Overview of School Improvement

• Presenters:

»Jeff Dyer

»John Harris

»Richard Wilde

Continuous Improvement Planning

Until no child is left behind

Goal or Purpose

• Goal: Participants will gain general knowledge of:

– the school improvement process – variations of the SI process– some resources available to you at ADE

Overview of the Overview

• The conceptual ACSIP• Many faces of School Improvement • The components or elements of SIP• ADE resource pages• Wrap-up and contact information

House Bill 1517, 2007

• Each public school or school district shall develop and file with the department a comprehensive school improvement plan which shall be reviewed by the department and shall be designed to ensure that all students have an opportunity to obtain an adequate education and demonstrate proficiency on all portions of the state-mandated assessments.

The Arkansas Way• Arkansas Comprehensive School Improvement Planning (ACSIP)

– Compliance• The priorities/ program actions we do to comply with law

– Maintenance• How we use categorical money to maintain ongoing effort

– Improvement• What we are doing this year to improve student outcomes

ACSIP requires knowledge and data to make “thoughtful” decisions.

• How do we know what is required?• How do we know what to adjust?• How do we know what to maintain?• How do we know what to add?• How do we know what to take away?

The answers are

1. Know the state and federal laws/rules2. Evaluate your Programs/Interventions/Actions 3. Conduct meaningful Needs Assessment Process4. Review Promising Practices and Research5. Monitor the Implementation of

Programs/Interventions/Actions (Goals and IMOs)

The Lense or Lens of School Improvement

School Change

Source: Model developed by Stephen Barkley

10

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Leaders

hip Beh

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Change

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PLC and P

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oach

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Chang

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Teac

hing B

ehav

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Chang

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Stude

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Achiev

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Indistar Theory of Action

Indistar Model

The simplistic viewTexas Center for District and School Support

AnalyzeData

Evaluate the plan Needs Assessment

Improvement Plan

Implement & Monitor

The Turnaround PrinciplesTexas Center for District and School Support

Teacher Effectiveness

FamilyCommunity

Engagement

SchoolClimate

Leadership Effectiveness

Increase Learning

Time

Effective Use OfData

Aligned And Rigorous

Curricula

Evaluate the Plan

Needs Assessment

Improvement Plan

Implement & Monitor

Leadership Effectiveness

School improvement has many champions

• Literature and agents of School Improvement abound; so to name a few, but not to endorse any ..........

Coalition of Essential SchoolsTed Sizer, Brown University

• Continuous school improvement is the process cycle of school improvement with the major components of creating the vision, gathering data related to that vision, analyzing the data, planning the work of the school to align with the vision, implementing the strategies and action steps outlined in the plan, and gathering data to measure the impact of the intervention.

AdvancEDAccreditation

• Our goal at AdvancED is to provide guiding principles and effective practices for school improvement that help schools advance the level of education they provide. Perspectives vary on what the life cycle of school improvement looks like; however, we realize that school improvement is both strategic and operational and essential components must be in place for a school to truly address comprehensive school improvement.

The mission of the “National Institute for Urban School Improvement”

• To partner with Regional Resource Centers to develop powerful networks of urban local education agencies and schools that embrace and implement a data-based, continuous improvement approach for inclusive practices. Embedded within this approach is a commitment to evidence-based practice in early intervention, universal design, literacy and positive behavior supports.

Rural School Improvement Networks

• Northwest Comprehensive Centerhttp://nwcc.educationnorthwest.org/news/nwcc-to-launch-rural-school-improvement-networkSouth Central Comprehensive Centerhttp://www.sc3ta.org/

http://www.sc3ta.org/knowledgebases/School_Improvement.html

Cut to the Chase or Cut to Hecuba.

• Cut to the Chase: This phrase originated in the US film industry. Many early silent films ended in chase sequences preceded by obligatory romantic storylines.

• Cut to Hecuba: an artifice employed by many old producers to shorten matinees by cutting out long speeches (specifically in Act I of Hamlet).

• Definitions above are from Wikipedia with slight modification.

To the point

• Authors, researchers, centers, state departments, etc., may have variations of the improvement cycle, but they are essentially the same cycle.

