Children First Intensive

Children First Intensive • Building Leadership, Network Data Celebration, ARIS Parent Link • ESO Network 14 • Eastwood Manor, May 21, 2009 • Bob Cohen, NL; Deena Abu-Lughod, SAF • Brandon Alvarez, Jo Ann Benoit, Deirdre Burke, Alan Godlewicz, Dr. Pamela McCarthy

Provisional Agenda • 8:30 Welcome! Announcements, CFI Inquiry Share Fair (6/18) Planning • 8:45 CFI: Inquiry and Building Leadership Capacity • 10:15 Break • 10:30 Network 14 ELA Highlights Celebration • 10:50 Planning for ARIS Parent Link • 11:15 A Word from our Sponsor: Sussman Sales • 11:40 Instructional Needs 2009-10 (Needs Assessment, Principals/Staff Skills Inventory) • 12:00 Evaluation • 12:05 Study Groups- including planning for June 18th Share Fair • 12:30 Lunch- continue Study Group conversations • 1:30 Afternoon Consultations: (1) Budget, (2) Progress Report Modeler, (3) Principals Interview Committee

Outcomes for the day • Plan for the sharing of Inquiry and Study Group Learnings • CFI: Synthesize understandings of the relationship between Inquiry work and instructional leadership • Explore preliminary ELA results and analysis tools • Plan for the roll out of the ARIS Parent link • Evaluate our instructional needs and principals/staff inventory of skills

Taking Responsibility Research has found that faculty in successful schools always question existing instructional practice and do not blame lack of student achievement on external causes.…The “source of the problem” in ordinary schools is always someone else: the students, the parents/caretakers, the school board, and so on. “ ” — Carl Glickman, 2002, pp. 4, 6

Where we are in the Inquiry Process Phase I: Identify Students and Targets Phase III: Move the System Phase II: Move the Students 5

Phase III: Analyzing systems Analyze systems that produced conditions of learning Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures Design and implement change strategy

From the target population to the system • The theory of action for the target population was: • If we do X (eg, teach the learning target –Y-- they missed, teach Y differently, teach Y better, change who teaches Y), the target population students will learn Y. Knowing Y, these students will close the gap in their learning this year and move into the sphere of success. This is how you moved the students. • The theory of action for the system is: • If we do Z (eg, change our system for determining what is taught, how it is taught, how well it is taught and who is teaching), we will reduce in the future, the number of students who are outside the sphere of success. This is how you move the system.

Essential Questions How can we scale up the work of inquiry teams? How can we further build leadership?

Lessons from 333 Leadership Story • What are the qualities of a leader? • Inspirational: “How would you like to make 3 million dollars in 3 days?” • Positive: “We won’t spend time on why we can’t” • Action-oriented: “There must be something we can do.” • Resourceful: Tapped on all his contacts; capitalized on each one’s strengths. • Persevering: “We aren’t going to leave until we figure this out.” • Empathetic: He passed through Barrie, saw the damage, considered the implications of not taking action and took action. • Motivational: Gave praise to team members. No idea was too outlandish. • Goal-Oriented: Took action with a clear goal. • Humble: Didn’t matter who got the credit. He gave credit to the team.

Task I: Inquiry Share • Use Write Sheet: Think/Write (10 mins) • 1. What has been the focus of your team’s inquiry work this year? (If you had more than one team pick one to focus on.) • 2. How and when will the impact of this inquiry experience (and results) be felt on the larger school community? • 3. How did the experience build teacher leadership? What resources and supports were needed to do so? (coaching presence, administrative time, $$) • Next, in your table group, chart a bulleted list of responses to these prompts to share out (15 minutes)

Task II: Take your bulleted list and discuss… • What are the implications of our findings for building leadership capacity through inquiry? • How is the process of having inquiry team teachers share out to the rest of the community relevant to the development of leadership qualities and skills? • What skill set is necessary for teachers to effectively lead a Professional Learning Community or Inquiry Team?

Task III: Discuss • Assumption: • Every member of a collaborative school community can act as a leader, dramatically impacting the quality of relationships, the school culture, and student learning.The Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry, (Corwin Press, 2008) • How do we know that the leadership and facilitation qualities and skills are being developed? • What frameworks/tools do we use for teams? • What frameworks/tools do we use for individual teachers?

We’re expanding the sphere of success The goal of inquiry work is to move every student into the sphere of success.

