Texas Education Center Summit

1. Quality Innovation Texas Education Center Collaboration Reform Texas Education Center Summit Presented by Advancing Quality, Innovation, and Collaboration in Our Schools

2. TEXAS EDUCATION CENTER MEMBERS: Additional Co-Sponsors

3. Dr. Bob Sanborn President & CEO CHILDREN AT RISK Caroline Holcombe Director of Social Measurement and Evaluation CHILDREN AT RISK The State of Educational Quality, Innovation and Collaboration in Houston

4. Students At/Near Poverty Data: TEA, 2010-2011 AEIS Standard Report

5. Student Demographics Data: TEA, 2009-2010 AEIS Report

6. Graduation Rates In Harris County, the six-year graduation rate for the incoming freshmen class of 2003-2004 was just 65.6%. Data: CHILDREN AT RISK, 2011 Graduation Rates

7. After high school… • By 2020, 60% of Texas jobs will require either a one-year career certificate or college degree • For students enrolled full-time… • 57.4% of first-time freshmen at 4-year public colleges will graduate in 6 years • 29.3% of first-time freshmen at 2-year public colleges will graduate in 6 years Data: Complete College America, 2011 Texas State Report; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2011 Baccalaureates/Associates Graduation Rates

8. Remediation 2-Year Public Colleges 4-Year Public Colleges Data: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2011 Developmental Education Accountability Measures Data

9. The children at risk texas public school rankings What’s Working?

10. MEASURING PERFORMANCE

11. What do our top-performing schools look like? 294 Tier One schools in Greater Houston

12. What do our top-performing schools look like? 105 schools are majority low-income

13. What do our top-performing schools look like? 63 are majority low-income, non-selective

14. What do our top-performing schools look like? 37 are majority low-income, non-selective, non-charter

15. Where are the top-performing Elementary schools in Texas?

16. Where are the top-performing Middle schools in Texas?

17. Where are the top-performing High schools in Texas?

18. JP Henderson elementary • Comprehensive, neighborhood school • Predominantly low-income Latino students • 94.9% of students economically disadvantaged • Recognized by CHILDREN AT RISK as a Gold Ribbon School, or the top urban comprehensive elementary school in Greater Houston • Dedicated leadership • Use of quality data

19. high school for law enforcement and criminal justice • Theme-based magnet school • In operation for over 2 decades • 76.5% of students are economically disadvantaged • 88.9% graduation rate • Experiential curriculum that utilizes collaboration

20. Kerr high school • Opened in 1994 • 93% graduation rate • Ranked 6th overall, and 5th for top performance in math and science, in CHILDREN AT RISK’s 2011 Houston-area high school rankings • Innovative structure, where students learn at their own pace, supported by staff

21. Generation schools • Charter school network founded in 2004 • Located in New York and Colorado • Centerpiece of schools is extended learning time • Longer school day cost extra money • Utilizes rotating shifts of teachers • Reduced class size in core classes (math, reading)

22. What works? • Effective teachers w/ missionary zeal • More time in class • Strong, collaborative school leadership • Data-informed decision-making • Small, rigorous, and theme-based learning communities

23. Questions?Bob Sanbornsanborn@childrenatrisk.orgCaroline Holcombecholcombe@childrenatrisk.orgFollow us @childrenatrisk

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25. Ann Best Chief Human Resources Officer Houston ISD QUALITY IN EDUCATION: Defining Educator Quality

26. HISD’s Effective Teachers Initiative November 2011

27. Agenda Effective Teachers Initiative: 4 Key Strategies Focus on Recruitment and Selection

28. The Stakes: By sixth grade, we can begin to reliably predict which students won’t ever graduate high school. A study that followed more than 12,000 Philadelphia 6th graders found four simple predictive indicators identify those likely to drop out: “Our evidence clearly indicates that, at least in high poverty schools, students who are missing 20% or more school, receiving poor behavior marks or failing math or English in 6th grade do not recover. On the contrary, they drop out.” Source: Balfanz, Robert; Herzog, Liza; and Douglas J. Mac Iver (2007). Preventing Student Disengagement and Keeping Students on the Graduation Track in High-Poverty Middle-Grades Schools: Early Identification and Effective Interventions. Educational Psychologist, V42.4 (223 – 235).

