Supporting a Successful Merger of Schools

During their discussion, Mr. Auckland shares that he does not feel confident in creating math centers to support student learning. He is concerned about the middle-of-the-year mathematics data and wants to develop centers that help students more effectively become kindergarten ready. Ms. Okeke schedules time to work with Mr. Auckland on creating a center that addresses the area of greatest need. Which of the following centers is most developmentally appropriate?

• Providing a foam die labeled from zero to five and having students roll the die to determine how many plastic animals to remove from a set and then how many are left in the set

• Providing a written practice sheet on basic mathematics sentences for numbers from one to five

• Providing egg cartons and plastic eggs and having students sort by color while they place each individual egg within the carton

• Providing containers of different shapes and sizes and having students fill them with sand or water to determine which containers hold more or less

After reviewing the information for each school, which THREE of the following actions should Mr. Kapoor plan to implement to support a successful merger of Junction Magnet MS with Riverside MS?

• Visiting Junction Magnet MS regularly to interact with students and parents and have an opportunity to communicate with them

• Schedule multiple opportunities for Riverside MS and Junction Magnet MS students to participate in team-building activities at Riverside MS

• Create a new code of conduct to ensure consistent expectations for all students from Riverside MS and Junction Magnet MS

• Disaggregate student disciplinary data to determine which students to target for additional services once the merger is complete

• Meet with parent representatives from diverse groups to facilitate the creation of a combined parent-teacher organization

Which of the following best supports Mr. Kapoor's request for choosing the teaching staff based on his staff projections for the merger?

• Relying on seniority interferes with the efficacy and motivation of first-year teachers.

• Eliminating seniority as the factor in determining which teachers are hired for positions strengthens communication with teachers.

• Reconsidering seniority preferences allows for student-performance factors to be used as a criteria in teacher selection.

• Ranking teachers solely by seniority when determining contract nonrenewal ensures transparency in decision making.

Which THREE of the following actions should Mr. Kapoor take before sending out the letter regarding the changes to student selection for the STEM program?

• Ensuring the selection process includes a consideration for representation from Junction Magnet MS and Riverside MS student bodies

• Adding information to the letter regarding the rationale for the new application process when compared to the previous lottery process

• Removing any information regarding selection into the magnet program from the letter as this is confidential information

• Asking key parents involved in the Riverside MS parent-teacher organization to review the letter for feedback

• Forming a committee of representative stakeholders to review the criteria drafted for the application process

Once staff have been selected and Mr. Kapoor is ready to determine the remaining portion of the transition plan, which of the following is the most immediate action Mr. Kapoor should take?

• Gathering input from stakeholders about how to use the space at Junction Magnet MS effectively to best support district initiatives after the closure

• Selecting parent representatives from each campus who are willing to provide information to students about the merger

• Setting the tone for the combined school by planning staff engagement activities that include staff and student culture building and instructional planning

• Creating a school transition team of district administrators, school administrators, and teachers who participate in community-wide meetings

As Ms. Garmon refines the direction of the GYO program, which THREE of the following additional goals should she prioritize?

• Increase the diversity of the GYO participant pool to support the long-term plan for making the school staff more diverse.

• Incorporate a formal appraisal protocol as an integral component of prospective teacher preparation.

• Partner with a higher education institution to provide a pathway for high school students interested in becoming certified teachers.

• Designate a current pre-K–12 teacher as the GYO program coordinator as the initiative expands to ninth and tenth grades.

• Recruit students who show an interest in the areas of secondary science and high school mathematics.

Which of the following recruitment practices is likely to have the greatest impact on the GYO program?

• Utilizing teacher role models that reflect the demographics of the student population to encourage Hispanic students to participate in the program

• Sharing a flyer including student testimonials to make the student population more aware of the details and benefits of the program

• Having prospective participants write an essay explaining why they are a good fit for GYO

• Giving primary consideration to prospective participants who express a desire to work at the secondary level

To ensure that all participants benefit from their classroom placements, Ms. Garmon should primarily consider

• providing opportunities for participants to attend and contribute to board meetings and other school-related events.

• selecting only mathematics and science teachers as mentors to guide participants toward hard-to-staff subject areas.

• distributing participants equally across early childhood, upper elementary, middle, and high school classrooms.

• pairing participants with highly effective teachers who have a demonstrated track record of academic success and of fostering a strong student culture.

Ms. Fripp can determine that the highest priority action is helping general education teachers

• adjust the criteria for determining whether a student needs an instructional accommodation.

• use frequent assessments to inform changes to the content standards taught in order to scaffold student learning.

• understand how to work with paraprofessionals to monitor each student's progress toward academic IEP goals.

• make the general curriculum accessible by adapting instructional practices to meet students' academic or functional needs.

Ms. Fripp and the team want to monitor the implementation of learning from the campus professional development plan. Which of the following classroom practices best demonstrates evidence of progress toward the expected outcomes listed in the professional development plan?

• Students receiving special education services are using tablets for independent learning while the general education teacher delivers instruction to the rest of the class and the special education teacher monitors.

• The general education teacher delivers whole-group instruction and pairs struggling learners with non-struggling learners during independent practice, with the special education teacher reteaching as needed.

• The special education teacher provides the students receiving special education services with small-group instruction while the general education teacher delivers instruction to the rest of the class.

• The general education teacher and special education teacher split the class into two groups based on identified needs to teach the same thing simultaneously using specific instructional methods tailored for each group.