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A few words on mathematics education leadership in the Chicago Public Schools Urban Mathematics Education Leadership Academy Session 2 Monday, May 18, 2009 Mila Kell, Faylesha Porter, Sendhil Revuluri, Jesch Reyes, Alison Whittington The Chicago Public School District 299 is the third largest district in the country. • 400,000+ students, 24,000 teachers • 655 schools with site-based management Demographics • 46.5% African American • 39.1% Latino • 8.0% White • 3.3% Asian Pacific Islander • 2.9% Multi-Racial • 0.2% Native American • 84.9% of students from low-income families Source: http://cps.k12.il.us/AtAGlance.html CMSI: A Focus on Improved Teaching & Learning, K–8 Coherent programs Better prepared teachers More support for mathematics and science High-quality teaching and learning Increased student achievement Instructional Development Systems, in high schools Inquiry-based, thematic units with a coherent philosophy of teaching & learning Explicit leadership support for lead teachers and department chairs, with opportunities to collaborate across schools Materials & Tools Aligned Courses Teacher Leadership Sustained PD for 1st & 2nd year teachers, tied to content, curriculum, and assessments Concrete Professional Development IDS Teacher laptops, LCD projectors, computer labs, supplies, texts, calculators Quality Assessments Flexible Coaching Course-specific common quarterly and summative assessments Coaches advise, model, co-teach, and support common planning, data analysis, and intervention design CPS Strategy: Instructional Excellence High Quality Materials Teacher Capacity Instructional Excellence In-School Supports Timely Assessment Data Prior to 2002, over 87 different K-8 mathematics programs were used in CPS. Coherent Programs CMSI & IDS instructional materials & programs K–5 Everyday Mathematics Math Trailblazers 6–8 Connected Mathematics Project Math Thematics Algebra (7/8/9) 10–11 Carnegie Learning Carnegie Learning CME Project CME Project Agile Mind (9) Agile Mind Coherent Programs University-Based Programs Better Prepared Teachers CMSI Annual Conference •Full Day Conference •More than 100 sessions from teachers, university professors, museum educators •Major speakers Diane Briars & Bill Kurtis •More than 700 teachers attended More Supports http://cmsi.cps.k12.il.us Examples Others May Find Helpful • • • • • • High school algebra for middle grades students Teacher leadership professional development Lenses on Learning for elementary principals Benchmark assessment Supports for teachers of English Language Learners Leveraging university partnerships/resources High School Algebra I for Middle Grades Students District Vision • Provide access to high-quality, rigorous, coherent high school Algebra I course to a greater number of well-prepared middle grade students. • Provide the opportunity for these students to enroll in advanced mathematics courses as freshmen so they will be on the pathway to enroll in AP mathematics courses in high school. • Ensure that coherent policies are in place so that students are well-prepared to be successful in advanced mathematics courses. Struggles to Support HS Alg I for Middle Grades Establish coherent district policy for course approval and placement/proficiency criteria Increase # of qualified teachers by working with local universities; year-long course sequence designed to build content and pedagogical knowledge; teacher exam given to assess understanding Current Status Policy passed in August 2008 # of teachers passing qualifiying exam has increased from 43 (2004) to 245 (2008) Define recommendations and criteria for elementary schools to offer courses to middle grade students Documents available to address the following: mathematics program, teacher qualifications, instructional materials, and obtaining course approval Develop coherence with High Schools 78 schools using recommended curricula and receiving district supports Evaluate program progress Report based on observations, interviews, and focus groups, with particular attention to the supports which elementary schools chose to receive (or not) as part of program; focus on the implementation of the supports (e.g., PD, coaching, cohort meetings). Teacher Leadership PD • Teacher leaders are crucial to supporting instructional change through collective adult learning. How do we help them meet the challenges they face? • Build their expertise as leaders, and thus their teams’ capacity. Develop capacity at the school level through: – Support on leading and working in teams (collaboration): norms, routines, protocols, addressing concerns – Helping model and support data use (looking at student work, assessments) and develop high-quality instructional tasks – Affirming teacher leaders’ role, involvement in the school, and aligning their