The Challenges of Building Capacity for Implementation Science in Rural States Michael Ferguson VT Department of Education

The NIRN Fixsen, D. L., Naoom, S. F., Blase, K. A., Friedman, R. M. & Wallace, F. (2005). Implementation Research: A Synthesis of the Literature. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network (FMHI Publication #231). Implementation Research: A Synthesis of the Literature © Dean Fixsen, Karen Blase, Robert Horner, George Sugai, 2008

The big question is … Does a state with a significant number of rural schools have the organizational capacity to build and sustain an PD implementation science (ImpSci) infrastructure?

IMPLEMENTATION STAGES Exploration & Adoption, Installation, Initial Implementation, Full Operation, Innovation, Sustainability Key Elements of Implementation Science

IMPLEMENTATION DRIVERS: Competency Drivers Organizational Drivers Leadership Key Elements of Implementation Science (Where Consideration of Capacity is Must)

Practice Selection Resource Availability Assessing Readiness Capacity to Implement Can we do this the right way?

What resources will be needed ?? Fiscal Personnel Technology Data & Information Training & Coaching

Vermont Public Schools:393 Number of Students:99,103 Vermont Elementary Schools: 259 Vermont Middle Schools:25 Vermont High Schools:61 Vermont Public School Statistics

Vermont Private Schools:124 Number of Private School Students: 11,895 Vermont Private School Statistics

CREATING CAPACITY Are there certain technical qualifications needed for implementation? Many areas in VT do not have access to a broadband internet connection. Is there a decision making process for selection for staff training? Do you have enough building based staff to EVEN think like this?

Is there LEA Leadership that will commitment to building capacity? The average stay for building principals in VT is 2.5 years. Could capacity to implement be sustained over time? What will it cost to build and sustain capacity over time?

4 Supervisory Unions 19 Schools ViiM By the Numbers Smallest School= 45 students PK-6 Largest School = 674 PK-8 Average school student enrollment= 170 Total # of students = 3,282 ACSU LSU NCCSU

School NameSUEnrollment/Grades Eden CentralLNSU132 PK-6 Waterville Elem.LNSU82 PK-6 Johnson Elem.LNSU236 PK-6 Hyde Park Elem.LNSU245 PK-6 Lamoille Union Middle LNSU Peoples Academy Middle LSSU

Troy North Country164 K-8 CharlestonNorth Country89 PK-8 Brighton ElementaryNorth Country 93 PK-8 Coventry VillageNorth Country88K-8 Lowell SchoolNorth Country 122 PK-8 Newport Town SchoolNorth Country109 K-6 Newport CityNorth Country292 K-6

St. JohnsburyST. Johnsbury674 PK-8 SalisburyACSU95 PK-6 ShorehamACSU80 K-6 Bingham Memorial (Cornwall) ACSU85 K-6 Ripton Re-entering ViiM in ACSU 45 PK-6 Bridport Beginning ViiM in ACSU 90 PK-6

Common Barriers to Incorporating ImpSci in Vermont State /district/ school practices Staff lack of access to high quality PD Weather Geography Personal schedules SEA capacity 20% cut

Teachers are often isolated Disconnected from role models and mentors Lack of innovative collegial conversation Lack of opportunity to see, hear and feel what implementation science might look like in a classroom, school building or district. Laundry List of ImpSci Challenges in VT

Sub –contract with content experts to increase capacity at the SEA level VT DOE has contracted with Beth Steenwyck (MI3) to build capacity for statewide ImpSci technical assistance. VT DOE has also contracted with Margie McGlinchey (MiBLSi) to provide ViiM RtI academic (reading) content expertise to ViiM schools. Margie is also helping to develop products for Year 2 & 3 implementation and for ViiM coaches. Some Solutions to the Challenges of ImpSci in Vermont

Develop Web based Resources. VT DOE has developed 2 wiki sites. One is for ViiM schools (What is ViiM) and the other is for ViiM coaches (ViiM coaches corner). The intent is to mitigate access challenges caused by weather, geography and scheduling conflicts.

Integrate More Distance Technology. VT DOE will continue to set the benchmark for enhanced Distance Technology integration to support school leadership, educators and coaches in rural areas. Specifically, incorporate Bug-in-the ear and tele-practice strategies. Strategic Planning. Over the next 5-7 years the VT DOE SPDG management team will connect the efforts of the SPDG 3 with the future writing of SPDG 4. The power of this planning will support the implementation of ViiM and the integration of FEL ( Foundations of Early Learning- little kids ViiM)