Thursday Walks-What did we notice? What's next?

Thursday walks are the highlight of the week for cabinet members.  It's our opportunity to interact with students, observe the cohesiveness and systematic implementation of professional learning, and discuss district actions to support continuous school improvement at each campus.

Throughout our first round, we did collect district-wide data on the implementation of two observable instructional actions: task aligned with the target and students could describe the learning target.  This data collection was a continuation from last year and provided insight into our progress of standards-based instruction.  We were not looking for compliance, but the impact on students.  Below you will see the data after visiting most campuses this fall.

Based on 86 classroom visits, 74% of the students asked were able to describe the learning target.

Based on 93 classroom observations, 81% of the observed tasks aligned with the visible target.  Just to be clear, this data does not reflect if the target was standards-based or if the task was at the taxonomy level of the target. We were only observing that the targets were visible to students and that students were able to describe it.

How to plan for alignment? Key questions to ask when planning: What is the standard asking of students? What do they need to know and be able to do to accomplish it? How will I know students are making progress towards mastery?

Overall, across the district, we are seeing the increased cohesiveness of implementation of these strategies, as well as the use of standards-based learning targets, success criteria and students working in teams. This is exciting!  It's not easy to live out the intentions of a strategic plan, and we are seeing it happen in real life!  I have personally had conversations with a few teachers that talk about how the transformation of standards-based planning and student-centered instruction has brought joy back into teaching!  So don't give up!  If you are in the mud, productively struggling--you have support. Engage in instructional rounds, access your instructional coach, engage a peer in a look-and-learn, ask your principal for feedback, invite L4L team members to join in PLC planning and/or data analysis. No one is alone! The impact on our students will make it all worthwhile!

Our professional learning plan is a major lever in this journey to achieve our district mission and vision and it is an expectation to put the professional learning into practice.  This next round, cabinet members will be looking for the use of learning targets and success criteria and if students can explain how they use them in their learning. This is not about the perfection of implementation, but about impact. When students are clear about what they need to know and be able to do, they will be more likely able to achieve the target.  I will keep you updated on our progress as a system and look forward to our second round of Thursday walks!

"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better." ~Pat Riley

What does an effect parent/family/teacher conference look/sound like?

How do we best prepare for effective student conferences with parents and guardians? 

I think about it like training for a marathon!  There is no way I could run 26 miles next weekend without some significant and intentional training over time. I would need to start my training early, monitor my progress, and work through my challenges to ensure I was ready for this event (I guarantee I may still not feel ready, however, might be more confident).  

I believe our teachers begin preparing for conferences with families through a similar process!  It starts with that first effort to develop positive relationships with parents that first day of school and foster those relationships throughout the year through notes/calls home, communications, family nights, etc...paying closer attention to those families that may take a little more time and intentional focus.  Aside from the ongoing communication,  evidence of student learning is gathered along the way. This evidence (assessment results, artifacts, student reflections, among others sources) provides parents with a picture of the students progress.   

Although this is descriptive of how many of you approach conferences, I know there are so many other ideas that might be helpful to others as well. 

 I'd like to hear more about the creative and effective ways you maximize this opportunity to achieve the desired outcome of engaging our parents/guardians as partners!

This Friday, Dr. Grover is hosting "Dr. Grover Live on Facebook".  One of our topics will be about parent/teacher conferences.  We want to get the word out to parents/guardians and families about what they can expect and how they can prepare to make this time worthwhile for all involved.  To prepare, I want to hear from the experts-YOU! 

So here is my call to action:
What makes a parent/teacher conferences effective for both the teacher and the parent/guardian?  I have linked a google form and would love to hear about your ideas and suggestions!  We will be sharing out different examples, ideas, and suggestions Friday afternoon for all audiences! Don't be shy...this is an opportunity to help our parents prepare as well!

•   Google form

Just in case you are interested, I also linked a couple of resources that might be helpful, especially for new teachers. Although an exhausting week, this small window of time with families can result in improved and collaborative relationships with parents for the benefit of the students! This makes it worth it!

