The mission of the Thousand Islands Central School District is to ensure that all students acquire knowledge and develop skills and work habits which will enable them to become productive members of society. This mission is best accomplished when school personnel maintain high expectations for all students, create a positive school climate with an equal opportunity to learn, ensure a safe and orderly school environment, monitor student progress on a frequent basis and promote effective home-school communication. It must be understood that strong instructional leadership is a key element in accomplishing this mission.

1. Education is the most important responsibility we have as a Community.
2. The world is a much more competitive workplace today and in order for our students to have productive and successful futures, they need to be better educated than previous generations.
3. Education is a partnership among members of the total community, including students, teachers, parents, and all others.
4. Our schools can succeed only when all partners work together as a supportive team.
5. Quality shall be the foundation for the work of all students, teachers, and support staff. In order for the Thousand Islands Central School District to be successful, high standards of performance and a positive, supportive atmosphere for everyone is required.
6. Children learn in a variety of ways, at different rates.
7. Learning is both an individual and social success.
8. Thousand Islands Central Schools shall respond without bias to all educational needs of each student.
9. Thousand Islands Central Schools shall provide the best possible learning opportunities that:

1. assist students to see relationships and connections,
2. provide authentic, real, and meaningful experiences,
3. are gained from an integrated curriculum,
4. come from both the student and the school.

The shared decision making process is implemented through the administration of a needs assessment. The results of this assessment are collated at the building and district level. The results are reviewed by the Building Planning and District Leadership Teams. Consensus is reached on those items that will be placed before the faculty as either celebrations or areas in need of improvement. The critical attributes of this shared decision making process are listed below:

1. A formal organizational process for making and communicating decisions.
2. Creating a climate of trust and open honest communication and an interdependency by empowering and serving others.
3. An information using, data gathering approach to problem solving.
4. Seeing change as an opportunity for growth.
5. Broad representation of the parties to be affected by a decision.
6. Establishing an environment in which all team members feel as responsible as the leader for the performance of the work unit.
7. Time for participation built in, not added on.
8. Identifying and acting on opportunities and applying individual talents and creativity.
9. Protocols or definitions for the scope of decision-making.
10. Possessing a common purpose about why the team exists and the functions it serves.
11. Measures for success described in terms of student outcomes.

The Effective Schools Process has been used in the Thousand Islands Central School District since 1986. This process is based on the Effective Schools Model and the seven Effective Schools Correlates. Shared decision making is used to determine areas for school improvement that need to be addressed.

In 1986, the Thousand Islands Central School District began using the Effective Schools Model for structuring our school improvement efforts, a shared decision making process which continues today. Building Planning Teams (BPT’s) from each of the District’s four schools develop and implement their building action plans from needs assessment data. These teams report to the District Leadership Team (DLT). The District Leadership Team incorporates data from the needs assessment into the Comprehensive District Education Plan (CDEP). The DLT reports to the Board of Education for approval of the district plan. Ad Hoc Committees can be organized at any level as needed to address specific timely issues and concerns of the school community.

Membership:

Superintendent

Business Manager

Building Principals

One parent from each building

Two community representatives at large

Teachers from each school building:

One from Cape Vincent Elementary

Two from Guardino Elementary

Two from Thousand Islands Middle School

Two from Thousand Islands High School

School Psychologist

Teaching Association President

Non-teaching Association President

Minimum one Board of Education member

High School Student Council President

Selection:

Principal selection automatic

Parent selected by building parent organization

Community representatives selected by Board of Education

Teachers selected by faculty

Board member selected by Board of Education

High School Student Council President automatic

Term:

The initial membership term will be for three years. At the end of the initial three years, adjustments in District Leadership Team membership may take place. It is generally recommended that no more than one quarter of the District Leadership Team members nor more than one teacher representative from each building be replaced at the end of any year.

Responsibilities:

1. Establish and maintain recommended district master plan (i.e. Comprehensive District Education Plan – CDEP) for the improvement of education in the school district
2. Advise and recommend to the Board of Education as appropriate
3. Establish and maintain ongoing communications with that member’s stakeholder group
4. Provide comment and reaction to ensure district level coordination on:
   Student progress and assessment
   Curriculum
   Educational programs
   Standards of excellence
   Student recognition
   Commencement outcomes
   Required commencement demonstrations, exhibitions, portfolios
   Customize, administer, and interpret needs assessment, making recommendations based on district level needs

Duties:

District Leadership Team members and/or subcommittees members will:

1. attend all team meetings, work sessions and presentations unless excused by the District Leadership Team chairperson.
2. review assessment data on student performance against state/federal and district standards (include analysis of disaggregated results). Monitor student performance on tests, exhibits, and portfolios with the entire faculty and, as appropriate, with parents and the community at large (Please refer to Appendix A – Quality and Equity of Results).
3. review needs assessment results, identify priorities, achieve consensus on priorities with the faculty. Develop required Comprehensive District Education Plan to reach specified objectives (Please refer to Appendix B – Diagnosis of Needs Assessment Data, Creation of Celebrations List, and Creation of Concerns for Faculty Consideration).
4. monitor the district plan writing process to ensure that current, pertinent educational research is incorporated.

