raising the bar and closing the gap: whatever it takes in elementary ... · and closing the gap:...

Raising the Barand Closing the Gap:

Whatever It Takesin Elementary Schools

Rebecca DuFour

In-Depth Seminar

Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap:

Whatever It Takes in Elementary Schools

Becky DuFour

[email protected]

For access to these schools and districts and additional international models of the PLC at Work process, go to:

www.AllThingsPLC.info “Evidence of Effectiveness.”

Features 38 schools in nine different districts.

What is it we expect them to learn?

How will we know when they have learned it?

How will we respond when they don’t learn?

How will we respond when they already know it?

Critical Corollary Questions: If We Believe All Kids Can Learn

Step One of the PLC Process: Learn Together!

A cardinal rule: Professional learning communities always attempt to answer critical questions by first building shared knowledge—engaging in collective inquiry—learning together.

If people make decisions based on the collective study of the same pool of information, they increase the likelihood they will arrive at the same conclusion.

Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap:

Whatever It Takes in Elementary Schools

Becky DuFour

[email protected]

For access to these schools and districts and additional international models of the PLC at Work process, go to:

www.AllThingsPLC.info “Evidence of Effectiveness.”

Features 38 schools in nine different districts.

What is it we expect them to learn?

How will we know when they have learned it?

How will we respond when they don’t learn?

How will we respond when they already know it?

Critical Corollary Questions: If We Believe All Kids Can Learn

Step One of the PLC Process: Learn Together!

A cardinal rule: Professional learning communities always attempt to answer critical questions by first building shared knowledge—engaging in collective inquiry—learning together.

If people make decisions based on the collective study of the same pool of information, they increase the likelihood they will arrive at the same conclusion.

© DuFour 2018. SolutionTree.comDo not duplicate. 1

Why Should We Implement Systematic Interventions?

Characteristics of high-performing schools include setting high expectations for all students, using assessment data to support student success, and employing systems for identifying intervention (Ragland, Clubine, Constable, & Smith, 2002).

“Reforms must move the system toward early identification and swift intervention, using scientifically based instruction and teaching methods” (President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education, 2002, p. 8).

“A criterion for schools that have made great strides in achievement and equity is immediate and decisive intervention. . . . Successful schools do not give a second thought to providing preventive assistance for students in need” (Reeves, 2006, p. 87).

“The most significant factor in providing appropriate interventions for students was the development of layers of support. Systems of support specifically addressed the needs of students who were ‘stretching’ to take more rigorous coursework” (Dolejs, 2006, p. 3).

“High-performing schools and school systems set high expectations for what each and every child should achieve, and then monitor performance against the expectations, intervening whenever they are not met. . . . The very best systems intervene at the level of the individual student, developing processes and structures within schools that are able to identify whenever a student is starting to fall behind, and then intervening to improve that child’s performance” (Barber & Mourshed, 2007, p. 34).

In order to raise student achievement, schools must use diagnostic assessments to measure students’ knowledge and skills at the beginning of each curriculum unit, on-the-spot assessments to check for understanding during instruction, and end-of-unit assessments and interim assessments to see how well students learned. “All of these enable teachers to make mid-course corrections and to get students into intervention earlier” (Odden & Archibald, 2009, p. 23).

In higher performing school systems, “teachers identify struggling students as early as possible, and direct them towards a variety of proven intervention strategies, developed at both the school and district level, that assist all students in mastering grade-level academic objectives” (National Center for Educational Achievement, 2009, p. 34).

“One of the most productive ways for districts to facilitate continual improvement is to develop teachers’ capacity to use formative assessments of student progress aligned with district expectations for student learning, and to use formative data in devising and implementing interventions during the school year” (Louis et al., 2010, p. 214).

“If a school can make both teaching and time variables . . . and target them to meet each student’s individual learning and developmental needs, the school is more likely to achieve high levels of learning for every student” (Mattos & Buffum, 2015, p. 2).

Learning by Doing © 2006, 2010, 2016 Solution Tree Press • SolutionTree.comVisit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download this free reproducible.

REPRODUCIBLE

2

The Questions Facing Each Team1. How will we provide additional support for

2. How will we enrich and extend the learning

3. Who is available to assist our team in responding to our students?

Classroom Teachers, Resource Specialists, and Other Supports Work Together to:

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Ten RTI Mistakes 1. RTI becomes an appendage to traditional schooling practices rather than a

catalyst for the cultural changes effective intervention requires.

