Wyoming Department of Education

Hathaway Building, Second Floor

2300 Capitol Avenue

Cheyenne, WY 82002-0050

**Highly Qualified Workforce**

**EQUITY PLAN**

**No Child Left Behind Act of 2001**

**Title II, Part A**

**FEBRUARY 2007**

**Dr. Jim McBride**

**Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction**

[Introduction]{.underline}

Ensuring all Wyoming children receive a high-quality education requires
an effective teacher in every classroom, effective administrators in
every school, and school and district leadership that is focused on
raising achievement. Wyoming believes that it is human resources that
form the core of Wyoming's educational system.

In keeping with this philosophy, Wyoming is committed to the goal that
all teachers and administrators are highly qualified (HQ) and that poor
and minority children are not taught at higher rates than other children
by inexperienced, unqualified, and/or out-of-field teachers. Wyoming
further recognizes that teacher quality has a major impact on student
achievement. We remain committed to the goal of ensuring that every
child in Wyoming is taught by a teacher who is well prepared and
supported in order for each student to experience academic success.

[High Quality Teacher (HQT) Statewide Objectives]{.underline}

-   100% highly qualified teachers in every core academic class by the
    end of the 2006/07 academic year; and

-   Poor and minority children are not taught at higher rates than other
    children by inexperienced, unqualified or out-of-field teachers.

[Wyoming's Systemwide Vision]{.underline}

A synchronized, comprehensive human resource system of high quality
educators supporting the state's K-12 education structure to ensure all
students are taught by a well prepared, effective workforce.

[Highly Qualified Workforce Goals:]{.underline}

1.  Wyoming will develop a statewide teacher and administrator human
    resource system to guide and support continuous professional growth
    for all Wyoming educators.

2.  Wyoming will develop and implement a statewide data collection
    system to monitor and analyze teacher and administrator distribution
    patterns, to ensure that Wyoming's poor and minority students are
    not being taught by inexperienced, unqualified or out-of-field
    teachers at a higher rate than other students.

3.  Wyoming will coordinate statewide efforts and strategies that
    support highly qualified teachers and administrators and provide
    technical assistance, communication, statewide policy coherence and
    monitoring to support teacher and administrator quality.

**[GOAL 1]{.underline}**

**Wyoming will develop a statewide teacher and administrator human
resource system to guide and support continuous professional growth for
all Wyoming educators.**

WDE will work with districts to develop human resource systems that are
professional, standards based, include effective recruitment and
selection strategies, provide long term induction, engage in effective
supervision through mentoring/coaching techniques and effectively plan
long-term for manpower needs through district transition planning.

This new comprehensive system brings a variety of components into
synchronization to provide the highest quality human resources for the
state's system of K-12 education. Plans are currently being developed to
design a statewide system, supported by state, federal and foundation
resources, to recruit, retain, select, maintain and grow teachers,
teacher leaders and administrators.

This system will ensure that a highly qualified teacher is in every
classroom and a highly qualified administrator is in every school; that
there is a support system in place for early career teachers and early
career administrators; that all schools and districts have tools to
recruit, monitor and evaluate teachers and administrators; that high
quality professional development is tied directly to the needs of
students; and that there is a seamless, looped system of educator
development from high school through higher education and pre-service
and back into the K-12 classroom.

# [Stakeholders]{.underline}

-   Administrators -- Superintendents and Principals

-   Boards of Trustees

-   Legislators

-   Paraeducators

-   Pre-Service Teachers

-   Professional Development Providers

-   Professional Organizations

-   Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB)

-   School Districts

-   Schools of Higher Education

-   Specialists

-   State Board of Education

-   Students

-   Teachers

-   Wyoming Education Association

[Scope of Work]{.underline}

Prepare: A system that links high school students interested in entering
the field of education with work experiences in local schools; provides
a seamless higher education experience through the community college and
university system; a teacher education program based on approved program
standards and high expectations for content knowledge and pedagogy; and
ultimately, placement in a Wyoming K-12 classroom.

Recruit: A system that draws on higher education preparation programs,
statewide job fairs, out-of-state connections with teacher candidates,
community members such as paraprofessionals who wish to pursue a
teaching credential, and incentives to draw second career professionals
into the teaching profession.

Develop: A system that provides tools and resources to assist schools
and districts with hiring teachers, administrators, paraeducators and
other staff who have the skills and knowledge to meet the academic,
emotional and physical needs of their specific student body and
community.

License: A system that ensures quality professional standards and
accountability for teacher, administrator and specialist certifications;
that requires and monitors professional learning; that monitors
professional behavior; and provides for high quality staff in every
classroom and school in Wyoming.

Induction: A system that supports teachers new to the profession, and
retaining existing teachers, through formalized mentoring, coaching,
collegial support and professional learning.

Maintain and Enhance: A system that provides high quality, research
based, job embedded, life-long professional learning and development
planned around individual teacher needs, student learning needs, and
school and district goals.

Monitor and Evaluate: A system that ensures teachers, administrators and
other staff have high expectations for students; are focused on learning
objectives; know and can effectively deliver instructional strategies;
work together toward student, school and district goals; and are
accountable for high quality work.

Promote: A system that provides development of teacher leaders and
administrative leadership through succession planning, research-based
leadership training, grow-your-own programs, mentoring, and internships.

