School Leadership Teams

Indistar Summit March 24, 2014 1

What schools are saying about MS MSOARS

“We believe that MS SOARS has made a lasting effect upon our achievement in organizational structure, leadership, professional development, curriculum and instruction, and with our support systems.” – West Kemper Elementary 2

What schools are saying about MS MSOARS

“MS SOARS contains the structure necessary for leadership teams and administrators to readily review and evaluate data points and initiatives. The Principal and the School Transformation Team acknowledge the value of using the structure provided by MS SOARS and plan to use it after the life of our SIG grant. The practice of having in place a School Leadership Team and the use of MS SOARS has become a permanent part of our school culture.” – Sanders Elementary 3

What schools are saying about MS MSOARS

“Throughout this transformation process, data shows that there is one tool that has consistently provided the capacity and structure needed to house and maintain the information necessary to document our school improvement progress. MS SOARS is that tool.” – Simmons High School 4

Successful Teams

• • • • Have great leaders and district support Meet at least twice a month Maintain a history of team work by developing agendas and minutes Regularly look at school performance data and use that data to make decisions about school improvement needs 5

Challenges

• Compliance vs. Effective Practice • District Support • Getting school and district leadership teams to value the process 6

School Leadership

• It all starts with strong leadership Leadership Characteristics of Turnaround – Principal functions more as a change agent than a manager – Principal sets the climate of high expectations – Principal is the focus keeper 7

Leadership Team Expectations

• • • • • Meet a minimum of twice per month All team members attend scheduled leadership team meetings Review data indicators on a regular bases to improve instruction Discuss and act on feedback from coaches How much does effort and time cost?

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Implementation Specialist/Coaches

• A school cannot build capacity alone • Coaches are a critical partner in the in the process and in the school’s success • Coaches are in regular communication with the school to ensure they have support to move forward and guidance when they get off track – Coaches are required to send a minimum of two coaching comments to their assigned schools per month 9

Dr. Laura Jones Chris Norwood Office of School Recovery (601) 359-1003 [email protected]

[email protected]

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