Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 Strategic Dire
ection Managgement Report Core Initiative: 1. Effective Teacheer in Every Classro
C
oom W
What
we will do
Our district emp
O
ploys about 12,7
700 teachers in almost
a
300 diffeerent schools, an
nd we are puttin
ng into place a thhoughtful, bold,, systemic, and
c
comprehensive
plan
p of action th
hat will dramatically transform the district’s hu
uman capital sysstems and ensurre that a highly effective
e
teacherr
i in place in eveery one HISD’ss classrooms. Th
is
his includes a grrassroots, aggreessive recruitment plan, with a ffour-phase selecction process.
W we will do
Why
d it
We are committted to improving
W
g student achiev
vement across ou
ur district, and research
r
tells uss that teachers arre by far the mo
ost powerful
s
school-based
facctor in a child’s academic succeess or failure. Specifically,
S
stud
dies have shown
n that students w
who had very efffective teacherss
f three years in
for
n a row were ab
ble to improve th
heir performancce on standardizzed tests by moree than 50 percennt in comparison
n to students wh
ho
h three ineffecctive teachers in
had
n a row (Sanders and Rivers, 19
996).
W
What
we will report
The following Strategic
T
S
Directiion Managemen
nt Report answers the question: Is HISD acting
g on the prioritiees identified in the
t strategic plaan
w fidelity? Itt measures HISD
with
D’s accomplishm
ments and risks for each Key Strategy in suppo
ort of the overalll Core Initiativee.
The Strategic Direction
T
D
Manag
gement Report iss produced Quarrterly. Color indicators are useed as an idicationn of whether adm
ministration is on
o
t
track
to accomp
plish a Key Strattegy’s quarterly goals. A “Greeen” indicator means the distrrict has made accceptable progreess with respect to
b
budget,
scope an
nd timeliness. A “Yellow” indiccator means the district has identified risk with
w respect to oone or more aspeects. A “Red”
i
indicator
means progress has stopped or hass a significant deficiency. As th
he Strategic Direection builds a ffoundation towaards achieving th
he
d
district’s
goals over
o
a multi-yeaar period, not alll Key Strategiess will have inforrmation to comm
municate in a givven period.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 Strategic Dire
ection Managgement Report C
Core
Initiativee: 1. Effectivee Teacher in Every
E
Classro
oom
Key Strattegies
Progress
1 Strengthen
1.1
n recruiting an
nd staffing po
olicies and praactices to attraact top talent
1 Establish a rigorous and
1.2
d fair teacher appraisal system
1 Provide efffective, indiv
1.3
vidualized sup
pport
1 Offer careeer pathways and
1.4
a differentiiated compenssation
A
Accomplishmen
nts
In
n this period, Teeacher Recruitm
ment and Selectio
on focused theirr efforts on recru
uiting and selecting talent for m
midyear vacancies, as well as
en
ngaging potential talent for the 2012-2013 scho
ool year. Recru
uiters worked dirrectly with principals to ensuree that top candid
dates were
m
matched
by princcipal preferencee to increase effiiciency and effectiveness in the hiring process. As of Friday D
December 9, 201
11, we have
hosted 56 teacherr recruitment ev
vents (both publlic and on colleg
ge campuses), an
nd have selected
d 153 teacher foor the pool. Teaaching positions
accross the districct are 99% staffeed with only 80 vacant teaching
g positions.
The Associate Teeachers departm
T
ment and has speent a significant amount of timee redesigning thee selection criteria for these roles. Because
asssociate teacherrs represent 10%
% of our teaching
g force on any given
g
day, it is essential
e
that wee uphold an unparallel level of quality
q
for thesee
th
em
mployees. In th
his quarter, we have
h
added 263 Associate Teach
hers, as fill rates continue to bee in 80 percentiile.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 C
Core
Initiativee: 1. Effective Teacher in Every
E
Classroo
om (cont’d) P
Planned
for Nex
xt Period
For next period, in Teacher Recrruitment and Seelection, we willl aggressively reecruit teacher caandidates to movve towards our goal
g of creating a
h
qualified
d teacher candidaates for principaals’ teacher staff
ffing needs.
pool over 1,000 highly
The Associate Teeacher team willl continue to scrreen and hire asssociate teacherss to better meet the needs of schhools. In order to seek above a
T
95% fill rate, we will need appro
oximately 2,600
0 teachers in the Associate Teaccher pool. We currently
c
have 1,916 Associate Teachers in the
th
n an 80 percenttile fill rate. Both teams will work aggressively
y by hosting sev
veral recruitmennt and screening
g events to work
k
pool, resulting in
to
owards our goalls.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 S
Strategic
Direection Manag
gement Repo
ort
C
Core
Initiative: 2.