**[GOAL 2]{.underline}**

**Wyoming will develop and implement a statewide data collection system
to monitor and analyze teacher and administrator distribution patterns,
to ensure that Wyoming's poor and minority students are not being taught
at a higher rate than other students by inexperienced, unqualified or
out-of-field teachers.**

[Data Collection History]{.underline}

The Wyoming Integrated Statewide Education Data System (WISE) is a WDE
initiative to enable connection of different software systems and data
bases within local school districts. As phases of WISE project
implementation move forward, schools and districts will progressively
move towards realization of a system in which student, staff and other
data will need only to be entered once and will then flow to additional
applications that require it.

WISE is also used to assist districts in meeting requirements for the
collection, and reporting of school and district data mandated by state
and federal statute. The WDE collects staffing data from districts which
is cross referenced with related data collected by Wyoming's
Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB). PTSB maintains a
certification database that includes the subject areas in which every
certified teacher in the state meets the definition of HQ. In October of
each year, the local districts report each teacher's assignment data
through the on-line "School District Staff Member Collection" survey via
the WISE system administered by WDE. This staffing information is then
cross referenced with certification and other highly qualified teacher
records collected by PTSB to determine the highly qualified status of
the state's teachers.

On September 1, 2006, Phase-one of the HQT data collection was underway
and a preliminary analysis of the 2005-2006 highly qualified teacher
data was completed. Based on that data, 92.3% of core academic subjects
were deemed to be taught by HQT. During the ensuing three months, WDE
and the PTSB worked to ensure quality control mechanisms were in place
so that all applicable information, (test data, coursework, and HOUSSE
rubrics) was accurately entered into the system. On November 22, 2006,
an additional component of this system was completed for special
education teachers which indicated that statewide, 93.9% of special
education classes were taught by highly qualified teachers in 2005-06.
The results of the Phase-one data collection and analysis was an
increase to 95.3% of Wyoming's core academic classes taught by highly
qualified teachers for the 2005-06 academic year.

**[Data Collection Planning]{.underline}**

With the first phase of the HQT data collection complete, accurately
identifying highly qualified teachers and out-of-field teachers, WDE
will now turn its attention to identifying inexperienced teachers in
order to assure that poor and minority children are equitably served by
highly qualified teachers. Phase-two of the HQT data collection system
will bring the data on the experience level of teachers and
administrators into the yearly staffing data collection. WDE currently
collects teacher experience data only based on criteria developed to
meet Wyoming's state school funding model. Not all definitions align
with those required under Title II. For example, the teacher experience
data collected includes years served in non-teaching positions requiring
certification such as "school nurse." WDE will bring the data collection
into alignment with Title II by either modifying the existing coding
system to fill the needs of both state funding and Title II analysis
needs, or developing a corollary coding system tailored to the needs of
collecting teacher and administrator experience specifically for use in
analysis of experienced teachers per Title II program requirements.

Phase-two of the HQT data collection process will begin in the spring of
2007 with communications to districts regarding the 2007-08 academic
year data collections. The WDE will inform districts in April 2007 of
the federal requirement to analyze teacher experience data and minority
student population data to ensure that they are aware this analysis will
first take place using 2007-08 data submitted on WDE's staffing
collection. WDE will also solicit feedback designed to ensure our
collection and analysis methodology will be both valid and reliable. The
data collection will commence in the fall of 2007, with district
reporting of data to take place in December 2007 and public reporting of
data to take place in the Fall of 2008 via the Every Student Counts
report. In December 2008 the data will be included in the State
Consolidated Report to USDE, meeting federal reporting requirements.

Phase-two streamlines staffing data collection and analysis processes in
conjunction with districts and PTSB, so that with the 2007-08 collection
of staffing data from districts, the reporting back will occur in
December of the same year. This timely turnaround of data will allow for
verification of HQT status to occur early within the current academic
year and provide for timely technical assistance and monitoring of both
HQT status and placement of experienced teachers in high poverty and
high minority schools.

WDE Title II program representatives will work in concert with WDE Data
and Technical Services staff to develop and automate analytic processes
tailored to provide desired data and reporting to teachers, schools,
districts, the State, and the United States Department of Education
(USDE).

[Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting Timeline]{.underline}

September 2006 -- Phase I -- Complete analysis of percentage of classes
taught by HQ teachers

HQT Data Collection Phase I -- 2005-06 collection of teacher
qualifications data, at the course level, from every school in Wyoming
and reported to statewide stakeholders and USDE. HQT data was reported
by high and low poverty status and FTE.

**April 2007 -- Phase II (2007-08 data) -- Communication to districts**

WDE will inform districts of the federal requirement to analyze teacher
experience data and minority student population to ensure that they are
aware this analysis will take place using data submitted on the 2007-08
WDE staffing collection. WDE will also solicit feedback.

**October 2007 -- Phase II (2007-08 data) -- Data collection from
districts due**

Statewide HQT Data Collection for all schools and districts. The data
collection will include all previously collected HQT data and will be
the first collection of teacher and administrator experience data. WDE
data analysis will include HQT status and novice/experience data by
school and school district, by high and low poverty, by high and low
minority, and schools not making AYP.

**December 2007 -- Phase II (2007-08 data) -- Preliminary data analysis
complete**

District reporting of 2007-08 HQT data. HQT data collection for current
school year -- data and analysis from all schools and districts provided
to districts. WDE data analysis will include HQT status and
novice/experience data by school and school district, by high and low
poverty, by high and low minority, and schools not making AYP.

