Supports for Improving the Performance of Diverse Learning

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Supports for Improving the Performance of Diverse
Learning

• Adding a Special Education Lens to the Basic
  School Improvement Model
• Riverside County Achievement Teams

Mike Jones Dawn Walsh Diana Walsh-Reuss
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Riverside County Office of Education

• The RCAT Model
• Riverside
• County
• Achievement
• Team

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• The most promising strategy for sustained,
  substantive school improvement is developing the
  ability of school personnel to function as
  professional learning communities.
• - Milbrey McLaughlin

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What is RCAT?

• RCAT is a proven assistance model for schools
  aspiring to improve student achievement.
• Collaborative process.
• Aligns analyzed data and school targets.
• With professional training, resources, and
  accountability.

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What is RCAT?

• Collaborative Process
• Between District School Site RCAT
• Plus Team Lead CDE Consultant
• Building coherence
• On-going support
• On-going communication

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What is RCAT?

• Alignment of analyzed data and school targets
• School Site Data Profile
• Data Team Training Interpreting test results
  for purposes of instruction
• Developing school targets

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What is RCAT?

• Professional training, resources, and
  accountability
• Staff development training in context and
  leadership.
• Access to content specialists.
• Process to monitor student progress.

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• The most promising strategy for sustained,
  substantive school improvement is developing the
  ability of school personnel to function as
  professional learning communities.
• - Milbrey McLaughlin

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RCAT Focus

• 1 Building Local Capacity
• Improving student outcomes as result of
• instruction that is
• Data Informed (DRIP)
• Research-Based Strategies
• Accordance With State Standards

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RCAT Focus

• 2 Leadership Development
• Building leadership skills at the district office
• and school site level.
• Facilitation Skills
• Process Skills
• Systems Change

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• RCAT Plus
• Project
• Results

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2003-2005 AYP Percent GrowthRCAT Plus Schools
All Students
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2003-2005 AYP English Language Arts RCAT Plus
Schools Subgroup Comparison
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2003-2005 AYP Mathematics RCAT Plus Schools
Subgroup Comparison
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2003-2005 AYP English Language ArtsAll Students
vs. Students with Disabilities
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2003-2005 AYP MathematicsAll Students vs.
Students with Disabilities
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• The
• Project
• Model

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California Department of EducationFocused
Monitoring Facilitated Districts
Project2003-2006
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Two Visions

• ?Riverside County Office of Education
• Riverside County Achievement Teams
• Dr. David Long
• ?California Department of Education
• Division of Special Education
• Dr. Alice Parker

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One Common Vision

• To Increase Student Achievement of ALL Students
• with a focus on Special Education

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One Common Vision

• By Replicating the Riverside County Achievement
  Team Model
• (RCAT)
• and Adding a Leadership Development Program
  utilized by the California Department of
  Education for developing Regional Network Capacity

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Project Name

• RCAT Plus
• The Plus was added to
• denote the emphasis on
• Special Education.

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Project Structure

• 3 Year Project
• School Districts Identified Based on State Key
  Performance Indicators with an Invitation to
  Apply
• District Grant 70,000 for Training/Travel
  Related Expenses and Start-up Costs
• Pilot School Identified by District

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Project Participants

• 8 School Districts
• Selected based on KPIs
• 8 Pilot School Sites
• 4 HS, 3 MS, 1 MS/ELEM
• 8 CDE Consultants
• 8 RCOE RCAT Plus Leads, Support Staff and
  Administrative Staff

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Year 4

• 5 of 8 districts chose to stay with the project
  as a transition year.
• A new cohort of districts/schools have been
  identified
• 4 new districts/schools.
• 5 current districts expanded by adding a new
  pilot school to the project.

