Cultivating Teacher Teams – Pillar I

Cultivating Teacher Teams – Pillar I Burbank High School Diplomas Now Team – Yesenia Cordova, Kimberley Ash, Blanca Rojas, Laura Barrera, Edd Schneider, Liz Moseley, & Kimberlee Morrison – San Antonio, Texas

TEACHER TEAMS – Pillar IBurbank High School San Antonio, Texas “They will not care what you know until they know that you care…” Building trust and developing relationships

First the DN Partners Team came together as a TEAM to develop… Burbank Diplomas Now - TEAM BELIEFS • We have high, common, and consistent expectations. • We practice shared leadership and responsibility. • We have collaborative discourse for collegial and student support. • We foster a school-wide culture of learning. • We foster a positive school climate of caring and respect. • We use best and reflective teaching practices. • We are accountable for student learning outcomes. • We build professional teacher/leader capacity. • We are solution-oriented and student-centered.

First the DN Partners Team came together as a TEAM to develop… • THE WHAT- What will Burbank Diplomas Teams do? • Diagnose student needs based on EWI data, classroom data, assessments, etc. • Study patterns in data • Have collegial conversations that address student needs • Focus on 9th grade as a transitional year • Build foundational student behavior skills • Help students learn to be good students no matter the content, class, or grade level • Examine how kids act/perform differently throughout their day • Provide support, interventions, and recognition for students and staff success

First the DN Partners Team came together as a TEAM to develop… THE HOW– How will Burbank Diplomas Now Teams address Early Warning Indicators (EWI)? • Through Active Participation at biweekly EWI and PLC meetings with a focus on learning and a commitment to Team Norms THE WHY- Why do we need Burbank Diplomas Now Teams? • To address EWI – Attendance, Behavior and Course Performance • To maximize student learning outcomes • To increase graduation completion rates • To build student college and career readiness skills • To build teacher/leader capacity

DN PARTNERS TEAM • DN Team modeled shared leadership • DN Team met Mondays and modeled a collaborative working team • DN Team worked on developing relationships with the faculty and staff to develop trust and create foundation of service & support • DN Team established a Professional Learning Center – 2 room set up • DN Team modeled a print-rich, safe learning environment • DN Team was visible with a positive attitude and print-rich environment • CAN DO CULTURE CLIMATE fosters TEACHER TEAMS

BUILDING TEACHER TEAMS • Teaming very difficult 2012-2013 as no clean cohort of students belonged to a team of teachers AND no common conference period • Teachers were asked to hold EWI and Team meetings every two weeks before or after school • Primary focus for the first semester was on building a common language and commitment to teacher teams - Teaming Training – 9/10/12 • Teams began to take ownership of the Roles/Responsibilities of their EWI/Interdisciplinary teams by creating the definitions for Burbank – 9/20/12 • Schedule of biweekly meetings set in September 2012

1st 9 Weeks - Teacher Teams • Teacher Teams established although student cohorts not pure. Teams: Harvard, Brown, and the Golden Dogs • EWI/Team Meetings bi-weekly. DN Team members still facilitating, but all team members participate in the meetings actively. CITY YEAR AND CIS ATTENDS ALL MEETINGS. • Teachers developed team roles & definitions – September 2012 • Teacher teams working on incorporating PBIS CLASSROOM GUIDELINES, FS GOALS, AND LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM AS INTERDISCIPLINARY FOCUS. • 2nd 9 weeks - New FOCUS – Interactive homework • Lots of encouragement & support from DN Team and lots of opportunities for professional learning/collaboration through pull-outs & PD

TEAM ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES DEVELOPED BY TEACHERS – September-October 2012 • FACILITATOR—builds meeting agenda and guides team to focus on that agenda; helps all team members have a voice; keeps focus on the meeting goals; keeps conversation focused • RECORDER—documents essential ideas, concerns, questions in clear, coherent format • TIMEKEEPER—honors team time by keeping members on track and on time • ACTIVE PARTICIPANT—follows meeting norms and DN beliefs to focus on the task; contributes to the discussion to achieve goals; listens actively • SUMMARIZER—regroups and recaps the team/helps see if meeting goals were met/ offers the “wrap-up”

PBIS – Teacher Teams– First Semester - What to do now? • Review classroom procedures and Guidelines for Success • Recognize/Acknowledge APPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS – • “Thank you for being on time” • “I like how this group is speaking softly” • “Everyone was on time today” • “Thank you for raising your hand to be called on” • Recognize/Acknowledge appropriate behaviors as often as redirection is needed • FOCUS ON ATTENDANCE, BEHAVIOR, COURSE PERFORMANCE • Practice SANDWICHING redirection • Use 3:1 positive to Negative Ratio

