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District coaches outline Continuous School Improvement tools; staff present special education systems at state conference
Summary
District continuous improvement coaches described classroom-level supports, monthly newsletters, PDSA cycles and professional learning communities. Special education leaders said they presented the district's systems at the state conference and highlighted student learning journals, staff training and work-based learning takeaways.
A team of Continuous School Improvement (CSI) coaches and district special education leaders described tools and supports the district uses to help teachers and students improve instruction and outcomes.
Coaches introduced themselves by grade-area responsibility and said the CSI program provides classroom-level tools, a coaching menu, monthly newsletters tied to a yearlong theme and short videos spotlighting staff practice. Coaches described three core teacher practices they emphasize: jointly developed classroom purpose statements, measurable goal-setting with students, and PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycles to review data and drive instruction. They said teachers display purpose statements and student goals in classrooms so students take visible ownership of targets and can track progress.
Coaches explained the district provides onboarding for new teachers that includes modeling of improvement tools, process mapping, and structured follow-up coaching. They also said professional learning communities (PLCs) are in place at elementary grade-level teams (weekly) and are in early implementation at the middle and high school departmental level.
Separately, special education administrators reported presenting the district's coordinated improvement work at the South Dakota Special Education Conference. They described sessions they attended on work-based learning, behavior supports, executive functioning and legal topics. District leaders said their presentation focused on aligning improvement science with special education systems, the use of student learning journals to document goals and progress, and a cross-district "rainbow sheet" student information snapshot that staff use for caseload and planning discussions. They reported positive feedback from other districts and said more than 100 attendees went to the district's session.
Coaches and special education leaders said the district's approaches aim to build consistent systems across multiple schools so practices are not isolated to a single teacher or building. They invited board members to visit classrooms and noted several examples of teacher-led PLCs and student-driven data practices that the district says have shown early success.
