1. One Voice – One Plan Michigan Continuous School Improvement (MI-CSI)
Michigan Department of Education Office of Education Improvement and Innovation
One Voice – One Plan
Michigan Continuous School Improvement
(MI-CSI)

2. To what extent does this represent your experience with School Improvement?
This short video clip provides schools with an opportunity to view what has frequently been the practice of school improvement or ‘school improvement on the fly.’ How might this compare to what is meant by “continuous school improvement?” How might this compare to their experience in their own buildings/districts?
An additional connector entitled “Connecting to School Improvement” (included above, next to slide) might be useful at this point.

3. Reflection Questions DO
WHY: Why is it important to strategically implement, monitor, and evaluate the School Improvement Plan?
HOW: How will we communicate the plan to all stakeholders so that they clearly understand and own their roles in implementation?
How do we build ownership of the strategy and the plan?
How will we ensure implementation with fidelity?
How is the implementation of your plan monitored and evaluated?
How is the impact of your plan monitored and evaluated?
The questions on the screen help us address the “why, how, and what” of the components of the “Do” stage. Independently jot a few notes in response to these questions, and when you are ready, share with a partner. We will then share a few responses with the whole group. After we have completed reviewing the Do stage, we will come back to these questions to see if our understanding has changed.
WHAT: What will your school look like when this plan is implemented with fidelity?
What is the expected impact on student achievement?

4. Do Vocabulary Implementation Fidelity Impact
This is an overview of the vocabulary that will be covered in this module, the first of the modules in Stage 4. Each of these terms will be more clearly defined throughout this presentation. By the end of this module, you will understand these terms and how they fit into the School Improvement process.

5. Continuous School Improvement Process
This view shows how the Do stage fits into the rest of the Continuous School Improvement Process.

6. Do: Plan Requirements
ESEA and PA 25 require annual evaluation of the following:
Implementation of the plan
Student achievement results by subgroup using data from state assessments and other indicators
Modifications to plan as needed
ISDs/RESAs are required by PA25 to provide technical assistance to schools and districts to develop annual evaluations.
State and Federal law requires that we annually evaluate the implementation of our plan, as well as the impact that our plan has had on student achievement. But that is not the only reason to monitor and evaluate implementation and impact….it’s the only way to tell if what we planned to do is being done correctly and whether or not it is having the desired impact on students! In other words, it is the right thing to do!!
The specific requirements are noted on the document above next to the slide.

7. MAKING CONNECTIONS - THE BIG PICTURE
Annual Education Report
School Improvement Plan
Comprehensive Needs Assessment
How did we do?
Where do we want to go and how are we going to get there?
Leads to
Where are we now?
Here you can see how all of the requirements are related – you conduct the Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) to determine where you are now. Using the data from the CNA you develop a School Improvement Plan by which you identify where you want to go and the process you will use to get there. As you are implementing you will monitor and evaluate and then annually complete an Annual Education Report to the public which tells how you did.

8. Develop School Improvement PlanDO
Implement Plan
Monitor Plan
Evaluate Plan
Plan
Develop School Improvement Plan
The first step in the Do stage is to implement the plan, or to put it into practice.

9. Reflection
What have you done to implement your school/district improvement plans?
Before we go any further, think about what you have done to implement your school and/or district improvement plans.

10. Vision  Mission  Beliefs
Student Achievement
Components of
Effective Implementation
Leadership
Competency
Organization
As you move into developing your plan for implementing the strategies that have been identified, it is important to understand the research around effective implementation. This slide visually represents the components, or drivers, of effective implementation. The components include Leadership, Competency, and Organization. They are sometimes called drivers because they “drive” effective implementation of the initiatives in your school improvement process. The components are based on an organization’s vision, mission, and beliefs. It is important to purposefully consider each component in any implementation.
You can find more information about implementation components in the Stage 3 module.
Vision  Mission  Beliefs

11. DEVELOP ACTION PLAN - to be done prior to implementation
Question 1: How will we ensure readiness for implementing the strategy/program/initiative?
Question 2: How will we ensure that staff and administrators have the knowledge and skills to implement the strategy/program/initiative?
Question 3: How will we ensure that there is opportunity for implementation with fidelity of the strategy/program/initiative?
Question 4: How will we ensure that the strategy/program/initiative will be implemented as intended?
Question 5: How will we ensure a positive impact on student achievement?
MDE has developed a planning tool for use with strategies, programs and initiatives. This diagram shows how the questions from the tool fit into the School Improvement process. In this module we will take a deeper look at these questions and how they can be used to support planning for effective implementation.

12. Questions to Reconsider Prior to Implementation
How will we ensure readiness for implementing the strategy?
What evidence will we have that stakeholders (staff, parent, student) understand the need and can articulate the research behind the decision to implement the strategy? (Competency)
What evidence will we have that stakeholders have a shared vision and purpose and are strongly committed to it? (Competency)
What evidence will we have that stakeholder concerns about the strategy have been identified and addressed? (Leadership)
What evidence will we have that staff and administrators are able to integrate this strategy with other existing initiatives? (Competency)
This slide centers around Question 1: How will we ensure readiness for implementing the strategy?
Reflecting on the sub-questions will help you to more fully answer the main question. Note that the specific implementation component the question addresses is noted in parentheses.

