Years 1 5 Building an Excellent School

1
Boston Collegiate Charter School Staff
Development Workshop Katie Joseph, Dean of
Administration, BCCS Kim Everett, History
Teacher, BCCS Eileen Callahan, Dean of
Curriculum, BCCS
2
The success of our school is built on high
expectations, a structured academic environment,
and exceptional teachers. Without great
teachers, nothing else matters. We fervently
believe that exceptional teachers are central to
our students success. BCCS Whole School
Paper, 2007.
3
Staff Development and Retention

• WORKSHOP AIMS
• YWBAT understand the evolution of teacher
  development processes at BCCS.
• YWBAT analyze BCCS structures and strategies for
  teacher development.
• YWBAT practice one strategy for giving regular
  and effective feedback to teachers.

• AGENDA
• Reflecting on our past Shifting from developing
  school structures to developing teachers
• Hiring smart, outstanding teachers and
  encouraging them to grow and to stay
• 5 10 Minute Observation Practice (I Do, We Do,
  You Do)

4
Typical BCCS Teacher Load

• Teach four class periods per day (2 preps) with
  two preps periods per day
• After-school tutoring two times per week
• Extracurricular for one quarter (i.e. supervise
  detention or coach soccer)
• Attend bi-weekly meeting with SPED liaison
• Attend Monday afternoon professional development
  meetings (230pm 5pm)
• Advise students (either advisor or floater to
  support)
• Provide lunch and hallway coverage
• Attend Family conferences and selected evening
  school events

5
1998 2003 Building an Excellent School

• Professional conversations and meetings focused
  on school-wide system building
• Minimal transparency around job status or
  instructional expectations, other than
  school-wide procedures
• Minimal feedback on classroom instruction
• 2001 2002 (Year 4), department meetings began
• Dedicated teachers with classroom experience
  moved the school forward

6
The BCCS constants since 1998

• Hardworking teachers, strong on instruction who
  reflect on and have a voice in shaping school
  structures and policies
• Strong academic results along with strong
  supports for students who struggle
• High Expectations for staff and for students
• Constant reflection on how to get better
• Clear communication that work is difficult
• Struggle with work / life balance and
  sustainability
• Very low turnover in first four years of school

7
Two years of too many leaving

• BCCS averaged retaining 85 of its staff in the
  first five years of the school. (At the end of
  year one, one teacher left. At the end of year
  two, two teachers left.)
• At the end of school year 2004, 25 staff left.
• At the end of school year 2005, 29 staff left.

8
Key Events to Start a Shift

• 1. The Red Book
• An effort to be clear on instructional
  expectations and what it means to teach at BCCS
• An effort to preserve institutional knowledge
• A means to induct new teachers to BCCS
• 2. Organizational Change
• One 5 12 principal, one HS and one MS director
  replaced with three principals (lower, middle,
  high) and two deans (curriculum and
  administration)
• 3. Teacher Retention Committee
• Joint committee of Executive Director and
  teachers who volunteer their time to discuss
  honestly and openly issues affecting teacher
  sustainability at BCCS.

9
Teacher Retention Committee 2005

• Immediate impact on BCCS
• A strong call for more feedback and professional
  development focused on the needs of teachers and
  classroom instruction
• A strong call for transparency between
  leadership and teachers with efforts to close gap
  between perception and reality

10
The Shift

• THEN
• Infrequent observations by principal with
• little to no follow up and lack of transparency
  around instructional expectations
• Classroom feedback based on
• qualitative data
• Professional development centered
• on school development
• Feeling that common professional development time
  is inefficient, meeting for the sake of
  meeting, not related to personal professional
  growth

• NOW
• Frequent observations by Dean of Curriculum,
  principals and Executive Director, full class
  observations once per year
• Classroom feedback based on
• quantitative data
• Grades 5-12 instructional focus balanced
• with personal professional goals
• Professional development and team conversations
  focused on instruction

11
Hiring Smart, Outstanding People and
Encouraging Them to Grow and Stay at BCCS
2006 to present

• Transparent, clearly articulated instructional
  expectations
• Clear process around criteria for hiring and
  firing
• Whole-school, 5-12 instructional expectations and
  professional development
• Ongoing dialogue between leadership and teachers
  to identify retention issues (The TRC continues)

12
Developing Outstanding Teachers

• 3 Tiers of Staff Development
• Teachers new to BCCS
• Teachers in second year and beyond at BCCS
• Teachers as professionals
• All structures and processes are grounded in the
  belief and conviction that no matter how long
  youve taught, everyone is a work in progress.
  If people feel they are growing professionally in
  their craft, theyll look for ways to stay at
  BCCS.

