Instructional Leadership Florida Coaches Conference

1. Instructional LeadershipFlorida Coaches Conference Stuart Greenberg, Deputy Director Eastern Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center Florida State University and The Florida Center for Reading Research www.fcrr.org

2. Start With The End In Mind Reading Comprehension: Thinking GuidedBy Print “No time is as precious or as fleeting as the first years of formal schooling. Research consistently shows that children who get off to a good start in reading rarely stumble. Those who fall behind tend to stay behind for the rest of their academic lives.” (Burns, Griffin, & Snow, 1999, p. 61)

3. Blueprint for Building Instructional Leadership Like building a structure, building effective instructional leadership requires: Vision worth building Successful readers Clear set of blueprints Instruction Plan Solid foundation Data Talented crew Teachers Dedicated leader(s) School Administration

4. Leadership Matters “TELL ME AGAIN HOW LUCKY I AM TO BE A Reading Coach... I keep forgetting!”

5. Leadership Influences Student Learning Leadership not only matters—it is second to only teaching among school related factors in its impact on student learning.

6. Leadership Matters Initial findings cite evidence that excellent leadership can make a profound difference in schools where there is the greatest need.

7. The Importance of Educational Leadership “First leadership matters. Even when other variables including resources and personnel are held constant, a single leader has enormous impact on the entire organization. Second, leadership effectiveness includes both personal predisposition and acquired knowledge and skill.” Douglas B. Reeves

8. Leadership Matters • Successful Leadership Setting Directions • Shared Understandings • Focus on Goals with a sense of Purpose or Vision • A Sense that Goals are Achievable • High Performance Expectations • Monitoring Performance • Promoting Effective Communication • Shared Organizational Purposes

9. Leadership Matters • Developing People • Offer Intellectual Stimulation • Ensure Individualized Support • Provide Models of Best Practices • Establish a Foundation of Beliefs that Support Action • Guarantee High Quality Professional Development

10. Leadership Matters Influencing student achievement: • Guide and influence others and the organization • Provide ongoing examination of evidence and conditions for teaching and learning • Focus on the high priorities

11. Committed Committed and well-prepared leaders are essential to school reform and will always be the catalyst for improving the academic achievement of students.

12. Teachers are the lifeblood of our nation. They educate our children, prepare our workforce and shape tomorrow’s citizens.

13. Pathway to Reading Achievement Administrator Knowledge/Practice Robust Teaching Content SBRR School Culture Supervision/Evaluation Process Teacher Knowledge/Practice Context Reading Achievement Quality of Staff Development

14. Impact of Quality Staff Development Administrator Knowledge/Practice Ongoing Quality Staff Development School Culture Supervision/Evaluation Teacher Knowledge/Practice

15. Road to Achievement Administrator Knowledge/Practice Robust Teaching Teacher Knowledge/Practice Reading Achievement Parent Knowledge/Practice

16. Successful Reading Instruction is … • Specific The program is sufficiently detailed. • Powerful The program produces results. • Authoritative Leadership is involved and informed. • Consistent The program is uniformly implemented. • Stable The program is not changed without reason. Desimone, L. (2002). How can comprehensive school reform models be successfully implemented? Review of Educational Research, 72,433–479.

17. A teacher change process(Guskey, 1986) PD Target Areas

18. Reading First’s model for preventing reading failure in grades K-3. 1. Increase the quality and consistency of instruction in every K-3 classroom. Provide initial instruction that is appropriate to the needs of the majority of students in the class 2. Conduct timely and valid assessments of reading growth to identify struggling readers 3. Provide high quality, intensive interventions to help struggling readers catch up with their peers

19. Middle/High School Comprehensive Reading Approach Reading Instruction: All Students Instructional Goal Setting Teachers Methods/ Materials • Vocabulary Growth • Comprehension strategies • Background knowledge • Goals for reading • Reading/Writing connection • Regular classrooms • Content teachers • Inclusion teachers • Comprehension strategy instruction methods • Direct & Indirect vocabulary instruction • Differentiated Instruction & scaffolding Good Readers Reading Assessment All Students Struggling Readers Individual Diagnostic Assessment (using multiple tools) Intervention Programs: Struggling Readers Instructional Goal Setting Teachers Methods/ Materials • Word Study Skills: phonemic awareness, phonics/spelling, word attack • Fluency • Language structures knowledge • Comprehension strategies • Individual & small group • Supplement to classroom instruction • Reading specialists • Special Ed teachers • Title I • Paraprofessionals • Supplemental reading programs • Intervention software Adapted from Joan Sedita

20. Blueprint Overview of Reading First Instructional Leadership Understanding Scientifically Based Reading Research(SBRR) Establishing Reading First Instructional Goals Monitoring and Evaluating Progress Promoting Instructional Effectiveness

21. All Students Reading On Grade Level Requires instructional leadership. Coaches with a strong focus on improving instruction and student achievement

22. Six Steps to Reading Implementation Success 1. Fully implement a comprehensive scientifically research-based reading program

23. 1. Fully implement a comprehensive research-based reading program

24. K 1 2 3 Multisyllables Phonological Awareness Listening Alphabetic Principle Reading Letter Sounds & Combinations Reading Listening Automaticity and Fluency with the Code Vocabulary Comprehension Changing Emphasis of Big Ideas

25. Six Steps to Reading Implementation Success • Fully implement a research-based program 2. Create a timeline

26. 2. Create a timeline Create a timeline for each grade in Reading First schools. Include specific goals that all students--including at-risk students--must attain during the year. The goals on the timeline are designed to produce grade level achievement for at-risk students at the end of the school year.