2 Effective Princcipal in Every Sch
hool
W
What
we will do
We are going to
W
o make sure that we have a high
hly effective prin
ncipal at the heaad of every scho
ool. To do that, we will improv
ve our recruiting
g
s
system
to be mo
ore aggressive in
n recruiting talen
nted individualss into principal positions,
p
startin
ng with our ownn internal pipelin
ne of best
p
performing
teachers and assistaant principals, an
nd supplemented by strong exteernal candidatess. We will also pprovide all of ou
ur principals wiith
t ongoing sup
the
pports, careful ev
valuations, and individualized professional
p
dev
velopment they need while alsoo placing all the necessary tools at
t
their
disposal to
o lead their schools into becomin
ng the best in th
he nation.
W we will do
Why
d it
There is a broad
T
d consensus amo
ong educational experts that hav
ving an effective principal at th
he head of everyy school is of utm
most importancee
t assuring studeent success. Th
to
he more challeng
ging and/or und
derprivileged thee student populaation in the schoool, the more this is true. In
H
HISD,
we have ample evidencee of this, as theree is broad variattion in the on-traack-to-college-rreadiness rates oof our elementarry, middle, and
h
high
school stud
dents, even among schools with
h very similar po
overty levels.
W
What
we will report
The following Strategic
T
S
Directiion Managemen
nt Report answers the question: Is HISD acting
g on the prioritiees identified in the
t strategic plaan
w fidelity? Itt measures HISD
with
D’s accomplishm
ments and risks for each Key Strategy in suppo
ort of the overalll Core Initiativee.
The Strategic Direction
T
D
Manag
gement Report iss produced Quarrterly. Color ind
dicators are used
d as an idicationn of whether adm
ministration is on
o
t
track
to accomp
plish a Key Strattegy’s quarterly goals. A “Green” indicator means the district has made accceptable progress with respect to
t
b
budget,
scope an
nd timeliness. A “Yellow” indiccator means the district has identified risk with
w respect to oone or more aspeects. A “Red”
i
indicator
meeans progress haas stopped or hass a significant deficiency.
d
As th
he Strategic Dirrection builds a foundation towaards achieveing
t district’s goaals over a multi--year period, no
the
ot all Key Strateg
gies will have in
nformation to co
ommunicate in a given period.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 S
Strategic
Direection Manag
gement Repo
ort
C
Core
Initiativee: 2. Effectivee Principal in Every School
Key Strattegies
Progress
2.1 Design
n and implemeent a rigorouss, fair principaal appraisal sy
ystem
2.2 Develo
op clear standaards and recom
mmended praactices to guid
de decision -m
making
2.3 Strengtthen principall recruiting prractices
2.4 Establiish a compreh
hensive instrucctional leaderrship program
m to develop an
nd retain top ttalent
Acccomplishmentts
Ov
ver this period we
w have re-starteed an advisory group
g
of school leaders to drivee the remaining decisions regardding their new appraisal
a
system
m,
inccluding the meaasures of studentt learning and th
he appraisal process. We have also updated thee timeline to refflect January traaining on the new
w
rub
bric and a full ro
ollout of the new
w appraisal systtem this summerr. Also, over th
his period, we worked to improvve systems for providing
p
support
forr school leaders such as the creation of four additional coursess that are design
ned to assist with
h strategic decission-making relaated to teacher
rettention and deveelopment such as
a Lessons Learn
ned from File Review,
R
Pitfalls of
o Documentatio
on, Investigationns (II), and Con
ntracts (II). We
haave recruited ano
other cohort of principals
p
who will
w participate in
i the popular Strategic
S
Marketting Program wiith Rice Universsity which equip
ps
priincipals with criitical skills and strategies to maarket their schoo
ols and commun
nities.
Ov
ver this period, we
w began inducction support forr the district’s 42
2 new principalss, and 57 new assistant principaals and deans. We
W also launcheed
thee first ever Teaccher Leadership Academy desig
gned to provide training and sup
pport for teacheers who desire too become first tiime assistant
priincipals. The co
ohort consists of 26 teachers. To
T date, two teacchers have been hired as assistaant principals. W
We also received
d 93 application
ns
forr the UST MBE
EA program; 15 potential admin
nistrators will beegin the program
m in January 2011. Attendees w
will earn a Mastters in Business &
Ed
ducation Administration as welll as principal ceertification. Partticipants are exp
pected to apply for positions as principals or asssistant principaals.
