1. Lighting Our Path to Stellar Learning

3. The Goal The ultimate goal in school improvement is for the people associated with the school to drive its continuous improvement for the sake of their own children and students.

4. Honoring our Students and our Her itage Rising Star’s indicators of effective practice are based on the science of learning, applicable for all children. Rising Star encourages the people closest to the students to infuse cultural values congruent with the effective practice.

5. Rising Star Empowerment and Innovation Indicators of Effective Practice Coached Decision Making Web-Based Technology

6. What Rising Star Provides Quality collaboration of school personnel An efficient and effective continuous improvement process Resources, Wise Ways, Indicators in Action videos, all aligned with evidence Support from Coaches Convenient, electronic reporting

7. Developed for Our Schools Throughout our history, we have learned that we succeed when we work together with open hearts and minds. With Rising Star, both districts and schools engage in a culture of candor to polish their craft for the benefit of students.

8. The Continuous Improvement Cycle Assess and Diagnose PlanImplementMonitorAdjust

9. Principles of Improvement Recognize the School’s Strengths Know Effective Practice Identify Needs for Improved Practice Design Path to Improvement Confirm Successes as Effective Practices are Implemented

10. School Practices Deciding ConnectingLearning

11. Foundation for Success Culture of CandorFormal Team StructuresLeadershipCoaching and SupportIndicators of Effective Practice

12. Culture of Candor 1.Accountability to students and to each other 2.Willingness to polish the craft together 3.High expectations for adults 4.Focus on the practice and not the person 5.Openness to the data about student outcomes and about the practices that contribute to the outcomes 6.Guest Login – Transparency

13. Formal Team Structures Leadership Team Teacher Instructional Teams School Community Council Agendas and Minutes Benchmarked Progress Quality Work

14. Leadership Principal Process Manager – selected by the principal to interface with the online system – Prepare agendas – Prepare worksheets and Wise Ways – Record minutes – Record the team’s work – Prepare reports School Leadership Team

15. Coaching and Support Coach will enter “coaching comments,” to which the team can respond. Principal and process manager receive email alerting them to the posting of a comment by the Coach Indicators in Action – Web-based videos demonstrating indicators of effective practice – Also available on DVDs Sharing with Other Schools

16. Indicators of Effective Practice Guideposts for effective practice Plain language, behavioral (Who does what?) Aligned with research base (Wise Ways) Drivers of planning and improvement Necessary in a Culture of Candor

17. Examples of School Team Indicators All teams operate with work plans for the year and specific work products to produce. Instructional Teams meet for blocks of time (4 to 6 hour blocks, once a month; whole days before and after the school year) sufficient to develop and refine units of instruction and review student learning data. Instructional Teams develop standards-aligned units of instruction for each subject and grade level. Units of instruction include specific learning activities aligned to objectives.

18. Examples of Teacher Indicators All teachers maintain a record of each student’s mastery of specific learning objectives. All teachers differentiate assignments (individualize instruction) in response to individual student performance on pre-tests and other methods of assessment. All teachers use modeling, demonstration, and graphics. (Lesson Introduction) All teachers review with questioning. (Lesson Summary) All teachers interact socially with students (noticing and attending to an ill student, asking about the weekend, inquiring about the family). All teachers use a variety of instructional modes. All teachers reinforce classroom rules and procedures by positively teaching them.

19. Examples of Principal Indicators The principal spends at least 50% of his/her time working directly with teachers to improve instruction, including classroom observations. The principal challenges, supports and monitors the correction of unsound teaching practices. The principal compiles reports from classroom observations, showing aggregate areas of strength and areas that need improvement without revealing the identity of individual teachers. The principal plans opportunities for teachers to share their strengths with other teachers. The principal celebrates individual, team, and school successes, especially related to student learning outcomes.

20. Rising Star Login Privileges Resources Plan Your Meetings (Agendas, Minutes, Worksheets) Continuous Improvement Process – Evidence of Implementation What it looks like The school satisfying itself for benefit of its students Electronic Submission of Reports Technical Support

21. How Do We Start? Form the Leadership Team Appoint a Process Manager Prepare an Agenda for the First Meeting – Select indicators to assess – Download Wise Ways for each indicator to assess – Download a worksheet for each indicator to assess Distribute agenda and Wise Ways to team to review before meeting Engage in a candid conversation at the meeting and complete the worksheets Enter minutes and worksheet content in system

22. Where Do We Start? Principal and/or Process Manager can access the system at: – State website link Use the login and password issued to the Principal and Process Manager – Or www.centerii.org (see Indistar login)www.centerii.org Everyone can play with the system in a demonstration site Everyone can view the ongoing work of the team with a Guest Login

23. School Dashboard What you see when you log in Where you go to enter Rising Star school improvement tool Where you go to complete annual reports Where you go to submit reports Where you go to link to state data and resources

24. School Improvement Tool for All Schools Parent Involvement Analysis Supplementary Forms to Complete Reports submitted electronically by due date here Links here to state data and other resources Parent Involvement Tool Aligned with PIA

25. Rising Star SIP Tool – Main Menu Where you go to: – prepare agendas, Wise Ways, worksheets – enter minutes, – record work of team, – view coaching comments, and – generate reports

27. Annual Reports Principal – Complete Step 1 – Register School – Complete Step 3—Form Leadership Team – Complete and Submit Electronically SIP Form School Improvement Plan Objectives Form

28. Reporting Dates Minimum expectation of Leadership Team – Indicators to be Planned and/or Assessed by a specified date – Electronically submitted by the Principal – Estimated meeting time to assess : 15 minutes per indicator – Estimated meeting time to plan: 30 minutes per indicator

29. What Happens Next? You just keep going Assessing, Planning, Implementing, Monitoring Progress The cycle of reporting dates continues No “annual plan” Continuous improvement

30. Filter by Reporting Period When Assessing Indicators Filter indicators to see those for reporting period

31. The Reason for our Work