Virginia Foundation for Educational Leadership Virginia Department of Education Webinar Series 2012 Welcome to Webinar 1

Virginia Foundation of Educational Leadership (VFEL) Webinar Faculty: Dr. Roger E. Jones Dr. Carol C. Robinson 2

An Opportunity to explore Eight Elements of Successful High Schools  ( Rigorous Curriculum and Instruction Assessment and Accountability Teacher Effectiveness and Professional Growth Student and Family Supports Stakeholder Engagement Leadership Development Organization and Structure Sustainability 3

Do Not Overwhelm Your Staff  Help them see the “big picture” and interrelations of the elements  Every school has its own DNA  Assess the elements in your school as foundation for developing a plan 4

Webinar 1 Agenda 1.Welcome and Introduction 2.Research regarding Element 1: Rigorous Curriculum and Instruction 3.Reflection/Next Steps 5

Let’s Get Started  The Eight Elements of High School Improvement Needs Assessment Indicators  The ABCs of School Dropout (Triage) Attendance Behavior Course Performance  Developing the School Improvement Plan 6

Objectives  Participants will be able to identify the defined practices and their effectiveness relative to curriculum, instruction, and assessment.  Participants will be able to identify steps they can take that will help close the achievement gap.  Participants will be able to describe the requirements of the Virginia College and Career Readiness Initiative. 7

Rigorous Curriculum and Instruction – Element 1  Rigorous content and instruction are aligned to local, state, and national standards.  Research- and evidence-based instructional strategies are incorporated across all content areas for all students.  College and career readiness skills are incorporated across all content areas. 8

Vision Researched- based Instructional Strategies Alignment of Curriculum Assessment Academic Rigor 9

10 VFEL Report Findings (2011)

Importance of Vision  Realization that vision was not driving the schools in improvement.  A compelling vision was critically important.  Extensive use of data  Conversations with faculty about vision, its meaning, and its implementation with a refocus on identifying what is important and keeping it important  Creating/maintaining belief that each child is important, and everyone is accountable for the success of all. 11

Research-based Instructional Strategies  Research-based instructional strategies were emphasized in each division.  Training was provided to all teachers in the use of the strategies.  Principals monitored the use of research-based instructional strategies in the classroom through informal and formal classroom observations.  All schools had implemented a research-based reading program. 12

Alignment of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (CIA)  Prior to entering school improvement, there was a lack of tight curriculum alignment.  A major effort was made to ensure that the written, taught, and tested curriculum were congruent.  Curriculum guides, curriculum maps, and pacing guides were developed or rewritten.  Formative assessment became a critical component of the instructional program.  Data was used to place students in remediation programs.  A process for monitoring CIA was put into place. 13

Academic Rigor  How is Academic Rigor defined in your school?  How is it defined by your departments?  How is it defined by your students?  How is it defined by your parents?  Are you REALLY CONFIDENT that Academic Rigor exists in your school? A strategy to develop academic rigor 14

Raising RIGOR without increasing READINESS and providing SUPPORT will not increase your graduation rate. Describe the vertical instructional conversations that are occurring in your building Department instructional conversations What conversations are occurring with the elementary and middle schools to address this issue? What conversations are occurring with the central office? Academic Rigor 15

Defined Practices  Defined practices = the way we do things in our school (school culture). Remember, every school has its own DNA.  What are the defined practices in your school relative to curriculum, instruction, and assessment and the effectiveness of the strategies?  Examples: research-based strategies such as similarities and differences; using quarterly benchmark data to modify instruction 16

Based on a presentation from Pedro A. Noguera, Ph.D. (Graduate School of Education, New York University) at the Virginia Middle and High School Principals Conference and Exposition, June 27-29, 2011 The Role of Leadership in Closing the Achievement Gap and Improving the Graduation Rate 17

What we know about the achievement gap  It mirrors other disparities (health, income, employment)  Tends to follow consistent patterns with respect to the race and class of students  External conditions affect academic performance (e.g. health, housing stability, poverty)  Poor students generally are assigned to less qualified teachers  Academic patterns have often been in place for a long time and tend to be accepted as normal 18

