Twenty Questions MISD Board Work Session November 13, 2006 T. Thurman

Revision History Nov 13, 2006 Added Notes from Work Session

Why Twenty Questions? Continuous Improvement Model Board Currently Engages District Teams in Conversations at the Board Table Board is looking for ways to enhance Student Achievement. “Twenty Questions” May help guide Board Members during those conversations, as they are intended to support continuous improvement.

The Discussion Items in this presentation are from the handout provided at the GWAEA meeting unless otherwise annotated Board Discussion: How well do we think the questions reflect the needs of MISD? Do these questions support Continuous Improvement?

Approach Too Many Items to get Through in One Session Duplicates Actual Conversation with District Team Suggestion: Discuss the School Board Item Today Provide presentation on Board Web Page/ . Board Members use questions on other topics as reference during conversations with District Teams Board Members/Administrators provide feedback to Tom After each Conversation updates/comments on “Twenty Questions” usefullness

School Board How do we model the level of excellence we expect from our students, staff, and administration?

How do we model… Outside of Board Room: Involvement in school in and out of classroom

How do we model… At Board Meetings: Purposeful learning—what is the focus of the learning activity? Be Prepared--read (and comprehend) the information provided Ask Questions ahead of time so that Superintendent can expand information Respect – What about Character Counts? Focus on Student Achievement This is NOT just test scores!

How do we model… At Board Meetings: Strive to Create Environment for Success Resource Recommendations Do we ask for Evidence: Alternatives Considered Rationale for Alternative Proposed for Adoption Do we ask for Evidence: Risks Opportunities

How do we model… Implementation Reviews Do we ask for Evidence: Progress against plan Risk Management Opportunities Leveraged

How do we model… For new and controversial topics: Do we Provide more than one opportunity for discussion before forcing board decision Do we have a consistent approach to coming to a decision.

School Board How do we self-evaluate the line between shared leadership and micro- managing. I.e., How do we know we are leading but are not micro-managing.--TT We might be so afraid to micro-manage that we don’t lead.--TT

Shared Leadership Ask Questions Listen Goals Developed Jointly.--TT Administration & Teaching Staff Retains Ownership of Accountability for Implementation.--TT

Micro-Management Ask Questions Tell Answers Board Assumes Responsibility.—TT Accountability is lost.--TT

School Board Meetings Today Reflects an expenditure of time, effort, energy and money What Evidence do we provide to our community that this was a good investment? Don’t state same opinion over and over Don’t rebut each other board member if they express an opinion different from yours

Professional Development Professional Development (PD) Do we Follow our Policy?—TT What data do we have that our current expenditures for professional development are making a difference? How are the PD needs determined? How do we follow-up? How closely linked is teacher evaluation to implementation

Media Centers If our district has a serious commitment to reading improvement, how is that reflected in our media centers. Do I as a Board member, model an interest in reading? What metrics do we gather about the media centers?--TT

Media Centers If people in the community were asked which they thought the board viewed as most important: Reading Sports Which would they say? Why?

Talented and Gifted In what ways do we meet the needs of our gifted students? My personal opinion of programming for gifted and talented students is: How effective are we at meeting the needs of our gifted students?--TT How valid is our measure of effectiveness?— TT What is our plan and are we on track?--TT

Early Childhood Whose Responsibility is it to meet the needs of the young child? If it is ours, what exactly is that responsibility? In what ways do we meet those needs and how well are we doing? Do we have a plan and are we following it?--TT

ESL/ELL Is this an issue for MISD in Light of all our other issues?--TT

Foreign Language In what ways would knowing another language help me as an adult? What Excuses do we hear for not pushing this projected need? Why don’t we teach foreign language in elementary?—TT Interestingly enough there seems to be a ground movement to teach elementary students American Sign Language. Does that count?--TT

Student Support Services How much Impact do these services provide our students?

Teacher Assistants How much time do we spend discussing Teacher Assistants’ impact on learning? Or is the majority of the discussion focused around collective bargaining agreements, budget issues, and/or class size? Is the Teacher Assistant student/assistant ratio an Administrative decision or a contract provision?--TT

The Arts How Committed are we to the Development of Balanced and/or “Well Rounded” citizens/individuals? What evidence could we provide that supports the development of both the right and left hemisphere of the child?

Physical Education What is the overall physical condition of our students? How much modeling of healthy living do students and community members witness from: Board Administrators Faculty

Leadership Do we have the “Best” people in Leadership? I believe we have the “Best” people in Leadership because they:…

Career Education How are we meeting the needs of all learners in terms of future employment training? (paraphrased from handout. The original question was confused.)

Technology In what ways do I/we model the level of excellence that we expect from our students, staff, and adminstration in the areas of technology? Don’t think this is the right question, MISD has much better question related to technology infusion in curriculum and professional development.—TT

After School Programs How do I assess the effectiveness of our after school programs? If we don’t offer any extended learning opportunities, why not? If we do, How do I know whether it is working?

Summer School Programs How do we assess the effectiveness of summer school? If we don’t offer summer school how can we justify the lack of “anything” over the summer – we know that kids loose a lot over the three months – is that just “OK”?

School Safety In what ways do we protect our children, teachers, adminstrators, and community? Do I/we quietly believe that it “won’t happen here”?

Teacher Mentoring Do I honestly believe that Teacher Mentoring is important? Shouldn’t they come to us trained and ready to teach? If I do believe it’s important, what exactly do we know about the impact of such programs on our faculty and kids?

Reference Based on Upcoming Book by Sandra Watkins & Donna McCaw