Building Blocks of High School Reform and Lessons Learned

I'm Mel Riddile moderator for
this presentation
actually it's agonies much presentation is going to be interaction and engagement
of most important thing we can do is school
improvement is to engage students this is that in that
interpreter previous so
of session
you know has to reach the classroom
so we're focusing on here the building blocks
the lessons learned
from high school improvement
here's our panel they're going to introduce themselves will let me just
uh... do that briefly
uh... Don Fraynd
operation and on
Chief office, office of school improvement chicago public schools
Braden Goetz high school group leader u_s_ department of education
and Jen Shea program manager
I'm Mel Riddile
I'm associate director with the national association of
secondary school principals
so our central question today what are the success of the challanges is urease recent
high school reform efforts so work emphasizing two-word successes and
challenges
he he really
whatever changes
we make in school got to reach the classroom
thats the real bottom on which Sue talked about
off but brockton high school
the key here is
and Sue talked about this
defined
practices
to find instructional practices build collective capacity in the school that's
what she was talking about
as far as her work
what was she emphasizing
what was her focus
literacy, correct
how many of you have the of school leaders
in schools right now
how many of you defined instructional
practices
normalcy with if you do in a minute
how many of you ought to have to find
discipline practices
truck called attendance practices
very few schools will have to find
instructional practices
and again going back to the protracted build on what we've already learned
screwed up but only half days says of defined instructional practices
the went through after school
so we're talking about
class has a beginning
where the teacher tells them what they're going to ask you they tell
they show them
engagement of practice
worsens re
discuss
and think share will do that in here
and define ending
to collapse
so it's not the end is in the bella suggestion at the beginning
many schools are going to the bell
nearly a suggestion
pursuits
it's there's a defined ending
which is nice to spend at the door waiting for the dollar
characters in that
talk about formative assessments about the actual models
through the key is
indigenous
for the sake of this discussion were defined engagement is actively
interacting
with the teacher or other students
purchase plans
relative to the lesson
relative to our topic today
so our protocol is
how many of you have
classroom protocols
didn't example of a protocol
it was some part of the protocol
okay simple transition
warning example that part of a transition phase
unesco
so you know
it's an important part of a transition
okay signal alright knowing when the transit rocket support
so no has raised
when the way i know that
teachers are engaging students as they are calling on
students who raise their hands
now i get a quizzical look
why's that
because in those places only about twenty percent of the students
recommendation of the arms race in answer to that has money now
no speaking out
or she would do that anyway would
by senior classes
went along
this is our protocol
with call
you know people call it was a cocoa
well i just did a call on you
needed a laser hair that's right
reuse worries wake up
we ask you something were in a way and give me a chance think about mansion
you can opt out
we call and you're going to have to come up with a question
each one of these people are gonna
come or are going to briefly go through about ten minutes a description of what
they do in the lessons learned
then we're going to ask them a question
everybody's got to ask a question
alright we're not going to ask everybody's question but everybody's
going to have to participate no opting out
you could use a life line if you don't know the efforts of
all right
so if somebody else's question
is better
used you can use their questions
now we're not going to put pressure on you because one of the by the end of the
two forty kind of concept were two of you get together come up with a question
four of you
the whole table some tables are on the course of abuse
one of the ways to improve your writing
this and make sure that every student
response incomplete sentence
how many of you have your students respond in complete sentences
one improve look how many one improve literature
this might be in no cost
highly effective you see the apple mac
kadha twelve image
i saw people do this in kindergarten
slant
i would ask you
if anybody know what she meant
support our purple today
anybody know
nobody heard
you got an idea
you have an idea
he raised his hand i'm gonna bring my role
from the call
alright setup
leaned forward
setup
thereby substrate
uh... as though you're doing it
lean forward
like you're interested
activate your thinking
how do you do that
so you're already doing it because your
noting important points already archer
i see people right
book talker
even if you have your but don't have your you can track the talker you have
your back
uh... so tensioner
there you go
but so that's our protocol
for our presentations more
what what it is going to have a presenter
you're gonna write down as uh... one question you want to ask that person
we're going to have you been pair with one other person at your table
it's just a few seconds you're gonna side with the better question
member of a bill from two to four
and then we're going to go to a whole table within a matter of probably ninety
second children of work fast work before
then we're going to come around and pick
for mass questions of you
when i can ask who is the best question
with his commitment to you
and you're going to tell us four question you decided to ask
in your group alright there but i have that
no opting out
no opting out you walk in the store
it's about engagement
fair enough
are our first presenter
will be
brayden guess from her put his powerful enough so burdened if you want
transfer
yet or
uh...
as a way of context
uh...
manages it
most of the department's high school programs right now let's advanced
placement center the highschool graduation initiative
smoldering communities instruments adolescent literacy
uh... our grants talks about six hundred schools right now over time
um... we've met
edged out nine hundred and fifty grams
which is a lot of grants that's grants for school districts primarily
uh... i'm gonna talk about lessons learned and grant making
and and what we've observed from programmatic issues in people using your
money
of the first often surprises people
and that is that understanding which i understand it's not a word but indulge
me
uh... understanding is more of a problem in overspending
typically will find grantees with more money than they know what to do with a
blunder budgeted
uh... they're hiring delays the ripple mentation delays they have more money
than eighty they expected
what we often find is that that becomes overwhelming over time people are not on
top of it
so in two thousand ten you can see twenty nine grantees gave uncle sam back
four point four million dollars
we've won district tragically that was laying off teachers
it gave back one million dollars
right now working with a number of school districts that are struggling to
figure out how to pay for what's it worth to spend their money on so might
lesson for all of you is right now expect that you're going to have more
money than you can you expected so plan now for how you can spend it
second lesson learned as a grant management is time-consuming
it's really essential to have one person on top of your grant managing your grant
with has time to do it
uh... with smaller bikinis we've gone to work
quirements regarding time commitment
so we required for school isn't if one grant includes one school that you have
a half-time person managing that grant
because multiple schools in the great you have to have a full-time person
that's because it's a lot of work
uh... we also uh...
