Outside Educational Expert (OEE), a representative from
the New York State Education Department and a representative from the Regional Bilingual Education
Resource Network (RBERN).
The Integrated Intervention Team (IIT) reviews of one school in the district also informed the district
review.
During IIT school reviews in the district, reviewers visited 43 classrooms across the one school and IIT
reviewers conducted focus group interviews with students, staff and parents.
District reviewers conducted interviews with district leadership, central office staff and a focus group of
principals.
The district provided results of a student survey that 3116 (37%) completed.
The district provided results of a staff survey that 462 (68%) completed.
The district provided results of a parent survey that 339 (7%) completed.

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

Tenet 1 - District Leadership and Capacity: The district examines school systems and makes intentional
decisions to identify and provide critical expectations, supports and structures in all areas of need so that
schools are able to respond to their community and ensure that all students are successful.
#
Statement of Practice
H
E
D
1.1 The district has a comprehensive approach for recruiting, evaluating, and
sustaining high-quality personnel that affords schools the ability to ensure
success by addressing the needs of their community.
1.2 The district leadership has a comprehensive and explicit theory of action
about school culture that communicates high expectations for addressing the
needs of all constituents.
1.3 The district is organized and allocates resources (financial, staff support,
materials, etc.) in a way that aligns appropriate levels of support for schools
based on the needs of the school community.
1.4 The district has a comprehensive plan to create, deliver and monitor
professional development in all pertinent areas that is adaptive and tailored
to the needs of individual schools.
1.5 The district promotes a data-driven culture by providing strategies connected
to best practices that all staff members and school communities are expected
to be held accountable for implementing.
OVERALL RATING FOR TENET 1:

Tenet 2 - School Leader Practices and Decisions: Visionary leaders create a school community and culture that
lead to success, well-being and high academic outcomes for all students via systems of continuous and
sustainable school improvement.
#
Statement of Practice
H
E
D
I
2.1 The district works collaboratively with the school to provide opportunities
and supports for the school leader to create, develop and nurture a school
environment that is responsive to the needs of the entire school community.
Tenet 3 - Curriculum Development and Support: The school has rigorous and coherent curricula and
assessments that are appropriately aligned to the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) for all students and
are modified for identified subgroups in order to maximize teacher instructional practices and student-learning
outcomes.
#
Statement of Practice
H
E
D
I
3.1 The district works collaboratively with the school(s) to ensure CCLS
curriculum that provide 21st Century and College and Career Readiness skills
in all content areas and provides fiscal and human resources for
implementation.
Tenet 4 - Teacher Practices and Decisions: Teachers engage in strategic practices and decision-making in order
to address the gap between what students know and need to learn, so that all students and pertinent
East Ramapo Central Schools District
June 2015

subgroups experience consistent high levels of engagement, thinking, and achievement.

#
Statement of Practice
H
E
D
I
4.1 The district works collaboratively with the school to provide opportunities
and supports for teachers to develop strategies and practices and addresses
effective planning and account for student data, needs, goals, and levels of
engagement.
Tenet 5 - Student Social and Emotional Developmental Health: The school community identifies, promotes,
and supports social and emotional development by designing systems and experiences that lead to healthy
relationships and a safe, respectful environment that is conducive to learning for all constituents.
#
Statement of Practice
H
E
D
5.1 The district creates policy and works collaboratively with the school to
provide opportunities and resources that positively support students social
and emotional developmental health.
Tenet 6 - Family and Community Engagement: The school creates a culture of partnership where families,
community members, and school staff work together to share in the responsibility for student academic
progress and social-emotional growth and well-being.

#
Statement of Practice
6.1 The district has a comprehensive family and community engagement
strategic plan that states the expectations around creating and sustaining a
welcoming environment for families, reciprocal communication, and
establishing partnerships with community organizations and families.

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

District Review Findings, Evidence, Impact and Recommendations:

Tenet 1 - District Leadership and Capacity: The district examines school
systems and makes intentional decisions to identify and provide critical
expectations, supports and structures in all areas of need so that schools
are able to respond to their community and ensure that all students are
successful.
Statement of Practice 1.1: The district has a comprehensive approach for recruiting,
evaluating, and sustaining high-quality personnel that affords schools the ability to
ensure success by addressing the needs of their community.

Overall
Tenet
Rating

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

Systems to recruit and evaluate staff are not sufficiently robust or effective to make sure that the
needs of all students are consistently met.

Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

The district acknowledges that it does not have a staffing strategy that allows it to address students
needs effectively. Lay- offs caused by fiscal cuts in the recent past resulted in staff shortages in key
areas such as department chairs and social workers. Reviewers found that while other personnel take
on more responsibility to cover for these losses, their roles in support of raising student achievement
and promoting students social and emotional developmental health have become less effective. This
means the district is not responding to the urgent need to improve students academic attainment,
particularly for English language learners (ELLs) and to address the needs of the increasing proportion
of economically disadvantaged students. District leaders are developing systems to provide more rigor
in the recruitment and selection of candidates as evidence indicates an intended widening of the
districts advertising to attract a larger recruitment pool, the proposed implementation of a more
thorough interviewing process and the district now stipulates a bilingual accreditation as part of the
selection process. It has identified other partnerships, such as organizations supporting high students
aspiring to be teachers but the impact on recruiting more high qualified personnel has yet to be
realized.
Discussions with district leaders indicates that the district does not have an accurate system for
evaluating school leaders. District leadership noted that there is a lack of inter-rater reliability within
the cabinet when evaluating school leaders and this has led to inconsistencies in district leaders
judgments of the effectiveness of school leaders, particularly as instructional leaders. The district
leader stated that too many district staff, confirmed by documentary evidence seen by reviewers,
disregard data on student and school achievement in their analysis of school leaders effectiveness.
The district leader also confirmed that school leaders adopt a similar approach when evaluating
teachers effectiveness and data presented by the district indicates that teacher evaluations are very
generous when compared to the student growth rate in schools and across the district. In addition,
school and district leaders state that the district has not established a consistent expectation about the
level of actionable feedback available to teachers which means they are slow to develop their expertise

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

and instructional practices.

District leadership state that the majority of staff have worked in the district for some time and there is
little flexibility in the recruitment strategy as the district still draws on a sizeable preferred eligibility
list. Some effort is being made to explore other initiatives, such as developing links with local
universities, to encourage new entrants to the profession. This is having a minimal impact and most of
the staff in the district is long standing. There has been more change at school leadership level and
members of the cabinet reported that some staff is resistant to changes implemented by new school
leaders. However, reviewers, in discussions with cabinet members, noted a lack of determination in
some cabinet members to helping schools to overcome this staff resistance.
Impact Statement:
The district is slow to meet the needs of students because evaluative procedures are not rigorous
enough and district leaders do not identify priorities for improving expertise in promoting student
achievement.
Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

make sure that district leaders with responsibility for curriculum and instruction implement a
consistent protocol for evaluating all staff in relation to data about student achievement.

Statement of Practice 1.2.: The district leadership has a comprehensive and explicit
theory of action about school culture that communicates high expectations for
addressing the needs of all constituents.

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

There is no theory of action that invokes a targeted strategy to address the needs of all students.

Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

The district leadership confirmed that it has not devised a relevant theory of action that reflects the
current needs of community. Student achievement is in decline and the proportion of ELLs is
increasing yet district staff stated that the districts publicized goals have remained unchanged since
2009. The districts improvement planning documentation reflects an awareness of the key issues and
the stated priorities include addressing the low graduation rate and student achievement and reducing
the drop -out rate. The district cabinet reported, however, that there are no specific and quantifiable
goals or benchmarks to provide the foundation for progress monitoring and accountability measures in
achieving its stated priorities. Cabinet members correctly identify the scale of the gaps in students'
academic achievement within the district when compared to state averages, yet district leaders state
that this has not been communicated within the district community and according to parents
interviewed the district espouses a lack of urgency in addressing significant weaknesses in student
achievement.
Discussions with district and school leaders indicate that district leadership lacks direction and there is

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

little clarity between district and school leaders about an overall district goal or how schools goals
contribute to the districts vision of success. Evidence from discussions indicate that some school
leaders establish their school goals independently and seek to move their school forward with little or
no district support. The IIT found that the district's support of the elementary school program was
more systemic than the support provided for secondary schools. However, a common weakness is the
district support provided for ELLs. School and district leaders concurred that the district has failed to
create a coordinated strategy to address the needs of ELLs. Although a bilingual program is now being
piloted, the IIT team found that this was not being monitored effectively by district staff to ensure it is
implemented robustly. District leadership report that they have been unable to motivate a greater
sense of responsibility to the population of ELLs amongst teachers. Members of the district cabinet
and representatives working in partnership with schools report that they meet resistance from
teachers who overlook their obligation to support language acquisition during instruction and
appropriate strategies or accountability mechanisms have not been implemented or followed through
to address this significant weakness.
Impact Statement:

The lack of direction from the district means there is no coordinated vision for improving students
achievement throughout the district and this leads to considerable inconsistencies in the extent to
which district schools meet students needs.

Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

insist that district leaders identify and implement a comprehensive district improvement strategy
based on challenging and quantifiable goals based on raising student achievement for all students;
ensure that all district and school staff are held accountable through regular monitoring and evaluation
activities for the achievement of these goals and for improving student outcomes and professional
practices.

Statement of Practice 1.3: The district is organized and allocates resources (financial,
staff support, materials, etc.) in a way that aligns appropriate levels of support for
schools based on the needs of the school community.

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

The district does not have a secure financial strategy to safeguard the impact of its limited resources.

Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

The district leadership reports that it has not implemented a robust financial planning strategy to
ensure that the limited funds available are used effectively. District leaders note that there are no
reliable means for evaluating resourcing needs of schools and district leaders state that funds are
allocated according to district leaders views rather than on a robust analysis of the data available
about the needs of the schools based on student achievement and demographics. Once resources are

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

allocated, district leaders reported that there is no system for determining the intended impact or
outcome of the monies spent in bringing about improvements in professional practices or student
outcomes. As a result the district has no reliable means of holding school leaders to account or for
evaluating the impact of the investment.
Grants have been invested in a math program but this has not been sufficiently effective over the last
three years in raising the attainment of students in the elementary schools and the District report card
shows negligible impact. District leaders report that professional development (PD) is available for all
staff but the school leaders responsible for following up on implementation in the classroom, are under
no obligation to attend this training. District leaders acknowledge that school leaders are unable to
evaluate the impact of the investment when they are ill informed about the intended outcomes.
There is a lack of coordination in financial planning and scheduling arrangements. District leadership
report that the needs of students with disabilities joining the district each year are assessed once
scheduling has been completed. The districts accounts show that the needs of this student sub group
continue to rise each year and the district is unable to predict accurately the impact on the budget of
meeting these students' needs or in ensuring that sufficient monies are available to meet these
students needs during the year. In addition, district leaders state that the district has made no
strategic response to improve financial management and to reduce the impact of these last minute
adjustments to the budget allocation in other areas.
Impact Statement:
The absence of a resource allocation strategy means that the district cannot account for the impact of
its expenditure and valuable resources are being wasted because they are not having a positive impact
on improving student achievement.
Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

instigate protocols that require that district leaders implement a robust resource allocation strategy
that is based on analysis of need and clear expectations of the intended impact which serve as the
accountability measures to secure value for money.

Statement of Practice 1.4: The district has a comprehensive plan to create, deliver and
monitor professional development in all pertinent areas that is adaptive and tailored to
the needs of individual schools.

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

There is no limited evidence of the district providing a strategic approach to teachers PD reflected in a
lack of rigor determining training priorities and in holding teachers and school leaders accountable for
the implementation of PD learned and the impact on improving student outcomes.

Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

District leaders state that the district curriculum and instruction team meet routinely twice a month to

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

determine the PD priorities, which school leaders confirm takes account evaluations of their
walkthroughs. District leaders correctly identify broad areas of need such as students low
achievement in math, but the district IIT review team found that the strategies used to address these
needs are not effective because an analysis of teacher evaluations and student data shows significant
weaknesses in academic performance in math. The district makes considerable investment in the
service of consultants and other trainers to provide PD for teachers but school leaders state that no
checks are made by the district or by school leaders to evaluate the impact of training provided on
raising students low level of achievement. District leaders report that they evaluate the quality of the
materials provided and the activities led by the trainers, but procedures do not extend to impact in the
classroom. This lack of focused evaluation is further replicated in the expectations and logistics that
the district has for the involvement of school leaders in finding out which PD is working and which is
not. For example, the district leadership state that although school leaders were under no obligation
to attend training in new math strategies, they were responsible for evaluating teachers and coaches
effectiveness applying these strategies in the classroom. Consequently, the district does not ensure
that school leaders are sufficiently knowledgeable to support improved instruction.
District leadership reported that teachers of ELLs are required to attend all provided training to help
develop their knowledge and skills. There are no corresponding expectations that other teachers
should all attend training appropriate to supporting ELLs. As a result, the district is not having an
impact promoting students language acquisition because it is not holding staff accountable for
developing an equitable approach to effective instruction for all student sub groups. District leaders
state that too many teachers avoid training all together by organizing other commitments at the same
time which prevent their attendance. Rather than challenge staff to improve, district leaders state
they are now planning to lower the expectation and work only with willing teachers in laboratory
settings. Documentary evidence also demonstrates the lack of coordination in the district PD strategy
in relation to other district goals. For example, the PD calendar lists four times as many PD activities for
math as literacy when literacy is one of the curriculum foci for the year.

