dtli feedback guide

DTLIS c o r i n g a n d F e e d b a c k g u i d e

District transformational leaDership inventory for system support and enhanced student achievement

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to one another.”

— J o h n F. K e n n e d y

contents

What Is The District Transformational Leadership Inventory (DTLI)? .............................. 2

Completing The Scoring Process And Creating Your Individual And Team Profiles.......... 3

DTLI Scoring Process And Creating An Individual Profile ........................................... 4

Individual Scoring And DTLI Profiles ....................................................................... 5

District Leadership Team Consensus ....................................................................... 6

Creating A Team DTLI Profile ................................................................................ 7

Components Of The District Transformational Leadership Inventory ............................. 7

Comparing Individual And Team Component Profiles ................................................ 8

Table A: Individual DTLI Scoring And Profile ............................................................ 9

Table B: Team DTLI Profile..................................................................................... 9

Interpreting The District Transformational Leadership Profile ..................................... 10

Action Planning Document Sample A ................................................................... 12

Action Planning Document Sample B .................................................................... 14

In today’s high stakes education environment, the role of the central office is changing. Over the past two decades of school reform much has been written about individual schools that have been successful at improving student achievement and creating communities of learning that support effective teaching practice. While these “islands of excellence” generally can site ways that district offices support their work, there are fewer examples of systematic approaches used by school districts to bring about widespread improvement.1 The challenge facing school districts today is that improvements are needed for all schools, and we need to understand what elements are necessary to replicate the success enjoyed by some. The “transformed” central office can lead district wide improvement efforts that result in systemic reform across all schools. Recent research on what it takes to bring systemic reform efforts to scale focused on the role played by districts to positively influence successful school improvement versus those that seem to stall in their efforts to provide consistent support and assistance to schools. The characteristics of districts successful at promoting school improvement in all of their schools have features in common that define a framework for rapid district improvement.2 These features assure that the core (management) functions are accomplished, that specialized improvement capacities are initiated, and that a system for monitoring and communicating district wide improvement is provided. Items on the District Transformational Leadership Inventory are based on a review of this research3 and focus heavily on the strategies necessary for district improvement. These characteristics of the “transformed” central office will enable it to provide leadership for learning and continuous improvement as a professional learning community. To accomplish the transformation necessary in district leadership to become the “new” central office, we first need to carefully examine how we are currently working to facilitate school improvement and to impact student achievement. What are district administrators’ current work practices and relationships with schools and other staff members in each of the following areas? The DTLI is designed to help you and your district team members understand the current readiness of your central office to engage in this work. You may personally have some background already in systems leadership, and understand what it takes for schools to be considered successful learning communities for students and staff. This opportunity for your district team is designed to introduce you to some new ideas and research about characteristics that are promising for the reorganization of existing central office structures to make them more able to respond quickly and in customized ways to the specific needs of schools. Items on the DTLI are organized around key elements of change that “district offices” must consider if they are to assume the “new” central office role.

what is the District transformational leaDership inventory (Dtli)?

1 7 Actions that improve school performance. (November 2006). Washington, DC: The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement.

2 Lane, B. Exploring the pathway to rapid district improvement. (2009). Lincoln Ill: The Center on Innovation and Improvement in partnership with Temple University Institute for Schools and Society (Philadelphia, PA) and Little Planet Learning (Nashville, Tennessee).

3 Transforming district leadership to accelerate student achievement: a review of the literature. (2010). School Leadership Services. Clemmons, North Carolina: On Track Press.

As participants in this process, you received a copy of the DTLI and privately (on your own) completed the inventory, reflecting on the current way things work in your school district. As you read each statement on the inventory, you were asked to use the scale provided (0=Never; 1=Sometimes; 2=Usually; and 3=Always) to select a rating that best matches your opinion of how the central office and its administrators currently interact with one another and with schools in your district. You were asked to be present as a district team member who is knowledgeable about the current operational systems in your district. As a team, your group will be asked to consider current ways of work in your district while you identify ways to improve the status quo so that more rapid district improvement of schools may be possible. Therefore, it is very important that you rated your district’s performance to the best of your knowledge about how things are currently being done. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers to these questions, and it was okay to select “n/a” for “don’t know” in cases where you had no knowledge about that part of school district operations. As you and your team review the DTLI results, it may be useful to note the areas in which you and others on your district team found it necessary to choose “n/a” for ratings. These areas may require more discussion to encourage cross-training between departments, transparency as an goal among all district operations, and to enhance communications between co-workers in schools and the district office. Component areas were constructed by developing statements that describe the characteristics of systems which research has shown to be successful at achieving conditions that are necessary for creating the transformed central office. The most desirable situations will be described by high levels of each dimension, so ratings are arranged in such a way that higher numeric ratings are associated with describing characteristics in place at higher levels (0=Never, 1=Sometimes, 2=Usually, and 3=Always). At the same time, the lower the numeric rating on a dimension the higher the need for discussion and work in that area. The value to be gained from this exercise will come from the honest appraisal individuals on district teams provide about aspects of central office work, and the reflection and discussion that will follow about ways to address each area in the process of planning for organizational improvement. These key change elements include the following:

I. Relationships and Networking II. Differentiated Support III. Instructional Design and Coaching IV. Student-Focused and Job-embedded Professional Learning

completing the scoring process anD creating your inDiviDual anD team profiles

3

As you individually completed the District Transformational Leadership Inventory, you were asked to choose a rating to assign to each statement. The sample below illustrates how each statement can be rated individually. The values shown with each rating will then be used to determine area (subtotal) scores and total DTLI scores.

1. Choose a rating to represent your opinion and mark it on the DTLI to indicate your choice:

2. Area subtotal scores are determined by adding the point values for each rating given to statements within each area, and adding those values together. For example, Marie Gonzalez, from Pike County Schools, checked the following as ratings within a component area:

The subtotal score gained from adding the ratings given in the area of Differentiated Support by Marie Gonzalez were: 0 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 0 + 2 = 9.

3. To complete an individual DTLI Profile, the total number of points for each component area is determined and recorded in the template provided (Individual Scoring and DTLI Profile). The points from each subtotal area are transferred to the individual profile template on the last page of the DTLI document.

4. SUM the points from each area subtotal, and ADD the total number of points accumulated in each area. On the next page is a sample result for Bill Smith, from Excelsior County Schools. The lower the point value in an area, the higher the priority for work in that area.

Dtli scoring process anD creating an inDiviDual profile

d i s t r i c t l e a d e r s h i p c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s Never: Sometimes: Usually: Always: Don’t know:

0 1 2 3 N/AOur district administrators interact with schools and teachers to... 3

d i f f e r e n t i at e d s u p p o r t

0 1 2 3 N/A

0 1 2 3 N/A

0 1 2 3 N/A

0 1 2 3 N/A

0 1 2 3 N/A

0 1 2 3 N/A

0 1 2 3 N/A

Our district office...

All departments...

Our district...

Our district...

Our district...

Our district...

Our district...

3

3

3

33

33

Bill Smith completed the entire inventory, and gave point values of “5, 9, 14, and 8” to the four component areas on the DTLI. These area subtotals resulted in a total score of “36” for the entire inventory (DTLI Total Points).

5. By looking at Point Values assigned to each component area (5, 9, 14, and 8), Bill can identify the rank order associated with each area (Priority). For individual scoring, the lower the point value, the higher the priority is assigned to that component area for work (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th). This rule applies to each individual going through the rating process, and for the team as a whole when individual ratings are combined in a group profile.

In the sample above for Bill Smith, the lowest point value was given to Relationships and Networking (5 pts); next in order was Student Focused Professional Learning (8 pts); followed next by Differentiated Support (9 pts); and the highest point value was awarded to the district’s Instructional Design and Coaching model (14 pts). Bill also marked “6” items as “don’t know”. A few items marked as “don’t know” by individuals may simply reflect areas of specialization by members of the group, but large numbers of items marked “n/a” also may suggest the need for cross-functional discussions and efforts at reducing compartmentalization. The rank order, from Bill’s perspective, would emerge as:

•1st–RelationshipsandNetworking •2nd–StudentFocusedProfessionalLearning •3rd–DifferentiatedSupport;and •4th–InstructionalDesignandCoaching

inDiviDual scoring anD Dtli profile

5

n a m e : b i l l s m i t h

* DK=Items marked ‘Don’t Know’.

d t l i c o m p o n e n t s a n d t o ta l p o i n t s p o i n t Va l u e p r i o r i t y d K *

5 1st 1

9 3rd 3

14 4th 2

8 2nd 0

36 6

I. Relationships and Networking

II. Differentiated Support

III. Instructional Design and Coaching

IV. Student Focused Professional Learning

dtli total points

While the results from individual scoring of the inventory and creation of the DTLI profile is interesting, the greater value from this process is found in discussion among district team members:

Team members will compare point values for all subtotal areas and the priorities they have individually assigned to each component area on the DTLI. The discussions and negotiations which follow may be swift if all members of the group are seeing district needs and strengths in the same way, or may require more debate and conversation when members have widely differing opinions. Coming to consensus is not always easy, but the process of reaching consensus can be a valuable teambuilding activity in itself. According to Dan McCarthy, a leadership and management author, reaching consensus can be done in less than an hour if we’re determined to involve everyone in the decision and not to allow the group to depend on either of two typical practices: the group votes and majority rules or a leader simply decides. To keep everybody involved and part of the decision, keep these steps to consensus in mind:

•Framethedecisionandagreeonwhatisbeingdecided.