found that you grant manager meets to have decisionmaking authority
or access to the decision maker that means that they can get the vacancy
announcement posted
they get the hiring decisions made
they can get the contract signed with the p_d_ providers
and they can also get the teachers to the p_d_
i want to add that though they need to have decisionmaking authority
they should never be the school principal they should never be the
assistant superintendent
television ever be assistant principal and i have a story about that
we have one grip that's really struggling in the grant managers
assistant principal
we've been trying to reach him
for two months now with the emails phone calls we finally got him on the phone
two weeks ago
had to be able to start and say you know this is really important we're really
concerned about your grant
and he was apologetic and said you have to understand i've been putting out a
lot of fires
and i said well i uh... you know i understand that this needs to be a
priority so you know understand i've been putting out fires in the boys
bathroom
so we have wheaton if you if you have an individual who's responsibilities
include putting out fires in the boys bathroom there not a good person the
manager of great
another lesson learned is investing people not equipment often people are
very excited to get a grant and they have
their teachers come up with a long list of the equipment that they want to buy
i'm telling you now that people would have found the greatest successful ur
grants have invested in people not equipment
our slogan is smart boards don't turn around schools people do
uh...
considering that
well harry who invest in professional golf the common planning time
hiring additional staff
understand there's a reticence to hiring people because you're afraid after the
grandparents are we gonna keep them on
i would encourage you to think of this the seed capital to try innovations
trying new things if it works you can find a way to sustain
not that there's anything again wrong smart
uh... awaiting for jiu programmatically don't forget eleventh and twelfth grade
we see that many grantees focus in tyre leo or almost exclusively on the night
contemporaries
they're creating freshman academy as they're there
investing in lucy math interventions for the kids who arrive far behind
on the creating summer bridge programs
that's absolutely essential that's very very important
uh... as we know from research at those years of critical
but don't forget your first offer great students
there's an error on the powerpoint
eleventh and twelfth grade students comprise a large share dropouts
your aggressive
alex retaining graduate those students will have the biggest immediate impact
on your graduation rate
when i show you two slides
this is california the class of two thousand six
forty eight percent almost half of their profits were great twelve
texas class of two thousand nine
nearly a third of their profit out some class of two thousand nine texas recruit
well
so what are some of the upper grade strategies you see people implementing
one is continuing to provide support for struggling readers as late as the age do
through the system
uh... we invest an awful lot in ninth grade we think we're gonna rubino
accomplish a lot ninth-grade
we see people accomplishing a lot ninth-grade we're seeing some of fax
but those specs paid or disappear for not providing continued support for
students as they
as they go through the upper grades
very popular strategy is part of recovery
what we've seen his people not
with the greatest success or offering academic support labs
that combines small group instruction
with software
justification for the computer hasn't been very successful for many of our
grantees
uh... we've also heard about some great programs in the morning boston
philadelphia
relate or get their seniors who are a few credits behind
with special summer program
lot of success with that
that's an easy win
uh... other another innovations performance learning centers are not
people been involved with means in schools
we see a lot of great sold
also creating an easy way for students to get back to school remember that
these kids who've dropped out or are still in your denominator
and it's important to to reach out to them to get them back to school dayton
has they re-engage consent of the schools shopping sentiment
shopping mall
uh... boston and we know have downtown weaned gauge incentives were students
can go
you get into school one single point of axis
and then alternative pathways people are very familiar with these different
programs for students with different needs
student safety needs two years with the credits the something very different
than students ukraine
next lesson learned his magic g_-eight providers you can hear from a great year
for by then that's inside
i think there is central to the successful grant
what you need to manager relationship closely
it's important that
what we've seen this is some people make the mistake of contracting out entirely
the direction and management of the grant to ta provide
they're very excited to have the expertise
what happens quickly is that the the relationship goes wrong
you want to assist on customized services
yuki a provider brings a lot of expertise to the table
but you know your schools better than they did
you want to integrate the work of multiple providers you don't want your
providers tripping over each other you don't want p_d_'s scheduled back to back
we've heard from schools that they get mixed messages from different p_d_
provide
keep the work integrate
and you want to check in with your schools about how things go
lastly
uh... most important lesson probably use usury
your ta dah builder internal capacity
so if you're not able to sustain that relationship that the grandparents
yet people in-house who've learned a lot and teaching can continue to provide
those that resource in that expertise
uh... i want to highlight a great resource that's published by learning
points so she s
if you've got it's a pretty thoughtful and comprehensive guide to working with
ta providers
provided the link on my power point
uh... rigidity
last thing that we've learned or one of the last lessons that we've learned is
peer to peer ta is the most powerful
uh... school district people wanting tract as they are here
with other people with the same challenges in the same problems
but what we've learned is that we need to put a lot of time and attention into
managing that
interaction creating careful structure of opportunities for people to share
we don't want to get people all the same room and
is one of my colleagues puts it
admire the problem
we want to be solution focused
and we will often that means you're presenters need need help figuring out
what are the lessons and whether they want to share
uh... we found in providing our ta that we've let read a lot about the
professional learning communities literature
that's been really helpful and thinking of us thinking how to apply those
lessons to the ta we provide
i want to highlight another resource that we've developed conducting school
visit is often a very popular way of doing peer to peer ta
we have applied for schools that what rights school visits also includes
intense for schools that are
hosting schools was
max you can find it on the on the website greatschools worksheet
and those are my lessons learned very quickly
my contact informations up here
i'd love hearing from real people in the real world so feel free to contact
thank we're gonna contact you just a minute okay
prayed for a lot of things out there
uh... i wrote some things down literacy
capacity-building
uh...