AdvancED

• A school must be able to collect and analyze data, set goals, plan, implement, and evaluate. The realization that none of these components are independent of each other along with the continuous review and evaluation of activities leading to improved results is what leads to authentic school improvement.

Oregon Department of Education

Build Readiness

Collect &

Analyze Data

Set Goals Based

On Data

Investigate Research Based PracticesMake Action Plan

Implement & Monitor

Evaluate Effectiveness

& Sustain Efforts

Sustainable

School

Improvement

Cycle*

Graphic Developed by ODE and NWREL

Step1: Conduct a Needs Assessment - Consider the Mission Statement and use a variety of data to

determine where the school is currently and compare where the school wants to be.

Step 2: Determine the Priorities, Goals , Benchmarks & interventions based on

disaggregated data which focuses on student needs.

Step 3: Design evidence based actions geared towards enhancing student

achievement.

Step 5: Monitor & Evaluate interventions for effectiveness.

Step 4: Implement Interventions & Actions

Improved Student

Achievement

SIPModel

School Improvement Checklist

• Some states use the cycle to evaluate a school or district level of progress

• http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/SSOS/SI/SustainableSICycle.pdf

An example; only an example

• The National Institute for Urban School Improvement Guide

– http://www.urbanschools.org/pdf/onPOINTS.school.improvement.process.pdf

Another example, only an example

• Texas Center for District and School Support

• http://www.tcdss.net/tcdss/tais.html

– Data Analysis Guidance– Needs Assessment Guidance– Improvement Planning Guidance– Implementation and Monitoring

ADE School Improvement Unit

• We’re here to help:–Technical Assistance–Sounding Board–Connection to knowledge and

information–Connection to others

Arkansas Department of EducationSchool Improvement Planning

• Arkansas School Improvement Related Commissioners Memos– http://www.arkansased.org/divisions/learning-ser

vices/school-improvement/related-commissioners-memos

• Arkansas School Improvement Related Laws– http://www.arkansased.org/divisions/learning-ser

vices/school-improvement/school-improvement-tools

Fun Activity

• Using the web address for related laws, find ACT 1220 and discuss how the statute relates to ACSIP.

• Using the web address for Commissioners memos, identify the Title I allocation for your district.

ADE: School Improvement Resources

• School Improvement Grants– http://www.arkansased.org/divisions/learning-services/f

ederalprograms/

Related Links: Scholastic AuditCenter on innovation and ImprovementDoing what works

• Indistar Access– http://www.arkansased.org/divisions/learning-services/

school-improvement/school-improvement-resources

More Fun

• Using the Indistar Web Address, identify the name of the Center that provides their Wiseways information.

• Using the Indistar Web Address, identify the videos available to you for School Leadership Team Training.

IDEAS and ESEAs

• School Improvement PD– http://ideas.aetn.org/

• Stephen Barkley: http://pls3rdlearning.com/• Howard Knoff, PhD: http://literacymatrix.com/

• Title I, Part A– Schoolwide guidance

• http://www.arkansased.org/topics#T

Winding Down and Wrapping Up

• School Improvement Process Conceptually:– Who is learning at the “trend expectation” rate?– Who is not learning at the “trend expectation” rate?– What will we do to maintain the students learning at

the “trend expectation” rate? Accelerate?• How will we know it is working?

– What will we do to accelerate the students not learning at the “trend expectation” rate?

• How will we know it is working?

THE CONCEPTUAL ACSIP

• What we do for compliance?

• What we do for program maintenance?

• What we do to improve student achievement?

Who you gonna call?

• Elbert Harvey: Elbert.harvey@arkansas.gov• 501-683-3434

Online Resources and References

• www.arkansased.org• www.tcdss.net• www.indistar.org• www.essentialschools.org• http://ideas.aetn.org • www.urbanschools.org• www.ode.state.or.us• http://nwcc.educationnorthwest.org/

Resources and Reference Continued

• http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/SSOS/SI/SustainableSICycle.pdf

• http://www.essentialschools.org/benchmarks/11

• http://thwink.org/sustain/glossary/RootCauseAnalysis.htm