Building A
Better School Together
1
Planning – Creating a New Path
“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now,
bump, bump, bump on the back of his head
behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he
knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but
somewhere he feels there is another way, if
only he could stop for a moment and think of
it.”
Milne (1926)
2
What is Planning?
• The space between where you are and where
you want to be
• Identifying your highest priorities, setting goals
and selecting actions that will get you closer to
those goals
• An active process of determining where you are
going to spend your time and what you are going
to focus on
• Activity management
• A prioritized check list
3
Planning To Improve
Present
Condition
Planning
Process
Desired
Condition
Where We Are
What We Will
Do To Get
There
Where We
Want To Be
4
Planning For Success
Gather Critical
Evidence
Regularly
Monitor
Progress
Develop A
Purpose
Celebrate
Success
Develop And
Implement A Plan
5
The Results Cycle
The Root of the Planning for School and Student Success Process
SEE
GET
Results
Achievement
Attendance
Attitudes
Behaviours
School Culture
Values
Vision
Purpose
DO
School Structures
Programs
Policies
Procedures
Rules
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The Planning for School
and Student Success Process
Monitor/Adjust/
Assess Progress
Phase 2
Study
Begin With
The Heart
Measure Current
State
Phase 1
Phase 5
Implement
High-Yield
Strategies
Purpose
Vision
Values
Phase 3
Reflect
Phase 4
Collaborative
Learning Teams
Plan
Bringing hearts, heads, and hands to
school-based planning
7
Culture Defined
Organizational culture is the result of shared
beliefs, values, expectations, and assumptions
that direct individual and group thinking and
behaviour. The culture shifts when members of
an organization change their views of their
work world and behave in a new way.
Effective Planning can lead to a shift in culture
as a result of changes in staff behaviour.
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Shared Beliefs and School Culture
CHARLES DARWIN SCHOOL
“We believe all kids can learn...based upon their
ability.”
THE PONTIUS PILATE SCHOOL
“We believe all kids can learn....if they take
advantage of the opportunities we give them to
learn.”
Adapted from DuFour, DuFour, and Eaker (2008)
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Shared Beliefs and School Culture
THE HAPPY VALLEY SCHOOL
“We believe all kids can learn...something, and
we will help all students experience academic
growth in a warm and nurturing environment.”
HARBORS OF HOPE HIGH SCHOOL
“We believe all kids can learn...and we will work
to help all students achieve high standards of
learning.”
Adapted from DuFour, DuFour, and Eaker (2008)
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The Value of Shared Values
Shared values are the foundation for building
productive and genuine working relationships.
They:
• Are the internal compasses that enable
people to act independently and
interdependently
• Provide groups with a common reference for
making decisions and taking action
Kouzes and Posner (2011)
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Johnson & Johnson
Aligning Actions With Values
The values that guide our decision making
are spelled out in Our Credo. Put simply,
Our Credo challenges us to put the needs
and well-being of the people we serve first.
The Credo was written by Robert Wood
Johnson in 1943.
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Johnson & Johnson
Aligning Actions With Values
The Actions—On September 29, 1982, a
Tylenol scare began when the first of several
individuals died in Chicago after ingesting
extra-strength Tylenol that had been
deliberately laced with cyanide. Within a
week, the company pulled thirty-one million
bottles of capsules back from retailers.
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Johnson & Johnson
Aligning Actions With Values
The Outcome—Johnson & Johnson
consistently ranks at the top of the Harris
Interactive National Corporate Reputation
Survey.
It ranks as the world’s most respected
company by Barron’s Magazine.
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Vision
A vision describes the future you are trying to
create. What we want our organization to
become. It provides direction for planning.
The vision should be clear, inspiring and able to
capture the hearts of members of the
organization.
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The Power Of A Vision
Our vision is to be earth's most customer
centric company; to build a place where
people can come to find and discover
anything they might want to buy online.
Amazon
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Purpose Statements
Effective purpose statements answer two
questions:
1. What are we trying to achieve?
2. What do we do that matters most?
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Behaving On Purpose
Google: Google's purpose is to organize
the world's information and make it
universally accessible and useful.
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The Planning for School
and Student Success Process
Phase 2
Measure Current
State
Study
Creating an
Intention
Phase 1
Phase 5
Implement
Purpose
Vision
Values
Phase 3
Reflect
Phase 4
Plan
Bringing hearts, heads, and hands to
school-based planning
19
Data Based Planning
In medicine, diagnosis always precedes
treatment. Symptoms are assessed and
tests done to determine the current
condition of the patient (make a diagnosis).
The diagnosis results in a treatment plan
which is then implemented and monitored
for effectiveness.
