You Are The Essential

PieceProfessional Learning

Community

From Vision to Reality

2

Our Work Together

Today

• Homework - Critical Conversations

• Grounding – Ignite Video

• Common Findings in Successful Schools

• Powerful Practice Activity

• Identifying Priorities

• District-wide Implementation

• Conversation – Priorities for next year

Crucial Conversations Strategies

1. Clarify what you want and what you do not want to result from the conversation.

2. Attempt to find mutual purpose.

3. Create a safe environment for honest dialogue.4. Use facts because “gathering facts is the homework required for crucial

conversations.5. Share your thought process that has lead you to engage in the conversations.6. Encourage recipients to share their facts and thought process.

Critical Conversations

• Groups of 3• Share critical conversations• Identify key learnings• Share

Space to Learn - Culture

• Culture - Space to Learn

Successful Schools

• Formed a professional learning community• Focused on student work through assessment• Changed their instructional practice

accordingly to get better results• Did all of this on a continuing basis.

Fullan, M. (2000), The three Stories of Educational Reform

Successful Schools Study

Outperforming Demographics: Factors Influencing Nine Rural and Urban Schools’

Culture of Student Achievement• Candace Raskin, Courtney Stewart, Jean Haar

Minnesota State University, MankatoUniversity of Montana

• Raskin C., Stewart, C. & Haar, J. Outperforming Demographics: Factors Influencing Nine Rural and Urban Schools’ Culture of Student Achievement. Accepted for publication in NCPEA Yearbook (2012) Social Justice, Competition and Quality: 21st Century Leadership Challenges

Successful Schools Study• The purpose of this study was to analyze within a framework of the

90/90/90 literature, how both rural and urban schools are overcoming factors that may negatively influence student achievement and refine current understanding of how school culture around student achievement is influenced.

• A mixed methods explanatory design that included the ranking of correlated factors influencing student end of level exams was used to identify and study nine schools that outperformed their demographics.

• Principals and teachers identified critical practices in their schools that

contributed to a culture of high student achievement.

• The study revealed three common factors within these schools - principal influence, teacher influence, and a culture of high student achievement established through shared beliefs and school atmosphere.

Principal Influence on Shared Beliefs and School Atmosphere

Focus on Teaching and Learning…“Remember why you are here. What were you hired for? You are here to teach…so teach. Don't worry about the policy, don't worry about what your administrators are doing, do what you're hired to do. That’s teaching. And I'll make it so you can do that. So you tell me what you need. So I'm kind of servile to them in a way. You know, there isn't a real big step between my faculty and me.”

Principal Influence on Shared Beliefs and School Atmosphere

Focus on Teaching and Learning…A rural middle school principal spoke to the importance of teachers utilizing every minute of instructional time,“I want my teachers working, and I think that's, um, a real key thing here. We’re on 51 minute periods, and ‑our teachers teach 51 minutes, and I think that's a real key thing to us. I’ve seen school districts where the last 10 or 15 minutes is study hall or free time like, so talk to your friends. And we really don't do that. My �teachers are teaching and I think that's good.”

Principal Influence on Shared Beliefs and School Atmosphere

Systems for teacher support.An elementary teacher noted, “You know, we don’t get everything we want, because there’s not enough money, but if there is a real need, he goes to bat for us.”

Empowered teachers.Teachers spoke of how principals created a culture of risk taking which allowed them to implement innovative instructional strategies without fear of retribution. Principals also discussed the importance of trust in defaulting to the teachers on key instructional decisions for students.

Principal Influence on Shared Beliefs and School Atmosphere

Systems for teacher support.An elementary teacher noted, “You know, we don’t get everything we want, because there’s not enough money, but if there is a real need, he goes to bat for us.”

Empowered teachers.Teachers spoke of how principals created a culture of risk taking which allowed them to implement innovative instructional strategies without fear of retribution. Principals also discussed the importance of trust in defaulting to the teachers on key instructional decisions for students.

Principals that Establish Conditions for Organizational Change

High levels of trust. A rural high school teacher described how trust was important in uniting her school, “He treats us like professionals, and I really appreciate that…I just feel like … we’re trusted to do what we do, and so consequently, I think that’s another reason we’re all on board and going in the same direction.”