•Generatealternativesbybrainstormingandacceptingallpossibilitieswithout criticizing.

•Clarifyalternativesbytalkingaboutwhateachwouldmeaninthedistrict, and in terms of the resources involved and exactly what is intended.

•Narrowdownthechoices.Ifalargenumberhasbeengenerated,useagroup facilitation technique such as attribute voting to narrow the pool.

•Keepanddiscard–bylookingateachsuggestedalternative,andwhichmay seem the most practical and acceptable to the group as a whole.

To develop a clear and realistic action plan for the district, the group will need an approach for discussion and consensus building that most members of the group can support. Reaching a consensus does not have to be a lengthy process; the group may decide to go with a clear alternative that garners the most support when the group discusses possible approaches or it may be one that actually represents a combination of one or more listed alternatives. The important issue is that a structure is used for dialogue that avoids the discussion reverting to a fall back method that excludes the involvement of any members of the group.

District leaDership team consensus

Follow either of these approaches to creating your district’s Group DTLI Profile:

1. After each team member completes his or her own Individual Scoring Process and DTLI Profile, the team will combine their individual rankings to produce a Group DTLI Profile based on the joint discussion. It will be interesting to see whether team members rank component areas in the same way. Often this is true even though individuals may perform quite different functions within the school district. While individuals may have varying perspectives, the group as a team may readily come to agreement about identifying the district priorities for work.

Or

2. One person can enter each team member’s Component Area totals and SUM those to create Team Component Totals for each area. The sample below for the team from Excelsior County, for example, had five team members and completed point totals for each member in Relationships and Networking to sum to 49 points for the Team Component Total in that area. The same process was followed for each component to complete Team Component Totals in all four areas. The SUM for each component area will be calculated in this way. This process resulted in Team Component Totals of 49, 72, 94, and 71 for Bill Smith’s team from Excelsior County.

7

“A little revolution now and then is a good thing.”

— Th o m a s J e f f e r s o n

creating a team Dtli profile

components of the District transformational leaDership inventory

c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e d t l i

Team Mem

1:

5

9

14

8

36




IV. Student-Focused and Job-Embedded Professional Learning

district transformational leadership inventory total points

Team Mem

2:

9

15

19

15

58

Team Mem

3:

13

19

23

15

69

Team Mem

4:

12

16

18

14

60

Team Mem

5:

10

17

20

16

63

Team Comp Total:

49

72

94

71

286

Priority:

1st

3rd

4th

2nd

comparing inDiviDual anD team component profiles

“No problem can be solved with the same consciousness that created it. We need to see the world anew.”

— A l b e r t E i n s t e i n

Once group totals were added for each component, the same process of identifying priority areas by the total number of points was followed and a ranking of component areas from smallest to largest was done (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th). In the sample above, the Team Component Totals resulted in the rank order for Excelsior County’s discussions to be:

•1st Relationships and Networking (49 pts.)

•2nd Student-Focused and Job-Embedded Professional Learning (72 pts.)

•3rd Differentiated Support (71 pts.)

•4th Instructional Design and Coaching (94 pts.)

After identifying the priority of areas for the group, discussions can take place among group members about individual patterns noted and come to consensus about the priority areas determined. The process of reaching consensus will be necessary for choosing the approaches and strategies for accomplishing the work to transform operations of the central office to one more able to act as a collaborative partner in support of schools.

Regardless of which method is used to determine the team profile, component areas are ranked from smallest to largest in priority order. This rank order represents the team’s choices of perceived needs for the district to focus discussion and work toward transforming leadership.

Complete tables A and B on next page to record individual and team results of the District Transformational Leadership Inventory.

To determine Point Values for each individual, SUM the points for each rating chosen within the four component areas and ADD the total number of points accumulated in each area.

