Implementing Continuous Process Improvement in Our Schools Write introduction questions on a flipchart: 1. Your name? 2. Where you work? 3. What are your goals for this week? 4. What do you like to do when not at work? 5. Kaizen experience? Learning Supports Kaizen Event Training

Housekeeping Begin on time – 8:00 am Cell phones on vibrate End hopefully 5:30 PM Cell phones on vibrate Laptops off Breaks during the day Lunch and afternoon snack provided Restrooms in 409.

Agenda Monday Tuesday – Examine current process map AM = Kaizen Event Charter & Training PM = Map & Critical Attributes Tuesday – Examine current process map Value added/delays/barriers to flow/root cause Affinity. Fishbone, Root Cause Wednesday – Map future process Solutions – King/Queen Assign tasks Thursday – Examine future SOP AM = Team tasks PM = Report Out

Introductions Name Role with the district How long with district Why – expectations Answer one of these questions Something you like to do outside of work? Something no one else here knows about you Any experience with Kaizen

Education’s Challenge Do more with less…. Expand Services Improve Student Performance Meet Increasing Public Goals Keep Students in School Meet Workplace Requirements Compete for: funding talent students community growth & quality of life “hearts and minds” of the general public.

CRCSD’s Response Established Strategic Plan focused on Customer Satisfaction and Continuous Improvement. Vision, mission, values, goals and guiding philosophy of each department are aligned.

Learning Supports Overview Kaizen Event April 13-16, 2009

What % of our students arrive at school… Eager for class to begin and ready to learn? Well-rested? Well-fed? On time? Free from peer and family problems? Appropriately dressed? With the right books and materials? With homework completed?

More Questions... How can we help students benefit from quality instruction? How can we effectively address barriers to learning so that all students have the opportunity to be successful in school?

1 2 = 3 = Successful in School Barriers to Learning Range of Learners Core Instruction Successful in School = Motivationally ready & able to learn 1 Barriers to Learning 2 = Encounter some barriers and may be lacking prerequisite knowledge & skills Learning Supports 1. Supports / Supplements to Instruction 2. Family Supports and Involvement 3. Community Partnerships 4. Safe, Healthy, and Caring Environments 5. Transitions 6. Child/Youth Engagement Group 1: The % of students who come ready and able to learn varies from 0-75%. The number in this group is decreasing every year. Group 2: Lacking prerequisite skills & knowledge Different learning styles & rates Minor vulnerabilities Group 3: Highly deficient in current abilities May have disabilities May have major health problems Posters depicting the Content Areas have been posted around the room. 3 = Encounter complex and intensive barriers to learning See packet of available learning supports in our district – in your folder

Learning Supports A focused effort to strengthen and coordinate strategies which support the learning environment Utilize model similar to reading and math. Ongoing & focused Research-based

Learning Supports Goals Increase academic achievement Improve student attendance Reduce the number of office referrals and suspensions for disciplinary reasons Provide more timely access to counseling, mental health and substance abuse services Improve student interactions with peers Improve student interaction with adults Improve student social skills

Learning Supports Goals… Improve faculty and staff consistency Increase faculty and staff knowledge and skill levels in identifying, referring, and monitoring students in need of learning supports Increase parent involvement related to student achievement Increase and coordinate collaboration with community organizations that provide services to youth and families

Psychological Testing Clinic HIV/Aids Prevention After-School Programs Health Services Special Education Physical Education Violence & Crime Prevention Health Education Nutrition Education Student Services Juvenile Court Services School School Lunch Program Drug Prevention Community-Based Organizations Counseling Take a minute to look at the topics on this slide, and briefly discuss with the person sitting next to you whether they support student learning. Drug Treatment Mental Health Services Social Services Pregnancy Prevention Smoking Cessation For Staff STI Prevention Codes of Discipline Child Protective Services Adapted from: Health is Academic: A guide to Coordinated School Health Programs (1998). Edited by E. Marx & S.F. Wooley with D. Northrop. New York: Teachers College Press.

Fragmentation Many, many supports available in our schools, district and community How easy is it to access these supports? Do teachers, students, families, support staff know that these supports are available? Do they know how to access these supports?

Think about…. If Robert were a teacher in your building, what would he say about the ease of accessing support for students he has concerns about (academic, behavioral, social, etc.) If Robert were a student in your building, what would he say about the ease of accessing help for concerns he has about himself as a learner, behaviorally, socially, etc. If Robert were a parent in your building what would he say about the ease of accessing help for concerns he has about his child (academic, behavioral, social, etc.)

