Transcript Priority School (SIG) TA Session Cohort IV

C Corbett Education Consulting LLC
Virginia Department of Education
Priority School (SIG) TA Session
Cohort IV
VDOE — Office of School Improvement
Hilton Garden Inn – Sandston, VA
September 26, 2013
Julie Corbett, [email protected], 312-479-7119
Technical Assistance Sessions for Cohort IV
September 26th – 27th (Thurs. – Fri.)
• Introduction to SIG, Strand A: District Teams, Strand D: Stakeholder
Engagement, & Strand F: School Team
October 10th – 11th (Thurs. – Fri.)
• Strand B: Building Autonomy, & Strand E: External Partner Contracts
November 12th (Tue.)
•
Strand I: PD, Strand J: Increasing Learning Time, & Strand K: Reforming
Instruction
January 14, 2014 (Tue.) WEBINAR, time TBD
• Strand H: Evaluating, rewarding & removing staff
February 19, 2014 (Wed.)
• Modifying plans based on diagnostics
2
Thursday, September 26th
Optional Continental Breakfast
8:00 – 8:30 AM
Introductions
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM
Overview of SIG Process (national perspective) & Intro to
Priority Schools (VA)
8:45 AM – 10:00 AM
Break
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM
Strand A: Establish District Team
10:15 – 11:00 AM
Org Structure & Meeting Schedules
11:00 – 12:00 PM
Lunch & Panel
Case study discussion
Break
12:00 – 1:00 PM
1:00 – 2:00 PM
2:00 –2:15 PM
Indistar® for Priority Schools, Logistics, & Questions
2:15 – 3:30 PM
Wrap up & Close
3:30 PM
Org. structure & meeting schedules continued
or Indistar® supports
3:30 – 4:30 PM
(as needed)
3
Setting Norms
• Participate thoughtfully
• Manage electronic devices
• Hold side conversations
• Use the time wisely
• Listen to others
• Maintain confidentiality
• Think outside of the box
• If you don’t ask, you won’t get it
4
Overview of the SIG Process
&
Expectations
5
Introduction to SIG
• In January 2010, the US Dept. of Education (USED) released
revised guidance for use of the School Improvement Grants
(under 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act)
• The $3.5 billion must be used to implement one of four
models outlined by USED
• The revised guidelines significantly changed the roles and
responsibilities for the school, district, state and partners
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Defining School Improvement
School improvement:
• Is an intensive intervention effort in a school and often requires changes at the
district level as well.
• Is not a short-term fix, but a long-term systemic solution to change how schools
work.
• Can be accomplished by implementing a variety of strategies that vary in the level
of prescriptiveness and intensity of support needed.
• Efforts will not always be successful, but in the majority of cases, current efforts to
improve chronically low-performing schools are not producing the needed results.
Why are the four proposed models so different from past improvement efforts?
• Past federal and state guidance allowed and promoted piecemeal efforts.
• In effect, few schools exited and stayed off “improvement” lists.
• Students are the focus of these improvement efforts – allowing schools to operate
with limited effectiveness for multiple years drastically increases the likelihood of
low-student achievement and high dropout rates.