Impact Statement:
The lack of coordinated approach to PD means the district is not having a positive impact developing
teachers expertise for sustainable improvement.
Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

ensure that district leaders establish rigorous procedures for identifying specific PD priorities which
include clear measures to determine the impact of this training on improving instructional practice and
hold school leaders and teachers to account for implementing effective PD that has a quantifiable
impact in raising student achievement.

Statement of Practice 1.5: The district promotes a data-driven culture by providing

strategies connected to best practices that all staff members and school communities are
East Ramapo Central Schools District
June 2015

Tenet Rating

I
10

expected to be held accountable for implementing.

Overall Finding:

The district has not created a culture of objective accountability so personnel throughout the district
do not use data effectively to make and evaluate strategic decisions.

Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

The district leadership reports that there are no consistent expectations about the use of data in
measuring the impact of strategic decisions at school or district level and no expectations posted as to
how teachers should be skilled and competent in making the best use of data to drive instruction and
curricula adjustments and planning. The district acknowledges that procedures are not in place for
school leaders and the district to work in collaboration in analyzing data to identify trends and patterns
in student academic data that could be used to identify areas of improvement by content area, grade
level or by different subgroups such as ELLs. The district leader also stated that the district has not
identified best instructional practices based on the usage of data that are worth replicating across the
district.
Available data on the district report card indicates that ELLs perform poorly in math but the district has
not established a system to determine the cause of their difficulties and there is no strategy in place to
address this need. District leaders reported that reading specialists retain their own progress
monitoring information but there are no expectations that they share this data with teachers taking
responsibility for improving students' reading skills in other areas of the curriculum. The overall impact
of ELLs support and the reading program is to be evaluated in relation to students achievement at the
end of the academic year but district leaders have already made the decision to change the reading
program for next year. They are unable to account for this decision because it is not based on a critical
analysis of the data available and rigorous progress monitoring.
The district ceded that it has not established expectations about the use of data to address student
social and emotional developmental health. Family resource coordinators, appointed to fulfill the role
of the social workers lost from the district, seek to address the needs of individual families in
collaboration with community-based organizations. District leaders state that there are no
expectations that these colleagues collate and analyze data to inform a district wide strategy to
address student needs.

Impact Statement:
Too many activities in the district lack purpose and impact because district leaders do not place a high
enough priority on using data to hold district and school leaders accountable for improved student
achievement.
Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:
East Ramapo Central Schools District
June 2015

11

establish protocols for monitoring and analyzing the quantitative data that reflects the effectiveness of
all areas of the districts work in relation to how well schools and students are performing. District
leaders must respond quickly and effectively making timely adjustments in practice when they detect
signs that progress is slowing. Any changes to policy must be monitored in a robust manner to ensure a
positive impact.

This section provides a narrative that communicates how school communities perceive the support provided by
the district.
Statement of Practice 2.1 - School Leader Practices and Decisions: The district works
collaboratively with the school to provide opportunities and supports for the school
leader to create, develop and nurture a school environment that is responsive to the
needs of the entire school community.

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

The district is not actively supporting the schools vision within the context of the overall mission for
the district.
Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

The district does not communicate a theory of action with all school leaders. School leaders state that
there are no Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and Timely (SMART) district goals to help drive
improvements in students academic achievement and the expectations about school leaders
accountability and reporting to the district are unclear. As a result, school leaders devise their own
goals and generally work independently of one another. This leads to a lack of purpose achieving a
coordinated approach to improving the district.
School leaders report that the district has made them aware of the curriculum foci for the year. The
document informing them of this strategy outlines the intended measures for success such as a
reduction in drop -out rate but school leaders reported that progress towards these targets was not
monitored during the year by the district. School leaders also reported that they submit data about
students' attainment in the honors program to the district on a quarterly basis. Available data
indicates that students achievement is falling in this area but the district has made no contact with
schools in reference to this data. As a result, the district is unable to make timely adjustments to
secure improved student achievement in high schools throughout the academic year.
School leaders state that the district has not established clear expectations about how school leaders
promote teachers level of expertise in relation to the curriculum foci. The district has not mandated
training for the school leaders and school leaders say that they are unable to reinforce teachers'
knowledge and skills in the classroom because they are unaware of the details.
The district is not sustaining the impact of the pilot program for new students learning English for the
first time. Although this program is to be expanded next year, school leaders report that it has not
been evaluated to determine its effectiveness and to identify the developments necessary to improve
it.

