PROMOTING EXCELLENCE FOR ALL: HOW TO ELIMINATE VARIATION IN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR ALL STUDENTS DEMOND A. MEANS, ED.D. MARCH 4, 2015

Social Justice Economic – Human Capital Accountability WHY IS PROMOTING EXCELLENCE FOR ALL IMPORTANT?

Although Wisconsin is consistently among the best in the nation in graduation rates and ACT results, students of color are annually rated at or near the bottom of national performance. WHY IS PROMOTING EXCELLENCE FOR ALL IMPORTANT?

PROMOTING EXCELLENCE FOR ALL?

A DREAM DEFERRED?

GAP: PROMOTING EXCELLENCE FOR ALL “The work of this task force is extremely important to me because it is directly connected to Agenda 2017, my vision for all of Wisconsin’s students to graduate college and career ready.” Tony Evers, State Superintendent

“We must close graduation and achievement gaps; reduce the number of students who drop out of school; and fix the broken school finance system.” By 2017, we need to reach target goals that prepare Wisconsin students for success in further education and career:  Increase high school graduation from 85.7 percent to 92 percent.  Increase career and college readiness from 49 percent to 67 percent.  Close graduation and career college readiness by 50 percent.  Increase the percentage of students scoring proficient in 3 rd grade reading and 8 th grade mathematics.  Adopt the Fair Funding for Our Future plan to make school finance more equitable and transparent. AGENDA Tony Evers, State Superintendent

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a three- tiered problem-solving approach that identifies general education students struggling in academic areas early. It provides them with systematically applies strategies and targeted instruction at varying levels of intervention. RtI’s goal is to close achievement gaps for all students by addressing small learning problems before they become insurmountable. (NYSED 2008). WHY DOES RTI ASSIST IN ELIMINATING VARIATION IN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES?

RtI refers to an integrated, school-wide method of service delivery across general and Special Education that promotes successful school outcomes for all students. RtI involves systematically evaluating the cause-effect relationship between an academic or behavioral intervention and a student’s response to the intervention (Brown-Chidsey & Steege 2005) WHY DOES RTI ASSIST IN ELIMINATING VARIATION IN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES?

RTI AND THE THREE-TIERED MODEL OF SCHOOL SUPPORT

TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP, our schools must accelerate learning for our under-performing and under- represented students. Our efforts to improve current outcomes must focus in the following high leverage focus areas: CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP Through the maintenance of high standards for instruction supported by specific teaching strategies that promote learning for all students, we will support and challenge all students to achieve their full potential. EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS FAMILY ENGAGEMENT SCHOOL AND INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP

We must function with a growth mind-set vs. a fixed mind-set, so the idea that, “intelligence is not something that you’re born with, but it’s something that you can get good at if you put in effort,” is the foundation of the work we do.

EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION DIFFERENTIATION GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY PERSONALIZATION (VOICE/CHOICE) RIGOROUS, INTEGRATED CONTENT ENGAGEMENT COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION GROUPING DECISIONS BASED ON DATA EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SOFT SKILLS STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS ANGEL LIST CELEBRATE SUCCESS CLASSROOM CULTURE CULTURAL COMPETENCY EXTENDED TIME HONOR STUDENTS AS INDIVIDUALS RECLAIM UNSTRUCTURED TIME ACKNOWLEDGE STUDENTS FOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS TALENT MANAGEMENT MENTOR STUDENTS SCHOOL-WIDE BEHAVIOR SYSTEM FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONSIDER FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AS EXPERTS ON THEIR CHILDREN FAMILY ENGAGEMENT WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS FOCUSED EVENTS COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES SCHOOL AND INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP ALL STAFF RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL STUDENTS CAPACITY BUILDING COMPREHENSIVE LEADERSHIP PROCESS DATA ANALYSIS INTENTIONAL DESIGN OF SYSTEMS (IDOS) MATH AND READING INTERVENTIONS RELATIONSHIP BUILDING SCHOOL AND DISTRICT COMMON PLANNING SHARED VISION AND LEADERSHIP INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES RESEARCH BASED FOCUS AREAS AND TASK FORCE RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES

“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I'd rather die on my feet, than live on my knees” HOW DO THE ABOVE QUOTES RELATE TO THE WORK OF CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS? THIS IS NOT THE WORK FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

Infusing a Culture of Postsecondary Readiness Ensuring Access to Rigorous High School Courses Supporting Early Monitoring and Intervention Setting Clear Performance Standards Implementing Policies and Practices for Data-Driven Decision Making POLICIES & PRACTICES TO INCREASE READINESS

BRAINSTORMING QUESTIONS Group’s Table How is (or could) the achievement gap be addressed in your school district? What can you do as a leader in your school district to help close the achievement gap? How can you better communicate the nexus between RtI and promoting excellence for all? CONNECTING YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT TO THE ELIMINATING VARIATIONS IN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

Promoting Excellence for All State Superintendent’s Task Force on Wisconsin’s Achievement Gap 1.How is (or could) the achievement gap be addressed in your school district? 2.What can you do as a member of your school district to help close the achievement gap? 3.How can you better communicate the nexus between RtI and promoting excellence for all? DEBRIEFING: GROUP “AH-HA’S”

1.Advocate strongly for underrepresented children in your school district. 2.Demand/create a specific action plan on how the achievement gap will be addressed in your schools. WHAT CAN YOU DO? 3.Effectively communicate to your school board & community why closing the achievement gap (s) in your District will benefit all students through the use of best practices.

Refuse to be color-mute on issues related to racially based achievement gaps – Advocate for the children who don’t have an active advocacy base WHAT CAN YOU DO? Establish a District Equity Leadership Team (DELT) Host Data Retreats with school board members and community leaders highlighting achievement gaps Create area consortiums with neighboring school districts – sharing best practices Institute district-wide operational metrics that include specific measures for underperforming subgroups

“Good leaders see the need for a major change and will do whatever is necessary to make the status quo seem more dangerous than launching into the unknown.” John P. Kotter, Why Transformation Efforts Fail THE ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. The note was a promise that all men – yes, black men as well as white men – would be guaranteed unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. (King 1963)

THANK YOU!