Guide to School: Acronym List
WHAT’S THAT? A GUIDE TO ACRONYMS AROUND SCHOOL
In this document, “parents” is inclusive of any adults who function in that role for students. Most definitions in quotes were taken from the California Dept. of Education website.
A
C
CAASPP California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress: a state-based system of assessment that measures annual student progress in language arts and math beginning in 3 rd grade. Science is also assessed at intervals beginning in 5th grade. Alternative assessments for students with cognitive disabilities and assessments in Spanish for newcomers are also part of the system.
CCCCS California Common Core State Standards: Each state has the ability to change up to 15% of the standards to align with local and state needs, thus, we work with the California version of the CCCS.
CCSS Common Core State Standards: “Since 2010, a number of states across the nation have adopted the same standards for English and math. These standards are called the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Having the same standards helps all students get a good education, even if they change schools or move to a different state. Teachers, parents, and education experts designed the CCSS to prepare students for success in college and the workplace.”
CDE California Department of Education: the state agency responsible for overseeing “the state's diverse public school system, which is responsible for the education of more than six million children and young adults in more than 10,000 schools with 295,000 teachers. We are in charge of enforcing education law and regulations and continuing to reform and improve public school programs.” [from the CDE home page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/.
D
DELAC District English Learner Advisory Committee: a district-level committee comprised of parent representatives from each school and designated District staff. This group provides input to the District on policies and procedures regarding ELD and then shares relevant information back to the school site.
E
EL English Learner: a student whose primary language is other than English
ELA or RLA English (or Reading) Language Arts: basically reading and writing
ELAC English Learner Advisory Committee: In schools with more than 21 EL’s, there must be an ELAC, which is the parent group “responsible for advising the principal and staff on programs and services for English Learners and the School Site Council on the development of the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA).” ELAC also works to make parents aware of the need for consistent school attendance and to solicit input from parents regarding school needs.
ELAT English Learner Action Team: a district-level committee comprised of instructional representatives from each school who provide input on district policies and procedures regarding ELD and share that information with the school site.
ELD English Language Development: language instructions for students who have a primary language that is other than English; can occur within the context of other classroom instruction (integrated) or as stand-alone instruction that is targeted to the specific level of the students (designated)
ELP English Language Proficiency: a measure that is assessed through the ELPAC. Students are assessed when they first enter a California school and annually thereafter until they achieve “proficiency” in the English language and are reclassified as Fluent English Proficient.
ELPAC English Language Proficiency Assessments for California: “The ELPAC will be aligned with the 2012 California English Language Development Standards. It will consist of two separate ELP assessments: one for the initial identification of students as English learners (ELs), and a second for the annual summative assessment to measure a student’s progress in learning English and to identify the student's level of ELP.” The transition will be completed by the 2018-2019 school year.
ESSA Every Student Succeeds Act: “The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by then-President Obama on December 10, 2015, and represents good news for our nation’s schools. This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law, and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. The new law builds on key areas of progress in recent years, made possible by the efforts of educators, communities, parents, and students across the country.”
F
FEP Fluent English Proficient: a designation used when an English Learner achieves specified academic targets and is considered to have language skills comparable to those of a student whose primary language is English. Students can be considered IFEP (initially FEP) if they achieve those targets upon first entry into a California school or RFEP (reclassified FEP) if they achieve the targets after one or more years of instruction.
F&P Fountas & Pinnell: a benchmark assessment system that is used to monitor student progress and performance in literacy skills and reading. The system is named after the authors, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. At Cherry Chase, we primarily use it to assess reading progress in Kindergarten and 1 st grades, although we also use it for students who are in need of intervention support.
G
K
KLAS Kids Learning After School: this is a subsidized program at 5 of the 8 elementary schools in Sunnyvale School District that is focused on improving student achievement through extended learning. Cherry Chase does not have a KLAS program, but we do host a robust set of fee-based after-school programs that are sponsored by the PTA.
L
LCAP Local Control Accountability Plan: “The LCAP is a three-year plan that describes the goals, actions, services, and expenditures to support positive student outcomes that address state and local priorities. The LCAP provides an opportunity for local educational agencies (LEAs) to share their stories of how what, and why programs and services are selected to meet their local needs.”
LCFF Local Control Funding Formula: “hallmark legislation that fundamentally changed how all local educational agencies (LEAs) in the state are funded, how they are measured for results, and the services and supports they receive to allow all students to succeed to their greatest potential.” This model began in 2013-2014.
LEA Local Educational Agency: this term has multiple uses depending on whether the LEA is a school, district, or county office of education.
LEP Limited English Proficient: a term that has been sometimes used to refer to students who are learning English. The preferred term is now English Learner.
LRC Learning Resource Center: a broader term for the school library.
LRT Language Review Team: a group of staff members that meet at least twice per year to review the progress of English Learners and who recommend instructional modifications if needed to ensure adequate progress toward meeting English Language Proficiency targets.
