RSDSS, Region 2 Staff

At the end of this session you will be able to:

Understand the purpose of a District Site Leadership Team (DSLT)

Recognize the building blocks for establishing a DSLT

Identify the major responsibilities of a DSLT

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PURPOSE

Identifies priorities to support site leadership teams by promoting funding, visibility and political support for school improvement initiatives

Advises and supports development, implementation and monitoring of the LEA Plan

Communicates district priorities to all stakeholders

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A direct correlation exits between district leadership and student achievement.

“Findings suggest that district leadership has a measurable effect on student achievement.”

(Marzano and Waters – 2009)

“ More collegiality won’t cut it. Even discussions about curricular issues or popular strategies can feel good but go nowhere. The right image to embrace is a group of teachers who meet regularly to share, refine and assess the impact of lessons and strategies continuously to help increasing numbers of students learn at higher levels.”

M. Schmoker, Results Now, 2006, p. 178

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Have the right structure and people

Establish normsHave a common processPeriodically self-evaluateHave the right tools and data – authentic work

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District Level

Building or Site Level

Instructional Level

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District Leadership Teams: Varies. Either all or a representative sample of administrators and

teacher leaders from all grade spans, including special services and EL

May include a representative of the teachers union/association

Site Leadership Teams Composed of teacher and administrative leadership of a

building. Many times the teachers are the chairs of departments or the

leaders of Instructional Data Teams.

Instructional Leadership Teams: Grade level or discipline-based teams Includes all primary instructional providers Administrative representation, as needed

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Other:• Superintendent’s Cabinet• Academic coach(es)• Counseling staff• Student services representative• EL/migrant representative• Special Education Director

District Leadership

Team

Strong people Those who hold a large vision, but

understand details Ability to coalesce into a team Effective group participation skills Skeptic vs. Blocker

Skeptic: Demands the team think clearly, Identifies issues other team members might not consider, Reflects a point of view shared by others

Blocker: Seeks control, Requires constant attention,Retards the process of the team

Source: B. McKeever, Nine Lessons of Effective School Leadership Teams, 2003

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Source: B. McKeever, Nine Lessons of Effective School Leadership Teams, 2003

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Independent of the level of collaboration, all teams should practice certain norms or characteristics

Accountable to colleaguesSupport colleaguesOn time for meetingsSupport team decisions Positive, Reliable, PreparedParticipate fully in meetingsBelieve all students can learn

The Leadership and Learning Center http://www.leadandlearn.com/

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“When individuals work through a process to create explicitly stated norms, and then commit to honor those norms, they increase the likelihood they will begin to function as a collaborative team rather than as a loose collection of people working together.”

Learning By Doing, p. 10316

BehavioralProcess

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A commitment to developing skills that help us work effectively with others:

Communication Listening Conflict Resolution Participation

A commitment to increasing our level of awareness with regard to potential areas of improvement.

A commitment to a full, honest, and transparent accounting of the current state of affairs at our site/district.

An awareness of our own behaviors and work-style preferences and their impact on others, so we can adjust our behaviors and help the group address the needs of all team members.

A willingness to share our background and experiences.

A willingness to work together for a common purpose: continuous school improvement.

A commitment to a positive perspective, letting go of excuses and moving toward solutions.

A commitment to share hope and passion for improvement.18

• Process • Agendas – yes. Partially based on district

leadership team agendas. Monitoring school goals and WASC status. Facilitator prepares. Started at end of the previous meeting.

• Facilitation – rotated.• Decision making – consensus (all can live

with and support the decision)• Minutes – Prior meeting facilitator does

minutes. Distributed to staff within one week by email (hard copy to boxes), previewed first by SLT three school days after the meeting by email

• Communication – facilitator does so at the staff meeting

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Meeting Structure and Expectations

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StructuredReview of dataFocus on LEA Plan, priorities, and goals

ScheduledSuggested monthly, at least quarterly

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DSLT members must share common understanding of the critical areas of focus (e.g. intervention, full implementation, English-Language Development [ELD]) and current reality.

Understandings must be consistent with the California Content Frameworks.

Common understandings assist the DSLT in developing consistent district actions to support the critical areas of focus.

Facilitator Guides the discussion of the group.Prepares the agenda.

Time Keeper

Reminds team of time remaining. Follows timeframes on the agenda.

Note Taker Takes notes for the team.Distributes notes to the team.

Task Monitor

Keeps the team on course. Refocuses.Reminds team of tasks and purposes, as needed.

Participant Is engaged. Listens. Questions. Contributes. Commits.