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Four Models to Improve Persistently LowPerforming Schools
Turnaround Model
•Requires many specific
actions, including:
-Leadership & staff
changes
-New governance
structure
-New or revised
instructional program
& assessment system
-Increased operating
flexibilities
-Increased student
supports
Restart Model
• Close failing school
• Reopen under
education
management
organization (could be
a charter)
• Must admit any
former student who
wishes to attend
(within appropriate
grade levels)
School Closure
•Close failing school
• Enroll students at
higher-achieving
schools in district
Transformational
Model
•Reform plan must
include specific actions
to address:
- Teacher and leader
effectiveness
-Comprehensive
instructional strategies
-Expanded learning
-Increased operating
flexibilities
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Priority School Requirements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Select and work with an LTP
Implement one of the four USED turnaround models
Use Indistar®
Establish annual goals
Set leading and lagging indicators
Complete regular & comprehensive data analysis
40% of teacher evaluation on multiple measures
Electronic query system for data access
Adaptive reading assessment
ARDT (grade 5 or higher)
Attend OSI technical assistance sessions
Requested structured reports and data reports to VDOE
Principal evaluation
9
3 Year Process to Build Capacity
I do
We do
You do
10
Shifting State Role: Compliance to Support
Conference
Calls &
Webinars
Technical
Assistance
Sessions
Indistar
Monitoring
VDOE
Contractors
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Roles & Responsibilities
• Lead collaborative school-based
improvement team
• Develop leadership skills of
strong teachers and junior
administrators
• Communicate regularly with all
other team members to ensure
school needs are addressed
• Act as the Change Leader
• Monitor implementation of all
action steps, work of partners,
and obligations noted in the
MOU
• Communicate needs from the
field to the VDOE
• Share learnings with other
facilitators
• Connect the local team to other
supports and services at VDOE
(help streamline the system)
School
Principals
External
Lead
Partners
VDOE
Contractors
Internal
Lead
Partners
• Provide overall guidance,
timeline, resources, & support
for implementation
• Provide additional staff and
capacity building services, with
decreasing intensity over time
• Have the authority & direct
contact with the superintendent
to make timely decisions
• Communicate with
superintendent & school board
about process and changes
• Facilitate changes within the
district to allow autonomy at
the school level
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Expectations
1. Work in the best interest of the students
2. Contribute to a collaborative environment
3. Challenge the status quo
4. Attend & participate in all required Technical Assistance
sessions, meetings and conference calls
5. Implement with fidelity
6. Everyone must do the work
7. Ensure efforts are aligned & work towards the same goals
8. Over communicate with each other & outsiders
9. Work towards sustainability
10. Picking and choosing indicators is not an option, all 93
must be included in the overall plan, but focus on the ones
that directly address the school’s needs
13
Strands & Indicators (Transformation Model)
Strand
Content Area
# of
Indicators
A
Establishing & Orienting the District Transformation Team
4
B
Moving Toward School Autonomy
6
C
Selecting a Principal & Recruiting Teachers
8
D
Working with Stakeholders & Building Support for Transformation
7
E
Contracting with External Providers
8
F
Establishing & Orienting the School Transformation Team
2
G
Leading Change
6
H
Evaluating, Rewarding, and Removing Staff
22
I
Providing Rigorous Staff Development
11
J
Increasing Learning Time
8
K
Reforming Instruction
11
TA01, TA02, TA03
3
Total
96
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www.corbetteducation.com
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Strand A: Establish District Team
1. Appoint a district transformation team
2. Assess team and district capacity to support
transformation
3. Provide team members with information on what
districts can do to promote rapid improvement
4. Designate an internal lead partner for each
transformation school
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Who’s responsible for what?
How do the entities hold each other accountable?
How do the entities share specific responsibilities?
Are all of the roles covered?
Are the right people on the bus?
Are the right people in the right positions on the bus?
VDOE, External Lead Turnaround Partner, Internal Lead Partner, school principal, leadership team, supporting partners
• Transformation plan creation
• Instruction
• Non-instructional support
services
• Building/campus operations
• IT/Data
• Finance/budgets
•
•
•
•
•
•
Facilities
Human Resources
Extra-curricular activities
Evaluation of progress
State and federal compliance
Enforcement of consequences
* Lead Partner, Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, 2010
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Sample Organizational Structure
• How often does the ILP team, the school’s principal (and/or
leadership team), and the external Lead Partner meet?
• What does an action plan look like?
