Union County High School Presents

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Union County High School Presents
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• CSI High SchoolCollaborative School Improvement

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CSI High School

• Incorporates the Georgia Assessment of
  Performance on School Standards (GAPPS) and the
  Georgia School Keys into everyday school
  operations

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CSI High School

• A comprehensive program that Integrates
• Continuous school improvement
• Teacher professional development
• Teacher evaluation
• School accreditation

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CSI High School

• Improves school culture and school climate
  through increased faculty collaboration
• School Culture is the way the adults in the
  school interact with each other
• School Climate is the impact of a schools
  culture on student achievement

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School Culture and School Climate

• Data suggests that a schools culture is the most
  important factor affecting student achievement!
• If so, it seems that a school should devote
  considerable time and effort to improving the
  school culture
• How does a school go about changing its culture?

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School Culture

• To improve school culture the school needs to
  ensure that teachers work collaboratively
• Collaborative relationships are those that are
  cordial, cooperative, and collegial
• These relationships need to be ongoing and
  supported by the school
• How does a school provide an environment to
  support teacher collaboration?

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School Culture

• Schools can promote and sustain the collaborative
  efforts of faculty and staff by providing
  in-house professional development
• The National Staff Development Council suggests
  that professional development be job-embedded,
  research based, and data driven

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School Culture

• Schools can also promote teacher collaboration by
  ensuring that teachers get out of their own
  classrooms and into colleagues classrooms
• Helps break the isolation felt by many teachers
• Reduces competition
• Encourages use of best teaching practices

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How it works

• After a school-wide goal has been chosen..
• During the first semester of the school year,
  teachers will form STUDY GROUPS
• During the second semester of the school year,
  study groups are ended and teachers will form
  COLLEGIAL PAIRINGS with someone from their group
  or a from a different group with a similar topic

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Study Groups

• FIRST semester
• Teachers with COMMON planning time will form
  study groups of six members
• These groups will meet at least six times for one
  hour each meeting
• These meetings guide the study, discussion, and
  potential outcomes of specific classroom level
  solutions related to the school goal

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Study Groups

• Why at least six meetings?
• Each of the six members will act as the LEADER of
  the study team on at least one occasion
• This allows all teachers to develop leadership
  skills among their peers
• A look ahead.
• Part of the GAPSS review and the School Keys deal
  with teacher leadership!

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Study Groups

• Why at least six meetings?
• Meeting at least six times will ensure six of the
  ten contact hours needed for one Professional
  Learning Unit (PLU)

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Study Groups

• All research gathered by the study group is kept
  by each teacher in their CSI High School
  Casebook
• A look ahead..
• The casebook is reviewed at the end of the school
  year with building administrators
• Helps to monitor the CSI High School program and
  school improvement goals
• Provides evidence of teacher learning
• Helps teachers recall the details of what was
  studied first semester

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Collegial Pairings

• SECOND semester
• Teachers WITHOUT common planning time will form
  COLLEGIAL PAIRS
• These pairs work to IMPLEMENT the results of the
  work of their study group from first semester
• Not sharing planning time allows each partner to
  observe in one anothers classroom

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Collegial Pairings

• Collegial Pairs will meet at least FOUR times
  during second semester
• One meeting consists of three phases
• Pre-observation meeting
• Intense classroom observation
• Post-observation meeting (debriefing)
• The three phases must total at least one hour
• Ensures the remaining four contact hours needed
  for one PLU

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Collegial Pairings

• Collegial Pairings may work a couple of ways
• Collegial Coaching Model
• Two colleagues alternate between acting as COACH
  or expert and PLAYER or novice with a new
  strategy or method in the classroom
• Each will act as a coach on two occasions
• Each will act as a player on two occasions

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Collegial Pairings

• Collegial Pairings may work a couple of ways
• Mentorship Model
• Here a newer or less experienced teacher may be
  paired with a veteran or more experienced teacher
• The veteran teacher will demonstrate a technique
  or strategy in their classroom for the less
  experienced teacher on two occasions
• The newer teacher will implement the new strategy
  on two occasion will being observed by the
  veteran teacher

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Collegial Pairings

• Collegial Pairings may work a couple of ways
• A look ahead.
• The School Keys and the GAPSS review are
  interested in peer coaching and mentorships for
  new teachers!