**October 2008 -- Phase II (2007-08 data) - Public reporting**

Public reporting of 2007-08 HQT data. HQT data collection for current
school year -- data and analysis from all schools and districts provided
to the public.

**December 2008 and following years -- Phase II -- Data reporting to
USDE**

Required data from all schools and districts provided to USDE including
HQT status and novice/experience data by school and school district, by
high and low poverty, by high and low minority, and schools not making
AYP. Public reporting will take place via Wyoming's Every Student Counts
report and to USDE via the annual Consolidated Report.

[]{.mark}

[HQT Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting Timeline]{.underline}

  --------- ------- ----------- ---------------- --------------- ---------------
  Data Year Phase   Collect     Data Analysis to Report to state Report to USDE
                    Data from   Districts        through "Every  through
                    Districts                    Student Counts" "Consolidated
                                                                 Report"

  2005-06   I       Fall 2005   Nov 2006         Fall 2006       Dec 2006

  2006-07   I       Oct 2006    March 2007       Fall 2007       Dec 2007

  2007-08   II      Oct 2007    Dec 2007         Fall 2008       Dec 2008

  2008-09   II      Oct 2008    Dec 2008         Fall 2009       Dec 2009
  --------- ------- ----------- ---------------- --------------- ---------------

[Phase One Data Analysis]{.underline}

Analysis of HQT data from every school in the state from the 2005-06
academic year indicates that 17,385 core academic classes were taught by
5,396 highly qualified teachers. Eight hundred twenty core academic
classes were taught by 233 teachers who were not deemed highly
qualified. Thus, in Wyoming for the 2005-06 academic year, 95.3% of core
academic classes (CAC) were taught by Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT)
and 4.7% were taught by Non Highly Qualified Teachers (NHQT).

The 2005-06 HQT data, for the most part, supports the provision of
equitable teacher distribution. As a state there is a 1.2% inequity
between low and high poverty schools at the elementary level and a 2.2%
inequity between low and high poverty schools at the secondary level.
However, when comparing those figures to 2004-2005, mixed results
emerge. At the elementary level, 2004-2005 data indicated no inequity,
while there was a 6.5% inequity at the secondary level. In 2005-2006, a
small inequity at the elementary level has developed, but the inequity
at the secondary level has corrected by more than 4 percentage points.

As previously noted, Wyoming's HQT equity gap is minimal. However, when
examining the disaggregated data for districts and schools, it appears
that there are some gaps that must be examined and addressed. During the
Phase-two data collection planning process, WDE will define the "equity
gap" which must be addressed in all districts and schools; that
definition will include highly qualified teachers, teacher experience,
poverty, minority, ELL, AYP, and proficiency data.

Following is a table of the 2005-2006 Highly Qualified Teacher composite
data for low and high poverty schools in each district:

[Distribution of Highly Qualified Teachers Relative to
Poverty]{.underline}

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  District Name           Percent of Classes      Percent of Classes
                          Taught by HQT in Low    Taught by HQT in High
                          Poverty Schools         Poverty Schools
  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------
  Albany CSD #1           98.4%                   92.5%

  Big Horn CSD #1         No low poverty schools  99.3%

  Big Horn CSD #2         100%                    85.1%

  Big Horn CSD #3         100%                    96.4%

  Big Horn CSD #4         No low poverty schools  98.0%

  Campbell CSD #1         94.6%                   95.6%

  Carbon CSD #1           96.9%                   91.4%

  Carbon CSD #2           96.4%                   99.3%

  Converse CSD #1         99.7%                   85.0%

  Converse CSD #2         92.8%                   100%

  Crook CSD #1            100%                    92.3%

  Fremont CSD #1          96.6%                   97.6%

  Fremont CSD #14         No low poverty schools  90.0%

  Fremont CSD #2          No low poverty schools  96.1%

  Fremont CSD #21         No low poverty schools  58.5%

  Fremont CSD #24         95.6%                   98.6%

  Fremont CSD #25         98.5%                   92.4%

  Fremont CSD #38         No low poverty schools  93.3%

  Fremont CSD #6          No low poverty schools  90.6%

  Goshen CSD #1           No low poverty schools  97.9%

  Hot Springs CSD #1      No low poverty schools  99.5%

  Johnson CSD #1          92.9%                   87.5%

  Laramie CSD #1          97.1%                   97.2%

  Laramie CSD #2          95.0%                   100%

  Lincoln CSD #1          76.5%                   79.3%

  Lincoln CSD #2          96.3%                   95.1%

  Natrona CSD #1          97.2%                   96.3%

  Niobrara #1             100%                    85.4%

  Park CSD #1             94.6%                   96.3%

  Park CSD #16            No low poverty schools  97.4%

  Park CSD #6             95.1%                   No high poverty schools

  Platte CSD #1           80.7%                   94.0%

  Platte CSD #2           93.7%                   96.8%

  Sheridan CSD #1         100%                    95.4%

  Sheridan CSD #2         97.6%                   100%

  Sheridan CSD #3         No low poverty schools  100%

  Sublette CSD #1         97.4%                   No high poverty schools

  Sublette CSD #9         96.0%                   No high poverty schools

  Sweetwater CSD #1       96.9%                   98.0%

  Sweetwater CSD #2       93.0%                   100%

  Teton CSD #1            92.9%                   No high poverty schools

  Uinta CSD #1            No low poverty schools  92.7%

  Uinta CSD #4            92.5%                   100%

  Uinta CSD #6            95.1%                   No high poverty schools

  Washakie CSD #1         89.2%                   95.6%

  Washakie CSD #2         95.0%                   71.4%

  Weston CSD #1           99.6%                   100%

  Weston CSD #7           90.4%                   88.9%
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

All schools in five districts in Wyoming are low poverty. In those
districts, the percentage of highly qualified teachers teaching core
academic classes ranges from 95.1% to 97.4%.

