DEVELOPING YOUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2 Sources of

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DEVELOPING YOUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
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Dick Spohr NCA Ambassador 21712 Oak Road Atwater,
IL 62572 [phone] dspohr_at_motion.net
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2 Sources of Information

• Illinois NCA CASI State Office nca.uillinois.edu
  Susie Morrison, State Dir.
• NCA CASI Tempe, Az ncacasi.org Ken
  Gose, Executive Dir.

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Housekeeping Matters

• Creature comforts
• Adult Learning Experience
• Audience participation required
• Relax, learn, and enjoy

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Todays Conversation

• What is NCA?
• How are NCA members different?
• What makes school improvement planning effective?
• How can an effective school improvement plan be
  developed?

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AGENDA

• 900-1015 NCA, SIP, Profile
• 1015-1030 Break
• 1030-1145 Profile, Environ. Scan and Goals
• 1145-100 Lunch (working)
• SIP Elements
• 100-110 Break
• 110-200 Logistics and Process Recomm
  ended Next Steps Evaluation

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COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION AND SCHOOL
IMPROVEMENT
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North Central Association

• Commission on Higher Education
• Chicago, Illinois
• One Centralized
• Office

• Commission on Accreditation and School
  Improvement(K-12)
• Tempe, Arizona
• Offices in 19 states, the Navajo Nation and
  DoDDS.

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North Central Association
New England
ND
MN
Northwest
SD
WI
Middle States
WY
MI
NE
IA
IND.
IL
OH.
North Central
IN
CO
WV
KS
MO
NN
OK
AR
Western
AZ
NM
AZ
Southern
East Team Central Team West Team
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• NCA CASI member schools Commit to
  Higher Standards and complete a yearly review
  of membership and improvement criteria
  (On-line Report)
• Engage in a documented cycle of school
  improvement (SIP) External Peer
  Review (Documentation/Accreditation Visit)

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7 Standards 56 Indicators

• Vision and Purpose
• Governance and Leadership
• Teaching and Learning
• Documenting and Using Results
• Resources and Support Systems
• Stakeholder Communications Relationships
• Commitment to Continuous Improvement

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The Process ofSchool Improvement
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ImprovementSTUDY PLANACT DO
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Performance Accreditation(PA)

• The NCA CSI School Improvement framework.
• A school may select to use a different protocol
  such as ISBE, High Schools That Work, Steps to
  Success, etc.
• Bottom Line Schools must improve the performance
  of their students. Results are determined by
  performance and improvement.

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Performance Accreditation Protocol
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Protocol
Continuous School Improvement
Phases
Gaining Commitment
1.
Getting Started
2.
Collecting and Analyzing Data
3.
4.
5.
Implement Improvement Plan
6.
7.
Continue the Process
8.
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The Bigger Picture
Record Improvements in a Documentation Report
Implement the School Improvement Plan
Baseline Data

Action Plan
Conduct an Environmental Scan and Identify
Beliefs
G o a l s
Design a School Improvement Plan
Mission Statement
Assessments
Interventions
Collect, Categorize, and Analyze Data and
Identify Implications

School Profile Document
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NCA Protocol PA
Phase I Making or Renewing the Commitment Phase
II Getting Started Phase III Collecting and
Analyzing Data Phase IV Developing the
Mission Statement and Selecting Appropriate
Goals Phase V Developing the School
Improvement Plan Phase VI Implementing the
School Improvement Plan Phase VII Monitoring
the Implementation of the School Improvement
Plan and Documenting Student Success Phase
VIII Continuing the Process
Year 1
First Chair Contact/Visit
Year 2
First Peer Review Team Visit
Years 3, 4, 5
Peer Review Documentation Visit
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PROTOCOL COMPARISON

• ISBE
• Performance Targets
• School Information
• Data Collection and Information
• Data Analysis
• Family Community Inv.
• Action Plan
• Professional Development
• Ill Learning Standards Implementation
• Support Systems
• Review, Monitor, Revise

• PA
• Commit
• Get Started
• Collect/Analyze Data
• Mission/Goals
• Develop SIP
• Implement/Monitor
• Document Results
• Act on Findings

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Elements of Effective School Improvement

• Data Collection (Profiling and Scanning)
• Mission
• Goal Setting (Performance Targets)
• Interventions (Strategies)
• Assessments
• Professional Development
• Monitoring
• Documentation of Results

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Developing the Profile
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School Improvement Concept

• Profile

A concise, stand-alone document which gives a
snapshot or picture of a school in data terms as
a cycle of school improvement begins.
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Profiling Tasks
Step 1 Gather Data
Step 2 Sort Your Data into Categories
Step 3 Identify Implications
School Improvement Plan

Categories of Data
Compendium (Compilation of Data)

• Unique Local Insights
• Former Students
• Students
• Instruction
• Community

Goals Assessments Interventions Action Plan
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Findings

• A simple presentation of the data without making
  judgments.

