Sponsored by the Colorado Department of Education

1. Unified Improvement Planning: School Level Sponsored by the Colorado Department of Education

2. Introductions Center for Transforming Learning and Teaching • Julie Oxenford O’Brian • Mary Beth Romke www.ctlt.org

3. Norms The standards of behavior by which we agree to operate while we are engaged in learning together.

4. Introductions Introduce yourselves to the folks at your table: • Name/Role • One question you have about Unified Improvement Planning Select top two questions from your table to share.

5. Today’s Purpose Ensure you are prepared to facilitate your school –level planning team in data analysis as a critical component of completing the school level unified improvement plan.

6. One in a series of CDE sponsored sessions on UIP. . . School Level Support for Schools assigned a Priority Improvement or Turnaround Plan under state accountability District Level Support for Districts with schools assigned a Priority Improvement or Turnaround Plan Under State Accountability District Level Support for Districts Accredited with Turnaround or Priority Improvement plans under state accountability or identified for improvement under ESEA, including Titles I, IIA and/or III Using the Unified Improvement Plan for Title I Requirements (Webinar Only)

7. Today is. . . First day of two sessions focused on school-level planning. Focused on Section III: Data Analysis. Day two will focus on Section IV: Action Planning.

8. Materials

9. How you participate. . . Participating from three perspectives: • Learner • Facilitator • Planner Supporting School Planning Note Catcher

10. Outcomes • Understanding the key elements and processes embedded in the UIP Template • Recognize unique requirements of TA and PI schools • Gather and organize data for planning. • Develop major components of Section III of the UIP: • Significant Trends • Prioritized Needs • Root Causes • Data Narrative • Apply the UIP Quality Criteria (school level). Engage in hands-on learning activities and dialogue with colleagues. Complete readings. Facilitate processes locally.

11. Activity: Progress Monitoring • Go to Progress Monitoring. • Re-write the learning targets for day one in your own language. • Describe what these learning targets mean to you. • Create a bar graph which describes where you currently believe you are in relationship to each of learning target.

12. Agenda Unified Improvement Planning Turnaround and Priority Improvement Developing your data analysis plan Identifying trends & priority needs Root Cause Analysis Completing the Data Narrative

13. Purposes of Unified Improvement Planning Support school and district use of performance data to improve student learning. Transition from planning as “an event” to planning as “continuous improvement”. Provide a mechanism for external stakeholders to learn about schools/district improvement efforts. Reduce the number of required improvement “plans”. Align improvement efforts within schools and districts. Meet state and federal accountability requirements.

14. Theory of Action: Continuous Improvement Evaluate Evaluate FOCUS Implement Plan

15. What School Planning Requirements will the Unified Improvement Plan Meet? State accountability Title I • Improvement Plan for schools on improvement, corrective action or restructuring • Targeted Assistance Plan* • Schoolwide Plan* * some requirements may need to be included as addendums for Targeted Assistance and Schoolwide Plans.

16. Planning Terminology • Colorado Accountability Terminology • Planning Terms: • Performance Indicator • Measure • Metric • Root Cause • Major Improvement Strategy • Action Step • Interim Measure • Implementation Benchmark • How will you ensure local stakeholders can: • Explain the relationships between these terms. • Describe the difference between an interim measure and an implementation benchmark.

17. SMART Goals Performance Management Performance Indicators (Strategically identified, research-based areas for Improvement) Measures (What we will use to measure) Metrics (How we will use the measure) Expectations (Attainable levels of performance) Targets (How good is good enough by when) • Strategic • Measurable • Attainable • Research-Based • Time-Bound

18. Colorado Unified Planning Template for Schools Major Sections of the Template Summary Information about the school Improvement Plan Information Narrative on Data Analysis and Root Cause Identification Action Plan(s)

19. Basic Steps in Improvement Planning • Summary Information about the school II. Additional Information III. Narrative on Data Analysis and Root Cause Identification IV. Action Planning

20. Timeline August 15th– SPF Reports and initial plan type assignments released to districts. October 15th– district submits accreditation categories and case for revising plan type assignment if appropriate. November 15th– Final plan type assignments. January 15th– Priority Improvement, Turnaround and schools on improvement for Title I submit plans to CDE. February and March – state review, feedback to schools and revision April 15th– plans submitted for publication on schoolview.org

21. Submission Process for School Plans Plans due: January 17 and April 15, 2011 Use Tracker to submit improvement plans Each district identifies a lead submitter for improvement plans (respondent form) Training for the lead submitters will be available (e.g., online resources, Webinars) Targeting mid-November to have the Tracker open to accept improvement plans

22. Features of Tracker Currently used for ESEA monitoring (i.e., desk monitoring, documentation for onsite reviews) System is password protected. District controls who has access to system. Districts upload and organize evidence (documents). CDE can access districts’ documents and provide feedback. CDE will pre-populate criteria questions. Only districts that must submit in January will be able to access the instruments for the necessary programs. File cabinet arranged so that one plan will be linked to multiple programs (if needed).