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Collegial Pairings

• Collegial Pair observation notes, videos,
  recordings, etc. are kept by each member in the
  CSI High School Casebook for reference
• Again, this allows for monitoring of the CSI
  High School program as well as monitoring school
  improvement goals

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Classroom Observations

• In addition to participation in study groups and
  collegial pairings, each teacher is asked to make
  TEN classroom observations of their peers
• Helps break the isolation felt by many teachers
• Allows teachers to see their students in other
  classroom
• Allows teachers to see content and strategies in
  other classrooms

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Classroom Observations

• Classroom observations are made using the GAPSS
  classroom observation form
• Provides a common language among faculty
• Begins to show teachers the evidence of
  standards-based teaching and learning
• Teachers become more comfortable with other
  adults in their classrooms
• Students become more comfortable with other
  adults in their classrooms

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How it works

• How does a school determine what its goal should
  be?
• How do study teams determine what to study?
• Does all school improvement have answers that
  fall into classroom level changes?

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Continuous School Improvement

• How does a school determine goals?
• Uses school data to determine school needs
• Teacher observations (GAPSS)
• Test scores
• Attendance data
• Disciplinary data
• Teacher interviews (GAPSS)
• Student interviews (GAPSS)
• Parent/Community surveys (GAPSS)

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Continuous School Improvement

• School data used to determine school-wide focus
  for the upcoming year(s)
• For Example
• Teacher observations show that there is no
  organizing framework that guides instruction
• Test scores indicate consistent but not
  increasing scores
• Attendance records frequent absences among
  students
• Disciplinary data indicate many students referred
  for tardiness
• May indicate that student achievement could be
  enhanced by examining classroom management
  practices throughout the school

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Continuous School Improvement

• A measureable school goal is established
• For example
• Faculty and staff will engage in a process of
  examination of research-based strategies to
  improve classroom management effectiveness

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Continuous School Improvement

• But, how should a school go about making the
  desired improvements?
• Can every teacher go to off-site training?
• Do outside people really understand your students
  and how your school works?
• Is anything ever required of teachers that attend
  off-site professional development workshops?
• How much money is spent in travel, meals, lodging
  that could be spent more wisely?

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Continuous School Improvement

• We believe a school should use its most valuable
  but untapped resource..
• The professionals in the building!
• Who better knows the students?
• Who better knows the community?
• Who better understands how to get things done?
• Who wishes things to be better more than the
  faculty and staff?

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Continuous School Improvement

• Because the school goal was established with the
  input of all stakeholders (GAPSS surveys,
  interviews, and observations)
• Professional development can be clearly aligned
  with school goal
• No longer haphazard or disjointed
• Focused
• Purpose driven, not a necessary evil

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Continuous School Improvement

• What will study groups study?
• Who determines what teachers make up a study
  group?
• One of the hallmarks of the CSI High School
  program

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Continuous School Improvement

• There is rarely one simple solution to school
  issues
• Most problems have possible or partial solutions
  that come from many directions

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Continuous School Improvement

• The CSI High School program suggests examining
  perceived problems through the Georgia School
  Keys
• The Keys are made of standards and related
  elements
• The Keys cover a wide range of areas from which
  to develop areas of specific study by groups

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Continuous School Improvement

• To continue our example
• School Goal Classroom Management
• There are potential solutions to classroom
  management issues in areas such as
• Instruction
• Assessment
• Curriculum
• Planning and Organization Student, Family, and
  Community Involvement
• Leadership

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Continuous School Improvement