• How to make the most of Parent/teacher conferences
• Conference Tip Sheet

Thank you for being present during this time with families, your planning and preparation, and for caring about all of our students! You truly are GRAND!
"If kids come to us from strong, healthy functioning families, it makes our job easier, if they do not come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job more important." ~Barbara Colorose

National Principal's Month

"Principals are among the hardest working, yet often least recognized individuals in education. Principals set the academic tone for their schools, and it is their vision, dedication, and determination that provide the mobilizing force for achieving student success." ~NASSP

 Our GIPS principals are committed to and focused on being instructional leaders. Since June, our campus leaders have participated in over 30 hours of the district professional learning focused on leadership and continuous school improvement, not including Summer Institute, individual professional reading, principal meetings and conferences outside of the district.  

"Today YOU lead the school, tomorrow your students lead the world"   

    

"Great teachers and principals can help to close the achievement gaps, improve student attitudes about school, and build habits of mind that can change a student's life Trajectory"~Unknown

                                        

 Please take the opportunity to say "thank you" to our campus administrators and feel free to post your appreciation through videos, pictures, and/or quotes on social media outlets throughout the month of October. 

I didn't capture all of our leaders in this blog but will be sure to tweet out our administrators in action throughout the month!

I am so blessed to have the opportunity to support this team and proud of their continued focus on growth and collaboration amongst each other to "Be Grand" for our staff and students!  Thank you campus leaders and staff for making a difference!

  

Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much!~Helen Keller

What are the district expectations?

As you read this quote, what do you think about? Have you ever said, "if I had known then, what I know now?"  After 26 years in education, I find myself thinking this all the time. At the Teacher Leader Coalition meeting this week, Dr. Dexter asked members to think about the first year of teaching and what has been learned with experience.  There were some common themes, "confidence", "student's talk more than the teacher", "collaboration", "focus on standards", "willing to take on more".   As educators and in life, we learn from experience, however, experience doesn't always result in effectiveness or success.  What I noticed about the comments from these teacher leaders, is it isn't just about the experience that has made a difference, it is the desire and actions they have taken to be better that has impacted their self-efficacy and success. 

As a learning organization, this quote is quite relevant.  When GIPS adopted the Marzano Focused Teacher Evaluation Model, it wasn't just about the evaluation tool, it was about the intentional focus on a growth model around strategies and actions that have been widely researched to impact student achievement. To learn it and be "applying" in all strategies seems overwhelming and to be honest, the impact on student achievement is not yet visible.  

So what we have learned from working with Learning Sciences and what they have modeled through the Demonstration Schools for Rigor work is to target key elements that will more likely move the needle faster, provide professional development around those elements, offer on-going intentional coaching support with feedback, and monitor for effectiveness. Take a look at the Marzano Teaching Map below:

Although you will notice that in the new Focused Teacher Evaluation Model, which you can see in iObservation, some of the elements have shifted and/or been combined, however, I wanted to remind you of this as it visually shows the connection to our district priorities to engage in standards-based planning through the professional learning communities framework and use data to design instruction/make decisions. With our current professional learning plan for the district, we are not doing something in addition, we are going deeper to ensure teachers have the opportunity to practice and implement so that it becomes just part of what we do.  

One clarification might be around performance scales and success criteria.  Performance scales are a monitoring tool to gauge where students are in the learning progression toward the standard.  Our task force members are adding scales as they update and revise our curriculum maps for our core content areas.  ELA is the most complete and are located in the Leading for Learning Curriculum folder in team drive.

Success criteria are the knowledge, skills, and actions that students must be able to demonstrate to reach the daily target. Both are important and provide the means for students to own the learning throughout the unit.  

We are focusing on standards-based targets and success criteria because this is what most clearly articulates what students need to know and be able to do.  Teaming, or organizing students into groups to process content, is also in our plan because we know when students collaborate and learn from each other, they own the learning. 

Professional learning is now embedded.  District days with PLC time built in, C4I days (for those that participate, it's coaching for implementation), coaching from principals and instructional coaches, L4L support team trend walks, PLCs, and instructional rounds are all opportunities to take action and improve practice. You may notice a shift as principals focus on being instructional leaders.  They are protecting time to be in your classrooms, provide coaching feedback and of course still need to observe for evaluation.  The emphasis is, however, on coaching for implementation.  It's important to note that there are many teachers in our buildings that are being successful and impacting students as a result of their transformation...if this is you...I challenge you to reach out and support your colleagues! We are "better together"!  If you are wanting specific feedback from your principals, please reach out! They want to support you in professional growth.  