All schools in twelve districts in Wyoming are high poverty. In those
districts, the percentage of HQT teaching CAC ranges from 58.5% to 100%.
Only one district has a percentage of HQT teaching CAC that is below
90%. In this district 58.5% of classes are taught by HQT. Seven
districts have a highly qualified percentage above the state average of
95.3%.

In fourteen Wyoming school districts the percentage of highly qualified
teachers teaching CAC is higher in low poverty schools. In seventeen,
the percentage is higher in high poverty schools.

[Phase-Two Data Reporting]{.underline}

As noted above, phase-two of the HQT data collection system will bring
the data on the experience level of teachers and administrators into the
yearly staffing data collection. In order to compile this data, Wyoming
has defined an experienced teacher as "one who has three or more years
of teaching experience." Therefore, the collection will differentiate
between teachers who are considered "Novice" with less than three years
of teaching experience.

Below is an example of the data reporting which will be included in the
Phase-two data collection and reporting. The example portrays the data
collection for elementary schools. WDE will report and analyze the data
by elementary and secondary schools.

[2007-08 Teacher Experience in High and Low Poverty]{.underline}

[and High and Low Minority Schools]{.underline}

  ---------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- -------------
                   **Total      **Number of  **Percent of **Number of   **Percent of
                   Number of    Novice       Novice       Experienced   Experienced
                   Teachers**   Teachers**   Teachers**   Teachers**    Teachers**

  **Elementary**                                                        

  High Poverty                                                          

  Low Poverty                                                           

  High Minority                                                         

  Low Minority                                                          

  All Elementary                                                        
  ---------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- -------------

**[GOAL 3]{.underline}**

**Wyoming will coordinate statewide efforts and strategies that support
highly qualified teachers and administrators and provide technical
assistance, communication, statewide policy coherence and monitoring to
support teacher and administrator quality.**

[Strategies for Ensuring Equity]{.underline}

Wyoming Department of Education will engage in the following activities
in order to ensure that all children in Wyoming are taught by
experienced, highly qualified teachers:

1)  Beginning Teacher Support

> Develop programs to enhance the success and retention of early career
> teachers by aiding the transition into teaching; to improve training
> for new teachers; to provide intensive, individualized support and
> assistance to each beginning teacher.

2)  Recruitment Programs

> Develop programs to increase the number of teachers in the pipeline
> and to provide incentives for educators to work in areas of highest
> need.

3)  Teacher Preparation

> Collaborate with the University and community college partners to
> offer programs that more succinctly address the preparation needs of
> teachers in Wyoming schools

4)  Retention Programs

> Identify and support programs that support teachers who are not new to
> the profession. These include programs that support collaboration with
> peers such as peer coaching, leadership opportunities such as shared
> governance, and targeted professional development, especially content
> area professional development.

5)  Mentoring Programs

> Nationwide more than half of all new teachers leave the profession
> within five years of beginning their teaching careers. High-quality,
> structured mentoring programs have a positive effect both on the
> retention of qualified teachers and the quality of instruction. For
> these reasons, as well as requirements under ESEA Section 1116(b)(3),
> all schools in Wyoming that have not made AYP for two consecutive
> years must include a teacher mentoring program as part of their
> required improvement activities.
>
> In this program, new teachers are mentored and coached by
> instructional facilitators through the \$16 million Instructional
> Facilitator program that provides instructional facilitators in every
> district statewide. This program is further described in Section 3a of
> Wyoming's Highly Qualified Teacher Revised State Plan.

6)  National Board Certification

**State Support**

> For the 2007-08 biennium, the Wyoming Department of Education budget
> includes \$656,000 to support National Board certification of teachers
> by: 

-   Recruitment of teacher applicants for national certification

-   Strengthening the support system for teachers in the process of
    obtaining national certification

-   Providing awards and public recognition for teachers receiving
    National Board Certification

> For the biennium, 2007-2008, the Legislature appropriated \$600,000 in
> funding towards a \$4000 salary increase to National Board certified
> teachers for each year of the biennium.
>
> **Foundation Support**
>
> The John P. Ellbogen Foundation supports a program that actively
> recruits Wyoming teachers to seek National Board certification,
> provides them with a statewide support system and a \$2000
> scholarship. In each of the last 3 years, the board has committed over
> \$260,000.   Other financial partners have joined in giving support to
> the Wyoming Initiative and they include: The Ruth R. Ellbogen
> Foundation, State Farm Insurance Company, The McMurry Foundation, and
> The Homer A. and Mildred S. Scott Foundation.
>
> The focus of this support is as follows:

-   Recruit teachers for National Board Certification

-   Pay a portion of the assessment (including retake and "Take One"
    fees) for

candidates

-   Build a comprehensive support system for candidates

-   Provide a full scholarship for Pre-candidate, Candidate, and
    Leadership

workshops

-   Plan and sponsor a yearly awards and Recognition Event for National
    Board

> Certified Teachers
>
> To date 52 teachers in Wyoming have been certified by NBPTS.

