1. Resources Instructional Leadership Academy October 29th, 2015
Dawn Ashmore, Ed.S.
School Effectiveness Specialist
School and District Effectiveness
Steve Olive, Ed.S.
Lead School Effectiveness Specialist
School and District Effectiveness
Nick Sauers, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Educational Policy Studies

2. Essential Question: Learning Target:
What tools and resources are available to assist in measuring, guiding, and facilitating the growth that occurs as a school strives for continuous improvement?
Learning Target:
Identify and locate tools and resources that will effectively support continuous school improvement.
This session is designed to provide an overview of some of the resources that support continuous school improvement that are available to schools and districts.
After the overview, we’ll take an in-depth look at one of the tools – THE SYSTEM FOR EFFECTIVE SCHOOL INSTRUCTION. We’ll give you an opportunity to use this tool to begin the needs assessment process. You can identify strengths and opportunities for improvement in your school and district.
CLICK – Learning Target
By the end of the session, you’ll have the tools you need, and be well on your way to improved processes in your school and district.

3. SDE Web Page Tinyurl.com/schoolanddistricteffectiveness
First, let’s look at resources on the SDE web page.
Click on Offices & Divisions on the GaDOE home page.
Tinyurl.com/schoolanddistricteffectiveness

4. SDE Web Page Tinyurl.com/schoolanddistricteffectiveness
Click on School and District Effectiveness
Bookmark this page, add to Favorites, if you haven’t done so already.
(Click on link…)
Scroll down page. Point out hyperlinks in center of page (SIG, Priority, Focus, Rewards).
More links organized around continuous school improvement (Establishing Expectations, Measuring Performance, Improving Performance, etc.).
Point out TOOLBOX links on left-hand side of page. Point out link to Events & Conferences page.
Click on Leadership Guide to the Ga. School Performance Standards. Point out organization/info for each standard:
What does the standard look like in practice?
What do the experts tell us?
What actions should the LT take to achieve the standard?
Look-Fors & Evidence
GaDOE & External Resources
Just a brief overview of some of the great resources available on the GaDOE web page.
Tinyurl.com/schoolanddistricteffectiveness

5. New Toolbox Links
Effective Instructional Strategies – System for Effective School Instruction
Templates/Tools for School Improvement Planning
Templates/Tools for District Improvement Planning
What Effective Schools Know and Do (Georgia School Performance Standards)
What Effective Districts Know and Do (Georgia District Performance Standards)
Quality Review Process for Schools (Georgia School Assessment on Performance Standards)
Leadership Guide to Improving School Performance (Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction)
And now, as part of SDE’s efforts to develop partnerships with school improvement entities throughout the state, it’s my pleasure to introduce Dr. Nick Sauers. Dr. Sauers is Asst. Professor of Educational Policy Studies at Ga. State University. His areas of special interest are educational leadership and the role of technology in school improvement. He recently spent a month as a visiting scholar with the American Embassy School in Delhi, India as they launched a one-to-one initiative.
Dr. Sauers will share additional resources for leveraging technology as a tool for change.
Dr. Sauers…?

6. Net-Q Mentor Modules: Preparing New School Leadership
mentormodules.com/
Dr. Nick Sauers Educational Policy Studies Georgia State University
Developed by Caitlin McMunn Dooley, Ph.D., Nick Sauers, Ph.D. and Cassandra Matthews, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership grant –
This website was made possible as part of the Network for Enhancing Teacher Quality (NETQ), a Teacher Quality Partnership grant awarded to Georgia State University and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Caitlin McMunn Dooley, Ph.D. (NETQ Co-PI) was assisted by Cassandra Matthews and Dr. Nick Sauers to construct the modules to construct the modules.