SUPPORTIVE AND POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT The DN and Burbank Administrative Team collaboratively sponsored many events to help build collegiality and help create a positive CAN DO CULTURE & CLIMATE, but the teacher teams were struggling…

Second Semester – 9th TEACHER & STUDENT RETREAT – January-February 2013 AGENDA - Teaming/ROPES/9thgrade Teacher Retreat – 1/23-24/13 • Welcome: Ms. Ash 8:00 – 8:10 am • Attendance Presentation: Mr. Caesar 8:10 – 8:30 am • Overview of the Day: Ms. Barrera 8:30 – 9:30 am • Ropes: Mrs. Morrison 9:40 – 11:30 am • Classroom Management: Ms. Ash & Dr. Scott 12:35 – 1:35 pm • Grading & Homework : Dr. Edd Schneider 1:45 - 2:45 pm • Pulling it All Together: Mrs. Guerra & Ms. Barrera 2:45– 4:00 pm

TEACHER TEAM Goals for Spring Semester: • Teacher teams had retreat to develop common CLASSROOM GUIDELINES, attendance procedures, AND grading policies. Retreat 1/23-24/13 • New FOCUS - team think and common expectations • EWI TRACKER FUNCTIONAL FOR BURBANK Feb 2013 • Identifying & Training Team Leaders • Building Team Ownership through actively participating in team roles rotations • Work towards a teacher-led meeting by May 2013

TEACHER TEAMS – 4th 9 Weeks • Using common classroom rules • Monitoring students using EWI Tracker • Serving as “champion” for focus list students • Seeing themselves as a team • Practicing serving as each of the TEAM ROLES by rotating roles during meetings • EWI focus for meetings – interdisciplinary teaming a struggle • Teacher-led EWI meeting in May 2013

SAMPLE TEAM MEETING AGENDA April 2013 • Affirmations • Student of the Month and JOB WELL DONE BULLDOG drawing on 4/30/13 • EWI Tracker – practicing roles and using intervention sheet • FOCUS LIST UPDATES/EWI TRACKER • 9th Grade 4th 9 weeks Finish Strong Challenge • Champion student updates • ACTION ITEMS: • ATTENDANCE – increases from 2011-2012 • BEHAVIOR— 5 Classroom Expectations for Spring Implementation: *Be Respectful – Respect the rights and property of self & others *Be Safe and Responsible * Be Present and Prompt * Be Polite and Positive *Be Prepared with class materials/assignments *Follow all school/district code of conduct guidelines • COURSE PERFORMANCE— loss of credit letters and STAAR EOC PREP

TEACHER TEAM GOALS FOR 2013-2014 • Common Planning Time for Interdisciplinary Teams • EWI Meetings during common planning time • Job Embedded Professional Learning – building teacher-facilitated professional learning communities • Lesson Planning – cooperative learning& literacy • Data Review • Common Assessments • Common Classroom Management Plan • STUDENT SUPPORT FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

DN TEAM MODELING A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY The STF, coaches, principal, CIS, and City Year worked together AS a team and MODELED how a team should complete tasks Each individual brought their strengths to the table with the focus being STUDENT SUCCESS The positive, relentless focus on STUDENT SUCCESS by the DN team affected students and staff alike A task well done = student success & the ripple effect to the staff AND school. RIPPLE EFFECT = SCHOOL TRANSFORMATION Shared leadership = Trust in the capacity of each DN Team member DN TEAM = Model that each individual adds a piece to complete the puzzle

ALL PARTS OF THE BURBANK PUZZLE = TEAM

EVALUATION • Formal & Informal debriefs on what worked/did not work for events, programs, etc. as a team • Data – increased 9th grade attendance almost 2% points – highest in six years; highest ELA/Math state assessment scores in district; decreasing course failure rates throughout the year • Climate – teachers open to coaching; open to TEAM THINK, beginning to reflect on practices • Culture – open to professional learning • Staff sees the message STUDENTS FIRST in DN Team actions

What will we do next year for TEACHER TEAM success? Our DN team for 2013-2014 as a model for TEACHER TEAMS will work on: better evaluation of what programming/events creates desired results a more laser-like focus on goals EWI Tracker data - #s on/off focus list and why? building teacher leader capacity/learning communities

Teacher Teams and the Classroom Next Year Continue to consider as you move back to your classrooms in August… • The Teacher is the Program – Strong Effective Teachers = Increased Student Achievement. Invest in your teams. • Model what you want to see. The teachers are our students! • Provide a positive & supportive place for teachers to engage in learning. Coach teacher teams as well as individual teachers. • Be there in the trenches with your teachers. • CELEBRATE AND AFFIRM TEACHERS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!

Thank you! Comments, Questions, and Contact Info: Kimberley Ash – kash@saisd.net Blanca Rojas – brojas1@saisd.net

Cultivating Teacher Teams – Pillar I