ESAIL's Role in SDW

Why ESAIL?

• ESAIL stands for Environmental Scale for Assessing Implementation Levels. It is a system tool to monitor implementation.
• ESAIL is a feedback tool to see how implementation of practice and student engagement is growing over time, successes and where more learning or support is needed to move the work forward across our system.
• ESAIL supports fidelity to the workshop model and curriculum resources that the district uses to inform next steps in district curriculum and professional development based on these observations.
• ESAIL is only one of many measures that we use to track our progress.  We know there is a lot that teachers are doing for kids that cannot be measured by an ESAIL.  However, ESAIL gives a teacher practice data point, so our system can have multiple types of data to tell the storyline of impact vs only having achievement data (FORWARD, MAP, etc).

What happens during ESAIL?

• A small team observes instruction and students in action and artifacts of learning (thoughtful logs, anchor charts, artifacts on the classroom walls, plans, etc.) to see how the instructional model is being implemented using the ESAIL rubric.  
• The team may be made up of directors, coordinators, coaches, teachers and principal. The only way we can better inform our system is for all stakeholders, which includes our district office team, to come into our classrooms and see where the learning occurs. There is no “us” and “them.” WE are all in it for the learners! 

         

           Literacy Big Rocks:

• 1.3: Diverse reading materials are enjoyed, discussed, and analyzed.
• 4.9: Mentor texts, anchor charts and student logs are used as non-verbal scaffolds to promote independence.
• 4.3: Daily small group reading and writing lessons are designed to meet the instructional needs of diverse learners.
• 4.4: Daily one-to-one reading and writing conferences are tailored for the highest degree of differentiation

Numeracy Big Rocks:

• 4.6: Problem solving is collaborative and promotes a balance of procedural fluency, conceptual  understanding, and mathematical applications.
• 1.9: Elaborated discussions (verbal and written) around specific learning goals are promoted and all students’ thinking is valued and discussed.
• 4.3: Daily small guided group lessons and/or conferring are designed to meet the instructional needs of diverse learners.
• 4.8: Technology is used to help students learn and make sense of mathematical ideas, reason mathematically, and communicate their mathematical thinking.

What impact does ESAIL have  in our system?

• Provides opportunities for calibration, consistency in expectations around literacy and numeracy big rocks and feedback to individual buildings of strengths and next steps
• ESAIL data drives professional development opportunities (within a building, Summer Institute, TDP, etc)  designed around the findings to help grow adult practices
• The district has maintained focus on the same big rocks for multiple years
• The district and buildings are able to celebrate growth over time. We know that not everyone will be at the same place because of the wide variety of variables (new teachers, new classes, new needs, etc.), we celebrate progress and the learning process, not perfection.

Did you know, because of ESAIL observation and teacher feedback...

• Language Workshop mentor texts and planners were created
• Writing Workshop units and Grammar units were  written to align with Language Workshop texts, in a more teacher friendly format and inquiry based approach
• Increased opportunities for AVMR levels, trainings and opportunities have been created
• Math tasks and grade level math models were aligned and created
• Better connections have been made between universal instruction and intervention
• The number of district led ESAIL’s in a year have been decreased as we build capacity across our school teams
• Observations in classrooms occur multiple times to see the big rocks based on the teacher’s given schedule