7. 3 Modules Mentoring School Leaders Preparing New School Leadership
Mentoring New Teachers

8. Comments from users…
I really enjoyed the modules. The articles were current and relevant. The videos were also relevant and thought provoking.
LOVED these!!! These are awesome. I like reading the articles and wish we had more time with the case studies :)
They were designed with more real world applications and related more to what we do as school leaders.
How useful did you find the class textbook? 2.58 on 5 point scale
Modules-4.75 on five point scale
I liked it much better than the text book. I really prefer real world information.
mentormodules.com/

9. 4 Modules and 9 Lessons

10. 4 Components of Lessons mentormodules.com/
This instructional design was adapted from John Bransford (University of Washington, Seattle) and his colleagues, the lessons are organized as “inquiry cycles.” In How People Learn, Bransford suggested that using real cases, embedding questions that help learners map old knowledge on to new knowledge, providing resources, and promoting reflection can create the conditions for learning.

14. Challenges: Modules are just a resource Links change with time
Resources are continually evolving
mentormodules.com/

15. The Principals Center Mission:
To provide practicing and aspiring school leaders with learning and networking opportunities designed to develop their capacity to create schools that work for all children

16. The Principals Center 2015-16
Expert Leader Series
Heidi Hayes Jacobs: Bold Moves – Leading a Right Now School for the contemporary Learner
Tuesday, November 10, 2015 in Macon, GA
Eric Sheninger : Digital Leadership
Wednesday, February 24, 2016 in Atlanta, GA
Tool Box Series
Technology Boot Camp: December 1, 2015 in Calhoun, GA
Using the CCRPI to Drive Communication, Collaboration, and Change: January 12, 2016 in Atlanta, GA
Cohort Series
An 8 month series of professional development sessions designed to build the capacity of Beginning Principals, Assistant Principals, Instructional Coaches, and Aspiring Leaders.
Expert Leader Series:
Led by national visionary thinkers through presentations and group discussion. This series is designed to inspire and support new strategies for improving leadership for learning
Tool Box Series
A series of developmental session, led by local school or community experts, that helps participants reach a level of understanding of a particular skills or set of strategies to move schools in a particular direction
Cohort Series
An 8 month series of professional development sessions designed to build the capacity of Beginning Principals, Assistant Principals, Instructional Coaches, and Aspiring Leaders
New Principal’s Induction Program with Fulton County Schools
A collaborative partnership with Fulton County Schools to build the capacity of principals new to Fulton County in Years 1-3
Please visit for more details

17. Questions? Dr. Nick Saurers nsauers@gsu.edu

18. A Model System for Effective School Instruction

19. Essential Question: Learning Target:
What should an Instructional System include to increase student achievement, promote college and career readiness, and support professional growth?
Learning Target:
Identify strengths and areas of need within your school or district Instructional System.

20. The Need for Improved Instruction
Can we truly say our students are College AND Career Ready?
What does it mean to be college AND Career ready??
C&C R refers to the content knowledge and skills high school graduates must possess in English and mathematics – including, but not limited to, reading, writing communications, teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving – to be successful in any and all future endeavors.
Being ready for college means that a high school graduate has the English and mathematics knowledge and skills necessary to qualify for and succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing college (2 or 4-year institutions) courses without the need for remedial coursework.
Being ready for a career means that a high school graduate has the English, and mathematics knowledge and skills needed to qualify for and succeed in the postsecondary job training and/or education necessary for their chosen career (i.e. technical/vocational program, community college, apprenticeship or significant on-the-job training).
Are Our Students College AND Career Ready?

21. High School Graduation Rate
2013 National = 81%
18 states at or above 85%
Iowa Top Ranked at 89.7%
2013 Georgia = 71.7%
National Ranking - 46th
2014 Adjusted Cohort released October 19th
States ranked below Georgia:
Nevada 70.7% %
New Mexico 70.3% 68.5%
Oregon 68.7% 72%
Dist. Of Col. 62.3% 61.4%
Idaho – Did not report

22. High School Graduation Rate
2014 National = Unofficial
23 states at or above 85%
Iowa Top Ranked at 90.5%
2014 Georgia = 72.5%
Increase of 0.8%
National Ranking - 46th
States ranked below Georgia:
Nevada % %
New Mexico % 68.5%
Oregon % 72%
Dist. of Columbia % 61.4%
Alaska % 71.1%
2014 Adjusted Cohort released October 19th
Iowa = top ranked 2013 = 89.7%, 2014 = 90.5%
Grad. rate rose in 36 states.

