Harnessing the Power of Teacher Leaders Fort Bend ISD Secondary Curriculum Coordinators Susan Voradakis – Social Studies susan.voradakis@fortbendisd.com Perri Segura – Science perri.segura@fortbend.k12.tx.us Trisha Peterson – Math trisha.peterson@fortbend.k12.tx.us Sue Tull – ELA sue.tull@fortbend.k12.tx.us Sharon McGlaun – “Retired” smcglaun@msn.com TSSSA Conference – March 30, 2007

Fort Bend ISD Suburban District – southwest of Houston Secondary Schools: 10 High Schools 12 Middle Schools 2 Alternative Campuses

You might be a coordinator if you… Write curriculum Create assessments Read, research, and attend conferences Organize district staff development Train teachers, department chairs, administrators Attend meetings Mentor teachers, department chairs, administrators Lead meetings Facilitate, lead, and serve on committees Read, research, and attend conferences…. Survey audience about their job areas. K-12 v. Secondary only More than one content area How many schools?

What is the expected outcome? Understanding of CIA? Implementation of state/district curriculum? Data-driven decision making? Improved test scores? Teacher success? Student Success?

Reality Campuses sometimes operate in reactive rather than proactive mode (constant remediation of students rather than instruction). Busy administrators provide little instructional leadership or expectations. Teachers are expected to “collaborate” before or after school, or they work in isolation. Data does not impact instruction. Students do not reach their potential.

…School culture and supervision tend to ignore or divert teachers from implementing and continuously improving their mastery of effective instructional and assessment practices. We don’t commonly see teaching, followed by assessment, then adjustment to practice on the basis of assessment results. Isolation masks the starkly different results achieved by different teachers. - Mike Schmoker, Results Now

Think Pair Share How do you make the TEKS the focus of classroom instruction and assessment? How do you bring about systemic change within a content area, grade level, and school?

The good news is that we know what to do. Education research has equipped us with abundant evidence on instructional and leadership strategies that are likely to result in improved student achievement. – Doug Reeves, “Closing the Implementation Gap”

Effective Practice Marzano – High Yield Strategies DuFour – PLC Schmoker – Collaborative Planning Gardner – Learning Styles Tomlinson – Differentiated Instruction McTighe & Wiggins - UBD And many others …

Putting It All Together: One High School’s Results 2005 TAKS Met Standard at Panel Rec. 2006 TAKS Difference 9th Grade Math 41% 26% -15 10th Grade Math 30% 42% +12 11th Grade Math 49% 64% +15 10th Science 23% 35% 11th Science 44% 54% +10 10th Social Studies 72% 76% +4 11th Social Studies 85% 93% +8 9th ELA 74% 78% 10th ELA 52% 80% +28 11th ELA 83% 86% +3

Discuss the slide with your neighbor. Write down any questions that you have based on the data.

The purpose of the presentation is to demonstrate how to make a difference at the campus level by – 1. Impacting teachers directly, through teacher leaders. These leaders, rather than coordinators or other administrators, relay information and implement district expectations. 2. Implementing the TLC model of collaborative planning, deeper understanding of the curriculum, and reflective practices that drive instruction. 1. Making a difference on the campus level means impacting the teachers directly – not relying on dc’s and administrators to relay information, explain district expectations, etc. Coordinators can’t do it alone, so leadership capacity must be developed. 2. The TLC model contains specific components that include collaborative planning, deeper understanding of the curriculum, and reflective practices that drive instruction.

Teacher Leadership Corps TLC Teacher Leadership Corps

History of the Program Beginnings Year 1 – one school Year 2 – four schools History of WHS Changing demographics of area; constantly losing students to new schools Turnover of teachers and administrators caused a lack of structure Sharon – ½ time There were no “go-to” people to call upon for instructional leadership Real change could not be affected from the central office. One person could not create all of the momentum for change. Needed to attract strong teachers to become leaders

TLC Campus Structure This model is designed specifically to support improvement in TAKS scores. It will also benefit campuses if the state transitions to EOC’s. The model could easily be adapted to address any target areas. For example, if a school wants to improve their AP program, the teams could change to AP-based membership.

