The Building Blocks of District Site Leadership Teams

1. RSDSS, Region 2 Staff The Building Blocks of District Site Leadership Teams

2. Learning Objectives 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

3. Why should you have a DSLT? PURPOSE

4. DSLT 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

5. District Leadership Makes a Difference! 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)

6. “ 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

7. Where To BeginBuilding Blocks Have the right structure and people Establish norms Have a common process Periodically self-evaluate Have the right tools and data – authentic work

8. STRUCTURE

9. Structure Collaborative Teams District Level Building or Site Level Instructional Level

10. Structure • 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

11. Membership • Other: • Superintendent’s Cabinet • Academic coach(es) • Counseling staff • Student services representative • EL/migrant representative • Special Education Director District Leadership Team

12. Member Characteristics • 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

13. Membership – Blockers/Skeptics Source: B. McKeever, Nine Lessons of Effective School Leadership Teams, 2003

14. NORMS

15. Norms or Characteristics Independent of the level of collaboration, all teams should practice certain norms or characteristics • Accountable to colleagues • Support colleagues • On time for meetings • Support team decisions • Positive, Reliable, Prepared • Participate fully in meetings • Believe all students can learn The Leadership and Learning Center http://www.leadandlearn.com/

16. “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. 103

17. Types of Norms • Behavioral • Process

18. Sample Behavioral Norms • 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.

19. Sample Process Norms Burney High School • 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

20. COMMON PROCESS Meeting Structure and Expectations

21. Process : Results Oriented • Structured • Review of data • Focus on LEA Plan, priorities, and goals • Scheduled • Suggested monthly, at least quarterly

22. Process: Common Understandings • 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.

23. Process: Clear Roles

24. “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

25. MAJOR FOCUS OF DSLT WORK

26. The Major Focus 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.

27. The Continuous Improvement Planning Process 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

28. READINESS

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

30. Organizational Level of Intervention in District Culture Surface Structures Action (Target of Most Professional Development Deep Structures

31. TAKING STOCK 31

32. Conduct Needs Assessment • Organize and present data for the needs assessment • Review and analyze data to identify priority areas of focus • Identify priority areas of focus

33. DATA Include: • At least three years of data • Data disaggregated by student subgroups, as well as whole district • Data by district, school, course, and grade span • Comparative data including schools, district, county and state, including similar school comparisons • Local context data

34. Some Types of Student Data • AYP & API • STAR • CAHSEE • CELDT • Local Diagnostic Assessments • Local Benchmark Assessments • Dropout rates / Graduation rate • Demographics • Suspensions/Expulsions

35. STATE SURVEYS • Academic Program Survey (APS) • District Assessment Survey (DAS) • English Learner Subgroup Self-Assessment (ELLSA) • Inventory for Support and Services for Students with Disabilities (ISS)

36. Review and Analyze Data to Identify Priority Areas • Use student achievement data to identify underperforming student groups • Use state program evaluation tools to evaluate the LEA’s instructional program.

37. A Framework for Coherence Regulations and Statues - Contracts - Politics & Funding Regulations and Statutes - Contracts - Politics & Funding Human Resources - Parent/Community Involvement - Fiscal - Professional Development - Data Systems & Ongoing Monitoring - Governance - Alignment C, I, A - Essential Program Components Essential Program Components Instructional Core All students achieve grade level standards 37

38. GOAL SETTING AND ACTION PLANNING 38

39. 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

40. Tight – Loose Leadership 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

41. Nonnegotiables • 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

42. Action Planning: Learning • Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum – materials adoption training • Balanced and Coherent System of Assessments – benchmarks assessments • System Wide Intervention System – criteria for entry and exit

43. Action Planning: Collaboration • Shared Mission, Vision, Values/Commitments, and Goals – develop common agreements • High Performing, Collaborative Teams – Team norms and protocols • Intentional Collaboration - Calendar for collaboration

44. Action Planning: Results • 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

45. Action Plan Nuts and Bolts • What? • Who? • When? • Funding? • Progress Monitoring?

46. About Resouces Use of resources that align with and support instruction and achievement goals 46

47. Resources • Time • Money • Personnel • Professional Learning • Materials

48. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING 48

49. 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)

50. Implementation • Progress on goals and action steps • Accountability for timeline • Effectiveness • Measure as demonstrated through student achievement 50