Understanding and Achieving AYP

Facilitator Guide Overview

The Texas Education Agency (TEA), guided by the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, has outlined specific requirements for schools not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Understanding and Achieving AYP is a set of activities designed to assist facilitators working with teams from schools that have not met these requirements for the first time.

The objectives for teams participating in the full set of activities are to

• heighten their awareness of NCLB requirements,
• increase knowledge and skills they need to meet school improvement requirements, and
• identify and prioritize actions for implementing an improvement strategy.

Facilitator guides and materials needed to replicate the Understanding and Achieving AYP activities may be accessed by clicking "View the Sessions List and Suggested Agenda." The activities should be completed by a school team of at least three members—including the principal, instructional coaches, teacher leaders, department heads, or other administrators—working with a facilitator. Ideally, the work sessions would be attended by all members of the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) team which, by law, must also include parents of children in the school [NCLB 1112(d)(1)]. Two full days of working together as a team are suggested as the optimal time frame for facilitating the full set of activities. However, activities may be conducted in shorter sessions over a number of days if necessary.

Each session has a link to an activity guide that will assist the facilitator in leading the activities. The guide provides detailed information for a facilitator who has experience providing professional development and who has an understanding of the school improvement process and the implications of the No Child Left Behind Act.

The guides include two types of sessions.

• Activity sessions include a detailed outline of the activity and are led by the facilitator.
• Video sessions include video clips of experts whose presentations provide essential information for completing other activities. For these sessions, the facilitator will introduce the video, facilitate a follow-up conversation, answer any questions participants may have, or provide participants with guidance for obtaining further information. As with any video, facilitators may wish to stop periodically and answer questions or discuss main ideas, rather than viewing the entire video before stopping.

Components

Each activity guide contains common components to help the presenter navigate activities and organize the facilities and materials. The components of each session will include some or all of the following:

• Title of Session
• Time (suggested amount of time needed to complete the activity)
• Intended Outcome
• Goals
• Essential Learnings That Will Result From the Activity
• Resources/Materials Needed
• Handouts
• PowerPoint Slides
• Facilitator Preparation
• Activity Sequence
• References for Resources Used

General Facilities Requirements

Many of the sessions described in this guide require the school team to work together in small groups as they examine data, complete activities, and review their CIP. Organizing the facility so that at least two school teams can work at each table will allow them to share ideas and products and to solve problems together. Banquet seating (participants seated around a circular or square table) as opposed to classroom seating (participants seated on one side of table) will promote material sharing and group discussion among group members. 

Many of the sessions require the use of a laptop computer and projector in order to display PowerPoint and video presentations. The size of the audience should be considered when selecting a screen size on which to project the presentations. 

Other items that may be necessary include a microphone, timer, bell (or other attention-getting device), note pads, sticky notes, pens, tape, chart paper. 

View the Sessions List and Suggested Agenda >