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Analysis

• Collect Data
• Sort Data
• Present Data (Findings)
• Analyze Data
• Trying to determine and describe why.

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Implications

• Student Performance Goals
• Did our analysis indicate a need for a goal that
  will increase student performance?
• Non-Student Performance Goals
• Did our analysis indicate that areas other than
  student performance may need to be addressed?
• Other Data To Be Collected
• Did our analysis indicate that we did not have
  enough data to make a decision? If so, what other
  data must we collect?
• Clarification of Goals
• Did our analysis provide us with specific areas
  of concern or was it too general?
• Identification of Intervention Groups
• Did our analysis indicate that certain groups of
  students might benefit from one intervention,
  while other students might need different
  interventions?
• Other Actions Needed Did our analysis indicate
  other actions than those above are necessary?

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Disaggregation Categories

• After data has been collected, determine
  categories for disaggregation. (NCLB plus?)

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Disaggregation of Data
Disaggregations

• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Socio-economic status
• Quartiles
• Family Structures/Design
• Mobility Factors
• Title I
• ESL
• Rural vs. Urban

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To be blind is bad, but worse it is to have eyes
and not to seeHellen Keller
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Profile

• What is the MUST HAVE data that a school should
  collect for EACH category?
• Plan a visual display for one of these.

Table Activity
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Environmental Scan
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Environmental Scanning

• Environmental scan data is information about
  society and the world that a faculty may use to
  determine what skills and knowledge students will
  need to be successful after leaving their school.

Current definition in NCA CASI material
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• The scan helps us understand the world in which
  our school may exist at various times in the
  future, and how we may have to adapt to be
  successful in such a new world.

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The Scan

• Pulls together key trends and predictions from
  good sources to give us a sense of the range of
  possible futures we may see.

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Aguilar (study of the information gathering
practices of managers) defines scanning as the
systematic collection of external information in
order to (1) lessen the randomness of
information flowing into the organization and
(2)provide early warning for managers of changing
external conditions.
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Some Areas to Scan

• Demographic trends in population
• Employment
• Technology
• Human Resources
• Workforce
• Work Environment
• Health Care
• Legislation
• Socioeconomics
• Income Projections
• Public Attitudes

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Some Sources of Scan Information

• Review current literature
• Search the internet
• Hold discussions with experts
• Interview major decision makers regarding their
  view of the most critical trends and developments
  that could affect the institution.

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Future Work

• www.dol.gov/dol/asp/public/futurework/ report
• Provides a school with environmental scan data in
  the following categories
• Workforce
• Employment
• Wages and benefits
• Work and family
• Workplace
• Workplace conditions
• Technology
• Implications of workplace change

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No shortage of resources

• Newspapers such as The New York Times, The
  Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The
  Miami Herald, The Chicago Tribute, The Los
  Angeles Times, The Times of London, and USA
  Today.
• Magazines include Vital Speeches of the Day,
  Time, Newsweek, U. S. News and World Report, The
  Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy,
  Atlantic, The Nation and The Futurist. Also, the
  U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the
  Department of Labor.

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Environmental Scan Getting Information to Staff
-- Daily bulletin, popular print
materials. -- Gary Marx Ten Trends Educating
Students for a Profoundly Different Future
-- 21st Century Skills http//www.ncrel.org
/engauge/skills/indepth.htm -- (Futurework)
www.dol.gov/dol/asp/public/futurework/report --
(General Trends) www.kent.wednet.edu/district/st
rat_plan
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Environmental Scan The Key Question
What are the most important things we can
develop in our students, based upon the kind of
world in which they are likely to live?
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Mission
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Mission Statement

A statement that identifies the priorities and
educational beliefs of the school/district with
regard to what is to be developed within its
students.
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Mission Statement Boiler Plate
1) General philosophical statement.
2) Support of the district mission. 3) Self
imposed duty regarding the preparation of
students. 4) What needs to be developed within
students. Think about the skills you
needed when you graduated from high school.
Contrast those with the skills your current
students will need when they graduate from
high school. What skills will they need?
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Mission

• What is YOUR school mission?
• Good, bad and ugly?
• Use the rubric to evaluate mission statements.