– Objective; action step(s); by whom; with help from; status report due; deadline
– Tool: School restructuring: What Works When, Learning Point Associates, 2010, tool 13
Superintendent
ILP Team
(crucial district staff
VDOE
Internal Lead
Partner
External Lead
Partner Project
Manager
Field Staff
VDOE Contractor
School Principal &
Leadership Team
Key:
Transformation
Team Members
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Leading Change
Prepare for:
Prepare by:
• Unforeseen circumstances
• Continuous analysis
• Participants who feel uncertain & • Mid-course corrections
unprepared for what is to come
• Plan ahead
• Stakeholders who oppose
• Act quickly
disruption of their current
• Commit to the goals
influence
• Support each other
• People who feel disempowered
• People will not make the
changes, no matter what
Resources:
• Spiro, Jody. Change Leader Handbook, www.wallacefoundation.com
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Change Action Steps
1
2
Be clear and specific
Start from where you are (assess readiness of participants &
stakeholders)
3
Plan & complete early wins
4
Anticipate resistance
5
Use collaborative planning
6
Develop ways to scale up & sustain over time
7
Build in on-going monitoring and make mid-course corrections
Resources:
• Spiro, Jody. Change Leader Handbook, www.wallacefoundation.com
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Medium-readiness = MODERATE STRUCTURE
•Decision-sheets, perhaps written by each participant on a rotating basis
for a series of meetings
•Jointly-set meeting agendas and ground-rules
•Collaborative planning
High-readiness = LIGHT STRUCTURE
•Jointly set the objectives
•Let the group decide how to achieve objectives, divide responsibilities,
& determine action plans
Resources:
• Spiro, Jody. Change Leader Handbook, www.wallacefoundation.com
STRUCTURE
Low readiness = HIGH STRUCTURE
•Leader initiated
•Specific, clear outcomes with timelines and evaluation criteria
•Templates for work plans and budgets
•Written meeting agenda including ground-rules for participation
•Written records of decisions reached at meeting
•Continuous review of progress and mid-course corrections through a
defined structure, such as regularly-scheduled meetings
•Structured questioning to lead group conversations
READINESS
Readiness and Structure
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• How will you communicate the change process with
others?
• Teachers
• Parents
• Other division staff
• Other non-SIG schools
• Board
• Extra-curricular partners
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Activities
• Create an organizational chart for your
transformation or turnaround initiative?
• Create a list of meetings for your
transformation initiative (Who will meet?
When? How often?)
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Lunch Panel – Lessons Learned &
Advice to Incoming Schools
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Academy @ Shawnee
In groups (not your division teams), discuss the series of
Education Week articles on the Academy @ Shawnee.
Use the discussion questions to guide this conversation.
25
Indistar’s Purpose
• What is it? •
• How does it guide the improvement process? •
• How do we use it (technically)? •
26
Indistar®
1. Organizing platform for implementation
• Requires goal setting (vision of full implementation)
• Allows for prioritization of indicators
• Structures action steps/tasks
• Delegates responsibilities of team
2. Acts as a one stop shop for assessment, planning &
monitoring
3. Links indicators to research-based strategies
4. Record of implementation (supports staff transitions)
“If it’s not in Indistar, it didn’t happen.” - Kathleen
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Implementation Steps (year 1)
“Even positive change can be stressful. An effective change
leader can maximize the opportunities of change while
minimizing the risks.” – Jody Spiro
Grants awarded
Recruit and select LTP
Diagnostic Needs
Assessment w/ LTP
Set priorities & develop
comprehensive plan
Define district & school team,
clarify roles and responsibilities,
establish protocols
Assess indicators, develop
goals, tasks, & begin
implementation
Planning for year 2 &
Continuation Applications
Resources:
• Spiro, Jody. Change Leader Handbook, www.wallacefoundation.com
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Logistics
1. Review cohort checklist
2. Application requirements
3. Budgets
4. Indistar® reporting tools
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Optional
1. Continue working with your teams to develop:
• An organizational structure for the transformation team
• A list of meeting times, who will attend, to discuss what
2. Indistar® work session or questions as needed
3. Prioritize Indicators
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C Corbett Education Consulting LLC
Virginia Department of Education
Priority School (SIG) TA Session
Cohort IV
VDOE — Office of School Improvement
Hilton Garden Inn – Sandston, VA
September 27, 2013
Friday, September 27th
Optional Continental Breakfast
8:00 – 8:30 AM
Remaining Questions
8:30 – 8:45 AM
Strand D: Stakeholder Engagement
8:45 – 9:30 AM
Stakeholder Activity
9:30 – 10:15 AM
Break
10:15 – 10:30 AM
Goal Setting & Action Planning
10:30 – 11:00 PM
Work Session
11:00 – 12:00 PM
Working Lunch
Strand F: School Team
Break
12:00 – 1:00 PM
1:00 – 2:00 PM
2:00 – 2:15 PM
Quick Wins
2:15 – 2:45 PM
Wrap Up & Close
2:45 – 3:00 PM
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Lingering Questions
• List any remaining or pressing questions that you have
right now.
