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Current Reality and GSAPS for Coahulla Creek High School

Jared Fowler

Kennesaw State University

September 2020

Dr. Matthew Wilson

June 2020
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Current Reality and GSAPS for Coahulla Creek High School

Vision

Coahulla Creek is a traditional public 9-12 high school located approximately 11 miles

northeast of Dalton, Georgia. The school is one of three high schools in the Whitfield County

Schools District. The school which opened in 2011 is located in more of a rural area of the

county. The school serves approximately 1,060 students with 61% of the school eligible for free

or reduced lunch. The student population of the school consists of 60% White, 34% Hispanic,

3% Multi-racial, 2% Black, and 1% Asian. Students with disabilities account for 12% of the

population, while 6% are considered English Language Learners. Coahulla has a four-year

graduation rate of 92.8%.

The technology vision for Coahulla Creek High School mirrors the technology vision for

Whitfield County Schools District. The Whitfield County Schools Technology vision is to:

Improve student academic achievement by strengthening technology integration. The Whitfield

County Schools Three-Year Technology Plan (2018) also states, “access, training, and support

are critical components of the ….technology vision.” Crystal Bryant, an assistant principal at

Coahulla Creek, stated the school’s administration wanted technology to “enhance” education

and not be just a “supplementary" material. The second goal of the Coahulla Creek Technology

Plan is to: Improve student academic performance through the integration of curriculum and

technology. These beliefs have driven the school to begin implementing higher technology

implementation standards compared to previous years. In the current global situation of the

COVID pandemic, the use of technology has been shoved to the front of all education issues.

The administration encourages teachers and students to use the technology available to

increase student engagement and achievement.

Recent global events have caused the school system to make an intense push for

technology integration into the classroom and homes of the students. The district has ramped

up the implementation and training on Google Classroom, Gmail, Google Meets, and all the

other G-Suite accessories which are utilized in the classroom on a daily basis. Coahulla Creek

has been very supportive in allowing teachers to identify other online resources to enhance
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distance-learning and instruction. Platforms such as EdPuzzle, Screencastify, and Edulastic

have been introduced by teachers at the school.

The school envisions students using technology to enhance their learning experiences inside

and outside the classroom. Technology should be used to challenge students through authentic

learning experiences and extension activities to develop deeper knowledge of the content being

delivered. Technology can also be used for remediation purposes as well. Coahulla Creek

encourages the use of technology to provide different modes of delivering educational content.

The use of videos, virtual manipulative, and assistive devices can be used to meet the

educational needs for a variety of students.

Needs Improvement

In the first few years of Coahulla Creek, professional learning was pushed down from the

central office when it adopted a literacy-first initiative. All professional learning in the county was

centered on improving literacy performance (e.g., CSET and PALS) in all students because

literacy is the foundation for all content areas. When AP Crystal Bryant arrived at the school,

she developed a data room, and professional development inside the school became more

data-driven. The data room focuses on student performance in each content area. Trends and

weaknesses are identified, and a plan is developed to help individual students. The use of data-

driven professional learning is addressed in the Coahulla Creek School-wide Improvement Plan.

Currently, professional learning at the school/district is needs-based. The district pushed out

professional learning modules focusing on Google Classroom over the summer. Since returning

to school, professional development for Infinite Campus, EdPuzzle, and additional instruction on

Google Classroom has been offered. Teachers are surveyed to identify any trainings they would

like to attend. These trainings are then provided in a variety of forms such as online modules for

individual teachers or site-specific training days. There are also department-level trainings

where departments identify a specific training, they would like to attend in order to improve

student engagement and achievement in certain content areas. Some individuals are allowed to

go to trainings, like a math conference, and re-deliver what they learned to their department or
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the entire staff. Teachers at Coahulla Creek are strongly encouraged to seek professional

development opportunities by the administration and fellow staff members.

Professional Learning

Professional learning at Coahulla Creek has taken many different forms in previous years.

One type is book studies at the department level, but this type of professional learning has been

largely pushed down by the central office. The professional learning provided by the central

office has focused on literacy improvement through the writing strategy CSET and the reading

strategy PALS. Professional learning also occurs during certain department level meetings.