So what's different than what the Demonstration Schools are getting for professional learning? They are receiving professional learning through a Learning Sciences expert consultant with a prescribed plan for implementation.  The consultant coaches the principal and coaches, reflects and monitors progress with the leadership team throughout the journey. This intense support is designed to ensure they are successful in achieving Demonstration School Status.  Once they reach that status they do become learning laboratories for others.  This means they are NOT a "trainer of trainer" but a place to observe rigorous student-centered instruction in action.  Jefferson, Starr, and Walnut will begin to offer opportunities for instructional rounds to GIPS staff beginning in November.  Your principals have access to the schedule and can sign up for visits now. Thank you to our DSR schools for engaging in this transformation! 

In addition to the DSR training, our district team has also received professional learning through LSI to scale the work for our other schools.  This is how our plan for this year evolved. They continue to provide us feedback and support in our efforts to move to a student-centered with rigor district.  
If you are interested in learning more about the process of the Demonstration Schools for Rigor, you can check out the link: https://www.learningsciences.com/  Michael Toth will outline the steps LSI models to develop teachers and leaders at all levels.

Transformation is not easy, but the end result directly impacts our students and how we are preparing them to THRIVE! We are already seeing the impact of your efforts-it's exciting and inspiring to be on this journey together!  Thank you for being GRAND!

What can I expect from the Executive Cabinet Thursday Walks?

How will we as a district accomplish our vision: "Students prepared to make positive contributions and thrive in an ever-changing world?"  What does it even mean to "be prepared"?  One year ago, we embarked on a partnership with Learning Sciences International.  Michael Toth, CEO of LSI, spoke at our welcome back event and articulated why we need to shift our mental model of instruction where the work is student/team centered, students are working on challenging group tasks and there is a high level of cognitive engagement. The world that we are preparing our students for is much different than the world we grew up in.  To ensure our students have the skills, tools, and competencies to be successful will require us to change our habits.  The end result is definitely about generating better learning outcomes and preparing our students, however, I will also reinforce Michael Toth's words that it is also about bringing the joy back into teaching.

The components of our district's Strategic Plan outline the "how" to achieve the vision.  By empowering educators to be instructional leaders, personalizing learning for all students, designing our decisions based on data, and partnering with our stakeholders, we will prepare our students to thrive! We believe our biggest levers initially for continuous school improvement centers around our district priorities: implementation of "Professional Learning Communities, Standards-based Planning, and using Data to Design Decisions".

Thursday Walks provide the opportunity for the executive cabinet to observe the outcomes of the implementation of our priorities and the shifts in our model of instruction as a system.  In addition to observing the shifts, we are also becoming more familiar with all campuses, making connections with staff, students, and principals, celebrating achievements, and identifying possible supports for continuous school improvement.
 

We do collect data on what we observe in classrooms, however, the observations and data are not evaluative.  The data provides information around progress towards systematic implementation and needs for possible supports.

For example, this first round of observations, we are looking for target-task alignment and if students can articulate the target.  We are currently not collecting any data as an executive team on success criteria as we know this is new and we want to you feel comfortable practicing and using it with students. Every Friday I update principals on the collective data overall and I will also periodically update you in future newsletters.

During the visits, you can also expect cabinet members to ask you questions, provide a summary of what was observed to your principals, and posts pictures on twitter to celebrate you and the students. We may periodically leave you a note, but this may not occur at every visit. Please know that where we are is ok, we just can't stay there!

We are on our journey to be "GRAND"-ER than ever before!  The transformation is to benefit all of our students so they can THRIVE in an ever-changing world! Thank you for leading the way!

Who makes up the Leading for Learning Team?

Meet the Leading For Learning Team!  Through a focus on strategic plan priorities, our vision is to build the capacity of our campus leaders to ensure every student, every day, a success! We know that you are all in the front lines and have the biggest impact on student learning, so we want to ensure that you have the resources, support, and professional learning to be empowered and skillful in meeting the unique needs of our students.

