American Student Achievement Institute

Sue Reynolds, President 3925 E. Hagen St., Suite 105 Bloomington, IN 47401 Telephone: 812-349-4142 / Fax: 812-349-7301 Email: reynolds@asainstitute.org Web: www.asainstitute.org

To: Indiana Principals From: Sue Reynolds Date: May 14, 2014 Re: Indiana School Improvement Institute The American Student Achievement Institute (ASAI) is pleased to announce that applications are currently being accepted for the 2014-2015 Indiana School Improvement Institute (SI2). What is SI2? SI2 is a proven system for School Improvement Planning that is currently being used by schools in twenty-four Indiana counties. The system includes a series of leadership development training events for your School Improvement Team, all the resources they need to facilitate a data-driven school improvement process in your school and community, and significant technical support. SI2 Process - Vision-to-Action: SI2 uses a proven vision-based and data-driven improvement process called Vision-to-Action that has been cited as exemplary over the years in articles published by:

Council of Chief State School Officers

Annie E. Casey Foundation

National Pathway to College

Indiana Principals Leadership Academy

Indiana Education Roundtable SI2 Cost: As a non-profit founded by Indiana educators in 1996, ASAI is committed to providing high-quality, low-cost resources for Indiana schools to help raise student achievement. Over the past three years, we have developed a new approach to the delivery of SI2 using interactive webinars and virtual learning communities. This approach allows us to maintain the integrity of SI2 while significantly reducing the cost for schools. A list of deliverables and costs may be found on the SI2 Enrollment Form (enclosed). SI2 Intro Webinars: To help Indiana principals and School Improvement Teams learn more about SI2, ASAI is offering SI2 Intro Webinars. SI2 will be further explained and the SI2 Online School Improvement System will be demonstrated. Please register for one of the following webinars to learn more about SI2.

REGISTER AT: www.asainstitute.org/si2

DATE TIMES

6:45 am – 7:30 am 11:00 – 11:45 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm

MAY 22 Thursday X X X

MAY 27 Tuesday X

JUNE 4 Wednesday X X

JUNE 11 Wednesday X

SI2 References: Please call the ASAI office if you wish to speak to Indiana principals who currently use SI2 in their school. SI2 Enrollment Deadline – July 1, 2014: Enroll online: www.asainstitute.org/si2enroll Enroll by email attachment: asai@asainstitute.org Enroll by fax: 812-349-7301

American Student Achievement Institute

2014 Indiana School Improvement Institute Info Page

www.asainstitute.org/si2 The Indiana School Improvement Institute (SI2) helps local School Improvement Teams implement a vision-based and data-driven improvement process called Vision-to-Action. Local stakeholders (teachers, students, parents, community groups) participate in a series of key discussions resulting in targeted, high-leverage, and systemic interventions that lead to increases in student achievement and close achievement gaps.

2014 SI2 Cohorts: Join a learning community!

All Indiana schools are invited to join the 2014-2015 Institute. Participating schools will be placed in a cohort of up to 12 schools. Each cohort will work simultaneously through ASAI’s Vision-to-Action School Improvement Process. Using a “flipped classroom” approach, local leadership teams will view a monthly webcast related to the next step of the Vision-to-Action process. Following the

webcast, teams will participate in an interactive webinar where they will discuss various aspects of the webcast and their progress through the Vision-to-Action steps. Teams celebrate successes and share ideas for addressing challenges. After each webinar, each leadership team facilitates a key local discussion using resources provided by ASAI and then enters the products of those discussions into the Online School Improvement System (OSIS).

Vision-to-Action – A Proven Process: Participate in leadership training!

WEBINAR DATE KEY QUESTIONS

1. ORGANIZATION Sept 4, 2014 Who will serve on the Steering Team? How will we delegate tasks? Who will facilitate the surveys? How will we involve all stakeholders in key discussion? 2. INTRODUCTION Nov 6, 2014 Local discussion 1: Why do we need to improve (urgency)? What is Vision to Action? 3. VISION Dec 4, 2014 Local discussion 2: What are our community’s ideals - achievement levels, adult practices, student practices? (vision) 4. GOALS Jan 8, 2015 Local discussion 3: Where is achievement now? Where do we want to be a year from now? Several years from now? (primary areas for improvement / smart goals)

5. ROOT CAUSES Feb 5, 2015 Local discussion 4: What is getting in the way of our goals? (root causes) 6. INTERVENTIONS Mar 5, 2015 Local discussion 5: What proven practices will we implement to address our root causes? (interventions)

Do our practices align with the improvement planning requirements in Indiana PL221? If applicable: Do our practices align with the Turnaround Principles?

