District Role in School Improvement

1. District Role in School Improvement Sam Redding Center on Innovation & Improvement www.centerii.org District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

2. Units of Change • District • School • Team (Department) • Classroom • People—Board member, superintendent, district staff, principal, teacher, parent, student

3. After the Vision and the Mandate • Offer Incentives • To encourage • To discourage • Build Capabilities • Knowledge and skills • Capacities and resources • Provide Opportunities • Freedom to innovate • Space for ownership

4. The Parable of the Garden

5. Assignment Millard Fillmore School Scores on State Assessment Year 1 Year 4 Year 7 Year 9 Year 12 What happened about Year 7? List 3 actions that most contributed to Millard Fillmore’s improvement. Change of principals doesn’t count. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

6. District Improvement StrategiesKenneth Wong District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

7. Strategies • Build civic and community support for school improvement. • Provide and support the use of formative, standards-based assessments. • Provide aligned curriculum; systems for teachers to enrich and align to instruction. • Institute district-wide processes to affect classroom instruction. • Align coherent incentives to performance. • Organize support and data processes into coherent systems rather than fragmented, funding-based entities. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

8. 1. Build Civic and Community Support • Articulate a district vision of continuous school improvement and urgency in addressing low performance. • Enlist mayors and other elected officials to help marshal widespread support for improvement strategies. • Make school improvement a matter of civic responsibility and pride. • Educate parents about standards, their role, and district improvement efforts. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

9. 2. Use Formative Assessments • Adopt district-wide, standards-aligned formative assessment with school-level and teacher-level analysis. • Disseminate data to parents and teachers. • Start at the earliest grades. • Example: • Northwest Evaluation Association’s assessments District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

10. 3. Provide Aligned Curriculum • District provides aligned curriculum guide. • Teacher teams plan aligned instructional units individualized to student needs. • Principals are accountable for productivity of teacher teams. • Classroom observations confirm that the “taught curriculum” is the guaranteed curriculum for every student. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

11. 4. Focus on Improved Instruction • Train principals to use teacher teams effectively and to observe and coach teachers. • Build strong, teacher instructional teams with time to plan, clear expectations, and accountability. • Standardize classroom observation indicators for each instructional mode. • Use peer observations and peer coaching. • Link professional development to classroom observations. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

12. 5. Align Coherent Incentives • Connect teacher and principal performance to level of compensation. • Use bonus pay to recruit and retain qualified teachers and principals. • Provide incentives to attract good principals and teachers to schools in need of improvement. • Include progress in student achievement in board’s evaluation and compensation of superintendent. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

13. 6. Build Systems, Not Programs • Begin with the end in sight—student learning • Organize staff to meet ends • Provide one accessible data system • Provide each school with a district-level improvement contact • Report progress upstream, all the way to the board, regularly District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

14. Improved Districts: What Did They Do?Gordon CaweltiNancy Protheroe District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

15. Principles • Superintendent provides high expectations and focused leadership. • School boards and community leaders are engaged in improvement. • Results are tied to people. • Local curriculum is aligned with state standards. • Resources are reallocated to better support goals and programs. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

16. Principles (cont’d.) • Data drives decisions. Both operational and outcome data. • District intervenes in schools making little progress. • Teachers are focused on student learning. • Students with academic difficulties receive prompt and sufficient intervention. • Leadership is spread to the school level. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

17. 1. The Superintendent • Kept goal of all students learning central, used it to drive financial and programmatic decisions. • Skillfully set direction and gained buy-in. • Set specific achievement targets. • Zealously communicated message of high expectations. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

18. 2. School Boards • Engaged in periodic self-evaluation. • Presented united front with superintendent. • Publicly provided support for reform; helped sell vision to community. • Ensured that student learning was the top priority for attention and resources. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

19. 3. Tie Results to People • Make accountability part of district culture. • High expectations and “no excuses” tied to personal responsibility for results. • Specific goals, deadlines, consequences for district and school staff. • Formative assessments provide data; people respond with actions. • Support, resources for staff needed. • Consequences include recognition, celebration for individuals, teams, schools, district. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

20. 4. Curriculum • Intense focus on taught and learned curriculum • Alignment of written, taught, tested curriculum, integrated across grades • Curriculum guides used continuously • Sample lessons, other aids provided • Principals monitored instructional planning and classroom instruction District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

21. 5. Reallocate Resources • Goal-based needs govern budgeting process • Time allocated to support improving instruction • Additional resources for most needy schools • Align teacher and principal staff development to district improvement effort and school-based needs District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

22. 6. Use Data to Drive Decisions • Data at classroom, team, school, and district levels • Primary focus—connection between instructional practices and outcomes; application in instructional decisions—learning walks • Systems - user-friendly and timely data at classroom, school, team, and district levels. • Training and time to analyze and discuss data. • Application of data to instructional decisions is essential • Board learns to understand and use data District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

23. 7. Intervene When Needed • Assumption: turnaround is possible • Have well-developed and communicated policies and procedures for dealing with low-performing schools • Have the right leader in place before restructuring or turnaround • Benchmarks and timelines with explicit consequences for not meeting benchmarks • Monitor interventions closely District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