Other?

“The research finds that organizations that are successful in continuous improvement have made continuous improvement a defining element of their cultures, their identities, and their goals…..While maintaining consistency with the core values and identity of the organization, one accomplishment leads to another – the work is never done.”

M. Smylie, Continuous School Improvement, 2010, p. 89

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A district leadership team’s major focus is to build the capacity of district staff to participate in a continuous improvement planning process. The focus of this process is on student achievement and creating cultural norms to support it.

The following phases help to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for continuous improvement:

Readiness Taking Stock Goal setting Research and action plan Implementation Monitoring Recommending changes, as necessary

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READINESS

Leadership teams can change the culture of their district by engaging in a continuous improvement planning process. Teams can influence organizational culture.

Environment

Activities and BehaviorsSkills

Competencies

Beliefs and Values

Identity

Surface

Structures

Action (Target of

Most Professional Development

Deep

Structures

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TAKING STOCK

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Organize and present data for the needs assessment

Review and analyze data to identify priority areas of focus

Identify priority areas of focus

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Include:At least three years of dataData disaggregated by student

subgroups, as well as whole districtData by district, school, course, and

grade spanComparative data including schools,

district, county and state, including similar school comparisons

Local context data

DATA

AYP & APISTARCAHSEECELDTLocal Diagnostic AssessmentsLocal Benchmark AssessmentsDropout rates / Graduation rateDemographicsSuspensions/Expulsions

Academic Program Survey (APS)District Assessment Survey

(DAS)English Learner Subgroup Self-

Assessment (ELLSA)Inventory for Support and

Services for Students with Disabilities (ISS)

Use student achievement data to identify underperforming student groups

Use state program evaluation tools to evaluate the LEA’s instructional program.

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All students achieve grade

level standards

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GOAL SETTING

AND

ACTION PLANNING

Using needs assessment data to identify areas of greatest need – SMART goals

Use the goal setting process to set goals that align with the LEA Plan

Develop goals that focus on student achievement and classroom instruction

Communicate expectations to stakeholders

We need to be tight about: Research based effective

practices that have high correlation to improved results

Ensuring goals are enacted at every school

Administrators explicit and implicit support

Tight – Loose Leadership

Focus on Learning Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum Balanced and Coherent System of Assessments System Wide Intervention System

Focus on Collaboration Shared Mission, Vision, Values/Commitments, and

Goals High Performing, Collaborative Teams Intentional Collaboration

Focus on Results Data Mindset: Efficacy and Transparency Data Management, Collection and Analysis Responsibilities for Actions to Improve Results

Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum – materials adoption training

Balanced and Coherent System of Assessments – benchmarks assessments

System Wide Intervention System – criteria for entry and exit

Shared Mission, Vision, Values/Commitments, and Goals – develop common agreements

High Performing, Collaborative Teams – Team norms and protocols

Intentional Collaboration - Calendar for collaboration

Data Mindset: Efficacy and Transparency – Data dashboards

Data Management, Collection and Analysis - establishing a system with measures of effectiveness

Responsibilities for Actions to Improve Results - Action research

What?Who?When?Funding?Progress Monitoring?

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• Time• Money• Personnel• Professional Learning• Materials

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IMPLEMENTATION

AND

MONITORING

Several new research studies provide clear evidence that when it comes to achievement and equity, planning and processes are less important than implementation, execution, and monitoring.

Douglas Reeves (The Learning

Leader, 2006)

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Implementation Progress on goals and action steps Accountability for timeline

EffectivenessMeasure as demonstrated through student achievement

Implementation for the action steps for the district instructional

program Possible methods

▪ Annually evaluating principals ▪ Classroom visits and instructional observations

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Effectiveness As demonstrated through student

achievement Is there a student achievement monitoring

system Are learning needs of special populations

being met? Is there a system in place to quickly

identify when the learning needs are being met?

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Build in a process to revise the plan based on monitoring progress of the plan and student results

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Results become the topic of regular meetings

Celebrate progressKeep stakeholders informed

Parent newsletters District Committees Superintendent emails to staff

Regular reports to the Board

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Dimension Key Questions

Relationship

• Do team members feel supported?• Do team members trust each other?• Do team members feel valued?

Process

• Is the process clear and logical?• Is the process efficient?• Is the process appropriate for the task?

Results

• Are the results of high quality?• Are the results timely?• Do the results meet the expectations we established? 56

Are we building a collaborative culture?

Trust

Student centered

A listening atmosphere

Concern about add-on programs

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