Elementary Principals Institute Looking Forward to the New Year August 8, 2005

“It is strange perhaps to realize that most people have a desire to love their organizations. They love the purpose of their school...They fall in love with the identity that is trying to be expressed. They connect to the founding vision.” Margaret Wheatley and Kellner Rogers

Where have we been? Year 1 Coaches in buildings for onsite professional development Independent reading and book bags Writing Workshop Classroom libraries New Standards books Year 2 Avenues for English Language Development Guided reading Writing curriculum materials Year 3 Writing cycles and writing rubrics Making Meaning

Where We Are Now

“Transforming professional practice for teaching a culturally diverse population of students requires continuous growth in related craft knowledge and the application of this knowledge in planning and delivering instruction and in developing a supportive context for learning.” Etta R. Hollins, Culture in School Learning

Where We Are Now Increase our intentionality with existing curriculum Deepen implementation through use of coaching and by examining best practices, lesson planning, and co-accountability Use professional learning communities to talk and learn collectively Examine assessment data and use tools to support learning outcomes

Where We Are Now: Best Practices Best practices Hold out the vision of effective practice Support teacher self-assessment in their own implementation Provide foundation for coach-teacher agree- ments for ongoing coaching-teaching focus Provide context for collaborative conversa- tions in team and grade-level meetings

Where We Are Now: Professional Learning Communities

Use grade-level and leadership teams to examine best practices Determine school strengths Consider areas of focus Problem solve barriers to implementing best practices Plan staff development Use distributed leadership

Where We Are Now: Professional Learning Communities “If collective learning is the goal, my authority to command you to do something doesn’t mean much if it is not complemented by some level of knowledge and skill which, when joined with yours, makes us both more effective. Summarily, if we have the same roles, I have little incentive to cooperate with you unless we can jointly produce something that we could not produce individually. In both instances, the value of direction, guidance, and cooperation stems from acknowledging and making use of the differences in expertise.” Richard Elmore

Where We Are Now: Assessments Assessments Both summative and formative Reading assessment tools Status of the Class and CBLA assessments Progress monitoring Professional dialogue Effective instructional decision making

Where We Are Now: Assessments Writing assessment tools Writing rubrics—NCEE and DPS benchmark samples Use for both formative and summative assessment Calibrate student outcomes and raise expectations Support teachers in knowing what student outcomes tell us about next steps Inform instruction

Our Commitment to Assessment in DPS

Assessments We are committed to learning to use data effectively. We are committed to developing a process for using data to differentiate instruction. Assessment plan Current assessments are still the same Additional focus for learning to use progress-monitoring tools

Assessments Re-authorization of IDEA requires assessments for: Screening Diagnostic Progress monitoring

“Positive images of the future are a powerful and magnetic force...They draw us on and energize us, give us courage and will to take on important initiatives.” William James “We need leadership that is tough enough to demand a great deal from everyone, and leadership that is tender enough to encourage the heart.” Thomas Sergiovanni, Leadership for the Schoolhouse