ninth in tenth grade all those were
major kinds of things that people engage in
there should be some good areas asking for more some questions may be a drop
down a little bit so what i'd like to do is right now individually you have
pattern
if you need them in the middle of your tables right down right now
individually
one question
this is you know this is your bank
that's right down to question do you like to ask
one question
that you want more information
while you're doing that what we're going to do his reform from britain who's on
the more global
that jim
answered offshore drilling down closer to the
to the source here
now my background
i'm a turnaround principled onto turnaround efforts
what they are
don't have
i'm going to be hopefully able to fill in for you so we're going to really
drove out some practical things for you
by everybody's written down to question i want to once you turn
took person
when we go from one to two now
turn to a person
decided we share your question and decide who's question be the best one
that's
for this turn to somebody at your table
share your question
now
the two of you
with groups of two now turn to the whole table because we have some more we have
some four three of some six eight there's a big table there
turn the whole table share your questions and give your more time for
just a bigger groups
decide on one oh four two questions you've got to
one or two questions that you want to make sure we asked brayton so we can
drill down to get
right down to a practical here
okay let's stop
we're going to call call group here
political call
about
this group right here
with your question
leisure spokesperson
cares about what i can strategies that you see it
buying in
uh... from stanford the needed changes
britain
did you see people using to get to step by
a lot of it is the peer to peer in the school visits and once you
which you counter someone who's actually done it and see nude in action i think
that's it
probably
um what we said we
we often
come in with these grand ideas and let someone seemed in practice
they don't believe you can actually happened
so i know ranges of had a lot of success with the peer to peer and
and school business
critically creating networks of schools within the district
what all you need is a it's a couple dynamic people and
you can take off from there
just to recap a tradition
school visits
committee to expose
k that's that's a really good way and prayed mention also peer to peer which
new also talked about
shia teams of people working together
so that's a good way to overcome that
all right how about the stable right here
well karen that we had his number one how do you find the person that can
manage the grain
that actually can be
uh... that uh... liaison go-between between school
central office the state department the federal demands
now have you of fission sleeper pier that person and or help them
efficiently manage the implementation
like you said some of our schools are doing with not being able to hire for
six to eight months
families the year at that time
problem
some of the pple grant manager of that
retired personnel
and that there's if there's a cadre of people who are recent retirees who have
good relationships with people in the school district
uh... that's one strategy or buying the time of one of your best teachers
to do that you don't have to hire somebody i put them half-time on
managing the grant
you should always ask you grant making agency for a lot of tea and the
technical aspects of it
you shouldn't be expected to know all of that
uh...
we feel it's our responsibility to be as responsive as possible to make it
we expect you to know what you're doing in the schools you don't need to know
how to manage all the aspects of your grant although filling out the
performance reports
we helped me through all the stuff about the financial stuff
uh... we will get on the phone with your budget office was often that's the
problem uh... you're doing everything you can but they're not spending the
money
that those that's mine
journey one of those strategies to be fine
the most effective
uh... i think having someone at the school's site
whether it's it's a bit of retirees working part-time or or or elite
teachers probably the most so what you're saying is the cool
buys some of that reaches time
as the release time
for them to work on the brink
separated
does this help the screwed up your they had a question
this group right here in the former did this help you know
that was kind of a gesture of your question right
only jessica
we're looking at brown
the setup
for the grant management looking at
premonition team within the the critical if she with their comes into the the
the central office in the move to higher
and getting folks to grant siemens
on you use
in other words getting a vacancy is posted at work getting buy-in from the
district about who's going to be managing
i've had to say hello
and so there's a delay are invisible in
um... what what we always ask people to do with the contact us when they're
having a problem
their central office tower
we are not settle
okay
record you're the good center office
winner of the problem with your central office contacted week we are happy to be
the intermediaries and we're happy to send story notes saying
of there's that's the way is a significant problem bradenton grant use
also stood as the the club
uh... buchanan
uh...
we've also written conditions and regret saying that you have to do this and you
have to do that
and often it's the people like you that let us know that we need to
take a heavy-handed district
not between the state
and uh... district because we send and stated updates two-three months to get
really care
i really can't ah... sorry uh...
or do you think about that one that's right
stuff but i'll about one more question from one more group about this group
one person we have was that the federal government going to do something to
brother sister i_d_'s school improvement efforts
the underlying well
uh... korea and are we didn't get it
if it is sets a substantial amount of money
in the custody issues that have intimate with people
because it what what it appears to be addressed that it be
can actually really helped me put the people in place that we try to people
but indeed did at their hands that's a compliance
what we see this is the works at the open
not the president has anything to say about it
know there's a there's definitely uh... in understanding that it would turn it
around schools it's not gonna happen just three years
so there's definite commitment on the part of the president department
investing significant resources in the second
when i heard a reading this morning when the first talked american-made couple
points
one is
human capital builder capacity
with an eye on the future
as opposed to looking on the short term
that's kind of what you're saying
right that was your review may difficult that recommendation and you can't tell
what's going on
happened you just know whats
when you have now
threatened to be correct
we ought to mr
yes polka
but the reality is you don't know and he doesn't know we
so the only thing is you can do what you can do so you want to build long-term
inexpensive
capacity of the people that you have
rightward yes
violated my question but we're gonna work on that
what uh... what works best in building that capacity building
what works best in building the capacity
terms of the technical systems
that make sure
you make sure that you have someone who who is
participating in a professional of elm whose responsibility is to learn from
that they're managing relationship to your ta provided they are able to
follow-on when when the ta provider goes
but making sure that there's a designated person who that is the role
to pick up
what what's being provided
so again the human capital parliament
organ stop their we're going to go to the next present enough we don't have
questions if you were going to be sometime after tables
to discussed some of these things further so think about
the one question you just the burning question you just had and then we're
going to have you looked at all the questions were going to take some topics
to talk about individually at our tables some of the work gemstar
note which a power point out
ran him for the clicker
good morning everyone can you hear me are in the back
okay great i'm thrilled to be here this morning to discuss the very tough uh...
