National Institute for Urban School Improvement Synergy Site Meeting May, 2005

… inclusive ways of knowing and living offer us the only true way to emancipate ourselves from the divisions that limit our minds and imaginations. bell hooks

The National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI) connects powerful networks of urban local education agencies and schools that embrace and implement data-based, continuous improvement cycles to achieve Education for All. Purpose

No one should make the claim of being educated until he or she has learned to live in harmony with people who are different—A. H. Wilson

NIUSI Goals  Increase knowledge and understanding of inclusive, culturally and linguistically responsive practices  Synthesize and expand research-based practices  Leverage existing networks  Engage national discourse to improve educational outcomes for ALL urban students. Education for ALL

The steady work of Education for All must be grounded in an understanding of how teachers learn to teach, how school organization affects practice, and how these factors affect children's opportunities to learn, participate and succeed educationally.

 Evidence-based Products  Tools for School Improvement  On-line communities of practice  Partnerships between P-12, Colleges & Universities  International Network to Transform Urban Education NIUSI Outcomes

 A common framework for understanding change work grounded in the system that we seek to change: public education  Family and community involvement are embedded activity at the district, school and professional levels  School systems are products of the communities and the families that live there

NIUSI Schools 33 Chicago Public Schools (Participating in Research Project) 38 Clark County (Las Vegas) Schools 10 Denver Public Schools 10 DC Public Schools 10 Hacienda La Puente Schools 13 Houston Public Schools 10 Miami Public Schools 5 New York City Public Schools 2 Cincinnati Public Schools

Professional Learning  Site Liaison Coaching  Quarterly Site Liaison Meetings  Work with Sites  Synergy Site meetings  Leadership Academies  The Liaison

Evidence Based Products  Active, redesigned website  Design & development of 9 cities’ TA & PD plans  5 On Points  On-line District Communities  Data Maps and Data Map system  3,000 entries in our NIUSI metatag library  10 Family Linkages Products  Annotated, evidence-based Guide to the Systemic Change Framework  Systemic Change Rubrics for all levels of the System

Modules Systemic Change Using Data Inclusive Schools Universal Designs for Learning Co-teaching Assessing Student Progress Managing Inclusive Classrooms Literacy for Urban Schools Using technology to support Learning Impact of Urban Culture on Teachers and Students Building Capacity Through Family Voice and Participation

Professional Organization Rubrics The next set of rubrics help assess the work of teachers and other professionals who engage student learning. Make sure that you back up each rating with specific, concrete evidence. Learning Assessment Family Participation in Teaching & Learning Group Practice & Professional Development Teaching Design & Practices Learning Standards

Professional Learning 2000 Participants involved in NIUSI training Training Satisfaction Range: 3.17 to 4.71 on 5 point scale (mean = 3.9) 577 Schools attending NIUSI Leadership Academy Professional Development events 13 On-Line Professional Development Modules

3 National Inclusive Schools Weeks 4 Teleconferences 2 Advisory Board Meetings 2 NIUSI Synergy Site Meetings 5 NIUSI Site Liaison Professional Development Meetings 3 NIUSI Site Liaison Retreats 30 NIUSI Meetings in Synergy Sites 6 Trainer of Trainer Meetings 1 TASH Leadership Academy 2 Urban Strands at TASH 3 LRE Teleconferences 1 Video Teleconference 1 Week-long Leadership Academy in the DCPS Events

9 Community of Practice Sites – One for each synergy Site 18 City Profiles 131 NIUSI Schools 3 Large Urban districts committed to full implementation of inclusive schools 5 Districts contributing individual student record data on their schools 1,000,000 Individual student records in our GIS database >100 GIS maps portraying disproportionality and LRE distributions at the LEA and school level 1 State requesting NIUSI data mapping of all cities 2 Linking state sites using NIUSI materials in a contractual agreement Continuous Improvement

Research & Development 20 Family School Linkages products 5 New On Points 1 Set of rubrics for the Systemic Change Framework 1 Annotated Bibliography of research-based articles that align with the Systemic Change Framework 1 Edited special edition of TASH Connections

Networking & Dissemination 4 Coordinated activities for the OSEP Technical Assistance LRE Part B Community of Practice >186,000 Products downloaded from website 100 Invited presentations at conferences, workshops, and professional meetings 2,000 Subscribers to eNews 19,000 Hits per month to the website (over 1,000,000 during NISW 3; about 12,000 unique visitors per quarter)

NIUSI Outcomes Students: The proportion and number of children with disabilities served effectively in urban general education environments has increased Students with and without disabilities are engaged in meaningful, positive relationships within and outside of the urban school environment Practitioners: Increase the number of teachers who demonstrate high quality skills in serving all students in urban general education environments Increase the number of teachers who graduate prepared to work in urban environments Schools: Increase the number of schools producing AYP for their students with disabilities Districts: Three to five models of effective and inclusive urban school systems

Tools –A replicable GIS information system –Accreditation for Inclusive Schools –A set of high quality action research studies –A manual of classroom case studies Networks –A network of 100 inclusive, urban PDS schools –A network of at least 1000 building leadership teams across the country NIUSI Outcomes

It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences... Audre Lorde

Outcomes for these Two Days Learn Share Network Plan Leverage

Great Urban Schools Use the valuable knowledge and experience that children and their families bring to school learning. Produce high achieving students. Expand students’ life opportunities, available choices and community contributions. Construct education for social justice, access and equity.

Build on the extraordinary resources that urban communities provide for life-long learning. Need individuals, family organizations and communities to work together to create future generations of possibility. Practice scholarship by creating partnerships for action-based research and inquiry. Great Urban Schools

Shape their practice based on evidence of what results in successful learning of each student. Foster relationships based on care, respect and responsibility. Understand that people learn in different ways throughout their lives. Respond with learning opportunities that work. Great Urban Schools