If applicable: Do our practices align with Title I required practices (optional)? 7. PREPARATION Apr 17, 2015 How will we enable those implementing our interventions to implement with high integrity?

Online School Improvement System: Manage your school improvement effort!

Each school participating in SI2 receives an Online School Improvement System where schools 1) review disaggregated student achievement data from a variety of sources, 2) survey their students, teachers, parents and community members concerning common root causes, 3) download local discussion tools, 4) document their progress as they move through the Vision-to-Action process, 5) print (or download) reports including a School Improvement Plan that may be submitted to Indiana DOE for PL221 purposes, and 6) link their School Improvement Plan to their school’s website. Each school’s Online System is customized based on the grades housed in the school and the various school improvement requirements that the school wishes to incorporate into its School Improvement Plan (e.g. Turnaround Principles, Indiana Public Law 221). All terminology has been aligned with school improvement terms used by Indiana DOE.

Online Leadership Team Manual: Download school improvement resources!

The SI2 Leadership Team Manual provides everything needed by the leadership team to facilitate school-community discussions in key areas related to school improvement including Power Point presentations, presentation scripts, discussion prompts, facilitator guides, and sample products resulting from the discussions (e.g. Root Causes). All materials may be edited by schools to meet local needs.

On-Call Tech Support: Get tech support when you need it!

ASAI understands that educators have limited time for school improvement planning because almost all of their day is spent in classrooms with students. Therefore, we are highly committed to being immediately available when schools have questions. We provide on-call support from 8:00 am and 4:30 pm EST each day.

Additional Leadership Team Support (add on) Be mentored!

Upon request (highly recommended), ASAI will actively monitor the leadership team, provide reminders if the team falls behind, review each component of the School Improvement Plan as it is being developed, and provide written feedback for each component within 48 hours of submission. Assessment criteria are based on ASAI’s rigorous Standards for School Improvement Planning.

Upon school request, ASAI will review the School Improvement Plan on behalf of IDOE to assess compliance with Indiana PL221. Because IDOE has approved ASAI as a school improvement planning provider, IDOE does not do a “second read” of School Improvement Plans verified by ASAI.

Also upon school request, ASAI will conduct a “friendly review” and make recommendations to the schools regarding the school improvement plan’s compliance with 1) Title I Schoolwide and TAS, 2) IDOE Turnaround Principles – Focus and Priority Designations, and 3) other requirements published by IDOE.

Low Cost!

As a mission-based non-profit organization that is committed to helping Indiana schools, ASAI works diligently to keep costs for schools at a minimum. Please see the SI2 Enrollment Form for a list of deliverables.

SI2 Basic ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------$ 950 annually

Additional Leadership Team Support (add-on) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------$ 500 annually

$350 discount for schools that meet specific criteria (see Enrollment Form)

2014 School Improvement Institute Testimony

www.asainstitute.org/si2

INDIANA EDUCATORS OTHERS

“By providing a structured process which engages staff, SI2 has proven to be extremely beneficial in helping us meet the expectations of Public Law 221. The participants in

[our school district] have found the process manageable and meaningful. The ASAI staff act as partners, and are flexible and responsive to the needs of the school district.”

-- Indiana Superintendent

“The SI2 process has given us a tool to look at education through data. We no longer make decisions based on

‘what feels good,’ or what we ‘think’ is working. We have been given a tangible way to measure results.”

-- Indiana Principal “Through the Vision-to-Action process we have improved

our ISTEP test scores. SI2 helped us to be less isolated.”

-- Indiana Principal

“As an administrator, SI2 helped me work collaboratively with counselors, teachers, and parents, and provided a structure for institutional change.”

-- Indiana Assistant Principal

“I am so fired up that I feel my team can change the world! This has been one of the most uplifting, invigorating

educational experiences I have ever had.”

-- Indiana high school teacher

“What I have most enjoyed is seeing the process become the ownership of this group. It becomes less about the name of the process or who presents it, and is focused instead on the students in our school.”

-- Indiana high school teacher

“I feel I am a better person for having finally something important enough for me to lead. I will need to remember

to ‘embrace the resistance, value every person, not take it personally, not “need the credit, and “trust the process.’”

-- Indiana high school counselor

“I feel empowered to really improve our school! So many

times I’ve wished I could make a positive difference or a real change, but I felt powerless to do so. Now, I believe this strong support system will enable me to make our school

a wonderful place for students to learn and teachers to teach.”