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Project Model Components

• Component 1 Leadership Development
• Training
• Component 2 RCAT Plus Coaching
• and Support
• Component 3 Summer Institute

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Each of the circles is a sub-system.
From Margaret Wheatley, Wheatley Circles
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The ModelComponent 1 Leadership Development

• Process and Facilitation Skills
• Building Skills Focused on the Individual Models
  of Systems Thinking, Interpersonal Communication
  and Contracting
• Building Skills Focused on Core Principles of
  Group Facilitation
• Moving Individuals and Groups to Action Leading
  to Organizational Change

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The ModelComponent 2 RCAT Plus Support

• Training Professional Learning Community
  Process
• On-site Monthly Meetings With Site Principal and
  Leadership Team
• Progress Monitoring SMART Goals
• On-going Staff Development

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The ModelComponent 3 Summer Institute

• Research-Based Practices
• 4-day Statewide Conference
• Addresses Leadership, School Climate, Academic
  Interventions
• RtI Focus
• Attendance was a Project Requirement

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• The
• Content

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Professional Learning Communities

• 3 Key Ideas
• Focus on Learning
• Building a Collaborative Culture
• Focus on Results

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Three PLC Key Questions.

• What do we want students to learn?
• How will we know they have learned it?
• What will we do if they dont learn it?

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Cultural Shift

• Teacher as independent contractor
• Focus on teaching
• Each teacher independently decides how and what
  to teach
• Independently develop assessments
• Independently handle interventions

• Teacher as interdependent team member
• Focus on learning
• Teachers collaboratively agree on what students
  are expected to learn.
• Collaboratively administer assessments
• Collaboratively plan interventions

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Essential Components

• Identifying Common Outcomes
• Formative/Common Assessments for the Purpose of
  Instruction
• Effective Instructional Practices
• Developing Intervention Strategies for Students
  Who Are Not Learning

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Collaboration

• Structure Regular, Ongoing, Scheduled,
  Mandatory Meetings
• Focus Student Learning (Key Questions)
• Product Minutes, Data Analysis, Common
  Assessments, for example
• Action-Orientation Research Based Strategies
• Being Creative with Time and Personnel

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Common Assessments

• Aligned with state/local standards
• Frequent
• Formative Assessment
• Leverage results in Data Teams to determine
  instructional strategies and next instructional
  steps

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• Leadership

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Leadership is the Key

• Any changes made will only be surface level and
  unsustainable unless the school and district
  leadership is prepared to fully support the
  implementation of PLCs.

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• The Leadership Development Component is designed
  to build the internal capacity of the schools to
  implement and sustain positive change that will
  enhance educational outcomes for all students.

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Connectors

• The concept that small changes will have little
  or no effect on a system until a critical mass is
  reached. Then a further small change "tips" the
  system and a large effect is observed.
• These small but crucial changes are driven at
  first by a few critical people categorized as
  connectors.

From The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
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Leadership Training Includes

• Targeted training in Special Education issues
  around Least Restrictive Environment and
  Inclusion.
• Addresses the leadership actions necessary to
  create a school culture in which the achievement
  of special education students is maximized.

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First and Second Order Change

• First Order Change On the surface
• Transactional leadershipquid pro quogive
  something get something
• Second Order Change Deep change
• Transformational leadershipa new way of doing
  business

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School Leadership That Works

• Second order change requires
• Knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and
  assessment
• Optimizing resources
• Intellectual stimulation
• Being a change agent
• Monitoring/evaluating
• Flexibility
• Ideals/beliefs

Adapted from Robert Marzano
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• Special
• Education
• Focus

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All students, including those identified as
students with disabilities, must have access to
the core curriculum.
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Critical Issues Related to Special Education

• Least Restrictive Environment
• Inclusion
• Impact of State Testing Program
• No Child Left Behind
• Individuals with Disabilities Education
  Improvement Act (2004)
• Compliance
• Research Best Practices

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Integrating Students With Disabilities to Improve
Student Achievement

• Based on Collaborative Work Research
• Best Practices
• No Child Left Behind Legislation
• Individuals with Disabilities Education
  Improvement Act (2004)

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Addressing the Needs of Special Education
Students in the General Education Classroom

• Modifications Accommodations Implications
• Differentiated Instruction
• Universal Access

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Research-Based Instructional Strategies

• National Center for Educational Outcomes,
  University of Minnesota
• Iowa Department of Education
• The Access Center for Improving Educational
  Outcomes for All Students, American Institute for
  Research
• California Department of Education Compendium of
  Best Practices of Successful Schools
• Strategic Intervention Model, University of
  Kansas
• Intervention Research for Students with Learning
  Disabilities, University of California, Riverside