• Each of the Keys has various standards and
  elements
• These standards have specific performance actions
  that a school may take in order to become fully
  operational in that area
• Additionally, each standard has related artifacts
  and evidence that demonstrates how a school is
  functioning in each area

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Continuous School Improvement

• The performance actions, the artifacts, and the
  evidence may be used by study groups as a guide
  for investigation
• For example
• Instruction Standard 1
• Fully Operational
• All teaching and learning activities are informed
  by a shared framework for instruction and reflect
  a shared understanding of what students should
  know, be able to do, and understand

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Continuous School Improvement

• Some artifacts associated with this standard
• Sample frameworks
• Meeting agendas
• Some evidence associated with this standard
• Teachers can articulate how the framework was
  selected and how it guides implementation of the
  curriculum in their classrooms

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Continuous School Improvement

• What would be studied within this standard?
• What is a framework
• Why should a framework be shared by all faculty
• Should students have input into this framework?
• How could students be involved in planning
  lessons?

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Continuous School Improvement

• Just as there is rarely one simple solution for
  school issues, there is rarely one simple school
  improvement/professional development topic that
  will appeal to every teacher

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Continuous School Improvement

• Teachers come in all shapes and sizes
• Different years of experience
• Different subject matter
• Different aged/ type students
• Different areas of interest
• Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, etc.

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Continuous School Improvement

• However, every teacher has something to offer
  every other teacher
• Veteran teachers have the Craft knowledge
• New teachers have new methods to share
• Special Education teachers have differentiation
  skills
• Technical Education teachers offer hands-on
  activities

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Continuous School Improvement

• A group of six teacher simply agrees on an area
  of shared interest that may be studied, using the
  School Keys as a guide, that relates to the
  school improvement goal

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Continuous School Improvement

• The only criteria that regulates the validity of
  a chosen topic of study by a study group is that
  it MUST result in research that may be
  implemented in the classroom during second
  semester
• Does the topic relate to our school improvement
  goal?
• Is the topic implementable during second semester?

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Continuous School Improvement

• Study teams and collegial pairs now engage in a
  truly reflective process of examining current
  practice and how that practice may be changed to
  better meet the needs of all of their students

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Continuous School Improvement

• Each teacher collects data, implements new ideas
  and strategies into their classroom with the help
  of a colleague using GAPPS ideas and language
• Each teacher gets out of their own classroom and
  makes several observations of peers using GAPPS
  materials

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Teacher Evaluation

• At the end of each school year, every teacher
  will have a scheduled meeting with building
  administration to review the CSI High School
  activities of the year

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Teacher Evaluation

• Administrators use teacher interview questions
  from the GAPSS review process as well as school
  developed questions for the interview

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Teacher Evaluation

• Teachers get to share what they learned
  throughout the year, how they were able to
  implement new ideas into their classroom
• Teachers share what they observed in other rooms,
  what peers saw in their rooms, and what they plan
  to work on

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Teacher Evaluation

• Administrators share with teachers the totals
  from observations by peers made in classrooms,
  discusses with teachers how what they did over
  the school year benefited the entire school

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Teacher Evaluation

• Teachers and administrators both have a better
  understanding of the teaching and learning taking
  place in their classrooms
• Provides a much better evaluation tool for
  administration

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School Accreditation

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• School Accreditation engages the entire school
  community in a continuous process of
  self-evaluation, reflection, and improvement. It
  invites external scrutiny and welcomes the
  constructive feedback of peers. It demands rigor,
  is based in data, and approaches documentation of
  results with discipline.

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School Accreditation

• The CSI High School program provides a means to
  integrate the GAPPS review process, the Georgia
  School Keys, and the fundamental ideas of school
  accreditation into a single program that fosters
  a healthy school culture for increased
  achievement by all students

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CSI High School

• The CSI High School program was designed and
  developed by
• Mark Donahue and Ed Rohrbaugh
• Please direct any questions to us at Union County
  High School
• 706-745-2216
• mark.donahue_at_ucschools.org
• ed.rohrbaugh_at_ucschools.org