CHANGE IN BIG DISTRICTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIESHeidi A. Ramírez, PhD (hramirez@temple.edu)Urban Education Collaborative

Academy of Pacesetting States

Change

• “…the change process goes through a series of phases that, in total, usually require a considerable length of time.

• “Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces satisfactory results, and

• "making critical mistakes in any of the phases can have a devastating impact, slowing momentum and negating hard-won gains” (Kotter, 1995)

Change Process (Kotter)

1. Establish a Sense of Urgency2. Form a Powerful Guiding Coalition3. Create a Vision4. Communicate that Vision5. Empower Others to Act on the Vision6. Plan for and Create Short-Term Wins7. Consolidate Improvements and Keep

the Momentum for Change Moving8. Institutionalize the New Approaches

Establish a Sense of Urgency (Urgency vs. Panic)

How do you help districts to appreciate the need to slow down some decisions and activities?• Engage partners in intervention design, not just

implementation• Design data collection, measureable goals, progress

monitoring, and evaluation systems at the start– William Penn School District (PA), SS/HS grant; School

District of Philadelphia (PA), Broad Foundation grant for school leadership; Christina School District (DE), USDoE SLC grant

– Suggested areas for attention—SES/interventions, coaching, professional development

• Align timelines for decisions re: investments and interventions to availability of data

– Charter schools, EMOs, etc. in SDP– Develop 2-5 year calendars re: evaluation reports and state

assessment data and contract approvals (e.g., contract periods, program goals)

Form a Powerful Guiding Coalition

Who should be part of a coalition and how should they be enlisted?• Identify different needs/rationale for stakeholder

engagement, e.g., limit community confusion and/or opposition, add expertise, support a matching requirement

• Involve actors in appropriate design and implementation work and manage expectations, e.g., where do you want assessment of needs and goals vs. development of specific strategies, determination of vendors, etc.

• Alert key stakeholders early to new decision-making processes (and potential unpopular decisions)

– School closings– Discontinued contracts/vendors, e.g., SDP alternative

education providers– Staff changes, e.g., SDP school safety partnerships, aides,

principals

Create and Communicate a Vision(Walk the talk, again and again) Who should be involved in

communicating the vision? What are the mechanisms available for

communicating the vision?

Empower Others to Act on the Vision

Who should be empowered to do what? Assess district needs (short and long-term) and

value of buying vs. building capacity CA II/USP program (external vs. internal supports) DE literacy coaching

Develop criteria for decision making, e.g., set the norm of using outcome data, ensuring transparency, engaging and communicating with stakeholders

Procurement policies, especially re: professional services

Empower and ensure accountability (Make sure the right and left hands are in synch)

Plan for and Create Short-Term Wins (short-term wins vs. long-term progress)

How do you develop long-term plans that allow for immediate responses and successes?• Ask the complicated questions, e.g., on TQ—teacher

attendance, qualifications and experience by school• Set long-term goals and develop multi-year/phase plans• Highlight successes in process (e.g., systems, culture,

implementation), as well as outcomes• Be careful of short-term victories taking priority over long-

term success (e.g., more than data on teacher quality (e.g., HQT, vacancies, etc.), but also 3-5 yr. pipeline/partnerships (e.g., SDP TFA, grow your own, and IHEs)and retention progress)

• Celebrate hidden successes (that may not look like successes)– WPSD school safety data (conditions look worse in early years of

improved accuracy in reporting)– High school reform (in early implementation, scores often

decrease when drop-out rate decreases)– Teacher attrition

• Beware of easy “successes” without outcomes, e.g., expanded ECE and afterschool programs,

Example: Teaching Quality in Philadelphia

Qualifications Certified (and in-field) “Highly-qualified”--teachers have full

certification, a bachelor’s degree, and demonstrated competence in subject knowledge and teaching

Experience Knowledge and Skills Effectiveness

SDP rate of fully certified teachers

improved from 88.02% (2002-03) to

97.86% (2007-08)

SDP teacher retention

improved from 77%

(2003-04) to 80% (2006-07)¼ of SDP

teachers have ≤3

years experienc

e.

SDP teachers average 12.18

years experience

13/11,000 SDP teachers deemed unsatisfactory

(2007-08)

Example: Teaching Quality in Philadelphia

Hard-to-staff schools—largely high-poverty, high-minority, low-performing schools Students more likely to be taught by

Uncertified (including emergency-certified, intern-certified) and non-HQ teachers

Out-of-field teachers Newer teachers Long-term substitutes “Truant” teachers (lower rates of attendance)

Some SDP schools are turning over

>1/2 to 2/3 of teaching staff

each year

12 SDP schools had teacher attendance rates <85% and 21

schools had ≥1,000 teacher absences (2007-08)

Example: Teaching Quality in Philadelphia

Over-representation of uncertified and non-HQ, out-of-field, substitute, absent and inexperienced teachers

5+ yrs. of experience— 29-100% of teachers in SDP-operated schools <1/3 of CAII schools had more than 75%

teachers w/ more than 5 years First year teachers—0-40% of teachers in CAII

schools HQT teachers—56-100% in SDP-operated schools Emergency certified teachers—0-28% of teachers in

SDP-operated CAII schools Teacher Attendance—<85% in 12 schools; >1,000

teachers absences in 21 schools (SY2007-08)

Consolidate Improvements and

Keep the Momentum for Change Moving How do you promote organizational

learning? How do you continue to make changes

while ensuring sustainability of others? How do you reinforce progress while

maintaining urgency, especially when you need “good news” to ensure support? SDP PSSA progress

Example: Student Performance Progress in PhiladelphiaSDP has experienced 7 straight years of

improved academic achievement, with overall progress for all groups, but…

Institutionalize the New Approaches

How do you convince others that the changes work?

How do you make the changes stick?

What’s the SEA role?

How can state systems of support-- Ensure meaningful program evaluations

(especially for state-supported grants) Promote partnerships with IHEs

PDE and Temple re: E=mc2 (alternative certification) Help manage community expectations Build school board expertise and capacity Mediate the role of politics Model the process and specific values (e.g.,

communicating the vision, monitoring progress) PDE re: Principal Inspired Leadership Initiative