equally important topic a high school turnaround
who are familiar with max insight we are in nonprofit research and consulting
organization based in boston massachusetts
i work for our school turnaround group unaware we support states and districts
but this will turn around apparatus
uh... i'd say between mazlin reagan and don you have an excellent setup experts
on high school turnaround representing the federal and district and school
levels
so what i'd like to do is proper perspective on reforming seat in
districts estimates
to maximize the impact of turnaround on
elementary middle and high schools uh... but i will focus i'm a little bit on
specific district initiatives on facebook turnaround
uh... i think we could all agree that sick as presented
there really significant opportunity to enhanced school turnaround across the
country
but i do think it's critical for all of us to acknowledge in our conversation
stayed that turned out it is extraordinarily difficult work
you're talking about elementary middle or high schools and especially high
schools
and really ever choirs coordination
and dedication of teachers leaders
erin's community members
district agencies state agencies external partners providers even think
of it you know
they're all part of this the system and really uh... bonus in the burden of
turnaround doesn't belong to any one single entity
uh... however
considering all of these factors it's really difficult to generate bienen
support amongst all of these different stakeholders
i mean you'll never believe her purse back
i would even go so far it's it's a that if you're not how difficult
conversations around what it takes to turn around a chronically low
performance school
you're probably not doing turnaround
now i wouldn't be much but that's all things and i didn't force you to look at
some flies
though i'll try to keep this
uh... relatively free
i won the state up front what i mean when i see the words turnarounds and
actually not referring to any of the federal intervention models and this is
a very important distinction
i'd like to refocus our discussion of turnaround not as a series of inputs but
rather as a outcome present enroll in an of itself
so when i talk about
a school being turned around
uh... that school is made significant achievement gains within two three years
and has started the longer prostates of transforming into a high-performance
organization
that is the school it's fundamentally changing
the way that students learn in the environment
in which teachers teach so that the school can maintain a positive growth
trajectory over time
we often talked about turnaround
as a new lorimer jg field and in terms of experimental research dot certainly
through
but we do already have a wealth of knowledge
around at what
dies and doesn't work from setting high performing high property schools across
the country
mass insights research
uh... over the years has identified a common set of characteristics across
teach p_h_p_ schools
which he depicts here in the ready to strike off
the three fundamental elements of the reader strangle our very best to learn
readiness to teach
and readiness to act
ideas to learn
and as you can see it's based on
didn't safety discipline in engagement
taking action against poverty related adversity
and cultivating posted adult relationships
readiness to change
belie the panchen staff responsibility for achievement
personalizing instruction a key word of the day instruction
and create a professional changing culture
and the third element readiness to act requires having the authority to make
resource decisions around people time money in program
having a leader who is adept at securing additional resources
incapacity
and having the leadership team is able to devise
creative solutions event ever changing environment
and low performing schools you often see an emphasis on one elements maybe two
elements
of this reading this triangle but what's at the age p_h_p_ schools apart at that
point all of these levers reforms final taneous weight
if the ability to affect all these changes that once
that helps the school break that cycle of poverty
and put the school on a path to creating a culture of high expectations
but the question remains
how do you keep these levels of readiness across a multiple schools
well we found is that in the schools
our support in action from their state in just a cajun seized in the form of
conditions capacity and clustering
conditions changes entail what we'd like to call clearing the bureaucratic
underbrush an agency
for example reducing the number of school improvement plans that have
schools required to have
so you're just focus on one plan with one set of goals
in this case you'd be focusing on your sigplan
farther apart aspects of condition changes
involved by increasing school-based economy
and prioritizing your turnaround schools across the board
for procurement
for staffing for programs
student services and other resources
capacity involves getting the right teachers and leaders in the building
remember the jim collins quote from good to great getting the right people on the
bus getting the wrong people off the bus to getting the right people in the right
c
about the also entails board meeting external providers as brayden mentioning
his presentation
and leveraging what we call a lead partner to take on management
responsibility for turnarounds walls
i'll talk a little bit more about me partners in just a minute
right the third element clustering involves creating a protected turnaround
zone
consisting of the lowest performing schools in the district
and the schools should be placed in his own based on performance not
based on geography
bringing up these pieces together
you have what nasa thank all of the partnership zone model
the the models
designed to align state in districts support teams
to prioritize answer clusters of persistently low achieving schools
because turnaround schools are often
the highest need yet lowest capacity schools
elite partner is brought in to help operate the school's thereby reducing
manager burdens from the school district central team in the school leader
i would say that the core principles of his own are more important than the
model itself
the overarching idea here
it's enabled chronically low performing schools districts will switch
quite frankly are often the most overburden
over-regulated over controlled schools in the state
to benefit from charter like economies over people meaning staffing
time meaning the school schedule extended learning time
money meaning the school budget
and programs which would include your curriculum and classes emotional support
students for students at terra
and then in exchange the schools are expected to make
significant active chief academic achievement gains in a short time period
killing these types of reform efforts and is
really a relatively new
who endeavor
but we are starting to see successful results
in districts that utilize external and internal be partners
i promise to explain what this last
an externally partner is wearing organization such as the academy for
urban school leadership here in chicago
for green dot in los angeles
i mean internally partner is the independent unit of eighty six intro
office for example time friends office at school improvement
almond regardless of the type of organizationally partner has for primary
responsibilities
as they managed to school and the schools in the transom
elite partner one signs of performance contract for students even with the
district
to assumes that the level of uh... economy in authority over staffing
provides for academic and student support services
and four has been invented inconsistent presence in each stones lots of this is
not visiting the school
every three weeks expressing your school's everyday
of every week
again the idea of the lead partner is to maximize district efficiencies
combined with the level of a tiny that's usually only a partici charters operate
outside of the system
now that i've gone through some of the concepts of the zone i want to talk
about a few district level examples
on that and pressed for time
as you can see from this now
there are turnaround initiatives occurring in several large um... in some
mid-size districts across the country
because the state how we are starting to see stands suburban and rural districts
ticking on turnaround initiatives
but where we have group
emerging results are the largest cities at this point
one of my very favorite districts talk about is charlotte mecklenburg in north
carolina
uh... challan achtenberg schools c_n_n_'s is a mid-sized expect with
about a hundred and seventy eight schools serving a hundred and thirty
three thousand students
any two thousand the district found itself in a very interesting position
about two-thirds of the m_s_ is pulls were increasing student performance
pretty much on an annual basis
but the bottom third about fifty five schools
not only were significantly
lower performing then the rest of the schools are off many of them are also on
a downward performance trajectory
so the new superintendents uh... keep warm and decided to split the district
in the six geographically based area is
each consisting of about twenty schools with their own area superintendent
and then he also created a turnaround zone consisted of eleven schools
five high schools
bore adamant for middle school into elementary schools
and need to be achieved and uh...