7)  Assignment of Teachers

> Work with education associations to develop policies that eliminate
> obstacles to redistribution of teachers to high poverty and high
> minority schools and in developing strategies to assure that teachers
> in core academic classes are assigned to classes for which they are
> highly qualified.

8)  Bonuses and Incentives

> WDE will work to build on existing initiatives as well as develop new
> strategies to support bonuses and incentives to highly qualified,
> experienced teachers who agree to work in hard-to-staff schools.
>
> The Public School Teacher Incentive Program was introduced in the
> State Senate this session (SF0100). This legislation will create
> incentive reimbursement payments to school districts to employ
> teachers with multiple teaching endorsements and who teach two or more
> different courses during a school year for which they are properly
> endorsed. Teachers holding such multiple endorsements qualify for
> \$2,000 in addition to their regular salary. This incentive will be of
> particular use by rural and remote schools and districts in Wyoming.

[Technical Assistance and Communication]{.underline}

The WDE Title II Office will:

-   Work with schools and districts to ensure that HQT plans have
    adequately addressed the equitable distribution of HQ and
    experienced teachers;

-   Ensure achievement of equity is a viable component of HQT plans;

-   Provide all LEAs with data collection tools to report and analyze
    the equitable distribution of experienced and HQ teachers;

-   Review HQT plans and provide feedback;

-   Provide technical assistance to districts in the revision and
    effective implementation of HQT plans;

-   Disseminate successful strategies to promote retention of HQ
    teachers particularly in hard-to-staff schools.

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-   Administer competitive grants programs that address the HQT needs of
    high need schools and districts

    -   Math and Science Partnership Grants, and

    -   Teacher/Leader Quality Partnership Grants;

-   Coordinate and provide programs that support the development of
    highly qualified, experienced teachers

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-   Professional Learning Communities at Work Coaching Academies,

-   Reading First/reading initiatives,

-   Statewide writing initiatives,

-   ESL/ELL Endorsement Program, and

-   Focused ESL/ELL statewide professional development;

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-   Recognize districts and schools that achieve 100% highly qualified
    teachers and/or make progress on closing the equity gap.

[Promoting Leadership]{.underline}

Wyoming is working to promote and develop effective school leaders
statewide. This work is tightly intertwined with the human resource
system described in Goal One and will include strategies to recruit,
retain, select, maintain and grow teacher-leaders and administrators
throughout the state of Wyoming. Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and
Wahlstrom, in their 2004 review of research into effective leadership,
concluded that leadership is "second only to classroom instruction among
all school related factors that contribute to what students learn at
school" accounting for about 25% of total school effects and that this
effect was even greater in those schools facing the greatest challenges
(p. 5). Richard Elmore (2000) asserts that, in order to successfully
perform all of the leadership tasks cited in effective schools research,
leadership responsibilities must be widely distributed throughout every
school. For these reasons, Wyoming has targeted a variety of initiatives
toward the development of teacher leaders and administrators.

> **1) SAHE Principal Leadership Grants**
>
> Under Title II, Part A, Subpart 3, funds are made available to state
> agencies for higher education (SAHEs) to support partnerships intended
> to ensure that principals have the instructional leadership skills to
> help them work most effectively with teachers in order to help
> students master core academic subjects. Through a partnership between
> the University of Wyoming- Department of Educational Leadership,
> Wyoming School-University Partnership, and Laramie County #1, Big Horn
> #1, Fremont #14, Fremont #21 and Fremont #38 , the *Wyoming Leadership
> Academy* provides new principals and assistant principals with tools
> and skills to work with staff, students, parents, community
> stakeholders, and colleagues in the content areas of reading/language
> arts and mathematics and the WDE school improvement plan and process.
> This project has statewide impact as all new principals in the state
> are invited and encouraged to participate.
>
> 2\) Professional Learning Communities at Work Coaching Academies
>
> Schools operating as professional learning communities collectively
> examine the conditions and activities that have a positive impact on
> student learning, seek out effective practices, and work
> collaboratively to develop shared leadership, evaluate strategies and
> techniques. Their work is focused directly on the needs of students
> and the goal of increasing student achievement within their schools.
> Teachers and administrators work together toward common objectives
> within a professional learning community. This program provides
> educational leaders, including teacher-leaders with the knowledge,
> tools, and skills to effectively coach schools and staff members
> throughout the change process.
>
> In 2004-2005, a cohort of approximately 60 educators, mostly
> administrators, participated in a Professional Learning Communities at
> Work Coaching Academy, and subsequently moved forward with the
> planning and implementation in their respective districts. Their
> successes also included challenges, and they requested additional
> training. As the plans were being developed to make an Advanced
> Academy available, it became quite evident that there were many
> schools and districts who wanted the opportunity to participate in an
> Introductory Academy.
>
> One-hundred and fifty educators, 33 teams of teachers and
> administrators from schools across the state, are participating in the
> Introductory Academy that is happening at two different sites. The
> training provides each Introductory Strand participant with a working
> knowledge of Professional Learning Community implementation and
> sustainability practices. The 50 additional participants in the
> Advanced Strand are provided advanced facilitation methods in order to
> strengthen each participant's leadership skills.