• Post on the relevant poster paper
Process (i.e. the transformation process)
VDOE Supports
Deadlines
Compliance/Reporting Requirements
Lead Turnaround Partners
Budgets
Indistar
Other
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Strand D: Stakeholder Engagement
• Who should be involved in this work? •
• Who and what could prohibit this work from happening? •
• How do we involve stakeholders? •
• What actions demonstrate the change in culture? •
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Strand D: Working with Stakeholders &
Building Support for Transformation
1. Assign transformation team members to create a
work plan and communicate with stakeholders
2. Announce change and anticipated actions publicly,
communicate urgency, and signal the need for change
3. Engage parents and the community
4. Build support for transformation
5. Establish a positive organizational culture
6. Help stakeholders overcome resistance to change
7. Persist and persevere but discontinue failing
strategies
35
What people resist is being controlled, being told what to do without
being told why, and not being able to affect the change process**
• Contribution (value): Does the stakeholder have information, counsel,
or expertise on the issue that could be helpful to the company?
• Legitimacy: How legitimate is the stakeholder’s claim for engagement?
• Willingness to engage: How willing is the stakeholder to engage?
• Influence: How much influence does the stakeholder have? (You will need to
clarify “who” they influence.
• Necessity of involvement: Is this someone who could derail or delegitimize the
process if they were not included in the engagement?
Resources:
• *http://www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_Stakeholder_Engagement_Stakeholder_Mapping.final.pdf
• **Reinventing Education, Change Masters & Change Fundamentals,
www.reinventingchange.org
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POWER
High
Low
Low
INTEREST
High
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Grid adapted from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/worksheets/PowerInterestGrid.pdf
1. Assign Team Members to Create Work Plan
& Communicate with Stakeholders
• Who needs to be most involved in the work plan’s development and
implementation?
• Who is best positioned to communicate with the broader
community?
• What strategies and processes should be used to guide and track
implementation?
– Within the transformation team?
– Within the school?
– Within the division?
• What level of involvement is necessary for each aspect of the
transformation?
Resources:
• Communicating about School Reform, Center on Innovation & Improvement
http://www.centerii.org/webinars/
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2. Announce Change and Actions Publicly,
Communicate Urgency & Signal the Need for Change
• Clearly define and publicize:
– The needs of the school and the community
– The process
– The goals
• Clearly and visibly track progress
• If needed, launch a statewide media effort to explain, highlight & support
transformation efforts
• Send regular updates on the progress and changes
– newsletters, e-briefs, website, public television, etc
• Ensure that staff understand the changes and can communicate the message
effectively
• Get the support of a few key stakeholders within the building, and within the
community, to promote the message
• Hold community meetings / parent nights / open houses / family nights outside
of the school
Resources:
• Setting the Theme, Diagnostic, Reinventing Education Change Toolkit, 2002
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Parent engagement is more than an annual parent/teacher conference,
an occasional newsletter, or parental choice
• Engaging parents can occur on multiple different levels:
1. Children’s learning at home
2. Connecting parents with other parents
3. Linking parents to teachers and the school
• Schools that succeed in engaging families share three key practices:*
1. Focus on building trusting, collaborative relationships among teachers, families
and community members
2. Recognize, respect and address families' needs, as well as class and cultural
differences
3. Embrace a philosophy of partnership where power and responsibility are shared
Resources:
• Familes & Schools, Academic Development Institute, http://www.families-schools.org
• Harvard Family Research Project, http://finenetwork.org
• *National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE) http://www.ncpie.org/
• Virginia Parent Information and Resource Center, VA PIRC, http://www.vpirc.peatc.org
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3. Strategies to Increase Parental Involvement (2 of 2)
Recognize that all parents, regardless of income, education or cultural
background want their children to do well
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Design programs that support families to guide their children's learning
Develop the capacity of school staff to work with families
Focus on developing trusting and respectful relationships among staff and families
Make sure that parents, school staff, and community members understand that the
responsibility for children's educational development is collaborative
Build strong connections between schools, community & faith-based organizations
Keep parents aware of changes and the impact on their children
Encourage regular home contact (notes, emails, calls, home visits)
Create a parent liaison position (staff or volunteer)
Schedule parent meetings & open houses at times that allow for working parents to
attend
Work with community organizations to bring adult learning at the school (i.e.