human zone or is there was much smaller than the other areas
had higher concentration of students uh...
hyper-v students and yellow student special ed students
and a higher percentage of high schools in its own
and the fundamental premise of the achievements and let's provide
struggling schools
with the resources needed to sixty
their philosophy was quote
because these calls me the most help
they will get
the most help
the schools are first in line for maintenance
technology and other resources including effective teachers and leaders
and then in two thousand eight superintendent garments
all singers introduced the strategic staffing initiative which was the
complimentary turnaround initiatives
uh... focused on attracting the most effective teachers and leaders
chu work in the lowest performing schools i'm getting my chin minute
warning and told him that type rather
now the two initiatives combined the achievement down in the streets sapping
initiative
the superintendent was able to sort of greatness
club you want to join in
for working in local farming schools in the district
looking at the end of his results
uh... students and three cm x high schools made significant gains within
only twenty-two years making substantial increases in the number of students
uh...
performing at grade level
and actually intelligencia masters one of
uh... five finalists for the probe prize
in urban education
so if you have already i would highly recommend
reading up about chemist turnaround strategies
and if possible in even making trip to the district
com because i have about ninety minute warning and links yet
several slides
as little overly ambitious
uh...
let's see
this flight is just sort of my last takeaways and recommendations primarily
to the state in district attendees here today
uh... the first recommendation is to evaluate
how your agency's prioritize and serve your lowest performing schools
namely or six schools and then think about ways to restructure
so that you're breaking down bureaucratic barriers
we're targeting increased resources that you need to use cool
and you're all still aligning accountability systems so that schools
like i said are only working from one planned to speak to the polls
and i just provided some examples where this restructuring is happening
at the state level
establish flexible operating conditions
uh...
over people turned many in programming denigrating simple chicago and challenge
october
prime minister recommendation is to build capacity for turn around five
recruiting screening and developing lead partners
i'm at the state level is the is doing this work says the colorado department
of dictation
and baltimore which i didn't get it over the temple inside as an example of it
districts leveraging extra operators two minute turnarounds
uh...
i will if all of these lies
and it just doesn't my last point which is
there it certainly very common challenges across the board to doing
this kind of work
agency capacity at but the state district level
political resistance to quickly to human capital policy changes
profit supply of affected teachers and leaders who are willing to work in
principles
and that's a piously partners admittedly
a limited uh... but hopefully growing market place
uh... and i just one and i'm saying there really is no secret sauce a
turnaround if there was everyone would be following the rest of the interview
no underperforming schools
uh... and i think we're making a great step here today by
talking about what doesn't work then brainstorming some ideas about
on how to move forward and create better outcomes circuits high schools
uh... so i really look forward to getting your questions in learning more
about the work that you're doing in the states
came with a
each one of you right got a question of some there that you want more
information from jet
i got a question
okay espousing
stop or you are
i have a group that is faulty right now i'm volunteering on the whole calling
them
about this group right here
spokesperson right here
okay in for the fact that whether it's tinkering under another grant that comes
into this all the school district
one of the primary goals set anne grant is
that reader of this cool
the an instructional leader
but on the other hand he's still in order for your school to run smoothly
you still have all those management he says and we're all saying we are could
be managers
and you're still putting in fourteen fifteen sixteen hours a day in order to
complete you want your school pretty district that you don't get any backlash
that you can bring your school but yet you have to be that instructional leader
and get components and for the grant
candace that the question
west
how do you do that
i can biking develops throughout something story and then you can just
you can see that the research on the fact of school leaders school leaders
were making progress shows
missed on buses and invoke at stanford
that the most effective school leaders focus on organizational management
where we mean by that
they build collective capacity through defined practices throughout the school
just exactly what's c sakowitz talked about in her school she did say it that
way that's which used to it
they had a very clear focus
and she built the staff capacity to meet that focus through defined practices
those are effective leaders
does that answer your questions that help you
is a principle i'm saying to myself now i should be out in this classroom in
this classroom all the time and i could beat myself up when i was doing though
really was managing expand structural model making sure we're all doing that
so we had consistent instruction throughout the school in every classroom
everyday every class period
that was much more important than me building up the individual capacity of a
single teacher
didn't mean we didn't do that
but to the what most people do is they do want or the other
we needed to do both
at the same time
does that make sense to
susanna loeb l o v e b stanford university
and if you go to uphold your
holder of don't know the website c l_ t_ e_ r_ they have a research on that site
to help answer that question jen give some necessary it's typical completely
period
really at all about pasti building its job is extraordinarily hard it's leader
you can't do everything
possible i on your leadership team is one way to help build city
by another weight is about getting back to that
the partner concept that i was talking about
uh... let's say in your district you have teen devoted to serving your
schools and maybe two or three other schools in your turnarounds out
unit
really streamline all of the management compliance burdens that you have to deal
with and sharon schoo leader you have to sign off on five different school
improvement plan
and worry about you know how we can get me store
uh...
