Acknowledging Winds of Change Creating Successful Diverse School Districts Jorge P. Osterling, Ph.D. Thursday, March 17, 2005

Acknowledging Winds of ChangeCreating Successful Diverse School Districts

Jorge P. Osterling, Ph.D.Thursday, March 17, 2005

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows….” In order to deal with change one:

* Needs to anticipate * Prepare and, * Act, not react.

March 17, 2005 Jorge P. Osterling, Ph.D.

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Essential Questions

• Who are our students?

• What do our Manassas City students need to know and be able to do?

• How will we know if our students are meeting the standards?

• What will Manassas City Public Schools do differently if students are not meeting the standard?


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Purposes of Education

To enable allyoung people

to become

Confidentindividuals

Successfullearners

Effectivecontributors

Responsiblecitizens


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Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Aligned

InstructionPedagogy and Use of

Instructional Resources

AssessmentMultiple Measures

of Learning

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

CurriculumDistrict and School

Generated Documents


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Seymour Sarason (1996)Revisiting the Culture of the School

“If you want to change and improve the climate and outcomes of schooling both for students and teachers, there are features of the school culture that have to be changed, and if they are not changed, your well-intentional efforts will be defeated.”

Professor Emeritus of Yale University’s Department of Psychology where he taught for

forty-five years.


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Eric Hoffer (1902-83)

U.S. philosopher

• "In a time of drastic change it is

the learners who inherit the

future.

The learned usually find

themselves equipped to live in a

world that no longer exists."

Reflections on the Human Condition [32],

1973. Presidential Medal of Freedom 1983

Accepting the Reality of Change

The need to focus on school culture

Moving Ahead:

Building A Successful School District


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What we know about Low Performing schools

• Tend to suffer from a dysfunctional culture of blame• Blame kids, parents, teachers, etc.

• Tend to have high turnover among staff, especially in leadership

• Tend to have no accountability to the parents they serve


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What we know...

• Professional Learning Communities (Five critical elements)

• Reflection (to think about what we do before, during, and after our actions)

• Inquiry (to transform our inquisitiveness into practice)

• Dialogue (to understand by listening and building on others’ ideas)

• Collaboration (to encourage working together)

• Collective Focus on Student Learning (assumes that all students can learn at reasonably high levels; teachers can help them despite any challenges they may face outside of school)


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What we know about High Performing Schools

1. Clear Shared Vision and Purpose;

2. High Standards and Expectations for ALL students;

3. Closely Monitored Teaching and Learning

4. Effective instructional and administrative leadership;

5. Supportive Learning Environment;

6. A high level of community and parent involvement;

7. High levels of collaboration and communication;

8. Aligned curriculum & instruction with the standards and

assessments;

9. Focused professional development in high need areas.


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Common Focus

• Clear and Shared Vision and Purpose: staff and students are focused on a few important goals.

• The school has adopted a consistent research-based instructional approach based on shared beliefs about teaching and learning.

• Job Embedded Professional Development• Teacher Coaches (Facilitation, Support, and

Follow-up)• Identify staff to become cadre of facilitators

• The use of time, tools, materials, and professional development activities are aligned with instruction.


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Clear and Shared Vision and Purpose

• Mission is to see that every student succeeds;

• The school’s vision is to create a school that operates as a “family” - where relationships provide both academic and personal support – providing a “home” to students who may not have one;

• Technology is a common tool for integration of learning through constructive projects and traditional academics.


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High Standards and Expectations for ALL Students

• School mantra:

• “Nothing Less Than High Academic Success is

Acceptable”

• Teachers and administrators are dedicated to helping

students achieve state and local standards;

• The curriculum is relevant to the real world and rigorous

in preparing the students for college-level work.

• Academic challenges are accepted by everyone and

worked on until they became academic successes!


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High Standards and Expectations for ALL Students

• All students are:• engaged in an ambitious and rigorous course of

study.• expected to achieve high scores on SOLs and SAT

tests and receive in-school test preparation.• Students facilitate after-school tutoring, providing peer

assistance to help each other achieve higher.• Schools’ twin goals:

• English Fluency• Master the Content of the Core Curriculum


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Performance Based

• Students are promoted to the next instructional level only when they have achieved competency.

• Students receive additional time and assistance when needed to achieved this competency.


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Effective Instructional and Administrative Leadership

• Leadership consistently is:

• Flexible,

• Open to New Ideas, and

• Approachable

• Democratic Process: • Multiple avenues for input by staff, faculty,

parents, & students


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Supportive Learning Environment

• Schools use the students native language

either to:

• develop literacy skills or

• content or

• for both

• Students are seen as Learners/Teachers

• Academic “Families”

• Dual language programs.


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A High Level of Community and Parent Involvement

• Parenting

• Communicating

• Volunteering

• Learning at Home

• Decision Making

• Collaborating with the CommunitySix Types of Involvement, Joyce Epstein


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High Levels of Collaboration and Communication

• Common practices of:

• Looping,

• Continuum,

• Team Teaching,

• Cross-Age Learning, Open Classrooms

• Teachers in Vertical & Horizontal Planning

• Parents & Business Community included as integral

component of the “Team Effort”


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Aligned Curriculum & Instruction with the Standards and Assessments

• Schools aligned LA/Math/Science to State Standards

• Curriculum to LEP/ ELL students was High Quality and Paralleled the “Mainstream”

• Curriculum to LEP/ ELL was presented in a meaningful manner, making connections across the content-areas and building into the curriculum real-life applications (funds of knowledge).


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Focused Professional Development in High Need Areas

• Teachers/Administrators collaborated continuously to determine priority of staff Development

• Teachers strongly encouraged to attain ESOL Endorsements

• Rejected notion that LEP Students must FIRST Master English Before Attaining High Academic Success


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Thank you! Any Questions?

An Opportunity for Dialogue