What we know about student achievement  All students learn but not at the same pace  Students who are behind must work harder, longer and under better conditions Re-think remediation programs  Students who are behind must be taught by competent teachers  Closing the achievement gap requires increased access to rigorous courses and increased academic support for students 19

Critical Pieces Identifying and using research-based instructional strategies Engaging students in the content and lesson Effective use of formative assessment Understanding the interrelationship of instructional elements 20

Teaching Framework The Interconnection and Intentionality of Teaching: Creating Conversations about Teaching and Learning Using the Teaching Framework document (available on the web site) 21

The Virginia College and Career Readiness Initiative  Ensure that college and career-ready learning standards in reading, writing and mathematics are taught in every Virginia high school classroom  Strengthen students’ preparation for college and the work force before leaving high school  ege_career_readiness/index.shtml ege_career_readiness/index.shtml 22

Source: USDOE, NCES, Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000, in Issue Brief: Students Who Prepare for College and Vocation *Grade 8-grade 12 test score gains based on 8th grade achievement. Low Quartile Students Gain More From College Prep Courses* 23

Challenging Curriculum Results in Lower Failure Rates, Even for Lowest Achievers Source: SREB, “Middle Grades to High School: Mending a Weak Link”. Unpublished Draft, Ninth-grade English performance, by high/low level course, and eighth-grade reading achievement quartiles 24

Virginia College and Career Ready – Math Performance Expectations  Problem solving, decision making, integration  Understanding and applying functions  Procedure and calculation  Verification and proof  ege_career_readiness/expectations/p erf_expectations_math.pdf ege_career_readiness/expectations/p erf_expectations_math.pdf 25

Virginia College and Career Ready – English Performance Expectations  Reading  Writing  Communicating  ege_career_readiness/expectations/p erf_expectations_english.pdf ege_career_readiness/expectations/p erf_expectations_english.pdf 26

College and Career Ready  College and Career-Ready Standards in Reading and Math  Joint Agreement (Council of Higher Education and Community Colleges) on Performance Expectations Students Must Reach  Capstone Courses in English and Math for Students On Track to Graduate But Who Are Not Fully Prepared for College

Summary  Schools that have achieved increases in student achievement are committed to their vision, the utilization of research-based instructional strategies, increasing academic rigor, and have a defined process for monitoring curriculum, instruction, and assessment. 28

Summary  Leadership is the key to closing the achievement gap and increasing graduation rates.  The Virginia College and Career Readiness Initiative ensures that college and career-ready learning standards in reading, writing and mathematics are taught in every Virginia high school classroom. 29

Next Step Questions  Is my school’s vision: compelling? clearly articulated? the guiding force in school improvement work?  How is academic rigor defined and implemented?  How are research-based strategies incorporated across all content areas for all students?  How do we ensure that content, instruction, and assessment are aligned?  What do teachers know about student engagement and formative assessment?  What is my staff’s collective level of understanding of college and career readiness? 30

Next Steps  Have an instructional conversation with each department around academic rigor, focusing on the following: 1.Does everyone connected to the school KNOW and LIVE your vision? 2.Does the department’s definition of academic rigor align with the school’s vision? 3.Does the curriculum align with the intended academic rigor of the SOLs? 4.Does current instructional practice align with academic rigor? What changes will need to occur in order to ensure academic rigor? 5.Do common assessments and teacher-developed assessments contain the rigor intended by the standards? 31

Resources for Element 1 The Virginia Model: Profiles and Common Themes pdf pdf ations/perf_expectations html USDOE, NCES, Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000, an Issue Brief: Students Who Prepare for College and Vocation SREB, “Middle Grades to High School: Mending a Weak Link”. Unpublished Draft,

The ultimate goal in school improvement is for the people attached to the school to drive its continuous improvement for the sake of their own children and students. Dr. Sam Redding 33