29. The consequences of dropping out are dire. 4x 47x 3x more likely than a college graduate to be jobless Source: Sum, Andrew, et al., (2009). more likely than a college graduate to be jailed Source: Sum, Andrew, et al., (2009). higher than that of an adult with more than a high school education Source: Woolf, Steven H., (2009). “Poverty and crime are connected to a lack of educational achievement… The majority of homicide victims in Cincinnati never graduated from high school.” O'dell M. Owen, Hamilton County Coroner (Cincinnati Enquirer, July 2010)

30. The most common reasons students cite for dropping out – and the most powerful antidotes – are related to schools and teachers. Why High School Students Drop Out Reasons Given by 677 Dropouts (2004) What Would Have Helped? Reasons Given by 500 Dropouts (2006) Source: Dalton, Ben; Glennie, Elizabeth; and Ingels, Steven J.(2009). Late High-School Dropouts. National Center for Education Statistics. Source: Bridgeland, John M.; DiIulio, Jr., John J.; and Karen Burke Morison (2006). The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts. Civic Enterprises, LLC.

31. Research has shown that effective teachers are critically important to student learning. Dallas students who start 3rd grade at about the same level of math achievement… …finish 5th grade math at dramatically different levels depending on the quality of their teachers. After 3 EFFECTIVE Teachers 50 After 3 INEFFECTIVE Teachers Original analysis by the Education Trust. Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.

32. Dramatic gains in student achievement are possible only with a total focus on teacher effectiveness. 5 Boost effectiveness of all teachers through effective evaluation and targeted professional development. Goals for Optimizing Teacher Effectiveness 2 Optimize new teacher supply by hiring from preparation programs whose teachers consistently achieve better student outcomes. 1 Retain and leverage most effective teachers. 3 Teacher Effectiveness in Improving Student Achievement 5 4 Improve or exit persistently less effective teachers and replace with more effective teachers. Prioritize effective teachers for high-need students. Current teacher performance Potential teacher performance

33. HISD’s Effective Teachers Initiative Vision: An effective teacher in every classroom, delivering high-quality instruction to all students. Four Key Strategies Smart recruitment Useful appraisals Individualized teacher support New career pathways Effective Instruction In All Classrooms Improved Student Learning Outcomes

34. Key Strategy: Strengthen Recruitment and Staffing Practices • Key Accomplishments to Date: • Strategic vision defined for data-driven teacher recruitment and staffing • Creation of selection rubrics to guide each stage of the hiring process • Strategic approach to staffing displaced employees • Assessments of individual school cultures for best fit 1 Strengthen Recruitment and Staffing Practices

35. Key Strategy: Teacher Appraisal • Key Accomplishments to Date: • Implementation of the new appraisal system • Cycle of continuous feedback and development for teachers • Fairly and reliably differentiate teacher performance based on clear, high quality standards 2 Establish a Rigorous, Fair Teacher Appraisal System

36. Under the proposed system, teachers will be evaluated based on multiple measures in three major areas. Proposed Categories of Appraisal Criteria Instructional Practice Reflects a teacher’s skills and knowledge that help drive student learning in the classroom. 1 Professional Expectations Reflects a core set of objective, measurable professional expectations. 2 Student Performance Reflects a teacher’s impact on student learning. 3

37. Key Strategy: Teacher Support and Development • Key Accomplishments to Date: • Diagnosed clear improvement areas of the current professional development system • Created vision for a new approach to professional development that connects all teachers with valuable development opportunities based on their individual strengths and growth areas • Preparations made to launch Teacher Development Specialist role and implement new development system next school year 3 Provide Individualized Teacher Support and Development

