Equity in Our Schools

Excellence in the Instructional Core is defined by the following beliefs and values:

• All learning takes place in deep relationships between teachers and students.
• All students deserve a safe, predictable, and welcoming environment.
• Teachers and students collaborate to create communities where all cultures, interests, and identities are honored.
• All students have full access to the level of rigor identified by the standard.
• Instruction is standards-based, authentic and rigorous.
• Teachers design culturally relevant, engaging instruction that meets the interests and needs of all learners.
• Teachers monitor and adjust instruction based on evidence of student learning.
• Students understand the target, know what to do to get there, and how to extend their learning.
• The person doing the work is doing the learning.

In order to achieve the above vision and values for instruction, staff in Salem-Keizer commit to the following K-12 Instructional Practices:

• Intentional planning using culturally responsive, evidence-based strategies to support all learners featuring multiple means to access, interact with, and demonstrate learning of rigorous content
• Authentic, culturally responsive, and standards-based student tasks and assessments.
• Clear learning progressions with ongoing monitoring and targeted feedback by teachers and students.
• Flexible adjustment of instruction to scaffold and extend for all learners
• Explicit literacy and language development
• Development of critical thinkers through inquiry and collaboration
• Effective and positive classroom routines and systems
• Inclusive, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed practices
• Explicit instruction of social-emotional competencies and skills

We do our best to anticipate students’ needs in academics, behavior, and social-emotional skills, and prepare lessons that best support their learning. We use a variety of effective teaching practices to ensure that all students are able to learn at their appropriate grade level.

Because all students’ experiences and development are different, however, they sometimes need additional support to help them be successful. To make sure they get that additional help, Salem-Keizer uses a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework to address students’ needs. This is a research-based model that meets students where they are and builds on their strengths to improve learning, behavior, and/or social emotional needs.

Every student qualifies for this support, and school teams meet regularly to analyze data and decide how they can best meet the needs of their students. This may mean, for example, that students receive additional math or reading instruction, they have a peer or adult tutor that works with them, they are part of a friendship circle, or schools/teachers provide extra support within a student’s existing schedule. Whatever the case, we are doing everything we can to provide the right support at the right time for each student.

We measure the success and progress of our schools and district by using Key Performance Indicators. Our Key Performance Indicators were selected to demonstrate progress towards our goal that all students master grade-level academic standards and attain the behavioral and social-emotional skills needed to thrive.