After each team member completes the individual scoring process, the team will combine their rankings to produce a group DTLI Profile. Record the number of points given to each component area by each team member.

taBle a:inDiviDual Dtli scoring anD profile

taBle B:team Dtli profile

9

* DK=number of items marked ‘Don’t Know’ or ‘N/A’.

d t l i c o m p o n e n t s a n d t o ta l p o i n t s p o i n t Va l u e p r i o r i t y d K *




IV. Student Focused Professional Learning

individual dtli total points

c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e d t l i

Team Mem

1:




IV. Student-Focused and Job-Embedded Professional Learning

district transformational leadership inventory total points

Team Mem

2:

Team Mem

3:

Team Mem

4:

Team Mem

5:

Team Comp Total:

Priority1st-4th:

As you begin this part of the process, remember the four principles listed on page one meant to guide your work. The first two (PERSPECTIVE and RECOGNITION) are most important as you complete the ratings on the Inventory individually. You are now ready to work as a team to discuss the observations made by each member individually, and the team’s view as a whole. As you begin the discussions necessary to explore the patterns you observe on the DTLI Profile, keep the second two principles in mind:

•INTERPRETATION–bythiswemeanrecognizingthecurrentsituation in order to construct a plan for how improvements can be made.

•APPLICATION–thisprincipleremindsusthatthepurposeofthiswork is to reach consensus about a plan for change. Information alone canmakenoimprovements–it’sonlypurposeistoinformaction.

Discussions among team members will also be more productive and satisfying for all if we keep in mind thoughts shared by Garmston and Wellman (2009): •Payattentiontoyourownandtoothers’communicatingstyles-be

aware of the learning and communication styles that you use, and those of the other members of your team. Meaningful dialogue will depend on your ability to listen actively to others and to make your own views known.

•Promoteacultureofinquiry–mutualunderstandingandtheabilityofyour team to reach consensus will depend on your ability to explore the perceptions of team members and genuinely seek common ground.

•Putideasonthetable–ideasaretheheartofgooddialogue,butbesure you label the intent of the ideas you suggest by saying such things as “…here’s a thought”, or “…I’m just thinking out loud”, or “….one possible approach might be”.

•Presumepositiveintentionsfromallteammembers–usingpositivevocabulary when introducing ideas is one way to promote this norm and prevents unintentional put-downs in the conversation by assuming negative motivation or intent on the part of team members.

•Pausebeforerespondingoraskingaquestion–thisallowstimeforthinking and encourages collaborative dialogue.

•Paraphrasewhatyouhearateammembersay-byrepeatingbackwhat is said like “..so I hear you saying” or “ as ______ said, we might approach this”. Doing this assures that all team members hear and understand one another as they formulate decisions.

•Probegently–usingopen-endedthoughtsorinquiriessuchas“….tellme more about that” or “..then are you saying…?” increase clarity around the ideas being discussed and brings the group closer to real consensus.

interpreting the District transformational leaDership profile

Adapted from Adaptive Schools: A Sourcebook For Collaborative Groups2009

11

“It is today we must create the world of the future.”

— E l e a n o r R o o s e v e l t

notes

ACTION PLANNINg DOCUMENT SAMPLE A

As you prepare to work with your team to develop an Action Plan for next steps, review your Individual Scoring and DTLI Profile (Table A). Review priorities for district work toward transformation established by either process described on page 7.

Recall that the four dimensions of the District Transformational Leadership Inventory are:

•RelationshipsandNetworking •DifferentiatedSupport •InstructionalDesignandCoaching •Student-FocusedandJob-EmbeddedProfessionalLearning

Identify 3-5 goals that the Team’s consensus discussion led to identifying from the first and second priority dimensions highlighted in analysis of your DTLI results.

goal #1:

What results do you want?

What specific things will you do to achieve these results?

What resources or support will you need?

What other individuals and lead departments will need to be committed for these changes to take place?

How long will it take and how often will you monitor your progress?

13

goal #2:

What results do you want?

What specific things will you do to achieve these results?

What resources or support will you need?

What other individuals and lead departments will need to be committed for these changes to take place?

How Long?

goal #3: (Add additional goal areas as needed)

What DTLI Dimension does this goal address?

dimensions strategies resources

What Activities Can Accomplish this goal?

Who or what groups will be involved with these activities?

barriers eValuation outcomes

What obstacles will you need to overcome to achieve this goal?

How will you know if your goal has been achieved?

What will you gain if you are successful?

ACTION PLANNINg DOCUMENT SAMPLE b

(Add additional goal areas as needed)

goal:

15

notes

“The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.”

— H e n r y D a v i d Th o r e a u

“Education is both using and improving knowledge, and that changes the whole picture.”

— Wi l l i a m G l a s s e r

dtli feedback guide

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