1. Stimulating School Improvement!! Or…
Harvey Perkins
John Hodge
The Urban Learning and Leadership Center
March, 2009

2. Don’t Confuse Your School Improvement Plan with School Improvement!!

3. School improvement corollary: “If we develop a beautiful school improvement plan that meets the state guidelines, but does not produce meaningful school change, did we have school improvement?”

4. Truth or Dare?
Is your school improvement plan a vehicle for faculty dialogue around best practices and the means of cultural and instructional renewal in your school? OR
Is it an annual chore that allows you to put another check in the box of the bureaucracy and move on with business as usual?

5. Two Faces of School Leadership in a Professional Learning Community
Cultural Development
Program Management
Macro
Mission, Vision, Values Driven
Primary
Stable
Internal Locus of Control
Micro
Goals & Data Driven/
School Improvement Plan
Secondary
Dynamic
External Locus of Control (in a high stakes testing environment)

6. Well, what are schools supposed to be?
Places for teaching and learning?
Places for transmission of culture, societal values, individual values?
Places for development of responsible citizens?
Most of these concepts are found in the mission statements of the majority of American schools.
ALL of the Above!!
™ ULLC

7. in this era of high stakes testing!
Many school improvement efforts today are fragmented, addressing only part of their stated mission.
This problem
has become more acute
in this era of high stakes testing!

8. The S.A.M.E. Pathway Academic environment Moral environment
How members of the school community engage in
teaching
and
learning
Moral environment
Social environment
What members of the school community believe
How members of the school community behave
Distributed Leadership Culture

9. Distributed Leadership Culture
The S.A.M.E. Pathway
Academic environment
Adults
Moral environment
Students
Social environment
Adults
Adults
Students
Students
Distributed Leadership Culture
™ULLC

10. Activity: Consider all three environments from the SAME model
Activity: Consider all three environments from the SAME model. List 1 or 2 ideas which, if implemented in your schools, would significantly impact teaching and learning. (Share out when prompted)

11. Readiness questions for SIP planning:
Given the mission of our school, what are indicators of excellence for our students/our teachers?
How can we measure growth towards these indicators?
Do the indicators address students approaching proficiency as well as challenge those who have surpassed proficiency?

12. Team time
With members of your SIT, discuss what indicators of excellence reflect the outcomes you desire for your students and staff, e.g. what indicators measure lifelong learners, responsible citizens, high academic achievement for all, continued professional growth, collaborative lesson design, etc.

13. So… Let’s get started! How do you feel about this process definition for your SIP? Our SIP clearly articulates the goals, objectives, and strategies to make this school a more productive place for teaching and learning next year, and it presents a clear implementation and monitoring strategy.

14. Let’s reflect on our current School Improvement Process
Let’s reflect on our current School Improvement Process! (See “Taking our SIP Pulse!”)

15. Activity: Score the process and product of your current SIP
Activity: Score the process and product of your current SIP. Share with your table group any items below “3” on your score. Look for common areas of concern at your table.

16. Let’s now explore a vehicle to transform an over-burdened bureaucratic document into a viable action plan for school growth: ULLC Six Steps to SIP Planning

17. Non-Negotiables for a Quality SIP
Student achievement focus-beyond process measures to product measures
Meticulous data analysis
Input from all stakeholders
Targeted focus—less is more!!
Tenacious monitoring for consistent delivery
Communication and celebration!

18. ULLC Design for SIP Development: Six Critical Steps
Data Capture and Reporting
Data Analysis
Goal/Objective Setting
Strategy/Action Plan Development
Monitoring and Adjusting
Communicating the Plan

19. Step I. Data Capture and Reporting
Historical data yields new direction!
Some folks LOVE data-use them!
Data Capture is a technical skill; Data Reporting is leadership skill!
Display of data should tell YOUR story and challenge your staff!
The state template is for organizing your data;
it may not be the best way to tell your story.

20. Data Capture: Much Has Been Done!
The state has provided many valuable test results reports for i-LEAP, LEAP, OR GEE, such as:
School roster report
School performance report
School Achievement level report
School economic status subgroup report
School subgroup/Education classification report
School special education exceptionality report

21. How Do I Display the Data… Bar, Pie, or Line Graph ???
Trend Data
(comparisons over time)

22. Targeted Test Areas How Do I Display the Data… Bar or Line Graph ???
Trend Data
(comparisons over time)
Part to Part Comparison
(i.e. subtests)

25. Team Time. 1. Discuss how you can use your
Team Time 1.Discuss how you can use your data displays to tell your story Where are your “data gurus” with graphics capabilities? When and where do you need to “tell your story”?