W also launched
We
d a districtwide internship
i
progrram for aspiring principals; 24 elementary,
e
mid
ddle and secondaary interns are receiving
r
intensee,
peersonalized deveelopment which will prepare theem to apply for principal positio
ons in the spring
g.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 C
Core
Initiativee: 2. Effective Principal in Every
E
School (cont’d)
Last, in this perio
L
od we added 6 principals
p
and 3 assistant princip
pals (AP) into th
he pool of which, 33% are bilinngual. There weere 43 principal
ap
pplicants and 14
41 AP/dean app
plicants during th
he October - Deecember 2011 tim
me period.
P
Planned
for Nex
xt Period
Over the next perriod, we will wo
O
ork to finalize th
he design of the new system forr board of educaation review andd adoption targeeted for this
sp
pring, continue to work on align
ning practices and
a policies with
h strategic decision-making, con
ntinue our recruuitment and screeening efforts to
in
ncrease the num
mber of candidatees including biliingual candidatees in the pool an
nd collaborate with
w McREL as w
well as the Rew
wards &
A
Accountability
Department
D
to offfer school leadeer appraisal train
ning over six daays in January 2012.
2
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 Strategic Direction Manag
gement Report
C
Core Initiative: 3
3. Rigorous Instru
uctional Standard
ds and Supports
W
What
we will do
Redesign the co
R
ourse offerings, curriculum,
c
asseessment tests, an
nd social/emotio
onal supports prrovided in schoools throughout HISD,
H
with a
p
particular
emphasis on giving all
a students the same
s
access to educational
e
prog
grams and opporrtunities, regarddless of which scchool they atten
nd,
a well as impro
as
oving instruction
n for students att all levels. We will also implem
ment a set of tarrgeted reforms iin order to turn around
a
HISD’s
l
lowest-performi
ing schools.
W we will do
Why
d it
HISD has a num
H
mber of outstand
ding academic programs and sup
pports across th
he district, but on
n the whole doees not prepare sttudents for
c
college
and careeer readiness. Our
O scores show that, depending
g on the grade, only
o
about 40 to
o 70% of our stuudents are readin
ng or doing math
a grade level. In
at
I addition, stud
dent EVAAS gro
owth data show
w a slowing of grrowth in mathem
matics progress from the fifth to
o sixth grades,
r
resulting
in only
y 18% of HISD eighth-grade stu
udents successfu
ully completing
g Algebra I. The end result is thaat the majority of
o HISD studentts
w enroll in co
who
ommunity colleg
ge require remed
dial courses in their
t
first year.
W
What
we will report
The following Strategic
T
S
Directiion Managemen
nt Report answers the question: Is HISD acting
g on the prioritiees identified in th
he strategic plan
n
w fidelity? It measures HISD
with
D’s accomplishm
ments and risks for
f each Key Sttrategy in support of the overalll Core Initiative.
The Strategic Direction
T
D
Manag
gement Report iss produced Quarrterly. Color ind
dicators are used
d as an indicatioon of whether ad
dministration is
o track to accomplish a Key Strategy’s quarteerly goals. A “G
on
Green” indicator means the diistrict has made acceptable prog
gress with respeect
t budget, scopee and timeliness. A “Yellow” in
to
ndicator mean
ns the district haas identified risk
k with respect too one or more aspects.
a
A “Red
d”
i
indicator
mea
ans progress hass stopped or hass a significant deeficiency. As th
he Strategic Direection builds a fo
foundation towarrds achieveing
t district’s goaals over a multi--year period, no
the
ot all Key Strateg
gies will have in
nformation to co
ommunicate in a given period.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 Strategic Direction Manag
gement Report
C
Core
Initiativee: 3. Rigorou
us Instructionaal Standards and
a Supports
Key Stra
ategy
Progress
3
3.1
Provide equity in acceess to education
nal programs
3
3.2
Develop
p and implemeent an aligned standards-base
s
d curriculum and
a assessmentt plan
3
3.3
Implem
ment Response to
t Intervention
n model districtt-wide to proviide early, effecctive assistancee to
children
n
3
3.4
Transfo
ormation Plan
3
3.5
Implem
ment a compreh
hensive literacy
y (reading) prog
gram in gradess pre-K through
h 12
3
3.6
Implem
ment a compreh
hensive Numeraacy/mathematiics program in grades pre-K through
t
12
Accomplishmen
A
nts
T fall has seen
This
n a serge in interrest from our schools in both IB
B and AP with many
m
new schoo
ols at all levels llining up to partticipate. Many
orrientations and workshops
w
havee launched this fall
f with strong participation fro
om HISD teacheers as reported iin the last Manaagement Report..