Self Reflection Do you have a similar structure? What do team leaders do? Do teams meet regularly? What is the focus of the meetings? Do teachers grow, does instruction improve, are student scores going up as the result of team meetings? Sue will share her HHS experience. Some high schools do not have a true forum for instructional meetings. Belonging to a team is foreign concept in many secondary settings. No group discussion

How is TLC Different? “I have been a part of small learning communities which addressed cross curricular learning themes to motivate students and staff. This TLC initiative is different as it affects students by affecting teachers’ instruction. That can be a sensitive area for the unwilling. However, it is the most powerful and most necessary. Mediocre instruction produces mediocre students. We owe ourselves and our students more than that.” - TLC Teacher

Goals of TLC Short term - Improve student achievement on TAKS Long term – Focus on TEKS and enhance classroom instruction Long term – Develop effective peer coaching networks to support teachers and students. This model is an instructional model, not a quick fix for TAKS. If you cover TAKS objectives with content and skills warm-ups, packets, and review games, this model won’t address your needs.

Tools of TLC Curriculum Calendar with target student expectations Collaborative Team Planning Form – focus on TEKS Mini Assessments – collect information on impact of instruction Data Reporting Forms – collect data to determine next course of action The model contains four main components. Take from this what will apply in your district. You may already have one piece, but need help in another area.

Target SE’s Develop team curriculum calendar for entire year Identify areas for improvement –target SE’s Plot target SE’s for specific instruction and assessment on team calendar Can’t fix all problems, but have to start somewhere Refer to Tic TAKS chart Discuss criteria for identifying target SE’s

Sample Calendar

Collaborative Team Planning Process Teams meet at least once per week Not just lesson planning Collaborating/discussing instruction Creating time in the schedule does not create buy-in or understanding

Focused Collaborative Team Planning Date: Team: Teachers/Administrators in Attendance: Reflections: What worked last week and what didn’t? Why? And now what? Student Expectations: Which one of the tested TEKS are you going to focus on this week? Write it out. Analysis of TAKS Assessment: How was this Student Expectation tested on TAKS? What did you learn by looking at the tested items? What skills must be used by students to successfully answer the items? Teacher Assessment: How will you continuously determine whether your students learned what was expected at the level of TEKS/TAKS? Will you give a mini-assessment? If so, attach the items. Teaching Strategies: What teaching strategies will you use to move students to the level expected of them on TAKS? Activities: What do you expect the students to do? Monitor and Adjust: What will you do if the students do not learn it?

Students must relate amendments to their historical context Teachers/Administrators in Attendance: Reflections: What worked last week and what didn’t? Why? And now what? Students did poorly on warm-up questions covering 13th, 14th, 15th amendments. The warm-ups did not include direct instruction. Student Expectations: Which one of the tested TEKS are you going to focus on this week? Write it out. US 18B - Evaluate various means of achieving political rights, including the19th, 24th, and 26th amendments. Analysis of TAKS Assessment: How was this Student Expectation tested on TAKS? What did you learn by looking at the tested items? What skills must be used by students to successfully answer the items? Teacher Assessment: How will you continuously determine whether your students learned what was expected at the level of TEKS/TAKS? Will you give a mini-assessment? If so, attach the items. 03,04,06 – 2/3 questions use cause/effect; 1 question uses excerpt and inferencing Students must relate amendments to their historical context Cause/effect; inference; drawing conclusion Teaching Strategies: What teaching strategies will you use to move students to the level expected of them on TAKS? Review/reteach, or teach cause/effect,inferencing, drawing conclusions; review amendment purpose and process; review 13th-15th; introduce 19th, 24th, 26th Activities: What do you expect the students to do? Students will choose a suitable Thinking Map organizer that demonstrates cause/effect context for amendments (13th,14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, 26th). Monitor and Adjust: What will you do if the students do not learn it? Determine which amendments are confusing to students; develop interactive timeline to review Civil Rights amdmts Follow-up: List any follow up responsibilities or materials needed and the person responsible for each. Voradakis – locate questions McGlaun – adjust calendar

