Why Choose Schools Cubed

Systems, Structures and the Science of Reading are the key ingredients in all highly-performing schools.

01

SYSTEMS

Strong SYSTEMS ensure effective collaboration and give teachers the data they need to measure progress and performance.

02

STRUCTURES

Successful schools have STRUCTURES place to ensure school days are learning-focused and maximize instructional time.

03

SCIENCE OF READING

High-performing schools know and use instructional strategies based on the SCIENCE OF READING to achieve exceptionally high outcomes for students.

Schools Cubed provides a wide array of offerings and services, spanning Grades K-12. To customize your professional development plan, please contact a Schools Cubed Consultant or submit an inquiry

Contact Schools Cubed:

303.549.8676
[email protected]
www.schoolscubed.com

Why focus on leadership

School leadership is second to teaching among school-related factors in its impact on student learning, according to research.

 

Moreover, principals strongly shape the conditions for high-quality teaching and are the prime factor in determining whether teachers stay in high-needs schools.  High-quality principals, therefore, are vital to the effectiveness of our nation’s public schools, especially those serving the children with the fewest advantages in life. (Wallace Found).

How children learn to read

This course is an overview of the research behind How Children Learn to Read and is rooted in the Science of Reading. Participants will have a clear understanding of the implications of oral language, phonological processing and learn the necessity of a structured literacy approach. Can be customized to be delivered with your school’s core reading program.

Training Options

UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTION

Participants will learn the basis of the learning process and what can hinder a student’s ability to learn. Also discussed are high-leverage instructional strategies including explicit instruction, how to design and deliver a lesson, and effective lesson planning tools for both whole group and small group instruction.

Training Options:

CREATING EFFICIENT RTI AND MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT

Participants in this session will develop a clear understanding of what creates a solid Response to Intervention through a multi-tiered system of support. This is a highly interactive session. Attendees will reflect on practices they already have in place, determine what needs to be developed, and will walk away with a specific action plan to establish a complete system that will ensure success for all students.

Training Options:

WHOLE AND SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION

Often teachers are unaware or lack the knowledge of what a good literacy block looks like. This session delves into how the literacy block should be constructed, what components of reading are critical to teach, the necessary timeframes for each component, and a gradual transfer of responsibility from teacher to student. Participants also learn the purposes and research behind small group instruction and how to differentiate. Can be customized to be delivered with your school’s core reading program.

Training Options

INTERVENTIONS FOR STRUGGLING READERS

The question of what comprises quality interventions for struggling students is addressed. The research behind high-quality interventions, how to select a research-based intervention, the lay- out for instruction, as well as the varying times and intensity for grade levels is also incorporated into this session. A proprietary Intervention Calculator, which supports leadership in determining how many minutes and sessions of interventions a school needs is included.

Training Options:

COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

Choosing the correct assessments to guide literacy instruction can be a daunting task. This professional development session explains what we should be assessing, why we should assess it, and examples of appropriate assessments to consider. Benchmark tools used for screening, progress monitoring and diagnostic assessments are covered. A background on the reading brain and how it links to assessment is also included.

Training Options:

DATA ANALYSIS: UNDERSTANDING THE SUBSKILLS OF ASSESSMENT

Often educators know how to give the assessment, and even how to interpret the results. But, what is often missed are considerations for what we actually do with the data to target instruction for students. This session addresses what the outcomes of a high-quality literacy assessment can inform a teacher about instruction and how to create an action plan.

Training Options:

LEVERAGING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR REMOTE LEARNING

The switch to remote learning has highlighted the urgency for teachers to have access to high- quality instructional materials that are also appropriate for e-learning. Some vendors provide a technology component to core/intervention resources that are supportive to teachers in easily delivering remote instruction. However, many schools have found some of their most impactful resources ineffective for remote learning. Let us work with you to establish systems and routines to ensure all teachers and students have rigorous materials to be effective for remote learning.