13
Year 1 at BCCS Formal Supports

• Curricular and Cultural Support
• Three week orientation
• Access to existing curriculum, e-binders
• Assigned point person to meet with once per week
  to share lessons and receive planning support and
  feedback
• Personal and Whole School Professional Growth
• Professional Development Days with common
  instructional themes (i.e. strategies for
  longterm planning, planning rigorous questions,
  giving effective feedback, etc.)
• Monday meetings
• (HS / MS / LS, Grade Level or Department)
• Feedback on Instruction
• Layers of observation and feedback from
• Dean of Curriculum short observations (all year,
  once every two weeks), transcript (once, Oct.
  Nov.), full class observation (once, Dec.
  March)
• Principals, Executive Director (weekly)
  Department Chair (min. once per semester) and
  Grade Level leader (as needed)

14
Year 1 at BCCS Informal Supports

• Time for Reflection of Practice
• Self evaluation (February)
• Annual review with principal (Feb. / March)
• Includes intent to offer contract and areas for
  commendation and recommendation
• Anonymous online leadership survey
• Support from Colleagues
• Grade level offices
• Support from grade level leaders and department
  chairs
• Peer-to-peer observations, open door classrooms

15
Post Year 1 at BCCS

• In addition to the Year One supports
• Curricular and Cultural Support
• One week orientation for all staff
• Time to backwards plan from final exams to Day
  One, using e-binder, calendar of aims, calendar
  of units
• Personal and Whole School Professional Growth
• Professional Development Days with common
  instructional themes (i.e. strategies for
  longterm planning, planning rigorous questions,
  giving effective feedback, etc.)
• Opportunity for leadership Joining committees
  designed to inform change (College Readiness,
  Building a Culture of Readers), leading trips,
  applying for grade level leader or department
  chair
• September Blitz Leadership team frequents
  classes, meet to discuss teachers struggling with
  instruction or management. Action plan made for
  each teacher, includes weekly planning meeting
  with member of team

16
How We Develop Outstanding Teachers Reflective of
Their Craft

• Calendar of Monday meetings set and distributed
  at start of school year, agendas for meetings
  emailed in advance
• Professional days with grades 5-12 workshops in
  morning and remainder of day devoted to long-term
  planning and incorporation of takeaways from
  workshop (i.e. Planning Effective Questions)
• Common instructional focus for 5 12, three year
  plan in action, focus for upcoming school year
  announced in Spring
• Trends from classroom observations inform
  professional development workshops and topics for
  HS/MS meetings (i.e., the need for greater
  checks for understanding, planning for effective
  questions)
• Individual goal setting related to personal
  professional growth as well as school-wide
  instructional focus
• 5-10 minute observation form individually
  tailored to tie to personal professional goals

17
BCCS 5-10 Minute Observation Form

• Weve come to understand and value the need for
  transparent and clear expectations for teachers.
• Conversations about instruction are at core of
  school now. This is supported most by frequent
  and consistent feedback based on common
  expectations for all. This regular and
  consistent feedback nurtures the collective
  feeling that
• no matter how long youve taught,
• everyone has room to grow.

18
Success of the 5-10 Minute Observation Form

• Provides the ability to give feedback to teacher
  no matter where they are in their growth
• Incorporates basics for sound instruction and
  BCCS expectations and gives transparent, common
  expectations for all teachers
• Outstanding teachers often have feeling that they
  arent doing enough form allows teachers to
  regularly be told what they are doing well and if
  something isnt going well, allows for the start
  of a conversation
• With frequency of short observations there is
  always an opportunity to do better next time
• Nothing emerges on long, full class form that
  hasnt been noted on short form.

19
Process of 5 10 Minute Observation Form

• Teachers and leaders visit classrooms announced
  and unannounced
• Completed, original form given to teacher by end
  of day
• Original copy to teacher, copies to Dean of
  Curriculum, principals and Executive Director
• Follow up conversations, both formal and
  informal, often email check in

20
Practice

• I Do
• Review Samples
• We Do
• How do you write what you see so its concise
  and helpful?
• What can you learn about your own practice from
  a peer observation?
• You Do
• Teaching video and practice of 10-minute
  observation form

21
What were working on

• Increasing the frequency of all teachers
  visiting and observing their peers
• Adapting professional development to level of
  teaching experience and success
• Continuing to find ways to help teachers make
  their profession at BCCS sustainable over the
  long-term
• Continuing to use data from classroom visits to
  inform professional conversations

22
All BCCS teacher development structures and
processes are based on the belief that if you
allow teachers to be change agents, if you give
attention to and transparencyto issues that are
important to them and encourage teachers to
continuously grow, this will help to retain them.
23
96 strongly or somewhat agreed that BCCS
offers an environment in which it is inspiring
and motivating to teach.92 strongly or
somewhat agreed that they are growing as
teachers98 strongly or somewhat agreed that
the mission is alive and consistently articulated
by the school leadership team Teacher
responses to anonymous, online survey, Winters
2007 and 2008.