Table Activity
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From Eric Hoffer

• In times of change, learners inherit the earth,
  while the learned find themselves beautifully
  equipped to deal with a world that no longer
  exists.

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Once the profile is completed and the mission is
written, it is time to write your student
performance goals.
"Bridging from Profile and Mission to Goal
Writing"
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Student Performance Goals
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School Improvement Concept Writing Goals

• Writing appropriate student performance goals is
  one of the most important steps in the
  development of the school improvement plan.

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Whoever writes the goals owns the goals.
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Understanding the Goal
Goal Types
Essence of the Goal
Student Performance Goals
Sources
Mission
Rubrics to Evaluate Goals
Profile
A Boiler Plate for Writing Goals
All students will increase ______________________
across the curriculum. clients will
improve across the school
in a variety of contexts.
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Goal Types

• Type I Knowledge
• Type II -- Ability to Apply Knowledge
• Type III --Habits/Patterns of Behavior
• Type IV -- Attitudes, Perceptions, Beliefs,
  Opinions, Feelings
• The Type of Goal Determines the Type of
  Assessment

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Essence

• Before an intervention can be established the
  essence of the goal must be determined. Essence
  involves determining the dimensions of a concept
  on which the school wishes to focus.
• Example What does citizenship mean to your
  faculty?

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Essence of Citizenship

• 1. Compliance with the rules
• 2. Understanding participative governance
• 3. Service to humanity
• The focus a school takes can drastically
  affect the interventions and assessments the
  school in the School Improvement Plan.

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• Essence of the Goal

What does research say about the relationship
between self esteem and achievement in school?
Global Self Esteem
Sense of Belonging
Self Esteem
Perception of Ability Self efficacy
Self Respect
What does it mean to
have self esteem? comprehend what one reads? be
responsible? think critically? respect
someone? be respectful to someone? be a good
citizen?
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Questions RE Student Performance Goals

• How many total goals?
• How many cognitive and affective goals?
• How are state and district goals addressed?
• How long does a school keep a goal?
• Does a school have non-student performance goals?

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School Improvement Plan(SIP)
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SIP Components
Assessments that will be used to document
program improvement Interventions that will
be used to improve student performance Professi
onal Development needed to implement the
interventions Logistical/Action Plan that will
support the implementation of the assessments,
interventions and professional
development.
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• Note
• The School Improvement Plan is comprised of the
  SIP Abstract (the basic design) and the
  Logistical/Action plan (which contains the
  details for implementation.)
• Available at Illinois website nca.uillinois.edu
• .

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Assessments
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Selecting Assessments

• Identify Assessments That Will Be Used To Show
  Improvement on Each Goal
• Match Assessment Type with Goal Type
• How many assessments?
• Align assessments with goals and interventions.

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School Improvement Assessments

• Locally Developed Assessments
• Developed and used in specific schools or
  districts
• Usually classroom-based

• Standardized Assessments
• Widely administered
• Recognized and understood by the public

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Selecting/Creating Assessments

• Standardized
• Advantages Greater possibility of validity and
  reliability
• Politically more acceptable
  to community
• Procedures are standardized
• Disadvantages Cost
• Less likely to match your educational
  program or curriculum
• Appropriate common metric to
  measure your goal may
  not exist

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TYPES OF ASSESSMENTS Used for Assessing Student
performance
Portfolios
Nationally Normed Tests
Surveys/Interviews
Criterion Referenced Tests
CURRICULUM
PARENT SURVEY
TEST
STUDENT SURVEY
STAFF SURVEY
Observational Data Collection
Authentic Assessment
Evaluate performance at a "real world task"
which involves higher order thinking
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Key Questions Assessments

• How many assessments are needed for each goal?
• Are we assessing the goal or the intervention?
• Must every intervention have an assessment?
• Must every assessment be given to every student
  every year?

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Interventions
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Definition

• An intervention is something that is done to or
  with students that develops something desired
  within the student. For schools involved in the
  NCA school improvement process the something
  desired should be the goal areas.

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Interventions address the reasons why students
are not being successful.

• Cause Effect
• Symptom versus Cause
• Thorough Analysis of Data

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How to Use Data to Create Powerful Interventions

• Start with Findings (facts).
• Analyze to explain why the facts are what they
  are
• intuitive analysis
• analysis using data
• research based
• For each explanation or reason,
  identify/determine the Implications for
  interventions/strategies.

