Lorain City Schools 90 Day Entry Plan Update

Agenda Welcome Superintendent’s Presentation Community Engagement Update Trends and Questions The Next 60 Days

Welcome Welcome

Superintendent’s Presentation

Community Engagement Update

We have now completed the first 30 days of the 90 day transition process By 9/7 Conduct an initial listening tour and review existing processes, practices, and student data By 10/22 Engage staff and the community in the development of a draft improvement plan that’s deeply grounded in student and teacher experience and data on school quality, instruction, and equity By 11/6 Partner with staff and community members to refine the improvement plan to be presented to the Commission by 11/6

We are embarking on A listening process designed to provide a holistic view of Lorain City Schools 1 Community Engagement: Listening to and learning from students, staff, families, and communities 2 Academic Review: Gaining a clear understanding of how our students are performing 3 School Culture Analysis: Assessing school culture from the lens of teachers

Cycle of engagement CULTIVATE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS Build trust with stakeholders SEEK FEEDBACK Seek feedback from a diverse array of stakeholders LISTEN AND LEARN Analyze feedback trends and share out TAKE ACTION Incorporate feedback into decision-making SHARE BACK Help stakeholders understand how their feedback was used SHARE TRANSPARENT INFORMATION ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE

The last 30 days at a glance 892 Total Touchpoints with Lorain Community Members 18 Focus Groups Conducted 52 Individual One-on-One Meetings 8 School/Community Events Attended 635 Respondents to Community Survey

We are intentionally engaging all segments of our community

Trends and Questions

Early Updates on 90 Day Entry Plan: Learning Conversations at school sites have surfaced themes such as need for additional pre-K resources, parent engagement resources, and technology access Leadership Met with administrative team to listen to feedback and hear ideas to inform future leadership strategy Equity Reviewed equity snapshot. Out of school suspension rates are significantly higher for certain populations of students and indicates a need for further review of our discipline policies and implementation Performance Reviewed performance data to date. An example of a concerning data point: 22.5% of Lorain high school students took the ACT test prior to graduation; only 2.5% received a remediation-free score. No students took the SAT Organizational Culture Met with Central Office leaders, teachers, and principals to gather varying perspectives on our organizational culture. Trust was surfaced as a key theme throughout these conversations Community We have heard from a diverse set of voices across our community. Community organizations are passionate about supporting LCS and want more opportunities to engage in meaningful ways

Trend 1: Design MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES for community action and investment What We’re Hearing: Parents receive helpful communication from the district, but don’t always know how to get involved in real ways Spanish-speaking parents, in particular, have trouble interacting with educators and leaders and feel more isolated Community partnerships are in place, but are inconsistent in their vision for executing real strategies to support schools Many community groups see opportunity to add more partners to the work of LCS “Parents need to be respected and treated as experts. They need to be empowered and engaged in the education of their children and treated as partners from the very beginning not as adversaries”

Trend 2: create a consistent and Equitable vision for student success What We’re Hearing: Teacher and school leader turnover create a culture of inconsistency and uncertainty. Staff desire a vision for hiring practices that stabilizes teacher and school leader movement Parents and teachers have asked for more consistency on student discipline. The approach to discipline is not always equitable or enforced in the same way across schools Stakeholders and parents have noted how the lack of robust diversity training has created barriers to improving school culture & family engagement. Many student and parent demographics feel isolated as a result “Make sure all central office staff are working TOGETHER, with the agenda of WHAT IS BEST FOR KIDS.”

Trend 3: Focus central office support on Schools “There needs to be better communication between offices/schools/departments. We (teachers) are new to the district and have a nightmare of a time getting anything accomplished on the administrative and logistical side of things. ” What We’re Hearing: Allocation of resources is not linked to return on investment for student success School leaders and teachers have asked for coordination and consistency from central office on programs and operations Instructional and programmatic decisions are driven by changes in leadership instead of by student and community needs

Questions this raises What barriers can we remove to encourage deeper ownership and investment from our community?

How can we improve the culture and outcomes in our schools? Questions this raises How can we improve the culture and outcomes in our schools?

Questions this raises Are we allocating our resources appropriately and are they creating positive results for all kids?

The Next 60 Days

diving deeper into specific areas of focus ACADEMICS Analyze student work samples Classroom visits High-level curriculum review CULTURE Insight Instructional Culture Survey Teacher focus groups Interviews with school leaders HUMAN CAPITAL Talent management practices Central Office staff survey Interviews with Central Office staff STRUCTURES Funding allocation Programmatic performance Additional services Community Advisory Committee: Sounding board for ideas and targeted discussions around our findings

10/22 11/6 Key Dates Draft Academic Improvement Plan Present Academic Improvement Plan to the Academic Distress Commission

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