24. 8. Focus Teachers on Student Learning • Improvement must begin in the classroom • Staff development linked to observed teaching practices • Everyone knows indicators—for each mode • Use the research base on good teaching • See Mega System • See Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

25. Staff Development for Teachers (cont’d) • Expand definition of staff development to include: • In-class coaching and peer observation • Group lesson planning • Analysis of student work • Schools’ unique needs should be addressed, but in ways that focus on district priorities District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

26. Principals Need Training, Too • How to observe classrooms and provide focused feedback to teachers • How to use data to inform conversations with teachers • How to make teacher teams effective District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

27. 9. Help Students Falling Behind • Intervention is an integral part of the instructional process. • Ensure students never get hopelessly behind. • Train teachers to embed daily, standards-aligned, objectives-based assessment and make quick adjustments for individual students • Provide services for students who fall behind District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

28. 10. Spread Leadership • Balance between district control and flexibility at the school level. • Determine what decisions schools can make on resource allocation, staff assignments, etc. • Define district-school relationship in letter for each school. • Build leadership capacity at the school level. • Include teacher teams in leadership. • Provide appropriate leadership roles for parents. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

29. From Your Assignment Actions that changed: • Decision-making structures and processes • Professional development practices and procedures • Information and data systems • Curriculum • Alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to standards • Instructional planning • Instructional time and scheduling • Instructional delivery • Assessment of student learning • Student support services (tutoring, counseling, placement, for example) • Parental involvement • Special education • Programs and services for English language learners District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

30. Your Touchstone District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

31. What Matters Most? • What matters most? • Who matters most? • What metrics would measure performance and need? • What support would we provide? For whom? District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

32. Picture a Student District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

33. Parents Parents’ role is to: • Love her and talk with her every day • Read to her and listen to her read • Teach her to be kind and to behave in school • Aspire for her to succeed • Expect her to do her best • Build her habit of studying at home • Stay in touch with her teacher • Know her friends and their parents District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

34. Schoolmates Schoolmates’ role is to: • Spend their every school day with her • Influence her positively and be influenced by her • Teach her and be taught by her • Never forget her or be forgotten by her One may become her best friend One may become her first date One may . . . I think I’ll stop right there. District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

35. Teachers Teacher’s role is to: • Know her well and care about her • Know the subjects well and how to teach them • Meticulously plan every detail of every day • Set and reinforce clear expectations for students • Know what she already knows and what she needs to learn • Adapt instruction for her and for each student • Inspire her to love learning and do her best • Stay in touch with her parents and support them in their role District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

36. Teacher’s Team Teacher team’s role is to: • Add flesh to the bones of the aligned curriculum • Develop and share instructional plans, strategies, and activities • Monitor the progress of their students • Adapt their plans, strategies in response to assessments • Mentor new teachers • Observe each other’s teaching and make suggestions • Contribute to each other’s professional growth District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

37. Principal Principal’s role is to: • See that every student has the best teachers possible by: • Hiring good teachers • Clearly communicating and reinforcing expectations for teachers • Monitoring teachers’ performance • Evaluating teachers’ performance, especially through classroom observations and student achievement • Providing teachers with opportunities for growth aligned with their evaluated performance • Removing inadequate teachers • Monitor student and school progress and make adjustments • Coordinate the work of teams • Manage the “business” of the school’s operation • Set the tone of attitude toward students and their families District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

38. District’s Support for the School The role of district’s support to the school is to: • Provide a rich, aligned, articulated curriculum • Provide periodic assessment with timely and meaningful reporting to teachers • Maintain regular two-way communication with the principal • Monitor the school’s operations and performance • Provide mentoring and professional development for the principal aligned with the principal’s needs • Provide professional development for teachers aligned with their collective and individual needs District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

39. District’s Superintendent Superintendent’s role is to: • See that the school has the best principal possible by: • Hiring good principals • Clearly communicating and reinforcing expectations for principals • Monitoring principals’ performance • Evaluating principals’ performance, especially through school operations and student achievement • Providing principals with opportunities for growth aligned with their evaluated performance • Removing inadequate principals • Organize and monitor the delivery of district support for the school • Serve as channel of informed communication among district constituencies • Manage the “business” of the district District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

40. District’s Board District board’s role is to: • Establish policies with the student in mind • Negotiate contracts with student in mind • Provide the resources necessary for each student’s success • Provide the best superintendent possible by: • Hiring a good superintendent • Clearly communicating and reinforcing expectations for the superintendent • Monitoring the superintendent’s performance • Evaluating the superintendent’s performance, especially in district operations and student achievement • Providing the superintendent with opportunities for growth aligned with their evaluated performance • Removing inadequate superintendents District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)

41. People • Who matters most? • What matters most? After the Vision and the Mandate • Incentives • Capabilities • Opportunities

42. www.centerii.org • Database of State policies, programs, progress • School and District improvement resources • Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement • School Turnarounds • The Mega System District Role in School Improvement – Sam Redding (CII)