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Keys for Interventions

• Use the experience of staff for intuitive
  analysis
• For every reason - identify an intervention
• Need to put data in the hands of the teachers
• Regularly assess and revisit

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Good Interventions develop the goal area within
the student.

• They should do one of the following
• Develop Knowledge
• Apply Knowledge
• Develop Patterns of Behavior
• Develop Attitudes

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Research Based Interventions

• Discuss the ways schools could locate
  research-based or best practice interventions.

R
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ASCD

• Association for Supervision and
• Curriculum Development
• 1703 North Beauregard Street
• Alexandria, Virginia 22311
• 1-800-933-2723
• www.ascd.org
• Magazine Educational Leadership

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Education Research Service

• Will provide research to member schools on any
  topic requested.
• 2000 Clarendon Road
• Arlington, VA 22201
• 703-243-2100
• ers_at_access.digex.net

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Northwest Regional Lab

• www.nwrel.org
• All regional labs available from this website

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• Educational Best Practices
• www.ed.gov/inits/statelocal/sl-best.html

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Key Questions Interventions

• How many interventions needed for each goal?
• Can some interventions only address subgroups and
  not all students?
• How do we incorporate teacher stuff if we are
  to write interventions in student terms?
• Do all teachers have to do all interventions?
• Can some interventions cross over into other
  goals?

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Intervention Questions Contd

• Where do we put parent-related pieces in our
  plan?
• Must all interventions be research-based?
• How do we get the faculty to select interventions?

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Professional Development
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Professional Development

• Helps faculty learn about the new interventions
  and how to implement them.
• Needs to be directly linked to the school
  improvement plan.

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Questions . . .

• What is required to move faculty from awareness
  to actual transfer into the classroom?
• How will you know the plan is being implemented
  in the classroom?

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One purpose of staff development is to unite the
staffs of schools in studying ways of improving
the school and engagement in continuous programs
to make it better. Schools become outstanding
when school improvement is a prominent part of
the staff development activities. Bruce
Joyce and Beverly Showers
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School Improvement Plan

• Evaluate the sample SIP in terms
  of Goals Alignment Potential for
  success
• Make suggestions to improve

Table Activity
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Action Plan
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Action Plans

• For every intervention in a school improvement
  plan there is created at least one action plan
  page. This page contains all the details that go
  into the plan. The important word here is
  details. Always provide more information than
  you think necessary.

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LOGISTICAL ACTION PLAN

• Logistical Details what has to be done to
  implement the interventions
• Action Who will do what and when
• Plan . . . of mice and men . . .

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Action Plan Template
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2 ADDITIONAL ITEMS TO DO

• Complete the Capacity Assessment Instrument
• Collect Baseline Data

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Capacity Assessment Instrument (CAI)

• Complete at time of SIP and end of cycle
• 80 questions elongated rubric of 20 items
• Reach consensus among the faculty
• Complete for first team visit
• Complete for Documentation Visit
• NCA CASI Website

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Capacity Assessment Instrument
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Baseline Data!!!!!!!

• Pre-test or PRE INTERVENTION
• Post-test or END OF CYCLE
• Same assessments
• Collect for each subgroup

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Never be afraid to try something new. Remember,
amateurs built the ark and professionals built
the titanic.
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NCA CASIandIllinois NCA CASIThank You for
Participating

• We are here to help you with your school
  improvement process.

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APPENDIX
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Preparing Students for Contemporary Work and
Society
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Conventional AcademicSuccess has Involved

• Mastery of basic skills
• Largely solitary study
• Generally uninterrupted work
• Concentration on a single subject
• Much written work
• High analytical ability

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Workplace Success Involves

• Mastery of basic skills
• Working with others
• Constant distractions
• Working at different levels across different
  disciplines
• Mainly verbal skills
• Problem-solving and decision-making

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Does it have to be either or?

• No, it must be both. However workplace skills do
  not always come from academic skills.
• Academics are neither good at finding novel
  solutions, nor at synthesizing , nor at living
  with ambiguity, nor making difficult decisions.

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Real Life Skills

• In a world of continuous change where creativity,
  personal responsibility and innovation are in
  ever greater demand, the ability of individuals
  to plan and implement their own ongoing learning
  without external direction has to be the key to
  success.

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Here is the problem

• Society is recognizing the restrictive and
  unimaginative.
• Now television, video, linked with active
  technologies such as the computer, CD ROM systems
  and the Internet, provide an astonishing array of
  tools for constructive learning.