**[Statewide Policy Coherence]{.underline}**

WDE is committed to improving internal processes and revising state
policies that may inadvertently contribute to staffing inequities in
schools. As an SEA, we will lead the effort in assuring that high-need
schools have the opportunity to recruit and retain highly qualified
teachers. While local school districts assign teachers to schools,
grades, subjects, and classes, WDE monitors teaching assignments through
HQT data collections, through evaluative processes such as monitoring
and routine oversight of school districts. The WDE plan for a
comprehensive teacher and administrator human resource system will bring
together what might otherwise be disjointed pieces of Wyoming's
statewide education environment and ensure policy coherence.

**[Monitoring Progress, Corrective Action, and Sanctions]{.underline}**

All LEAs will be held accountable by WDE for fulfilling their HQT Plans
and meeting the two HQT statewide objectives:

-   100% highly qualified teachers in every core academic class by the
    end of the 2006/07 academic year; and

-   poor and minority children are not taught by inexperienced,
    unqualified or out-of-field teachers at higher rates than other
    children

WDE will monitor the equitability of teacher assignment through the
collection of HQT data, each annual submission of the LEAs Title II,
Part A Consolidated Plan, and the HQT plans of each LEA that has not met
the statewide annual measurable objective of 100% highly qualified
teachers. The State will use HQT data that identifies classes taught by
teachers who are not highly qualified and teaching experience
(novice/experienced) to determine high priority schools and districts.
Technical assistance will be prioritized for high poverty and high
minority districts and schools with the greatest percent of classes
taught by teachers who are not highly qualified and have high
percentages of novice teachers.

As described above, HQT data is collected each October to identify
teachers assigned to classes for which they are not HQ and to identify
the experience level of teachers. This information will be utilized in
the monitoring process and in providing technical assistance to
districts. The State will monitor HQT plans for NHQ teachers to become
HQ and the equitable distribution of novice and experienced teachers.
WDE will also monitor parental notification requirements as required for
Title I schools. When it appears that the school or district is unable
to meet its highly qualified goals with ongoing implementation of its
plan, WDE will enact a series of progressive monitoring and sanctions in
accordance with ESEA section 2141.

The following protocols have been developed by WDE to clearly explain
the role and responsibilities of the SEA as we work together to ensure
the HQT requirements are understood and implemented.

**SEA Responsibilities**

-   Monitor and approve NCLB Consolidated Plan applications. Ensure
    Title I-A and Title II-A includes evidence of financial support for
    teachers who have [not]{.underline} met the HQT requirements.

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-   Monitor and approve LEA Highly Qualified Teacher Plans including
    alignment with NCLB Consolidated Plans and Wyoming School
    Improvement Plan/Schoolwide Plan.

    -   Monitor HQT criteria as a component of the rotating cycle of
        on-site program monitoring as required for each of the following
        divisions within WDE:

        -   Special Education Unit

        -   Title I Office

        -   Title II Office

-   Monitor LEA compliance with all HQT state and federal program
    regulations and administer sanctions if necessary.

> In order to carry out the above responsibilities, the WDE Title II
> Office will:

-   Ensure on-site monitoring occurs for each LEA on the established
    cycle and/or upon receipt of a substantiated complaint, and when
    significant concerns arise over the accuracy of HQT data;

-   Participate in the WDE Technical Assistance teams, in which concerns
    regarding schools and districts are addressed and coordinated
    technical assistance and/or sanctions are planned and delivered;

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-   Collect, review, and authorize each LEA HQT Plan;

-   Provide technical assistance to LEAs in accessing high quality
    professional development for their non-HQ teachers;

-   Provide on-going support to LEAs to ensure that all teachers are
    highly qualified by the end of the 2006-07 academic year and that
    poor and minority children are not taught at higher rates than other
    children by inexperienced, unqualified, and/or out-of-field
    teachers; and

-   Annually report publicly and to USDE updated HQT data, assess
    progress relative to the 100% HQT goal, percentage of teachers
    participating in high quality professional development and equitable
    distribution of experienced teachers.

**[Evidence of Probable Success -- Research Base]{.underline}**

As part of the development of this plan the WDE has created an
evaluation system to monitor the degree to which the LEAs implement
their agreed upon HQT plans and how successful the activities were in
addressing the targeted issues. The WDE Title II staff uses the
following criteria to review and evaluate HQT plans:

> 1\) Is the district committed to ensuring that all core academic
> classes are taught by
>
> highly qualified teachers?
>
> 2\) Do the district and schools assist with and support individual
> professional
>
> development plans for teachers who need to become highly qualified?

3)  Is the LEA analyzing and addressing equitable distribution of highly
    qualified, experienced teachers among low poverty and high poverty
    schools?

These plans will be required to include on-going evaluation, monitoring,
and accountability. WDE is confident that this process, along with
intensive technical assistance and the evidence of success collected for
HQT compliance so far, will result in effective administration of the
HQT program.

