School Improvement

The Kansas School for the Deaf is committed to the principle of continuous improvement supported by the belief that improvement is a never ending adventure - an endless journey. The school improvement process is the vehicle for traveling the road toward the best education possible for all KSD students.

When selecting a framework for improvement, KSD chose the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (NCA) improvement process. The NCA process is based on a 5-year cycle of improvement. During the first year of the cycle specific areas in Reading and Math are chosen and targeted for improvement. These areas are selected after looking at data from both local and standardized assessments. Once the areas for improvement have been determined and written as goals, interventions are developed to improve each area. Interventions are new ways of working with the students in order to meet our improvement goals. Interventions can be new teaching strategies, new materials, or different ways to structure the classes or school day. The goals, interventions, and assessments are written in a School Improvement Plan which stays in effect for the entire 5-year cycle. The School Improvement Plan is what drives the process of continual improvement.

During the second year of the cycle teachers are trained on the interventions and begin using them with the students. Every year students are tested on the goals, and the assessment data is collected and put into a school profile document. The assessment data is analyzed by committees of teachers to determine if the interventions are having the desired impact on the goals. During the third, fourth, and fifth year of the cycle the interventions and assessments continue. After the fifth year the cycle is complete. At that time new goals are selected and the process begins again.