The Reading/Literacy Leadership Team

1. The Reading/Literacy Leadership Team Palm Beach County Schools

2. Palm Beach County K-12 Comprehensive Reading Plan includes… The start up or continuation of a Reading Leadership Team supported by administration to create capacity of reading knowledge within the school building. A Reading Leadership Team is a collaborative system that encourages a literate climate to support effective teaching and learning. Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

3. Benefits of Reading/Literacy Leadership Teams • Positive impact on student learning. • Transfer teacher learning into the classroom. • Catalyst for school-wide literacy change. Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

4. Something to Think About . . . “Probably the most important -- and the most difficult -- job of the school-based reformer is to change the prevailing culture of a school . . . Ultimately, a school’s culture has far more influence on life and learning in the schoolhouse than the state department of education, the superintendent, the school board, or even the principal can ever have.” Roland Barth, 2001 Learning by Heart, p. 7 Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

5. Framework for Literacy-Based School Change • Create a shared literacy vision in your school that is clear and shaped by the particularities of your school community. • Work as a school literacy team, with everyone having a role in determining the vision and the implementation plan, and each member bringing specific expertise to building the culture of literacy in the school. • Build in time and opportunities for professional development for the stakeholders who are developing the program. Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

6. Reading/Literacy Leadership Team is a management tool for: • Simultaneously supporting learning and teaching for the ENTIRE community-students, teachers, educational leaders. • Enhancing literacy environment. • Building a literacy culture through collegiality and collaboration. Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

7. What does the Reading/Literacy Leadership Team Look Like? • Educational Leaders (Principal) • Literacy Coach/Reading Coach • Science/Math/Content-Area Coaches • Content Area/Grade Level Teachers • Special Area Teachers • Elective Teachers • Media Specialist • RtI Facilitator • LTM Facilitator • ESE/ESOL Teachers • Community Members • Parents • Students Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

8. Literacy Plan of Action Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

9. Phase 1: Plan of ActionInvestigating Area of Concern List your Area(s) of Concern based on student need. (Brainstorm extensively and try to narrow to one area of concern; for example, students are having difficulty with comprehension) What evidence or data exists to support this student need? How do you know it is a need? (Example: teacher made-tests, teacher observation, FCAT) List other types of evidence (data, information) that your team could gather to gain a clearer picture of student need in this area? What are the implications of the additional data collected? Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

10. Phase 2: Plan of ActionStudying and Planning the Course of Action List the resources your team will need to plan a course of action. (See Appendix B – LLT Resources for Studying and Planning) What are the implications of the resources studied? Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

11. Phase 3: Plan of ActionImplementing the Course of Action List the data that will be used to monitor the course of action? Who will be responsible for collecting the data? What actions will you take to support your staff in the implementation of the course of action? Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

12. Phase 4: Plan of ActionDetermining the Effectiveness of Course of Action How has the course of action impacted student learning? What, if any, further actions are necessary, such as continuing, revising, or discontinuing the course of action? Is there another related area of concern that your team might want to target at this time? Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

13. Phase 5: Plan of ActionReflecting on the Process What have individual team members learned from this process? How will the insights help them in their classrooms? How can this process be shared with the faculty? Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

14. Literacy Leadership Team Data Sources Data sources that can be easily collected in the classroom and within the school environment such as: • Student work samples • Informal assessments (reading running records, writing rubrics) • Formal assessments • Research journals, logs (records of observational data, formal assessments, and informal assessments) • Videos, photographs, and audiotapes • Anecdotal records based on observations • Teacher checklists • Student interviews and surveys • Parent interviews and surveys • Teacher interviews and surveys • Teacher-generated assessments • Report cards • Parent interviews and surveys • Results from state-wide testing • Portfolios Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

15. Literacy Leadership TeamResources for Studying and Planning Curriculum Resource Teacher Reading Coach Mentors/Peer Teachers Colleagues Parents Students Professional Journals Professional Books Internet Sites Workshops/Staff Development Conferences School District Resource Teachers University Support Neighboring or Feeder Schools State and Federally Funded Organizations Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

16. Literacy Leadership TeamActions for Staff Support Engaging in peer coaching Videotaping class sessions Conducting mini-workshops throughout the year Forming study groups Visiting schools who have had success with similar concerns Utilizing coaching sessions Researching strategies to address the concern Providing materials, resources, assistance to address concerns Attending workshops/conferences on topic Collecting and analyzing additional data on subjects Creating surveys, portfolios and interviews with school community Modeling lessons in classrooms Analyzing and reviewing data Sharing and reporting data Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

17. Sustaining your Reading/Literacy Leadership Team… • “Team Work” the team should be made up of stakeholders: principal, teachers, community partners and even students. • “Follow-Through” the action plan is a working document and the team should not stray from its common literacy vision. • “Share the Vision” the team’s work should be honored and shared with ALL stakeholders: parents, faculty and administration. • “Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew” focus on one or two critical areas of literacy. Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

18. Steps toward Literacy Success • Understand the theory and research on how literacy develops in young people. • Model and demonstrate literacy strategies to support and encourage developing readers. • Help students to see themselves as successful readers, growing in confidence and competence, and setting goals to increase literacy achievement. • Develop a literacy mandate for the entire school, with teams of teachers engaged in building competent readers and writers. Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability

19. references • The Literacy Principal: Leading, Supporting, and Assessing Reading and Writing Initiatives, Booth, D., & Rowsell, J. (2007) Second Edition, Pembroke Publishing. • The K-12 Literacy Leadership Fieldbook, Taylor, R.T. & Gunter, G.A. (2005). Corwin Press.  • The Literacy Leadership Team: Sustaining and Expanding Success, Froelich, K.S. & Puig, E.A. (in press 2008). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. • The Literacy Coach: Guiding in the right direction.Puig, E.A. & Froelich, K.S. (2007). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. • Literacy coaching: The essentials. Casey, K. (2006). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. • The Literacy Coach's Handbook: A Guide to Research-Based Practice. Walpole, S. & McKenna, M.C. (2004). Guilford Press • Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, K-8, Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S., (2006). Portsmouth, NH. Heinemann. • Reading & Writing in the Middle Years, Booth, D. (2001). Portland, Maine, Stenhouse Publishers. • Creating Literacy-Rich Schools for Adolescents. Ivey, G. & Fisher, D. (2006). ASCD. • Literacy Learning Communities: A Guided for Creating Sustainable Change in Secondary Schools, Lent, R.C. (2007). Portsmouth, NH. Heinemann. Kathy Baich, Instructional Reading Specialist Capacity Development and School Reform Accountability