Training Options:

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR TARGETED SMALL GROUP INTERVENTIONS

Many schools offer daily interventions for students, but often the strategies used during the small group instruction do not reflect research-based practices. Participants will learn numerous instructional strategies that have proven to be effective for students in all areas of literacy. A sampling of the strategies include:

Training Options:

ESTABLISHING A MISSION AND VISION

Any school dedicated to ensuring all students learn at high levels must stop debating what they think students can or can’t do, and instead change the question to: How will we get every learner there? Administrators will explore the fundamental purpose and power of Mission and Vision statements. The research behind school leadership highlighting a tightly aligned community is integral to this session. Participants will engage in strategies that promote collaboration, inquiry and trust regarding the foundational purpose of the school, “Why do we exist?”. Clarity around the purpose of a collaboratively created Mission and Vision supports a community, guides decisions, and focuses on student achievement. Strategies can be customized to be delivered with your school’s leadership team and community.

Suggested Training Options:

CREATING EFFICIENT RTI AND MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT

Participants in this session will develop a clear understanding of what creates a solid Response to Intervention through a multi-tiered system of support. This is a highly interactive session. Attendees will reflect on practices they already have in place, determine what needs to be developed, and will walk away with a specific action plan to establish a complete system that will ensure success for all students.

Suggested Training Options:

BUILDING LEADERSHIP TEAMS

A building/school leadership team promotes two-way trust and open communication between administration and staff. This session guides administrators and teacher leaders through the steps of creating a Building/School Leadership Team. By creating a building leadership team, you create a shared-decision making process within your school culture. Research indicates that schools with a shared-decision making process have higher achievement outcomes than those that have not incorporated one into their culture.

Suggested Training Options:

CREATING A COLLABORATIVE SCHOOL CULTURE

This session will guide school-based leadership on how to create a collaborative culture that enables school teams to work alongside the principal to increase student achievement. Participants will learn the 4 T’s of a collaborative environment:

 

1. The components of trust in schools
2. How to create effective school teams
3. Maximizing time through organizational systems
4. Monitoring the necessary targets that lead to school success.

Suggested Training Options:

BUILDING THE INSTRUCTIONAL COACH AND PRINCIPAL RELATIONSHIP

A quality relationship between the building principal and instructional coach can be one of
the most rewarding relationships. Regrettably, this pairing can be fraught with potential disaster if not well planned and understood. This session provides principals and coaches with clear responsibilities, tools for communication, and how to avoid the trap of “asking the other parent.”

Suggested Training Options:

PROVIDING EFFECTIVE AND TIMELY FEEDBACK

This professional development session delineates the roles and responsibilities of the coach and principal, how to enlist teachers into working with the instructional coach, and the difference between instructional feedback provided by a coach and and the principal. Participants will receive access to, and learn how to effectively use forms designed for their specific role that have proven highly effective in providing feedback and support to teachers.

Suggested Training Options:

VIRTUAL COACHING FOR INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS

As a leader, one of a principal’s most important roles is to provide feedback on classroom instruction, but competing priorities and other emergencies sometimes take precedence. Through the use of video, and in collaboration with your Schools Cubed Consultant, you will learn how to provide feedback on classroom instruction. The power of video in a classroom enhances an instructional leader’s ability to maximize time, and offer timely feedback to teachers.

Training Options:

Ready to raise reading achievement for your students?

Contact Info

UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTION

Participants will learn the basis of the learning process and what can hinder a student’s ability to learn. Also discussed are high-leverage instructional strategies including explicit instruction, how to design and deliver a lesson, and increase motivation and engagement with students.

Training Options:

ENHANCING LITERACY INSTRUCTION ACROSS CONTENT AREAS

Many students dropout and/or become frustrated with school because of their lack of ability to read grade level content material. Raising literacy levels of students at the secondary level is complex and requires all teachers engage in increasing literacy outcomes. Many secondary teachers feel ill-equipped to know what strategies increase students’ literacy levels. This course is intended for all discipline/content teachers and administrators and provides an overview of what ALL teachers can do to increase students’ reading abilities without leaving the content behind.