computer labs, classes, tax help, etc)
* http://www.ncpie.org/WhatsHappening/researchJanuary2006.cfm
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4. Build Support for Transformation &
5. Establish a Positive Organizational Culture
• Make sure that people understand and are aware of the strengths and skills of team
members
• Recognize staff for their strengths, ideas, impact, contributions & accomplishments
• Ensure that staff are invested in and given extra "organizational capital” (time, a place to
work, equipment, legitimacy, etc.)
• Set policies & procedures that foster and enable open communication and access to
information
• Recognize progress as it happens
• Use a variety of staff team building activities
A few
• Allow innovation to come from all levels (support staff, teacher
big bets
leaders, division staff, partners, parents)
Innovation Pyramid
Portfolio of
• How do ideas and experiments from one part of the pyramid help
projects &
guide innovations at other points in the pyramid?
ideas
• What methods can be used to spread ideas from one part of
the pyramid to others?
Many quick wins &
continuous improvements
Resources:
•
Reinventing Education, Change Masters & Change Fundamentals,
www.reinventingchange.org
42
ge
• Communicate with the resistant stakeholders to learn why there is
resistance to change
• Explain the problem and the goals
• Ask the resistant to help develop solutions
• Don’t be afraid to move forward anyways
• Get the support of a few key stakeholders within the building, and
within the community, to promote the message of change
• Send regular updates on the progress and changes
– newsletters, e-briefs, website, public television
Resources:
• Reinventing Education, Change Masters & Change Fundamentals, www.reinventingchange.org
• Communicating about School Reform, Center on Innovation & Improvement
http://www.centerii.org/webinars/
43
egies
• Meet with leadership team regularly to analyze data and monitor progress
against timelines
• Recognize the possible causes of decreasing success:*
– Forecasting problems: time/resource shortages
– Unexpected obstacles: roadblocks you couldn’t see before
– Loss of momentum: the team gets tired
– Critics surface: the project becomes more controversial
• Explore the pros & cons of continuing, discontinuing or altering a strategy
• Develop an action plan to continue implementation or to phase out a
partially-implemented strategy
Resources:
• *Reinventing Education, Mastering the Middles, Diagnostic, http://www.reinventingeducation.org
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Identifying and Planning with Stakeholders
SUPPORTERS
•
•
•
•
OPPONENTS
Which groups will gain or lose from this initiative or aspects of this work?
Which groups could prohibit or thwart the work from happening? How?
What incentives could be used to engage opponents?
What are the priorities for each group and how can they be incorporated
into the action plan?
• Identify your school’s stakeholders and develop
messages or action plans to educate the stakeholders
and have them assist the turnaround process.
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Goal setting & action planning
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Steps to Assess & Develop Tasks
1. Assess each indicator
• No development/implementation
• Partial development/implementation
• Full implementation
2. “Full implementation” – include evidence on achieved outcome
3. Partial or No Development/Implementation
• Think about what “full implementation” would look like (this
becomes an outcome)
• Develop tasks required to reach the desired outcome (assign
team member to manage task)
• Monitor, assess, make mid-course changes
Activity – Indicator D3: Engage parents and the community
• Describe how full implementation of this indicator would look
• Develop a series of tasks necessary to implement this objective
• Place those tasks in the order they should be implemented
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Working Lunch
Continue assessing Strands A and D and developing tasks and
action plans for each indicator.
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Strand F: Establishing & Orienting the
School Transformation Team
1. Appoint a school transformation team
• How is this team different from the division team?
• What roles are needed?
• How can time be used more efficiently to allow for
additional meetings?
2. Provide team members with information on what the
school can do to promote rapid improvement
• How do you plan to communicate with your school
leadership team?
• How do you plan to communicate with your entire staff?
• What information will you communicate?
