Collaborative Strategic Decision-Making

1. 25 Industrial Park Road, Middletown, CT 06457-1520 · (860) 632-1485 Connecticut State Department of Education · Division of Educational Programs and Services Collaborative Strategic Decision-Making Developing Effective Learning Communities

2. The Layout of Professional Development for EIP • Day 1 -Collaborative Strategic Decision-Making • Developing a process and framework • Day 2 -Assessment and Reflective Practice • Examining the use of assessment • Identifying how reflective practice works • Day 3 -Instructional Repertoire • Building new ways to develop strategies focused on improved student outcomes

3. Training Provide direct instruction on EIP components Build a foundation of skills Dialogue about the implementation of EIP from both a school and district perspective Technical Assistance Provide guided practice with EIP components Apply skills within the context of your school and district Provide direct assistance in building the capacity to expand EIP school-wide and district-wide Training vs. Technical Assistance

4. Central Themes • Building a Collaborative Learning Community • Using Strategic Decision-Making • Building Capacity to Develop, Implement and Sustain an Effective Process

5. Objectives for Today • To define an overall climate of collaboration among staff, families, and students that will lead to improved student success; and • To develop a strategic decision-making process that will drive high quality instructional practices focused on outcomes for ALL students.

6. Where To Begin? Initiating EIP within Your School and District

7. Are You a Leader of Change? • "Only by changing how we think can we change deeply embedded policies and practices. Only by changing how we interact can shared visions, shared understandings and new capacities for coordinated action be established.“ Peter Senge

8. The Leadership Team • The responsibilities of the leadership team are: • Identifying the need, rationale and purpose for implementing EIP • How will EIP enhance the current practice and organizational structures in order to improve the instruction for ALL students?

9. The Leadership Team • The responsibilities of the leadership team are: • Advocate for the development of the process and seek a buy-in period from others through • Open communication • Seeking input • Marketing actions as a “pilot” that is able to be adjusted

10. The Leadership Team • The responsibilities of the leadership team are: • Create a professional development plan that will teach all school and district personnel: • The content of EIP components • The process of how EIP will be implemented

11. School Capacity • School Capacity - The collective power of the full staff to improve student achievement school-wide. • “…Student achievement is affected most directly by the quality of instruction. Instruction in turn is affected by school policy or programs on a variety of issues.” Newmann, King, & Young (2000)

12. Culture & Climate Policy Structures Practices Core Values & Philosophy

13. Community District School Grade Level Classroom Student

14. Intensive 1-7% (Specialized/Individual Support System) Individual Support Intervention 5-15% (At-Risk System, Supplemental, Small Groups) Universal 80-90% (District, School-Wide, & Classroom Systems) School-Wide Continuum of Support EIP Special Education/504 All Students in School (Adapted from Ortiz, 1987; Horner, 1998; Sugai, 2001)

15. Components of EIP • Leadership • Collegial Support & Family Partnerships • Strategic Decision-Making • Assessment & Reflective Practice • Instructional Repertoire • Accountability & Documentation

16. Consultation Collaboration Collegial Support & Family Partnerships Our Learning Community Culture

17. Lessons Learned • Early intervention is a philosophy focused on collective responsibility that should be part of a whole school culture, not particular to a core team. • Families are an integral part of the whole school culture.

18. “Collaboration is the essential element of effective instructional support.” (Kovaleski, Tucker, & Stevens, 1996)

19. Definition of Collaboration “Collaboration an interactive process that enables people with diverse expertise to generate creative solutions to mutually defined problems.” (Idol, Nevin, Paolucci-Whitcomb, 1994)

20. What Does it Look Like? • Elements of Collaboration: • Examine student(s) needs, including consideration of cultural and linguistic background; • Facilitate decision-making in the school setting; • Promote classroom alternatives as first interventions for all students; • Provide support for classroom teachers; • Assist in designing and implementing instructional change; and • Share skills, resources, ideas, and materials with colleagues. (Adapted from Dettmer, Dyck, & Thurston, 1996)

21. Continuum Consultation Collaboration Coaching Grade Level Teams Peer Coaching Mentoring Specific Expertise Crisis Support Co-teaching Parent-Teacher Communication Parent Expertise of Child S. Gerber

22. Crisis Support Consulting: Objectivity Enhancement (individual) Consultation Consulting: Focus (individual) Consulting: Prescriptive (team or individual) Mentoring Peer Coaching Co-teaching Coordinating & Co-planning Instruction (with colleague or team) Collaboration Collaboration, Communication/Listening Information Delivery, Learning Styles Building a Staff Support Structure Stuart Gerber

23. “Expert” Assistance Consultation Specialized Support Mentoring/Modeling Shared Leadership Co-teaching Parity Peer-Coaching Collaboration Reflective Practice Collegial Climate Communication Skills Collective Responsibility Collegial Support All Students in School (Adapted from Ortiz, 1987; Horner, 1998; Sugai, 2001)

24. Portraits of Early Intervention • School-wide options can include… • Core Team • Grade Level Teams • Primary & Intermediate Core Teams • Cross Grade Level Core Teams • Case Partner and Classroom Teacher • Ad Hoc Teams (based on student needs) • Family Partnerships

25. Parental Involvement Definition • Participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities ensuring– • That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning; • That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; • That parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child

