1. Sanger Unified School District Presented by Matt Navo

2. Where is Sanger?

3. Sanger Unified School District 3

4. The Basics of Sanger Located in the Central Valley approximately 20 miles Southeast of Fresno. 188 square miles, predominately rural. 10,535 students Schools: – 14 elementary schools (2 of which are charter schools) – 1 intermediate school – 1 comprehensive high school – 3 alternative education schools, and an adult school. – 1 charter home-school program (K-12).

5. Sanger Unified At A Glance ▪85% minority enrollment ▪74% qualify for free or reduced price lunch ▪ 20 % English Language Learners ▪ 17% RFEP, 3.3% IFEP ▪ 6 % students with disabilities ▪22% of parents did not graduate from high school

6. 1999 Looking Back...

7. 1999 Home of 400 Unhappy Teachers

8. 1999 Home of 400 Unhappy Teachers!!

9. Where we were in 2004-05 One of the first 98 California school districts to enter PI status. Five elementary schools were PI status (1 school at PI 4, 2 schools at PI 3, and 2 schools at PI 2), as well as intermediate school (PI 2). API of 599. The district had not maintained adherence to the State textbook adoption cycle, or maintained a focused staff development program. Schools had little fidelity to State curricular standards. There was not an effective district-wide assessment system to monitor student achievement.

10. Superintendent’s Directives Increase Student Achievement Build a collaborative culture Parents as partners Fiscally sound

12. District Achievement API 2004API 2013 District599832 Centerville675 876*** Del Rey532 – PI 4830* Fairmont677 – PI 4 882** Jackson624 842* Jefferson531 854** John Wash744 889*** Lincoln536 – PI 3 789 Lone Star643862** Madison644825* Quail Lake756948** SACS721901*** Sequoia898* Wilson533 – PI 4741* WAMS549 – PI 4848**** Sanger High592 788* *CA Dist. School *** National Blue Ribbon School ****CA School to Watch *CA Dist. School 2012 *CA Dist. School Visitation 2014

13. What ’ s the Vision….

16. Three Guiding Principles Hope is not a strategy. Don’t blame the kids. It is about student learning. – Instructional focus on PLC/RTI/EDI

17. Principles Believe ALL students can and must learn.

18. Leadership

19. The good, the bad, and what we did about it, five reasons we turned the corner. Changing our culture. PLCs RtI EDI ELD

20. Structure Operations Strategy Information Identity Connections Relationships A Systems View A Systems View of School Reform Adapted from the work of Margret Wheatley

21. Multi-Tiered System of Supports

22. Innovators – 3-5% Early Adopters – 9 – 15% Adopters – 66% Late Adopters – 9 – 15% Fundamentalist – 3-5% Understanding Staff Acceptance

23. Getting Everyone on the SAME PAGE 1.What do we want students to learn? Agreed upon essential standards for every class – Every teacher… and every student must be crystal clear on what they are learning. Agreed upon learning objectives. 2.How will we know when they have learned it? Agreed upon “common assessments” for every class… before any instruction begins. Clarity on the assessments brings clarity to the instruction.

24. Getting Everyone on the SAME PAGE 3.How will we respond when learning doesn’t take place? Common pacing guides for same course Sharing and building lessons utilizing best practices Interdependency and learning from one another becomes a reality Each PLC plans a response after every common assessment (deployment, small groups, spiraling) 3.How will we respond when learning has taken place? PLC’s plan a response when they do learn it that go deeper, not necessarily wider. Pre-assessments and classroom differentiation. Common assessments bring clarity to the curriculum which in turn brings clarity to the instruction. Common assessments bring clarity to the students

25. Intervention Programs Classroom response

26. Classroom remediation

27. Common Intent Aligned goals and objectives Development of Professional Learning Communities Instructional Norms + HOTS EL Emphasis Common Core Curriculum Enhancement and Training District Progress Assessment With Reliable Reporting Leadership Increased instructional competency, focus, and understanding by leadership at all levels A District wide Approach to Improvement District Initiatives

28. SPED: Then and Now ThenNow SPED Student InclusionLimitedFull Inclusion SPED Staff InclusionLimitedFull Inclusion Responsibility for SPED student success Resource TeacherALL staff members Role of Resource TeacherSPED students onlySPED students and struggling learners Level of SPED understanding Limited to resource teacher, possibly admin. Instructional and leadership teams with ongoing training & support IEP meetingMeeting we “must” attend Collaborative effort to support student achievement

29. Winning the Battle or the War? The answer is simple, leadership, true leadership, is the art of getting people to do what you need them to do, without them knowing that you need them to do it. Giving them wins along the way as you drive to the end outcome, gives them ownership, makes them part of the process and allows them to be heard. The key is strategically knowing which wins or battles to give them and, knowing when to let go of your grip and allow the process in the decision to unfold.

31. Loose – Tight Leadership Parameters

32. Defining Consensus We have arrived at consensus when all points of view have been heard and the will of the group is evident….. even to those who oppose it.

33. A Culture of Collaboration “Improving schools requires collaborative culture…. without collaborative skills and relationships, it is not possible to learn and to continue to learn as much as you need to know to improve.” Michael Fullan

34. What do we need to do?

35. Current Partnerships Sanger, Clovis, Fresno, Central SANGER UNIFIED /FRESNO STATE PARTNERSHIP

36. Partner School Programs School districts reported that partner universities produced new teachers who: utilized a greater variety of assessment strategies applied standards to classroom lessons managed classrooms effectively worked with diverse populations of learners used a variety of instructional strategies knew how to be better learners

37. Teacher Candidate Perspective Teacher candidates placed in a cohort in a partner school with a consistent faculty liaison or supervisor, rated their preparation higher than did their peers in more traditional programs. Dinsmore and Wenger (2006)

38. Phase I Summer Integration Introduction to co-teaching models SANGER UNIFIED /FRESNO STATE PARTNERSHIP

39. Phase II AM co-teaching Introduction district EDI/PLCs/RtI SANGER UNIFIED /FRESNO STATE PARTNERSHIP

40. Phase III Final Student Teaching All day/Differentiated instruction course SANGER UNIFIED /FRESNO STATE PARTNERSHIP

41. The 4 Cs

43. What is the leaders role?

48. “ tragic gap….believe! ”

49. What We’ve Learned You must change the focus from the needs of adults to the educational needs of children. Educational excellence is expensive. It requires targeted use and commitment of all available resources. You must develop a crystal clear vision focused on student learning. Competent and informed instructional leadership at the school site level is critical to improving student achievement.

50. What We’ve Learned Reliable and valid student achievement data collected on a regular basis is essential to informing and guiding instructional and district decisions. You must have a willingness to confront deficiencies. No one of us is as good as all of us. Collaborative teams are much more effective than individuals working in isolation. Every child, every day, must know that there is an adult who cares about them and believes in them.

51. And above all…. You must have courage. matt_navo@sanger.k12.ca.us 1-559-524-6521