If teachers define their role as teaching rather than ensuring student learning, a system of intervention can provide yet another reason that classroom teachers avoid taking responsibility for student learning. In the wrong school culture, teachers can assume, “I taught it, they didn’t get it, so let the system of intervention deal with them.” If teachers continue to work in isolation—if what a student is taught, when content is taught, and how learning is assessed is left to the discretion of the individual classroom teacher—a system of intervention intended to promote a collective effort to raise student achievement will be ineffective.

If educators continue to view assessments merely as a tool for assigning grades rather than a process for addressing student needs and improving professional practice, intervention will have little impact on enhancing student learning. Effective intervention must be integrated within the context of a guaranteed curriculum, informative assessments, and a process of continuous improvement (IRA Commission on RTI, 2009). Simply put, to implement systematic interventions successfully, “a school must not only provide its staff with a new set of ‘tools’ to help students learn, but must also help educators develop a new way of thinking about their roles and responsibilities” (Buffum, Mattos, & Weber, 2011).

2. RTI is viewed as a checklist to complete or a program to be purchased to comply with regulations rather than an ongoing process to improve student learning.

If educators believe that RTI simply requires completing the steps on a checklist, purchasing new curriculum, or assigning students who struggle to a computer-based program of learning in order to meet the stipulations of new regulations, the schools will fail to develop effective systems of intervention. As the leading authors on RTI have concluded, “If there is one thing that traditional special education has taught us, it’s that staying compliant does not necessarily lead to improved student learning—in fact, the opposite is more often the case” (Buffum, Mattos, & Weber, 2010, p. 13).

3. RTI is reactive rather than proactive.

We have seen intervention plans that have no process for identifying and supporting students until they have failed a grading period. This “wait to fail” strategy offers the equivalent of an educational autopsy rather than the ongoing monitoring of student learning that RTI is intended to offer.

4. RTI does not provide additional time or differentiated support for learning.

Intervention plans that remove students from reading instruction to provide them with reading instruction may be offering students teaching in a different setting, but they are not offering additional time for learning. Plans that simply repeat the same instructional strategies that have already proven to be ineffective for particular students might provide those students with more time for learning, but “more of the same” is not effective intervention.

5. RTI invites students to access available interventions.

When educators claim that they have addressed the challenge of a systematic intervention by inviting students who need help to “stop in” before or after school for assistance if they are so inclined, they fail to grasp the meaning of either systematic or intervention.

6. RTI is based on seat time rather than proficiency.

When students are assigned to intervention for a designated length of time (for example, nine weeks or a semester) rather than until they demonstrate proficiency, the focus of intervention becomes ensuring students complete the allotted time rather than ensuring that they learn. Again, if educators concentrate on compliance rather than results, intervention will be ineffective.

7. RTI focuses on symptoms rather than causes.

When educators assign students to intervention because they are failing language arts, they are responding to a symptom; but, without greater clarity regarding what is causing the failure, they will be unable to intervene effectively. They are tantamount to a doctor prescribing a specific antidote based solely on the knowledge that a patient is experiencing chest pain. Chest pain can be caused by a myriad of factors—from heartburn to a heart attack. To treat the symptom effectively, more precise information is required. Effective intervention will be based on in-depth knowledge of the specific skill the student is lacking and the most effective strategies for helping the student acquire that skill.

8. RTI does not provide the channels of communication essential to effective intervention.

A collective and systematic approach to intervention requires effective communication between all those who contribute to the intervention process—classroom teachers, collaborative teams, special education teachers, instructional coaches, counselors, and school administrators. If key school personnel are unable to articulate the desired outcome for the student, the specific steps of the intervention plan, the responsibilities of all those who provide the intervention, how student

Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement© Solution Tree Press 2011. Do not duplicate.

Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement© Solution Tree Press 2011. Do not duplicate. 3









© Solution Tree Press 2011. Do not duplicate.











progress will be monitored, and the standard the student must achieve to no longer require the service, the intervention process will be ineffective. The process must ensure that all of the respective parties are provided with ongoing information regarding the specific needs and progress of individual students.

9. RTI assigns the least-skilled adults to work with the students most in need of expert teaching.

In many schools, students who struggle are assigned to well-intentioned people who lack the pedagogical skill and content expertise to resolve the students’ learning difficulties. Too often intervention is provided by parent volunteers, paraprofessionals, teacher assistants, or special education teachers who may be trained in particular learning disabilities but lack an in-depth knowledge of the progression of skills a particular subject area requires. As Richard Allington, the former president of the International Reading Associate lamented, when schools assign people without expertise to the hardest kids to teach “you penalize children for the rest of their lives because of your decision,” yet routinely “no one gets worse or less instruction than the kids who need it most” (in Rebora, 2010).