work to school and district initiatives • Future topics: vertical alignment (including articulation), intervention design, peer coaching, assessments, … Lenses on Learning • • • • • An instructional supervision course from EDC for school administrators Focus on developing skills to be effective observers in a standardsbased mathematics classroom Centered around the ideas of collegiality, intellectual collaboration, reflection, and generative learning Administrators learn to capitalize on mathematical essence of the lesson and engage teachers in conversations about teaching and learning Ultimate goal: A distributed supervisory model Challenges Successes •Diversity in philosophical assumptions about teaching, learning, and instructional supervision •Complexity of mathematical content •Limited understanding of pedagogical content knowledge •Systemic accountability concerns •Issues of positional authority vs. expert authority •Scaling up the course for the rest of the Areas in the district •High level of interest and engagement •Gradual change in thinking about standardsbased instruction •Transitioning away from an evaluative supervisory stance toward a more collaborative approach to instructional leadership •A sense of urgency about creating and supporting intellectual communities in schools Benchmark Assessment • Offered twice a year, consistent across curricula • Intermediate measure of student learning and the district-supported curricula pacing • Schools use the data to support their mediumterm instructional strategies Successes Understanding how to use the data formatively Broader scope for analyzing student work Productive and reflective teacher conversations about the data Dilemmas Understanding how to use the data formatively Individualizing lessons as a result of benchmark data Looking at individual students vs. class trends Supports for teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs) • • • • • Approximately 15% of CPS Students are classified as ELLs Collaboration with Office of Language and Cultural Education Chicago Bilingual Mathematics Laboratory Project Fostering Geometric Thinking Study Math Pathways and Pitfalls Project Successes •Success of small-scale (externally funded) projects •Coordination of Summer School Programs for ELLs and general education students •Increased cooperation and support from OLCE to focus on content-area needs of ELLs •Focus groups with teachers to identify areas of need/focus for PD Challenges •Scaling up and building on success •Internal funding to support this work •Expertise to develop and deliver professional development •Refocusing other offices from compliance to instructional support •Inequity of ELL supports and programs across different parts of city Leveraging university resources Successes • Support designing CMSI and developing PD • Developing student curriculum in math & science • Teacher certification & endorsement • Interaction with teacher preparation • Presenting at annual conference • Program evaluation and research • Special projects and funding for initiatives Challenges • Broader support from the community – beyond “experts” • Connecting more with nearby districts – bringing in new ideas • Continuing to leverage university partnerships (for HS) What We Could Use Advice on • • • • Achievement disparities Building capacity Improving our district-wide supports Navigating (or influencing) autonomy Achievement Disparities • Narrowing the achievement gap is an essential priority for all • Building better supports for struggling students, academically and nonacademically • Building better supports for teachers of struggling students • Incorporating teacher expectations and student motivation Building capacity • Better supports for teachers working with special populations (ELLs, gifted,…) • Building teacher capacity in general, and addressing distribution of teachers • Building principal, school, teacher leadership, getting buy-in and support • Supporting our own development as leaders (beyond the few of us at UMELA) Improving District-wide Supports • Coaching: model, quality, management, oversight, developing coaches • Using resources and supports in parallel structures efficiently and well: aligning work, avoiding duplicated effort • Effectiveness and usefulness of PD: structures, quality of implementation and design, evaluation (in different contexts) Navigating / Influencing Autonomy • Increasing input from educational stakeholders into decision-making, developing large-scale consensus • How do you get people, departments, or layers or dimensions of the district on the same page? • Work of the “curriculum office” in a more autonomous structure • Working in evolving governance & performance management – appropriate assessment • Seeing others’ data (for decisions, to advocate policies, to compare and analyze performance)