Katherine Brennan/Rogers School - Connecticut State Department ...

James Hillhouse High School
School Improvement Grant – Section B: Descriptive Information
Funds will be used to support the establishment of a new “turnaround office,” which will include a Director of
Instruction for Turnaround / Transformational Schools. This administrator will be responsible for ensuring that each of
the Turnaround / Transformational Schools is focused on meeting the requirements of SIG and on providing the needed
support to ensure success of each of the schools to which he/she is assigned. Hillhouse is one of the schools, which will
be assigned to this director.
**See District Organizational chart (7) at end of Section B
Funds will be used to support new staff for Hillhouse. One Teacher Leader will be assigned to each of the Smaller
Learning Communities. Four Co-Teachers will be hired to plan and teach with Master Teachers in critically identified
subject areas (math/science). Core and support teachers will be assigned to each Smaller Learning Community. A new
reading teacher will be added to provide general reading and intervention support for ninth grade students.
*See School Organizational chart (8) at end of Section B
B2b District - and school-level staff will be trained to fully and effectively implement the selected intervention
model.
Funds will be used to partner with the ACES PDSI Support Team to provide job-embedded professional development for
successful implementation of the Smaller Learning Communities Model. The ACES School Improvement Specialist, the
Principal Leadership Mentor, the Curriculum and Instructional Specialist for Mathematics, and the Curriculum
Instructional Specialist for Reading Language Arts, will become an integral part of the school’s redesign team. The staff
at Hillhouse will be trained by the ACES PDSI Support Team over the three year grant period through a gradual release
model. The funding will be targeted at training and supporting the administrators, teachers and other staff as they move
through the creation, establishment and continuous sustainability of a successful Smaller Learning Communities model
for Hillhouse.
*See copy of ACES PDSI Transformational School Support Model (9) at end of Section B
B2c The district will monitor each component of the selected intervention model for each school.
The primary responsibility of monitoring each component of the Transformational Model at Hillhouse High School will
fall upon the new Director of Instruction for Turnaround / Transformational Schools. In addition, the Associate
Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Subject Area Curriculum Supervisors, the Special Education Director,
and the Bilingual Supervisor will assist in monitoring progress at Hillhouse through focused “walkthroughs” and by
providing feedback and next step strategies to ensure progress in meeting the goals of SIG. The Hillhouse Leadership
Team will meet with the Superintendent, the Director of Instruction for Turnaround / Transformational Schools, and key
central office administrators on a regular basis to share progress on meeting the goals and requirements of the
Transformational Model.
B2d The district will monitor the allocation of resources and funds to effectively implement the selected
intervention model.
The Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction will be responsible for overseeing the entire SIG project.
She will work with the principal of the school and the Central Office Special Funds Budget Office to ensure appropriate
allocation of resources and funds to effectively implement the selected intervention model.
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