10. RTI is viewed as a special education program.

The most common mistake educators are making regarding RTI is viewing it as an extension of special education. RTI was specifically intended to address general education by strengthening classroom instruction and providing systematic intervention for all students in order to limit the number of students assigned to special education to those with a handicapping condition.

When done well, special education programs serve a vital purpose in our schools. Special education not only gives access to public schooling to students who in the past were denied such access, but it also provides the additional time and focused support to help those students acquire essential knowledge and skills. In many schools, however, the only way any student could get access to additional help was to place them in special education. Students were assigned to special education programs not because of a handicapping condition but because they were experiencing difficulty. As a result, well-intentioned special education personnel often struggled to provide the effective services their programs were designed to provide (President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education, 2002).

If schools consider RTI a special education initiative to get more students into special education faster, it will do far more harm than good. It will merely reinforce rather than eliminate the artificial gap that often exists between general education and special education teachers. If general education teachers assume that students who experience difficulty have some neurological difficulty, and it falls to special education teachers to solve their problem, intervention will be ineffective.


Extra Time and Support for Students in an Elementary School

Schedule grade-level teachers, resource specialists, and other supports to work together during I/E time.

Organize parent volunteers, business partners, senior citizens, and high school and college interns to serve as mentors and tutors along with the school-based team.

Redefine focus of student support team to plan additional interventions.

Save one student.

Develop buddy programs and peer tutoring.

Build and nurture strong parent partnerships.

Building Strong Partnerships: The National PTA

Conduct grade-level parent workshops.

Provide tools, tips, and materials for at-home practice during parent workshops and via frequent grade-level communication to parents.

Establish ongoing systems for two-way communication with each parent.

Send student work folders home—with teacher feedback—for parent review, comments, questions, and signature.

See Chapter 14 in Revisiting PLCs at Work for more information on parent partnerships in a PLC at Work.

To sustain the momentum, PLCs …

... celebrate small wins early and

often!

Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement© Solution Tree Press 2011. Do not duplicate.4









© Solution Tree Press 2011. Do not duplicate.












progress will be monitored, and the standard the student must achieve to no longer require the service, the intervention process will be ineffective. The process must ensure that all of the respective parties are provided with ongoing information regarding the specific needs and progress of individual students.

9. RTI assigns the least-skilled adults to work with the students most in need of expert teaching.

In many schools, students who struggle are assigned to well-intentioned people who lack the pedagogical skill and content expertise to resolve the students’ learning difficulties. Too often intervention is provided by parent volunteers, paraprofessionals, teacher assistants, or special education teachers who may be trained in particular learning disabilities but lack an in-depth knowledge of the progression of skills a particular subject area requires. As Richard Allington, the former president of the International Reading Associate lamented, when schools assign people without expertise to the hardest kids to teach “you penalize children for the rest of their lives because of your decision,” yet routinely “no one gets worse or less instruction than the kids who need it most” (in Rebora, 2010).

10. RTI is viewed as a special education program.

The most common mistake educators are making regarding RTI is viewing it as an extension of special education. RTI was specifically intended to address general education by strengthening classroom instruction and providing systematic intervention for all students in order to limit the number of students assigned to special education to those with a handicapping condition.

When done well, special education programs serve a vital purpose in our schools. Special education not only gives access to public schooling to students who in the past were denied such access, but it also provides the additional time and focused support to help those students acquire essential knowledge and skills. In many schools, however, the only way any student could get access to additional help was to place them in special education. Students were assigned to special education programs not because of a handicapping condition but because they were experiencing difficulty. As a result, well-intentioned special education personnel often struggled to provide the effective services their programs were designed to provide (President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education, 2002).

If schools consider RTI a special education initiative to get more students into special education faster, it will do far more harm than good. It will merely reinforce rather than eliminate the artificial gap that often exists between general education and special education teachers. If general education teachers assume that students who experience difficulty have some neurological difficulty, and it falls to special education teachers to solve their problem, intervention will be ineffective.




Redefine focus of student support team to plan additional interventions.

Save one student.


Build and nurture strong parent partnerships.

Building Strong Partnerships: The National PTA








often!

Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement© Solution Tree Press 2011. Do not duplicate. 5

Rethinking Our Assumptions

The assumption, beliefs, expectations, and habits that constitute the culture for most schools go largely unexamined. We act in accordance with our understanding of traditional practice and conventional wisdom.

If culture reflects “the way we do things around here,” we face the challenge of making conscious that which typically is unconscious.

