School Improvement Planning

When it comes to School Improvement Planning I think of…..• I Get Around

• Be True to Your School

• Help Me Rhonda

• Good Vibrations

When it comes to School Improvement Planning I think of…..• I Get Around

– Networking– Involving the staff and community– Consulting and sharing with other principals

• Be True to Your School– Pride of accomplishments, celebrations of success– Responsibility to the goals of student learning

• Help Me Rhonda– Questions ……where to start, who to involve etc.

• Good Vibrations– Positive culture, Professional learning teams, action research

If as a teacher…

CLOSURE

PROFESSIONAL

LEARNING

COMMUNITIES

SCHOOL

IMPROVEMENT

PLANS

SMART

GOALS

CHANGE

To activate prior

knowledge

AGENDA

Other resources- Action Research, Using Data, School Effectiveness Factors

School Based Reform: Lessons from a National U.S. Study – identified 3 Common Characteristics

•The most promising efforts focused on the classroom - on raising expectations for all students, emphasizing problem-solving and critical thinking.•The most successful schools developed and sustained a culture in which teachers worked collaboratively and actively participated in decisions that directly affected their ability to improve classroom practices.•Successful schools took a long-term, strategic perspective to build professional capacity.

Take a moment to discuss the implications of these statements and your school improvement plans. What do you focus upon? How do you build professional capacity?

Why change is so challenging for schools: An interview with Peter

Senge by Dennis Sparks

This article is in your resource book.

• Number around the table 1- 5. (repeat if necessary)1—will read Leverage points (83-85)2—will read Habits hold us back (85-86)3—will read Reflection is necessary (86-87)4—will read Unconscious mental models (87-89)5—will read Dialogue requires openness (89-90)

Why change is so challenging for schools

• Read your section.

• Choose a few lines from the text that have meaning to you and implications for School Improvement Planning.

• Each person will share. (1 minute each)

Why change is so challenging for schools:

An interview with Peter Senge by Dennis Sparks

• Leverage Points– Are the places where the least amount of effort

provides the greatest influence of change.– Profound change can’t be imposed; it has to be

nurtured.– Leverage in schools is engaging teachers, principals,

and parents in creating something new.– A broad cross section of the community must be

engaged to address the forces that preserve the status quo.

Why change is so challenging for schools:

an interview with Peter Senge

by Dennis Sparks

• Unconscious mental models– Change occurs when we open ourselves to the views

of others, to engage in real conversations, to listen deeply.

– The diversity that matters is the diversity of thought.– If someone is doing something different in the

classroom, am I truly interested in why and how well it is working if it’s something different than I do?

– See students as forces of innovation…they are the only ones who see the system as a whole.

– Use student dialogue circles - ask kids to talk about their experiences.

– Get the voice of the student out in the open.

Why change is so challenging for schools:

an interview with Peter Senge by Dennis Sparks

• Reflection is necessary– Ask- What do I really care about? What do I really want to

create? (as Dufour asks, What should students learn? How will I know if they are learning? What will I do if they are not learning?)

– It is important to consider what you want to create, not just what you want to fix.

– These questions and questions like them have no substitute when sustaining innovation.

– Vitality comes when we move in the direction of what we truly want to bring into reality.

– Believe that every person has the capacity to create.

Why change is so challenging for schools:

An interview with Peter Senge by Dennis Sparks

• Habits hold us back– Every organization is a product of how its members

think and act.– The fundamental nature of reality is relationships, not

things.– The system does not make people do anything.– An area of leverage is finding and supporting the

innovators--someone who says “I believe we can do something differently here.”

– Informal structure is often where the leverage for basic change exists.

Why change is so challenging for schools:

An interview with Peter Senge

by Dennis Sparks

• Dialogue requires openness– Leaders need to be patient and really

passionate about these kinds of discussions and willing to make themselves vulnerable.

– A leader’s job is to create an environment for teachers to continually learn.

– Leaders must be committed to the continuous learning of everyone associated with the school.

