Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Logo
Massachusetts Charter Schools

Charter Schools Best Practices

Best Practices Logo

Community Day Charter Public School

Using Data to Drive Instruction

Topics: School-wide or individual professional development programs
Practices in Instructional Leadership
Internal and/or external student assessment systems
Using school-wide and individual student assessment data to inform curriculum and instruction
Mission: The mission of CDCPS is to provide a Kindergarten through grade eight school that will draw upon our considerable experience in working together as a community to develop and implement a curriculum that discovers and supports the special characteristics and unique learning styles of each student. We will engage that student in meaningful learning experiences for the purposes of clearly stated goals in the areas of understandings, knowledge, skills, habits and social competencies. The curriculum will be embedded in the reality of city life and will reinforce the positive aspects of our city: its culture, art and economy, its working class history and strong work ethic. Our educational philosophy, curriculum and teaching methods are informed by an understanding that learning takes place in the context of family and that family must be supported in ways that make learning for the child possible.
Goals: 1. to make instruction and programs more targeted to students' needs based on key data.
Summary: Data-informed Instruction Project. This best practice focuses on the formatting and use of assessment data in making changes and improvements to the school’s instructional program. Teachers and school leaders from Community Day Charter Public School (CDCPS) have been successful at tailoring instructional programs to meet students’ needs based on key assessment data. School leaders identify trends in school-wide data and work with teachers to revise curriculum to meet student needs. Teachers at Community Day Charter Public School design and deliver professional development focused on the use of assessment data to inform instruction. The school’s data-driven instructional methodologies are shared with teachers and administrators from the participating schools, in addition to a few others. Many of the meetings and workshops can be specifically customized for the needs of each participating school/district. The Community Group (the nonprofit organization that manages CDCPS) connects CDCPS teachers and administrators with schools that indicate interest and/or are receptive to some of the best practices the school had developed related to the formatting and use of assessment data. This has allowed Community Day Charter Public School to maintain focus on academic achievement at their school while sharing ideas with other practitioners around the state.
Partner(s):
Dates: 01/01/2004
01/01/2005
01/01/2006
01/01/2007
01/01/2008
Contact: Laura Richane, Director of Educational Initiatives (lrichane@thecommunitygroupinc.org/978.682.6628)
Resources: Professional development sessions for teachers from participating schools Study Group meetings at participating schools. Participants receive customized data binders and create action plans and summaries based on the contents of the binder. In many cases, they complete activities that enhanced the data contained in the binder.
Federal Charter Schools Program Funds? In an early form (2001-2002)

Back to Best Practices List

Last Updated: October 1, 2024

 
Contact Us

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149

Voice: (781) 338-3000
TTY: (800) 439-2370

Directions

Disclaimer: A reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.