M
MAP Measures of Academic Progress: An adaptive, norm-referenced assessment by NWEA that measures student growth over time in subjects like math, reading, and language arts. It provides educators with detailed, actionable data to inform instruction, identify individual learning paths, and support data-driven, student-focused decisions that improve teaching and learning.
MOU Memorandum of Understanding: a document that outlines agreements between the district and other agencies in order to provide services to students in the Sunnyvale School District. All MOU’s must be approved by the Board of Education.
MTSS Multi-Tiered System of Support: an integrated, comprehensive framework that focuses on CCSS, core instruction, differentiated learning, student-centered learning, individualized student needs, and the alignment of systems necessary for all students’ academic, behavioral, and social success.
N
NGSS Next Generation Science Standards: adopted by the State of CA in September 2014, these standards are created around a set of performance expectations that require students to integrate content knowledge with application along a continuum from Kindergarten through 12th grade. 1. Science and Engineering Practices, 2. Crosscutting Concepts, and 3. Disciplinary Core Ideas.
NWEA Northwest Evaluation Association: A non-profit organization that provides computer-based, adaptive assessments, most notably the MAP Growth test, to measure K-12 student achievement and growth in reading, math, science, and language usage.
P
PBIS Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports: This is the overarching program for our Charger Pride, which works to build a positive behavior climate within our school. It sets forth a set of rules that are aligned across the school along with a defined, tiered system of responses when rules are broken.
PD Professional Development: learning activities designed to increase the instructional knowledge and skills of all staff members. PD can be site-based, district-wide, or outside.
PTA Parent-Teacher Association: a group of parents and teachers that work together to enrich the education of all students. A local PTA is aligned with state and national organizations and operates under a set of bylaws that are in accord with those organizations. Membership is required for voting purposes, but any parent/community member can support the activities of Cherry Chase and the PTA, even without PTA membership.
Power School: Okay, this is not an acronym, but here’s an explanation. Power School is the Student Information System our district currently uses to house and track a wide variety of information about our students. Separate functions within PowerSchool enable attendance monitoring, grade entry, report card generation, message distribution, etc.
R
RBL Recess Before Lunch – a structure in which students play before they eat their lunches, rather than afterward. Cherry Chase switched to this model for the 2015-2016 school year.
RTI Response to Intervention (or sometimes, Response to Instruction): RTI is the beginning level of interventions designed to support students who are struggling to meet academic proficiency or behavioral goals. The RTI process begins in the classroom between the teacher and parents.
S
SDD Staff Development Day: a full day that is designated for professional development training for certificated – and sometimes, classified – staff members. There are currently three days per year set aside for these purposes.
SEL Social-emotional learning: “the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” [from CASEL, at http://www.casel.org/what-is-sel/. ]
SITE One of the three locally-controlled buckets for funding Cherry Chase. Sometimes referred to as “Discretionary.” These funds have the fewest restrictions of the ones available to us through the District.
SLIP School and Library Improvement Program: One of the three locally-controlled buckets for funding Cherry Chase. Funds come from the State of California and are funneled through the District on a per student basis. There are restrictions on how this money can be allocated.
SPSA Single Plan for School Achievement: “A plan of action to improve student academic performance by coordinating all educational services and resources.”
SSC School Site Council: the group that is responsible at the local school level for the creation and monitoring of the annual School Plan. SSC’s must be composed of parents, teachers, and other school staff members. They are governed by bylaws that align with the requirements posted by the California Department of Education.
SST Student Study Team or Student Success Team: a team of educators who work with parents to support learning for students facing challenges in the school environment. SST meetings are called when in-class interventions are not enabling students to succeed in desired ways or when parents request a closer look at their student’s progress and needs.
ST Math Spatial-Temporal Math: a computer program that builds a conceptual understanding of math skills on a grade-level basis. The program uses only pictures, no words, and requires students to move an animated penguin known as JiJi through various sequences of tasks. At Cherry Chase, this may be done in class, in the computer lab, or at home.
STAR Reading STAR “used to mean Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading. This meaning is no longer maintained, as the company has created STAR assessments for skills in domains other than reading.” [Wikipedia] At Cherry Chase and in Sunnyvale School District we use STAR Reading as a measure of student progress at each trimester in 1st–5th grade.
T
TIP Take It Personally: a parenting class under the umbrella of Project Cornerstone. Cherry Chase has hosted these 6-week training sessions annually for a few years now.
Title I Title 1 is a section of the ESEA (or ESSA) that “provides financial assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.” [Wikipedia] Cherry Chase does not receive Title I funds.
Title III Title 3 is also a section of the ESEA, which provides funding that supports supplemental language instruction and academic support for students who are English Learners. Cherry Chase does not meet the criteria to receive Title III funds.
TLD Teacher Learning Day: these professional learning opportunities provide time for teachers to collaborate around topics that are important for the work of site-based teams. Students are released early from school on these days, usually the second Tuesday of each month.
TOSA Teacher on Special Assignment: this designation can refer to teachers who are working outside a classroom-based instructional role, but are still classified as teachers. Some TOSA’s serve as site-based coaches or as district-level coaches.