23. Key Planning Resources Resource Uses Provide a “target” for plan developers for Section III and Section IV plan elements. Serve as the basis for plan review (district leaders, school accountability committees, local school boards, state department staff, state review panel) Examples of what might be included in each section of the plan. • Quality Criteria for Unified Improvement Plans (school level) • Unified Improvement Plan Examples (elementary and secondary)

24. Agenda Unified Improvement Planning Turnaround and Priority Improvement Developing your data analysis plan Identifying trends & priority needs Root Cause Analysis Completing the Data Narrative

25. State Distribution of Schools by Preliminary Plan Type Assignment Page 27

26. School Turnaround is a dramatic intervention in a low-performing school that both produces significant achievement gains within two years and prepares the school for long-term transformation into a high-performance organization. – Mass Insight Dramatic Change Restructuring means making major, rapid changes that affect how a school is led and how instruction is delivered. Restructuring is essential to achieving rapid, dramatic improvements in student learning – Learning Point Associates

27. Dramatic change for “persistent low-performance” This idea is not new. . . Comprehensive School Reform Designs (New American Schools Development Corp. & IASA) School Restructuring (NCLB) School Improvement Grants Under Section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 -- January 2009 amendments –turnaround,transformation, restart or closure. Colorado SB09-163 Educational Accountability Act: Turnaround and Priority Improvement .

28. Incremental vs. Dramatic Change Incremental Dramatic • Work with your table. Select a recorder. • Using a flip chart page create a t-chart • Brainstorm examples of incremental changes • Brainstorm examples of dramatic changes

29. Reviewing Turnaround Options Work with a partner. Take out “Turnaround Options”. Silently read one row in the chart (individually). When each partner has completed a row, look up and “say something.” Something might be a question, a brief summary, a key point, an interesting idea or personal connection to the text. Continue until you complete all of the rows in the chart.

30. Title I Requirements If your school also receives Title I funding, additional planning requirements will apply . . . • Schoolwide Title I • Targeted Assistance programs • on improvement, corrective action or restructuring Quality criteria for school UIPs Review NCLB Restructuring Options • How do the NCLB restructuring options compare to the Colorado Turnaround Options?

31. Necessary for Dramatic Change Wahlbert, H.J. Eds. (2007). Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement. Lincoln, NE: Center on Innovation and Improvement. A clear vision. What will the school look like when the restructuring process is completed? An empowered leader, a change agent, who can maintain a focus on the vision, motivate members of the school community, plan, communicate, and persist in keeping the change process on track. Improvement teams, generally at both the district and school level. Involvement of the whole school community: faculty, support staff, parents, community members, and students. Sufficient time to craft a quality plan. A summer is not enough. Small, “quick wins.” Relatively small, simple changes that have large, quick payoffs and can provide the momentum for more difficult changes.

32. Steps to prepare for dramatic change Determine who will engage in planning for dramatic change. Engage in a comprehensive qualitative review of the school (SST). Engage school and community stakeholders (input to the approach) Establish the school data infrastructure. Determine a the dramatic change approach. Define a new vision.

33. Agenda Unified Improvement Planning Turnaround and Priority Improvement Developing your data analysis plan Identifying trends & priority needs Root Cause Analysis Completing the Data Narrative

34. AdequateGrowth Percentile Student Growth Percentile Percentage Median Student Growth PErcentile Median Mean Median Adequate Growth

35. Mean vs. Median

36. Percentage vs. Percentile

37. Percentiles Percentiles • Range from 1 - 99 • Indicate the relative standing of a student’s score to the norm group. (i.e. how a particular compares with all others) Growth Percentiles • Indicate a student’s standing relative to their academic peers, or students with a similar score history (how his/her recent change in scores compares to others’ change in scores).

38. Experiencing Student Growth Percentile • Using the Student Growth Card, form a group with all of the “students” with the same 3rd grade scale score – academic peers. • Within your group get in order by 4th grade scale score. • Turn your cards over and compare your growth percentiles.

39. Experiencing Median Growth Percentile • Using your Student Growth card, identify your school (A, B, C, D, E). • Form a group with others from the same school. • Put yourselves in order (in a line) by growth percentile. • Identify the person in the middle (median). • What is the median student growth percentile for your school?

40. Adequate Growth • What is adequate growth? • Based on catch-up and keep-up growth.

41. Catching Up To be considered to be Catching Up: • The student scores below proficient (unsatisfactory or partially proficient) in the previous year • The student demonstrates growth adequate to reach proficient performance within the next three years or by tenth grade, whichever comes first.

42. Calculating Adequate Growth for Students Scoring Below Proficient: Catching Up 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade Proficient 95 Not Proficient 55

43. Calculating Adequate Growth for Students Scoring Below Proficient: Catching Up 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade Proficient 85 85 Not Proficient

44. Calculating Adequate Growth for Students Scoring Below Proficient: Catching Up 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade Proficient 80 80 80 Not Proficient

45. Calculating Adequate Growth for Students Scoring Below Proficient: Catching Up 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade Proficient 76 76 Not Proficient 76 76

46. Calculating Adequate Growth for Students Scoring Below Proficient: Catching Up 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade Proficient 76 is the minimum-this student’s adequate growth value 80 85 95 76 80 76 85 Not Proficient 80 76 76

47. Calculating Adequate Growth for Students Scoring Below Proficient: Catching Up 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade Proficient 76 76 76 76 Not Proficient

48. Calculating Adequate Growth for Students Scoring Below Proficient: Catching Up 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade 55th percentile growth will not be enough for this student to catch up – her current growth is not adequate. Proficient 76 76 76 76 Not Proficient 55 55 55 55

49. Keeping Up To be considered to be Keeping Up: • The student scores at the proficient or advanced level in the previous year. • The student demonstrates growth adequate to maintain proficiency for the next three years or until tenth grade, whichever comes first.

50. Calculating Adequate Growth for Students Scoring Above Proficient: Keeping Up 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade Proficient 79 12 Not Proficient