Ambassador Design Team meeting #3 February, 2015

Seating Assignments Please sit where you last left off on Jan 28 th – Tables are organized by draft value

Meeting Goals Revise and Immerse – Revise value(s)/statements as a result of public feedback – Understand what a “priority” is and how we will know when we’ve created one – Begin developing priorities

Meeting Agenda TimeActivity 5:30-5:45Process Insights Across Values Feedback 5:45-6:20Revise group-specific feedback 6:20-6:45Brainstorming priorities 6:45-7:20Exploring & developing priorities 7:20-7:30Next Steps and Closing

Meeting Values Curiosity Empathy Optimism

Process GPS

SECTION 1: PROCESSING INSIGHTS ACROSS VALUES FEEDBACK

Values Prototype Survey Response Source # of Participants Public99 Strategy Review Team68 RI Department of Education25 TOTAL192

I agree with the 6 values chosen to guide RI public education.”

“I agree with the values statements used to define these guiding values.”

Overall Findings – Plus “Overall, they are excellent general principles. This is hard work to do without resorting to jargon. I think these are generally clear, understandable and jargon-free.”

Overall Findings – Delta “Innovation - RI needs to value innovation by educators, students, the community, etc.”

Overall Findings – Delta “I'd separate out engaged from accountable and either make into two separate values or consider whether engaged could be combined with support in some way.”

Overall Findings – Delta “I'm still a bit concerned that the values are too broad and I worry that they won't come to anything”

TASK #1 - VALUE REVISIONS

Agree Upon Roles – Facilitator – Timekeeper – Scribe

Instructions 1.Review Feedback Report for your group’s value (5 mins) 2.Use Plus/Delta Sheet to identify key positives and changes (5 mins) 3.Share out whole group (1.5 mins each) (Chart and place check by repeated idea)

Instructions 4.Engage in group discussion on how to improve value based upon feedback (15 mins) 5.Identify two volunteers, at least one core member, who will produce the next version of the values description 6.Report Out (1 minute per group)

Values Volunteers Wanted 2 volunteers, at least 1 Core Member Commit to workshop the value and statement off-table as part of homework Submit by Feb 20. Write names on your current product

Sharing Out What did you hear? What major changes will you be making? Who will be leading the next steps?

SECTION 2: DEFINING PRIORITIES

The Blueprint for the Final Product 7-10 page document, limited narrative, measurable, and actionable Values The 5-7 core principles that will be the drivers of the plan and the litmus test for eventual content Priority Areas & Key Outcomes Approximately 3-5 high level priority areas with ~ 3 key outcomes that characterize each Strategies The 3-5 significant actions that RIDE will take over the next five years to advance each priority areas and achieve the key outcomes Established by RIDE: Measureable Objectives, Resourcing, and Operational Plans

Values = Why? Priority Areas = What? Strategies = How?

A Focus on the First Two Products Values – The Whys The core principles or beliefs that drive the plan and are the litmus test for content Priority Areas – The Whats The “big bets”

What is not a priority? Priority ≠ Everything the organization does Priority ≠ Everything everyone wants the organization to do Priority ≠ Everything we could do Priority ≠ A sure thing

TASK #2 – DRAFTING PRIORITIES

The Task: Developing draft priorities Using topical areas as process tool Please select one of the following topics and move to the proper table. Min 2, max 5 per topic.

Table Topic Areas 1. Family and Community Engagement 2. Educator Quality 3. Personalized Learning 4. Postsecondary Preparedness 5. Standards, Curriculum, and Assessments 6. Learning Environments 7. Resources

BREAK

BRAINSTORMING PRIORITIES

What is the most important action that Rhode Islanders can take to ensure success for all students?

Why brainstorm? Quantity of ideas can improve quality of product Push creative edges of solutions to problems Easy to be stuck in echo chamber of education. Challenge your assumptions to push your thinking.

Every contribution is worthwhile Even weird, way-out ideas Even confusing ideas Even silly ideas

Suspend Judgment We won’t evaluate each other’s ideas We don’t censor our own ideas We’ll save these ideas for later discussions

What is the most important action that Rhode Islanders can take to ensure success for all students?

