Successful Schools Strand: Up-Bending the Arc of Student Achievement Los Angeles Unified School District Academic English Mastery Program (AEMP) 18 th Annual Weekend Professional Development Conference Randy Ross, Ph.D. Mikara Solomon Davis, Rima Zobayan LAUSD Board of Education’s Independent Analysis Unit

2 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Premise: All Schools in High Poverty Areas Can Succeed It can be done – School Success Forum It must be done -- AEMP schools’ pursuit of exemplary achievement (API 800 or higher)

3 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Successful Schools Forum: Approach 1. Find high-poverty schools that work for all students  Identify successful schools for targeted students.  Validate each school’s success.  Develop and document a compelling theory of action that describes how and why each school is successful. 2. Facilitate continued academic growth of successful schools 3. Transfer success to other high-poverty schools  Identify and develop school success transfer agents.  Conduct school success transfer demonstrations

4 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Successful Schools Strand - Overview A. Turning Around Low-Achieving Schools B. Learning from successful public schools C. Learning from successful charter schools D. Transferring success to low-achieving schools

5 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Turning Around Low-Performing Schools: IES Recommendations 1. Signal the need for dramatic change with strong leadership 2. Maintain a consistent focus on improving instruction 3. Make visible improvements early in the school turnaround process (quick wins) 4. Build a committed staff

6 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand 1. Signal the need for dramatic change with strong leadership A change in leadership practices in the school is essential. Because the current school leader may be enmeshed in past strategies, a new leader can immediately signal change. If there is no change in leadership, the existing leader can signal change by radically altering leadership practices. Make the school leader the instructional leader who is highly visible in classrooms. Publicly announce changes and anticipated actions (transparency and accountability).

7 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand What’s the focus of classroom observations for AEMP principals? Differentiated instruction Student access (student engagement/ responses) Specific subjects (e.g., ELA or math) Specific grade levels Teacher accountability (follow-up to prior feedback) Teacher evaluation (Stull)

8 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand How are classroom observations used? Provide feedback to teachers – Immediate written or oral feedback to teacher – Grade-level debriefings – Debrief leadership team (AP, coordinators, coaches) – Acknowledge excellence – Encourage teachers to volunteer to assist others – Offer suggestions, guidance, or directives – Arrange professional development as needed Develop individualized plans for students observed with learning/social challenges.

9 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand What percent of the school day do principals spend observing classrooms?

10 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand 2. Maintain a consistent focus on improving instruction Examine school’s student achievement data to identify specific gaps in student learning Have teachers use formative data about individual students to analyze their instruction in light of student progress toward standards. Establish priority areas for instructional focus. Arrange for targeted, differentiated professional development based on analyses of achievement. Have staff review curriculum to insure alignment with standards. Regularly monitor student growth in relation to school work and adjust work as necessary.

11 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Many AEMP schools use student performance data to assess needs How AEMP schools use data Number of responsesPercent Identify strengths and weaknesses by subject (English Language Arts, math)1348% Develop Plans for addressing areas of weakness (Smart Goals)830% Individual teachers use periodic assessment data to inform instruction (re-teaching)622% Individualization (Develop goal blueprints for every students with goals for improvement)622% Grade level analyses of student performance519% Target support to low-achieving students27% Frequent tracking of student achievement27% Display data (Data Wall)14%

12 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Many AEMP schools use formative data about individual students Response# of responsesPercent Periodic Assessments2178% Standardized Assessments1244% Other Assessments (teacher created; portfolios)1141% Develop Plans for addressing areas of weakness (Smart Goals)1037% Grade level planning415% Tracking progress of each student415% GSAT monitoring14% Share data with students and parents14%

13 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand 3. In the beginning, push for Quick Wins Start with a goal that is important, can be achieved quickly, and will provide visible improvement. Develop a strategy for accomplishing the goal that can be implemented quickly—for example, the school already has the authority and resources to implement the strategy Consider some common goals for quick wins, – use of time – improving access to resources – physical facilities – improving discipline.

14 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand What strategies do AEMP principals use to improve student achievement? Key Action Area# of responses Percent (n=27) Data analysis1244% Planning and monitoring1244% Professional development and teacher collaboration1244% Classroom Observation and teacher feedback1244% School or classroom intervention726% Individualized Student support726% Student Assessment519% Pedagogy311% Standards - High expectations311% Curricular focus27% Student Engagement27% Teacher: hiring/retention14% Hiring other staff14% Parent engagement14% Visiting successful principals and schools14%

15 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand 4. Build a committed staff Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the staff. Identify staff who are not fully committed to the school turnaround goals or who do not have the qualifications to carry them out. Redeploy staff members who have valuable skills but are not effective in their current role. Replace staff members who actively resist the school’s turnaround efforts. Recruit new staff who have the needed specialized skills and competencies for positions in the school—such as interventionists, reading specialists, and mentors and instructional coaches.

16 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand How do AEMP principals ensure staff are committed? Planning Active engagement of teachers in decision- making Monitoring and accountability Incentives and rewards

17 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand The challenge of linking student achievement to human resource decisions Role of Student Achievement Human Resource Decision: TeachersIdealStandard Practice Hiring Student achievement should be a key determinant of hiring. Qualifications (e.g., credentials) are the key determinant. Staffing (classrooms, programs/interventions) Staffing decisions should be made largely on the basis of the perceived ability of teachers to produce results. Seniority (rather performance of students) is key determinant Professional development PD should target areas in which a teacher's students have over time performed least well. PD is often one size fits all. Much PD occurs through salary point credits acquired for PD activities that often are not aligned with neither the teacher's nor the student's needs. Evaluation (Stull) Student achievement should be one of the key determinants Teachers are evaluated based on process variables that generally have a limited correlation with student achievement.

18 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Recap - Turning Around Low- Performing Schools 1. Signal the need for dramatic change with strong leadership 2. Maintain a consistent focus on improving instruction 3. Make visible improvements early in the school turnaround process (quick wins) 4. Build a committed staff

19 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Successful Schools Strand Turning Around Low-Achieving Schools Learning from successful public schools – Bursch Elementary (Compton Unified) – Baldwin Hills Elementary (LAUSD) Learning from successful charter schools – Watts Learning Center (LAUSD) – Wilder’s Academy (Inglewood Unified) Transferring success to low-achieving schools – Grape Street Elementary (LAUSD)

20 3/30/2009AEMP Conf – SS Strand Q & A