13. Questions to Reconsider Prior to Implementation
How will we ensure that staff and administrators have the knowledge and skills to implement the strategy?
What evidence will we have that staff and administrators share a vision of how practice will change as a result of implementing the strategy? (Leadership)
What evidence will we have that administrators have the knowledge and skills to assess the effectiveness of the strategy? (Leadership)
What evidence will we have that there are sufficient opportunities for staff to learn the knowledge and skills – including the non-negotiable or acceptable variations of the elements – essential to implementing the strategy? (Organization/Competency)
What evidence will we have that staff have the ability to apply the acquired knowledge and skills? (Competency)
This slide focuses on Question 2: How will we ensure that staff and administrators have the knowledge and skills to implement the strategy? Once again, the sub-questions can help guide your thinking.

14. Questions to Reconsider Prior to Implementation
How will we ensure that there is Opportunity for Implementation with fidelity?
What evidence will we have that there is sufficient administrative support to achieve the intended results? (Organization)
What evidence will we have that there is sufficient professional learning during implementation, e.g., modeling/coaching? (Competency)
What evidence will we have that there are sufficient resources – including financial and time - to achieve the intended results? (Organization)
What evidence will we have that there is opportunity for staff collaboration? (Organization)
What evidence will we have that structures are in place to collect and review implementation data? (Organization)
This slide focuses on Question 3: How will we ensure that there is opportunity for high quality implementation?

15. Strategy Implementation Guide
A school might consider using this tool to define high quality implementation of its strategy. It’s important that all stakeholders have the same understanding of what high quality implementation looks and sounds like. Critical components represent those elements essential to high quality implementation, therefore, described as non-negotiables. The Gold Standard represents the implementation of those components at the highest level of fidelity as described in the research. Acceptable variations are those that may vary slightly from the gold standard but are still true to the research. Unacceptable variations are those that are not consistent with the research and will not lead to the results described in the research. If the strategy cannot be minimally implemented at the acceptable variation level, it’s likely that this is not the right strategy to address the need.
NOTE: More information needed about Gold Standard

16. When a strategy includes multiple elements, it is important to build a guide for each element. The strategy statement in this example includes three elements: 1. Direct instruction for all learners; 2. Citing evidence to identify key information in informational text; 3. Using the gradual release model. The sample guides shows the components of the gradual release model. The Resources include this blank template as well as a short article that could be used to fully develop this guide. The article can also be downloaded from

17. This slide shows a sample completed guide for the gradual release model. In the first column four critical components have been identified: Focus Lessons, or “I do it”; Guided Instruction, or “We do it”; Collaborative Learning, or “You do it together”; and Independent Work, or “You do it alone.” The second column identifies the gold standard of implementation; these practices are what research has identified as being those that are necessary for students to achieve their learning targets. For example, in the I do it part of the lesson, the teacher will set the purpose or intended learning outcome for the lesson. As part of that process, the teacher will share aloud his or her thinking and understanding of the content while also connecting it to student background knowledge. This part of the instruction is typically brief.
For example, in a lesson on using context clues, a teacher might say, “When I see this word whose meaning I don’t understand, I ask myself, “What might help me figure it out? I could go to the glossary. I could also ask, What other words around this one might give a clue about what this word could mean?”
Because the components of the gradual release model are rather prescribed you’ll note that there are not many acceptable variations. While this segment is intended to be brief, depending on the level of difficulty of the concepts or the amount of background knowledge of the students, a teacher might need to vary the length of time needed for this component. If there are students who already understand the concept, they might also be asked to model their thinking.
You’ll notice that the unacceptable variations are primarily the opposite of what the gold standard would be, which is often the case.
To complete the guide, we follow the same process for the remaining components as what we used for the Focus Lesson.
To ensure the greatest amount of ownership, it is advantageous to have all those responsible for implementing the strategy take part in developing the guide. If it works better to have a small group develop the guide, it is important that all those responsible for implementing it have an opportunity to vet it prior to implementation and that everyone agree on the final product. It is also important that everyone has the same understanding of what it looks and sounds like to implement the gold standard and any acceptable variations.

18. Ultimately…..
To what extent are stakeholders fully committed to implementing the non-negotiable or acceptable variations of the elements?
For effective implementation to occur, stakeholders must be totally committed to what they are implementing; they must believe in their hearts as well as with their heads that it is the right thing to do. They must be willing to “do whatever it takes,” including overcoming any barriers to implementation. What evidence would show whether or not this commitment is present with stakeholders?

19. Implementation is a Process!
Monitor Implementation
Evaluate Implementation
Monitor Impact
Evaluate Impact
Adult Focused
Once we have determined that we have the conditions in place for successful implementation, it’s time to move forward. It’s important to remember that implementation is a process, not an event, and that the student results will largely depend on the fidelity of the implementation of the strategies and activities by adults.
Student Focused

20. Reflection
What might you do to enhance the implementation of your school/district plans?
Given what you have learned in this module, reflect again on the question, “What might you do to enhance the implementation of your school/district plans?”