1. SCHOOL PEER REVIEW A reflective tool for effective school improvement within the SAESC community

2. Where did we start?  March to November 2011 – Discussion amongst SAESC members on how to continue to evolve best practice and improve on outcomes  Jan/Feb 2012 – Presentation by EdVillage on model, followed by discussion and agreement on process with SAESC members  June 2012 – SPR training in NYC with EdVillage (8 members, report by EdVillage + report by SAESC)

3. What have we done so far?  August 2012 – Implementation plan for SAESC  September 2012 – Lebone II as the first pilot site, followed by LEAP 4 and Inanda  October 2012 – COSAT and Vuleka  November 2012 – LEAP 1

4. A quick snap-shot – vital statistics  8 people trained in NYC  6 schools participated in Phase I as review sites – pilot testing of instrument and model  Further 13 members from SAESC schools participated as reviewers and trained in model  11 schools volunteered members as peer reviewers (including host schools)  Over 200 formal classroom observations and 92 meeting blocks were held in these six reviews (parents, students, teachers)

5. What did we build along the way?  A lesson plan for the pre-review training session (CoC, OCD)  A template for scheduling of classroom visits – with key activities/meetings that need to be included  A template for recording evidence by domain  A process model for debriefing, checking in and calibrating evidence/observations with team leads  A process model for peer support (team lead, coach, paired observations, paired check-ins)

6. Precise praise (all)  Open, honest reflection constructively given to schools (peer review as an objective reflection of classroom practice)  Real connections and tremendous trust built between team members during the review – a solid foundation for effective teams  In 4 of 6 reviews, provided host school with team bios (in 3 out of 6 reviews introduced team to whole school, in 1/6 reviews introduced to staff specifically)

7. Precise praise (all) – CONT.  4/6 reports already submitted to school heads – only one outside of the 30-day turnaround  Check-ins and debriefs were available electronically on the day for review by team leads  Calibration exercise by video followed by in-class calibration was extremely valuable, and more so, when supported by a paired observation  Each team lead supported by a “thought partner” deepened the process, acting as a reflective mirror

8. Areas for improvement (all)  Inadequate briefing of schools in respect to meeting purpose/requirements for key stakeholders – common expectations  Better delivery mechanism/style for close-out verbal reporting (preparing the receiving school, adequate time for preparation, scripted narratives)  Solid preparation of host school staff by host school head (work through of instrument, expectations for classroom observations e.g. no feedback)

9. Areas for improvement (all) - CONT  Using the detail of the evidence for the written report to the school  Starting the prep process earlier – at least 30 days prior to each review (build a timeline as part of the toolkit)  Possible revision of some of the criteria – some heavily worded, some difficult to evidence, some could be further expanded

10. Big rocks (all)  Preparing host schools adequately for the “invasion” – paperwork & documentation needed in advance (for on-site review), meetings to be set up etc  Being comfortable with being vulnerable (host school and team) – safety, trust, confidentiality, professionalism, humility, commitment to the process  Getting the right people in the room (host school) – for dissemination, to take ownership of action, and build a stronger school team

11. What do we need to do differently?  Toolkit to be developed – key resources, templates, checklists for host schools and review teams  Review nature of written report – more detail, more evidence, more constructive recommendations on big rocks or other  Train more members in the art of difficult conversations and in the art of “giving the gift”

12. Here’s to walking forwards together in the next phase... Thank you.