When we visualize our success we begin to change behaviours to

achieve that success.– Conzemius and O’Neill

“Clear, measurable goals are at the centre of the mystery of a school’s success,

mediocrity or failure.”– S.J. Rosenholz, 1991

SMART

GOALSare ‘gap closers’ toward your vision

SMART GOALS

• focus on the few things most likely to have the greatest impact

• have both short and long term impact

• Align with other key strategic initiatives

• focus on results

• are generally 1 to 3 year goal - change takes time

STRATEGIC

MEASURABLE

ATTAINABLE

RESULTS BASED

TIMEBOUND

School Wide SMART GOAL

• Within 3 years 75% of our grade 3 and grade 6 students will meet the provincial standard in reading (or math).

Indicators

• The skills, knowledge or evidence of performance that comprise or lead to proficiency in our goal area. e.g., EQAO subtest skill sets, teacher continua and other assessments.

• Standards and objectives (weak areas for students)

What indicators should we focus on for the school wide SMART goal?

Measures

• Tools used to monitor progress toward our goal. We use them to determine where students are now and whether they are improving. Measures are specific to the indicators.

• e.g., EQAO tests– formative reading assessments– classroom assessments – for numeracy - timed tests, performance tasks, unit

tests, pre/post competency tests, etc.

Targets

• Shorter term incremental steps toward the goal.• Targets are set for each MEASURE.• Targets are the attainable performance level we

would like to see.Ask……

– Based on the data, what is attainable?– Based on resources, what is attainable?– What is a reasonable, yet challenging level of

improvement we think we can achieve? (Be 80% sure you can reach the target.)

Planning

G

O

A

L

Vision

Measures Targets

TargetsMeasures

Indicators

Methods include:

• Instructional changes

• Curriculum alignment

• Assessment development

• Professional Learning

School Improvement Plan

• Using your own school improvement plan, and the graphic organizer on your table,

REVIEW YOUR PLAN BY ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS PROVIDED ON THE PLACEMAT ORGANIZER.

• You may wish to share your thoughts with those at your table.

Making a Difference

“Schools that attend to both strategies – building a collaborative culture that

focuses on student learning and creating a system of timely interventions for students

– experience a powerful synergy”

p.186 “Whatever it Takes”

Characteristics of a Professional Learning

Community Shared , Values, Mission and Goals Collaborative Teams—Administrators and

Teachers Parent Partnerships Action Orientation/Experimentation Collective Inquiry Continuous Improvement Results Oriented

School Based Reform: Lessons from a National U.S. Study – identified 3 Common Characteristics

•The most promising efforts focused on the classroom - on raising expectations for all students, emphasizing problem-solving and critical thinking.

•The most successful schools developed and sustained a culture in which teachers worked collaboratively and actively participated in decisions that directly affected their ability to improve classroom practices.

•Successful schools took a long-term, strategic perspective to build professional capacity.

If, as a teacher,• I present the lessons in a variety of ways• I seek feedback from my students• I analyze and evaluate their work in a manner that changes my own

emphasis, repertoire, and timing;• I visit or observe other adults as they teach;• I share the work of my students with colleagues for feedback, suggestions,

and critiques;• I visit other schools or attend particular workshops or seminars or read

professional literature on aspects of my teaching;• I welcome visitors with experience and expertise to observe and provide

feedback to me on my classroom practice;• I yearly individualized professional development plan focused on classroom

changes to improve student learning; • and finally, I have systemic evaluation of my teaching tied to individual,

grade/department, and schoolwide goals,

ThenI have absolutely become better as a teacher.

Adapted from Carl D. Glickman. Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed (2002)

If as a teacher…

CLOSURE

PROFESSIONAL

LEARNING

COMMUNITIES

SCHOOL

IMPROVEMENT

PLANS

SMART

GOALS

CHANGE

To activate prior

knowledge

AGENDA

Other resources- Action Research, Using Data, School Effectiveness Factors

“Good to great transformation never happened in one fell swoop. There was no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, and no wrenching revolution. Good to great comes by a cumulative process – step by step, action by action, decision by decision, turn by turn of the flywheel – that adds up to sustained and spectacular results.”

Good to Great p. 165