26. Specialized Assistance Specific Assistance Specialized Support Parent to Parent Support Shared Decision-Making Parent to Parent Partnerships Partnerships Community Partnerships Volunteer Programs Collective Responsibility Communication & Information Sharing Family Partnerships All Students in School (Horner, 1998)

27. Specialized Strategies Universal Practices Strategic Decision-Making Our Framework for Operation

28. Strategic Decision-Making… • Utilizing a systematic, purposeful process to make evidence-based decisions that focus on student achievement and take into account the full context of the school setting: • Curriculum • Environment • Instruction • Student(s)

29. Reactive Preventative Proactive Problem Solving Past Decision Making Future Present Decision Making vs. Problem Solving EIP C. Torres & D. Fairbanks,The ASTD Trainer’s Sourcebook

30. Perception of an Issue Action Action Data to Verify What Makes it Strategic? Data Driven Action From To Perception of an Issue Based on SWIS

31. Decision Making Decision Making Problem Solving Problem Solving A Paradigm Shift From To Reactive Proactive

32. Intensive Interventions & Monitoring Specialized Strategies In-Depth Analysis Interventions & Monitoring Data-Driven Implementation Integrity Universal Practices Monitoring of Student Progress School-Climate & Behavior Instructional Practice Strategic Decision-Making All Students in School (Adapted from Ortiz, 1987; Horner, 1998; Sugai, 2001)

33. Strategic Decision-Making • Strategic decision-making is the framework for providing positive outcomes for ALL students. • Strategic decision-making drives changes in instruction in order to effectively meet students’ needs. • There are various kinds of strategic decision-making steps/processes/protocols.

34. Indicators of Strategic Decision-Making • Identify the focus area for improvement • Determine the desired outcome • Generate alternative strategies • Examine strategies for impact & feasibility • Develop a plan of action that includes a monitoring system • Implement the plan & monitor student progress • Evaluate student progress & the plan

35. Indicators of a Strategic Decision-Making Process • Identify the focus area for improvement • Determine the desired outcome • Generate alternative strategies • Examine strategies for impact & feasibility • Develop a plan of action that includes a monitoring system • Implement the plan & monitor student progress • Evaluate student progress & the plan

36. Identify the Focus Area for Improvement What is happening? • Frame a question in terms of the impact on student learning • Examine the context by collecting and analyzing data • Develop a hypothesis to define a central area of focus

37. Frame a Question • Frame a question in terms of the impact on student learning • Frames our thinking in terms of inquiry vs. judging • Aligns our thinking to student learning

38. Framing a Question • Why do we see a need to change? • What are the student outcomes that are/will be impacted by this? • What do we already know about the focus area or concern? • What is the question about the student learning that needs to be answered?

39. Examine the Context • Examine the context by collecting and analyzing data • Determine when, where, how long, with whom, and under what conditions • Develop a rationale for the occurrence using data • Use evidence to explain what we see as reason for performance gaps

40. Curriculum What we teach Environment Context of learning Instruction How we teach Student Outcomes of Learning The Context

41. Is it Really a Problem? • Perceptions are made from inferences based on our prior experiences, not evidence. Perceptions can be misleading. • Problems need to be defined with objective, specific, and concrete evidence. • Problems need to be defined in context. • e.g., compared to peers, age-appropriate • e.g., how we influence, escalate, or create the problem

42. Lesson Learned • Problem “admiration” tends to be the focus rather than strategic decision-making. • If it is only about the “kid”, then we miss a larger understanding of the learning process. • Curriculum • Environment • Instruction • Student(s)

43. Develop a Hypothesis • Develop a hypothesis to define a central focus • Examines the relationship among the context variables • Determines why this is

44. Symptoms Observable Details A list of separate concerns Causes Inferred from behaviors Underlying reason/function Determined by grouping and analyzing objective, observable evidence Symptoms vs. Causes

45. Making a Statement About the Focus Area of Improvement When {condition or trigger} occurs, {the student, class, school, etc.} does {focus area}, in order to {perceived function}. When there is an indoor recess, the students in grade 4 talk loudly and get out of their seats during lunch, in order to release energy.

46. Let’s Refine Our Process • Given the various aspects of our discussion, which step(s) focus on identifying a focus area for improvement? • What revisions, if any, would you make? Why? • Create your step(s) on your worksheet.

47. Indicators of Strategic Decision-Making • Identify the focus area for improvement • Determine the desired outcome • Generate alternative strategies • Examine strategies for feasibility • Develop a plan of action that includes a monitoring system • Implement & monitor student progress & the plan • Evaluate student progress & the plan

48. Determine the Desired Outcome What do we want to happen? • Define the desired level of performance in terms of student learning • Establish baseline of current level of performance • Determine the specific gap between current and desired performance • Set a target for expected outcome and timeframe for accomplishment • Write the desired outcome in measurable terms

49. Define the Desired Performance • Define the desired level of performance in terms of student learning • Dialogue about the ideal performance • Discuss what we want for all students • Determine the relationship between the desired outcome and the conditions we need to put into place

50. Content standards What gets taught, the subject matter, the skills and knowledge, and the applications Set the broad curriculum goals Performance standards Set the levels of mastery that must be met in various subject matter Translate content into specific knowledge and skills that are expected to be demonstrated Defined at specific grade levels or benchmark years Content Standards vs.Performance Standards