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ESSA Feedback Sessions:

Facilitator Training Session

[DATE][CALL-IN INFO]

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Training Agenda: Feedback sessions for stakeholder engagement

1 ESSA overview: Stakeholder engagement2 Approach to stakeholder engagement3 Structure of feedback sessions4 Facilitator roles and responsibilities5 Next steps6 Appendix: State engagement examples

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1 | ESSA Overview: Stakeholder engagement

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ESSA continues NCLB’s focus on equity: college and career readiness, equitable access to effective educators and funding directed to low-income children.

Funding Flexibility

High-Quality Educators

Accountability

Stakeholder Engagement

While ESSA puts states and school districts in charge by setting up new opportunities, it also requires states to balance many decisions.

Standards and Assessments

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A variety of local education agencies: Geographically diverse—suburban, rural

and urban Serving a high percentage of schools

identified for and those implementing comprehensive support and improvement plans

Charter school leaders

Teachers, principals, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals and other staff

Representatives of early education organizations Parents and families of students of all ages The Governor, members of the state legislature

and state board of education Representatives of American Indian tribes

located in the state Teacher and school leader professional

standards, certification and licensingorganizations

Individuals, organizations or partners connected to related strategies, programs and activities being conducted in the state

Stakeholder Engagement

ESSA requires states to engage in and provide evidence of “meaningful consultation” with a variety of stakeholders in virtually every major state-level decision.*

Key Provisions: ESSA requires states to engage with a multitude of stakeholders to inform decision-making

**CCSSO’s Let’s Get This Conversation Started guide for stakeholder engagement can help.

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What’s the work ahead for…

Stakeholder Engagement

SEAs AND STAKEHOLDERS?

Approach “engagement” differently to ensure stakeholders feel heard, informed and involved.

Field questions

Old Approach New Approach

Cursory engagement done after decisions are made

No follow-up

Let others define the message

Have a dialogue

Authentic, deep engagement done in time to inform decision-making

Clear follow-up that lets stakeholders know how their input was used

Own the message

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2 | Approach to Stakeholder Engagement

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Our stakeholder engagement approach: Feedback to inform ESSA working committees

Statewide Stakeholder

Feedback Sessions

The state created five working committees organized around key ESSA topics: accountability, assessment, communication, educators and leader development, the whole child and school improvement.

Working committees will create feedback questions for statewide stakeholder feedback sessions and use the feedback to help draft the ESSA plan.

[# of sessions] feedback sessions are scheduled Each session is scheduled for 2 hours from [X:00-X:00]. Participants will get an introduction to ESSA and the state plan

drafting process. Participants will give feedback in two rounds of topic-specific

breakout sessions facilitated by working group leaders. SEA staff will take notes and collect survey information.

The presentations in the feedback session and breakouts will be posted [on SEA website] to allow for [additional feedback though an online survey].

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Feedback sessions scheduled statewide

[MONTH] [Activity][MONTH] [Activity][MONTH] [Activity]

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3 | Structure of Feedback Sessions

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Session Agenda: Flow of show

[5:30 – 5:45] Facilitator check-in[5:45 – 6:00] Informal welcome/meet & greet[6:00 – 6:20] Full Group: Formal welcome and overview[6:20 – 6:25] Transition to breakout session 1[6:25 – 7:05 Breakout session 1[7:05 – 7:10] Transition to breakout session 2[7:10 – 7:45] Breakout session 2

[7:45 – 7:50] Transition to close

[7:50 – 8:00] Full group: Close (Q&A time permitting)

[8:00 – 8:15] Facilitator check-out

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ESSA Feedback Sessions Participants will…• Understand the state’s ESSA guiding principles and approach to ESSA requirements• Provide feedback on how to improve the PreK-12 education system using the new tools available in ESSA• Establish long-term and mutually beneficial relationships with SEA for feedback on the state’s plan and help

implementing the plan

Objectives

Welcome & Introduction20 minutes

Breakout Sessions (2 rounds)40 minutes each

Wrap-up & Closing10 minutes

Welcome and ESSA overview

Introduction to ESSA high-level changes and work group topic areas

[Poll Everywhere] survey: who is here, familiarity with ESSA and priority areas; (participants will need devices)

Overview of topic by Topic Lead (10 min): ESSA requirements & opportunities

Facilitated discussion – based on work group questions

Participants complete an “exit ticket,” i.e. comment card

Thank you message

Clarify next steps & follow-up opportunities

Point to online resources and additional feedback

SESSION AGENDA

FACILITATOR NOTES

Facilitators do not participate in the Poll Everywhere survey. Facilitators will have a short check-in at 5:30 and short check-out at 8:00.

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Breakout sessions: Deeper dive into work group topics

Time Agenda Facilitation Notes Materials

5 min Transition • Participants self-select 1 of 2 breakout sessions • Session signs

10 min Topic Overview

• Short presentation by co-chairs / SEA staff:o Introduce exit tickets for reflection/feedbacko What the state is doing now in this topic areao New opportunities/requirements in ESSA o Q & A (for clarification only)

• Topic area one-pagers

• Facilitation guide

30 min Feedback • Chair/Co-chairs facilitate feedback• Leading questions from work group• Participants complete a comment card

o What parts of the state’s PreK-12 system in this topic area are currently working?

o What are your recommendations for the state to improve in this area?