for extracts from inside iraq
and those are things that
if you have that excel capacity within your district they can help streamline
that process for you said that you can is more organizational management an
instruction
peptides redwood brusett about school basis
we was talking about interest school
working together with slight schools
bring your collective intelligence and experience together
to come up with better solutions
instead of trying to do it alone we need to and today school
brinard thoughts our experiences together
that's works to again emphasizing team will go back to her our school was about
team effort not about individual all-star performers was about what we
can do together
alright that help you
let's ask
war on more question was a group that has amassed question about this
winston
uh... week we had a question about the building the
capacity and hear the partners the institutionalizing mostly partners
what i heard this morning friends still
that it ten-mile say
transformed the heck courage to be arresting career
hadn't institutionalize you and the progress so that they are ready to go
into the school and happen have the transformation of change
they wanted to keep that there is an inner
really bringing of the parker up to speed
it's giving them solid let's say four months work in the schools observing
teachers observe the principal
worked with the district centre off stock cultivating relationships
instead of of
september first they walk in the door and say hey we're taking over your
school
uh... that's really not be objective and you're not going to create that culture
that you're trying to
favorite teams
uh... so giving we partners buildup time to lab to build those relationships and
and get to know the school environment in the district
uh... nonstop
teachers prerogative on the way you raise your hand and ask a question
and that's going to be the last question for the said no we can hold these
questions later but you're going to we'll let you raise your hand in hand
uh... high-power
what's chomic merciless in attacking missus depends what you want to know
that you're speaking about anselmo precious gift because we are now
possible disclosing and c_n_n_'s closing that school so what would be a great
time line for keeping those songs into programs ongoing facilitates the stain
improvement because they may improvement and hit now where closing
your school within the zone and is now place i was just thinking while ko
was uh... is in the achievements town
uh... and now armpits
but politically
school closings
due to financial reasons or what
but from what would be a great time line for cuba had passed
appreciation how long should that time
how much time to do you have with the national to be able to show progress
toward your center
mental dulcet right on the bids on it
of insistence on that's beginning of this will you
but budget cuts have been and financial reasons
inside and out of that was my
understanding but you're laughing for their families don't have a tax return
the russia comes up in the brain kind answer to
right i'm coming obviously there's some things are going to happen what what is
your time
recommended i think you put it up there on the slums libelous or one
so i think i would say that turnaround when you stay at school has turned
around
that they are significant achievement gains in two to three years that doesn't
mean that the school is done improving by any means so when you talk about how
long service will be an achievement and it really depends on the starting point
uh... and where are you and goals are for the school so i wouldn't say this
will be there and for a year could be five years could be more but one of the
biggest actors and i know that this was the found an issue for the cheapest
uh... is building a processed where and the school connecting reemerged into the
regular districts so that they're not
relying on these intent that supports for ten fifteen years i'm in creating a
transition answer keep active
one of the things introns presentation and on skid begun start now
is he's gonna addressed that from his perspective
sardonno you ready
so good morning everybody
solu background on me i what i was that teacher
for a number of years spy on that and then came to chicago and cya
principle
uh... and then it was in the two thousand eight that arne duncan
uh... member of recent mark and certification officer at the time asked
if i win
leave my principal chat
and calm and uh...
cumin implement our first playskool turnaround within a collective
determines they didn't have a model
comprise but um...
the and it was late april sounds of a
i said do you know arnie i will do this
but only under certain conditions as the number one you have to have my political
back
compasses controversial work
number two reactive absolute and total
control
over every single thing in the school
every single thing
and number three s to be resource properly
image and use the
the term the the under pressure of the bureaucracy and i can tell you as we've
had
transitional ceos the brush grows back fast
and and so
it's absolutely critical that you have to rack support from the c_e_o_ or the
superintendent who can clear
and the brash
uh...
i one of the kind of thought you you have a presentation and produced the
colored one
red color there
uh... at c_b_s_ turnaround dot org by uh... np friday there'll be uh... of
video that will narrate this entire presentation for you if you're
interested in so i'm gonna dance across a few slides here and you could go to
the website to look at the full presentation
quick little
note on context uh...
chicago as eighty thousand kittens
who are in schools that essentially sentenced them to have a no future
nineteen thousand high schoolers sixty one thousand elementary kids
and so the need for this sort of
comprehensive school reform approaches absolutely apparent we noticed that some
kids on and and
uh... very low performing schools
uh... what we do we were contamination my office manages our relationship with
external partners who do turnaround uh...
or restart and we mentioned turnaround schools
uh... and we are about to start transformation work the way we selected
the assist the red schools at the schools
at the very bottom of our distributions and in state tests are absolute
most struggling schools
um... the orange schools that we've chosen for transformation of those that
are kind of middle
low who had shown some signs of an upward trend
but that's essentially what our office passes is implements this whole school
turnaround model
them l made a great suggestion when we're preparing today to talk
more about what we're doing now verses
in that fateful two thousand eight year when we're putting the plane together as
we were flying in a kind of lessons learned and really hone in on that so
that's
however to perceive the before and before forget the question
i think that organizational research is pretty clear that it takes four to six
years to fundamentally change in organization
that said you should see evidence every single year that something positive is
happening so you'll notice in our motto on
that which is on a separate handout that several little bit baker
you'll see the notion of phase
so early on
uh... you should see it
substantial improvement in the culture and climate indicators in my opinion so
i mean these schools chicago's worst high school just to give a little bit of
context fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen bloody flights a day and they
might
fights that cause bloody to come out of your body
huge
gang uh...
issues
uh...
thirty forty percent attendance rates
uh...
