One Small School’s Story:Collaboration, Training and

Technology

Shelee King George

Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology

Dedicated To• Bill Ellis

• Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

• Seattle School District

• Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology

Table of Contents

• TISS Grant

• Transforming High Schools

• Cleveland High School

• Cleveland’s Journey

• Lessons Learned

• The Road Ahead

Chapter OneThe TISS Grant

Technology Infusion in Small Schools

• a.k.a. TISS

• Grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

• Acknowledges the labor intensive tasks transitioning to small schools

How can technology be applied to enhance teacher productivity, efficiency, and

effectiveness in the adoption of engaging instructional

practices?

The TISS Wish

• Greater student engagement and personalization of learning

• More project based learning

• Increased use of technology to enhance teacher productivity, communication and effectiveness

Chapter Two: Transforming High Schools

Small Schools Advocate

Learning strategies that are

• More personal

• Relevant

• Challenging

Size Matters

• Too many classes

• Not enough rigor

• Lack teacher/mentor relationships

• Tend to be rigid

• Tend to be schedule driven

Small Schools

• Emphasis on personalized learning

• Rigorous achievement

• Engaged communities of learning

• Professional growth for teachers

• Equity

Size Alone Does Not Make A Good School

Good Schools

• Have a common focus

• Have high expectations

• Are personalized

• Value mutual respect

Teachers in Good Schools

• Have time to collaborate

• Have time to strengthen their skills

• Integrate technology into the teaching and learning environment

• Value student exhibitions, performances, and portfolios

Chapter Three: Welcome to Cleveland High School

Cleveland High School

• Seattle School District– 110 schools– 46,416 students

• Part of the Gates Foundation High School Transformation and the Achievers Scholarships Programs

Small School Transition

• 2003 Small Schools Planning

• 2004 Small School Implementation

• 2004 TISS grant begins

Meet the Students

735 Students

• 59% graduate

• 59% free/reduced lunch

• Culturally diverse– 48% African American– 28% Asian – 11% Latino– 11% Caucasian– 2% American Indian

Cleveland StaffOf 44 certificated staff members

• 50% are new to Cleveland

• Current staff 40% have less than 4 years teaching experience– 75% Caucasian– 14% Asian– 11% African American

Theme-based Learning Communities• InfoTech Academy

• Global Studies Academy

• Health Environment and Life Academy

• Arts Conservatory Satellite

Student Advisory• 20 students per advisory

• Intent

– Build relationships

– Personalize learning

– Culminating project

• Reality

Achievement

• 2nd year program improvement in Math and Reading

• Lowest test scores in the district and state

• Minimal progress

Resources• Gates Foundation• Paul Allen Family Foundation• Social Venture Partners • Global Visionaries• One World Now• Stuart Foundation

Many OUTSIDE resources

If Good Schools Have• Time for collaboration

• Time to strengthen skills

• Integration of technology into teaching and learning

• Student exhibitions, presentations and portfolios

TISS can provide this opportunity

Chapter Four: Cleveland’s Journey

TISS Journey Year 1• Grant focused

• Advisory formed

• Gathered information

• Selected tools

• Established training model

TISS Focus• Personalize and improve learning

• Strengthen Web based communication among staff, students and parents

• Facilitate collaboration

• Provide meaningful professional development

TISS Advisory• Interested business community members

• Fiscal manager: Alliance4Education

• Project manager: Puget Sound Center

• District technology representative

• Principal

• One teacher per academy

Gathering Information

• Parent Info Meeting

• Student Info Meeting

• Teacher Info Meeting

• Spring Survey 2004

Teachers

• What makes your job so labor intensive?

• What is the most difficult part of personalizing learning for your students?

“Keeping track of kids in my advisory; their

attendance, their grades in all classes and to keep

parents informed”

Personalization

• Need student information

• Need shared responsibility

• Connect the fragments

Parents

• Communication with teachers

• Student progress and attendance

• School information

Students

• Working technology

• Ability to share files with group members

• Grades

What do we need to meet the needs of parents, students

and staff?

• Tools

• Equipment

• Training

• Collaboration

SharePoint

• Collaboration tool

• Portals of communication

• Shared resources

• Widely used in business

• Educational application?

Online Progress Report

• Biweekly progress reports

• Paper nightmare

• Labor intensive

Scheduling Tools

• District Student Information System (SIS)

• District transition

• Building tool

Equipment• TISS Mini Grants

• Tied to learning unit

• Collaborative

• Mid year journal reflection

• Year end presentation to Advisory

Training

• New tools

• Ongoing training

• Onsite support

• Monthly by academy

Peer Coaches

• Build capacity

• Opportunity to increase collaboration

• Reflect on teacher practice

• 8 Session Training

Development Team• Meet the needs of staff, students

and parents

• Honor the teaching and learning process

• Build tools

Summer Slam• Development team

– Attendance and progress report tool– Scheduling tool– Set up SharePoint

• Peer Coaching Training– Coaching skills– Engaging teaching practices

Conclusion of year 1• TISS identity

• Focus

• Tools

• PD plan

Ready, set, rollout!