Additionally, WDE will continue to monitor and evaluate the success of
the programs and initiatives described above through collection of HQT
data and evidence of program implementation. WDE staff has utilized a
variety of research and the resources from higher education, school
districts, the USDE, Comprehensive Centers, professional organizations
and others in identifying strategies that will result in meeting the HQT
goals. A sampling of the research that informed this plan appears below:

[Stanford University: Linda Darling Hammond, "Teacher Quality and
Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence,"
(2000*)*]{.underline}

Studies of the effects of teacher experience on student learning have
found a relationship between teachers\' effectiveness and their years of
experience (Murnane & Phillips, 1981; Klitgaard & Hall, 1974), but not
always a significant one or an entirely linear one. While many studies
have established that inexperienced teachers (those with less than three
years of experience) are typically less effective than more senior
teachers, the benefits of experience appear to level off after about
five years, especially in non-collegial work settings (Rosenholtz,
1986). A possible cause of this trend in experience effects is that
older teachers do not always continue to grow and learn and may grow
tired in their jobs. Furthermore, the benefits of experience may
interact with educational opportunities. Veteran teachers in settings
that emphasize continual learning and collaboration continue to improve
their performance (Rosenholtz, 1984). It is also possible that uneven
effects of experience can be the result of cohort effects (for example,
cohorts of teachers hired in times of shortage may be less
well-qualified than those hired when schools can be more selective) or
of attrition effects (for example, disproportionate early attrition of
more able teachers may leave a less capable senior force on average)
(Murnane & Phillips, 1981; Vance & Schlechty, 1982). Presumably, the
direction of this effect would change if retention policies kept the
most able beginning teachers in the profession. Since experience is also
correlated with teacher education and certification status, these
variables may be confounded in some analyses."

[University of Kansas, Andy Tompkins and Anne S. Beauchamp, How Are
States Responding to the Issue of Teacher Recruitment and Retention, and
What More Needs to Be Done?, (2006)]{.underline}

In a review of issues related to recruiting and retaining teachers in
hard-to staff schools, Berry (2004) notes that "salary increases alone
are insufficient to attract teachers to hard-to-staff schools" (13). He
summarizes the following as other important initiatives to address this
problem:

> • Recruit from a larger pool of traditional and nontraditional
> candidates
>
> • Provide strong induction and mentoring programs
>
> • Provide a supportive principal
>
> • Provide opportunities for leadership
>
> • Provide opportunities to influence decision making
>
> • Provide more time to learn from colleagues
>
> • Provide the chance to work closely with fewer numbers of students
>
> and their families
>
> • Improve research by the federal government

[The National Education Association in Tompkins and Beauchamp,
(2006)]{.underline} recommends several strategies for addressing teacher
recruitment and retention. Specific recruitment strategies include the
following:

> • Develop a comprehensive recruitment plan
>
> • Develop a strong marketing and outreach campaign
>
> • Improve the hiring process
>
> • Provide nontraditional routes into the profession
>
> • Provide financial incentives

Specific retention strategies include the following:

> • Prepare teachers adequately
>
> • Nurture new teachers
>
> • Improve the working environment
>
> • Provide financial incentives

[NGA Center for Best Practice, Richard Ingersoll and Bridget Curran,
Out-of-Field Teaching: The Great Obstacle to Meeting the "Highly
Qualified" Teacher Challenge, (2004]{.underline}*)*

States should address the gaps between the HQ teacher requirements and
the qualifications of their teachers by considering the following
initiatives:

> • Creating and streamlining state data systems to include relevant
> data on
>
> teacher qualifications and assignments and requiring schools and
> districts to
>
> report critical data, including data on out-of-field teaching;
>
> • Developing strategies for recruiting and retaining effective
> teachers in areas
>
> where they are needed most;
>
> • Prohibiting out-of-field teaching for new teachers;
>
> • Offering incentives for schools and districts to eliminate
> out-of-field teaching
>
> and imposing consequences for those that do not;
>
> • Helping hard to staff schools improve retention rates;
>
> • Encouraging districts and schools to rethink how staffing decisions
> are made
>
> and use creative solutions;
>
> • Offering scholarships or loan forgiveness;
>
> • Establishing or expanding mentoring and induction programs to help
> out-of-
>
> field teachers work toward competency in additional fields by using
> expert
>
> veteran teachers in those fields;
>
> • Fostering partnerships among institutions of higher education,
> school districts,
>
> and state leaders for developing new strategies and solutions; and
>
> • Tapping federal resources, such as those offered in NCLB to fund
> these
>
> initiatives.

[University of Melbourne, Suzanne Rice, Staying or going? Factors that
Influence Effective Teachers' Decisions on Where to Teach,
(2006)]{.underline}

Schools that have been traditionally hard to staff are facing increasing
issues in

attracting and retaining teachers, and the pattern of new graduates
accepting

positions in such schools, only to leave for more desirable locations
once they

have gained experience, is likely to be exacerbated by teacher
shortages. Such

staffing patterns only compound the educational difficulties already
faced by

many students in rural, remote and urban disadvantaged schools, and are
likely

to further increase inequalities in educational outcomes. If schools in
disadvantaged settings are to improve student outcomes, they need to be
aware of how best to attract and retain the teachers likely to have a
strong positive impact on students. The strong commitment of these
teachers to their own learning also suggests that another means
education systems might consider to attract these teachers to hard-to
staff schools could be to offer payment or subsidy of course fees for
postgraduate educational qualifications to teachers willing to accept a
position in such a school. Subsidized courses would be linked to school
need, thus helping the school to increase its own effectiveness through
staff knowledge, while allowing the teacher the personal benefit of
building their skills and qualifications...The desire of these teachers
for opportunities to shape and influence their schools, particularly
through attaining leadership positions in schools, suggests that one
means of improving the ability of less-favoured school locations to
attract and retain better teachers may be to increase the proportion of
leadership positions they offer, relative to more advantaged schools.
For this to work, funding would need to be tied

specifically to positions, rather than provided as general finances that
could, for

example, be spent on facilities rather than staffing. In contrast to
calls to increase

*salary in general* for teachers working in disadvantaged settings, the
findings of the

study indicate that using funds to increase *positions of
responsibility* may have a much

greater educational impact.