Necessary Cultural ShiftsIn traditional schools, each teacher in isolation:

Decides what to teach and when to teach it

Administers infrequent summative assessments

Focuses on inputs of teaching

Practices the “if only” model of improvement—looking out the window

Determines what to do when students don’t learn

In professional learning communities, teams of teachers:

Build shared knowledge about essential learning and pacing.

Administer frequent common formative assessments.

Focus on results—evidence of learning.

Practice the “what if” model of improvement—looking in the mirror.

Create systematic responses that ensure learning support for every student.

A Syllogism of What Should Be Rhetorical Questions

Do we believe it is the purpose of our school to ensure all students learn at high levels?

Do we acknowledge that students learn at different rates and with different levels of support?

Have we created a schedule that guarantees students will receive additional opportunities for learning through extra time and support, in a systematic way, regardless of who the teacher might be?

How can our school better allocate existing resources:

time, people, materials, money

to provide additional support for ALL students to learn at higher levels than ever before?

Changing the Way We Do Things Around Here

Rethinking Our Assumptions

The assumption, beliefs, expectations, and habits that constitute the culture for most schools go largely unexamined. We act in accordance with our understanding of traditional practice and conventional wisdom.

If culture reflects “the way we do things around here,” we face the challenge of making conscious that which typically is unconscious.

Necessary Cultural ShiftsIn traditional schools, each teacher in isolation:

Decides what to teach and when to teach it

Administers infrequent summative assessments

Focuses on inputs of teaching

Practices the “if only” model of improvement—looking out the window

Determines what to do when students don’t learn

In professional learning communities, teams of teachers:

Build shared knowledge about essential learning and pacing.

Administer frequent common formative assessments.

Focus on results—evidence of learning.

Practice the “what if” model of improvement—looking in the mirror.

Create systematic responses that ensure learning support for every student.

A Syllogism of What Should Be Rhetorical Questions

Do we believe it is the purpose of our school to ensure all students learn at high levels?

Do we acknowledge that students learn at different rates and with different levels of support?

Have we created a schedule that guarantees students will receive additional opportunities for learning through extra time and support, in a systematic way, regardless of who the teacher might be?

How can our school better allocate existing resources:

time, people, materials, money

to provide additional support for ALL students to learn at higher levels than ever before?

Changing the Way We Do Things Around Here

© DuFour 2018. SolutionTree.comDo not duplicate.6

Alig

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DuFour, DuFour, Eaker. © Solution Tree 2018. SolutionTree.comDo not duplicate. 7

R e s p o n d i n g w h e n s t u d e n t s d o n ’ t l e a r n

kindergarten grade 1 grade 2 grade 3 grade 4 grade 5

Science8:50–9:35

(45 minutes)

Social Studies/Language Arts

8:50–9:40(50 minutes)

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and Guided Reading8:50–9:40

(50 minutes)

Specials8:50–9:35

Music, Art, PE, Library, Technology

(45 minutes)

Science8:50–9:35

(45 minutes)

Math8:50–10:30

(100 minutes)Language Arts/Social Studies

9:40–10:40(60 minutes)

Language Arts9:40–11:00

(80 minutes)


(75 minutes)

Math9:40–11:10

(90 minutes)

Specials9:40–10:25


(45 minutes)Social Studies/Language Arts

10:05–10:50(45 minutes)



(60 minutes)


10:25–11:15(50 minutes)


(90 minutes)

Specials10:30–11:15


(45 minutes)

Science10:50–11:35

(45 minutes)Lunch/Recess11:05–11:55

(50 minutes)



(60 minutes)


11:10–12:00(50 minutes)

Lunch/Recess11:15–12:05

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11:25–12:15(50 minutes)Lunch/Recess

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Math1:30–3:00

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Science2:15–3:00

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Science2:15–3:00

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Students Depart3:05–3:15






Figure 7.1: Sample master instructional schedule for grades K–5.

DuFour, DuFour, Eaker. © Solution Tree 2018. SolutionTree.comDo not duplicate.8

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DuFour, DuFour, Eaker. © Solution Tree 2018. SolutionTree.comDo not duplicate.10

Lincoln Elementary ‒ Sanger, CA ~ Home of the Mighty Rams ~

• We have district minimum days every other Wednesday. Our students are dismissed at 12:25. We hold a very brief staff meeting followed by at least two hours of collaborative time until 3:00.

• On non-minimum days, our students are dismissed at 2:25 and

teams meet until 4:00. The district contract states teachers will stay until 4:00 on the minimum days, but as a staff we voted to move the extra hour to the non-minimum days so we had longer to meet.

