Transforming Schools: Leading and Learning, One Step at a Time

1. Transforming Schools: Leading and Learning, One Step at a Time Charles Wilson Deputy Network Superintendent for Middle Schools Oakland Unified School District

2. Today’s Goals • Learn from a case study: Understand the path that one school took to dramatically improve teaching and learning; • Reflect on key practices that any school can take to begin / continue its on transformation; • Identify one or two key practices that each participant can take back to her/his own school or district.

3. Roles for Today • Mine: • Present information on our work • Facilitate discussions • Yours: • Stay engaged in the discussion • Participate fully • Ask questions

4. Today’s Agenda • Data on the Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) • What Were our Key Steps in Transforming KDA? • Brainstorming / Selecting Ideas to Continue or Start Your Own Transformation • Let’s Talk it Out! • Wrap Up / Appreciations / Exit Ticket

5. Today’s Norms • Assume Positive Intent • Share the Air • Stay Engaged / Limit Electronics to session-related business

6. Who are the Students of KDA?2011/ 2012 = 381 Students, K-5

7. Who are the Students of KDA?2011/ 2012 = 381 Students, K-5

8. KDA’s Academic Performance

9. KDA Performance on ELA CST

10. KDA Performance on Math CST

11. KDA’s Key Steps in Transforming Teaching and Learning Respond to the Social and Emotional Needs of the Community • Increase Counseling Services Through Partnerships With Community Organizations; • Look At All Work Of The School Through The Lenses Of Social And Emotional Learning Competencies (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL); • Establish A Common Approach And Language For Building A Supportive, Rigorous Academic Environment ( “Caring School Community”: Developmental Studies Center”).

12. KDA’s Key Steps in Transforming Teaching and Learning Social And Emotional Learning Competencies from CASEL

13. KDA’s Key Steps in Transforming Teaching and Learning Establish a Unity of Focus and Unity of Student Experience • Applying Research-driven Behavioral and Pedagogical Models • Classroom Behavior Management: Universal Use of Assertive Discipline (Noah Salzman’s “I Understand” / “No Nonsense Nurturer”: Center for Transformational Teacher Training) • Pedagogical Model for Content Delivery: “The KDA Direct Instruction Model” (based on our collective reading of Better Learning Through Structured Teaching; (Fisher and Frey, 2008)

14. KDA’s Key Steps in Transforming Teaching and Learning Break Boundaries to Provide Acceleration • When Is A Grade Level An Important Category For A Student And When Is It A Boundary? • Targeted Reading and ELD Interventions across grade levels: • Language for Learning / Language for Writing • Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, & Sight Words (SIPPS) • Leveled Guided Reading • Reciprocal Teaching • Literature Studies Circles

15. KDA’s Key Steps in Transforming Teaching and Learning Break Boundaries to Provide Acceleration • When Is Traditional Teacher-driven Instruction A Vital Resource And When Is It A Boundary? • Collaborative Learning Structures to Promote Academic Discussion and Critical Thinking • Blended Learning in Classes and As Part of an Extended Day : • Achieve 3000 • Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant from Scientific Learning • Khan Academy Math • SD Math

16. KDA’s Key Steps in Transforming Teaching and Learning Data, Data, Data (and more Data) • Precise cycles of formative data collection and analysis throughout the year (DIBELS / IDEL, SRI, Fountas & Pinnell Reading Levels, Math Benchmarks, Language Arts Benchmarks, Process Writing Tests, etc.) • Tracking data for each student, not just by groups • Teacher-selected data (work samples, videos, exit tickets) • Weekly grade-level PLC meetings with Principal and every teacher • Frequent school-wide sharing and celebrations of student academic performance.

17. KDA’s Key Steps in Transforming Teaching and Learning Set Goals With Students and Families • Every child, no matter how young, can understand how to set a goal • Every family wants to support their child’s growth; they want honest answers and direct solutions • Teachers, students, and parents must always see themselves as a team • Frequent check-ins to monitor progress are essential • Take time from the school’s busy schedule to allow for robuststudent / parent / teacher conferences

18. A Sample of Goal-Setting with Students and Families

19. YOUR TURN! • Break into groups of 10 people (if you’re with a group of colleagues from the same site or team, all the better!). • Think back over the categories I used to describe the work at KDA (or come up with some of your own): • Respond to the Social and Emotional Needs of the Community • Establish a Unity of Focus and Unity of Student Experience • Break Boundaries to Provide Acceleration • Data, Data, Data (and more Data) • Set Goals With Students and Families • Write down ideas to support school transformation on cards (Try to be general enough to serve the group’s purposes but specific enough to serve your own purposes: e.g. “Get Mary to talk to Paul about PLCs” is TOO specific, so “Focus Leadership Teams on PLCs” is probably better for this context.)

20. YOUR TURN! • Once everyone has generated 2 or 3 (or more) ideas, use the tape to gather all ideas on the wall (or large flat surface) nearest you. • Now, you’re going to silently read all of the ideas from your group. Take several minutes to really read them through. • Here’s the tricky part: We’re going to engage in dot-voting, thinking about whether each idea is a feasible and will accelerate student learning: • Count the number of ideas in your group. Example: Our group has 23 ideas. • Divide the number of ideas by 3 and round up. This is the number of dot-votes each person in your group is allotted. Example: 23÷3=7.6 rounds up to 8. Each person in this group would get 8 dot-votes. • Use your markers to “spend” your dot-votes. Spend no more than 3 dots per idea, and spend all of your dot-votes.

21. YOUR TURN! • As a group identify, organize, and discuss the 4 ideas that received the greatest number of dot-votes. Why did these receive the greatest number of dot-votes? • Assign a spokesperson for your group to share out which ideas received the greatest number of dot-votes. Explain your group’s thinking in selecting these ideas. • If your idea received few or no votes, don’t despair! Stick with it, polish it, share it, and think about how to “sell” it. Remember: “Voxclamantis in deserto” (“The voice of one crying out in the desert”). It worked for John the Baptist! Let’s Talk it Out!

22. Let’s Stay in Touch Please feel free to email or call me if you have questions or would like to talk more: Charles Wilson Deputy Network Superintendent for Middle Schools Oakland Unified School District 1000 Broadway, Suite 680 Oakland, CA 94607 charles.wilson@ousd.k12.ca.us (cell) 415-794-3837