1. Adapting School Culture to Promote Sustainable School Improvement Presented by: Craig Stark-Executive Director, Jordan School District Michael Sirois-Principal, Fort Herriman Middle School Jenny Ward-Math Department Chair, South Hills Middle School

2. Location: Jordan School District is located on the southern boundary of Salt Lake County, about 15 miles from Salt Lake City.

3. Jordan School District Demographics 86 schools 75,000+ students 15 middle schools (7 th -9 th ) Instructional cost per student $4,304 43 rd largest district in United States

4. The Importance of Culture Significant and sustainable school improvement can only occur when the culture of the school is in harmony with school improvement efforts. Educational history is replete with examples of failed efforts to change schools because structures and practices were overlaid on non- supportive cultures.

5. Have you heard this before? “Just wait a few years- this too shall pass” “Another trip to Abilene” “We tried this before and it didn’t work then”

6. “Educational change is technically simple and socially complex” (Michael Fullan, 2001)

7. Middle School Philosophy- Nationally Documents Turning Points 1989 This We Believe 1994 Early history of middle school philosophy implementation National Forum for the Acceleration of Middle School Reform

8. Middle School Philosophy- Locally 5 years ago Board of Education and district administration declared support for implementation of middle school philosophy Built administrative understanding Promoted a comprehensive approach Frustration and resistance

9. Solution Select a pilot middle school Find people who are interested Develop a compatible culture to begin the change process Give resources (time/money) Disseminate successes

10. Implementation Application process Develop a collaborative culture Create a more personalized learning environment Safe and orderly environment Developing and delivering a rigorous and relevant curriculum Resources: collaborative time and $90,000 Share the success

11. What Does a Collaborative Culture Look Like? Meetings are well managed and truly democratic Team functioning is frequently discussed and reassessed Each team has clear purposes and goals Educators acquire and share training in effective teamwork strategies Staff is committed to a shared mission, vision, and values Strong leaders engage teachers in meaningful dialogue There is evidence of trust and respect The staff has real authority to make decisions about teaching and learning

12. Why a Collaborative Culture? Sustainability of school improvement efforts Middle school philosophy Teaming Teacher authority to make decisions that affect instruction Inculcation of novice teachers

13. Given the Pilot Good news Successful schools exist Bad news Many schools never reached promised expectations

14. Two Key Questions What made successful schools successful? Why are so many good schools unable to implement sustainable change?

15. Managing Complex Change

16. Successful Schools Create an environment where change would be accepted, even welcomed Prepare staff and communities not to merely accept change but to take responsibility for it All key stakeholders have to have a voice in the change process

17. The improvement/reform movement has to be recognized as a school-wide collaborative effort. “A Critical Mass of Teacher Support” -Wayne Dumas

18. Three Critical Components of Building a Collaborative Culture Overcoming culture of teacher isolation Extensive, ongoing in- service, preparation, practice Shared leadership

19. Overcoming Culture of Teacher Isolation Must address this component or you will have “Pockets of Excellence”- Willard Dagget

20. Extensive Ongoing, In-service, Preparation, Practice Schools that have successfully created a culture for reform: Gave teachers/parents/support staff in-services dealing with critical aspects of the reform Recognized the need to address and change the traditional culture of teacher isolation Realized that teachers also needed extensive in-service dealing with how to communicate, how to collaborate, and how to participate in a culture of shared leadership

21. Shared Leadership Approach Implies a collaborative decision making model Administrator uses this model to focus on three key concepts Delegating authority does not diminish but rather increases leadership power People who are the closest to the point of change should have the biggest voices in the decision making process There is a huge difference between compliance and commitment

22. Compliance vs. Commitment You can initiate a school improvement/reform effort with compliance You will NOT be able to sustain it unless you have commitment

23. Moving from Isolation to Collaboration Collaborative Practices RESULTS Middle school philosophy discussions Team Research Local and National ConferencesSchool Visits Professional Development Middle School gurus Middle school literature

24. “RESULTS” Meeting #1 Set an academic/behavioral goal Create pre-test or starting point evaluation Read the department/team goal to faculty Meeting #2 Look at pre-test results Discuss strategies for improvement of teaching and/or class management Meeting #3 Celebrate the “results” of the pre/post test data by presenting to school faculty

25. Moving from Isolation to Collaboration Collaborative Practices RESULTS Middle school philosophy discussions Team Research Local and National ConferencesSchool Visits Professional Development Middle School gurus Middle school literature

26. Regular collaborative meetings as a school Departments and teams aligning curriculum and common teaching practices Become familiar with school-wide curriculum School, department, and team accountability and ownership School wide discussions regarding rigorous and relevant curriculum Recognize school-wide themes in curriculum and class management

27. Sharing Success of the pilot South Hills invited other schools to join in on professional development opportunities South Hills has been receptive to invitations to share their successes.

28. Results Quantitative and qualitative data shows the school has transformed itself from a culture of isolation to one of collaboration Data shows that the school has successfully adopted many of the tenets of middle school philosophy The following successes have been observed: Greater sense of belonging Synergistic atmosphere More and better communication with parents More and better support for teachers Fewer discipline and management issues Improved rapport teacher-student, student-student Better instruction

29. Concluding Observations It is critical to align school culture with school improvement efforts prior to implementation The culture of teacher isolation has a long history and is very powerful There are tremendous benefits to creating a collaborative culture Collaboration time must be structured and honored New teachers more readily adapt to and benefit from collaborative time A collaborative culture creates the commitment for sustainability One way to begin significant and sustainable change is to invite participation A successful means of disseminating change is to have experienced faculties mentor less experienced ones

30. Questions?????