Focus and Lead
An Opportunity for Change
2014-2015
Priority Schools Conference
Waterfront Place
September 22, 2014
Why Are We Here?
What are the big ideas that drive improvement
at our school?
Why Are We Here?
What is the purpose of our school?
Why Are We Here?
What is the purpose of our school?
The Aim
To provide a systemic process for continuous
whole school improvement.
WEST VIRGINIA BOARD OF EDUCATION
STRATEGIC GOAL
The West Virginia Board of Education will
provide a statewide system of education that
ensures all students graduate from high school
prepared for success in high-quality
postsecondary opportunities in college and/or
careers.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/SnmX4f6VBRw
Newton’s Law of Inertia
“A body will preserve its velocity and direction so
long as no force in its motion's direction acts on it.”
*Physicists use the term inertia to describe the tendency of
an object to resist a change in its motion.
If you always do what you’ve
always done…
Understanding
Continual
Improvement and
Systems Thinking
Clarifying Vision,
Mission and Core
Beliefs
Evaluating
Progress
Developing the
Work Plan
Understanding
WVDE
Continual
Clarifying
Vision,
Establishing
Choosing
Evaluating
Developing
Writing
Action
the
Mission
and
Core
Improvement
Research-based
Goals
and
Setting
Priorities
Process
for
Data
Analysis
Work
Steps
Plan
Beliefs
Progress
and
Systems
Objectives
Strategies
Continuous
Whole
Thinking
Data Analysis
School Improvement
Writing Action
Steps
Setting Priorities
Choosing
Research-based
Strategies
Establishing Goals
and Objectives
Change the System…Get a Different Result
Systems Thinking
Components of the
Strategic Plan Rubric
Mission Statement
Core Beliefs
Data Analysis
SMART Goals/Objectives
Action Steps
Professional Development
Creating Focus
Fitting Your Big Ideas into a
Framework for Outcomes
WV Standards of HQS:
#1 Builds and Sustains a Positive Climate and Cohesive Culture
#3 Provides a Standards-Focused Curriculum with Engaging
Instruction and a Balanced System of Assessment
#4 Supports Students & Connects to Families and Community
#5 Educator Growth & Development
#7 Engages in Continuous Improvement
How to Understand a Whole System
By Leddick for WV Facilitators
February, 2007
CONTEXT…
is the environment of the system or what the system exists within (the WHERE.)
Your school is in West Virginia, not California, or Texas, for example. West Virginia’s
situation (or context) is different enough from that of California or Texas to cause
school leaders to approach improvement initiatives differently in the two states.
Problems and solutions are always unique to their contexts. Failure to appreciate
unique contexts leads to one-size-fits-all solutions and over-simplified problems.
FUNCTIONS…
are the results or impact the system produces (the
WHAT.) Sometimes a system produces results that are
not intended…but we are interested in those we do
intend to produce in our schools. Sometimes our schools
are called upon to produce some new functions that
current schools don’t produce. New functions cause
changes in other aspects of the system.
(What would we have if we had what we wanted?)
PROCESSES…
are HOW we do the work. There are different kinds of
processes, but planning, working together, and developing
integrated services, programs, and products are three of the
most important. We develop processes based on the
function we want to create (such as quick response or ease of
use) and the structures (organizations) involved. We
continually improve processes to improve the quality of their
results.
(By what means? What evidence will you accept that your
system is producing what you designed it to produce?)
FORM…
is how we organize people (the WHO) to produce the functions we intend for the
new system to produce. Our focus in the working group is on whether we are set up
now to produce the functions you identified in the blue box. Usually the answer is
“no.” Generally we have to develop new working groups, dissolve old ones, and
create new partnerships in order to produce new results or impact. Failure to change
form in the face of new functions leads to frustration. On the flip side, changing
form without the intent to produce new functions is a waste.
(What would you see people doing if your system were fulfilling its intended
function?)
Context
Understanding the importance of setting in a school to
improve learning.
•
•
•
Recreate the history of your school
Articulate shared values
Anoint and celebrate heroes
• Terrence Deal, 1987
TELL THE STORY OF OUR SCHOOL. . .
Then teach it on purpose!
Context Example
FUNCTION
“What would you haveif you had what you wanted?”
What would your Graduate
Profile look like?
FORM
Current Reality Preferred Future
Envision our school at the end of THIS Year!
What are the Adult Professional Behaviors and Learner Behaviors
that we should see?
Applied Technology
Real world application
PROCESSES
•
•
By what criteria would you like to have your
school judged?
What evidence will you accept that your school
is meeting that criteria?
Clarifying Core Beliefs and Mission
Strategic Plan Rubric
What company’s Mission Statement is…
“To refresh the world…
To inspire moments of optimism and happiness…
To create value and make a difference”
Strategic Plan Rubric
The MISSION envisions the way we will
be around here when we are the
best we can imagine!
MISSION describes our FUNCTION.
Data Analysis and
Establishing Priorities for Improvement
“You can’t fatten cattle by weighing them
on a scale everyday.”
Eliot W. Wisner Cognition and Curriculum Reconsidered 2nd Ed.
What do we already know about
data analysis?
•
Continuous process (analysis and
comparison of growth) used to inform
instruction and impact culture & climate,
and assist with building student, parent,
community support
•
Determines priorities on which goals and
objectives drive the plan
Data Analysis
Work Session
Understanding
WV HQS for
School
Improvement
Evaluating
Progress
Understanding
Continual
Improvement
and Systems
Thinking
Clarifying
Vision, Mission
and Core
Beliefs
Developing the
Work Plan
The Ten-Step Process
for Whole School
Continuous
Improvement
Writing Action
Steps
Data Analysis
Choosing
Research-based
Strategies
Setting
Priorities
Establishing
Goals and
Objectives
Writing SMART Goals / Objectives and
Action Steps
Strategic Plan Rubric
Susie will cross the street safely in 8
out of 10 opportunities.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals / Objectives
S – Strategic, Specific
(What exactly do I want to measure?)
M – Measurable
(How am I going to measure it?)
A – Attainable
(Is this a reasonable goal?)
R – Results-Based
(What will my goal look like when I’ve reached it?)
T – Time-Bound
(When should I reach my goal?)
ACTION STEPS
•
•
•
•
•
Establish the time frame during which your
work is to be completed
Identify the person(s) responsible for guiding
the work of the Action Step
Tell the story of a clear pathway to
implementation
Describe the professional development
activities that correlate to the identified
strategies for improvement
Include an evaluation component
Creating Action Steps
“Decision and Action Record”
Decision & Action Record
WHAT?
Action Step Task
WHO?
Is Responsible
WHEN?
Deadline
SUBGROUP
FOCUS
Revisit & Review Strategic Plan
Leadership Team
8/30/14
Low SES
Special Ed
Staff participation in creating
new core beliefs, mission and
goals
Entire staff
1st Staff mtg
Whole school
STATEGIC
PLAN GOAL
WV
HQS
COMPLETED
Date
1
7

9/15/2014
1, 2
1,7
5 Monkeys Experiment
•www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYfW7LJ4nDE
Correlation Chart