27. Six Steps to Reading Implementation Success • Fully implement a research-based program • Create a timeline Regularly evaluate student progress

28. 3. Regularly evaluate student progress

29. Six Steps to Reading Implementation Success • Fully implement a research-based curriculum • Create a timeline • Regularly evaluate student progress • Analyze the data

30. 4. Analyze Data Place high value on data. Analyze, chart, and share data within the school and across the district. Use data the data to determine where help is needed, but not to blame struggling teachers and students.

31. Six Steps to Reading Implementation Success • Fully implement a research-based program • Create a timeline • Regularly evaluate student progress • Analyze the data Intervene immediately

32. 5. Intervene Immediately Help struggling students Help teachers become more expert reading teachers

33. Help struggling students

34. Help struggling students • Provide extra instructional time. • Use flexible grouping.

35. Help teachers become more expert • Provide extra professional development time. • Provide more in-class help and coaching. • Arrange for visits to other classrooms.

36. Six Steps to Reading Implementation Success • Fully implement a research-based program • Create a timeline • Regularly evaluate student progress • Analyze the data • Intervene immediately Validate, recalibrate, and celebrate

37. 6. Validate and Recalibrate • Analyze students’ performance on both internal and external tests. • Use the information to decide on changes for the up-coming year. What can be improved? Make a plan. What must be changed? Make a plan.

38. Some problems to overcome during the reading instruction

39. Problem 1. Many second- tenth graders are struggling readers. Solutions: Provide significant amounts of extra instructional time with flexible grouping to allow students to make accelerated progress. Prepare all teachers to successfully to teach struggling readers.

40. 2005 FCAT Reading Results 2005 statewide reading results for grades 3-10 students reading at or above grade level:

41. 2005 FCAT Reading Results

42. What skills are particularly deficient in level 1 and level 2 readers in 3rd grade? Skill/ability FCAT Performance Level 1 2 3 4 5 WPM on FCAT 54 92 102 119 148 Fluency percentile 6th 32th 56th 78th 93rd Phonemic decoding 25th 45th 59th 74th 91st Verbal knowledge/ reasoning 42nd 59th 72nd 91st 98th 31st 45th 69th 87th 95th SAT9 percentile

43. What skills are particularly deficient in level 1 and level 2 readers at 7th grade? Skill/ability FCAT Performance Level 1 2 3 4 5 WPM on FCAT 88 113 122 144 156 Fluency percentile 7th 25th 45th 82th 95th Phonemic decoding 27th 53rd 53rd 74th 84th Verbal knowledge/ reasoning 34th 45th 64th 88th 93rd SAT9 percentile 31st 51st 68th 86th 94th

44. What skills are particularly deficient in level 1 and level 2 readers at 10th grade? Skill/ability FCAT Performance Level 1 2 3 4 5 WPM on FCAT 130 154 175 184 199 Fluency percentile 8th 30th 68th 87th 93rd Phonemic decoding 18th 27th 45th 56th 72nd Verbal knowledge/ reasoning 30th 60th 66th 84th 89th SAT9 percentile 25th 44th 62nd 83rd 85th

45. Our nation’s schools today are educating the largest most diverse student population ever to higher standards than ever before.

46. Students in today’s classrooms typically represent a broad range of academic readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Addressing the great range of diversity in the classrooms is as daunting as it is important. Teachers often scramble for ways to encourage struggling learners, challenge advanced learners, and make sure that classes are relevant and engaging for everyone. Oftentimes though, the effort falls more in the category of “tailoring” rather than really “differentiating instruction.” Students aren’t a matched set so the classroom can’t be Noah’s Ark!

47. Assumptions • Students differ as learners • To learn well, each student needs appropriate challenge, success, and learning experiences • It’s unlikely that we will achieve challenge, success, and instructional fit for each learner by ignoring student differences • Effective attention to academic diversity needs to take place based upon data

48. Assumptions • Attending to student differences requires a knowledgeable teaching • Successful attention to student differences must be rooted in solid curriculum and instruction

49. Assumptions • There is a route to achieving high quality curriculum taught in ways that attend to student differences and build community • Developing differentiated classrooms calls on us not so much to develop a bag of tricks as to rethink teaching and the power of learning

50. Are we meeting our goals? Did we do better this year than last year? Is our core curriculum and instruction working for most students? • How do we match instructional resources to educational needs? Which children need additional resources to be successful? Which children need which skills? • How well is intervention/instruction working? Is instruction working for some groups but not others? Is intervention effective?