49
Quick Wins
• What actions demonstrate the change in culture? •
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Quick Wins
Purpose
• Evidence that significant change is occurring
Timeline
• Within the first two months
Outcome
• Observable
Benefits
• Signify change in culture
• Bring positives to potential opponents
Examples
• Paint walls/murals, clean facilities, complete easy structural
improvements (water fountains, bathrooms, flickering lights)
• Have all teachers/administrators greet students at the
beginning of the day
• Rearrange faculty lounge, provide coffee/breakfast for the first
week (ask for local donations)
Frequency • September and January of each year
• Anytime there is a lull in confidence or implementation fidelity
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Quick Wins
• Develop a list of quick wins that you will implement in the
next two months?
(Delegate responsibilities & list resources needed)
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Resources (1 of 2)
School Improvement & School Turnaround
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•
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•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Brinson, D., & Rhim, L. M. (2009). Breaking the habit of low performance: Successful school restructuring stories,
http://www.centerii.org/survey
Case studies, examples of implementation, analysis and other publications are available in Mass Insight Education &
Research Institute’s School Turnaround Resource Center, http://www.massinsight.org/turnaround/reports
Hassel, B., Hassel, E. A., & Rhim, L. M. (2007). Introduction: Overview of restructuring. In H. Walberg (Ed.), Handbook
on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement (pp. 1-14). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. (Also
available at http://www.centerii.org/survey)
Improving Low-Performing Schools: Lessons from Five Years of Studying School Restructuring under No Child Left
Behind. Center on Education Policy, 2009, http://www.cep-dc.org
Lane, B. (2009). Exploring the pathway to rapid district improvement. www.centerii.org/survey
Redding, S. The mega system. Deciding. Learning. Connecting. A handbook for continuous improvement within a
community of the school. Lincoln, IL: Academic Development Institute, 2007. http://www.centerii.org/survey
School Turnarounds: Actions and Results. Center on Innovation and Improvement & Public Impact, 2007.
http://www.publicimpact.com
School turnarounds: A review of the cross-sector evidence on dramatic organizational improvement, Public Impact,
2007. www.centerii.org
State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. American Institutes for Research & U.S. Department
of Education, 2007, http://www.air.org
The Turnaround Challenge: Why America’s best opportunity to dramatically improve student achievement lies in our
worst performing schools. Mass Insight Education & Research Institute, 2007.
http://www.massinsight.org/turnaround/challenge
Wong, K. (2007). District-wide framework for improvement. In H. Walberg (Ed.), Handbook on restructuring and
substantial school improvement (pp. 15-27). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. (Also available at
http://www.centerii.org/survey)
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Resources (2 of 2)
Community Engagement
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•
Starting fresh in low-performing schools: Engaging parents and the community. National Association of Charter
School Authorizers (NACSA). (2006). http://www.qualitycharters.org/files/public/Start_Fresh_Book_2.pdf
Steiner, L. and D. Brinson, Fixing Failing Schools: Building Family and Community Demand for Dramatic Change, Public
Impact, May 2011. http://publicimpact.com
Expanded Time
•
National Center for Time & Learning, http://www.timeandlearning.org
Guidance
•
•
•
•
Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants, Center for Innovation & Improvement,
http://centerii.org/survey
School Restructuring Guide. Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement & Public Impact, 2008,
http://www.centerforcsri.org
Toolkit for Implementing the School Improvement Grant: Transformation Model. Center for Innovation &
Improvement, http://www.centerii.org
United States Department of Education Final Requirements for School Improvement Grants, January 15, 2010
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/faq.html
Leadership & Professional Development
• Kowal, J. and J.Ableiding. Leading Indicators of School Turnaround: How to know when dramatic change is on track. Public
Impact and UVA’s Partnership for Leaders in Education, http://publicimpact.com
• Principal Effectiveness. New Leaders for New Schools, 2008, http://www.nlns.org/uef.jsp
• School Turnaround Competencies. Public Impact, Chicago Public Education Fund & DC Public Schools, 2008,
http://publicimpact.com
• Spiro, Jody. Leading Change Handbook: Concepts and Tools, Wallace Foundation, 2009.
http://www.wallacefoundation.org
• UVA Darden-Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education, http://www.dardencurry.org
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