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Types of Special Education Support

• Technical Support
• Resource Support
• Evaluative Support
• Moral Support
• Support from Paraprofessionals
• IEP Implementation Support

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Prevention/Intervention
From El Monte High School (El Monte Union HSD)
Leadership Team
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• The Work
• (District/School Site)

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Characteristics of Schools That Are Effective for
All Students

• Set rigorous standards based on the core
  curriculum.
• Performance assessment is used frequently to
  modify instruction.
• Teachers collaborate frequently to discuss best
  practices.
• Everyone is highly focused on student learning.

Source Doug Reeves, Center for Performance
Assessment
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Instructional Strategy Support

• Focus on Reading, Language Arts, and Mathematics
• Schoolwide Support

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Research-Based Effective Instructional Strategies

• Effective strategies are high-quality
  instructional practices based on scientifically
  validated research interventions and instruction.

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Research Proven Strategies
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Effective Teaching Requires Tools That Work
From Classroom Instruction That Works by Marzano,
Pickering, Pollock (ASCD, 2001)
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SMART Goals

• Specific and strategic
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Results oriented
• Time bound

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S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Percentage of _________________
group of
students/teachers scoring at proficiency or
higher in ______________________
specific standard will increase from
______ current reality to ____ by
____ as measured by target
date a ________ administered on
_____. which assessment
date
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Schoolwide FocusOn Interventions

• Response to Intervention
• Prevention/Intervention
• All Teachers Supporting Literacy Instruction

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• The Work
• (RCAT Plus)

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Facilitating Team Meetings

• Building Capacity
• Data Protocol
• Team Member Roles
• Leader Responsibilities
• Effective Agendas
• Facilitation Skills

• Accountability
• After-Action Reviews
• Effective Teams
• Working Effectively with All Team Members
• Decision Making
• Meeting Records

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Progress Monitoring

• Focus on Learning
• Evaluating Decisions Based on Impact on Student
  Learning
• Provide Data Profile Reports
• Development of SMART Plans and SMART Goals

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Progress Monitoring

• Building a Collaborative Culture
• Monthly RCAT Plus Staff Meetings
• Monthly RCAT Plus Administrator Meetings
• Joint Meetings RCOE and CDE
• Project Website Access to RCOE Project Staff,
  Leadership Consultant

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Progress Monitoring

• Focus on Results
• Review of Monthly Journals
• Review of SMART Plans/SMART Goals
• Participant Evaluation and Feedback
• External Evaluation Results/Recommendations

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• Conclusions

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External EvaluationRCAT Plus Strengths

• Process is capable of being explained to schools
  and well implemented at school sites.
• Process and support is highly valued by
  participating schools and guide their changes in
  practice.

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External EvaluationRCAT Plus Strengths

• Addition of special education lens has led to
  dramatic improvement in achievement at proficient
  or better.
• Model provides informed choice rather than
  bureaucratic.
• Model encourages and develops self-sufficiency
  through training and leadership development
  elements.

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External EvaluationRCAT Plus Strengths

• Model is based on research-based strategies that
  continually improves through use with a variety
  of schools, districts, and performance
  challenges.
• Model is promising as a whole-school reform that
  encompasses all levels elementary through
  secondary and all subgroups of students.

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Conclusions

• The strength of student achievement results and
  the consistency of themes through the working
  documents that describe what happened among
  teachers, administrators, and participating
  schools - RCAT Plus has moved beyond a
  promising to evidence-based practice.

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Conclusions

• As the results section of this report documents,
  there is an accumulating pile of empirical data
  from standardized assessments indicating that
  when compared to the state as a whole and to
  similar schools not participating in the project,
  schools participating in RCAT Plus are enjoying
  an impact gap

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Conclusions

• a measurable positive difference in the numbers
  of their students in all subgroups in both
  English Language Arts and mathematics who are
  performing proficiently.
• Source Riverside County Office of Education
  
• Evaluation of RCAT Plus
  Process
• 2004-2005
• Dr. Susan Leddick
• December 8, 2005