High expectations. A elementary teacher captured this phenomenon of student accountability, “She had high standards for us as a staff. She also has incredibly high standards for the students, as well, and she will get personally involved with a student if she sees that they’re not meeting her, you know, her expectations, which I think is really neat, because a lot of principals have a hands-off role with students, and so, you know, all the kids know that, too.”

Principals that Establish Conditions for Organizational Change

Continuous improvement. • One teacher commented how her principal encouraged her to

return to graduate school to continue her education and build her professional goals.

• Another teacher talked about how her principal expects continuous use of data to reevaluate the master schedule to better accommodate student progress.

• Teachers also spoke of how principals expect teachers to not allow any student to fall behind; student progress was continuously monitored.

Self - Assessment

Teacher Assessment

Discuss In Small Groups

• Did you find any trends?• Where there common needs?• What did you learn?• What next?

POWERFUL PRACTICES PRODUCE RESULTS

Improvement in student achievement on all assessment measures.

Powerful Practice

Priority Standards

Unwrapped Standards

Authentic Performance

Tasks

Scoring Guides

Common Formative

Assessments

Data Team Process

Reeves, D. (2011), The Power of Assessments for Learning, Minnetonka, MN

State StandardsTest SpecsNational Standards

Powerful Practice

Priority Standards

Unwrapped Standards

Authentic Performance

Tasks

Scoring Guides

Common Formative

Assessments

Data Team Process

Reeves, D. (2011), The Power of Assessments for Learning, Minnetonka, MN

Big ideasEssential Learnings

Powerful Practice

Priority Standards

Unwrapped Standards

Authentic Performance

Tasks

Scoring Guides

Common Formative

Assessments

Data Team Process

Reeves, D. (2011), The Power of Assessments for Learning, Minnetonka, MN

Curriculum mapPacing guidesVertical and Horizontal alignment

Powerful Practice

Priority Standards

Unwrapped Standards

Authentic Performance

Tasks

Scoring Guides

Common Formative

Assessments

Data Team Process

Reeves, D. (2011), The Power of Assessments for Learning, Minnetonka, MN

Common understanding of masteryMastery targets by grade and course

Powerful Practice

Priority Standards

Unwrapped Standards

Authentic Performance

Tasks

Scoring Guides

Common Formative

Assessments

Data Team Process

Reeves, D. (2011), The Power of Assessments for Learning, Minnetonka, MN

Common assessments by grade and courseScheduled assessment points

Powerful Practice

Priority Standards

Unwrapped Standards

Authentic Performance

Tasks

Scoring Guides

Common Formative

Assessments

Data Team Process

Reeves, D. (2011), The Power of Assessments for Learning, Minnetonka, MN

Scheduled data team meetingsSystematic response to address student needsIdentified strategies for interventionElectronic repository

Powerful Practice

Priority Standards

Unwrapped Standards

Authentic Performance

Tasks

Scoring Guides

Common Formative

Assessments

Data Team Process

Reeves, D. (2011), The Power of Assessments for Learning, Minnetonka, MN

Powerful Practice

• How do these components fit together – If the state standards and the state tests were the

“bookends” and these powerful practices were the books in between…

– How would you arrange the books to show the connections?

Reeves, D. (2011), The Power of Assessments for Learning, Minnetonka, MN

Successful Schools

• Self assess your school based on these powerful practice strategies .

• Share in small groups by level.• Brainstorm next steps.

Powerful Practice

• Sharing your findings.Clicker activityPut each area on the wheel into a clicker response and collect data for the district.

Powerful Practice

• Groups (not leveled)• From a district perspective what are 3-5 top

priorities to move the schools in your district forward and sustain PLCs.

Powerful Practice

• Share priorities as a large group.• Sentence strips.

Action Steps

• What are possible action steps in your building to help your teams continue to grow as plcs.

Pulling it together

• What should our focus be to provide support to you as leaders.

• What can we do to provide support to your teacher leaders.

Closing–2 Minute write

• Where do you feel you have made the most significant growth this year?

–Share with the large group