Dispute Resolution:

Membership:

Principal

Two parents of students currently enrolled in the building

Teachers (five maximum) representative of various grade levels and departments

One non-teaching representative

Pupil personnel representative (Middle School & High School)

Student Council Vice President (High School BPT only)

Selection:

Principal selection automatic

Parents selected by building parent organization and/or Booster Club

Teachers selected by faculty

Non-teaching selected by building non-teaching personnel

Pupil personnel representative selected by pupil personnel staff (Middle School & High School)

Student Council Vice President automatic (High School BPT only)

Term:

Responsibilities:

Provide leadership and direction for school building improvement

Develop and monitor building action plans

Develop and monitor district plans as needed

Maintain liaison with District Leadership Team

Create, monitor and assist committee activity

Establish and maintain ongoing communication with member’s stakeholder group

Administer and interpret needs assessment to make recommendations based on building level needs.

Duties:

Building Planning Team members and/or subcommittees members will:

1. attend all team meetings, work sessions and presentations unless excused by the Building Planning Team chairperson.
2. review assessment data on student performance against federal/state and district standards (include analysis of disaggregated results). Monitor student performance on tests, exhibits, and portfolios with the entire faculty and, as appropriate, with parents and the community at large. (Please refer to Appendix A – Quality and Equity of Results)
3. review needs assessment results, identify priorities, achieve consensus on priorities with the building faculty. Develop required building action plan to reach specified objectives (Please refer to Appendix B – Diagnosis of Needs Assessment Data, Creation of Celebrations List, and Creation of Concerns for Faculty Consideration).
4. monitor the action plan writing process to ensure that current pertinent educational research is incorporated.

Areas of focus at the building level should include:

• The 7 Effective Schools Correlates
• Student progress and assessment
• Curriculum
• Educational programs
• Standards of excellence
• Student recognition
• Demonstrations, exhibitions, portfolios

Areas not subject to shared decisions:

• Civil rights of students and/or employees
• Commissioner’s regulations
• Collective bargaining negotiations
• Tax rates
• Districting
• Board policy and/or Administrative procedures
• Final selection in hiring of employees

Dispute Resolution:

• The Building Planning Team operates by consensus.
• We believe that all three elements of a school district’s curriculum must be aligned and integrated with federal, state, and district standards.
• Thousand Islands Central School District acknowledges the need to create a curriculum design that meets the needs of the federal and state standards as well as those district goals that are unique to our community.
• Outcome Based
• Through Integrated Problems, Projects, or Units

From 1989 through1991, the Thousand Islands Central School District participated in the New York State’s Excellence and Accountability program, and worked on the creation of a defined outcomes based program of study. We believe in focusing and organizing all of the school’s programs and instructional efforts around clearly defined outcomes that we want ALL students to demonstrate when they leave school. Each Thousand Islands High School graduate will provide evidence of their efforts and achievements.

Thousand Islands School District’s Graduate Descriptors

An Effective Communicator

An Effective Problem Solver

A Healthy, Skilled Knowledgeable Person

An Informed Contributing US and Global Citizen

EQUIP

All Students with the knowledge, competencies and orientations needed for future success.

IMPLEMENT

Programs and conditions that maximize Learning success for ALL Students

OUTCOME BASED DESIGN AND DELIVERY

(what students will know, do, and be like)

• EDUCATIONAL GOALS
• COMMENCEMENT OUTCOMES
• FEDERAL, STATE, AND DISTRICT STANDARDS
• LESSON OUTCOMES

Since 1986, teachers at Thousand Islands Central School have received training in Effective Teaching. Thousand Islands Central School District teachers are expected to incorporate effective teaching practices into their lessons. All teachers new to the District receive with this training.

A Safe and orderly environment

Clear and focused school mission

Active instructional leadership

High expectations for all students

Frequent monitoring of instruction

Varied learning opportunities with focused time on task

Open avenues of communication between home and school

There are elements that contribute to effective teaching and improved student learning. These elements should be found in the teaching plan if quality instruction and maximum student learning are to be achieved:

• Performance Readability Review Overviews Input
• Conditions Cloze Peer tutoring Shared objectives Lecture
• Criterion Task analysis Individual help Set (Anticipatory Set) Direction giving
• Benjamin Bloom Informal questioning Group instruction Standards/Expectations Checking for understanding
• Robert Mager Pre-test Altered expectations Categorize, list, select Modeling
• Other Learning styles survey Other key concepts Reading
• Other Graphic representations Discussion
• Vocabulary reinforcers Study guides
• Motivational techniques Patterning guides
• Other At least two modalities
• Learning styles
• Right and left brain
• Formative assessment
• Monitoring & adjusting
• Differentiated Instruction
• Other
  • Guided practice Different modalities Higher level learning Review/Reinforcement Broader in scope than
  • Decontextualization Learning styles Independent study Summation formative
  • Independent practice Review games Mentorship Culminating activities Multi-level
  • Quizzes Peer tutoring Gifted/Talented Other Transfer
  • Questioning Small group learning Explorations Feedback
  • Observation Class experts Other Pre-entry for next unit
  • Labs Individualized learning Other
  • Projects Other
  • Performance tasks
  • Other

Assessment

Involves tasks which we value and at which we want students to excel – tasks worth learning and ‘teaching to.’

Focuses on the students’ ability to produce a quality product and/or performance; effectiveness, creativity, and craftsmanship become more important than ‘right answers’ as criteria.

Focuses on the students’ ability to justify answers and respond to follow-up or probing questions. Is typically composed of interactions between assessor and assessee.

Examines patterns of student work, consistency of performance.

Grant Wiggins

Thousand Islands Central School District
Progress with State Department of Education
Toward Higher Standards