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Challenge: An increasing achievement gap between our highest achieving students and lowest achieving students.
According to our 2013 -2014 school report card our closing the gap scores were:
Closing Gaps: 47.3/100
Reading Achievement Gaps: 24.9/50
Mathematics Achievement Gaps: 22.4/50
These scores are significantly lower than our scores in student growth and achievement, which are 59.1 and 77.3 respectively. As the percent of students with disabilities rises to 11.5% and percent of
students who are economically disadvantaged rises to 19.8%, it becomes increasingly imperative to address this issue.
Goal: Increase our closing gaps score to at least meet the state average of 66.5, or 33.25 in Reading Achievement Gaps and 33.25 in Mathematics Achievement Gaps by implementing Universal for
Design strategies in all areas of practice. In order to create such a large increase this will require 2nd order change and a shift in the way we view classrooms, students, and curriculum for most teachers,
however there are some teachers who this will be a 1st order change (see Action Steps Table).
Key Educational Factors (Marzano, Waters, McNulty, 2005, 108-109)

Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback
Parent and Community Involvement
Establish and monitor specific,

challenging achievement goals
for the school as a whole.
Establish vehicles for communication between schools,

parents, and the community.
Establish and monitor specific,

challenging achievement goals
for each student.
Establish multiple ways for

parents and community to be
involved in the day-to-day
running of the school.
Instructional Strategies
Provide teachers with instructional feedback for planning
units that employs researchbased strategies.
Class Room Curriculum Design
Motivation
Teachers should present new

content in multiple ways using a
variety of activities.
Provide students with feedback

on their knowledge gain.
Have teachers identify important skills and topics that

they are required to address.
Have teachers present content
in groups or categories that
demonstrate the critical features
of the content.
Provide students with tasks and

activities that are inherently
engaging.
Teach students about the dynamics of motivation and how
those affect them.
Have teachers engage students

in complex tasks that require
addressing content in multiple
ways.
Leadership Responsibilities
Although all of the leadership responsibilities are necessary to make change I feel the following responsibilities are the most important to help my school achieve our goal. Each of the below responsibilities have actions specific to my schools goal, explained below them. In order to see which responsibilities correlate with educational factors you m ay refer to the matching colored circles at the bottom of
the above boxes.
Visibility
Optimizer
Celebrate progress made towards achieving our goal
at staff meetings and in weekly staff notes. Use student achievement data to celebrate success.
Identify staff strengths and share with all staff.
Develop time at staff meetings to regularly recognize
risk-takers in new instructional strategies.
Situational Awareness
Have school leadership team help keep a pulse on the
school by reporting out at BLT (Building Leadership
Team) Meetings on:
What are the general attitudes and feelings toward implementation of UDL strategies?
What strategies are people trying? Not trying?
How are strategies impacting learning or not impacting learning?
Build on professional capital (based on strengths) by having viewing

times for staff to go watch each use their strengths in action (staff
practicing UDL, as well as, finding strengths in all teachers). Host
reflection sections where staff can ask questions and reflect on
how they might incorporate strategies they view in their practice.
Principals and school leadership team should be visible in classrooms and working with students.
Have school leadership team help keep a pulse on the school, how
teachers are feeling about their progress towards closing achievement gaps in their classroom and how they are feeling about implementing UDL practices.
Monitoring /Evaluating
Our principal should conduct walk-throughs and provide formative
(timely and specific) feedback related to UDL practices.
(professional development should demonstrate what UDL practices
are)
Teacher teams should evaluate student work samples, specifically

analyzing student work from those in disadvantaged student
groups. This data should be used to help students set goals and
analyze effectiveness of instruction.
Principal and leadership team should identify roadblocks and challenges the goal will present, but also how we will overcome them.
Culture
Communication
The leadership team and administration should monitor school

climate perceptions as viewed by staff, parents, and community,
through conversations, daily activities, and surveys.
Develop weekly communication (staff notes, social

media, web page, etc.) between leadership and staff,
as well as, staff and parents/community, highlighting
UDL practices in action.
Have monthly structured dialogues between staff, parents, and

community members around teaching and instructional practices
for all students
Host professional development on constructive disagreement and problem-solving skills.
Promote a caring culture and procedures that promotes family and

