Reform Implementation Strategies and Success: Learning from the FieldMark Flatau, Cle Elum-Roslyn

Pam Estvold, ConwayMartin Brewer and Laura Staley, Pioneer

Helene Paroff, NEWESD 101

Making Connections

• Disrupting Poverty: Kathleen Budge• Like-sized District Session• Poverty, Partnerships, and Plywood: Trevor

Greene• Concurrent Session• Panelists: Cle Elum-Roslyn, Conway, and

Pioneer

Making Connections

Spheres ofInfluence

Actions

SchoolCulture

A FRAMEWORK A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION FOR ACTION

Leading Leading High High Poverty Poverty Schools to Schools to High High PerformancePerformance

Cle Elum-Roslyn School District:Mark Flatau

The Cle Elum-Roslyn School District is a welcoming and respectful environment,

filled with caring and compassionate people, resulting in social and academic

excellence.

Cle Elum-Roslyn School District: By the Numbers (OSPI, May 2013)

K-12 district Student count: 927 Free or Reduced-Price Meals: 42.2% Special Education: 11.3% White: 84.7% Hispanic/Latino of any race: 7.6% 4-Year Cohort Graduation Rate (2012): 84.7%

•Lesson 1: Culture is Everything

•Lesson 2:The emphasis must be on the Instructional Core •Lesson 3: Students have to be working as hard as the teachers

•Lesson 4: Relationships, Relationships, Relationships. It’s all about Relationships

•Lesson 5: Upset the apple cart when needed and justified

•Lesson 6: The learning plan must address the needs of all learners

•Lesson 7: Celebrate the learning that is taking place so all can see our success

Cle Elum-Roslyn School District“A Great Place to Learn and Live”

Conway School DistrictPam Estvold

Conway Cougar Pride, creating a community of life-long learners

Conway School District: By the Numbers (OSPI, May 2013)

K-8 districtStudent count: 450Free or Reduced-Price Meals: 26.1%Special Education: 11.6%White: 83.5%Hispanic/Latino of any race: 14.3%4-Year Cohort Graduation Rate (2012): N/A

Pam Estvold• 22 years Building Principal:– Middle School in Spokane– K-8 in Burlington-Edison– High School in Anacortes

• Asst. Superintendent-Anacortes • TPEP Pilot District• LCFFS-AWSP Leadership Model• Currently leading a Principal Evaluators PLC at ESD 189• Superintendent-Conway School District: K-8 450

Students

Roles in Conway• Transportation Director• Food Service Director• Facilities Manager• Human Resources• Risk Management• TPEP implementation • Common Core• 4 year Levy• Board relations• $12 million construction

project

Theory of Action

• If we apply common criteria for principal performance within the leadership framework and teacher performance within the instructional framework, then there will be an increased systemic coherence which will result in higher levels of performance and learning from principals, teachers and students.

Teachers:“fostering and managing a safe, positive learning environment.”

“collaborative and collegial practices focused on improving instructional practice and student learning.”

Principals:“creating a school culture that promotes the ongoing improvement of learning and teaching for students and staff.”

“providing for school safety.”

Teachers:“using multiple student data elements to modify instruction and improve student learning.”

Principals:“development, implementation, and evaluation of a data-driven plan for increasing student achievement, including the use of multiple student data elements.”

Teachers:“providing clear and intentional focus on subject matter content and curriculum.”

Principals:“assisting instructional staff with alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment with state and local district learning goals.”

Teachers:Implementing the instructional framework

Principals:“monitoring, assisting, and evaluating effective instruction and assessment practices.”

Comparison of Three Approaches to Adult PD

Component

Lecture (Sage on Stage)

Guided Practice(I do, we do, you do)

Living the Learning(AA, R, S, F, A)

Format Formal presentation on core principles

Question & Answer

I do: Formal presentation on core principles

We do: Shared presenter-participant activity modeling the core principles

You do: Application: try it on your own

Activity sparks learning

Facilitated Sharing Framing: formal

language around participants’ sharing

Reflection Application: put it

into practice

Approx. Leader Talk

90-95% 40-50% 15-30%

Learning Beliefs

We learn best by listening to the expert on the topic

We learn best by listening to the expert and then having a chance to apply it

We learn best by generating the knowledge through experience and then applying it to our context

Limitation Adults retain 5-10% of what they hear

Leader does the heavy cognitive work: participants imitate but don’t build their own conclusions, limiting investment & retention

Requires precisely built activities that lead to the proper conclusions; takes far more time to plan & more work to facilitate

Teacher quality is the most important factor in student

achievement

Leadership is key to improving teaching & learning

“Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school related factors that contribute to what students learn at school.”

-- How Leadership Influences Student Learning, Kenneth Leithwood, et al, University of Minnesota,

University of Toronto, 2004

“Six years later we are even more confident about this claim.”-- Learning from Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning,; Louis, et al, 2010

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Seven Pillars of Effective Schools--Instruction:

Data-Driven Instruction–Defining the end goal and shifting the focus from what was taught to what students learned

Planning–Building strong curriculum plans and lesson plans as a foundation for effective teaching

Observation and Feedback–Speeding up the feedback/improvement loop

Professional Development–Developing knowledge base about teaching–Providing opportunities for practice in a controlled setting

Seven Pillars of Effective Schools--Culture:

Student Culture–Creating a rigorous, joyful student culture that drives learning and character development

Adult Culture–Building a strong, supportive adult culture

Managing and Developing Leadership Teams–Developing additional instructional leaders who can lead implementation of the instructional pillars

»Super levers:»Data Driven Instruction

(criteria 3 and 5)»Culture (criteria 1 and 8)»Chapter 9-Superintendents»Train the leaders»Coach them continuously»Monitor their progress

Planning with Data

Student growth cycle with CC Standards; instructional framework;

PLC work

Pioneer School DistrictMartin Brewer and Laura Staley

High levels of learning for all…Every Child, Every Day

Next Steps…

• What?

• So what?

• Now what?