Developing an ACIP during a pandemic with Cognia.org

 

  A school's Continuous Improvement plan is essential to help the school move forward and meet the needs of the students and teachers.  Developing a successful ACIP(Alabama Continuous improvement Plan) relies on many factors. The process can't begin until the school leaders examine how the students are performing academically. 

This school year made it more difficult due to the pandemic. Leaders had to consider that the students had an extended school break that began in March and ended when school resumed again in August. The pandemic became a high priority consideration for school leaders as they began formulating a vision for the ACIP. According to Sheninger (2019), "Leaders must articulate a clear vision that, if we are to change, we must be willing to shed some strong embedded ideals, opinions, and behaviors that have shaped schools for over a century" (p. 33).

Our ACIP Development 

My principal began by examining the previous year's ACIP to determine if the objectives were attainable or not realistic. After careful consideration, he decided that some parts of it were indeed valid and deserved some consideration. Nowicki (2021) noted that to improve student outcomes, a school must create a plan, and it must "be based on a school-level needs assessment, include evidence-based interventions, and identify resource inequities" (p. 15). It took time for my principal to develop and gather all the necessary information. In the meantime, all assistant principals went to the district Cognia training on how to use the platform to create an ACIP, develop a strategy map with objectives for the ACIP implementation, input Eleot teacher observations, examine data from surveys, and develop needs assessments. The training also taught me how to access and implement teacher observations. The Eleot tool is user-friendly and even has an app. I added the app to my cell phone for easy access. It made it possible to complete classroom observations without carrying around my computer, paper, or pens to each classroom.

Our ACIP objectives and working with Cognia.

The Cognia myjourney platform is user-friendly, and it's simple to upload documentation directly into your plan. We developed three objectives and used our leadership team to help with the process. The first objective was to increase Reading and Math proficiency by 5% from Fall to Spring using the iReady diagnostic tool. The next was to improve teacher retention and staff turnover by 20%. The last was to decrease the number of office referrals and discipline infractions for the 2020-2021 school year by 10%. Then we developed action plans known as critical initiatives. Under each objective, we listed the action steps that would aid us in attaining our goals. Cognia eProve strategies for ACIP development are very organized and listed by phases: Envision, Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating. The Cognia representatives were involved in helping our school district prepare for Accreditation, as well. They guided us through the process and provided us with useful templates to help us organize all of our necessary components.

What is Cognia?

Cognia is a company based out of Georgia with a global network of educators. It is the world's largest education community, serving over 30,000 institutions in over 70 countries worldwide, educating over 20 million students. They offer many services, including:

• Accreditation and Certification

• Assessment

• Professional Learning 

• Improvement Services

They helped coach our administration and district personnel through the accreditation process this past school year. They provided meaningful suggestions that aided in our successful implementation and creation of our ACIP plan and strategy map. They even provide school leaders with a  strategy map planning pdf template to use as you develop your ACIP. The Professional Learning service they provide is essential. "Learning becomes much more relevant and meaningful as the leader calls the shots and becomes the center of the process," noted Sheninger (2019, p. 157).

Covid-19 and Cognia.

 Due to the pandemic, all of our meetings and correspondence we had with Cognia were through Zoom. I think about the pandemic, and the many challenges educators and trainers have to endure. We have to rethink simple things like communication, something we take for granted. The pandemic forced many educators to step up and take a chance on using technology and platforms like Zoom or Google Meet more than they probably had ever planned. Marshall et al. (2020) researched and interviewed many educators regarding transitioning from face-to-face instruction to remote. It was interesting to read the findings. Most teachers adapted but later realized that prior training would have helped, and there should be a district-wide plan for remote learning during national disasters. The plan should include any professional development, instruction, and or collaboration with outside companies like Cognia. 

Working with Cognia during this process and the pandemic was useful. I am so appreciative that they were so helpful and willing to answer any questions we had, and they were very knowledgeable about the whole process. 

 References

Education Week (2018, June 24). Continuous Improvement in a Nutshell. [Video].

YouTube.https://youtu.be/9i-Ea-fYDSY

Marshall, D. T., Shannon, D. M., & Love, S. M. (2020). How teachers experienced the COVID-19 transition to remote instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, 102(3), 46–50.

  https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721720970702

Nowicki, J. M. (2021). K-12 EDUCATION: Observations on States’ School Improvement Efforts. GAO Reports, i-40.

[Photos]. Cognia strategy map template. Retrieved May 1, 2021, from

        https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QeCVmiOsyUA0JVsMHew39A-5FgpveUML/view

[Photo]. Giphy. Retrieved May 1, 2021, from

         https://giphy.com/gifs/southparkgifs-l0MYD7WmWECOmZ3tS

Sheninger, E. C. (2019). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. A joint publication of Corwin ICLE.