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

12

Impact Statement:

The districts guidance and assistance does not result in school leaders being consistently empowered
or monitored to develop learning environments that meet the needs of the communities their schools
serve.
Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

require district leaders work with school leaders to align the schools vision to a new district theory of
action with similar SMART goals. District leaders should establish effective monitoring procedures to
hold school leaders accountable for the impact achieving these goals, initiate a response if schools do
not improve quickly enough and maintain rigorous monitoring to assure the positive impact of any
changes in strategy.

Statement of Practice 3.1 - Curriculum Development and Support: The district works
collaboratively with the school(s) to ensure CCLS curriculum that provide 21st Century
and College and Career Readiness skills in all content areas and provides fiscal and
human resources for implementation.

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

The district has low expectations about school leaders commitment to the consistent use of district
materials and the implementation of the CCLS.

Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

The district has made new textbooks available for ELLs but school leaders report that there have been
no corresponding checks on the suitability of these materials. The district has provided schools with
details regarding interdisciplinary curricular but they have not provided leaders with the support
necessary to implement these features effectively. As a result, school leaders report that teachers are
not creating robust interdisciplinary learning experiences and teachers perceive that the district is not
having a positive impact developing the curriculum.
District leadership report deficiencies in the implementation of the curriculum following the removal of
departmental chairs due to fiscal cuts. For example, some school leaders report the lack of application
of the instructional shifts in students' learning. School leaders state that measures to address this are
not being implemented effectively because there are too few checks by the district to evaluate the
implementation and impact of the curriculum delivered in schools. School leaders report that any
monitoring by district personnel lacks specific and agreed success criteria but instead is subjective,
differs between district personnel and does not provide a basis for meaningful comparison with
intended improvements in students achievement. School leaders and teachers state that content area
teachers are supported by curriculum representatives from the district and that these collaborations
are used to provide improved plans but district and school personnel report that these interventions

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

13

are not sustaining a positive impact and teachers are not becoming familiar with the skills necessary to
do this without assistance.
Impact Statement:
The lack of sustained support for the implementation of the CCLS means that the curriculum is not
being used to meet the academic needs of students in the district.
Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

require that district leaders responsible for curriculum and instruction identify how the impact of new
curriculum initiatives will be measured before they are implemented. These leaders should work with
school leaders to check the impact of these initiatives against an agreed success criteria on a routine
basis and make appropriate adjustments during the academic year.

Statement of Practice 4.1 - Teacher Practices and Decisions: The district works
collaboratively with the school to provide opportunities and supports for teachers to
develop strategies and practices and addresses effective planning and account for
student data, needs, goals, and levels of engagement.

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

The partnership between school and district leaders is not sustaining improvements in teachers
expertise.
Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

School leaders and teachers state that the district has not implemented a coordinated strategy for
accurately identifying teachers' PD needs. The district IIT team found that expectations about school
leaders' curriculum expertise in monitoring the quality of instruction during walk throughs are not
high enough because school leaders report that they do not receive sufficient training themselves ,
from the district, and they are unable to identify deficiencies in planning for content area specialisms.
School leaders report that on a number of occasions they are unable to provide actionable feedback as
a result. In their responses to the survey, a high proportion of teachers indicated their dissatisfaction
with the degree of influence they have in determining PD opportunities.
The lack of communication between school and district leaders limits the impact of existing PD
opportunities. For example, school leaders state that they have identified weaknesses in teachers
questioning skills but that this was not replicated in the PD calendar by timely and appropriate PD
sessions in this area. The partnership between district representatives and school leaders supporting
ELLs in particular is not effective because, school leaders state that monitoring procedures to
determine the impact of the focus on strategies to support language learning are too infrequent.
When district leaders meet with teachers to review the impact of instructional practice, school leaders
say that this is always at the district officers and the district does not have an accurate view of the
realities in the classroom.

East Ramapo Central Schools District

June 2015

14

School leaders and teachers state that there are limited mechanisms for assessing the impact of PD
activities. Teachers state that they are not held accountable for implementing offerings learned at PD
and school and district leaders agreed that they lacked insight into the PD which had resulted in any
significant improvements in student achievement or instructional practices. Although efforts have
been made to raise the bar in how teachers are expected to use data to guide and inform instruction,
teachers stated that they lacked confidence in using data in the classroom setting. Weaknesses were
also found from school review evidence which replicated teachers concerns that data usage remains
an ongoing issue in meeting the needs of all students.

