Leading Instructional Change: Tools to Boost Student Achievment Cary B. Riches, Ed. D @dr_riches carybriches@gmail.com Director, Curriculum & Instruction, PK-12 Brandywine School District Wilmington, DE

About Me High School ELA/Reading Teacher/ESL Instructional Coach Instructional Principal- Vocational Technical High School Supervisor of Programs Director of Curriculum & Instruction PK-12 Mom

Goals Discuss relationship between leadership, change theory, and achievement Provide an honest discussion of instructional change focused on literacy Provoke your thinking about how to create and nurture conditions for change in your school Provoke your thinking about the relationship between qualitative variables and quantitative data

Two Districts- Same Struggle Vocational Technical 4 High Schools, ~5,000 students 32% Poverty Rate Instructional Principal 2009-2012 2009- Reading Proficiency 58% 2012- Reading Proficiency 68% Closed the Achievement Gap Brandywine 16 Schools, ~11,000 students 42% Poverty Rate Diverse Population( 54% White, 46% minority) 1 PK 9 Elementary (KN-5) 2016- Reading Proficiency KN-2 68% DIBELS 2019- Reading Proficiency KN-2 78% DIBELS 3 Middle Schools (6-8) 3 High Schools (9-12)

2018 SMARTER BALANCED- Reading

2018 SAT Data

What variables impact student achievement? Research Says…

It Isn’t the Changes That Do You In, It’s the Transitions.

Tools: Purpose, Process, Product (Brand) Purpose- do teachers know the “Why?” What are the data telling us? Process-what structure do you have in place to support instructional change? High Quality Instructional Materials High Quality Professional Learning Product- what do you want to see? Have you clearly stated EXACTLY what you expect to see and hear? Instructional Brand

Biggest Barriers to Instructional Change Lack of Purpose- Why? Lack of Trust Lack of Knowledge Lack of Communication Lack of Buy-in "Like it or not, all teams are potentially dysfunctional. This is inevitable because they are made up of fallible, imperfect human beings." Lencioni, P. (2007). Conquer team dysfunction

Why are we doing this work? Could your teachers clearly define the WHY behind a change in instructional practice? Can you clearly define the WHY? This is where your data have to tell the story. Data-driven decisions.

Leaders Establish a Purpose- WHY? Identify a Problem? Too many students are reading below grade-level? Establish a Sense of Urgency This is a problem because literacy is a gateway to future success. The ability to read and write at or above grade level is a civil right. Establish a Purpose for Professional Learning The purpose of this professional learning is to learn how to increase our students’ reading ability.

Setting Up the Process for Instructional Branding You have to be clear about what it is you want teachers to do. You have to provide them the materials they need, You have to schedule time for them to learn and practice and you MUST participate, You have to observe them to support full implementation, And you have to allow for mid-course corrections.

Leaders Communicate Student Outcomes Communicate the Student Achievement Outcomes- what are they, exactly? How will we measure student reading growth? How and when will we assess students’ reading ability? What is acceptable reading growth? When and how will we analyze our data?

Communication Do you have an established Communication Plan? What does regular communication look like and sound like? How will you communicate? Format How often? Put it on your calendar Monthly Newsletter- same message Every Professional Learning – same message

KN-5 Bookworms Reading & Writing At every faculty meeting/professional learning/PLC… “In BSD Elementary Schools we use Bookworms to teaching reading and writing because we believe all students should read and write at or above grade-level. We believe that the ability to read and write at or above grade-level is a civil right.”

6-12- Secondary Literacy Template for Instruction At every faculty meeting/professional learning/PLC… “In BSD Secondary Schools we use the Secondary Literacy Template to teaching reading and writing because we believe all students should read and write at or above grade-level. We believe that the ability to read and write at or above grade-level is a civil right.”

Secondary Literacy Template 15-20 Minutes of Building Background Knowledge (Before-Reading) 30-60 Minutes of Literacy Instruction with Text(s) (During-Reading) PALS Reciprocal Teaching Listen-Read-Discuss Reading Guides Questioning the Author Writing, Composition & Synthesis Self-Regulated Writing Strategies- Genre Specific 10-20 Minutes of Summary Writing (After-Reading)

We all see things a little differently

Communicate “Ad Nauseam” When you are sick and tired of saying it, most people are hearing you for the first time.

Buy-in: what does that mean? Buy-in from teachers is important, but buy-in is usually misunderstood Leaders build the sense of urgency around the problem Leaders set up processes that help teachers understand the problem. Data tell the story. The Leader needs to be in control Teachers buy-in when they trust the leader

Buy-in is about Strong Leadership Buy-in is not about shared decision making; it’s about believing in and trusting a leader and his/her ability to make something happen.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt “It’s a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead-and find no one there.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt

What does research tell us about the change process? Change is situational. Transition is psychological.

Ending, Losing, Letting Go Letting go of the old ways of doing things is hard. The first phase of change is helping people deal with loss.

Define What’s Over and What Isn’t Directly communicate what is over. Communicate EXACTLY what you want to see. Bookworms Secondary Literacy Template Good teachers don’t stop doing anything. They do all the old and the new things and will eventually burn out. Teachers make their own decisions about what to discard and what to keep, and the result is inconsistency and chaos.

The Second Phase of Change The Neutral Zone The old way of doing things is gone, but the “new” isn’t fully operational. Don’t let your guard down during this phase.

The Third Phase of Change The New Beginning Own the new vision Teachers start to experience the new energy Discover the new sense of purpose Change begins to work

Change is Hard When give the option to change or collect proof why one shouldn’t change, most people start collecting proof.