In school improvement planning, the same
process holds true.
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How Critical is the Evidence?
• 40% of McDonald’s profits come from Happy
Meals.
• The average ear of corn has eight hundred
kernels arranged in sixteen rows.
• The number of possible ways of playing the first
four moves per side in a game of chess is
318,979,564,321.
• American Airlines saved $40,000.00 in 1987 by
eliminating one olive from each salad served in
first class.
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Critical Evidence in the Planning Process
Data for Study
Monitor/Adjust
Data related to values becomes critical
evidence for planning
STRUCTURES, SYSTEMS, PROCESSES
GOALS
VALUES
What we care about
What we measure
What we want to achieve
What we need to change
Critical Evidence for Planning
Critical evidence is used to set meaningful goals and make necessary changes in
structures and systems. The information it provides helps to assess whether
progress is being made toward achieving the goals that have been set.
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Disaggregated Results for Language Arts
2010-11
Students in Grade 3
Percentage reaching acceptable level = 79.5
Percentage reaching excellence level = 13.7
Disaggregated Data:
Acceptable
Excellence
Failing to Meet Acceptable
Total
Girls
Boys
79.5
13.7
6.8
83.2
15.4
1.4
75.8
12.0
12.2
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The Planning for School
and Student Success Process
Phase 2
Measure Current
State
Study
Creating an
Intention
Phase 1
Phase 5
Implement
Purpose
Vision
Values
Phase 3
Reflect
Phase 4
Collaborative
Learning Teams
Plan
Bringing hearts, heads, and hands to
school-based planning
24
Collaborative Learning Team Activities
Undertake
collective inquiry
Establish plans
for action
Use timely,
relevant
information
to monitor
and adjust
Create an agenda
and keep minutes
Work
collaboratively
3 Big
Ideas
Focus on
results
Focus on
learning
Adapted from DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker (2008)
Commit to
continuous
improvement
Outcomes of
collaboration
are made
explicit
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Collaborative Learning Teams reflect on the
critical evidence to decide:
1. What it tells about their students’
achievement
2. Which critical evidence is most important
3. Which students will be targeted for impact
Reflection on critical evidence is the first step in
goal setting which must be guided by the school’s
values.
Teachers cannot focus on more than two or three
goals at a time.
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Head & Hands
Heart
Criteria for Effective Goals
1. Staff can commit to achieving them
2. Measurable
3. Written in simple, easily understood
language
4. Focused on student achievement
5. Linked to year end assessment or other
standards-based means of determining
student outcomes – usually within a subject
area
6. Facilitate comparison of student
achievement from year to year
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S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Specific and Strategic
Measurable
Attractive and Attainable
Results Focused
Time Bound
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S.M.A.R.T.ER. Goals
Strategic and Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Results focused
Time bound
E.R. Extra Reach
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SMARTER GOALS
By June of this year 100% of the students in
grade 3 will have made at least 3 levels of
improvement as measured on our 5 level
literacy scale. In addition at least 80% of
the students will successfully achieve 5
levels of improvement.
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The Planning for School
and Student Success Process
Phase 2
Measure Current
State
Study
Creating an
Intention
Phase 1
Phase 5
Implement
High-Yield
Strategies
Purpose
Vision
Values
Phase 3
Reflect
Phase 4
Collaborative
Learning Teams
Plan
Bringing hearts, heads, and hands to
school-based planning
31
Implementing High-Yield Strategies
A high-yield strategy is a concept or
principle, supported by research or case
literature, that will, when successfully
applied in a school setting, result in
significant improvement in assessed student
achievement.
Hulley & Dier (2005)
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Assessment As A
High Yield Strategy
Desired
Check Differentiate Assess
Results Readiness Teaching
Student
Identified for Success Strategies
Progress
Diagnostic
Assessment
Formative
Assessment
Modify
Teaching Success
Strategies
Summative
Assessment
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The Improvement Loop
Establish Purpose
and Goals
Plan
Adjust
Monitor:
Take Action or
Modify Actions
Monitor: Take
Action or Modify
Actions
Improvement Loop
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Continuous Improvement
Next Continuous Improvement Loop
Information
gathered is
included in the next
planning cycle
Year End
Study/Reflect/
Evaluate
Revisit/Clarify
Purpose and Goals
Monitor/Adjust
Monitor
Establish Purpose
and Goals
Information
gathered is
included in the next
planning cycle
Year End
Study/Reflect/
Evaluate
Plan
Continuous
Improvement
Loop
Take Action/
Modify Actions
Adjust
Monitor
Improvement
Loop One
Take Action/
Modify Actions
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