just
a damn masts an overwhelming crazy master remember walking into these and
thinking oh my god
only uh... we don't have a model who just put it in two months
yet to start completely away from scratch
every single thing and this is why it's so significant that the district
view you completely differently if you ever if your big enough that you can
have a a
department during our first and handles turnaround in your district that office
needs to exist separate from the districts fair personal strongly
strongly believe that
if there's a direct line of communication to the superintendent
chat to clear things as quickly as possible you cannot be subject to the
same bureaucratic hurdles that can't be subject to the districts curriculum you
can't have the head of safety and security commitment a man in certain
things
he got control over absolutely everything and we've learned that lesson
over and over again
to the point where we told our special ed department word we are not going to
use your clinicians we're gonna hire our own psychologists social workers we do
not want your clinicians absolutely every single position
every single dollars under our control
though that's way and in the transition but when the new guy comes and we hope
to regain all that
as of lessons learned
uh...
get in pre turner and so there's a section of our model they're called
schools stabilisation
i remember printing out transcripts on labor day the day before we went into
our first high school because we didn't we thought all well that you know the
that outgoing folks will do a fine job decreed in the master schedule though
the the course requests of the struggle on as normal
in writing
it was not some master schedule
the and the ford if you do in full turn around and your lane everyone off
don't expect that they're going to be really excited about
creating conditions to the following year
uh... survived randall just learned is in the crowd waits at my school
development team uh...
we bring in a team now immediately after the announcement turnaround in the
february before
we also learned with marshall high school our most recent high school the
principles that i go like that they have decision that principle us to go we'd
took them out of there
we put in a retired principal to close the school down which give us access to
everything and kind of kept conditions under control
transcripts horribly messed up seniors with two years of language left kids
with summer school grades not enter id and date you name it we found a state
points to close the school then we have any friends from is being here
so if they wanted wanted marshall clothes like they were on the verge of
saying you're no longer high school because of just how powerful the special
in situations
you have to have a team ready to get on the ground develop what
is because of peak apple prescriptive corrective action plan and manage the
heck out of it
and i'm happy to see that marcia was almost in less than a year off of that
pick-up
because we've gotten better at it
discipline issues find the thirty or forty kids to power and eighty to ninety
percent of your discipline problems
they under report discipline in the schools so you gotta put it in there to
do interviews fine people here but the word on the street a stop to community
members talk to kids themselves find those kids sit down with them explain to
them that things are different for next year
me with their parents explain that things are different for next year id
nineteen-year-olds
twenty-year-olds
with three credits
silk come into that traditional high school find the kids who have no
mathematical possibility of graduating from at school
and taken to an alternative schools fair and sit down with their families and
talk to them about what this means and talk to them about placements
where they can graduate and and move on with their lives
community engagement
while you know marshall was west side of chicago canada and the ever seen hoop
dreams anybody's that's marshall
very uh...
interesting a lot of people care about marshall
uh... if we did hadn't learned in the past you know they're aspect of our
model family and community involvement
and getting out there right away involving parents and decisions about
the new school
evolved in the midwest me within every monday night for like three hours we
nearly died that i nearly died
but you gotta do it that i had certain every single question go to every single
meeting explain every single thing and involve people in the process
hiring process
we're piecing it together you put uh...
we've gotten a heck of a lot better at it you look at the quality of faculty in
a most recent schools
uh... verses the faculty that we assembled we were last formal there's a
distinct difference another piece that connects to the family and community
involvement we include students
parents in the hiring process now select randall's concerts
sets that up ahead of time actually listo shirts one of the resemblance
principle for a second
turnaround in fantastic results i don't have time to cover all these results
check this out real quick look at that dropout decline
one of the women
whose power in these numbers is liz does your freshman interact incredible
results of stuff to you as
higher in price so by i mention it because it was it was integral she
worked on our team before becoming principle it a second turnaround school
and really helped to shape the protocol for the how the kids were involved in
the hiring process
now the big lesson learned
uh... i'd totally agree with jen and and that's inside and in fact our model is
shaped by their research
that you have to pull levers on on on multiple levels
but you don't necessarily have to do it all at the same time big mistake we made
a sort of
fire hosts like a notion
in the three-week train we do three weeks of training with the new faculty
we're doing everything you got a final estelle did this go to the veterans your
behavior tremolo about
so you look at the difference between harper first school that three-week
chunk and marshal our most recent school that three-week track
return everything for her per
for marcia we did community relationships and behavior framework
that's following talked about
we train every single adult in the well-managed schools program which is
part of our culture and climate strategy
without a little bit in two days back in the harbor days right now if they need
twelve days of that
any practice any student actors to act out discipline scenarios centers that
are
and finally uh...
