DESE WORKSHOP MAY 29, 2013 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE FIELD

PRESENTER John Doherty, Superintendent, Reading Public Schools Craig Martin, Principal, Coolidge Middle School Donna Martinson, ELA Teacher, Parker Middle School Wiki

LESSONS LEARNED Trust and Collaboration Building Capacity Making it SMART Training Opportunity vs. Compliance Modeling the Process

TRUST AND COLLABORATION DESE PRESENTATION

Trust and Collaboration are Critical for Success

VALVE HANDBOOK FOR NEW EMPLOYEES Risks (What if I screw up?) “Nobody has ever been fired at Valve for making a mistake. It wouldn’t even make sense for us to operate that way. Providing the freedom to fail is an important trait of the company-we couldn’t expect so much of individuals if we also penalized people for errors. Even expensive mistakes, or ones which result in a very public failure, are genuinely looked at as opportunities to learn. We can always repair the mistake or make up for it.”

READING PUBLIC SCHOOL TRANSLATION Risks (What if I make a mistake?) “Nobody has ever been fired in the Reading Public Schools for making an honest mistake that benefits students. It wouldn’t even make sense for us to operate that way. Providing the freedom to try new methods or ideas, and fail is an important trait of our organization- we couldn’t expect so much of individuals if we penalized our staff for taking risks and not succeeding. Even expensive mistakes, or ones which result in a very public failure, are genuinely looked at as opportunities to learn and grow. We can always repair the mistake or make up for it.”

“WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER” “IT WILL NOT BE PERFECT” “WE WILL BE MAKING MISTAKES ALONG THE WAY.” “WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE THE PROCESS BETTER.”

TRUST Focus on Growth, not Gotcha Form Joint Committees Conversations between supervisor and educator is the most critical Communication is Key Joint Meetings/Union Leaders, Members and Administration Engage School Committee -Training opportunities - Enlist support for rewarding exceptional teaching and for supervision of mediocre/ineffective teaching

TAP COMMITTEE A KEY TO THE PROCESS-ESTABLISHED 2003 Committee of Teachers, Building Administrators, Central Office Administrators Representation from every school Compared current rubric with model rubric system Reviewed model contract language Involved in development of forms for September, 2012 implementation

BUILDING CAPACITY DESE PRESENTATION

A FRAMEWORK FOR ENGAGING EDUCATORS I KnowI Apply I Participate I Lead

STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING CAPACITY All stakeholders (SEA, LEA, Union, SC) are responsible Develop feedback loops for misconceptions Surveys, Focus Group Sessions Communicate, Communicate, Communicate Guidebooks/Handbooks/CBA District/School Improvement Documents FAQ Website Newsletter Information Sessions Podcasts/Webinars Train the Trainer Models

STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING CAPACITY Make resources and tools available for educators to use Model lesson plans aligned to standards Instructional coaching Mentoring Professional Development Interim Assessments Videos of high quality instruction Professional Libraries Opportunities to Observe Peers and Discuss Practice

STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING CAPACITY Follow up on Feedback Joint Union/Administration Communication Teams Breaks down barriers and eliminates misconceptions Identify teachers for additional roles and responsibilities Peer Observation Pilot Developing assessments for multiple measures Tools and guidance with student learning objectives

STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING CAPACITY Identify excellent practitioners and give them opportunities to lead Study groups which focus on particular evaluation standards or development of assessments Participate on school/district evaluation advisory committees Establish a culture that accommodates disagreement, but does not accept the status quo Process Important - Culture of Trust = Success Using DESE process only can be seductive “We Implemented the Regulations and are in compliance” Compliance only will not lead to change or better student outcomes

TRAINING DESE PRESENTATION

TRAINING FOR ADMINISTRATORS Provide training for All Stakeholders Administrators Department Chairs Team Chairs Coordinators Central Office School Committee Public Training Focus Providing meaningful feedback Supervision and observation Understanding the process

TRAINING FOR ADMINISTRATORS Administrative Collaborative Conversations Why are we doing this ? If… Then… How do our goals connect to maximize impact within the framework of our resources? How can we use the evaluation system in our strategy for classroom/school/district improvement? What are our beliefs and do we institutionalize them or are they pretty words? Do our actions reflect core values? What our our “Non-discussables”?

INTER-RATER RELIABILITY Teachers need to understand that expectations for observation and evaluation are consistent across a district- Calibrate observations across district Train administration/evaluators Video review of lessons and debrief as a team Discuss and establish instructional norms and values Assign administrators to walk through classrooms as teams Teams should observe across all levels Use essential questions to debrief Invite Union leaders to do “walk throughs”/debrief Invite School Committee to visit – opportunity to realize how budget is expended

Link this system to the common core and assessments implementation.

TRAINING FOR TEACHERS Focus on connections between initiatives Common Core State Standards Assessment Development District Determined Measures Other initiatives Focus on process, not compliance Give examples

OPPORTUNITY VERSUS COMPLIANCE DESE PRESENTATION

Look at this as an opportunity to improve teaching and learning and educator growth in your district

OPPORTUNITY VS. COMPLIANCE Connect Common Core and Assessment Development to the Educator Evaluation System Use the conversations as opportunities to grow Don’t treat this as “we have to do this.” Provide time for teachers to understand process and collaborate Identify ways to take things off of principal’s plate Assigning some evaluations to central office and team chairs Increasing evaluation cycle for non-teachers (i.e. paraeducators) Communicate their priorities

OPPORTUNITIES Engage School Committee/Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) Opportunity to collaborate to solve problems Involves all stakeholders Collaborative Conversations about Issues and Emerging Trends Time, Compensation, Schedules Explore how technology can assist teachers and administrators to collect/share data Baseline Edge May afford opportunity for feedback or to clarify data

OPPORTUNITIES Explore systemic strategies to collect/report data to public Community Engagement Standard Opportunity to establish a public dialogue and solicit feedback Schedule of survey and data collection/On going, systemic process Measures of student/parent engagement Measures of teacher/parent satisfaction Measures of how effectiveness in teaching 21 st C skills/Career Readiness Alumni data collection

MODELING THE PROCESS DESE PRESENTATION

MODELING THE PROCESS Communicate the Process Newsletters Blogs School Committee Meetings If not RTTT District, implement the following this year: Administrator Process Superintendent’s Process Educator Plan Superintendent should play a key role in communication

FINAL THOUGHTS

SOME THOUGHTS AS AN EARLY ADOPTER This combination of common core/educator evaluation/district determined measures may be the most important integrated initiative that you undertake in your district Look at this as your organizing initiative for all other initiatives Look at this as an opportunity to improve teaching and learning and educator growth in your district Plan your strategy and process Train staff on how to write and implement SMART goals Use the Train the Trainer Model Use Special Education Teachers as Experts Collaboration is critical to the success of this implementation Link this system to the common core and assessment development

SOME THOUGHTS AS AN EARLY ADOPTER Transparent and ongoing open honest communication is critical Train all supervisors in the process to create inter- rater reliability Use the DESE materials Adopt the model rubrics Develop a logic model on how you will implement this process Involve your staff, school committee, and community early and often in the communication process

Plan your strategy and process

The DESE has provided some excellent materials

Adopt the model rubric

Involve your school committee early and often in the communication process.

Focus on the reason why we are doing this

QUESTIONS DESE MAY 29, 2013