These department level trainings are taught by administrators or the lead content teacher. The

data room has stimulated training for mentors of students who are struggling academically. The

data room analysis of student academic performance has led to focused professional

development for teachers and co-teachers. Most of the training taking place at the school is

collaborative in nature, but there is the occasional training for specialty fields such as the lead

AP teacher.

All professional learning in the past 6-8 months has focused on distance learning, which has

been specific trainings on Google Classroom. Many teachers had not utilized Google

Classroom, so trainings were held on how to set-up a classroom, create assignments, create

quizzes, post videos, and many other features on the platform. Additional trainings were given

on Infinite Campus focusing on some little-known features of that particular platform such as

creating assignments in the platform. Teachers have requested and received additional

trainings on Chrome extensions like Screencastify and EdPuzzle.

Professional learning provided at the district level is normally provided by instructional

coordinators from the central office. These coordinators will travel to each of the schools or will

push out learning modules through a district level professional learning Google Classroom. Prior

to the COVID-19 pandemic, the instructional coordinators would follow-up professional

development by taking a day at each school to meet with teachers who were seeking additional

assistance. At Coahulla Creek, the instructional coordinator would use the multi-purpose room
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for the day. Teachers were notified a few days before she was scheduled to arrive. Teachers

would be allowed to drop-in and seek additional assistance or receive feedback on strategies

they had implemented. Since the development of COVID, the instructional coordinators provide

“office hours” where they have Google Meets for teachers to drop-in to receive additional

assistance.

Alignment to School Improvement Goals

Professional development at Coahulla Creek aligns with the school improvement plan in a

multitude of different ways. The first goal of the school improvement plan is: Increase

percentage of students scoring at a 3 or 4 on the Georgia Milestones EOC in 9th Literature,

American Literature, Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology, Physical Science, Economics, and U.S.

History. Professional learning is driven by EOC scores. Professional learning is also driven by

grade level data maintained in the data collection room for each student. Professional learning

provided by the district aligns with district level improvement goals. The past two years the

district has been focused on literacy, so professional development at the district level has been

on literacy development. Literacy is connected to all other content areas, so literacy

development leads to increased performance on Georgia Milestones EOCs.

This year the focus of professional learning has changed. The focus of professional learning

has shifted to distance learning and delivering the material to the students outside of the school

building. This year’s professional learning goal for the staff is: Staff will regularly communicate

and collaborate in professional, collegial communities so that we can effectively maximize

student learning by providing challenging and engaging classroom lessons that are offered both

face to face and online. This goal clearly demonstrates the school’s commitment to providing an

optimal educational experience for our students regardless the educational setting.

Funding and Incentives

Funding for professional learning at Coahulla Creek has been very minimal. The Literacy for

Learning, Living, and Leading Grant (L4GA) has been a major source of funding for professional
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development in the past few years. The funds were frozen at the beginning of the COVID

outbreak here in Georgia. The district encouraged L4GA funds to be spent on professional

learning. Prior to COVID, the funds were used to send administrators and teachers to

conferences. These individuals would then return to their home schools and re-deliver the

material to the staff. The biggest cost and hurdle of professional development is paying

substitute teachers for the days teachers are not in the classroom. The impact of paying for

substitutes has been minimized this year due to the hybrid schedule the school will be running.

No students will be attending school on Fridays during the fall semester, so all professional

development can take place on this day with no need to hire substitutes for the teachers. No

incentives are offered to teachers to attend professional development. Teachers only attend

professional development when they are intrinsically motivated to improve their practice.

Diversity

The second goal of the school improvement plan states: Maintain or increase our current

CCRPI score of 83.4 by focusing on student achievement across all content areas, attendance

rates for students and staff, and the graduation rate. The only way this goal can be achieved is

by meeting the diverse needs of all the students at Coahulla Creek. Trainings are provided to

teachers who specialize in meeting the needs of students with special needs. This past year

trainings were held focusing on teachers and co-teachers working together. The trainings

addressed co-teaching techniques, collaboration between teacher and co-teacher, and

implementation of co-teaching in the classroom. The ESOL and special education teachers are

provided with specialized training to meet the needs of their students. One-on-one training is

provided by counselors to address the needs of our low socio-economic students. The

counselors will speak to individual teachers about specific students and how their needs can be

met based on their specific home situation.

