School Leadership Team Conference
West Virginia Department of Education
Division of Educator Quality and System Support
Bridgeport Conference Center
October 18-20, 2010
Overview of October 18
• WVDE goals for improving achievement
in low performing schools
• Priorities and expectations
• Overview of the WV High Quality
Standards for Schools
• Roles for members comprising the SSOS
• Effective team organization
• School culture
WVDE School Improvement Goals
• Goal 1: Build the capacity of the SEA
and LEAs to drive transformative
interventions in low-achieving schools
• Goal 2: Strengthen teacher and leader
effectiveness in low-achieving schools
in order to improve the quality of
instruction
• Goal 3: Develop comprehensive
systems of support in low-achieving
schools
WVDE School Improvement Goals
Goal 1: Build the
capacity of the
SEA and LEAs
to drive
transformative
interventions
in lowachieving
schools
• Engage external supporting
partners
• Realign the current capacity of
the state system of support
structure
• Build strong teams to support
struggling schools
• Design a Whole Child Early
Warning System
• Utilize an evaluator to design a
tool to report formative
assessments and an
evaluation of the initiatives
WVDE School Improvement Goals
• Provide training and
Goal 2: Strengthen
onsite support for the
teacher and
school improvement
leader
specialists
effectiveness in
• Organize school staff
low-achieving
into collaborative teams
schools in order
• Provide professional
to improve the
development for school
quality of
teams based on the
instruction
High Quality Standards
and the teacher and
leadership standards
WVDE School Improvement Goals
• Establish WVDE SSOS
Goal 3: Develop • Utilize a balanced
assessment system
comprehensive
• Provide a schoolwide
systems of
system of differentiated
support in lowsupports for struggling
achieving
students and students with
schools
disabilities
• Establish school-based case
management teams to
identify non-academic
issues for struggling
students
Considerations
• Conduct an audit of all current programs
and initiatives in the school
• Examine the student outcome (achievement
gains) from the programs and initiatives
against the school goals
• Determine what to continue and what to
disband
• Obtain a commitment from staff to
implement the agreed upon programs and
initiatives consistently and pervasively
Expectations
• Prioritize strategic issues and focus efforts
• Develop a framework for addressing the issues
• Identify a sequence for accomplishing tasks to
address the strategic issues
• Utilize data to make informed decisions
• Establish school goals
• Create collaborative teams
• Develop SMART collaborative team goals
• Identify individual actions/activities teachers
agree to complete to support the team goals
Concluding Thoughts
Begin the process of improvement by selecting
“learning” rather than “teaching” as the
fundamental purpose of your school.
Understand that systemic change is a multiyear process.
Recognize that the power of “starting
assumptions” matter.
"Just A Little Bit More!"
When things get difficult, that's the
time to give it your all!
• That's when you can make the greatest
difference.
• It is when you reach the edge of your
abilities, and you come face to face with
your limitations, that you begin to grow.
• When you are forced to push yourself
beyond the limit, you will raise yourself
above the crowd.