Training Options:

UNIT PLANNING

At the secondary level, most content is taught through “units.” Lesson planning, aligning standards, learning targets and data analysis can all be embedded into a unit plan. This session walks teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators through building of unit plans and linking them to the school’s assessment system so that continual monitoring of growth is assured for all students.

Training Options:

CREATING EFFICIENT RTI AND MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT

Participants in this session will develop a clear understanding of what creates a solid Response to Intervention through a multi-tiered system of support. This is a highly interactive session. Attendees will reflect on practices they already have in place, determine what needs to be developed, and will walk away with a specific action plan to establish a complete system that will ensure success for all students.

Suggested Training Options:

MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT

As many secondary teachers would say, students just seem to lack engagement and motivation including non-struggling readers. Motivation and engagement are often considered intrinsic in nature, but there are many factors that can enhance student interest in the various disciplines. This session offers strategies and tips to teachers in every content.

Suggested Training Options:

CREATING AN INFRASTRUCTURE TO INCREASE LITERACY OUTCOMES FOR ALL

Raising the literacy levels of students at the secondary level includes not only ensuring content/discipline teachers know what strategies to use, it also includes infrastructural changes within the school. Examples include:

Suggested Training Options:

COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

To increase literacy levels at all grade levels, it is imperative that secondary schools use the correct assessments and have a comprehensive assessment system in place. Choosing the correct assessments that not only monitor literacy levels of students, but also measure content standards, may sound like a daunting task, but in many cases is more simple than what a school is already using. This professional development session explains what we should be assessing, why we should assess it, and provides examples of appropriate assessments to consider. Screening tools, progress monitoring, diagnostic assessment, and benchmark assessments towards the standards are all covered.

Suggested Training Options:

READING FLUENCY

How much a student “practices” reading by simply reading is the best remedy for disfluent readers, yet struggling readers are the least apt students to read, creating a chasm between struggling readers and proficient readers. Disfluent readers need to hear good readers and they need to be guided through important passages of text to help them comprehend. At the end of this session, teachers will understand basic fluency strategies they can use in any content area to help increase students’ fluency abilities.

Suggested Training Options:

VOCABULARY AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL

Vocabulary knowledge can have a significant impact on both reading comprehension and fluency at the secondary levels. Vocabulary instruction in the content areas should not only increase the number of words a student knows, but also the depth of understanding of these words. This professional development session will offer various vocabulary strategies that all content teachers can use that enhance students ability to comprehend text and develop a rich vocabulary.

Suggested Training Options:

USING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT DATA TO DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION

Linking formative assessments to learning targets or goals gives teachers a clear understanding on not only on how students are progressing toward the goal/standard, but also how it can improve a teacher’s instruction. When linking formative assessments with Unit Planning, teachers have the ability to differentiate instruction and provide necessary scaffolds to ensure success for more students.

Suggested Training Options:

HOW CHILDREN LEARN TO READ

PARAPROFESSIONAL EDITION

It is critical for any adult who engages with children on their journey to becoming a reader to understand the Science of Reading. When equipped with the “why”, it becomes seamless to train paraprofessionals in any research-based literacy intervention.

Suggested Training Options:

COACHING AND MODELING

A Schools Cubed Consultant works in partnership with literacy leadership at each school to provide individual support for each paraprofessional through modeling and coaching. A transfer of responsibility is achieved once the paraprofessionals have demonstrated that there is high fidelity to the intervention resource, and instructional decisions are made to meet needs on individual students in the small group.

Training Options:

COACHING AND MODELING

A Schools Cubed Consultant works in partnership with literacy leadership at each school to provide individual support for each paraprofessional through modeling and coaching. A transfer of responsibility is achieved once the paraprofessionals have demonstrated that there is high fidelity to the intervention resource, and instructional decisions are made to meet needs on individual students in the small group.

Training Options: