1. Setting purposeful goals Douglas County Schools July 2011

2. What we envision?  Quality assessments to assess student learning over time—unit by unit  Teachers and administrators setting purposeful goals based on CLASS Keys and LEADER Keys to engage in strategic professional learning  Increased effectiveness in teaching and learning through changing our behavior

3. What have we accomplished?

4. Common Assessments for All  Four teachers from every grade level/content area met for at least 4 days this summer and wrote no fewer than 3 standards based assessments.  423 educators engaged in the work of developing common unit assessments.  We have developed strong leadership teams and facilitators

5. Feedback We had extremely positive feedback from all writing teams:  Collaboration was most effective and appreciated,  The process and the norms keep teams achieving their goal of 3 common assessments, and  Facilitators were outstanding –very helpful.

6. Next steps in the assessment work  Develop charts of what assessments have been completed and present a status report.  Design a system for the District Assessment Leadership Team to begin the review and feedback process.  Establish content area/grade level professional learning communities to establish collective inquiry among all teaching teams across the district.  Develop a timeline over the next 3 to 5 years and systems for continuing assessment revisions and developme nt.

7. Our learnings  Teachers are experts in their fields and with guidelines and a clear process, they produce quality unit assessments.  Teachers across the district became learning communities as they worked toward a common goal.  Teacher leaders develop as they facilitate teams of teachers to accomplish their goals.  We can do anything we put our minds to accomplish if we all work together.

8. What about goal setting?

9. Assumptions  When teachers and administrators thoughtfully appraise teacher effectiveness on CLASS and LEADER Keys indicators and set authentic, challenging goals for growth, effectiveness improves in ways that positively impact student learning.  When teachers analyze trends in a variety of data regarding their students’ achievement and reflect on their own practice, they are better informed to set relevant goals for strengthening their performance.  When administrators host meaningful conversations with teachers about their students’ learning, they facilitate teacher reflection.  Common unit assessments are central to teaching teams’ efforts to be proactive in the design of results-oriented instruction that meets their students’ needs.

10. Our vision Learning of students and staff is the connective tissue between goals and outcomes. The district values professional learning and insists that teams of teachers and administrators write authentic goals based on trends in student performance data and their self assessments on CLASS Keys and LEADER Keys. Through their deep understanding of themselves as a learner, and a learning team, they establish logical plans of action that will lead them to learn aggressively.

11. Our vision If teachers have reliable assessment strategies that give them good information about student progress, they have the best opportunity to understand what their students know and do not know. If teams of teachers work collaboratively together in analyzing their student performance data and student work, they can make thoughtful connections to their instructional work and set transformational goal for themselves that will lead them to implement new strategies in their classrooms.

12. Our vision Administrators play a major role in impacting student and staff learning. The way administrators coach others matters in terms of the learning in the organization. As administrators self assess using LEADER Keys, student performance data in the school, and their observations of teachers teaching and collaborating, they set meaningful goals for themselves that lead them to learn essential skills and develop behaviors to lead high achieving schools.

13. Our vision Assessmen t design committee s establish reliable, assessment strategies and data charts. Teaching teams analyze data from multiple sources of information about student achievement. Teaching teams analyze their effectiveness on CLASS competencies and skills. Teachers identify trends in their strengths and weaknesses of their teaching. Either individually or with their team teachers establish a clearly articulated, challenging goal. Teaching teams and individual teachers describe the results they expect from students as a result of achieving their goal. They establish a theory of action and a logical model to achieve it grounded in profession al learning principles. They monitor their progress regularly with their principal, celebrate and share their successes, and make modification for challenges that arise.

14. CLASS Keys process

15. The CLASS Keys process: 9 steps Phase 1: Pre-evaluation phase Individual teacher work 1. Reflect on personal effectiveness and gather artifacts and data 2. Self assessment/reflection 3. Determine strengths and challenges, 4. Analysis of Student Performance Data Team work 5. Determine root causes and possible new learnings 6. Establish a targeted goal 7. Develop a professional growth Plan (Theory of Change and Logic Model) 8. Gather artifacts 9. Feedback

16. Exactly as stated in CLASS Keys Phase II: Evidence Collection Phase (only around the goal)  Informal observations  Formal observations  Other evidence collection  Feedback Phase III: Annual Evaluation Phase  Element/Strand Evaluation  GTDR Evaluation  Overall Evaluation  Feedback

18. LEADER KEYS PROCESS

19. The LEADER Keys process: 9 steps Phase 1: Pre-evaluation phase Individual teacher work 1. Reflect on personal effectiveness and gather artifacts and data 2. Self assessment/reflection 3. Determine strengths and challenges, 4. Analysis of Student Performance Data Team work 5. Determine overall Strengths and Challenges of your team 6. Determine root causes and possible new learnings 7. Establish a targeted goal 8. Develop a professional growth Plan (Theory of Change and Logic Model) 9. Gather artifacts

20. Exactly as stated in LEADER Keys Phase II: Evidence Collection Phase (only around the goal) Informal observations Formal observations Other evidence collection Feedback Phase III: Annual Evaluation Phase Element/Strand Evaluation GTDR Evaluation Overall Evaluation Feedback

22. District Parameters for Administrators Principals: One standard from each strand (10 total) will be selected as system-wide, non- negotiable standards Up to 3 additional standards may be selected, based on the specific professional growth needs of individuals.

23. Assistant Principals: 6-10 standards will be selected. Standards may be a combination of non-negotiable standards and standards selected based on the specific professional growth needs of the individual. Instructional Staff: One Standard from each strand (10 total) will be selected as system-wide, non- negotiable standards Up to 3 additional standards maybe selected, based on the specific professional growth needs of individuals.

24. At least 1 standard from each of the following strands must be selected: Curriculum Assessment Standards-based Instruction Data Analysis Professional Learning & Development Performance Management & Process Improvement

25. LET’S JUST DO IT!