children as priorities.
Model positive communication. Including having

clearly explained roles, so staff and community understand who to communicate to.
Model the desired culture of cooperation and cohesion.
Change Agent
Input
Identify roadblocks and challenges the goal will present, such as

lack of resources, knowledge, training, and time, but also how we
will overcome them, by re-arranging staff assignments, changing
5/6 teaching roles, providing collaboration time, and providing
coaching to all staff.
Ensure that all perspectives, from all parents, community,

students, and staff are heard,.
Ask staff, parents, and community strategic questions about
whether decisions and actions of leadership and teachers
are aligned with UDL practices.
Leadership should continue to promote the benefits of innovation

on student achievement and promote success the school is having.
Allow staff frequent input about instructional strategies and

student data
Address issues with achievement and specific data gaps, analyze

student work throughout the year and point out areas of growth.
Create action plans with teams to target areas for growth.
Model how to give positive constructive input.
Demonstrate tolerance for ambiguity, change, risk-taking,

and failure.
Ideals and Beliefs
Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction

and Assessment
Forge shared agreements around the mission, vision,

and purpose of the school to teach all students, and
connect this to new instructional strategies.
Principals and leadership should work with individual teachers to implement new instructional practices, developing
units using backwards design, with opportunities for coaching and co-teaching.
Ask strategic questions and lead difficult conversations on times when actions do not reflect agreed
upon goal to close the achievement gaps.
Provide and attend staff professional development on UDL
Share data related to other schools that have implemented the innovation and successfully increased
achievement.
Share research on UDL and current instructional practices.
Flexibility
Relationships
Teachers and leadership should adjust plans in response to progress by students.
Lead in the writing of instructional philosophies by

content area.
Focus on the student achievement goal. Allow teachers flexibility in instructional strategies, if they are
closing the achievement gap with their students.
Recognize significant events professionally and personally.

Promote a caring culture and procedures that promote family and children as priorities.
Model the desired culture of cooperation and cohesion.
Change
In order to create change the above leadership responsibilities will need to be used in an appropriate balance, and change as we progress towards our goal. Reaching our goal by implementing
UDL practices and closing our achievement gaps will require bot first order change and second order change. It will require that leadership balances the responsibilities of both, as well as, recognize who will be experiencing second order change and who will be experiencing first order change. Although, all strategies will be useful for both first and second order change, it will be more
important to utilize optimizing, visibility, situational awareness, communication, culture, input, and relationships in first order change situations. In second order change situations in will be important to use the responsibilities of optimizer, monitoring/evaluating, change agent, knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and flexibility.

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Challenge: An increasing achievement gap between our highest achieving students and lowest achieving students.

Reading Achievement Gaps: 24.9/50

Mathematics Achievement Gaps: 22.4/50

Key Educational Factors (Marzano, Waters, McNulty, 2005, 108-109)

Parent and Community Involvement

Establish and monitor specific,

Establish vehicles for communication between schools,

Establish and monitor specific,

Establish multiple ways for

Class Room Curriculum Design

Teachers should present new

Provide students with feedback

Have teachers identify important skills and topics that

Provide students with tasks and

Have teachers engage students

Build on professional capital (based on strengths) by having viewing

Teacher teams should evaluate student work samples, specifically

The leadership team and administration should monitor school

Develop weekly communication (staff notes, social

Have monthly structured dialogues between staff, parents, and

Host professional development on constructive disagreement and problem-solving skills.

Promote a caring culture and procedures that promotes family and

Model positive communication. Including having

Model the desired culture of cooperation and cohesion.

Identify roadblocks and challenges the goal will present, such as

Ensure that all perspectives, from all parents, community,

Leadership should continue to promote the benefits of innovation

Allow staff frequent input about instructional strategies and

Address issues with achievement and specific data gaps, analyze

Model how to give positive constructive input.

Demonstrate tolerance for ambiguity, change, risk-taking,

Ideals and Beliefs

Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction

Forge shared agreements around the mission, vision,

Provide and attend staff professional development on UDL

Share research on UDL and current instructional practices.

Teachers and leadership should adjust plans in response to progress by students.

Lead in the writing of instructional philosophies by

Recognize significant events professionally and personally.

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