23. College Freshman Well or Very Well Prepared
89%
High School Teachers -
College Instructors -
26%
A 2014 perception survey was conducted on the readiness levels of entering college freshman…
If you were to poll your teachers, what percent do you think would say your graduating students are well or very well prepared for the rigor of college course work?
College instructors for first –year freshman experienced a staggering difference in the ability level of students –
-a 63% gap exists in the perception of college readiness levels of entering freshman into post-secondary institutes..
The survey included 2 and 4-yr institutions.

24. 2014 Freshmen Remediation Two Year College 51.7%
Four Year College %
2014 statistics on need for remedial courses.
**Let’s consider the typical high school student that enters a 2-yr institute – who are they?
What programs are they coming from in high school? (CTAE, vocational program)
What does this mean for our CTAE programs?
**Why aren’t these students ready to take on college level work? What are some of the root causes?
**One answer is the lack of literacy skills being developed in high school.
Many Social Studies, Science and the technical subject teachers do not even realize they are responsible for content literacy standards.
**There is very little reading and writing taking place in the courses with the highest Lexile levels:
*The average Lexile level range for high school ELA textbooks is between 750 and 1050.
*The average range of lexile levels in all other content areas is between 975 and 1125, with CTAE being on the higher end of the range.
*College textbook Lexiles range between 1100 and 1300.
Reading complex texts is no longer just and ELA responsibility, all teachers must engage students in reading and comprehending complex texts and writing.

25. 2014 College Retention Rates (First to Second Year)
Technical College System – 63.3%
5 yr. trend enrollment by 60,000
University System %
National Ranking - 22nd
College retention rate first to second year students:
HS lack of Rigor leading to remediation and lack of preparation.
Discouraged students

26. Georgia College Graduation Rates
2014 Technical College System – 62.2%
70% dropping out or extended time
2015 University System – 53.3%
National Ranking – 31st
60% dropping out or extending time
Students taking more time to complete degrees – %
Losing or extending time in school for 70% of students from 2yr. institutes (3 yrs.) and
over 60% from Universities (5-6 years).
What are the Economic impacts for these students??
High loans costs
Longer repayment schedules
Difficulty in finding jobs and starting later in their field.
More burden on their families for support

27. Rationale for Implementing a School-Level Instructional System
Trend data shows a need for instructional improvement
Provides school leadership with an explicit plan for implementing and monitoring effective instruction
Creates a shared vision of effective instruction
Guides how teachers plan and deliver instruction to students
GAPSS (now GSAPS – Ga. School Assessment on Performance Standards) trend – Instruction strand ranked the lowest – only 10% of schools assessed scored at Operational level from 2011 through 2014.
“Coaches Playbook” analogy – if you want to keep a strong program throughout the years, as the players continually change, you have to develop a written plan that is continually updated and strengthened through new data.

28. Rationale for Implementing a School-Level Instructional System
A process or system for effective instruction is referenced throughout:
Georgia School Performance Standards
Georgia District Performance Standards
TKES Performance Standards
LKES Performance Standards
Both the 8 Key District and 12 Key Non-Negotiable School standards that are required for Priority and Focus schools directly speak to the development of an Instructional System.
Take a moment to read through the standards in your handout and underline direct references to having a system or process for curriculum development and instruction. Make notes on standards that imply the development of a system of instruction.
Discuss your findings with your table partners.

29. Who is responsible for STUDENT LEARNING?
Leaders
Develop and implement a schoolwide instructional system
Monitor teaching and learning and coach
Provide professional learning support
Assess and improve the instructional system
Teachers
Plan and deliver effective instruction for every student
Monitor student learning and offer explicit feedback
Provide enrichment and intervention
Assess and improve instructional practices
Are teachers the only ones responsible for student learning?
What responsibilities do school leaders have for student learning?
So, how can you organize all the responsibilities of effective instruction in a way that:
guides all stakeholders,
is continually refined based on data and student needs,
and doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of turnover in schools?
“Coaches Playbook”

