Coaching at the District Level “Paving the Road for Smooth Implementation ” MiBLSi Coaches’ Conference November 2013

2 Getting Into District Mode Consider your own district or a district you work with. How is the district leadership structured? Draw out the leadership structure on a piece of paper with roles (not names). Activity

3 1.Review Implementation Drivers 1.Role of the District in Supporting Implementation 2.Your Unique Role in Supporting District Work 3.Coaching District Communication 4.Coaching the Use of District Data Agenda

4 Role of the District in Supporting Implementation

5 If we keep doing the same thing, we should expect the same results. If we have a need to change the outcomes we are achieving on a large scale, changing both the instruction and the instructional environment are necessary Do We Need District Wide MTSS Implementation?

6 If our outcomes are not where we want them to be, we have a continuum of choices Move forward as is Continue to see the same results Make small, but impactful change Unfortunately these are often difficult to sustain and there is not a clear plan for scale-up Invest in change that is supported by the organizational environment Higher likelihood of impactful and sustainable improvements Do We Need District Wide MTSS Implementation?

7 Change of Practice at the District, School and Teacher Level Requires High Organizational Capacity and a Strongly Developed Environment There is need for a “host environment” to support, encourage, evaluate and improve the work Role of the District in Supporting MTSS Implementation

8 Why move from school to district model… Schools working on their own do not always get to criteria for fidelity of implementation. Schools working on their own do not always maintain implementation efforts Supporting a school based participation model cannot be scaled and is not as durable as district based reform

9 Maintaining Implementation Efforts

10 Maintaining Implementation Efforts

11 Maintaining Implementation Efforts

12 Practices implemented in the district will be based on data, fit with the school structure, have a strong evidence base, and will have the support necessary to go to scale across the district Practices will be evaluated and improvements will occur based on data and feedback from implementers Commitment from District to Schools

13 Leadership Developed a shared vision and MTSS Implementation Plan Intentional implementation will occur with all practices District and school environment will support moving through stages of implementation Barrier will be attended to and will be considered learning opportunities to make work more efficient and effective Move to Competency (Training) Only After We’ve Addressed:

14 The Organizational Environment Environment is prepared to support the new practice Information and Feedback Loops Developed Resource support Data/evaluation support Move to Competency (Training) Only After We’ve Addressed:

Provides guidance, visibility, funding, political support for MiBLSiStudentsStudents Building Staff Building Leadership Team LEA Executive Leadership and Implementation Team Across State Multiple ISD/LEA Teams All staff All students Multiple schools w/in local district Provides guidance, visibility, funding, political support, and implementation supports Provides coaching and TA for LEA and/or ISD Teams Provides guidance and manages implementation Provides effective practices to support students Improved behavior and reading ISD Executive Leadership and Implementation Team Regional Technical Assistance Michigan Department of Education/MiBLSi Leadership Michigan Multiple LEAs w/in intermediate district Provides guidance, visibility, funding, political support, and implementation supports Statewide Cascading Structure of Support Who is supported? How is support provided?

16 Implementation of practices and programs that fall beneath the MTSS umbrella –Extends up and down the cascading model of support People are not being managed We are not calling people managers What is being “managed?”

17 District Implementation Team Vision Policy Priority Allocation of resources Barrier busting Coordination District Liaison District MTSS Coordination Schools Implementation Supports Direction Training Coaching Content Expertise Materials Evaluation Implementation Supports Direction Training Coaching Content Expertise Materials Evaluation Collect, summarize, evaluate data Develop district plan Coordinate and monitor plan Create/modify materials and tools Identify barriers to implementation District Executive Leadership District Management Structure

18 District Implementation Team Vision Policy Priority Allocation of resources Barrier busting Coordination District Liaison District MTSS Coordination Schools Implementation Supports Direction Training Coaching Content Expertise Materials Evaluation Implementation Supports Direction Training Coaching Content Expertise Materials Evaluation Collect, summarize, evaluate data Develop district plan Coordinate and monitor plan Create/modify materials and tools Identify barriers to implementation District Executive Leadership Where does the Administrative Team fit? Administrative Team Coordination Assists in designing the district’s vision Aligns building vision with the overall district vision Policy Priority Allocation of resources Barrier busting

19 District-wide perspective Solution-focused Ability to see how district priorities and practices integrate with one another Analyze data aggregated across buildings to evaluate areas of strength and need Global District Implementation Team Functions

20 Develop and sustain capacity for programs and interventions Accountable for guiding work from adoption/exploration to continuous improvement Actively involved on a daily basis with implementation efforts Role of a District Implementation Team

21 Work of a District Implementation Team Set up an organizational environment that supports people to be able to do their jobs well Provide the necessary information about each staff member’s role and expectations for involvement with MTSS Provide access to the necessary tools and materials for MTSS implementation Ensure that there is an effective data system established that facilitates data driven decision making Establish systems and feedback loops for regularly evaluating MTSS and acting on the information

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23 Remember, the District Implementation Team’s job is to systematically think about how staff need to be supported in on-going ways to implement practices and program well so there are gains in student outcomes.