26. II. Data Analysis Purpose is two-fold celebration
How can you use your data analysis results for celebration?
When should this occur?
How can celebration be motivational for next year’s SIP?
purpose/performance dissonance
Should your SIT consider the deliverables in your mission statement as it develops your SIP goals?
Is your mission statement “alive”?
How does data analysis and mission, when taken together, provide a vehicle for change?

27. Data Analysis Total team involvement
At some point in the process, all staff members need to “get their hands” into the data!
How does getting a report from the SIT differ from sifting through the data yourself?
Types of analysis (different lens!)
Trend analysis
Program/strategy analysis
Content analysis
Instructional asset analysis
Student performance analysis

28. Don’t forget to use qualitative data as well as quantitative data to triangulate your analysis!

29. III. Goal and Objective Setting
Must reflect the state goals
Goal statement needs assessment
objective strategy activity – direct line of sight!!
Create no more objectives than you can and will tenaciously monitor!

30. Direct Line of Sight!
Goal: By , all students will reach high standards, attaining proficiency or better, in mathematics.
Needs Assessment:
By the end of the school year, 48% of ____________Middle School eighth grade students had attained proficiency or better in mathematics on LEAP.
54% of white students attained this goal while 38% were African-American.
Objectives: By the end of the school year, LEAP mathematics proficiency in grade 8 will increase from 48% to 70%.
By the end of the school year, LEAP mathematics proficiency for African-American students in grade 8 will increase from 38% to 60%.

31. Team time With members of your SIT..
Review each goal area to ensure a direct line of sight from data analysis to objective to action strategy
Ensure that goals and objectives are consistent with local, state, and national benchmarks.

32. IV. Strategy/Action Plan Development
Where would you be if your physician diagnosed your illness accurately, but gave you an ineffective or inappropriate prescription?
Your team must expand its knowledge base before prescribing the solution set!

33. Strategy/Action Plan Development
“Benchmark” successful teachers
Find model schools or programs
Contact your curriculum coordinator (if applicable)
Research your target area (regional offices are a good source)
Contact university personnel
Web Research (

34. Strategy/Action Plan Development
How many strategies are enough?
Select 1-3 action steps per objective
Select no more than you can TENACIOUSLY MONITOR!
“Institutionalized” practices vs. new SIP
Take the I-S-E challenge!
The “preamble” solution!

35. V. Monitoring and Adjusting
“What gets measured gets done!”
Monitor the process (are we consistently implementing our strategies?) as well as the product (what interim data do we need to collect to determine the effectiveness of the strategy?)
If the horse you are riding dies, get off!

36. Monitoring and Adjusting
Timeline
Not Sept-June!!
This should reflect the report dates for the action step!
Indicator of Implementation
What is the OBSERVABLE change you desire?
Evaluation Procedures
What evidence will you accept that the action step is really being done?
Think creatively; use existing sources; don’t create a reporting nightmare!

37. VI. Communicating the Plan
Internal and external communication
Use regular communication tools (daily/weekly bulletins, newsletters, etc.) to keep the plan alive!
Structure existing meetings (grade level, team and department) around the plan strategies
Promote your “improvement” culture with parents and business partners!

38. Can Your Action Plan pass the “Elevator Speech” test?

39. SIP as a bureaucratic chore!
Teachers
Administrators
Student Achievement
Parents
Students

40. SIP as a tool for cultural change!
Student Achievement
Parents
Teachers
Administrators
Students

41. “After the Final Rose”… Site Visits
School improvement in schools engaged in re-structuring is a collaborative effort between district and school based leadership. The purpose of site visits is to allow district personnel to engage in dialogue with the SIT and the school administration to achieve a deeper understanding of building issues and the team’s rationale for the action plans in use. use.

42. District Advantages
To gain a firsthand knowledge of the school improvement efforts of the school based leadership teams
To facilitate networking between schools
To share best practices for increasing student achievement between schools throughout the district
To provide support services to assist schools in achieving their stated goals and objectives.
To assist in long range budget development and professional development planning consistent with school needs

43. School Advantages To celebrate successes in student achievement
To engage in professional dialogue around school improvement planning
To receive support as appropriate from district personnel for school based reform efforts
To receive assistance in school improvement planning in such areas as data analysis, action step planning, and program monitoring.

44. Leading and Sustaining School Change Efforts
Distributed leadership training
Site based coaching
Networking for excellence

45. Harvey W. Perkins, CEO John W. Hodge, Vice-President