When Counties Help Schools to Improve

1. When Counties Help Schools to Improve John Merritt and Allyson SchoenleinTitle Program Directors in Wood and Cabell Counties

2. VISUALIZE A PROBLEM SCHOOL • Think about a school in your district that’s in need of improvement. • For the next 2 minutes, jot down several of the biggest issues at that school. Keep adding to the list until time is up. • Compare results in Table Groups to select 3-5 of their BIGGEST common issues.

3. Hello Doc…My liver’s acting up. “Your liver, you say! That’s too bad. Today I’m treating broken bones. Come back later if you break your arm. Oh, and if you’d like, you can ask the nurse for an appointment on Liver Day.”

4. Was it the same thing only different? A County Rx (broken arm): School Symptoms (liver problems): Lapse in Leadership Haphazard Routines and Procedures Toxic, Demoralized Staff Many Discipline Referrals Unmotivated Students Pitying instead of Caring DOK Levels 2 and 3? Rule: No PD after 3:00 Family Stress/Transience • Disaggregate WESTEST2 • Add Formative Assessment: SMI, DIBELS, Acuity, IDMS • Post Data Walls • Differentiate Instruction: SPL • Map the CSO’s • Integrate Technology • Maintain Fidelity to the Core • Use WV Writes • Promote Parent Involvement

5. It Was Time for Some Courageous Conversations Is there an Elephant in the Room? …We Can’t Fix What We Ignore

6. Case Study #1 82% of ABC Elementary School students qualify as Low SES and the neighborhood crime rate is very high. The school’s talented, veteran staff built a record of academic excellence despite these challenges. But when personal problems left the principal unfocused, the teachers closed their doors and hunkered down. Collaboration virtually ceased. The principal wasn’t worried about ABCE at the time. She expected her terrific teachers to carry on without much guidance. Instead they kept following her lead, spiraling lower and lower. WESTEST2 scores at the school plummeted to the lowest in the district. County administrators helped the principal of ABCE realize she had led the decline. As she resumed leadership, teacher collaboration rose to an all time high. Staff now hold an annual student retreat prior to WESTEST2 where kids prepare for the test. Students at ABCE once again are excelling. The school won County math field day 2 years in a row.

7. Case Study #2 80% of EFG Elementary School students qualify for Free and Reduced lunch. The school’s previous principal had just retired while the school was on improvement and a new principal was put into place. Shortly after taking over, control issues arose and the climate and culture completely dissolved. Collaboration did not occur and trust was absent. WESTEST2 scores at the school plummeted to the lowest in the state. The county made personnel changes and gave more power to the principal. Solution Tree focused for a year on culture and climate. The county level support team guided the PD steps. Climate and Culture are now at an all time high. School is poised to improve WESTEST2 scores.

8. IT’S DATA, NOT DESTINY “When staff members work with children raised in poverty, a common observation is, ‘Bless their hearts, they come from such terrible circumstances.’ The problem with that sentiment is that it leads to lowered expectations. Establish a school culture of caring, not of giving up. from Teaching with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen (2009)

9. Case Study #3 The teachers and principal at XYZ Elementary could be compared to missionaries, devoting their lives to students. Their professional development was intense. They taught solid lessons, but weren’t too surprised when their WESTEST2 scores ranked among the lowest in WV. After all, their kids came from poverty …80% Low SES. Staff tried to plug-in the gaps for their Low SES students. They gave food, clothing and love in abundance. When students slept during class, didn’t turn in work or misbehaved, the staff expected it. Out-of-school suspensions were common. Multiple advisors told the staff their low expectations were toxic. Only after being targeted for WVDE school improvement did they agree. They adopted a new school motto, ‘No Excuses’ for failure and a theme song, Miley Cyrus’s ‘We are Climbing.’ The Respect and Protect program of positive student support shifted responsibility for good behavior to the students. In a few months time, discipline referrals dropped and learning rose. Next, teachers began using the Instructional Practices Inventory (IPI) to discuss and increase student engagement. Scores climbed on WESTEST2. Teachers now give students what they need most, high expectations.

10. Support Initiatives in Wood • Professional Learning Communities (Solution Tree – Tim Brown) • School Culture and Climate (Solution Tree - Anthony Muhammad) • Title I Workshops (Math, Strategic Planning, Reading) • Technology Integration Specialists • Author Workshops • Instructional Coaches for Math, Reading, and Sp. Ed. • Teacher Parent Training • Parenting classes • Common Assessments • Instructional Practices Inventory • Flexibility in PD schedule • WVDE Support

11. Support Initiatives in Cabell • Organizational Health (organizationalhealth.com) • Professional Learning Communities (allthingsplc.info) • Technology Integration Specialists • Instructional Coaches for Math and Reading • Common Assessments • Invitational Education (invitationaleducation.net) • Respect and Protect Positive Student Support • Instructional Practices Inventory – Jerry Valentine (education.missouri.edu) • Project Based Learning • DBQ – Document Based Questioning • Depth of Knowledge training • Identify ‘Tight vs. Loose’ Practices

12. Responding to the BIG issues in your counties…

13. To Contact us: Director John Merritt Wood County jmerritt@access.k12.wv.us Director Allyson Schoenlein Cabell County aschoenl@access.k12.wv.us

14. Top Schools Share GF Strategies • All Staff Accountable for All Kids • Student Led Conferences • Student Portfolios/ Data Notebooks • High Expectations for Students • Writing Across the Curriculum • Technology Integration & TechSteps • PLC’s (Collaboration & Sharing) • Using Teacher Strengths • School Goals made Simple • School Goals Posted in Classes • Data Walls posted in Office • Common Assessments • Homework Help • Parent Involvement meetings • Walk to Interventions (Fluidity) • Universal Breakfast and Lunch • Morning Exercise • Small Group Work in Core Instruction • Personalized Learning based on Students’ Interests • Personalized Learning based on Students’ Learning Styles • Personalized Learning based on Students’ • Loosen time restraints • See students potential not poverty • Teachers Have a Voice in Decisions • Committees, PLC’s, Grade Level teams all have Norms, Agendas and Minutes • Veteran Staff Mentor New Teachers • Special Programs (Career Day, Math Facts, Ashlock, AR, etc.) • Preparation and Organization

15. PRINCIPAL OPERATIONAL ADVISORY LEADERSHIP TEAM INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP ADVISORY TEAM SAFETY DISCIPLINE A B C D E F SP ED F Faculty • INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP ADVISORY TEAM: • Curriculum, Instruction, Professional Development • Appointed Department Heads for staggered three year terms • OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP ADVISORY TEAM: • Operational agenda, schedule, discipline, policy, etc. • Faculty elected team

17. SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP

18. Five Stages of Leader Goal Focus ADVOCACY INTERNALIZATION SUPPORT ACCEPTANCE CLARITY Live ABOVE the line U N C L E A R