Preferred Provider for School Turnaround During FY’17, LFD, Inc. once again worked with the Lawrence Public Schools (LPS) as an approved Massachusetts School Turnaround Operator, disseminating best practices of Lawrence Family Development Charter School. As an early education program for families of the Tower Hill neighborhood of Lawrence, Lawrence Family Public Academy (LFPA) offers a free, full-day Pre-Kindergarten (K1) and Kindergarten (K-2) program for four and five year olds. To maximize dissemination, two lead teachers from LFDCS are assigned to leadership roles in this project. High Priority efforts in FY’2017 which were: Increasing parent engagement is done through various workshops, afterschool activities and via the Parent Teacher Organization Strengthening instruction for all students through Universal Design for Learning and the Response to Intervention Process Parent engagement is a critical part of the mission of both Lawrence Family Development, Inc. and LFPA; therefore, in FY’17 the parent liaison and staff worked to increase parent participation and engagement. This included hosting Open Houses, Literacy Night, Math Night, Health & Wellness Night, K-1 Poetry Day, Paint Night and the K-2 Poetry & Art Show. Parent attendance at these events increased this year— specifically, 42% of parents attended the K-2 Poetry & Art Show in FY’16 as compared to 92% in FY’17, which reflected an impressive 50% increase! LFPA teachers continued to work to improve lesson plans and curriculum using comprehensive design for learning techniques. These lesson plans are shared using the LFDCS Learning Management System, Schoology. Additionally, the RTI process was implemented with fidelity, especially thanks to the support of the lead teachers and LFDCS mentors. This led to high performance in K-1 and K-2 as shown below. Both grade levels out-performed their scores from 2015-2016. 100 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 LNF FSF PSF LFDEF, INC FY’2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT NWF PAGE 14 Lawrence Public Family Academy (LFPA), which is a Lawrence Family Development dissemination project, prioritizes family engagement. Pictured here are LFPA students and their parents at a 2017 Paint Night Fundraiser. This year, Lawrence Public Schools’ LFPA welcomed two new Lead Teachers from LFDCS: Lisana Alexander and Jackie McCord. These two veteran teachers brought a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the Lead Teacher role. Lisana Alexander has taught for fifteen years. She is certified in Elementary and Early Childhood (with and without disabilities) and has earned a Master’s Degree. Her experience includes Professional Development in all areas of curriculum, behavior management, CPR and First Aid. In FY’17, Lisana led the K-1 Team at LFPA. Through the use of Schoology, other forms of technology, literature, songs, hands-on activities, and team planning, the K-1 team started the year with only 22% of students at benchmark and by the end of FY’17 , over 90% of K-1 students were at benchmark. 2016 2017 Jackie McCord taught preschool and kindergarten for 13 years before joining LFDCS as a first and second grade teacher. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education (with and without disabilities). She is now pursuing a Master’s Degree, as well as an ESL teacher’s license. This year, Jackie led the K-2 Team at LFPA as they implemented Schoology and increased expectations and rigor for all students. K-2 LFPA students began the year with less than half of the students at benchmark. However, at year-end 85% of K-2 students were at or above benchmark.
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