Cara Kuhl (G&T), Kim Amick (Admin Assistant-Assess/Online resources), Renee Engle (Dir. of Sped), Amanda Levos (EL Coord.), Katie Ramsey (Science Coord), Barb Hardwick (Admin Assistant-Curriculum), Cindy Beaman (Math Coord), Kris Schneider (Dir. of Fed. Programs), Dr. Amy Mancini (Dir. of Assess/Accountability), Brittney Bills (ELA/SS Coord), Shanna Gannon (Dir. of Curriculum/Prof. Learning), Kate Crow (Title I Coord), Glenda Naughtin (L4L Admin Assistant), Dr. Toni Palmer (Chief Leadership & Learning)

As a team, representative of Special Education, Federal Programs (EL, Title I, Migrant, Immigrant), G&T, Core Content Coordinators, Assessment, Professional Learning, Curriculum and Campus Leadership, Administrative Assistants, we have developed specific goals that directly align with the district priorities, a plan for L4L teams to be visible in your buildings, and a process for monitoring progress along the way. It is our intention to be proactive and responsive in ways that support professional growth, improve implementation of professional learning communities, standards-based planning, and data-driven decisions. Please communicate with your campus principal how we can support you. Our desired effect is to "lead for learning".  It's ultimately about the impact on students, ensuring they will be able to "thrive" in an ever-changing world. 

It's evident already that as a district, we are building cohesiveness.  During Thursday Walks, and C4I days, we heard common language around our district priorities and witnessed teachers experimenting with success criteria.  This is how we grow as professionals, try it, take a risk, put the learning in the hands of our students and assess the learning impact.  The classroom transformation from teacher centered to student-centered is becoming visible. Keep the momentum going!

Please pay attention to our blogs this year!  We heard your feedback from last year and will focus on timely communication of professional learning opportunities, updates and resources from our Curriculum Department, and effective practices around instruction, assessment, and leadership. 

We have so much to be proud of, every consultant that visits our district notices the dedication, commitment, and desire to make a difference for all student!  That is a great compliment!  Thank you for your courage, collaboration, and continued efforts to "Be GRAND"! 

Welcome to the 2018-19 School Year!

It's finally here! The first day of school.  All the planning, professional learning, preparation, and working through all the organizational and operational processes and procedures are well worth it for the students that will walk through our doors tomorrow.  They may never realize all that goes into launching a new school year, but what they will know is how they feel when they walk through your campus doors tonight for the back to school night and tomorrow/Friday morning for the first day(s) of school.  Our parents and community are trusting us to care, model, and teach their children in a high expectation, warm and welcoming learning environment.  What an amazing, yet overwhelming responsibility. 

The past couple of weeks, I took the opportunity to visit all the campuses and talk with custodians, grounds crew, secretaries, teachers, administrators, nurses, and specialists.  Our conversations were inspirational.  They took pride in what was accomplished this summer and how their learning will impact students, they shared their optimism and excitement to build new relationships, and although I heard that it was a "busy" summer, it was also a "great" one.  So, for that overwhelming responsibility? I know we are ready!  Summer for us is pretty much over, but the opportunities to make an impact are just beginning.  I look forward to the celebrations to come!

Here are just a few pictures I shared on Twitter this week.  Please follow me to keep up on the happenings around our campuses throughout the year.  @tpalmertoni

Being GRAND requires us to continue learning!

 Preparing our students to "THRIVE" in an ever-changing world takes all of us-drop the titles and contribute based on your strengths and expertise.

The Leading for Learning (L4L) team is ready to support through professional learning for all educators, planning, problem-solving and ensuring that teachers have the curriculum, resources, and tools to meet the needs of all students. I'll share more about the team in an upcoming blog!

Reflection and deeper learning about our practice will have a direct impact on students.

Support each other in the process, be an accountability partner, set goals with the vision of what will be different once achieved! Plan to monitor progress on goals and adjust along the way!

Small learning communities where all students have an adult advocate/mentor.  Thanks for making that happen! 



The look and feel of our facilities impact the conditions for learning-thank you for the work that goes into creating a welcoming environment for our students!




In conclusion: For those of you that are interested: my one word for this year is-Explore.  It's personal and professional.  I want to explore my capacity to learn and lead in ways that inspire and impact others.  Personally, I plan to explore ways to bring balance to my life, make the most of my time now that my youngest is off to college. 


Have an amazing start to the school year!