ELEMENTARY ELA

Aliya Washington-SmithMNPS Director of Elementary Literacy Aliya.washington@mnps.ORG

Theory of Action

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

INTERNAL & EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS

BUILDING SCHOOL LEADER CAPACITY

MONITORING & ACCOUNTABILITY

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

STRATEGIC PLANNING

tEXTBOOK aDOPTION PROCESS

hqim & aLIGNED rESOURCES

MNPS LITERACY REIMAGINED​ TRANSFORMING TEACHING & LEARNING THROUGH HQIM, VERTICAL COHERENCE, & SYSTEMS OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

• If… MNPS develops an evidence-based Literacy Framework and strategic plan and implements the plan through vertical coherence and aligned supports,
• Then… teachers will be equipped and empowered to plan and implement meaningful, content-rich instruction that is ambitious, equitable, and SEL-integrative,
• So… that students will develop meaningful connections with the content, each other, and themselves as critical thinkers and life-long learners,
• Which… will improve instructional leadership, and student outcomes.

MNPS Literacy Reimagined Theory of Action

Building School Leader Capacity

• Provided the same tools to support collaborative planning, data analysis, and feedback resources
• Set clear expectations for instructional leadership moves that promote strong implementation of the Literacy Framework and instructional materials

Strategic Planning

• Keeping our literacy vision and framework central to the conversation
• Fostering change through the materials

HQIM – High-Quality Instructional Materials

• Vehicle to live out our aspirations for students and educators
• Capacity building
• Aligned with the literacy vision and framework

Professional Learning

• Leaders experienced the professional learning before other stakeholders
• Building instructional coaching capacity by fostering inquiry, modeling productive coaching activities and engaging in rounds of practice

External & Internal Partnerships

• Established and maintained collaborations with the PreK, English Learners, Exceptional Education, Social-Emotional Learning, MTSS, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Departments
• Established community partnerships with the United Way of Middle Tennessee, Book ‘Em, Books Brothers, and the Nashville Public Library to personalize literacy learning for MNPS students
• Educator Preparation Program pre-service teachers and graduate students are receiving direct training on the MNPS Literacy Framework and literacy vision

Textbook Adoption Process

• Teacher focused and driven by communicated stakeholder needs
• Transparent process
• Built teacher capacity – incorporated the Science of Reading professional learning into the process
• Aligned the MNPS textbook adoption rubrics with the TN Department of Education Adoption Rubric

Continuous Improvement

• Reorganized coaches’ learning into networks focused on problems of practice to foster innovation and address adaptive change
• Implemented Early Literacy Continuous Improvement Cycles to model school-level continuous improvement cycles

Monitoring & Accountability

• Executive Directors coaching leaders around the 5 Essential Leadership Plays from the Playbook
• Principal’s Learning Network Content Focus Documents – provides school principals with the resources to monitor pacing and integrity to the curriculum