Impact Statement:

Students academic needs are not being met in the classroom and they do not benefit from rigorous
learning experiences because there is a lack of coordination and monitoring to ensure a comprehensive
impact on improving professional practice.

Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

insist that district representatives implement a district-wide strategy for visiting schools systematically
to evaluate the quality of instruction and the impact that it has on improving student achievement as
evidenced in students achievement data and insist that schools adjust and develop strategies to
sustain academic growth.

Statement of Practice 5.1 - Student Social and Emotional Developmental Health: The
district creates policy and works collaboratively with the school to provide opportunities
and resources that positively support students social and emotional developmental
health.

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

The planned opportunities and resources supporting students social and emotional needs have not
been effective in securing success for all groups of students due to a lack of monitoring.

Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

School leaders and support staff report that the district has provided limited training to support
teachers ability to address student social and emotional developmental health needs. School leaders
note that there has been a reduction in suspension rates in some schools but they are unable to
account for the direct cause and to identify how to reduce numbers further. Students survey
responses indicate that the prevalence of fights, bullying and the availability of drugs in school
buildings are still their areas of greatest concern. School leaders account for students poor behavior to
the lack of consistency and district support in implementing the Positive Behavioral Interventions and
Supports initiative (PBIS) over the last five years. Although the district provides schools with limited
data about aspects such as behavioral incidents and suspensions, school leaders state that there are

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few expectations about how to collate and align information on students academic and social
achievement. As a result, they state there is no system for identifying how individual students
academic growth is impacted by their social and emotional developmental health needs or to alert
them to signs of emerging needs.
School support staff report that the district employs a part time attendance officer but school staff
indicate that this does not provide schools specific support necessary to address issues with
attendance and punctuality. There are no district wide expectations about the ways in which schools
gather and analyze attendance and other data about students conduct for a comprehensive
understanding of their social and emotional developmental health needs.
Impact Statement:
Students do not receive enough support to address their social and emotional developmental health
because the district has not established effective systems to support schools using data in
understanding students needs and responding to them effectively.
Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

require that district leaders stipulate the expectations about the use of the data management systems
in collecting all relevant data about students attendance and behavior and then holding school leaders
to account for routinely submitting, analyzing and responding to the information it provides.

Statement of Practice 6.1 - Family and Community Engagement: The district has a
comprehensive family and community engagement strategic plan that states the
expectations around creating and sustaining a welcoming environment for families,
reciprocal communication, and establishing partnerships with community organizations
and families.

Tenet Rating

Overall Finding:

The district has not implemented a comprehensive strategy to assess the needs of the district
community and it is not having an impact improving the quality of relationships between the district
and the community.

Evidence/Information that Led to this Finding:

The district has not analyzed the needs of the community and it relies on school leaders to take
advantage of community events, such as those in the Guatemalan community, to engage with families,
and the family resource coordinator supports the needs of individual families who come to the schools
for assistance. However, school leaders report that the district has not surveyed the school community
to determine how parents are responding to efforts to build a connection between families and the
schools. The parents who met the IIT review team were unaware of the districts aims and goals.
Arrangements for translating key documents are poor; district leaders report that neither Individual
Education Plans (IEPs) nor report cards are currently available in students home language. The website
does not provide written translation and the phone line support that is available is only accessible
during office hours. Survey responses indicate that the areas of greatest concern to parents are the

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lack of personalized attention afforded their child and the level of communication about their progress.
School leaders report the district does not build positive relationships with the families of students
from sub groups, particularly the ELLs population, and comments from district leaders upset parents.
School leaders report they overcome these barriers and there has been inconsistent success increasing
the number of parents accessing the parent data portal as a result of the training provided.
Impact Statement:
The district does not partner with families in a way that allows families to be fully engaged with the
education of their child and the improvement of their school.
Recommendation:
In order for the district's strategy and practices to align with the Effective rating on the DTSDE rubric, the
district should:

make sure that district leaders implement a protocol for family resource coordinators to communicate
with all families and to collect data about their interactions with individual parents so that they gather
information about the nature and preferences of the community. The district leaders should work with
school leaders to analyze this data, devise an appropriate strategy that address the range of needs
systematically and routinely check and record the impact of the strategy so that further improvement
can be identified.

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