Dr. Kathleen M. Smith Director, Office of School Improvement (804) 786-5819

1. Virginia’s Lead Turnaround Partner Initiative Dr. Kathleen M. Smith Director, Office of School Improvement (804) 786-5819 Kathleen.Smith@doe.virginia.gov

2. Superintendent and Division Staff Local School Board The Virginia Model Internal Lead Partner Readiness to TEACH Turnaround Zone Readiness to LEARN Readiness to ACT Lead Turnaround Partner for Reform Support Program: Flexibility to shape program to students’ needs and turnaround priorities People: Authority over selection, compensation and work rules Time: Authority over scheduling, longer day, longer year Money: More budget flexibility, more resources

3. Lead Turnaround PartnerRequest For Proposal Requirements • Recommend changes to the school calendar according to student and program needs, for example, year-round schools or extending the length of the school day. • Work with the school division to obtain a commitment from teachers to allow for additional time for instruction and professional development. • Provide formative and ongoing reports on program effectiveness to include, but not limited to, student achievement, parental involvement, student attendance, and student discipline. • Employ research-based strategies that provide an immediate and dramatic turnaround in student achievement. • Work with the school division to recruit and recommend teachers and a leader(s) who have a proven record of success of increasing student achievement. • Recommend necessary restructuring of teacher and leader contracts.

4. Requirements, continued • Develop and engage teachers and the leader in professional development aligned to programmatic goals. • Promote student motivation for learning. • Secure parental commitment and involvement through school choice. • Promote parental capacity to support student engagement, motivation, and learning within school, at home and in the community. • Work with the school division to expand community support to garner human resources needed for reform. • Evaluate teacher and leader performance and outcomes and make staffing recommendations accordingly. • Develop constructive relationships with existing school personnel. • Require commitment from parents to allow for additional time for instruction (such as after school support). • Provide comprehensive, coherent, manageable and integrated instructional and support programs.

5. Requirements, Continued • Recommend which existing programs are to be continued and which programs are to be eliminated. • Consistent with the state Standards of Learning recommend alignment of curriculum, instruction, classroom formative assessment and sustained professional development to build rigor, foster student-teacher relationships, and provide relevant instruction that engages and motivates students. • Organize programming to engage students’ sense of adventure, camaraderie, and competition. • Develop and implement evidence-based discipline programs that minimize time out of school and/or class. • Identify and recommend supporting partners to address social, emotional and behavioral issues (e.g., over-age students).

6. Created a Crosswalk LTP RFP Indicators and Transformation Tool Kit IndicatorsThere is a hyperlink on this photo.

7. Required every Tier I and Tier II school and division, used Indistar. Selected either the RFP indicators or the Transformation Tool Kit indicators.

8. Decided that Professional Technical Assistance was needed for both the Lead Turnaround Partners and the School Divisions

9. Hired Corbett Consulting C Corbett Education Consulting • Provide five full-day technical assistance meetings over the course of the first year. • Require each school, division and lead turnaround partner to attend. • Require each school, division, and lead turnaround partner to amend plan after the inservice.

10. Indicators Selected for Technical Assistance Strand B: Moving Toward School Autonomy Strand G: Leading Change (Especially for Principals) Strand D: Working with Stakeholders and Building Support for the Transformation Strand H: Evaluating, Rewarding, and Removing Staff Strand K: Reforming Instruction Strand I: Providing Rigorous Staff Development Strand J: Increasing Learning

11. Strand B: Autonomy Strand B: Moving Towards School Autonomy • Examine current state and district policies and structures, and make modifications • Reorient district culture toward shared responsibility and accountability • Establish performance objectives • Align resource reallocation (money, time, people) with program • Consider establishing a turnaround office or zone • Negotiate union waivers (if applicable)

12. Strand B: Autonomy 1. Examine current state and district policies and structures and make modifications • What policies and structures need to change for you to do your job successfully? • Who is impacted by such changes? • Who has the authority to make the changes? • Who could block/inhibit the successful implementation of those changes? • Pilot the changes in the SIG schools/districts • If successful, scale up to the rest of the district/state Tool: Manifesto for Principals, Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, 2009.

13. Strand B: Autonomy Timeline for policy/structure implementation

14. Strand B: Autonomy 2. Reorient district culture toward shared responsibility and accountability • What is the overall goal of the transformation?* • Each entity involved in the transformation should have performance measures and objectives • school, teachers, principal, ILP and district team, Lead Partner, state • How were those objectives determined? • Are the objectives formalized in an agreement or MOU? • Who monitors progress against the objectives? • What are the consequences for not meeting those objectives? Tool: District Behavior Shifts to Enable Success, Learning Point Associates, 2010. Tool 10 -- The elimination of the achievement gap between the average achievement levels within the Zone and the state's average achievement levels for non-poverty students.1 -- Increasing graduation rates and the elimination of "drop-out factories," defined as a high school in which no more than 60% of the students who start as freshman make it to the senior year.2 * 1. Goal defined by New Schools Venture Fund 2. “Drop-out Factories” as defined by the Alliance for Excellent Education Evaluation Metrics, Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, 2009

15. Strand B: Autonomy Timeline for shared culture implementation

16. Strand B: Autonomy 3. Establish performance objectives Performance objectives should be SMART (specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timely), and most importantly linked to the ultimate goal of the transformation Student Performance* School Climate* External Climate* * Evaluation Metrics, Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, 2009

17. Strand B: Autonomy Performance objective timeline Drastic changes in school culture and environment should be evident in the first year. Student achievement should improve, but will not likely skyrocket until year 2.

18. ResultsThere is a hyperlink on this picture.