Education for the Future Bradley J. Geise Using Data for Continuous School Improvement McKinney Independent School District

BACKGROUND Education for the Future – Non-Profit Initiative Victoria L. Bernhardt, Exec Director California State University, Chico Our Mission Funded by contracts. 17 Books, Conferences, Institutes, Workshop. Manage long-term implementation contracts. Monthly online meeting series.

OUTCOMES  What data are important.  How data inform continuous school improvement.  How to analyze all types of data for continuous school improvement.  How to work through a “problem” with data—getting to contributing causes. Everyone understands—

 How to create a shared vision.  How to build a plan that will get implemented and make a difference.  How to know if what you are doing is making a difference.  How to involve all staff. OUTCOMES

 WHY data analysis/continuous school improvement?  WHAT data/process do we need to engage for school improvement?  HOW do we involve all staff in the process of school improvement? AGENDA

WHY Data Analysis/Continuous School Improvement?

What would it take to ensure student learning increases at every grade level, in every subject area, and with every student group?

 Teachers and administrators must believe that all children can learn.  Schools must honestly review their data, especially classroom data.  One vision.  One plan to implement the vision. THINGS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN

 Curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessments must be clear and aligned to standards.  Staff need to collaborate and use student, classroom, and school level data related to standards implementation. THINGS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN

 Staff need professional development to work differently.  Schools need to rethink their current structures, and avoid add-ons. THINGS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN

WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE?  Beliefs that all children can learn.  Schools honestly reviewing their data.  One vision.  One plan to implement the vision.  Curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessments clear and aligned to standards.  Staff collaboration and use of data related to standards implementation.  Staff professional development to work differently.  Rethinking current structures to avoid add-ons.

THINGS WE KNOW ABOUT DATA USE For data to be used to impact classroom instruction, there must be structures in place, to—  Implement a shared schoolwide vision.  Help staffs review data and discuss improving processes.  Have regular, honest collaborations that cause learning.

Continuous Improvement Cycle Mission Vision

VISION defines the desired or intended future state of an organization or enterprise in terms of its fundamental objectives relative to key, core areas (curr, inst, assess, environ).

VISION Curriculum — What we teach. Instruction — How we teach the curriculum. Assessment — How we assess learning. Environment — How each person treats every other person.

MISSION succinctly defines the fundamental purpose of an organization or an enterprise, describing why they exist.

Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement Is About What You Are Evaluating Yourself Against

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IMPORTANT NOTES It describes the work that schools do, linking the essential elementsIt describes the work that schools do, linking the essential elements It is a process of evidence, engagement, and artifactsIt is a process of evidence, engagement, and artifacts

A PROCESS OF EVIDENCE, ENGAGEMENT, AND ARTIFACTS Evidence: Data to inform and drive a logical progression of next steps. Engagement: Bringing staff together to inform improvement through the use of data, moving from personality driven to systemic and systematic. Artifacts: The documentation of your improvement efforts.

WHEN DONE WELL… Uses data to inform all aspects of operation. Is focused on quantifying realization of your vision, moving away from sole use of data for compliance and accountability. Connects the dots for reporting to a variety of stakeholders.

VISION LEADING THE CHANGE/IMPROVEMENT PROCESS 1.Identify the change agents. 2.Empower with data to identify need(s). 3.Collaboratively prescribe change. 4.Support through prof learning, leadership, partnerships. 5.Evaluate to make sure it is making the intended difference.

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Page 117 RANDOM ACTS OF IMPROVEMENT

Page 117 FOCUSED ACTS OF IMPROVEMENT

Evidence

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 Describe the context of the school and school district.  Help us understand all other numbers.  Are used for disaggregating other types of data.  Describe our system and leadership. DEMOGRAPHICS ARE IMPORTANT DATA

 Enrollment  Gender  Ethnicity / Race  Attendance (Absences)  Expulsions  Suspensions DEMOGRAPHICS

 Language Proficiency  Indicators of Poverty  Special Needs/Exceptionality  IEP (Yes/No)  Drop-Out/Graduation Rates  Program Enrollment DEMOGRAPHICS (Continued)

