Division Support for Substantial School Improvement

1. Division Support for Substantial School Improvement Virginia Webinar Program Office of School Improvement Session #2 1

2. Pre-Reading 2 The Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement is the background text for this series of webinars Pages 45-62 provide reading to support this webinar

3. Webinar Session 2: Division Support for School Improvement 3 Agenda for the Session Welcome and Session Overview – 5 minutes District Team Reports – 15 minutes Review Indicator 4 – 5 minutes Discuss Indicator 4 Questions – 15 minutes Review Indicator 5 – 15 minutes Discuss Indicator 5 Questions – 15 minutes Review Indicator 6 – 5 minutes Discuss Indicator 6 Questions – 15 minutes Review the CII web-based improvement planning tool – 15 minutes The Homework Assignment – 5 minutes

4. How did it go? Review of district team work related to Webinar Session 1 indicators • What process did your division team use to revise your • division’s plan? • What were some of the tasks developed to support • progress on the focus indicators presented during Webinar • Session 1(IA02, IA07, and IA11)? • Highlight successes, no matter how small. Be specific. • Now highlight “speed bumps” and, again, be specific. • Have strategies to address these “speed bumps” been • developed? 4

5. Webinar 2 Indicators 5 IB02 - Program Evaluation IC05 - Curriculum IC06 - Data Training

6. IB02 - Program Evaluation The division examines existing school improvement strategies being implemented across the division and determines their value—expanding, modifying, and culling as evidence suggests. 6

7. Examine Improvement Efforts 7 Improvement efforts have goals stated in measurable terms Formative as well as summative assessments are part of evaluation plan Quality of implementation should be considered as a factor in program impact Review of components of improvement efforts: What worked, what didn’t, and why?

8. Apply and Share ProgramEvaluation Findings 8 • Use information from program evaluation in decision making, for example: • Should the program continue? • Do any components need modification or special attention? • Are the resources committed—dollars, staff, andtime—appropriate? • Share results of program evaluation with school anddistrict staff and policymakers

9. Discussion: Make Program Evaluation Relevant and Useful • Based on the 2009 SOL and AYP results for your school • division, what programs were successful in improving student achievement? • 2. What programs need to be modified? Why? • 3. What are your plans to address program evaluation in • your division’s CII online plan? 9

10. Curriculum 10 IC05 - Curriculum. The division provides a cohesive curriculum guide aligned with state standards or otherwise places curricular expectations on the schools.

11. Explicit, focused efforts should be made to ensure alignment of the written, taught, and tested curricula. • This process of curriculum alignment and mapping should be comprehensive and integrated across grades. • The process will require a shift in some divisions from site-based decision making to more centralized direction about what will be taught. • - Gordon Cawelti and Nancy Protheroe, Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement

12. Ensuring Cohesive Curriculumand Instruction 12 • Alignment of written and taught curriculum with standards • High degree of coordination Across schools Across subjects and within grades Across grade levels Among teachers within and across departments • Aids such as sample lessons and pacing guides developed with teacher participation and used across schools and classrooms

13. Assuring Implementation • Provide clear expectations of what will be taught and when • Provide high quality staff development focused on what should be taught and how • Align resource use—money, staff, and time—with curricular goals • Make monitoring of classroom instruction by principals an expectation • Monitor schools’ periodic reviews of implementation • Structure roles of central office staff to provide leadership as well as support and monitoring

14. Discussion: Curriculum and Instructional Alignment • Describe how your school division is making plans to implement the 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning that will be tested in 2010-2011. (Note: Superintendent's Memo #239-09) • Describe how your school division ensures that teachers’ lesson plans are aligned with the curriculum frameworks and SOL blueprints. • Describe how your school division is supporting the implementation of the teacher leader training strategies during the current school year.

15. Data Training 15 IC05 - Data Training. The division provides the technology, training, and support to facilitate school data management needs.

16. Just providing data is not enough . . . • Improvement efforts in divisions that have experienced significant progress across schools are coherent and comprehensive. • They involve multiple, reinforcing initiatives linked to a few key areas. Staff must be trained in data use and encouraged to use it to support improvement.

