The District Role In Raising Student Achievement JANE These models were developed by the Education Commission of the States and the Aspen Program on Education through a grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Development work began in February 2002 and was completed in July 2003. February 8, 2006 Dr. Jane Armstrong Education Commission of the States

Major Research Studies Four years of the Broad Urban Prize (five finalists each year) Just for the Kids Best Practices Studies (375 schools) Standard & Poor’s Resource Management Study National literature review

What High Achieving Districts Do Urban districts, like D-11, that raise student achievement have a strong central office that — working with community input, the school board, principals and teacher leaders: Create district goals and a strategic plan to achieve them Create academic standards aligned to the state standards Map textbooks and curriculum to district standards Create assessments to gauge student learning and adapt instruction to individual student needs

What High Achieving Districts Do (cont’d) Provide significant ongoing, high quality professional development to principals and teachers to improve teaching and learning Recruit and support high quality teachers and continuously increase their instructional skills Have a career progression that promotes excellent teachers to school coaches, to principals to central office staff Recognize success and intervene when necessary Allocate resources based on best practices

3rd Grade Math Achievement Results Oleson Elementary, Aldine TX

Student Achievement Norfolk, VA (Broad Prize)

District Achievement Results Olathe, KS

Why It Works District wide focus Alignment to standards Economies of scale Use of best practices Infrastructure of support (data, targeted professional development, teacher recruitment) Effective use of resources