• Some grade level teams also meet while their students are in PE

classes, but others use that as their individual prep since it is contractually a prep time.

• During RtI blocks, our support team includes the grade-level

teachers, two intervention teachers, and the RSP teacher.


Provide Teams With Time to Collaborate (page 3 of 3)

• Shared classes: Teachers across two different grade levels or courses combine their students into one class for instruction. While one teacher or team instructs the students during that period or supervises buddy time—older students reading, writing, practicing math facts, and so on with their younger buddies—the other team engages in collaborative work. The teams alternate instructing and supervising and collaborating to provide equity in learning time for students and teams.

• Group activities, events, or testing: Teams of teachers coordinate activities that require supervision of students rather than instructional expertise (for example, videos, resource lessons, read-alouds, assemblies, whole-class testing). Administrators, instructional assistants, and other staff are assigned to instruct and supervise students while the teachers engage in team collaboration.

• Banking time: Over a designated period of days, instructional minutes are extended beyond the required school day. After banking the desired number of minutes on designated days, the instructional day ends early to allow for faculty collaboration and student enrichment. In a middle school, for example, the traditional instructional day ends at 3:00 p.m., students board buses at 3:20 p.m., and the teacher contractual day ends at 3:30 p.m. The faculty decides to extend the instructional day until 3:10 p.m. By teaching an extra ten minutes nine days in a row, they bank ninety minutes. On the tenth day, instruction stops at 1:30 p.m., and the entire faculty has collaborative team time for two hours. The students remain on campus and engage in clubs, enrichment activities, and assemblies that a variety of parent and community partners sponsor and the school’s nonteaching staff co-supervise.

• In-service and faculty meeting time: Schedule extended time for teams to work together on

staff development days and during faculty meeting time. Rather than requiring staff to attend a traditional whole-staff in-service session or sit in a faculty meeting while directives and calendar items are read to highly educated professionals, shift the focus and use of these days or meetings so members of teams have extended time to learn with and from each other.

Third

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DuFour, DuFour, Eaker • © Solution Tree 2015 • SolutionTree.comVisit AllThingsPLC.info/files/uploads/schedule_examples_elementary.pdf to download this page.

REPRODUCIBLE

12

COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 3.OA: OPERATIONS & ALGEBRAIC THINKING 3.OA4: Determine the unknown whole number in mult. & div. equations (Target 80/100)

STUDENT CLASS #1 CLASS #2 CLASS #3 CLASS #4

1 50 90 100 70

2 60 90 100 70

3 70 90 80 80

4 90 90 100 80

5 90 90 100 100

6 100 100 90 40

7 90 100 80 70

8 90 80 80 50

9 80 100 100 80

10 60 90 90 70

11 90 100 90 50

12 80 100 100 50

13 90 100 80 100

14 90 90 80 100

15 100 100 90 100

16 80 100 80 80

17 90 90 90 90

18 100 90 100 90

19 80 90 80 80

20 80 90 90 70

21 80 80 90 60

22 80 80 100 70

23 90 100 90 50

24 80 80 80 80

25 70 80 80 80

26 60 80 80

27 80 90 80

28 80 90

% Proficient

# Below Proficient

# At Proficient

# Above Proficient

Dat

a A

naly

sis P

roto

col

Te

am__

____

____

____

____

____

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ache

r___

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____

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ate

____

____

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is an

alys

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base

d on

our

team

’s c

omm

on a

sses

smen

t of t

he fo

llow

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esse

ntia

l lea

rnin

gs.

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

1.

Whi

ch o

f our

stud

ents

nee

d ad

ditio

nal t

ime

and

supp

ort t

o ac

hiev

e at

or

abov

e pr

ofic

ienc

y on

an

esse

ntia

l lea

rnin

g?

How

will

we

prov

ide

that

tim

e an

d su

ppor

t?

____

____

____

____

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____

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____

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____

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____

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____

____

____

____

____

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2.

Wha

t is o

ur p

lan

to e

nric

h an

d ex

tend

the

lear

ning

for

stud

ents

who

are

hig

hly

prof

icie

nt?

____

____

____

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____

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3.

Wha

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n ar

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my

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ggle

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____

____

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Wha

t str

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ere

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by

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es w

hose

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ents

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form

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ell?

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

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____

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____

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____

____

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____

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____

____

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4.

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t is a

n ar

ea w

here

our

team

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uden

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rugg

led?

___

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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W

hat d

o w

e be

lieve

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e ca

use?

