Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative

1. Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative Leadership Team Session January 10, 2013

2. “We’ve been trying to push this as a national movement,” Mr. Duncan continued. “This is the kernel of a national movement … this is a triumph of common sense. But as a country, we have not taken this step for a long time.” Massachusetts is the only state with a “state-level policy” for allowing traditional public schools to extend the day. “There’s no question that that’s kind of the inspiration for this [collaborative]”. "When we talk about increasing learning time, it's not just about tacking on more time and doing more of the same. We're talking about redesigning the school day." “New London's selection as one of three Connecticut school districts to implement a national expanded learning time program will inspire our students to greater achievement and higher educational goals. I know this because I saw it first hand as superintendent of the Fall River Public Schools in Massachusetts.” “The question we have is can we give all children the opportunity that our most affluent kids have,” said Luis Ubinas, president of the Ford Foundation. “Massachusetts has been a leader as the only state with an established funding stream to support such learning.”

3. TIME Collaborative Launch Event December 3, 2012

4. Agenda Please Note: Next steps planning is SACRED TIME –make it count!

5. Role Assignments • To ensure that this time is focused and productive, assign roles to team members for today’s activities and next steps planning. • Use colored dots to designate roles: • Scribe = Blue • Focuser = Red • Timekeeper = Yellow

6. Objectives • Reflect on and get suggestions for how to strengthen your school-wide instructional focus • Make connections between gauging student engagement in learning and your school-wide instructional focus, starting with one of your common practices • Balance time for team reflection and planning, and learning from your peers at other ELT schools

7. ELT Expectations for Implementation I. ELT Redesign Supports a Clear, School-wide Academic Focus II. Additional Time for Core Academics III. Additional Time for Enrichment IV. Additional Time for Teacher Leadership and Collaboration V. Focused and Collaborative Leadership VI. Resources are Aligned and Focused VII. District Leadership Supports ELT

8. Reconnecting: Keeping the Focus on Your Focus Take 20 minutes with your own team to reflect on your progress around your school-wide focus work since October. Each team will pair up with another team from their cluster for a 20 minute discussion. Share your progress, roadblock, and ask for suggestions Teams should reconvene and synthesize the suggestions they got from others for 5minutes. p. 3

9. School Pairings

10. In October, we started to talk about student engagement in learning…

11. In October, we shared some resources around Gauging Student Engagement

12. Merging Work on FOCUS with Work on ENGAGEMENT What does engagement in learning look like for one of your common instructional practices? FOCUS ENGAGEMENT

13. Review: Implementing Common Instructional Practices Chose Common Instructional Practices Create Common Understanding Assess Team Needs & Teacher Strengths Strengthen Practice School-Wide Monitor the Work

14. Linking a Common Instructional Practice to Student Engagement in Learning You Create Common Understanding not simply be defining the practice itself, but by defining what students and teachers are doing when the practice is implemented effectively and students are engaged in learning.

15. Example: What does student engagement look like during Accountable Talk? Instructional Focus All students will accelerate their achievement in the four domains of language acquisition(listening, speaking, reading, and writing). All teachers will implement a set of best instructional practices to support our instructional focus. Success will be measured by MCAS, interim assessments, as well as available state assessment scores for ELL students. • Common Instructional Practice: Accountable Talk • Accountable talk is talk by teachers and students about academically important content that supports development of student reasoning and improves their ability to communicate their thinking. There is accountability to the classroom community, to rigorous reasoning, and to correct knowledge.

16. What does student engagement look like during Accountable Talk? • What are teachers doing? • Ask a variety of carefully planned questions that lead to talk that will help students make sense of what they are learning or push their thinking • Listen into conversations during “talk time” (noting student responses to draw on during share) • Call on a variety of students to share • Use insight into WHAT students know (by listening to their talk) to ask follow up questions or clarify instruction • Modeling effective talk – “What do good talkers do” “what do good listeners do” • Use a consistent variety of “talk strategies” (so that teachers have a number of tools that are all well known to students and used across the team). • Pace the talk experience so that momentum and focus are maintained

17. What does student engagement look like during Accountable Talk? What are students doing? • Partner quickly • All actively participate • Demonstrate active listening when partner is speaking (eye contact,quiet • body/mouth, nods, etc.) • Speak with appropriate volume • Stay on topic • Use content specific vocabulary • Explain the thinking behind their response • Ask partners questions to push thinking (Why? What makes you think that? What if…? Etc.) • Paraphrase their thinking and that of their partners during the share out • Raise questions to the group/teacher based on their discussion

18. TEAM ACTIVITY: Student Engagement in Your Focus (Step 1) Take 45 minutes to work as a team and complete the first side of the Student Engagement in your Focus tool for one common practice at your school and transcribe your notes onto flip chart paper. Make sure to hang up your school’s poster by 11:05. Completed sample on p. 4 Blank template on p. 5

19. TEAM ACTIVITY: Student Engagement in Your Focus (Step 2) Everyone will participate in a 20 minute Gallery Walk to review 3 schools’ posters. Use BLUE post-its to add suggestions for additional teacher/student behaviors. Use PINK post-its to pose questions or mark where something isn’t clear.

20. TEAM ACTIVITY: Student Engagement in Your Focus (Step 3) Step 3. Return to your team’s table for 30 minutes to discuss what you learned during the gallery walk, and work through the second side of the Student Engagement in your Focus tool: Now What? p. 6

21. PREVIEW: Living Your Focus Mini-Workshops Two topics: • Building and Sustaining a Strong ILT to Lead Focus Work • with Silvia Elementary School LearningWalks to Strengthen Common Practices with Nancy Mullen Next Door Here You can chose to split your team in half and have representatives attend both sessions, or participate in one as a whole team

22. Living Your Focus: Mini-Workshops Be sure to take notes during the workshops on what you’re learning and relevant implications for your school! p. 7 & 8

23. Agenda

24. Living Your Focus: Mini-Workshops Two topics: • Building and Sustaining a Strong ILT to Lead Focus Work • with Silvia Elementary School LearningWalks to Strengthen Common Practices with Nancy Mullen Next Door Here You can chose to split your team in half and have representatives attend both sessions, or participate in one as a whole team

25. Jot down an “aha!” moment that happened for you today Think of a “shout-out”to recognize one of your team members or person from another school team Before you start your Next Steps Planning… We’ll close with these at 2:50!

26. Next Steps Planning To ensure that this time is focused and productive, utilize team member roles: Scribe = Blue Focuser = Red Timekeeper = Yellow p. 9 and on NCR paper

27. Please fill out and return your evaluations, and visit www.timeandlearning.org/ maeltimplementation for today’s materials!