30. A Model System for Effective School Instruction
Explicit Instruction (I Do)
Guided Practice (We Do)
Independent Practice and/or Collaborative Learning (You Do)
Formative Assessment (We Check)
Check for Understanding
Analyze: Identify Strengths and Gaps
Provide Feedback
Adjust: Intervene and Enrich
Plan with A Team
Identify What Students Should Know and Do
Determine How Students Will Show They Know and Can Do
Use Planning Tools For Instruction
Reflect on What Did and Did Not Work
Adjust Planning, Implementation and Monitoring
Celebrate and Share Successes
Identify Next Steps
ASSESS
PLAN
IMPLEMENT
MONITOR
Prepare for Quality Instruction
Provide Quality Instruction
Refine for Continuous
Instructional Improvement
Ensure Student Success
** See handout
We aligned the 4 main COMPONENTS of our model system with the School Improvement Process: Plan, Implement, Monitor and Assess. (click)
Each of these 4 main components contains “Sub-components” (click)
Each component section is color-coded on all the documents to make it easier to remember which section you are working with.
Let’s take a closer look at the processes and strategies contained within the sub-components.

31. Prepare for Quality Instruction
PLAN
Plan with a Team
Identify What Students Should Know & Do
Determine How Students Will Show They Know & Can Do
Use Planning Tools for Instruction
Prepare for Quality Instruction
Planning is the heart of the instructional system, and therefore the most detailed component.
Strong and appropriate planning processes will raise student achievement as well as teacher effectiveness.
The components listed under Plan are….
Plan with a Team – developing collaborative planning processes and protocols, including monitoring processes.
Identify What Students Should Know & Do – unpacking the Georgia Standards of Excellence, identifying key vocabulary, creating content and grade level syllabi, and determining learning targets.
Determine How Students Will Show They Know & Can Do – developing a balanced assessment system, including student tasks with self-monitoring tools for student use
Use Planning Tools for Instruction – Using state and district developed curriculum documents: pacing guides, content area frameworks, assessment guides, and collaboratively developed unit and lesson plans. Most importantly, developing a schoolwide Instructional Framework to guide teaching and learning expectations.

32. Provide Quality Instruction
IMPLEMENT
Provide Quality Instruction
Explicit Instruction (Opening/I Do)
Guided Practice (Transition/We Do)
Independent &/or Collaborative Practice (Work Session/You Do)
Formative Assessment (Closing/We Check)
The “Implement” component is in blue- referring to implementing quality instruction for all students
Foundations of Quality Instruction – contains strategies that should be pervasive throughout any content area lesson: Literacy instruction, writing instruction, vocabulary instruction and formative assessments
Explicit Instruction (Opening/I Do) – establishing and communicating learning targets, engaging students, accessing prior knowledge, explicit instruction strategies, challenging students through rich conversations and deep questioning.
Guided Practice (Transition/We Do) – guiding students through initial practice with the content and skills, establishing procedures for classroom talk or student-to-student interactions, and use of organizational tools.
Independent &/or Collaborative Practice (Work Session/You Do) –
Formative Assessment (Closing/We Check) – lesson summarization, both teacher and student led, and student reflection and connections to prior knowledge.

33. Ensure Student Success
MONITOR
Ensure Student Success
Check for Understanding
Analyze: Identify Strengths and Gaps
Provide Feedback
Adjust: Intervene and Enrich
Monitor components are red…this component refers to monitoring student and teacher progress.
Check for Understanding – progress monitoring, student self-assessment, and summative assessments.
Analyze: Identify Strengths & Gaps – analysis of student work, examining learning progressions, reviewing summative data and the use of homework.
Provide Feedback – providing standards-based student feedback and leaders providing instructional feedback to teachers.
Adjust: Intervene & Enrich – providing interventions and enrichment support to students,