in the point i will
will make his about use you see in our model here on the one pager performance
management plan do you check act
you have to pay a havoc heights
tight performance management system meaning that you have to track
fidelity and outcome metrics of everything that you do so
for example
we have a very robust p l p professional any and plan for our instructional
leadership teams
monitor whether that's on track so that sets up but the internment system
updated driven instruction cycle of the backward in science cycle
and we have our coaches watching that every week and we have this system
principles watching that every week and that that's reported out another
performance management system into the red yellow green light on whether or not
the peel peas are on track
subject taking those key initiatives
monitoring them for fidelity monitoring them
uh... for outcomes is well then the last thing on saying we have missed calhoun
the crabtree
these children of the calhoun challenge
and she works at marshall
heads up our attendance efforts
monitored the standardized things but also create room for innovation and
bring up the calhoun challenge because we've created space in the schools for
groups to come together and say i wanna developed this strategy you help us
develop the metrics to measure it
and we're gonna try it for ten weeks
number going to have a session to see how it went in after the the calhoun
challenger should prove to be wrong openly out in public a stove and
forgiven him for it
i would say you shouldn't
focus on the low low attendance gives you should focus on the medium well once
and she proved with data and her interventions that you do focus on the
lola ones when you get a heck of a lot of bang for your back and she at the
data to prove it
so the next several ish in the hamas is creating those experiments that get
carefully measured
the last sentence to read g_m_ a people's speaking to britain's peace
with the support that we get from regiment people they're flexible grants
management
but the flexibility with several reference from c_b_s_ jimmy
he would have appreciated with that can affect excellent job okay
breakdown one question you want to get from dawn
out but i have a bunch of questions and those kind of easy f one question you
want
we're going to give you
a sticky tape he's a sticky papers a sticky note
on the sticky note
that's one of your ticket out the door
almost ended or not to get out the door without giving the teacher that's gonna
be our softball formative assessment
defuse a formative assessment at the end of class you increase student
performance by fifty percent
reach new research
percent or formative assessment will be taken out the door
you can either ask that question about what you want more information about or
take away
something you're going to take away
something you've learned
this morning so either a question
but a question mark on the sticky note and then write requested which you want
more information on
or
number two the second part use p
uh... something at the takeaway
okay torture to get out the door
fantastic
everybody's going to get one's peace to keep it
write your question down as soon as you're ready since you're such a mature
group already you can turn to the person you're sits beside you
ensure that question
document of move us along
he should have turned your partner now you should be sharing at your table a
question you would like to ask tom
fired twenty
that i could but like i asked him i know this is going to be easy
yes my question is how you can use cool like student behavioral expectations in
the program school slightly marshall
that's re-question soon
one piece entered collected to mention that
we've gotten better at
yes
on the first i was so related i was so excited i wasn't
marshall on the first day of school and there were no
kids in the hallways during classes
now if you don't do turn around work ethic and whatever
prefer if you do turnaround work you know what an incredible feet that is so
i would say that that formalizing the procedure is that you're going to
used to stabilize their culture climate indian really strategic about how you're
all that out it's really important in that once thought examples have in the
halls we've protocol
so we have an operations manual and call sweeps the tells all the security guards
where to be asks the teachers to be in certain places we played music an
account
uh... we run out of the block one of the many reasons one of ronald block is for
fewer transitions not to mention that when you do it right it's better
instructional e
that's i think having that school-wide
procedures in place
uh... i strongly recommend like a comprehensive behavior framework and
there's several examples out there uh... or i suppose you could build your own
hastings like champs is where there's these boys town's well-managed schools
program
uh... where you train every single adults from
lunchroom worker to principle in the same behavior framework
and you know just random minute you gotta keep following up with it because
i'm a firm believer that when you get emotional as a teacher in the classroom
you immediately referred back to how you were disciplined as a child
for the opposite of how you were disciplined as a child so you know
they're streamer remember submission a real ignore problematic behaviors
and says something like cancer the boys town program give teachers
specific skills
then we train all of our academic department sheriff who are also free the
for instructional coaching they are all well managed schools consultant so that
when it's teacher
has trouble we call a c_e_o_'s uh... stealing three or below its real seven
instructional for emergency only three is the
classroom management aspect of that and so when approached
rates the teacher below three which means they're having problems they
loop and to hold
for well-managed schools consultation visit it's kind of like party i have for
teachers
uh...
so we're just very deliberate about all those things the most important piece as
adults
skills in dealing with misbehavior educationally so we teach our folks that
misbehavior is just like an algebra problem it's an opportunity to teach new
social skills come to the student
we also strongly believe in restorative justice practices
i'm in research based r_t_e_ i interventions such as uh... see best
wishes the trauma recovery group and think first which is an anger control
group
uh... that we the again we have and we have very clear escalation sequences for
constance morella and to those programs
but none of it is easy
and simply training people doesn't do anything but give them kind of uh...
cursory sense of how to do it
uh... you gotta managed the heck out of this
so what you're saying dot should really have that defined practices just
routinely everything
rather were spell it out would you expect that day
that's what teachers doing clash it's one thing i wanted to mention
our faculty meetings away were run conducting this me azhar faculty
meetings with
week models are instructional model we had a beginning with a bell work
activity we had a closure activity everything we did was consistent with
work
we wanted them to do remodeled bath it's really important have applaud here for
another you can answer all questions in one session so here's a plot
yeah for those that are interested in this topic this afternoon from one
thirty two three
the move to there's a section of cause of the year intervention sports for high
schools where european rebel of some approaches
uh... you hear from a couple of schools or implement
excellent eighty one more question when i ask this group
you have a question for dawn
you actually had the luxury abt being assigned
this transformation and
uh... process because and you were hired specifically for this
but for districts that don't have that opportunity how do you suggest
they and compiler the same process that you've gone through
so you say in my people defense added on
to existing responsibilities
well yes but is that even really possible
this is an add-on
cn i don't consider to be honest with you and i wish to pretend inst
word here that even though they're not peers i think we can do a heck of a lot
better job of managing the top
in our school districts and really creating a infect the presentation that
you see in front of you
is might interject introductory jack to look to our new c_e_o_
and i think all of us need to be really strategic about how we help our
superintendents understand the seriousness of this work in this kind of
waited on the line with them insane
if you want to get serious about school improvement this cannot be added onto my
existing responsibilities anna's as an assistant superintendent as the head of
grants for the district
you have to carve out
time for me to do this and duties hafta
to go away and i think being very clear about that like i told and you can fire
me
you can fire me if i don't get results
if you keep those three conditions fire me
and that that's a culture that i'm that i try to establish a process was you
know that student results none of us should have a job
that you can
expect that it people when you're doing it as an add-on and i think that it
takes a lot of education with the boards
and with um... superintendents like this this distribution kirk its members of
our board
and leadership
especially when you put the number of kids on it
soleil carrier you able to do you think
he's like this
for your board members and for your
senior leadership to say are you comfortable with
eighty
thousand kids sentenced to a life of debilitating poverty
because that's what this is
and now let me tell you the conditions that can change that so i think it's
been very clear and managing up in tennis pulling out the stories important
folks mama really appreciate you can agree group
was give our panelists and please
and will be available during the conversation a questions you have uh...
underway out if you would give us your ticket out the door we would appreciate
it
also-ran invite anybody to contact me via email or phone number for further
follow-up on happy to do that we host school visits statements that's all the
time to be happy to host you