Prompt 1 – 1 minute – 3 ideas No roadblocks forget politics, budgets, time constraints, etc. pie in the sky ideas

Prompt 2 – 1 minute – 3 ideas Roadblock has been added, This must be done for free. Think of something that is really about shifting how we think and or act that can be done without any real cost.

Prompt 3 – 1 minute – 3 ideas Shake things up This priority will challenge the status quo (as you define it) and really alter something about the education system as we know it.

Share Out Share your favorite brainstorms out with your table. (3 min) Share 1 favorite per table with whole group.

DEVELOPING PRIORITIES

Goal: Create a list of early draft priority statements Process: 1.Individual exploration time 2.Talk about filters 3.Small group writing time 4.Sharing out

Exploring Priorities - Sources of Inspiration 1.Brainstorms 2.Quantitative results from original survey of RI 3.Your homework for suggesting values (Some of your suggested values may actually be priorities) 4.Current homework- What are their big ideas and what big ideas did they hear from others?

Exploring Priorities – Instructions (5 min) Silently… – Look across all sources of data – What’s is bubbling up? What resonates across the sources? – Record emerging potential priorities or big actions

PRIORITIES “YES” TEST

A priority Is actionable It is clear that a specific action is being taken. You can picture the action taking place.

A priority Is informed A series of well-informed, well- educated bets Based on data Visible in the community’s beliefs Grounded in best practices

A priority Is current and future facing Aspirational & audacious Balances problem solving with pursuing a vision for transforming the system

A priority Acts as an umbrella for more specific actions Is not itself a component of a broader transformational idea

Priority? Let’s discuss. Is it a priority? Ex. 1 – Providing High quality pre-K education for all students Priority Tests The Action: a specific action that can make a significant impact The Data: informed by data and best practices The Umbrella: covers all the major subparts that make up the idea – it is the stand alone big idea The Balance Beam: balances a focus on future vision with present problem solving. It is aspirational and audacious.

Priority? Let’s discuss. Is it a priority? Ex. 2 – Giving each child a laptop Priority Tests The Action: a specific action that can make a significant impact The Data: informed by data and best practices The Umbrella: covers all the major subparts that make up the idea – it is the stand alone big idea The Balance Beam: balances a focus on future vision with present problem solving. It is aspirational and audacious.

Priority? Let’s discuss. Is it a priority? Ex. 3 – Ensure educator quality Priority Tests The Action: a specific action that can make a significant impact The Data: informed by data and best practices The Umbrella: covers all the major subparts that make up the idea – it is the stand alone big idea The Balance Beam: balances a focus on future vision with present problem solving. It is aspirational and audacious.

Activity – Define Priorities for Your Table Agree upon roles: facilitator, timekeeper, scribe Use the “Priorities Yes Test” Record a small number of priorities or “big actions” on chart paper.

Share Out

SECTION 3: CLOSURE AND NEXT STEPS

Cautions – This is still early… Think of these as early thinking and not a draft More filters will be added later Space for other divergent ideas, things left behind, etc. will be built in later

What will success look like? Focused, Coherent, and Synergistic A few, key carefully considered actions to focus the system’s work on that, when put together, create a powerful engine for systemic improvement Priorities are tightly interrelated and complementary

What will success look like? Potential for significant impact on student outcomes The combination of priorities have the potential to make positive impact on students

What will success look like? Aligned to our values The collection of priorities are aligned to our values and help us to realize them

Process GPS Focus Applying new filters Honoring the data & research

1/10 1/28 2/11 2/25 3/11 3/25 4/8 4/225/2 5/6 5/20 6/3 6/17 Community Input to the Development Cycle OUTPUT RI Survey Data Strategy Review Team Community Meeting & Strategy Review Team Specialized Groups & Strategy Review Team Strategy Review Team INPUT CYCLE 1 CYCLE 2 CYCLE 3CYCLE 4 Finalize Values Draft Priorities & Key Outcomes Refine Priorities & Key Outcomes; Begin Strategies Final Plan Refine Priorities, Outcomes & Strategies

Next Steps Homework – Updated values due 2/20 – Getting informed (data, best practices, RIDE context & more) Importance of homework

Next Steps Hold May 2 nd Link for feedback

Acknowledging Feedback Location, location, location Start on time Less talking/teaching

#edvoicesri