Transcript The Division Leadership Team (Michael Hill and Dr. Natalie Halloran)

The Division Leadership Team
Monthly Meetings and Beyond…
October 10, 2014
Focus Schools Conference
Michael Hill
PASS Coordinator
Office of School Improvement
Virginia Department of Education
1
Dr. Natalie Halloran
Office of School Improvement
Norfolk Public Schools
Purpose:
To provide technical assistance to division leadership
teams to maximize support provided to focus schools
2
Division Requirements
•
•
•
•
•
•
Collaborate with an external Virginia
Department of Education (VDOE) contractor
(division liaison)
Convene a division leadership team including
representatives of:
– Title I
– Instruction
– Special education
– English language learners
– Principals of each focus school
Meet as a division leadership team on a
monthly basis
Develop, implement, and monitor a division
improvement plan that is aligned with the needs
of each focus school
Participate in quarterly meetings with focus
schools to review data and make decisions
about needed technical assistance
Modify division improvement plan on a
quarterly basis based on data analysis
School Requirements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Convene a school leadership team including a
member of the division leadership team
Utilize a VDOE-approved adaptive reading
assessment program to determine student
growth at least quarterly
Utilize the Algebra Readiness Diagnostic Test
(ARDT) provided by the VDOE (required only for
focus schools with grade 5 or higher)
Develop, implement, and monitor a school
improvement plan
Develop an intervention strategy for all students
who have failed an SOL assessment or failed to
meet the fall Phonological Awareness Literacy
Screening (PALS) benchmark
Regularly analyze a variety of data points to
make strategic, data-driven decisions, and
implement the needed interventions for
identified students
Modify school improvement plan on a quarterly
basis based on data analysis
The Big Picture
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Unpack the “big picture” by identifying, teaching, and
cultivating a series of “main things”
• Believe keeping a compass on the “main things” is
paramount to the success of the school improvement
journey
“Keep it simple. When you
get too complex you forget
the obvious.”
Al Maguire
4
Main Thing #1
Students FIRST
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Believe that the journey begins and ends with a laser-like
focus on student growth
• Believe all decisions are made based on student need
5
Main Thing #2
Practice the Involvement of
Everyone, Everywhere, and Everyday
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Practice everyone, everywhere, and everyday by:
 Taking ownership of all children
 Committing to teamwork and collaboration
 Embrace an environment where respect for each other and
high performance expectations for staff and students are
the norm
 Building personal relationships with all children
 Emptying our pockets of research-based,
differentiated instructional strategies for all children
6
Main Thing #3
Classroom Instruction
that Works
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
•
•
•
•
•
Maximize the use of VDOE resources
Require the use of research-based /evidence-based instructional
practices that positively effect student learning
Require the use of effective research-based formative assessment
strategies
Require instruction that is tiered and student-specific
Require the use of multiple data points to inform
instruction
7
Main Thing #4
Teamwork
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Push for high-quality communication:
 “Communication breathes the first spark of life into teamwork,
and communication keeps teamwork alive. No other factor plays
such a precious role in building and preserving trust among
teammates. Communication is the make-or-break issue.”
The Team Member Handbook for Teamwork by Price Pritchett
8
Main Thing #4
Teamwork (Cont’d)
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Develop and nurture a “culture of candor and support”
• Teach and practice the art of teamwork
• Celebrate learning
• Work “smart” and approach every day as an “event”
9
Main Thing #5
Process Driven
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Guide a process driven by a series of purposeful, end-inmind actions that when executed properly will create
intended results for all students
10
Main Thing #6
Fearless Leadership
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Demand school and division leadership teams practice
fearless leadership with the “courage to disrupt”
• Demand school specific assistance and support from the
division leadership team
• Require leadership at the division and school level that
commits to building team capacity through ongoing
communication, collaboration, and empowerment
11
Main Thing #7
Division Support
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
•
•
•
•
•
Require the division leadership team to exercise the “will” to do the right thing
for the benefit of the children
Require division support to be aligned with the needs identified in each
school’s school improvement plan
Require a division leadership team member serve and actively participant on
the school improvement team
Require monthly meetings of the division leadership team and the school
principal to review and discuss progress on improvement plans and areas of
continued need
Require division leadership team to perform monthly school
visits--performing classroom walkthroughs and providing
follow-up feedback to the school leadership team
12
Main Thing #8
Improvement Plan
Through the eyes of the student, successful
division/school improvement teams…
• Provide clear, specific information about:
 The identification process for all students at risk of failing
or in need of academic interventions
 The tiered, differentiated intervention process to assign
research-based interventions aligned with individual
student needs (frequency and duration of Tier 2 and 3
students)
 The monitoring process for targeted intervention
students
13
Main Thing #8
Improvement Plan (Cont’d)
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Schedule opportunities to monitor the progress of the
improvement plan by:
 Meeting monthly to record progress, analyze data
 Recording team meeting minutes and agenda with
the plan
 Including detailed notes on status of tasks and
objectives
 Sharing information about the plan with stakeholders
14
Main Thing #8
Improvement Plan (Cont’d)
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
•
Anticipate modifications to the plan (in real time) by asking and
documenting:
 How will the team know if a student intervention is not successful?
 How will the team know if a task is not successful? What data will be
tracked?
 How often will data be analyzed at the school and division level?
 Who makes decisions about revisions to the plan?
“I have a plan of action,
but the game is a game
of adjustments.”
Mike Krzyzewski
Duke Basketball
15
Main Thing #9
Team Meeting Protocols
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
•
Recognize the importance of the First Team Meeting:
 Identify team members and assign roles
 Establish meeting norms
 Schedule monthly meeting dates
 Discuss Focus School Requirements and standard meeting agenda
items
 Determine data to be reviewed monthly and quarterly
 Review available data for each school represented
 Discuss Indistar® Improvement Planning (school and divisionlevel)
 Determine next steps
16
Main Thing #9
Team Meeting Protocols (Cont’d)
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Include important items on the monthly action agenda:
 Revisit next steps from previous meeting
 Discuss noted coaching comments (school and divisionlevel)
 Review various monthly and quarterly data sets
 Tiered interventions status updates (including subgroups)
 Indistar® Plan indicators/tasks updates (school and
division-level)
 Review and discuss VDOE reports
 Next steps
17
Main Thing #9
Team Meeting Protocols (Cont’d)
Through the eyes of the student, successful division/school
improvement teams…
• Conduct classroom observations:
 Conduct classroom observations before and after team meetings
 Determine observation look fors
 Review lesson plans and VDOE Curriculum Framework prior to
observation
 Observe all tiered lessons (Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3)
 Provide specific feedback
 Recommend next steps
**See SAMPLE reading and mathematics classroom observation
/instructional walkthrough forms
18
The ultimate goal in school
improvement is for the people
attached to the school to drive its
continuous improvement for the sake
of their own children and students.
- Dr. Sam Redding
Director, Center on Innovations in Learning
Contact Information:
Michael Hill
Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS), Coordinator
Office of School Improvement
Virginia Department of Education
Office Phone Number: (804)225-2665
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Natalie Halloran
Office of School Improvement
Norfolk Public Schools
Office Phone Number: (757)628-3989
E-mail: [email protected]
20