24 “Support” does NOT mean telling people what to do: –“Support” is not top-down. Requires communication and feedback loops with all in the school system –“Support” will require team members to roll-up their sleeves and assist buildings with their efforts to implement –“Support” does not mean telling people what to do or stopping support once buildings find the time for staff to do what is being requested District Implementation Team Misconceptions

25 Is your current Leadership Structure set up to support the Organizational Environment? What group or individual currently does each of the functions that are listed in the “bubbles” on the District Management Structure Graphic? Activity

26 Is there Evidence for a District Implementation Team?

27 “While comprehensive school reform programs were initially developed as school-level interventions, experience and research have demonstrated that organizations in schools’ environment are highly consequential for interveners’ effectiveness and viability.” Is there Evidence for a District Implementation Team? (Glazer and Peurach, 2008; p.3)

28 Use the quote on the previous slide and re-write this in a sentence that you would use to communicate with your colleagues about why we have a District Implementation Team that focuses on Organizing the educational environment Activity

29 In order for all students to benefit, we must support both WHAT interventions have been selected and the implementation strategies that ensure HOW to do it. Is there Evidence for a District Implementation Team?

30 Borman et al. (2003) conducted a meta- analysis of school reform programs. Their effect on student achievement on average were quite small. (.12) But, much program-to-program variability was present in observed effect sizes (-.13 to.92) Education Reform Effect Size

31 Brings with it strong practices Brings with it a way to implement those practices well Brings with it a way to organize the educational environment so that implementation is even easier Effective Education Reform

32 Let it Happen Given information and expected to translate into practice Help it Happen Training provided but lacks feedback loops or commitment to barrier busting Make it Happen Ongoing supports provided to administration and those implementing Implementation Team in charge of supporting implementation, busting barriers and achieving positive results Once an Initiative/Practice is Adopted a District can…

33 Shell Strategy Organizational design but not prepared for replication Diffusion Strategy Strong focus on fidelity, weak focus on adaptation Incubation Strategy Weak focus on fidelity, strong focus on adaptation Evolutionary Strategy Equal attention to fidelity and adaptation Strategies Employed for Education Reform (Peurach, 2013)

34 Standardize Model Fidelity of Implementation Fulfilling Agreements with Funders Contextual Variation Specific Need Practical/Feasible Receivers The Fine Balance of the Work Leaders

35 How will having a District Implementation Team help ME to better 1. “Make the work happen” 2. Apply the “Evolutionary Strategy” Activity

36 Your Unique Role in Supporting District Work

37 ISD MTSS Coordinator District MTSS Coordinator ISD or District Implementation Team Member ISD “external coach” to the building level work District “internal coach” to the building level work Your Unique Role

38 Providing coordinated supports across the educational cascade Understanding and promoting the district management structure Communicating with the district implementation team to improve practices Data conversations School Improvement/Action Plans Sharing Success Communicating Barriers How Does Each Coaching Role Support District Work?

39 Everyone within the system Who Impacts District Change?

40 Find a “like me” partner. Discuss your unique roll as a coach in your education system. How will you support a District Implementation Team? Activity

41 Coaching District Communication

42 When a barrier arises within your education system, how is this typically communicated and addressed? How is school level data used to inform district level work? Activity

43 District Implementatio n Team ELA Textbook Adoption Committee District Student Services Committee Diversity/Equity Committee Building Leadership Teams

44 Develop Key Message Determine who Needs to Know Find the Best Channel for the Audience Rate the Effectiveness of the Communication Initial Information Out

45 Communicate: Success Innovations Efficiencies Barriers Ongoing Communication

46 Forum for Success, Innovations, Efficiencies Ongoing Communication

47 Forum for Barriers PEP-PIP Cycle Policy Enabled Practice (PEP) Practice Informed Policy (PIP ) Ongoing Communication

48 Review the Communication Forms: CelebrationsCelebrations BarriersBarriers Whip or Pass: Which form do you see value in incorporating into your district’s standard practice? Why? Activity

49 Coaching the Use of District Data

50 Although the district data review process is not a replication of the building review process, both are essential and need to be connected.

51 The district data review process results in the identification of areas that the district schools need to prioritize –The priorities (findings from the data review) need to be communicated to the administrative team and to the building leadership teams and staff Priorities and corresponding actions are documented in both the District Improvement Plan and the School Improvement Plan(s) The district data review process looks for common implementation challenges across schools so that the district implementation team can work to eliminate barriers to successful implementation Describing the Connection

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53 Activity Quick Write:Quick Write: –What do you see as the role of evaluation in a district wide MTSS model? Compare with a partner.Compare with a partner. –How are your ideas for the role of evaluation similar or different?

54 Begins with the district defining which assessments will be analyzed at the district, building and grade levels to determine: –Priorities –Resource allocation –Implementation quality (fidelity) –Impact on student outcomes Then requires the district to: –Identify people to support the assessments/measures –Create an assessment schedule –Establish windows of time to analyze the data at the district, building and grade level Decision Support Data System

55 Primary Question: To what extent are students in our district meeting expectations for performance?

56 Drilldown Question: To what extent are students in our district meeting expectations for performance and growth?

57 Primary Question: To what extent is our district implementing Tier 1 behavior MTSS components with fidelity?

58 Drilldown Question: What specific subscales and schools are on track? Which need support?

59 Primary Question: What is our capacity to support our district wide as well as school level MTSS Implementation Plans?

60 Drilldown Question: Who else within our school system can we build the skill and knowledge of to support the work? Who has the passion and enthusiasm it takes to move the work forward?

61 The plan connects District-wide Needs with the District Improvement Plan If multiple buildings are implementing, are there common needs? Common barriers to successful implementation? If only one building is currently implementing, is that building on track to becoming a model demonstration school? Planning Based on District Data Analysis

62 Activity What additional primary and drill down questions do you think it would be essential for a district team to ask as they investigate district wide data? Please write this on the post-it notes and leave on the table