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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__

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

__

Wha

t is o

ur p

lan

for

impr

ovin

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e re

sults

?___

____

____

____

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____

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____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

__



1 50 90 100 70

2 60 90 100 70

3 70 90 80 80

4 90 90 100 80

5 90 90 100 100

6 100 100 90 40

7 90 100 80 70

8 90 80 80 50

9 80 100 100 80

10 60 90 90 70

11 90 100 90 50

12 80 100 100 50

13 90 100 80 100

14 90 90 80 100

15 100 100 90 100

16 80 100 80 80

17 90 90 90 90

18 100 90 100 90

19 80 90 80 80

20 80 90 90 70

21 80 80 90 60

22 80 80 100 70

23 90 100 90 50

24 80 80 80 80

25 70 80 80 80

26 60 80 80

27 80 90 80

28 80 90

% Proficient

# Below Proficient

# At Proficient

# Above Proficient

The Questions Facing Each Team

1. How will we provide additional support for

timely, directive, and systematic?


ClassroomTeacher 1

ClassroomTeacher 2

ClassroomTeacher 3

ClassroomTeacher 4

Special Ed. Teacher




1 50 90 100 70

2 60 90 100 70

3 70 90 80 80

4 90 90 100 80

5 90 90 100 100

6 100 100 90 40

7 90 100 80 70

8 90 80 80 50

9 80 100 100 80

10 60 90 90 70

11 90 100 90 50

12 80 100 100 50

13 90 100 80 100

14 90 90 80 100

15 100 100 90 100

16 80 100 80 80

17 90 90 90 90

18 100 90 100 90

19 80 90 80 80

20 80 90 90 70

21 80 80 90 60

22 80 80 100 70

23 90 100 90 50

24 80 80 80 80

25 70 80 80 80

26 60 80 80

27 80 90 80

28 80 90

% Proficient

# Below Proficient

# At Proficient

# Above Proficient

Dat

a A

naly

sis P

roto

col

Te

am__

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

___

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ache

r___

____

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____

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ate

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_ Th

is an

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base

d on

our

team

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omm

on a

sses

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t of t

he fo

llow

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ntia

l lea

rnin

gs.

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

1.

Whi

ch o

f our

stud

ents

nee

d ad

ditio

nal t

ime

and

supp

ort t

o ac

hiev

e at

or

abov

e pr

ofic

ienc

y on

an

esse

ntia

l lea

rnin

g?

How

will

we

prov

ide

that

tim

e an

d su

ppor

t?

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

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____

____

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____

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____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

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____

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____

____

____

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____

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____

____

____

____

____

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____

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____

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____

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____

____

____

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____

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____

____

____

____

__

2.

Wha

t is o

ur p

lan

to e

nric

h an

d ex

tend

the

lear

ning

for

stud

ents

who

are

hig

hly

prof

icie

nt?

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

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____

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____

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3.

Wha

t is a

n ar

ea w

here

my

stud

ents

stru

ggle

d? _

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

___

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t str

ateg

ies w

ere

used

by

team

mat

es w

hose

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ents

per

form

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ell?

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

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____

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____

____

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____

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4.

Wha

t is a

n ar

ea w

here

our

team

’s st

uden

ts st

rugg

led?

___

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

__

W

hat d

o w

e be

lieve

is th

e ca

use?

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

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____

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____

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____

____

____

____

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____

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____

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____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

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____

____

____

____

____

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Wha

t is o

ur p

lan

for

impr

ovin

g th

e re

sults

?___

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

__

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____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

__



1 50 90 100 70

2 60 90 100 70

3 70 90 80 80

4 90 90 100 80

5 90 90 100 100

6 100 100 90 40

7 90 100 80 70

8 90 80 80 50

9 80 100 100 80

10 60 90 90 70

11 90 100 90 50

12 80 100 100 50

13 90 100 80 100

14 90 90 80 100

15 100 100 90 100

16 80 100 80 80

17 90 90 90 90

18 100 90 100 90

19 80 90 80 80

20 80 90 90 70

21 80 80 90 60

22 80 80 100 70

23 90 100 90 50

24 80 80 80 80

25 70 80 80 80

26 60 80 80

27 80 90 80

28 80 90

% Proficient

# Below Proficient

# At Proficient

# Above Proficient


1. How will we provide additional support for

timely, directive, and systematic?


ClassroomTeacher 1

ClassroomTeacher 2

ClassroomTeacher 3

ClassroomTeacher 4

Special Ed. Teacher

DuFour, DuFour, Eaker. © Solution Tree 2018. SolutionTree.comReproducible.

