South Huntington recognized that working towards the success of high-need student populations required a commitment to be part of local and national dialogues as well as joining the pursuit of new resources and projects that push the boundaries of traditional practice. The district has worked with the Long Island Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Hub and other STEM organizations to design projects that increase the number of minority and female students who enter leadership roles in STEM fields.

The intention of the district is, and was at the beginning of the STLE 1 grant period, to infuse their overall Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (TLE) Continuum into the schools in need of improvement efforts in order for maximum alignment to be achieved.  They also focused their efforts on a substantive body of work and opportunities to establish career ladder pathways positions that would motivate and retain Effective and Highly Effective teachers and leaders. The district expanded their pre-existing career ladder pathways as a result of STLE 1 by adding Administrative Data Coach, Data Coach and Common Core Coach positions. These teacher leaders provided direct support to building leadership and teaching staff around the implementation of college and career ready standards, Response to Intervention (RtI), and evidence-based instruction.

STLE 2 allowed South Huntington to shift its perspective on career ladder pathways from a district-wide focus to a more ground level initiative. South Huntington has been able to provide more targeted support where it was needed most, at the building level, by creating grade level leaders in grades K-5 and English language arts (ELA) and Math Coaches in grades 6-12. These individuals are providing support to district level coaches as well as acting as liaisons between their colleagues and administrators at the building and district levels. In addition, the district has been able to add targeted support coaches for key areas of need, including Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), English language learners, and college and career readiness.  In addition, the district has created a career ladder pathway position for a Parent Coordinator who works to establish partnerships with community-based organizations and provide outreach to bilingual Spanish speaking families.

On their principal career ladder pathway, the district created a Common Core Administrative Coach position for grades K-5 and one for grades 6-12 to support Common Core initiatives in the district, as well as to serve as liaisons between grade level coaches and building/district level administration. The English language learner Administrative Coaches coordinate and provide professional development activities related to differentiated intervention strategies and lesson design for English language learners in addition to supporting the district’s English as a second language initiative.

Career ladder pathways have enabled both teachers and leaders to be empowered to share their content and pedagogical expertise with colleagues, establishing a culture of shared ownership of district and building initiatives. Furthermore, the model of supports has helped with targeting building level goals to enhance student achievement. STLE 2 has also helped with the district’s ability to expand STEM initiatives and building programs at the high school level that will expose students to college and career opportunities. Two exciting opportunities that have resulted from this work are the introduction of a science research summer camp beginning in the summer of 2015 and participation in a science research competition with over 100 of our students that will see one of our projects travel on a Space X mission to the International Space Station in the spring of 2015. 

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