MS SOARSNovember 18, 2014

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Agenda

• Overview• Indicators• Wise Ways• Expectations• Upcoming training

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Overview

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Getting Started

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School improvement can be a complicated journey. Lots of people have ideas on where to go and what to do. They just do not always have the same idea on how to get there.

Getting Started

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What is MS SOARS?

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MS SOARS

“ When used right, technology becomes an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it.”

- Jim Collins

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Indicators and Wise Ways

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Indicators of Effective Practice

in·di·ca·tor [in-di-key-ter] (noun) A pointer or a gauge for assessing progress toward the destination.

Indicators provide the structure for building a continuous school improvement plan, while still allowing each school flexibility and creativity on how it implements the plan. Indicators point the way toward effective practices.

Indicators are:• Guideposts for effective practice• Written in plain language • Aligned with research base (Wise Ways)• Drivers of planning and improvement

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Indicators of Effective Practice Samples

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Teams• All teams operate with work

plans for the year and specific work products to produce.

• Instructional Teams meet for blocks of time (4 to 6 hour blocks, once a month; whole days before and after the school year) sufficient to develop and refine units of instruction and review student learning data.

Teachers• All teachers maintain a

record of each student’s mastery of specific learning objectives.

• All teachers differentiate assignments (individualize instruction) in response to individual student performance on pre-tests and other methods of assessment.

Principals• The principal spends at

least 50% of his/her time working directly with teachers to improve instruction, including classroom observations.

• The principal challenges, supports, and monitors the correction of unsound teaching practices.

What are Wise Ways?

Wise Ways are research briefs that provide:

• a context for each indicator

• research syntheses

• action principles

• examples and templates

• references and resources

• guiding questions

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Finding Wise Ways…

Wise Ways can be found in each step of the Indistar process. The Leadership team should discuss each Wise Ways research brief during the assessment, planning, and monitoring processes.

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Expectations

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• MS SOARS is an on-line tool to facilitate planning, implementing, and monitoring of the action steps for continuous improvement.

MS SOARS (What)

©MDE - OFP 14

• LEAs that have:• Focus schools • Not Meeting AMOs schools(previously

Approaching Target schools)

MS SOARS (Who)

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Key Indicators

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• Key Indicators have been revised• Added College and Career Ready Indicators• Focus -32 indicators and Not Meeting AMOs-

22 indicators

• All schools need to reassess indicators that are fully implemented.

• If there are indicators that are not at full implementation, be sure to create plans detailing the steps to achieve full implementation

MS SOARS (What)

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• A comprehensive plan report and Quality of Work Checklist is due March 20, 2015 (Not Meeting AMOs) and December 8, 2014.(Focus and Priority Schools)

MS SOARS (When)

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• LEAs and schools should be able to access the system using the same login information that was previously used at www.indistar.org

MS SOARS (Where)

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• Must complete Registration form• Email completed form to OSR (Focus) and

OFP (Not Meeting AMOs)• OSR- Focus Schools• OFP- Not Meeting AMOs

Username/Password

Winter 2012 DTC Training ©MDE - Your Program Name 20

The Leadership Team

• District and School

• Necessary for Strong Implementation of Effective Practice

• Necessary for Sustained Improvement

• Guided by MS SOARS

• Supported by Coach 21

The School Team. . .

• Completes and submits all required forms

• Plans Leadership Team meetings with agendas and minutes

• Assesses, plans, and tracks progress of success indicators, following SEA guidance and expectations

• Links to resources relative to each success indicator

• Generates a variety of reports

• Dialogues with coaches

• Electronically submits reports to SEA

School Leadership

Team

Coach

LEA

SEA

Expectations

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Leadership Team Expectations

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1. Select a process manager

2. Meet a minimum of twice per month

3. All team members attend scheduled leadership team meetings

4. Review data indicators on a regular basis to improve instruction

5. Discuss and act on feedback from coaches

District Coaches

• A school cannot build capacity alone

• Coaches are a critical partner in the process and in the school’s success

• Coaches are in regular communication with the school to ensure they have support to move forward and guidance when they get off track– Coaches should send a minimum of two coaching

comments to their assigned schools per month

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District Coach

Coach in person…• Join the team meetings as you can

• Stop in and review the plan with the principal

Coach online…• On a regular basis, keep track of the district or school’s progress

• Use coaching comments and/or reviews to send suggestions, encouragement and reminders

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Two ways to coach

Upcoming Trainings

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School Improvement Grant (1003g) Training

• Focus and Priority Schools Trainings– December 1, 2014- GHEC (Greenville, MS)– December 2, 2014- Muse Center (Pearl, MS)

• Individualized Technical Assistance– December 3, 2014- South Pike School District– December 4, 2014- Hattiesburg School District– December 5 and 10, 2014- MDE– December 8, 2014- Starkville School District– December 9, 2014-Grenada School District

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• Regional Trainings (Tentative)– January 21-22 (North)– January 26-27 (South)– January 29-30 (Central)

Upcoming Trainings

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Questions

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federalprograms2@mde.k12.ms.us

Office of School RecoveryFocus, Priority, and SIG

Chris Norwood(601) 359-1003

crnorwood@mde.k12.ms.usor

Aisha McGeeamcgee@mde.k12.ms.us

Office of Federal ProgramsSchools Not Meeting AMOs

Farrah Nicholson(601) 359-3499

fnicholson@mde.k12.ms.us

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