VFEL Webinar Series Eight Elements of High School Improvement Leadership and Governance Resources for Sustainability March 2012

The ultimate goal in school improvement is for the people attached to the school to drive its continuous improvement for the sake of their own children and students. Dr. Sam Redding

Virginia Foundation of Educational Leadership (VFEL) Webinar Faculty: Dr. Roger E. Jones Dr. Carol C. Robinson Dr. John C. Walker

Today’s Agenda 1.Welcome (2 minutes) 2.Team reports – (10 minutes) 3.Research regarding Elements 6 and 8: Leadership and Governance; Organization and Structure (30 minutes) 4.Activity/Discussion – School and Division Expectations (10 minutes) 5.Reflections/Next Steps (8 minutes)

Objectives  Participants will be able to identify the defined practices in their school relative to effective leadership.  Participants will be able to identify the defined practices in their school relative to sustainability.  Participants will be able to identify steps to improve the Graduation and Completion Index.

Report Out What are your defined practices for student and family supports and stakeholder engagement? Are they effective?

Leadership and Governance – Element 6  A distributed leadership approach is in place to promote high school improvement.  High school improvement strategies and initiatives are guided by an effective high school improvement plan.  School leaders possess the prerequisite knowledge of school change to support high school initiatives and improvement strategies.

Distributed Leadership  Leadership is the province of all, not just a privileged few It is an interactive process in which leaders and followers engage in mutual interaction in a complex environment to achieve mutual goals Must acknowledge all elements of the process, not just the actions of the leader

Distributed Leadership  High school improvement strategies and initiatives are guided by an effective school improvement team.

Building Teams  “Team Life Cycle”  “Team Performance Assessment”  How can these be used?

Building Teams  School leaders possess the prerequisite knowledge of school change to support high school initiatives and improvement strategies.

Resources for Sustainability (Element 8)  Appropriate time and necessary fiscal support are provided so that high school improvement strategies and initiatives can be implemented and sustained.  Facilities and materials are continually assessed and upgraded to keep pace with evolving standards and technology.  Teachers and principals continuously develop their knowledge and skills to incorporate high school improvement strategies and initiatives within their instructional leadership practices.

Sustainability  You can only create and sustain what you value!  Implementing is easier than sustaining.  Sustain only those programs/ initiatives/strategies that work.  Match intent with practice.

SOL Changes  Social Studies—standards changed in 2008 and assessments changed in  Math—standards changed in 2009 and assessments changed in  English and Science—standards changed in 2010 with assessments to change in

Additional Areas of Focus  College and Career Readiness Advanced Proficient on EOC Assessments Industry Certification  Academic Rigor Governor’s Challenge to State Board USED Waivers to NCLB  Evaluations Linked to Student Achievement  Graduation and Completion Index

Critical Points for Sustainability To sustain change, schools must focus energies beyond short-term effectiveness and toward a greater vision Hargreaves & Fink (2006), Reeves & Allison (2009), Wheatley & Frieze (2007)

Critical Points for Sustainability The greatest obstacle to school reform (and sustainability) is the lack of a compelling vision. (NASSP, 2004)

Sustainability is Connected to School Culture (Kurt Lewin)  Culture (defined practice) is the institutionalized way you do things in your school (it is what you espouse and what you accept)  School Culture is frozen – it will not change without a reason  Unfreeze the culture, then implement the change  Refreeze the culture so the change becomes part of “who you are”

Critical Points for Sustainability The most important outcome of any fundamental change process must be a change in the stakeholders’ mindsets and beliefs about education. Without changes in the users’ mindsets, no fundamental change is likely to succeed or be sustained. (Squire & Reigeluth, 2000)

Structural Change ≠ Cultural Change  Structural Change Examples Small Learning Communities Ninth Grade Academies Block Schedule Career Academies Professional Learning Communities

Structural Change ≠ Cultural Change  Cultural Changes Vision that Drives Decisions Common Set of Guiding Principles Heightened Expectations Belief Structure of Teachers/Staff Language of the Responsible v. Language of the Victim

Sustain Change that: Prepares students for their future, not our pasts; Prepares students for jobs that may not yet exist; and Prepares students to solve unknown problems.

Leading for Sustainability Vision and Guiding Principles Standards and Assessments Academic Rigor Culture Change

Sustainability Process Incentive VisionSkillsResources Action Plan

Sustainability PlanningInitiationImplementation Institution- alization

Two Critical Elements of Sustainability Non-negotiables – Those things you will lock horns over. Intentionality – Those things you agree to focus on every day.

Summary  Effective teachers continuously build their content knowledge and pedagogical and classroom management skills to meet the needs of all students.  Collaboration among teachers and instructional staff members across all content areas and categorical programs is critical if schools are going to meet the needs of all students.  Professional development opportunities must be job-embedded at the school and classroom levels, aligned to high school improvement strategies and initiatives, and offered throughout the school year.

Efforts in teacher quality and professional development that are NOT based on student needs will NOT raise your graduation rate. School Administration Efforts School Department Efforts Feeder School Efforts Central Office Efforts Leadership and Sustainability

Needs Assessment  Take a few minutes to review the results of your needs assessment for Element 2  Select an indicator that is a strength and be prepared to explain why it is a strength

Questions to consider to stimulate team reflections  How is leadership distributed at our school? To what degree are staff involved as partners in the improvement process?  How is sustainability addressed and evidenced in our school and division? What are our non-negotiables?  What is the compelling vision that guides our school and division reform efforts?  What structural changes have we made or are we preparing to make? Are we changing the culture?

Resources for Elements 6 and 8 Hargreaves, A. & Fink, D. (2006). Sustainable leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. National Association of Secondary Principals. (2004). Breaking ranks II: Strategies for leading high school reform. Reston, VA: Author. Noguera, P. Presentation made at the Virginia Middle and High School Principals Conference and Exposition, June 27-29, 2011 Reeves. D. B. & Allison, E. (2009). Renewal coaching: Sustainable change for individuals and organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Squire, K. D. & Reigeluth, C. M. (2000). The many faces of systemic change. Educational Horizons, 78(3), Wheatley, M. & Frieze, D. (2007). Beyond networking: How large- scale change really happens. School Administrator, 64(4),

What was one idea I learned during today’s webinar that I plan to share with colleagues at my school?

Next Steps  Revisit your needs assessment results. Have your perceptions changed as a result of your participation in the webinar series?  Regional meetings in April  Evaluation survey – online, will be available mid-April through May 1 – please complete this for us!  School Improvement Plan due May 1

Regional Liaisons  Frank Ehrhart  Courtney Graves  Linda Hyslop  Steve Sage  Melanie Yules