In
n the spring, we are planning to
o offer AP Semin
nars at Rice Uniiversity to 250 Pre-AP/AP
P
teachers.
In
n this period we worked with alll secondary mag
gnet schools to create a commo
on magnet entran
nce criteria by ttheme and by level. We are
im
mplementing new online data sy
ystem (Program
m Manager) in ou
ur Student Inforrmation System to document annd track applicattions received as
w as student magnet
well
m
enrollment. Outreached continued throu
ugh this period in the development of a revised Magent policy..
The employmentt of a Duputy Ch
T
hief Academic Officer
O
and addiitional Curriculu
um & Instructio
on staffmemberss has created a new
n way forward
d
w the literacy programs of thee district. High expectations forr instructional delivery
with
d
and imp
plementation of the curriculum have been
co
ommunicated diistrictwide. In collaboration witth Teacher Deveelopment Speciaalists, assessmen
nts and associatted blueprints th
hat are aligned to
o
th
he district curricculum’s scope an
nd sequence hav
ve been created and shared with
h campuses.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 C
Core
Initiative: 3. Rigorouss Instructionall Standards an
nd Supports (ccont’d)
Curriculum docu
C
uments have beeen updated to incclude alignmentt to the Texas College & Careerr Readiness Stanndards and to th
he Texas English
h
L
Language
Proficiiency Standardss. The Curriculu
um & Instruction department is working with teams of HISD tteachers to deveelop a curriculum
m
th
hat is standards-based and form
med by the work of Margaret Killgo and Dr. Erviin Knezek. The Curriculum & IInstruction depaartment has addeed
Sp
pecial Education content speciaalists to the depaartment to faciliitate the collabo
oration between the two departm
ments and to asssist content areass
in
n creating curricculum that suppo
orts inclusion cllassrooms.
Sttrategies for diffferentiating insttruction and acccommodating div
verse learners have
h
been added
d to the curriculuum documents. After
diisaggregating th
he Fall District-L
Level Assessmeent, data trend do
ocuments were created and shaared to assist teaachers to interpreet data trends in
n
sttudent performaance on the assesssed standards and
a to implemen
nt strategies for intervention. Curriculum
C
& Innstruction person
nnel are being
hiired to filled vaccancies and prov
vide additional support.
The Response to Intervention teaam has changed
T
d departments an
nd is now houseed within the Cu
urriculum & Insttruction departm
ment.
In
nterventions are in the process of
o being aligned
d and a module within
w
the Studeent Information Systems was deeveloped by a collaborative teaam
co
onsisting of reprresentatives from
m Curriculum & Instruction, Sttudent Support Services
S
and Sp
pecial Educationn departments. Training
T
on the
H
HISD
Response to
t Intervention model,
m
use of th
he new Chancery
y module and acction guideliness for Interventioon Assistance Teeam members will
w
taake place in Feb
bruary 2012. Traainings on how to
t differentiate instruction
i
for Teir
T II and III reeaders, special education studen
nts and ELL
sttudents have beeen scheduled forr spring 2012 an
nd participants are
a currently reg
gistering for the sessions
The district has employed
T
e
a Literacy Director to
o focus on literaccy. We have lau
unched ongoing training initiatiives to facilitate quality
im
mplementation of
o new reading adoption
a
includiing coaching an
nd mentoring, model
m
lessons, an
nd classroom suupport. A districct textbook
seelection committtee has begun th
he process for Pre-K,
P
language arts, and ESL adoptions.
a
The district
d
has comm
mitted funds to continue the
prrogram and expand to include General
G
Educatiion and Special Education studeents. Additionaally, Phase 1 of tthe numeracy pllan has been
co
ompleted. The numeracy
n
targets have been com
mmunicated in the form of “Blue Prints;” docu
uments aligned tto all state, natio
onal, and
in
nternational stan
ndards, including
g Texas Collegee and Career Reeadiness Standarrds, for use by parents
p
forunderrstanding studen
nt expectations.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 C
Core
Initiative: 3. Rigorouss Instructionall Standards an
nd Supports (ccont’d)
P
Planned
for Nex
xt Period
In
n the next period
d we plan to ideentify magnet scchools in need of assistance and
d develop a plan of action. We w
will also develo
op vertical
allignment betweeen thematic elem
mentary and seccondary program
ms, develop currriculum alignmeent of "like proggrams" districtw
wide, as well as
heelp school admiinistrators and Magnet
M
Coordin
nators develop th
heir expertise in
n their program through
t
the deveelopment of parrtnerships
beetween thematiccally similar sch
hools. Addition
nally, we are collaborating with the Elementary
y School Office tto develop the program
p
design of
th
he newly Board approved Mand
darin Chinese Language Immerrsion School.