REPRODUCIBLE

14

Cla

ssro

omTe

ache

r 1

Cla

ssro

omTe

ache

r 2

Cla

ssro

omTe

ache

r 3

Cla

ssro

omTe

ache

r 4

Spec

ial E

d.

Teac

her

© DuFour 2018. SolutionTree.comReproducible.

REPRODUCIBLE

15


1. How will we provide additional support for students who experience initial difficulty in a way that is timely, directive, and systematic?

2. How will we extend and enrich learning for students who already know it?





Redefine the focus of the student support team to plan additional interventions.

Save one student.


Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

Teacher 4 Tutor 1 Tutor 2

Special Ed. Staff

Resource Specialist

Resource Specialist Important Cautions

Don’t fall in love with a tree—embrace the forest.

No system of intervention can compensate for weak and ineffective teaching.

At the same time a faculty is working to create extra time and support for student learning, it must also take steps to create the powerful collaborative teams and common formative assessments that contribute to adult learning.


1. How will we provide additional support for students who experience initial difficulty in a way that is timely, directive, and systematic?

2. How will we extend and enrich learning for students who already know it?





Redefine the focus of the student support team to plan additional interventions.

Save one student.


Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

Teacher 4 Tutor 1 Tutor 2

Special Ed. Staff

Resource Specialist

Resource Specialist Important Cautions

Don’t fall in love with a tree—embrace the forest.

No system of intervention can compensate for weak and ineffective teaching.

At the same time a faculty is working to create extra time and support for student learning, it must also take steps to create the powerful collaborative teams and common formative assessments that contribute to adult learning.

© DuFour 2018. SolutionTree.comDo not duplicate.16

Are our students assured extra time and support for learning?

Is our response timely? How quickly are we able to identify the kids who need extra time and support? Does our focus prompt intervention or enrichment rather than sluggish remediation?

Is our response directive rather than invitational? Are kids invited to put in extra time or does our system ensure they put in extra time?

Is our response systematic? Do kids receive this intervention or enrichment according to a schoolwide plan rather than at the discretion of individual teachers?

Assess Your School’s Response When Kids Don’t Learn or Already Know It






Build and Nurture Strong Parent Partnerships



often!

What Are You Celebrating?

“Celebrations weave our hearts and souls into a shared destiny. People come together to celebrate beginnings and endings, triumphs, and tragedies.”

—Bolman & Deal, Leading With Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit (1995)

Are our students assured extra time and support for learning?

Is our response timely? How quickly are we able to identify the kids who need extra time and support? Does our focus prompt intervention or enrichment rather than sluggish remediation?

Is our response directive rather than invitational? Are kids invited to put in extra time or does our system ensure they put in extra time?

Is our response systematic? Do kids receive this intervention or enrichment according to a schoolwide plan rather than at the discretion of individual teachers?

Assess Your School’s Response When Kids Don’t Learn or Already Know It






Build and Nurture Strong Parent Partnerships



often!

What Are You Celebrating?

“Celebrations weave our hearts and souls into a shared destiny. People come together to celebrate beginnings and endings, triumphs, and tragedies.”

—Bolman & Deal, Leading With Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit (1995)


Learning by Doing © 2006, 2010, 2016 Solution Tree Press • solution-tree.comVisit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download this free reproducible.

Why Should Celebration Be a Part of Our Culture?

“In successful change efforts, empowered people create short-term wins—victories that nourish faith in the change effort, emotionally reward the hard workers, keep the critics at bay, and build momentum. Without sufficient wins that are visible, timely, unambiguous, and meaningful to others, change efforts inevitably run into serious problems” (Kotter & Cohen, 2002, p. 125).

“Milestones that are identified, achieved, and celebrated represent an essential condition for building a learning organization” (Thompson, 1995, p. 96).

“Remembering to recognize, reward, and celebrate accomplishments is a critical leadership skill. And it is probably the most underutilized motivational tool in organizations” (Kanter, 1999, p. 20).

“Win small. Win early. Win often” (Hamel, 2002, p. 202).

“The most effective change processes are incremental—they break down big problems into small, doable steps and get a person to say ‘yes’ numerous times, not just once. They plan for small wins that form the basis for a consistent pattern of winning that appeals to people’s desire to belong to a successful venture. A series of small wins provides a foundation of stable building blocks for change” (Kouzes & Posner, 1987, p. 210).

“Specific goals should be designed to allow teams to achieve small wins as they pursue their common purpose. Small wins are invaluable to building members’ commitment and overcoming the obstacles that get in the way of achieving a meaningful, long-term purpose” (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993, p. 54).