-- Indiana middle school teacher

“I have come to realize the importance of data. I have

always been the one to avoid or just not want to deal with it. After this, I realize that data is my friend.”

-- Indiana elementary teacher

“SI2 helped me understand the power that a community can have in making positive change in our educational

goals for the child.”

-- Indiana business member

“I am fascinated by SI2 . . . Tell others in your district to join SI2.”

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels during his opening

keynote at ASAI’s Indiana Conference on Learning One of eight improvement programs highlighted in the

Council of Chief State School Officers (Washington DC) School Improvement Policy Brief.

Cited in Connecting Schools, Families and Communities,

Annie E. Casey Foundation (Baltimore), for helping

schools “increase the alignment between the work of community partners and the school’s core instructional program.”

Cited in the Indiana Education Roundtable

(Indianapolis) Newsletter for making “remarkable progress” in Indiana schools.

Feature article about Vision-to-Action the Indiana

Principal Leadership Academy Special Edition on School Improvement, “How to Implement Positive

Change in Schools.” Recognized by Pathways to College Network (Boston)

for using “research-based effective practices to improve college access and success.”

About ASAI

The American Student Achievement Institute (ASAI) is a non-profit, tax exempt organization that was founded by Indiana educators in 1996 with significant mentoring from national educational thought and business leaders having expertise in data-driven improvement. Located in Bloomington, Indiana, the organization has supported over 400 leadership teams in school improvement.

Mission: ASAI’s mission is to enable all students to

master a rigorous curriculum in grades K-12, succeed in postsecondary education, and become productive members of a global economy.

Approach: ASAI advances its mission by helping local

leadership teams implement a vision-based and data-driven improvement process that involves a variety of stakeholder groups (teachers, students, parents, community). Local stakeholders participate in a series of key discussions resulting in targeted, high-leverage, and systemic interventions that lead to increases in student achievement and close achievement gaps.

Funders: ASAI appreciates the following

organizations that have provided funding for its school improvement initiatives over the years:

Lilly Endowment

Lumina Foundation

Indiana Department of Education

Indiana Commission for Higher Education

Learn More Indiana

State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana

Butler University

Indiana School Districts

American Student Achievement Institute

2014 School Improvement Institute Enrollment Form

Please submit to the American Student Achievement Institute 3925 E. Hagen St., Suite 105, Bloomington, IN 47401 / Fax: 812-349-7301 / Email to asai@asainstitute.org / Phone: 812-349-4142

Deadline: July 1, 2014 Note: Schools will be invoiced in April 2015

School

Contact Person

Phone Email

Service Deliverables Fee Select

BASIC

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT INSTITUTE

ASAI will provide the following:

Leadership Team Development / Learning Community o Seven (7) Instructional Webcasts o Seven (7) Interactive Webinars o Task delegation and monthly task assignments

Online School Improvement System (OSIS) o School Improvement Process (Vision-to-Action) o School Improvement Timeline o School Improvement Steering Team Manual o School Improvement Plan Report Template o School Improvement Plan Submission Tools o School Improvement Plan Reports (suitable for ASAI and Indiana PL221)

Online Leadership Team Manual o Organizational Structure o Community Council / Full Faculty / Student Body Agendas o Meeting Facilitator Guides and Tools

Online System Customization o Customization for grades found within the school o Customization to include Indiana PL221 requirements

On-call OSIS Support o Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

$950 Yes

ADDITIONAL

LEADERSHIP

TEAM

SUPPORT

(add-on)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ACTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM SUPPORT

Active Leadership Team monitoring throughout the Vision-to-Action process

Friendly reminders if the team falls behind in the process

Written feedback within 48 hours of each SIP component submission

COMPLIANCE REVIEWS (as requested by the school)

INDIANA PL221 – Actual Review on Behalf of IDOE o Schools that meet PL221 requirements verified to IDOE o DOE does not do a second review for ASAI-verified schools o Unlimited opportunities to revise

TITLE I – Friendly Review o Schoolwide – Criteria for School Improvement o Targeted Assistance School – Criteria for School Improvement

DOE OFFFICE OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT & TURNAROUND – Friendly Review o Focus Designation – Criteria for School Improvement o Priority Designation – Criteria for School Improvement

$500 Yes

No

DISCOUNT

Discount - only for schools that meet all three of the criteria listed below: 1) Selected the Additional Support Add-On above 2) Participated in SI2 in 2013-2014 3) Will not be asking ASAI to do a Title I review

- $350 Yes

No

TOTAL

Principal’s Signature: _________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________

SI2