“Success Indicators” – Initial Student Profile

One critical piece of teacher work must be done through the entire Opening Period. Teachers need to collect cognitive and noncognitive data points on student work to inform their decision-making and planning so that all teacher and student work can be intentional and targeted to the specific students in the classroom. The Opening Period student profiles need to be updated weekly as more student datasets become available. PLC discussions need to change to utilize the new data streams in making more informed decisions about lesson planning and providing support and remediation for students.

Teachers need to know which students cannot read to learn or cannot take notes. They need to know which students are learning and which are not. They need to see the level of student thinking and the maturation of student thinking. They need to establish a baseline understanding of student emotional and social competencies and of the student’s ability to do critical reading, writing, and thinking. Some of this information can be generated through diagnostic assessments, while other information will have to be collected from anecdotal and observational data. The data must be collected, however, because for a teacher or leadership team to develop an intentional curriculum, they have to know both where they are going and where the students are currently.

– excerpt from Turning Around Turnaround Schools, Volume 2 – Embracing the Rhythm of the Learner Year

The free tools provided on this site are pulled, in part, from our recent book Turning Around Turnaround Schools, Volume 2 – Embracing the Rhythm of the Learner Year. If you have questions about how to use any of these tools, please feel free to contact us, or check out the book, available on amazon.com.

About Post Author

Frank Desensi

Frank DeSensi is the founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Educational Directions, LLC. which consults with schools and school districts in the southeastern and mid-western United States. A retired educator, Frank spent 35 years in a variety of teaching and administrative positions. He taught at the university, college, secondary, and middle-school levels; worked in the central office as a curriculum specialist; and held both principal and assistant principal positions. From 1993 to 1998, Frank served as a Kentucky Distinguished Educator, helping to turn around schools that were labeled in decline or in crisis under the provisions of the Kentucky Education Reform Act. Frank helped develop the STAR training program for new DE’s and served as a trainer in the Kentucky Leadership Academy. He jointly holds patents for three data-management systems for schools.

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