Team 3 Presentation

1. February 18, 2012 Team 3Presentation

2. SFUSD has the highest district average API …but also the largest disparity between the average and lowest performing group

3. What is being done now? 5 Year Plan • “Beyond the Talk” – Carlos Garcia, 2007 • Increase academic success for all students • Narrow the achievement gap • Access and Equity – Every student has access to quality teaching • Achievement– Every student graduates with tools necessary to succeed • Accountability– Keep promises to students and families 3 Major Goals • Balanced Scorecard –Measurable objectives mapped to district goals • School Quality, Equity, and Access Matrix – Increase transparency of the schools’ performance through relative and absolute measures • Weighted Student-Funding – Money allocated based on need • Superintendent’s Zone – Operational flexibility and varied compensation Execution

4. SFUSD’s challenges today • SFUSD’s overall budget reduced by $113M • Potential $85M cut next two years • How to best use SIG Grant$45M over 3 years • No teacher-friendly way to share information • Sharepoint and DataDirector are not widely used • Professional Development is one size fits all model • No place for School Leaders to learn from one another

5. Five key factors for sustaining significant academic gains • Clear instructional guidance 1 • Assessing and building professional capacity 2 • A student-centered learning climate 3 • Parent-community ties 4 • School leadership 5

6. 1 3 2 Case Studies Action Plan OurSolution

7. teachers.net Key Strengths • Teacher discussions relevant to pedagogy • Over 5,000 lesson arranged by grade level • Chatboards for subject areas and interests • Teacher Mailrings to receive guidance from other teachers Weaknesses • No rating system • No curriculum or state standards • Doesn’t create sense of community or accountability

8. TFAnet.org Key Strengths • Easy to use search function across curriculums • Videos and photos that capture teaching and learning • Content communities by grade level and subject • Profiles and advice blogs to connect master teachers with other practitioners Weaknesses • Participation boom and bust • Not reactive to the needs of the user • Not accessible outside of TFA network

9. How other schools are collaborating Montgomery County, MD Brockton High School , MA • Peer Assisted Review (PAR) allows peers to mentor and decide on effectiveness of colleagues • Recognized trust between the school district, unions, and community • 84% of students attend college and 63% graduate • Instruction and outcomes have improved overall in the district in 10 years of implementation • Over 4,000 students • Teachers organized to improve pedagogy as peers • Shared vision of the outcomes for their students • Communicated and held each other accountable • Culture of trust built where teachers help other teachers

10. 1 3 2 Case Studies Action Plan OurSolution

11. ConnectEd • Peer support and feedback • Building professional development and capacity • Empowering school leaders • Stems from community organizing principles • Leveraging existing resources Peermentoring Onlinecollaboration Schoolobservations • Access to resources anytime, anywhere, for anyone • Long-term sustainability • Observe district wide practices (ELL, Swan) in new context • Gets people out of their silo • Opens communication lines between schools

12. Peer mentoring Teacher identified • Create a database of participating teachers • Nominate teachers based on strengths and weaknesses • Teachers volunteer • Identify problem looking to solve • Provides a platform to address an issue • Creates a goal in additional to building a new relationship • Identify participants • Pair with teacher who has experience in content area • Pair team with participants from another school • Identify a project sponsor • Team works to address problem • Quality content is reviewed and vetted by others • Creation of solution and best practices • Lunch and learn presentation • Upload best practice to Online Database • Serve as future reference for new teachers Skill to learn or share selected Peers paired through online platform Best practice contributed

13. School Observations Consistent approach to improving student experience Who? Where? How? Why? • Educators in search of filling a specific knowledge gap • Teachers • Principals • Instructional coaches • Parents • Classroom • Balanced literacy • ELL strategies • SWAN math • Math reforms • Administrative meeting • Community engagement event • 3 – 5 observations per year • Planned substitutes • District-level coordination • Feedback incorporatedinto visit (not initially evaluative) • Experience other classroom and school-level approaches • Build professional development, capacity, and new relationships • Best practices uploaded to online database

14. Online collaboration - Homepage

15. Online collaboration – School observation

16. ConnectEd Alignment

18. 1 3 2 Case Studies Action Plan OurSolution

19. Implementation Plan 2 FTEs + $250 K 1 FTE + $150 K 1FTE + $150 K

20. Things to do on Monday • Contact Montgomery County and Brockton High School to talk about best practices collaboration • Review SFUSD PAR situation • Design a survey to identify potential influencers / school champions of ConnectEd • Begin recruiting tech-savvy staff who can build website • Identify task force of teachers to develop common lesson template aligned with common core standards

21. APPENDIX

22. Case studies – Online Collaboration • Not easy to maneuver • Teachers have no incentive or motivation to engage • Not customized with the interests of the users

23. How others organized school observation Chicago Public School, IL Montgomery County, MD • Day long event for teachers, superintendents, and coaches to share best practices • Most importantly building network • CEO of Chicago Public Schools offers teachers “Longer School Day Advisory Committee” • Allows peers to mentor and decide on effectiveness of colleagues • Recognized trust between the school district, unions, and community • 84% of students attend college and 63% graduate • Instruction and outcomes have improved overall in the district in 10 years of implementation

24. …and peer mentorship program Boston Teachers Union Brockton High School , MA • Focus on dimensions of effective teaching • Senior Peer Mentors have 10+ years of teaching experience paired with less experienced teachers • Intentional focus on student success and NOT on evaluation process • An option for teachers to improve their pedagogy • Over 4,000 students • Teachers organized to improve pedagogy as peers • Shared vision of the outcomes for their students • Communicated and held each other accountable • Culture of trust built where teachers help other teachers