WHAT STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ELEMENTS CHANGE WHEN LEADERSHIP CHANGES?  Enrollment  Gender  Ethnicity/Race  Attendance (Absences)  Expulsions  Suspensions  Language Proficiency  Indicators of Poverty  Special Needs/ Exceptionality  IEP (Yes/No)  Drop-Out / Graduation Rates  Program Enrollment

 School and Teaching Assignment  Qualifications  Years of Teaching/At this school  Gender, ethnicity  Additional Professional Development STAFF DEMOGRAPHICS

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 Help us understand what students, staff, and parents are perceiving about the learning environment.  We cannot act different from what we value, believe, perceive. PERCEPTIONS ARE IMPORTANT DATA

 Student, Staff, Parent, Alumni Questionnaires  Observations  Focus Groups PERCEPTIONS INCLUDE

PERCEPTIONS What do you suppose students say is the #1 “thing” that has to be in place in order for them to learn?

“I’ve got it, too, Omar…. a strange feeling like we’ve just been going in circles.”

PERCEPTIONS Given what we have discussed so far, what key measure must be a part of any staff questionnaire?

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 Know what students are learning.  Understand what we are teaching.  Determine which students need extra help. STUDENT LEARNING ARE IMPORTANT DATA

STUDENT LEARNING DATA INCLUDE  Diagnostic Assessments (Universal Screeners)  Classroom Assessments  Formative Assessments (Progress Monitoring)  Summative Assessments (High Stakes Tests, End of Course) Defined: Pages 54-57

What happens when learning organizations react solely to the measures used for compliance and accountability? STUDENT LEARNING ARE IMPORTANT DATA

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Schools are perfectly designed to get the results they are getting now. If schools want different results, they must measure and then change their processes to create the results they really want. SCHOOL PROCESSES

Processes include…  Actions, changes, functions that bring about a desired result  Curriculum, instructional strategies, assessment, programs, interventions …  The way we work.

 Tell us about the way we work.  Tell us how we get the results we are getting.  Help us know if we have instructional coherence. SCHOOL PROCESSES ARE IMPORTANT DATA

SCHOOL PROCESSES  The missing link in improving K- 12 education  The missing link in meeting NCLB requirements

“How can anyone be sure that a particular set of new inputs will produce better outputs if we don’t at least study what happens inside?” Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam

Engagement

1. What are Big River’s demographic strengths and challenges? StrengthsChallenges 2. What are some implications for the Big River High School improvement plan? 3. Looking at the demographic data presented, what other demographic data would you want to answer the question Who are we? for Big River High School? Study Questions—Demographic Data

 STRENGTHS: Something positive that can be seen in the data. Often leverage for improving a challenge.  CHALLENGES: Data that imply something might need attention, a potential undesirable result, or something out of a school’s control. DEFINITIONS

 IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN are placeholders until all the data are analyzed. Implications are thoughts to not forget to address in the school improvement plan. Implications most often result from CHALLENGES. DEFINITIONS

LETS SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE Pages

CASE STUDY QUESTIONNAIRES: Students K-1:Pages Students 2-5:Pages Staff:Pages Parents:Pages Please read independently and answer questions related to perception/questionnaire data. 20 Minutes. PERCEPTION DATA

Please review findings with teammates. Prepare your findings on poster paper. 10 minutes. PERCEPTION DATA

Answer Questions— Strengths, Challenges, Implications, Other Demographic Data.  Independently  In Small Groups  Merge to Whole Group WITH YOUR STAFF WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACH?

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Aggregating Implications for Planning Across All Areas of Data

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1. What are Big River’s demographic strengths and challenges? StrengthsChallenges 2. What are some implications for the Big River High School improvement plan? 3. Looking at the demographic data presented, what other demographic data would you want to answer the question Who are we? for Big River High School? Study Questions—Demographic Data

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Page 340 What We Saw in the Data: IMPLICATIONS

Page 341 What We Saw in the Data: IMPLICATION COMMONALITIES

Page 342 What We Saw in the Data: AGGREGATED IMPLICATIONS

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"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein

CONTRIBUTING CAUSES: CONTRIBUTING CAUSES: Underlying cause or causes of positive or negative results. Pages

Page PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLE EXAMPLE

Not enough students are proficient in Mathematics. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM

THE PROBLEM-SOLVING CYCLE Example Hunches/Hypotheses Page 106

THE PROBLEM-SOLVING CYCLE Example Hunches/Hypotheses Page 106

What questions do you need to answer to know more about the problem, and what data do you need to gather? THE PROBLEM-SOLVING CYCLE

Example Questions/Data Needed Page 107

1. Identify a problem/ undesirable result. 2. List 20 reasons this problem exists (from the perspective of your staff). THE PROBLEM-SOLVING CYCLE

3. Determine what questions you need to answer with data. 4. What data do you need to gather to answer the questions? THE PROBLEM-SOLVING CYCLE

Please post on chart paper.

PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLE Evidence: Automatically end up at the 4 circles. Focus on the process(es) at the root. Engagement: Makes big problems manageable. Time savings. Key in making the move from personality driven to systemic and systematic.

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Digging Deeper Into Process Measurement

Schools are perfectly designed to get the results they are getting now. If schools want different results, they must measure and then change their processes to create the results they really want. SCHOOL PROCESSES

“How can anyone be sure that a particular set of new inputs will produce better outputs if we don’t at least study what happens inside?” Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam

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SCHOOL PROCESSES DEFINITIONS  INSTRUCTIONAL: The techniques and strategies that teachers use in the learning environment.  ORGANIZATIONAL: Those structures the school puts in place to implement the vision.

 ADMINISTRATIVE: Elements about schooling that we count, such as class sizes.  CONTINUOUS SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT: The structures and elements that help schools continuously improve their systems.  PROGRAMS: Programs are planned series of activities and processes, with specific goals. SCHOOL PROCESSES DEFINITIONS

What process changes most frequently when leadership changes? SCHOOL PROCESSES

Creating the inventory versus data driving isolation of process?

If you are not monitoring and measuring program implementation, the program probably does not exist. MONITORING SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND PROCESSES

You cannot evaluate a program that you cannot describe. EVALUATING SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND PROCESSES

MONITORING AND EVALUATING PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION If you can describe what a program will look like when implemented, you can monitor its implementation, and evaluate its impact.

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 Implementing Common Core – Pages  Early Warning System – Page 111  Using Data to Improve Teaching and Learning – Page 151  Vision – Page 160  Elementary RtI – Page 256

TEMPLATE/EXAMPLES: Pages Go through the measuring processes table for a program/process. Template on page 255.

Everything we do is a PROCESS.

FLOWCHARTING SCHOOL PROCESSES  Assess what is really being implemented.  Understand how we get our results.  Determine the cause of a problem or challenge.

 Build common understandings of a whole process.  Communicate process related information visually.  Provide a way to monitor and update processes. FLOWCHARTING SCHOOL PROCESSES

PROCESS FLOWCHARTS Process maps or flow charts are composed of a relatively standardized set of symbols.

Individual student meets benchmark expectations. Yes No DIAMONDS ARE FOR DECISIONS

Student does need additional assistance—staff identifies skill deficit and matches intervention. RECTANGLES ARE FOR ACTION

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Page 63 Page 371 MARYLIN AVENUE’S SHARED VISION FLOWCHART

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 Prevention System – Pages  Common Core State Standards – Page 90  Shared Vision– Page 260  High School Process– Page 261  Process of Using Data in PLCs– Page 262 FLOWCHART EXAMPLES

Within your teams, please use the mapping symbols to map your vision on chart paper… PROCESS FLOWCHARTS

FLOWCHARTING SCHOOL PROCESSES Empowering change. Creating a focus on fidelity. Considering best practice and professional learning. Practically applying previous learning. Considering the role of assessment and student learning data. Provides foundation for effective monitoring and measuring. Process allowing reflection on vision (values and beliefs).

1. List the programs and processes being used in your school. 2. Analyze the lists of programs and processes – complimentary/contradictory? 3. Analyze the programs and processes using the Measuring Programs and Processes Table. 4. Use flowcharts to describe and visualize how a program or process is to be implemented. HOW TO ANALYZE SCHOOL PROCESSES DATA

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VISION LEADING THE CHANGE/IMPROVEMENT PROCESS 1.Identify the change agents. 2.Empower with data to identify need(s). 3.Collaboratively prescribe change. 4.Support through prof learning, leadership, partnerships. 5.Evaluate to make sure it is making the intended difference.

