Leadership, Teaming and Collaboration for School Reform

1. Leadership, Teaming and Collaboration for School Reform Robert Sheffield, The College Board November 8, 2007

2. Agenda • First Order Change vs. Second Order Change • From Philosophy to Action • Case Study from Volusia County, FL • Data Analysis and Strategic Planning

3. First Order Change vs. Second Order Change

4. First Order Change Most of the reform that we experience in schools is considered to be First Order Change. First Order Change can be described as: • Incremental • Product Driven • Reversible • Contextual

5. First Order Change Examples of First Order Change: • Smaller Classes • New Instructional Materials • New Instructional Technology • Reduction of Counselor to Student Ratios • Increases in Funding

6. First Order Changesare valuable,but do not challenge the fundamental assumptions upon which the school is organized.

7. Second Order Change Second Order Change is needed to establish schools that are both excellent and equitable. Second Order Change can be described as: • Revolutionary • Values Driven • Irreversible • Transformational

8. Why is Second Order Change Necessary?

9. A system is designed to produce exactly what it produces. Therefore, if we want different results we must change the system!

10. Culture Transformation • Our schools reflect our society • Our schools reflect our values • Our schools reflect our history • Our schools reflect our future

11. Importance of Culture • Structural innovation cannot be understood and should not be undertaken without considering culture. • Fred Newmann

12. Importance of Culture • Structural change that is not supported by cultural change will eventually be overwhelmed by the culture, for it is in the culture that any organization finds meaning and stability. • Phil Schlechty

13. Listen to their words! Many of those in low performing schools say, “We have high mobility, high bilingual, low SES, and low parent support! You know we are doing pretty good in spite of those kids!” Many of those in high performing schools say, “We have high mobility, high bilingual, low SES, and low parent support! THEREFORE, we must adapt to compensate for those factors!”

14. It is what people say after they describe their challenges that provides clues about the degree to which they are willing to adapt and change.

15. External vs. Internal Focus Changing the language • From “complaining” to “commitment” • From “they” to “we” • From “what we can’t stand” to “what do we stand for?”

16. External vs. Internal Focus Focus on what “we”can control!!! As an educational leader, what can you put in writing as a promise to every student in your school?

17. From Philosophy to Action

18. Distributed Leadership

19. Research shows: • “Throughout our ten-year study, whenever we found an effective school or an effective department within a school, without exception that school or department has been a part of a collaborative professional learning community.” • -Milbrey McLaughin

20. Research Shows: Need for a collaborative culture • “Improving schools require collaborative cultures …without collaborative skills and relationships, it is not possible to learn and to continue to learn as much as you need to know to improve.” • -Michael Fullan

21. What is Collaboration? • A systematic process in which we work together, interdependently, to analyze and impact professional practice in order to improve our individual and collective results. • -DuFour, DuFour & Eaker

22. What is Collaboration? • Meaningful experience • A sense of being a part of something larger than self • A sense of being connected • A sense of being generative Peter Senge

23. School Teams Must Move • From Participation • To Cooperation • And Ultimately to Collaboration

24. Keys to Effective Teams • Embed collaboration in routine practices of the school, with the focus on student learning • Time for collaboration built into the school day and school calendar • Team Norms of Behavior to guide collaboration • Teams pursue specific and measurable performance goals • Teams have access to relevant information • Intervention strategies are Systematic, Timely, and Directive Dick Dewey

25. Team Norms • The standards of behaviors by which we agree to operate while we are in a group.

26. Steps for Establishing Norms • STEP 1 – Members identify own needs • STEP 2 – Members share their norms • STEP 3 – Clarify “look like” and “sound like” for abstract norms • STEP 4 – Ask for missing norms. Recommend or prompt others

27. Steps for Establishing Norms • STEP 5 – Ask for agreement from total group • STEP 6 – Work toward consensus with the norms • STEP 7 – Contract to give feedback. Get commitment to norms from all members • STEP 8 – Post norms and review them frequently J. Killion/NSDC

28. SMART Goals Contribute to a Results-Orientation Strategic and Specific Measurable Attainable Results-Oriented Time-Bound • Conzemius & O’Neill

29. Why Do SMART Goals Work? • SMART goals focus on results! • SMART goals focus on the few things most likely to have the greatest impact! • SMART goals have both short and long term impact!

30. Strategic and Specific • Focus on the Greatest Area of Need and/or the Greatest Area of Opportunity • High Leverage • Greatest gains will be seen • Specific students, skills, and/or desired results

31. Measurable • Seeking concrete and tangible evidence • How will we know when it is accomplished

32. Attainable • How large is the gap? • Identify goals that are most important to you and worthy of your commitment • Develop the focus, attitudes, skills, energy and resource capacity to reach them – Grow and expand to match your goals • Plan the steps wisely

33. Results – Oriented • Learning Goal (vs. a teaching goal) • Product Goal (vs. a process goal) • Results (vs. Good Intentions)

34. Time – Bound • A specific time frame is critical • Builds internal accountability and commitment

35. Are these SMART Goals? • Strategically aligned with the school-wide goal of increasing enrollment in Advanced Placement courses; by December of the 2008-09 school year, we will: • Offer open enrollment to AP courses • Increase the percentage of the student population attending our College Readiness nights by 25% • Decrease the number of students dropping AP courses from 23% of the overall AP enrollment to less than 10% of the overall AP enrollment by developing support programs for struggling students and communicating with parents

36. Create Systems that are: • Directive • Timely • Systematic Big Idea 1: A Focus on Learning

37. “Do whatever it takes!” Implement Action Plans for students who need additional support. Plan your strategies for systematic school improvement.

38. CASE STUDY Volusia County Schools Collaborative Analysis Project

39. Volusia County Schools • Demographics • 66,000 students – 10th Largest District • 35% Minority Population • 40% Free or Reduced Lunch • Per Capita income of Volusia County - $22, 574 • 18% of Volusia County residents are college graduates • VCS 2007 and Oppaga 2003

40. 2003-2008 District Strategic Plan • Objective 2: • 50% of 24 credit standard diploma students in each high school will successfully complete one or more AP or IB courses. • Objective 6: • The percentage of African American, Hispanic, and low socio-economic students enrolled and academically successful in advanced programs of study will be within 3% of the racial, ethnic, and socio-economic distribution of the district as a whole.

41. Systematic Approach • Expansion of AP program • 8th – 11th grade PSAT • AP Potential • Professional Development Requirements • Pre-AP and Vertical Team Trainings • SpringBoard

42. Collaborative Analysis The Collaborative Analysis Project was based on the assumption that we needed to make greater efforts to ensure high levels of academic rigor for all students.

43. Collaborative Analysis The project was based upon several best practices proven to be effective: • Collaboration • Data – Driven • Results – Oriented

44. Collaborative Process • The Collaborative Analysis teams consist of administrators, counselors, instructional coaches and department chairs from each secondary school. • District personnel provided training for teams in half day workshops.

45. Data-Driven • Teams review end of the year school data to determine the best student scheduling options for the coming year. • Teams are looking for students scheduled “under” their ability for success.

46. Results - Oriented • Each team must quantify the number of schedule changes made and the number of students rescheduled for remedial and advanced rigor courses. • District personnel compile district-wide data and then create racial and ethnic reports to track progress towards Strategic Plan Goals.

47. Data Analysis and Strategic Planning

48. Data Analysis and Strategic Planning STEP 1 – Review your schools data STEP 2 – Identify Greatest Area of Need and/or Greatest Area of Opportunity STEP 3 – Create 2 SMART Goals to address the identified areas STEP 4 – Discuss strategies to accomplish the SMART Goals