Organizing Schools for Improvement (Bryk et al 2010) Interconnections among essential supports: a sustained weakness in one area can undermine other areas and overall effectiveness of efforts – School leadership: managerial, instructional, & inclusive-facilitative dimensions – Professional capacity: teacher knowledge & skill, support for teacher learning (quality & frequency of PD), school-based professional community (sense of agency, orientation toward continuous improvement) – School learning climate: teacher academic press & personal support norms, order & safety, peer academic norms – Parent, school, community ties: community institutional social support, direct services to schools, parental press/support for learning, school’s efforts to engage/support parents – Instructional guidance: curriculum alignment, nature of academic demand & tools to support it – Classroom blackbox: technical core (instruction, time, supplemental resources) and dynamics of student learning (motivation, school participation) Relational trust (respectful exchanges, personal regard, perceptions of role competence and personal integrity) – Developed through day-to-day social interactions – Influences buy-in, serves as motivating force, facilitates deep engagement in reform and diffusion across school Andrea Boyle

What are the priorities? School Leadership, Parent-Community Ties, Professional Capacity, Student-Centered Learning Climate & Instructional Guidance Sustained weakness in any of these domains  virtually erases the hope for student learning Teacher learning  long-term process, “assuring stability in teacher assignments is a key consideration, because it enables teachers to stay the course within a specific domain of the instructional system so that genuine expertise can develop.” How much of an influence does relational trust play in this scenario… are districts improving or exacerbating the situation? Teacher turnout? Budget Cuts? Teach for America, etc.? Instructional guidance system – begins with a curriculum framework that details the subject matter to be taught… practices/routines are shared… “effecting this collective cognition requires a common language for instruction…” Alvaro Rodriguez

School Leadership: New roles, responsiblities and potential for change Within the five essential suppports for school improvement school leadership is most salient, driving force Cataylst for change 1)Helping to improving the technical core for teaching and learning (Program Coherence) 2)School improvement initiatives must be grounded continuing efforts to build trusting relationships across the school (Relational Trust) Alfredo Calderon

Week 4: School Organization, Leadership, Trust, and ELLs 2. Ensuring the availability of instructional resources. This included staff that demonstrated the following qualities; demonstrated ability to raise student achievement, strong content knowledge, good fit with school culture, training in curriculum programs, ability to map the curriculum standards to instruction, supportive of colleagues learning and improvement, ability to use data from student assessments, familiarity with school community, excited about teaching, and familiarity with state standards. 3. Implementing a coherent, standards-based curriculum and instructional programs. Higher EL-API was correlated with a school wide instructional consistency within grades and alignment from grade to grade. 4. Prioritizing student achievement using measurable and monitorable assessments. Schools that had high expectations for student progress on assessments, on average, had higher EL-API scores and better served their EL population. References: Williams, T., Hakuta, K., Haertel, E., et al. (2007). Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? A follow-up analysis, based on a large-scale survey of California elementary schools serving low-income and EL students. Mountain View, CA: EdSource Adrian Sandoval

Week 4: School Organization, Leadership, Trust, and ELLs Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better is a follow up analysis on a large scale survey that evaluated 257 Elementary schools within a small band of the School Characteristics Index. Despite serving students with relatively similar backgrounds and characteristics, these schools varied significantly in terms of their API scores and success with English Learner students. This study sought to extract the characteristics which were common amongst schools that successfully serve EL students. Extensive surveys were conducted with Principals and teachers to obtain the data used in the study. All Schools had a minimum proportion of EL students of 15% and the proportion went as high as 80%. The analysis found four broad school practices were found to have significant positive correlation with higher EL-API scores in these high proportion low-income and Spanish speaker EL serving elementary schools. These finding are relevant to district and school leadership because they found that leadership support was essential to being successful and these practices were common amongst districts and schools that better served EL students. 1. Using assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction. Schools that reported using data for improvement more frequently and from multiple sources, on average, performed better than other schools. Adrian Sandoval

Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? The study examined various broad effective-schools practices and the academic achievement of the English learner students Four broad practices were found to have significant positive correlation: 1) Extensive use of student assessment data by the district and the principal in an effort to improve instruction and student learning; 2) Ensuring availability of instructional resources, including teaching staff who had certain qualities; 3) Implementing a coherent, standards-based curriculum that are consistent within grades and are aligned from grade-to-grade; 4) Prioritizing student achievement and holding high expectations for students The findings seem to emphasize the importance of teachers and principals coordination, cooperation, and communication, as well as proactively and prioritizing student achievements. Emily Aoyama

Effective School Practices with Positive EL API Scores Using Assessment Data to Improve Student Achievement and Instruction Ensuring Availability of instructional resources Implementing a Coherent, Standards- based Curriculum and Instructional Program Prioritizing Student Achievement (Using Measurable and Monitored Objectives) Ensuring Availability of instructional resources- Different instructional resources have shown to be instrumental in increasing the API performance for similar schools Among the resources teaching staff that have had: -strong content knowledge -training in curriculum programs -support of colleague’s learning and improvement -familiar with school and community -familiar with state standards -able to use data from student assessment -good fit with school culture* Alfredo Calderon

Council of Great City Schools ELL Report 2009 What We Know - Key Components of effective instruction for ELLs: – Explicit emphasis on literacy & language instruction – Strategic use of native language – Mastery of academic language and vocabulary What We Don’t Know: – Best language strategies & native language use in content area instruction – Small group/cooperative learning effects for ELLs – Effective PD & instructional interventions for ELLs Elizabeth Wong