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Collaboration

The third goal of the school improvement plan states: Establish data driven, professional

learning communities that collaborate to design work, develop assessments, and analyze data

that results in improvements in student. The school recognizes collaboration between

professionals is key to school-wide improvement. The school previously had collaborative

learning groups which were based on common planning periods allowing for small groups and a

mixture of content areas. This encouraged a spreading of ideas and different ways of thinking

throughout the entire school. Some of the departments were more innovative than others, so it

was good to spread those ideas among the other departments. The collaboration during these

planning periods was always focused on school improvement goals. The big take-away from

collaborative groups was the feedback on the previous training or strategy. This feedback

received during the collaboration periods would guide the next professional development.

Evaluation

The professional learning opportunities are evaluated through department level meetings

with administration or through evaluation forms. In these meetings and evaluation forms,

teachers are given the opportunity to provide feedback on the quality of training provided.

Administrators at the school do an excellent job of asking teachers their opinions. They are

genuinely concerned about the impact the professional development being offered has on the

teacher, the classroom, and the students. The information collected from these meetings and

evaluation forms is used to plan future professional development opportunities.

The impact of professional learning is evaluated by the data on the students. The mentors

work with individual students who are identified as “at risk” based on information from the data

room. For example, a mentor will take a student failing 5 classes, move through a series of

interventions specific to that student, and now the student is only failing 2 classes. In the data

room, the impact of intervention strategies is assessed, and alternative strategies are

recommended.

District level professional development normally had follow-up days where teachers were

required to provide feedback to the instructors. The teachers would also be required to provide
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evidence showing they had implemented the strategy in the classroom. The focus of the

discussion in the follow-up sessions was to identify what worked well and what did not. The

problem with this form of evaluation was some teachers did just enough to meet the standards

put forth by the district. This kind of evaluation gave inaccurate information about the

effectiveness of the strategy.

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PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
This means by which teachers, administrators, and other staff acquire, enhance, and refine the
knowledge, skills, practices, and dispositions necessary to create and support high levels of
learning for all students.

Professional Learning Standard 1: Aligns professional learning with needs identified

through analysis of a variety of data.

Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

Exemplary Operational Emerging Not Evident

Professional learning Professional learning Professional learning Professional learning

needs are identified needs are identified needs are identified needs are identified
and differentiated through collaborative using limited sources using little or no data.
through a analysis process of data.
collaborative analysis using a variety of data
process using a (e.g., student
variety of data (e.g., achievement data,
student achievement examination of
data, examination of student work, process
student work, process data, teacher and
data, teacher and leader effectiveness
leader effectiveness data, action research
data, action research data, perception data
data, perception data from students, staff,
from students, staff, and families).
and families).
Ongoing support is
provided through
differentiated
professional learning.

Evidence: Professional learning has historically been pushed down from the central office and
has been mainly literacy focused due to the L4GA grant (CCHS Literacy Plan 2018). Other
professional learning opportunities are provided at Coahulla Creek. Recently, the professional
development has been more needs based. Occasionally, professional developments stem
from the information collected from the data room and standardized tests. In the past,
opportunities where a teacher has been allowed to attend a conference or a specialized
training have been minimal.

Recommendations: In addition to the methods mentioned above, the school should survey
the teachers about topics of professional development they are interested in attending. Also,
the school could survey the students about how the classes and lessons could be improved.
The feedback received from these surveys could be used to identify future professional
learning opportunities. Parents could be surveyed to identify weaknesses in the collaboration
between teachers and parents. The feedback could be used for future professional
development and community activities at the school. Teachers who are passionate and
knowledgeable about topics could be allowed to provide professional development for their
peers.
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Professional Learning Standard 2: Establishes a culture of collaboration among

administrators and staff to enhance individual and collective performance.

Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

Exemplary Operational Emerging Not Evident

Administrators and Administrators and Administrators and Administrators and

staff, as a staff routinely staff routinely staff routinely
foundational practice, collaborate to improve collaborate to improve collaborate to improve
consistently, individual and individual and individual and
collaborate to support collective collective collective
leadership and performance (e.g., performance (e.g., performance (e.g.,
personal construct knowledge, construct knowledge, construct knowledge,
accountability and to acquire skills, refine acquire skills, refine acquire skills, refine
enhance individual practice, provide practice, provide practice, provide
and collective feedback). feedback). feedback).
performance (e.g.,
construct knowledge,
acquire skills, refine
practice, provide
feedback). Teachers
conduct action
research and assume
ownership of
professional learning
processes.

Evidence: Collaboration regularly occurs between administration and staff. The administration
communicates with the staff and asks for input about the current state of the school (Faculty
Meeting Guidance). Collaboration occurs in department and specific content area meetings.
Data is shared among the staff through the data room. The focus of faculty meetings and
professional trainings are determined by the administration. A few trainings have been
recommended and provided by staff members.

Recommendations: The staff could take more of an active role in identifying the professional
learning needs of the school staff. More action research could encourage increased
collaboration between teacher and administrators.
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Professional Learning Standard 3: Defines expectations for implementing professional

learning.

Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

Exemplary Operational Emerging Not Evident

Administrators, Administrators, Administrators, Administrators,

teacher leaders, or teacher leaders, or teacher leaders, or teacher leaders, or
both consistently both regularly define both regularly define both regularly define
define expectations expectations for the expectations for the expectations for the
for the implementation implementation of implementation of implementation of
of professional professional learning. professional learning. professional learning.
learning, including
details regarding the
stages of
implementation and
how monitoring will
occur as
implementation
progresses.

Evidence: The school leadership team regularly reviews the school improvement plan to
ensure the professional development opportunities being provided align with the goals of the
school (CCHS School Improvement Plan). Teachers are required to attend all professional
development sessions. Teachers are expected to try and/or implement the skills and
strategies being delivered during professional development.

Recommendations: The school leadership team could provide more focused professional
learning opportunities for content areas. The expectations following the professional
development should be clearly defined for the staff. Additional frequent follow-up sessions to
evaluate the implementation of the skills or strategies should be held. These follow-up
sessions can be done at department meetings to increase the frequency of follow-up
sessions.
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Professional Learning Standard 4: Uses multiple professional learning designs to support

the various needs of the staff.

Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

Exemplary Operational Emerging Not Evident

Staff members Staff members Some staff members Staff members

actively participate in actively participate in are engaged in receive single, stand-
job-embedded professional learning, professional learning alone professional
professional learning most of which is job- that makes use of learning events that
that engages embedded, which more than one are informational and
collaborative teams in includes multiple learning design to mostly large-group
a variety of designs (e.g., address their presentation designs.
appropriate learning collaborative lesson identified needs.
designs (e.g., study, analysis of
collaborative lesson student work, problem
study, analysis of solving sessions,
student work, problem curriculum
solving sessions, development,
curriculum coursework, action
development, research, classroom
coursework, action observations, online
research, classroom networks) to support
observations, online their various learning
networks). needs. Professional
Professional learning learning includes
includes extensive follow-up with
follow-up with feedback and
descriptive feedback coaching.
and coaching.

Evidence: Staff are required to attend all faculty meetings and professional development held
at the school. The trainings are provided in a variety of designs and modes of delivery. These
include whole group, small group, individual, and digital trainings (Pre-Planning Training
Schedule) with follow-up sessions provided by district level instructors.

Recommendations: The follow-up sessions should be more individualized. There should be

more focused coaching for individuals interested in implementing skills and strategies learned
during professional development. Observations should be non-threatening and non-evaluative
in nature. This type of observation can build the relationship between the coach and teacher.
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Professional Learning Standard 5: Allocates resources and establishes systems to support

and sustain effective professional learning.

Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

Exemplary Operational Emerging Not Evident

Extensive resources Adequate resources Some resources and Few, if any, resources
(e.g., substitute (e.g., substitute systems are allocated and systems are
teachers, materials, teachers, materials, to support and sustain provided to support
handouts, tools, handouts, tools, professional learning. and sustain
stipends, facilitators, stipends, facilitators, professional learning.
technology) and technology) and
systems (e.g., systems (e.g.,
conducive schedules, conducive schedules,
adequate adequate
collaborative time, collaborative time,
model classrooms) model classrooms)
are allocated to are in place to support
support and sustain and sustain
effective professional professional learning.
learning.
Opportunities to
practice skills, receive
follow-up, feedback,
and coaching are
provided to support
the effectiveness of
professional learning.

Evidence: The current hybrid schedule provides one day a week for professional
development and collaboration within departments (Pre-Planning Notes). Substitutes are
provided for professional development at the district level. Substitutes are provided at
Coahulla Creek for professional development when funds are available.

Recommendations: Offer incentives for teachers who attend professional development and
return to educate the staff within the school. When the school system returns to its regular
schedule, the school should have 1-2 collaboration days each semester, which would allow
departments to plan and discuss any action research findings.
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Professional Learning Standard 6: Monitors and evaluates the impact of professional

learning on staff practices and student learning.

Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

Exemplary Operational Emerging Not Evident

Monitoring and Monitoring and Monitoring and Monitoring and

evaluating the impact evaluating the impact evaluating the impact evaluating the impact
of professional of professional of professional of professional
learning on staff learning on staff learning on staff learning on staff
practices and practices and student practices occurs practices occurs
increases in student learning occurs sporadically. rarely, if ever.
learning occurs routinely.
extensively.
Evaluation results are
used to identify and
implement processes
to extend student
learning.

Evidence: The impact of professional learning is occasionally examined during faculty

meetings. Administrators will look for certain practices during teacher evaluations (TKES
Guidance Memo). Mentor professional development is evaluated based on the response of
students being mentored.

Recommendations: Teachers could be surveyed after each professional development

opportunity to examine the quality of instruction and the applicability of the information being
provided. Teacher’s assessments scores are compared through the department, or district, to
identify the impact of the new instructional strategy.
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KSU ITEC Professional Learning Standard: Professional learning reinforces educators’

understanding and use of strategies for promoting equity and high expectations for all students,
application of research-based teaching strategies and assessment processes, and involvement of
families and other stakeholders in promoting student learning.

Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1

Exemplary Operational Emerging Not Evident

Classroom practices (e.g., Classroom practices of Classroom practices of Classroom practices of

considering interests,
backgrounds, strengths,
and preferences to
provide meaningful
relevant lessons and
assess student progress,
differentiating instruction,
and nurturing student
capacity for self-
management) of all
teachers reflect an
emotionally and physically
safe environment where
respect and appreciation
for a diverse population is
evident. There are high
achievement expectations
for all students and
teachers. The principal
and other leaders provide
professional learning for
teachers lacking
understanding for the
impact that attitudes,
regarding race,
disabilities, background,
culture, high expectations,
and social class of both
students and teachers
have on the teaching and
learning process.
most teachers reflect some teachers reflect some teachers reflect
skill in communicating evidence of teachers’ little or no evidence of
high expectations for training in teachers’ training in
each student and understanding the understanding the
adjusting classroom impact that attitudes impact that attitudes
activities to meet regarding race, regarding race,
student needs. Respect disabilities, disabilities,
for students’ cultures background, culture, background, culture,
and life experiences is high expectations, and high expectations, and
evident through the social class of both social class of both
emotionally and students and teachers students and teachers
physically safe learning have on the teaching have on the teaching
environment where and learning process. and learning process.
students of diverse
backgrounds and
experiences are taught
the school code of
conduct (customs) to
help them be
successful in the school
context.

Evidence: Coahulla Creek actively participates in Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS).
The Colts’ motto (Committed Optimistic Leaders who are Trustworthy and Strong) is reinforced in the
daily announcements and infographics throughout the school.

Recommendations: The administration could provide focused training on topics such as race and
poverty. Social workers could be brought in to speak with the staff about the home lives of students in
the school. A day of professional learning could be utilized to take the faculty on a bus tour through
targeted neighborhoods to show the variation in socioeconomic background.