Instructional Activities Sample Lesson Plan Week: April 2 - 6 Instructional Activities Monday - Tuesday Objectives TEKS: Civil Rights Objectives TAKS: 8.17B/US7A –Trace the historical development of the civil rights movement in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries including the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments US 18B - Evaluate various means of achieving political rights, including the 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments. Procedures: Review the results of mini-assessment with students. Have students explain why the distractors are incorrect. Skills mini-lesson: C/E, Inferencing, Drawing Conclusions - Jarrett book pp. 3 – 10 Content Lesson: Civil Rights Amendments Station Rotation – each amendment Foldable – flip book on amendments C/E Thinking Map – each amendment Assessment(s): Mini Assessment Show implementation of ctp discussion.

Mini Assessments TAKS Format Limited to 1-2 SE’s 4-5 questions each Every 3 weeks Can be integrated into regular test or as a stand alone assessment Can be formative or summative Determine “passing” standard (compare to TAKS) Team decides on rules for administration of tests Team decides on passing standard depending on identified factors.

Data Analysis Everyone sees everyone’s data Discuss the results and the reasons for the results Identify remediation strategies and incorporate into upcoming lesson(s) Sample in folder

“This is definitely the most rewarding program I have ever been a part of. In looking at what the team has accomplished so far this year: segmenting and adapting the curriculum to fit the needs of the students; incorporating best practices…, aligning our team goals…, pinpointing problem areas and adapting our teaching to those needs, I can truly say that TLC has brought our department a long way.” - TLC Teacher

Lead TLC Monitor progress of teams through collecting documentation, meeting with teams, conducting walk-throughs, etc. Provide support for TLC teachers Liaison between campus and district administrators

Role of Administrators Provides vehicle for legitimate instructional leadership Attend team meetings Monitor implementation through focused walk-throughs Provide accountability for all team members

NCREL recommends, based on research on schools that are making the most progress with improving student results, that schools provide teachers with three hours of collaborative time each week. – SMART Goals

Other Components & Issues TAKS Support Coaching Scheduling

District Support Structure

CAMPUS Meetings DISTRICT Meetings Team TLC Lead TLC “Buddy” Coordinator TLC Lead weekly team mtgs. Attend weekly campus TLC mtgs. Attend district TLC mtgs. Attend training Attend weekly team mtgs. Lead weekly campus TLC mtgs Attend district lead TLC mtgs. Attend weekly campus TLC mtgs Lead district TLC mtgs. Attend coordinator mtgs. Meet with each TLC Lead district lead TLC mtgs. Lead coordinator mtgs. Teachers are not working in isolation.

Teachers must be clear about the connection between their own learning and improvements in student learning. – Joan Richardson, “Think Outside the Clock”

Growing Our TLC’s Book Study Weekly Team Meetings Share successes Discuss difficulties Lessons in Leadership Effective Classroom Instruction Training Content Area Trainings Set a district standard and focus. Are you still using PDAS to guide expectations for classroom instruction?

Met Standard at Panel Rec. Reflections 2005 TAKS Met Standard at Panel Rec. 2006 TAKS Difference 9th Grade Math 41% 26% -15 10th Grade Math 30% 42% +12 11th Grade Math 49% 64% +15 10th Science 23% 35% 11th Science 44% 54% +10 10th Social Studies 72% 76% +4 11th Social Studies 85% 93% +8 9th ELA 74% 78% 10th ELA 52% 80% +28 11th ELA 83% 86% +3

Additional Resources TLC Program Outline TLC Glossary TLC Program – Use of TLC Period Sample Curriculum Calendar Collaborative Team Planning Form Mini Assessment Data Form Mini Assessment Reflections Planning Considerations Tic TAKS Forms – Grades 10 & 11 Resource List