Council of Chief State School Officers February 24, 2015 Communicating Effectively about Teacher Equity

Welcome to the Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Webinar!  The Webinar will begin at approximately 2:00 p.m. ET  All participants are muted upon entry into the meeting and will be un-muted on an individual basis for the question and answer portion of the presentation.  During the question and answer portion of the presentation you may ask questions.  Type your question to Janice Poda in the Chat panel below the participant list and clicking “Send”.  If you need assistance during today’s webinar, please contact Angie Andersen at or call

Today’s Objectives  Learn ideas for how you can improve internal communications  Get a few strategies to engage stakeholders effectively  Begin to communicate about your state’s teacher equity plan  Hear from a successful state example  Share information about and highlight tools available on the EASN Communities360 website  Provide details about the launch of EASN Communities of Practice

COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS Melissa McGrath Director of Communications

Create an Internal Process Develop one presentation Write one set of talking points Create a single webpage

Create an Internal Process Things to consider:  Who is your SEA’s point person for collecting stakeholder feedback and input?  What process will you use to collect input from stakeholders, track it and respond to it?  What other initiatives are happening in your State that require stakeholder input?

Comprehensive Approach Integrate, rather than duplicate.  Consider all the ways you need to engage stakeholders in the next year:  Waiver Renewal  Teacher Equity  Legislative session  Other state initiatives

Stakeholders to Engage Students Teachers Parents Civil Rights Organizations Higher Education Business Community

Ways to Engage Stakeholders  One-on-One meetings  Town Hall meetings or public forums  Focus groups  Surveys  Committee/Working Group/Task Force  Phone Calls  correspondence  Public comment via website

Choose Multiple Tactics  Provide options for face-to-face and electronic feedback  Consider other factors:  Regionalism  Demographics  Leaders of groups versus practitioners

Don’t Forget: Previous Work  Consider: What have you done in the past?  Consider your work with stakeholder groups on this issue in the past as well as the present.

Document Everything!  Set up a process today for how you will collect every time you interact with stakeholders on teacher equity.  Things to consider collecting:  Details of the interaction  Date and time  Point of Contact  Feedback  Did you make a change based on this feedback?

Create an Ongoing Process  Consider your state’s comprehensive approach.  What meetings occur regularly?  How will we gather feedback often?  What is our feedback loop?

Build External Communications

Create an External Plan Develop talking points for your external communications:  Work closely with your state communications director.  Establish your key message.  Find the positive news and be honest about challenges.  Review your data profile.

Communication Opportunities Release the plan Meeting with Stakeholders Public speech or call to action Draft plan for public comment

Resources Center on Great Teachers & Leaders toolkit: access-toolkit

Contacts Contacts: Melissa McGrath, CCSSO Judy Ennis, Great Teachers & Leaders

MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION Aviva Baff Educator Development

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Approach to Stakeholder Engagement Aviva Baff Educator Quality Coordinator Center for Educator Effectiveness

Building our Equitable Access Team Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 21  Internal Team  Center for Educator Effectiveness  Data Analysis and Reporting Unit  Planning, Research and Delivery Systems  External Support  Northeast Comprehensive Center (NCC)  Meeting Structure  Weekly and biweekly meetings

Internal Conversations and Inventory Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 22  Commissioner and Senior Leadership  Individual Department/Unit Meetings  Systems, Programs and Platforms  ESEA Flexibility Waiver Team

Planning for Stakeholder Engagement Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 23  Initial Engagement (December-January)  Joining existing meetings  Targeted Engagement (January-March)  Joining existing meetings  Focus Groups  Follow up Engagement (April-May)  Equity Plan draft feedback (targeted sections )

Contact Information Aviva Baff Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Question and Answer  Type your question to Janice Poda in the Chat panel below the participant list and clicking “Send”.

EQUITABLE ACCESS SUPPORT NETWORK Monica Young AEM

State Support Center on Great Teachers and Leaders CCSSO Comprehensive Centers Equity Assistance Centers Equitable Access Support Network (EASN) ED / Office of State Support 27 Role of the Equitable Access Support Network

EASN Communities 360⁰ 28

EASN Communities 360⁰ 29 Apply for State Coaching support! Webinar Series Links New to this site? Click here for helpful tutorials. Links to all of our partners

30 EASN to request assistance Click on a link to join EASN Communitie s of Practice Access tools and resources to support equity plan development Click on the outer circle to go to a different page Learn about EASN

31 Participate in log-in access only discussions with other States View upcoming EASN and partner events Use the EASN Readiness Tool as a guide to develop your plan

Launch of EASN Communities of Practice 32 Phase-in of four Communities of Practice (CoP) Provide and facilitate a supportive peer network to help states successfully develop equity plans Provide resources, tools and assistance and encourage state collaboration and sharing of best practices Managed through the Communities360 ⁰ website Policy and Programs CoP: Webinar Series begins March 3rd at 1pm EST Title: State Experiences Developing Draft Equity Plans As a result of participation in this webinar, States will: Understand the purpose of the policy and programs community of practice Learn strategies for conducting a root cause analysis Use analysis to identify strategies to address inequitable access Learn how Missouri and Tennessee conducted root cause analyses and identified strategies to address inequitable access

Thank you  Thank you for attending today’s webinar. If you have additional questions, please contact Janice Poda at