Network ELA Data: Predictions • How many of our schools had overall gains that exceeded the City average of 11%? • What percent of students made 1 year progress? • What percent of the Level 1+2 students made 1 year progress? • What percent of the Level 3+4 students made 1 year progress? • In what grade were Proficiency Rate gains the highest? • What was the average Proficiency Rate gain for the Level 1+2 students? • What was the average Proficiency Rate gain for the Level 3+4 students?

Distribute Data Packet • What do you notice? (10 mins) • What questions do you have? (5 mins)

52% below proficiency in 2008Only 37% below proficiency in 2009 (3,748 students) Only 33% lost proficiency in relation to their 2008 scores. Network 14 Students who made one year of progress in ELA: 56.8 % in 2008 66% in 2009 What does this mean for your school?

Small increases in proficiency translate into large increases in probability of graduating 4-Year Regents Diplomas 4-Year Regents Graduation Rate 8th Grade Test Score (Average of ELA & Math) Source: 2004 Graduation Cohort (“Class of 2008”) from the 2007/08 Progress Reports 17 17

Acuity Predictive Correlations • In June, most schools will administer the Acuity Predictive assessments. • You’re probably wondering: How useful will this be? How reliable are these assessments in predicting the outcomes on the NYS test? • The answer: Probably very useful! The correlation of the Grade 8 ELA Proficiency Rates with the Fall Acuity Predictive was .759. • An additional resource will become available in ARIS as well: The student-level Item Response from the State test.

Grade 8 Scatterplot: Fall Acuity by Jan. ELA Most students who scored 75+ on Acuity, scored at or above proficiency on the ELA. 60-75% = pushable/slippable

Next steps with NYS data • Student Item Response data is expected to be posted in ARIS. • Deconstruct the “distinguishing questions” from the State tests to puzzle out which skills separate the 2s from the 3s and the 3s from the 4s. Use the State Benchmarks to identify the “distinguishing questions”. • Look for patterns of strength and weakness for the students ENTERING each classroom so the teacher can work strategically. • Analyze the focus of your curriculum map in relation to the “power standards” identified for that grade, the grade below and the grade above (see the Item Map and Trend Chart). • Conduct “Cause-and-Effect” and “Verifying Causes” protocols with your teams using your disaggregated data.

Benchmarks and “Distinguishing Questions”

Identifying Power Standards: Item Maps

Identifying Power Standards: Trend Charts

ARIS Parent Link • By May 13, you should have assigned the APL coordinator (usually the parent coordinator) in Galaxy. • Consider the following: • What is the best way for your school to distribute the passwords? • How will you provide training to parents on the use of the APL? • How will you support parents who do not have Internet access?

ELA Landing Page How can I help my child learn? What is my child learning? How is my child doing?

ARIS Parent Link Customized Walkthroughs What is the assessment? How does this assessment help you teach my child? How did my child do on this assessment? How can I help my child succeed?

ARIS Parent Link Student Profile User-friendly navigation Help button on every page Help for parents

Parent Coordinator Role Parent Coordinators are essential to successful APL rollout.They should: • Support parents in their schools with APL by: • Assisting parents in logging in and using APL. • Helping parents find information in APL. • Encouraging parents to use APL to help their children. • Work collaboratively with other school staff to empower parents in the education process. • Understand school protocol for handling parent requests for data updates. APL Administrators manage, distribute, and reset APL passwords for parents. • APL Administrator is a new role principals assign through Galaxy. • Principals are encouraged to make their Parent Coordinators APL Administrators. • Principals can assign more than one APL Administrator. • APL Administrators have access to confidential student level information they must handle securely.

Data Conversation and Planning

Powerful Words “ I wonder how many children’s lives we would save if we educators shared what we knew with each other. ” — Roland Barth

Children First Intensive (CFI) • Inquiry team work at the school/classroom level is the DOE professional development model. It is a model that values the skills, talents and potential available within the school. It aims to build self-reliance and sustainability, through the process of research generated at the school level to meet the needs of and improve outcomes for all the students.

Skills Inventory and Learning Agenda

Evaluation: Did we achieve our outcomes? • Plan for the sharing of Inquiry Learnings • CFI: Synthesize understandings of the relationship between Inquiry work and instructional leadership • Explore preliminary ELA results and analysis tools • Plan for the roll out of the ARIS Parent link • Evaluate our instructional needs and principals/staff inventory of skills

Children First Intensive