38. Teacher Development Specialists play an important role in the new development system. • Criteria: • Minimum of 3 years teaching experience in designated subject • Subject matter expertise • Clear track record of increasing student achievement • Exceptional interpersonal skills; ability to provide valuable, constructive feedback What Do Teacher Development Specialists Do? • Provide individualized support to teachers at several schools in specific grades and content areas by: • Observing lessons and providing real-time feedback • Helping to identify and prioritize development needs • Connecting teachers with job-embedded development opportunities based on their specific professional needs • Lead group learning opportunities relevant to teachers they support

39. Key Strategy Vision: Career Pathways and Compensation • Vision: • HISD will recognize and retain its best teachers. • Talented teachers won’t have to leave the classroom entirely to participate in new career pathways. • HISD’s best teachers will have formal opportunities to take on leadership roles, like coordinating professional development for their grade or subject. 4 Offer New Career Pathways and Compensation

40. First Step: Create a new, school-based “Teacher Leader” position to recognize and reward excellence in the classroom. • Teacher Leaders • Potential Responsibilities • Will support other teachers in their schools while continuing to teach classes • Will work closely with Development Specialists to coordinate development activities in their school • Selected from top performers based on appraisal results – top 15% invited to participate • Rigorous selection and training process • Central coordination to help make cross-campus connections • Spectrum of potential activities • Why? • Rewards excellence and helps retain top-performing teachers • Enables targeted and scalable delivery of professional development • Gives highly-effective teachers upward mobility and is a career pathway to a rotation as a Development Specialist • Helps individual schools and the district as a whole learn from the successes of the top teachers.

41. Agenda Effective Teachers Initiative: Four Key Strategies Focus on Recruitment and Selection

42. HISD’s Vision: Data-driven approach to recruiting and staffing that supports principals in the selection of the best candidates for their schools HISD Action Steps Expand useof data about candidates and schools to inform strategies and practices in recruiting and staffing Improve ability to project, track and fill vacanciesquickly Cultivate strongest candidates through improved hiring processes and deliberate outreach Make school-culture-centered selectionand hiring even easier for principals Ensure teacher programs prepare new teachersto be effective 1 2 3 4 5

43. In the past, HISD did not prioritize the most promising new teacher candidates during the hiring process. Applicant Hire Rate by Haberman Star Teacher Interview Score Source: 2010 Survey of Teacher Applicants and HISD Recruiting Data

44. HISD has already taken many important steps to improve its recruitment and staffing policies. • Created pool of 1,243 teacher candidates for principals to interview • Increased online and college presence: conducted over 40 campus recruitment trips • Generated more than 6,000 online applications • Launched centralized screening and selection process for new teachers • Proactively increased selectivity and quality of teacher applicant pool (21% of applicants) • Math Assessment • Sample Teach • Haberman STAR Teacher Structured Interview • Supported principals in filling 993 teaching positions for 2010-2011 school year • Improved recruitment, selection, and design for HISD ACP program

45. Early Results: Better Communication with Applicants Percentage of Unhired Applicants who Said Communications They Received from HISD Were Clear 2007-2009 Candidates 2010 Candidates Source: Surveys of 2010 teacher applicants and survey of 1,921 un-hired teacher applicants to HISD between 2007 and 2009.

46. Early Results: A Stronger Applicant Pool Weak candidates are systematically screened out of selection and hiring 6,043 Screened Applicants ~ 9 out of 10 Principals rated 2010 teacher candidates as strong or stronger than previous years • Sample Teaching • Haberman Interviews • Math Assessment “Although I was able to find high quality candidates before the process, the new process helped me to get the job done much faster.” “As a part of this year's process, I was able to complete hiring for campus and move on to other activities that normally take up my time with hiring. This by far was quick, highly qualified candidates, and time was better spent on new initiatives.” 1,243 Teacher Candidates enter hiring pool 21% Selectivity 993 Teachers Hired Source: 2010 Survey of Hiring Principals

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48. Paul Castro Head of High Schools KIPP Houston QUALITY IN EDUCATION: Turning Around Low-Performing Schools

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50. Todd Litton Executive Director Citizen Schools- Texas Dan Wampler Executive Director Genesys Works Houston Panel Discussion: Advancing Quality in Our Schools Jennifer Blaine Associate Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Spring ISD Aaron Brenner Head of Primary Schools KIPP Houston