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“Shared visions emerge from personal visions. This is how they derive their energy and how they foster commitment… If people don’t have their own vision, all they can do is ‘sign up’ for someone else’s. The result is compliance, never commitment.” Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline

MISSION succinctly defines the fundamental purpose of an organization or an enterprise, describing why they exist.

VISION defines the desired or intended future state of an organization or enterprise in terms of its fundamental objectives relative to key, core areas (curr, inst, assess, environ).

VISION Curriculum — What we teach. Instruction — How we teach the curriculum. Assessment — How we assess learning. Environment — How each person treats every other person.

 Instructional Coherence.  A Shared Vision for School Improvement.  Data-Informed Decision Making. PRECONDITIONS FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

BUILDING A MISSION AND VISION Identify values and beliefs. Curr, Instr, Assessment, Environment. Determine purpose. Develop mission. Develop shared vision to accomplish mission. Create action plan.

Comprehensive Data Analysis Best Practices Learning CREATING A VISION AND MISSION

Using Data to Inform Mission and Vision A Process of Continuous Improvement

Using Staff Questionnaire Results To Inform Mission and Vision Response to: I work with people who collaborate effectively.

1. What are Big River’s demographic strengths and challenges? StrengthsChallenges 2. What are some implications for the Big River High School improvement plan? 3. Looking at the demographic data presented, what other demographic data would you want to answer the question Who are we? for Big River High School? Study Questions—Demographic Data

BUILDING A MISSION AND VISION Identify values and beliefs. Curr, Instr, Assessment, Environment. Determine purpose. Develop mission. Develop shared vision to accomplish mission. Create action plan.

VISION  Curriculum — What we teach.  Instruction — How we teach the curriculum.  Assessment — How we assess learning.  Environment — How each person treats every other person.

Vision is Putting Action to Our Values and Beliefs

…INTO A SHARED VISION We must collaborate to provide quality instruction. Value/Belief: We will collaborate through effective implementation of Professional Learning Communities. Vision:

Continuous Improvement Cycle Mission Vision

VISION = DESTINATION Values and beliefs into action Reflective of your theory of change Must be informed by data and research – the evidence of best practices The collaboration around data to inform vision IS getting the agreements in place for change

Mission statements have three parts:  Who we are.  What we do.  What results we want to achieve. MISSION

EXAMPLE SHARED VISION The Mission of Marylin Avenue Elementary School is to enable ALL students to achieve their personal best, and to be respectful, thoughtful, and independent learners. Pages

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AS A TEAM Take 7.5 minutes to review the VISION and discuss where your school/district is with respect to a SHARED VISION.

The Improvement Plan as the Evidence of Engagement

HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THERE? Items essential to the success of your plan: Bringing together implications for planning from demographic, perception, process, student learning data as well as problem solving.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THERE? Items essential to the success of your plan: Professional development to support the plan. An effective leadership structure that defines roles and responsibilities, meeting times, etc., to carry out the plan. Partnerships to that are aligned to realizing the vision.

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Pages EXAMPLE: SOMEWHERE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CALENDAR

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CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND EVALUATION “Continuous improvement causes us to think about upstream process improvement; not downstream damage control.” Teams & Tools

 Align elements to vision.  Systems thinking.  Next steps.  Evaluate all parts of the system. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND EVALUATION

 Information and Analysis  Student Achievement  Quality Planning  Leadership  Professional Learning  Partnership Development  Continuous Improvement and Evaluation CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CONTINUUM CATEGORIES

INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS FallSpring School Continuums ~ Pages

MAKING TIME FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

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MAKING TIME FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT Knowledge/Information (Why?)Knowledge/Information (Why?) CIPlanning Framework/ProcessCIPlanning Framework/Process DataData Organizational StructuresOrganizational Structures TimeTime

Knowledge/Information: Why?

Framework/Process

Data

Organizational Structures

Time

VISION LEADING THE CHANGE/IMPROVEMENT PROCESS 1.Identify the change agents. 2.Empower with data to identify need(s). 3.Collaboratively prescribe change. 4.Support through prof learning, leadership, partnerships. 5.Evaluate to make sure it is making the intended difference.

WHAT: Calibrating Your School Improvement Efforts, moderated by Bradley Geise. CALIBRATING YOUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS ONLINE MEETINGS WHO: Open to all, at no cost. WHEN: Once per month, approximately 60 minutes. HOW:Via Join.me

Bradley Geise