• Comment cards

• Facilitation guide

• Note taking template (usedby designated note-taker)

5 min Transition • Collect comment cards• Clean up notes

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4 | Facilitator Roles & Responsibilities

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Facilitators are ambassadors for the process, welcome feedback and keep the conversation moving

• Listen actively; don’t try to solve the problem• Be open to the conversation moving in a different direction

• Ask for clarification as needed, but don’t get stuck in the weeds• Invite additional views on the same question

• Listen actively: your demeanor is what participants will remember• Do not fill silence with your voice

• Introduce yourself and your day job • Clarify your role within ESSA planning at the SEA

• Give everyone an opportunity to speak• Encourage online surveys and collect comment cards

• Actively take notes during the session; write it all down• Encourage online surveys and collect comment cards

FACILITATOR DUTIESENGAGEMENT NEEDS

Share Ownership

Set the Table

Expand Stakeholders

Collect Data

Solicit Meaningful Feedback

Engage Openly

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What can I say when we get stuck? (HINT: Thank you. We…)

If someone is hogging the airspace: Thank you. We want to be sure to hear from as many people

as possible. Would someone else like to weigh in?

If the comments are off-topic: Thank you. We appreciate that there are lots of challenges

that need to be addressed quickly. Can you help us focus on _____? (Pick one: i.e. …what school characteristics are most important?)

If the group is silent on the topic: Thank you. We know there is a lot here, so let’s talk about

what is working. What do you see that schools are doing well to ___? (pick one: i.e. …ensure students are successful?)

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5 | Next Steps

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Next steps: Engage and enjoy the process

[You will receive a facilitators guide by email] Arrive at your event at least 30 minutes beforehand

→Be ready to engage openly→Enjoy the experience

Connect with the designated note-taker for your breakout sessions, ensure s/he has the template

Encourage everyone you know to provide feedback→Promote future feedback sessions→Email comments: [SEA ESSA comment email form]

Send notes/exit tickets (or transcribed feedback from exit tickets) back to us: [email of person collecting notes]

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“…most dazzling human achievements are, in fact, the aggregate of countless individual elements, each of which is, in a sense, ordinary.”

― Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

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Thank you![CONTACT INFORMATION HERE FOR ORGANIZER/PERSON DOING THE TRAINING]

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6 | Appendix: State Engagement Examples

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Stakeholder Engagement Examples: Washington

Regional ESSA Forums Washington hosted nine regional forums to provide an overview of ESSA, updates on the plan development process and to have an open discussion on ESSA and implementation considerations. One forum was hosted on the web.

Scheduled for 6:00-8:00pm, the forums began with 30-45 minutes of ESSA introduction. The remaining time was for open discussion.

The forum hosted on the web was recorded and posted on the state’s ESSA page. A short survey (called a “comment card”) is

available with the recording to allow for additional feedback.

The 12 ESSA work groups integrate feedback from the forums and topic specific surveys into their drafts for the state’s ESSA plan.

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Stakeholder Engagement Examples: Ohio

High-Level & Detail Outreach

The Ohio Department of Education is taking a two-prong approach to stakeholder outreach: general community engagement and detailed practitioner engagement.

Partnering with the state’s associations for philanthropies, Philanthropy Ohio, the department will have 10 stakeholder meetings across the state. The meetings will be held in non-school, community locations

and in the evening to increase participation.

The department created a 12-part webinar series on detailed issues for school district personnel and policy experts. The webinar, including the question and answer session, is recorded and posted on the website with resources after each event. Webinar topics include: Minimum subgroup (N) size for

accountability, English leaner report card indicators, school improvement and the summative rating for the report card.

Each webinar session has an accompanying topic discussion guide for participants.

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Stakeholder Engagement Examples: Massachusetts

Accountability System Event The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education partnered with the Rennie Center, a local education policy nonprofit, to solicit designs for a new state accountability system.

Nine organizations representing students, parents, educators, and community-based organizations showcased their proposals on posters at a July 21 event.

State education leaders, including Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester, attended the event and discussed the proposals.

This event is part of Massachusetts’ “listening phase,” which also includes focus groups, online feedback forms and additional events with partner organizations.

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Stakeholder Engagement Examples: Kentucky

Online Outreach The Kentucky Commissioner of Education, Stephen Pruitt hosted 11 town halls across the state this spring. The department also hosted a virtual town hall in June. All town halls were recorded and posted on the department’s

website. The virtual town hall recording allows for local schools and

stakeholder groups to use the presentation with their own stakeholders.

The town halls provided an overview of ESSA and discussion on high-level policy questions, including: What do you expect from our schools? What school characteristics are most important? How should we measure student and school success?

Nearly 3,000 people attended all of the town halls, with more than 260 speakers voicing comments and more than 200 people submitting comments by e-mail.

The department named a steering committee and working groups that will develop the state’s plan based on stakeholder input.

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Stakeholder Engagement Examples: Colorado

Two-Way Communication

Colorado is using a two-way communication model. Department staff completed a listening tour across the state. Each

location had an afternoon and evening session to increase participation. Detailed meeting notes were posted on the department’s website.

The department created, and regularly updates, an ESSA blog to keep stakeholders informed of the state’s thinking on specific issues (like accountability), updates on the state plan’s progress and information about ESSA developments nationally.

Feedback will influence the work of Colorado’s Hub Committee (a steering group) and Spoke Committees (issue-specific workgroups). There are seven spoke committees, including one for accountability,

that will draft the state plan based on stakeholder feedback.

There is an online request form for people that want to become a “vetting partner” and offer official feedback on draft plans.