[The Southeast Center for Teaching Quality, Best Practices and Policies,
NCLB Teaching Quality Mandates Findings and Themes from the Field,
Second of Four Part Series: Recruitment and Retention, (March
2004)]{.underline}

Use the right combination of incentives to proactively recruit and
retain teachers --- including a focus on building a critical mass of
accomplished teachers in these schools and dramatically improving
working conditions for them*.* Many of the schools we visited are not
attractive because teacher candidates would not want to teach there
without sound principal leadership and like-minded colleagues who can
help them teach in effective

ways. Just sending a promising recruit to teach in a school where many
teachers believe children's minds are like "brick walls" will not
suffice. We imagine incentives to include a package of principal
development strategies along with a combination of recruiting a critical
mass of well-prepared teachers, who receive reduced teaching loads and
unique opportunities (through technology and university programs'
continued investment in induction) to continue to learn to teach.
Furthermore, recent research shows that teachers in high-poverty schools
are far more dissatisfied than their peers in low-poverty schools with
their working conditions. These under-performing schools are more likely
to

have poor teacher working conditions--- with inadequate time to work
with and learn from expert colleagues.

### [National Staff Development Council, Dennis Sparks, High Performing Cultures Increase Teacher Retention, (December 2002)]{.underline}

"Teachers\--even those in the most demanding settings\--are far more
likely to remain in their positions when they feel supported by
administrators, have strong bonds of connection to colleagues, and are
aggressively pursuing a collective vision for student learning about
which they feel passion and commitment. Teachers\' connections to the
profession and to their schools are also strengthened when they feel
they possess the content knowledge, instructional skills, and
technological tools to meet the challenges of standards-based education
in increasingly diverse classrooms. Strong professional learning
communities do not occur by accident. It is critical that union
contracts, district calendars, and teachers\' schedules be designed to
support results-driven, team-focused professional learning and
collaboration that are part of teachers\' work days. It\'s also critical
that principals and teacher leaders be equipped with knowledge and
skills that enable them to build and sustain performance-oriented
cultures that have at their heart high-quality interpersonal
relationships founded on trust and respect.

**[Next Steps]{.underline}**

Ultimately, it is WDE's mission to ensure that all students achieve
Wyoming academic standards. That goal can only be achieved when every
child is taught by a highly qualified teacher and a competent
administrator leads every school. We believe that given the opportunity
to learn, all students can achieve to high levels. In order to support
this mission our next steps are:

Step 1---Dissemination of Information

Information will be disseminated to teachers and administrators at the
School Improvement Conference in March reinforcing the importance of
having highly qualified and experienced teachers in schools with higher
numbers of poor and minority students. Districts will be encouraged to
consider this issue as they make teaching assignments. They will also
receive information reinforcing NCLB Title II HQT requirements and
Wyoming's certification rules. In addition, technical assistance tools
will be made available.

Step 2---Data Collection and Analysis

WDE will begin Phase-two of the annual web-based HQT data collection
from all SEAs in October 2007 for the 2007-08 academic year. The data
will be analyzed to determine HQT status and teacher experience levels.
In addition, the data will be analyzed according to poverty and minority
levels to determine if higher poverty schools or higher minority schools
have greater numbers of teachers who are unqualified, inexperienced or
out-of-field. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) data will also be reviewed
to determine which groups of students experience an achievement gap.

Step 3---Communicate with Identified Districts

Once districts are identified as having higher numbers of inexperienced,
unqualified or out-of-field teachers in higher poverty and/or minority
schools, WDE will review the district's *Highly Qualified Teacher* plans
to determine what strategies are being implemented to address this
issue. The WDE will communicate with the districts to determine what the
contributing factors are that cause this situation to exist and provide
technical assistance to help ameliorate any inequities.

Step 4---Modifying LEA Plans

Districts may need to modify their *Highly Qualified Teacher* plans if
there are insufficient strategies or plans for addressing equity issues.
WDE will provide on-going support to LEAs to ensure that all teachers
are highly qualified and that poor and minority children are not taught
at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, unqualified,
and/or out-of-field teachers.

Step 5---Monitoring Equitable Distribution of Teachers

WDE will monitor the issue of equitable teacher assignments in three
ways. The first is to annually review the data on teaching assignments
through the HQT data collection. The second is through the Local
Consolidated Plan monitoring process. The third is through monitoring
the LEA *Highly Qualified Teacher* plans. In monitoring Title II Part A,
the WDE staff will account for, evaluate, report to the public and
address the distribution of highly qualified teachers and inexperienced
teachers.