Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools SHARED LEADERSHIP: WHERE ALL TEACHERS ARE LEADERS Jim Bodrie, Project Director – Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Cathy Meyer, Assistant Principal & SLC Administrator – TC West Senior High School, Traverse City, Michigan

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Outcomes: Understand and use strategies for creating Professional Learning Community and distributing leadership Understand how one school is using the attributes of Professional Learning Communities to research and identify a Smaller Learning Communities structure along with strategies to create a more personalized educational environment that will help to facilitate an increase in student achievement. Develop an action plan for implementing Professional Learning Community strategies and characteristics

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Agenda Welcome, Outcomes, Introductions What are your experiences? Distributing Leadership through Professional Learning Communities Traverse City West High School ‘s Story What connections can you make? Action Plan Development

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Welcome, Outcomes, Introductions –Smaller Learning Communities Overview – Michigan SLC Consortium representing Grand Rapids Creston and Union, Marquette, Muskegon, Traverse City Central and West High Schools. Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Technical Assistance Provider –Breaking Ranks as a foundation –Vision: Building Professional Learning Community(ies)

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools What are your experiences with leadership? Choose a geometric symbol or shape, which represents Leadership as it is presently occurring in your world. How does this symbol or shape capture the ideas, feelings, hopes, and possibly disappointments about what leadership looks like?

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Generate a list of ideas and initial thoughts that come to your mind when you think about distributive or shared leadership.

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Write the term “distributing leadership” in the middle of the paper. Sort your generated list of ideas according to how central they are to distributed leadership by placing central ideas near the center of the page and the not so central ideas towards the outside of the page.

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Connect your idea words by drawing connecting lines between the ideas that have something in common. Explain and write on the connecting line a word or short phrase how the ideas are connected.

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Elaborate on any ideas or thoughts you have written so far by adding new ideas that expand, extend or add to your initial ideas.

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Distributing Leadership through Professional Learning Communities Read the article “Facilitative Leadership” individually Select a sentence, phrase and or word that resonated with you most. Do a “whip” around the table sharing your sentence, phrase or word and explain why it resonated with you.

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Traverse City Area Public Schools 10,000 K-12 2 comprehensive high schools 1 alternative high schools 2 middle schools 11 elementary schools including a Montessori Northwestern Michigan College University Center Primarily a hospitality and health field industry Traverse City West Senior High School Presently 1850 students 115 certified teachers 12% Special Education population 30% Free and Reduced lunch Low Diversity; however it is increasing

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Traverse City West High School ‘s Story What did it used to look like? What does it look like now? What would we like it to become?

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Review WSH’s Journey Map along with “The Six Characteristics of High Performing Schools.” What Comes Up?

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools November, 2007: Grant Goals presented to staff. LT members identified and began unpacking the grant. 3 “big ideas” of Personalization, Academic Achievement, and Transitioning February, 2008: Kick Off Mentoring February, 2008: Ann Arbor Skyline visit March, 2008: LT intentionally created 3 TLC’s related to the 3 big ideas June, 2008: Review of WSH Standards August, 2008: Revitalization of WSH Standards, Freshmen Orientation and LT created the Professional Development Day’s agenda Board Curriculum Committee was introduced to the project District School Improvement Plan was aligned October, 2008: PD day – each TLC looked at the research related to their “big idea” and generated questions for fellow staff members to take to Noble’s Design Institute and CES’s Fall Forum. LT intentionally chose members to visit each place November, 2008: PD day – whole staff listened intently to presentations Visiting Teams decided we needed a vision statement. Staff was invited to journal on Moodle what they wished to see for WSH TLC’s pulled vision statement key words January, 2009: CFG began to organize. January, 2009: Day long planning session reviewing all visits Business Camp CFG ran a staff meeting LT ran lunch conversations before the SLC structure vote LT intentionally moved adults into neighborhoods Community roll out began

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Identified big ideas and timeline Created a shared understanding of goal areas Met staff members where they were at Revisited vision statement or WSH standards Gave staff members back a sense of voice and control Distribute the decision making to the Leadership Team and the Critical Friends Group – with trust Continuous Cycle of Improvement by revisiting vision, timeline, academic achievement data points and goal areas – where are we now, where do we need to be, how far have we come

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools What connections can you make?

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools Action Plan Development or a Group Map combining thoughts/ideas/connections made

Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools MCES Contact Information  Jim Bodrie: ,  Cathy Meyer: ,