What do we want students to know? Pre Planning: Identification of Need 1. Develop/Review Student Learning Expectations 2. Examine alignment of learning expectations with assessments 3. Review assessment data 4. Identify areas of need based on assessment Identify areas of strength and weakness? What do we want students to know? Plan: 1. Describe the current process for addressing the identified area of need (flow chart) 2. Review data to determine baseline performance in the specific area identified (Run Chart/Pareto Diagram) 3. Identify potential root causes contributing to the identified area of need (Cause & Effect Diagram, 5 Why’s, Relations Diagram) 4. Study research-based best practice/improvement theory addressing areas of need HOW do we know if they have learned it? What do they know? What have they learned? Action Research Overview for Professional Learning Communities DO 1. Plan for implementation of improvement theory (Force Field Analysis, Action Plan) 2. Implement research-based best practices improvement theory based on root causes according to the Action Plan 3. Monitor the implementation of research-based best practice/improvement theory to insure integrity and fidelity 4. Assess student learning Act: 1. Standardize the implementation of research-based best practice (improvement theory) that improved student learning (revise the flow chart to reflect changes made to the system) 2. If improvement theory was unsuccessful continue the PDSA cycle (try another improvement theory based on the next identified root causes) What evidence do we have of the learning? Most effective/best practice teaching and learning strategies? The questions are essentially the same as PDSA is applied to answer the key questions at the classroom level. The emphasis is on student learning expectations, evidence of learning and responses to struggling learners. Study: 1. Examine student assessment results (compare to baseline) 2. Assess the impact of research-based best practice/improvement theory on student achievement Have they learned it? What do we do if they don’t? How do we respond if they don’t?

PLC Critical Questions What do we want students to know and be able to do? Standards/Benchmarks (Learning Outcomes) Classroom SMART goals How will we know if they can do it? Formative assessments Multiple data sets How will we respond when they can’t do it / or if they already have it? Differentiated Instruction Systems of intervention (supplemental to intensive) PLC questions and information at the classroom level to respond

1 2 = 3 = Successful in School Barriers to Learning Range of Learners Core Instruction Successful in School = Motivationally ready & able to learn 1 Barriers to Learning 2 = Encounter some barriers and may be lacking prerequisite knowledge & skills Learning Supports 1. Supports / Supplements to Instruction 2. Family Supports and Involvement 3. Community Partnerships 4. Safe, Healthy, and Caring Environments 5. Transitions 6. Child/Youth Engagement Group 1: The % of students who come ready and able to learn varies from 0-75%. The number in this group is decreasing every year. Group 2: Lacking prerequisite skills & knowledge Different learning styles & rates Minor vulnerabilities Group 3: Highly deficient in current abilities May have disabilities May have major health problems Posters depicting the Content Areas have been posted around the room. 3 = Encounter complex and intensive barriers to learning See packet of available learning supports in our district – in your folder

See A System of Student Learning Supports packet – in your folder Intensive Supplemental Core See A System of Student Learning Supports packet – in your folder

= ≠ Learning Supports Learning Supports Referral Accessing any supports student needs to be successful at school Learning Supports Referral ≠ Automatically accessing the pathway to IDM / Special Education supports

Focusing solely on instruction Range of Learners Core Instruction Successful in School = Motivationally ready & able to learn 1 Barriers to Learning 2 = Encounter some barriers and may be lacking prerequisite knowledge & skills Learning Supports Focusing solely on instruction will not help students in groups 2 & 3 succeed Group 1: The % of students who come ready and able to learn varies from 0-75%. The number in this group is decreasing every year. Group 2: Lacking prerequisite skills & knowledge Different learning styles & rates Minor vulnerabilities Group 3: Highly deficient in current abilities May have disabilities May have major health problems 3 = Encounter complex and intensive barriers to learning See packet of available learning supports in our district – in your folder

Learning Supports Teachers can teach Students can learn A continuum of core, supplemental, and intensive support services which create and maintain safe and respectful environments in which: Teachers can teach Students can learn Parents and community partners can contribute Successful social, emotional, behavioral, and learning outcomes are achieved

Current State… Current referral process is fragmented and varies from building to building This fragmentation makes it difficult for stakeholders to consistently access supports, so that all students have equal access to supports

From this… To this... A comprehensive Learning Supports framework will help us clean things up.

Student Services Team Background Develop a systematic, efficient framework for the schools in our district to address barriers to learning Using Adelman and Taylor model Iowa guide: Developing Our Youth: Fulfilling a Promise, Investing in Iowa’s Future Blend with current district practices (PLCs, continuous improvement, formative assesment, Doing Our PARRT, PBS, etc.) Map resources at a district level Provide structure for buildings to continue this mapping process at a building level

Charter / Scope of Kaizen Event This event will address the development of a standard operating procedure for accessing learning supports that can be used by all stakeholders in the CRCSD. See Kaizen Charter – in your folder

A standard operating procedure for accessing learning supports will: Identify existing strengths in the process Identify gaps and address needs in existing process Mobilize existing resources in anticipation of tomorrow’s needs for students and staff Create a system of cohesiveness and transparency for students, parents and staff Gives permission to “let go” of antiquated thinking and practices Kim’s section

Objectives of this event: To develop (and implement ’09-’10) a district-wide standard operating procedure that can be used by any district stakeholder to address concerns that they have about a student Improve efficiency of existing processes by improving flow and reducing waste Remove non-value added steps in existing processes Ensure that we utilize the tools we have effectivley To determine methods that will measure the effectiveness of this referral process To clarify the roles and functions of team members See Kaizen Charter – in your folder

Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989 “School systems are not responsible for meeting every need of their students. But, when the need directly affects learning, the school must meet the challenge.” Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989