34. Refine for Continuous Instructional Improvement
ASSESS
Refine for Continuous Instructional Improvement
Reflect on What Did and Did Not Work
Adjust Planning, Implementation and Monitoring
Celebrate and Share Successes
Identify Next Steps
Assess component strategies are green…the Assess component refers to assessing and modifying the entire instructional system for improvements.
Reflect on What Did & Did Not Work - involves reflective practitioner practices and analyzing summative or lagging assessment data by both collaborative planning teams and the leadership team to make adjustments to instructional practices.
Adjust Planning, Implementation & Monitoring – including scheduling reviews of the collaborative planning process and curriculum documents based on data, improving upon the schoolwide instructional framework, and reviewing the monitoring processes in place for collaborative planning teams.
Celebrate & Share Successes – do you have processes in place for celebrating both student and staff achievements?
Identify Next Steps – includes processes for conducting and analyzing needs assessments, and then modifying the SIP to include identified goals and strategies for improvement.

35. Self-Assessment Checklist GSPS Alignment and Link to Rubrics
Component
Self-Assessment Checklist
Sub-Component
Strategy
GSPS Alignment and Link to Rubrics
Sample Tools and
Related Books
Let’s take a look at how the model SESI, our “Coaches Playbook” is designed and organized.
Within each sub-component (Click), we have various numbers of research-based strategies (Click) along with links to sample resources and tools. (Click).
For example, in the “Check for Understanding” Sub-component, there are 3 Strategies: Progress Monitor, Student Self-Assessment and Assess Summatively. Here we show the Progress Monitor section.
The strategies are all aligned to the Georgia School Performance Standards (click), which also contain links to the Ga. School Performance Standards Document. Links to the Leadership Guide, (click) for those strands that have been published, are also within the tool. (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment)
At the beginning of each Component section, there is also a link to a Self-Assessment Checklist (Click) to make it convenient for school leaders to access this resource. (Click)
Leadership Guide Link

36. System for Effective School Instruction Self-Assessment Checklist
The Self-Assessment Checklist is the easiest way to get an overview of how the entire system is set up. **See Handout –
The link to this tool is provided on the website and in numerous place within the documents.
From this screenshot, you can see the colored bands are also present to assist leadership teams with their self-assessment.

37. Self-Assessment Checklist
The four columns headers are (click below graphic): No Process, Developing Process, Implementing Process and Monitoring and Supporting Process.
With this tool, leadership teams can quickly see where they need to focus their work by evaluating what processes they already have in place, which ones they need to develop, and if they have a process for monitoring and supporting each strategy they choose to include within their instructional system.
They can, of course, modify this tool to correlate with their own instructional system as they develop one.
We will take a closer look at the live checklist document in a few moments.
I want to go to the live website now to review how to find the system. (Click Hyperlink and provide instructions on locating SESI)

38. A Model System for Effective School Instruction
Accessing the model:
Offices & Divisions
School Improvement: School and District Effectiveness
Left panel: Effective Instructional Strategies
Read the introduction
Introduction and checklist in handout packet (teams can also use electronic version from website)
One printed copy of SESI per table (notebooks – DO NOT Remove)
Please do not remove the SESI Notebooks from the tables.

39. System for Effective School Instruction Self-Assessment
Open the model (click graphic)
Review strategy descriptors
Complete self-assessment: rate based on current processes
Discuss next steps
20 minute activity
Work in school teams to begin assessing where your school is in developing effective instructional processes. Ideally, this needs assessment would be completed with your leadership team as you begin, or continue to refine, your own instructional system.
You may use the printed copies of the self-assessment, or download the electronic version from the website.
Please so not remove the SESI Notebooks from the tables.

40. schoolimprovement@doe.k12.ga.us Learning Target:
Identify strengths and areas of need within your school or district Instructional System.
What questions or thoughts were sparked by completing the self- assessment?
How do you see the model system supporting your Leadership Team?
How can your leadership team use this resource as you develop tasks, or STAP relating to the Key Standards?
What other resources would you like to see included in our model system toolbox?
Submit tool to address
Please do not remove the SESI Notebooks from the tables.

41. Resources Instructional Leadership Academy October 29th, 2015
Dawn Ashmore, Ed.S.
School Effectiveness Specialist
School and District Effectiveness
Steve Olive, Ed.S.
Lead School Effectiveness Specialist
School and District Effectiveness
Nick Sauers, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Educational Policy Studies