17. Division Support for Data Management and Use • Develop infrastructure to collect, analyze, and use data • Provide immediate access to data to all intended users, including providing appropriate technology at school sites • Create user-friendly templates and report formats to present data • Assign central office personnel to build school-level staff competence and confidence with data use • Expand the “definition” of data beyond test scores and develop ways to collect and use such data 17

18. Data Management Training • Provide professional development for principals regarding data analysis and use of data to inform conversations with teachers • Train teachers to generate and use data to inform instruction, both in general and to support struggling students • Identify additional data that impacts student performance (i.e. discipline, attendance) 18

19. Data Analysis/ Restructuring Quarterly Report • This data disaggregation resource focuses the attention of school and central office personnel as well as outside technical assistance providers on the frequent and formal analysis of data as a primary means of addressing the academic deficiencies of the school. • The results of the frequent (quarterly) review provide schools, divisions, and the state with detailed, useful information that can be used to develop or refine technical assistance strategies. • Restructuring Quarterly Report - Required for all schools rated Conditionally Accredited, Accreditation Denied, or identified as in Year 4 or 5 of Title I School Improvement per NCLB • Data Analysis Report - Required for all schools participating in the PASS initiative, schools rated Accredited with Warning, or schools in Year 1, 2, or 3 of Title I School Improvement per NCLB http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/SchoolImprovement/

20. Data Analysis/ Restructuring Quarterly Report Components • Part I: School Profile • Part II: Trend Data • SOL results • AYP results • PALS results • Retention data • Discipline data • Attendance data • Part III: Review of Current Data • SOL results • AYP results • PALS results • Use of funding for school improvement • Highly qualified staff • Part IV: Quarterly Update Due from school teams by October 15, 2009

21. Quarterly Update Four times a year, required schools submit a quarterly update report to the Office of School Improvement. Data about a variety of topics are included such as: • Student Achievement • Monitoring Student Attendance • Promoting a Safe and Nurturing • Environment • Long-term Substitutes • Staffing and Teacher Absences • Number of Classroom Observations • Parent and Community Involvement Holistic View of the School

22. Two Critical Questions Question #1: Based on an analysis of data in this quarterly report, what are the three most critical aspects of teaching and learning that need to be modified in this school? Question #2: Correspondingly, what “fixes” will the school, through the principal, the governance committee, or the school improvement team, initiate in each identified area?

23. How Can the Reports Be Used to Assist . . . ?

24. Discussion: Helping Staff toEffectively Use Data • During the 2008-2009 academic year, how did your school division ensure that its data system served the needs of school personnel? • 2. During the 2008-2009 academic year, what types of training and other supports did principals and teachers receive to assist them with effectively accessing and using school division data systems? • 3. What are your plans to support schools in their efforts to continue accessing and using school division data systems? 24

25. Division Improvement TeamTasks from Webinar Session 2 25 Discuss the data analysis/restructuring quarterly report with your school teams that are required to use these tools. Be prepared to share information about your discussions during Webinar Session 3. Read pages 63-75 in the Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement before Webinar Session 3. Review your current CII division plan and make revisions based on today’s discussion.

26. CII Web-based Planning Tool – Status Chart (Group 1- 8RD) Key: / = startedX = completed

27. CII Web-based Planning Tool – Status Chart (Group 2 – 9RD) Key: / = startedX = completed

28. CII Web-based Planning Tool – Status Chart (Group 3 – 10RD) Key: / = startedX = completed

29. Revising Your Plan: Step 1- Select Step 5 on Main Menu

30. Revising Your Plan: Step 2- Select the Indicator

31. Revising Your Plan: Step 3- Edit Steps 1-3

32. Revising Your Plan: Step 4- Save Your Work and Add New Tasks

33. Revising Your Plan: Step 5- Complete 5a – 5d and Save Your Work

34. Questions Next webinar session: Group 1 (8RD) – November 10, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. Group 2 (9RD) – November 12, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. Group 3 (10RD) – November 10, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.