TISS Journey Year 2

TISS Progress Report Tool• Easy Grade Pro

• Sync with the SIS

• Class lists import

• Accessible by all via password

• Student driven vs teacher driven

• Attendance

Progress Report Sample

Staff Rollout• August training

• Leadership support

• Expectation to use Easy Grade Pro for attendance and progress reports

Student Rollout• A new focus for advisory

• A new emphasis for teacher training

• Students ask good questions

Parent Rollout• Online viewing of Progress

Reports– Student network accounts

• Parent orientation

• Community access locations

• Word spreads

Big Win

At the end of the first month…

• 18,193 hits

• 242 of 735 students (or parents) access their progress reports

• 43 of 45 teachers look at the online version of progress reports at least once

Beyond the Tool• Teachers reflect on grading

and teaching practices

• Academies begin to compare student progress across classes

• Coaches provide just in time support

Internalizing

• Students begin to ask questions

• Advisory focus moves from the tool to student reflection and goal setting

• Personalizing learning

Journey Roadblock

• Momentum halts

• Change in leadership

• Change in district support

• Only a detour: New leadership support

SharePoint for Communication

• Public Web site

• Maintained by each academy

• Communication to community

• Emphasis on public communication

Coaching Collaborations

Migrating to the Northwest: Should We Stay or Should We Go? Students decide what to leave behind when migrating to a new home.

Getting’ Down with Langston How does the art and music of the Harlem Renaissance reflect the time period?

Mini Grant Implementation

• Video editing project

• Using Inspiration and Posters to present “Arrival Stories”

• Document cameras for writing prompts and presentations

• On line staff handbook

• Video portfolios for Arts Conservatory

Mini Grant Reflections“The collaboration experience was a

rewarding one for me because I worked on my coaching skills.  I also learned a lot about how my collaborating teachers

thought about technology.  It was challenging to bring technology into the

picture without my collaborating teachers seeing this as more work.”

Mini Grant Reflections“Working with my two collaborating teachers has been wonderful.  They have been very excited about adding another dimension to their teaching.”

Mini Grant Reflection

“One student that has become quite experienced using Photoshop will

be entering several of his Photoshop works in an exhibition

later this month. He is now assisting other students in the use

of this program.”

Mini Grant Reflection“The collaboration is the part that has moved us forward.  This collaboration

between teachers has given the students an example of how we want

them to connect with others and connect in a different way with

materials.”

Mini Grant Reflection

“I was amazed that students who show little interest in class work and are failing

most other classes, really got into the video editing and

know more about it than I do at this point!”

Peer Coaching Triads• Deliberate collaboration• 5 coaches with 2 collaborating

teachers each affects 15 staff members

• Deepen our understanding about student work

• Increase engaging instructional practices

• District equipment incentives

Chapter Five: Lessons Learned

Evaluation

• Administered a self-report skill and practice survey (Pre and Post)– Year One 19 responded– Year Two 28 responded

• In Year Two included questions related to technology tools– Easy Grade Pro– Online Student Progress Reports

Communication with Parents

I have been delighted when I have been able to email a progress report to a parent, to clarify a point or simply update a parent

about a student’s work.”

• 23 out of 28 teachers reported using online student progress reports to communicate progress to parents.

Impact on Advisory Classes• 26 out of 28 teachers reported using

online student progress reports to review student progress in other classes

“Easy Grade Pro has made it possible for me to get a total academic picture of my

students.”

Impact on Teacher Practices• 22 of 28 reported using EGP to

record grades

• 25 of 28 reported using EGP on a daily or weekly basis

“Almost every student knows how to access their grades on line and they do so frequently. I post grades almost every day for this reason.”

“I can monitor student progress more quickly thus allowing me more time for

lesson planning and delivery.”

• 20 of 28 reported monitoring student progress in other classes on a daily, weekly or monthly basis

• 22 of 28 report using online student progress reports with students

“Students can now track what their grades are and don’t wait until the end of the quarter.”

“I know my students really pay attention when the grades are updated which inspires me to stay on top of it.”

Good Schools Value• Time for collaboration

• Time to strengthen skills

• Integration of technology into teaching and learning

• Student exhibitions, presentations and portfolios

TISS provides this opportunity

Other Lessons• Honor teacher needs

• Build district relationships

• Align resources

• Maximize Peer Coaching

• Strengthen collaboration

• Build capacity for sustainability

Chapter Six:The Road Ahead

The Road Ahead• Advisory curriculum

• Academy Integrated Units

• Transition to district tools

• Expand the use of SharePoint’s collaboration feature

• Implement Coaching Triads

• Sustainability emphasis

When we reach the end of the road …

… we need to have empowered students.

They show up every day …

…believing we will teach them.

As educators, we owe them the very best opportunity to learn.

May we collaborate to make a difference.

We are the Faces of Cleveland

Contact Information• Project Management and Evaluation

– Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology www.pugetsoundcenter.org

– Shelee King George skgeorge@pugetsoundcenter.org

• TISS Tool Development– Clif Swigget clif@mindsai.com

• Small Schools Initiative in Seattle Schools– Alliance4Education – Emily Carlson emily@alliance4ed.org