Long Beach Communities of Practice Institute

2 2 The School Quality Improvement System Jot down words, phrases and images that speak to the “why” of the School Quality Improvement System (10 minutes)

3 Point & Talk What words and phrases most resonated with you? Why?

4 Point & Talk What are you hoping to get out of today?

5 Agenda Welcome and Introduction Overview of the School Quality Improvement System and Communities of Practice Program Time with your Community of Practice Problem of Practice Lunch Plan, Do, Study, Act Cycle-CoP Teams School Teams-Implementation Closing

6 CORE is a collaboration among 10 California school districts. We’re working together to significantly improve student outcomes. Over 1 million students

7 Our Board Mike Hanson Board President Superintendent Fresno Unified Chris Steinhauser Board Vice President Superintendent Long Beach Janet Young Board Member Superintendent Clovis Unified Gabriela Mafi Board Member Superintendent Garden Grove John E. Deasy Board Member Superintendent Los Angeles Antwan Wilson Board Member Superintendent Oakland Unified José L. Banda Board Member Superintendent Sacramento City Richard Carranza Board Member Superintendent San Francisco Matt Navo Board Member Superintendent Sanger Unified Rick Miller Board Member Superintendent Santa Ana Unified

8 USED offered a waiver for ESEA requirements. California is 1 of 5 states that does not have an approved ESEA Flexibility Waiver or one under review States approved for ESEA flexibility States with ESEA flexibility requests under review Source: USED

9 In August 2013, the CORE districts’ waiver was approved. It allowed these districts to pursue a new holistic accountability model for schools and freed up $110 million in Title 1 “set-asides” for more effective use Participating Districts Title 1 Set Aside $ and Number of Students Impacted

10 School Quality Improvement System Commitments Principle 1 College- & Career- Ready Standards Principle 3 Supporting Effective Teaching & Leadership Principle 2 Differentiated Accountability, Recognition, & Support

11 Elbow Partners How is the approach of the School Quality Improvement System similar to and/or different from how you think about improving education?

12 What How Why

13 Communities of Practice are one of the “hows” of the School Quality Improvement System

14 Understand the purpose of the Communities of Practice Program, why it is part of the School Quality Improvement System, and how it aligns with the broader philosophy of the CORE member districts Understand how the Communities of Practice structure fits in work that schools are already engaged in Begin to build relationships with one another in order to create a Community of Practice in support of the work ahead Identify a specific area of focus and Problem of Practice Begin to develop your first Plan/ Do/ Study/ Act (PDSA) cycle around your problem of practice Having engaged in the “Plan” portion of the PDSA cycle Before you leave today, your Community of Practice will…

15 Individually, read the text selection – 10 minutes Record on 3 index cards (1 category per card) : One key word One phrase One sentence Place the cards in the center of table, and categorize the cards together

16 What are some things that pop out for you? How might you compare and contrast your individual choices? What are some relationships between the words, phrases, and sentences you selected? What are some connections you’re making between this text and your own work? 10 minutes

17 Elevator Speech Discuss and come to a consensus of your group’s definition of a Community of Practice Write a 1 minute “elevator speech” on an index card to summarize The person at the table born the furthest from our current location will report out to the whole group (1 minute timed)

18 Time with Your Community

19 Introduce yourself to the group: Name, role at your site, and what excites you about working in a learning community On a sticky note, write a norm that is a priority for you. Share your norm with your school team. As a team agree on 2 norms to share with your community of practice. Chart your norms. As a community of practice, agree on 4 norms for your CoP. These established norms will be adhered to every time your CoP works together. Building Community and Establishing Norms…

20 Break

21 What is a Problem of Practice?

22 focuses on the instructional core (What teachers and students are doing and the content being addressed). is directly observable. is actionable (is within the school’s/district’s control and can be improved in real time). connects to a broader strategy of improvement (school, feeder pattern, system). is high-leverage (if acted on, it would make a significant difference for student learning). An Effective Problem of Practice Statement…..

23 Problem of Practice Activity With your partner/s, look at the slip of paper you’ve been given and read columns 1 and 2. Column 1 is a good PoP Statement and Column 2 isn’t. Decide with your group what makes column 1 more appropriate than column 2 and jot that down in the empty box.

24 Community of Practice Problem Statement With your Community of Practice, decide on a priority challenge/problem of practice Have the group decide on a problem of practice – a priority challenge that, if addressed effectively, would likely make a significant difference in these results. A problem of practice represents a serious issue, something that really needs to change. Consider urgency, your capacity to address this challenge, and which students would be affected by dressing this challenge. Articulate your problem of practice in writing. Be specific and cite data.

25 Chart your problem of practice statement.

26 Enjoy your lunch!

27 What is a PDSA Cycle?

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29 Time with Your Community

30 Planning the “D” portion of the first PDSA Cycle Change/Strategy: What is the change (or strategy or approach) we are implementing? What do we need to do before we implement the strategy or approach? How will we carry out the strategy or approach?

31 Planning the “D” portion of the first PDSA Cycle Evidence: What types of evidence will we collect? How will we collect this evidence? How often will we collect this evidence? Who will collect this evidence? What are our milestones? How will we progress monitor to know how we are doing during implementation?

32 Time with Your Site Team

33 Site Planning Time: What specific actions do we need to take at our site to implement the agreed upon actions? What stakeholders do we need to include to implement our agreed upon actions? What considerations do we need to be mindful of as we implement the work?

34 CoP Share-Out/Reflection