“When people see tangible results, however incremental at first, and see how the results flow from the overall concept, they will line up with enthusiasm. People want to be a part of a winning team. They want to contribute to producing visible, tangible results. . . . When they feel the magic of momentum, when they can begin to see tangible results—that’s when they get on board” (Collins, 2001, p. 178).

“Reward small improvements in behavior along the way. Don’t wait until people achieve phenomenal results” (Patterson et al., 2008, p. 205).

“Small successes stimulate individuals to make further commitments to change. Staffs need tangible results in order to continue the development of their commitment to the change program and small steps engender understanding as well” (Eastwood & Louis, 1992, p. 219).

“Visible measures of progress are critical for motivating and encouraging educators to persist in the challenging work of improvement. Even the most dedicated and optimistic among us will stop if there’s no sign that what we’re doing is making a difference, or might make a difference eventually” (Elmore & City, 2007).

“When you set small, visible goals, and people achieve them, they start to get it into their heads that they can succeed. They break the habit of losing and begin to get into the habit of winning” (Heath & Heath, 2010, p. 144).

One of the most important things leaders can do is to create the conditions that allow people to experience progress in their work and then recognize and celebrate their accomplishments, even small accomplishments (Amabile & Kramer, 2011).


REPRODUCIBLE

18

Actively Promote a Climate of Achievement: Incentives and Celebrations

Recognize improvement and achievement in daily school announcements and within classrooms.

Create classroom, grade-level, and schoolwide celebrations linked to school and team goals. (Example: “Hand in Hand We All Learn” people chain to recognize books read.)

Celebrate using media: classroom, school, and district newsletters and broadcasts.

Provide public recognition at awards assemblies, PTO and PTA meetings, family nights, and school board meetings.

Share professional learning and achievements at team, vertical, faculty, and district-level meetings.

www.AllThingsPLC.info

Visit schools listed under

“Evidence of Effectiveness”

Apply to add YOUR school or district to the growing list of:

Inspirational Stories

Celebration Strategies

Evidence of Effectiveness

What Happens When Kids Don’t Learn?

“High expectations for success will be judged not only by the initial staff beliefs and behaviors, but also by the organization’s response when some students do not learn.”

—Lezotte, Effective Schools Correlates: The First and Second Generation (1991)

Thank You!

Becky DuFour

[email protected]

Actively Promote a Climate of Achievement: Incentives and Celebrations

Recognize improvement and achievement in daily school announcements and within classrooms.

Create classroom, grade-level, and schoolwide celebrations linked to school and team goals. (Example: “Hand in Hand We All Learn” people chain to recognize books read.)

Celebrate using media: classroom, school, and district newsletters and broadcasts.

Provide public recognition at awards assemblies, PTO and PTA meetings, family nights, and school board meetings.

Share professional learning and achievements at team, vertical, faculty, and district-level meetings.

www.AllThingsPLC.info

Visit schools listed under

“Evidence of Effectiveness”

Apply to add YOUR school or district to the growing list of:

Inspirational Stories

Celebration Strategies

Evidence of Effectiveness

What Happens When Kids Don’t Learn?

“High expectations for success will be judged not only by the initial staff beliefs and behaviors, but also by the organization’s response when some students do not learn.”

—Lezotte, Effective Schools Correlates: The First and Second Generation (1991)

Thank You!

Becky DuFour

[email protected]


The

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”

page

1 o

f 2


REPRODUCIBLE

20

Whe

re D

o W

e G

o F

rom

Her

e? W

ork

shee

t P

rovi

din

g S

tud

ents

Wit

h Sy

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Inte

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Ind

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of

a P

LC a

t W

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Wha

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acti

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to c

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is

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yo

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cho

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will

be

resp

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r in

itia

ting

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stai

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Wha

t is

a

real

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c ti

mel

ine

for

each

ste

p

or

pha

se o

f th

e ac

tivi

ty?

Wha

t w

ill

you

use

to

asse

ss t

he

effe

ctiv

enes

s o

f yo

ur in

itia

tive

?

We

pro

vid

e a

syst

em o

f in

terv

enti

on

s th

at g

uar

ante

es e

ach

stu

den

t w

ill r

ecei

ve a

dd

itio

nal

tim

e an

d s

up

po

rt f

or

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g

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r sh

e ex

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init

ial d

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cult

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ents

wh

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re

pro

fici

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hav

e ac

cess

to

en

rich

ed a

nd

ext

end

ed le

arn

ing

o

pp

ort

un

itie

s.

page

2 o

f 2


REPRODUCIBLE

21

raising the bar and closing the gap: whatever it takes in elementary ... · and closing the gap:...

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