Plans for an instrructional materiaals clearinghousse are in the inittial testing phasee with the next step
s to present rresults for extern
nal review.
Literacy will con
L
ntinue to be the umbrella
u
that alll other disciplin
nes become an in
ntegrated. The professional
p
devvelopment plan schedule will be
reeviewed by the district
d
leadersh
hip in January 20
012. Using the recommendation
r
ns from the lead
dership team, thee Director of Litteracy will recru
uit
prrofessional deveelopment trainerrs and negotiatee contracts, overrsee facility arraangements, and work
w
in collabooration with Proffessional Servicces
an
nd Developmen
nt and Leadershiip Developmentt teams to coord
dinate dates for the
t trainings. Th
he district made application for a pivitol state
grrant and expectss to receive addiitional informattion in the next period
p
driving additional
a
workiin gin this area.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 S
Strategic
Direection Manag
gement Repo
ort
C
Core
Initiative: 4. Ensure Data-driiven Accountabiliity
W
What
we will do
Build robust sysstems and proceesses that enablee easy access to and use of key data
B
d to inform decisions
d
and manage high leveels of performan
nce
d
districtwide.
W we will do
Why
d it
Currently, relev
C
vant data on stu
udents, teacherrs, and achievem
ment are difficcult to access, often
o
not up-too-date, and not always accurate.
F
Furthermore,
maany people acro
oss the district laack the expertisee to use data to make
m
decisions..
This creates an opportunity
T
o
to arm
a HISD leadeership with accessible, timely an
nd accurate dataa and provide thhem with the traiining necessary to
u
understand
how
w to translate datta into action. By
B doing so, wee will get betterr at making the key decisions tthat affect the peerformance of the
t
d
district.
Fundin
ng for this initiaative is focused on Phase 1 whiich includes min
nimal training and
a will providee initial reports. Training beyon
nd
P
Phase
1 is a mullti-year program
m of training and
d learning throug
gh use.
W
What
we will report
The following Strategic
T
S
Directiion Managemen
nt Report answers the question: Is HISD acting
g on the prioritiees identified in th
he strategic plan
n
w fidelity? It measures HISD
with
D’s accomplishm
ments and risks for
f each Key Sttrategy in support of the overalll Core Initiative.
The Strategic Direction
T
D
Manag
gement Report iss produced Quarrterly. Color ind
dicators are used
d as an indicatioon of whether ad
dministration is
o track to accomplish a Key Strategy’s quarteerly goals. A “G
on
Green” indicator means the diistrict has madee acceptable prog
gress with respeect
t budget, scopee and timeliness. A “Yellow” in
to
ndicator
meaans the district has
h identified rissk with respect tto one or more aspects.
a
A “Red
d”
iindicator
meeans progress haas stopped or hass a significant deficiency.
d
As th
he Strategic Dirrection builds a foundation towaards achieveing
t district’s goaals over a multi--year period, no
the
ot all Key Strateg
gies will have in
nformation to co
ommunicate in a given period.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 S
Strategic
Direection Manag
gement Repo
ort
Core Initiativ
ve: 4. Ensure Data-driven Accountability
A
y
Key Strattegies
Progress
4 Build easily accessible
4.1
a
and accurate
a
data arcchitecture, wareehouse, and tech
hnology infrastru
ucture
4 Develop and implement perfformance manag
4.2
gement tools an
nd practices for decision-making
d
g
4 Design Effecctive and Efficieent Business Pro
4.3
ocesses and Proccedures for Optiimization of Resources and Ressults
Acccomplishmentts
Mu
uch of the activities in this repo
orting period hav
ve been focused
d on completing
g the district procurement process in acquiring the
t business
inttelligence and data
d warehouse tools,
t
related con
nsulting servicees and E-rate fun
nded network an
nd system hardw
ware for schoolss. At its
Seeptember 2011 meeting,
m
the Boaard of Education
n approved $5.5
5M for the creatiion, acquisition and implementtation of a data warehouse,
w
bu
usiness intelligen
nce tool, data in
ntegration tool an
nd related consu
ulting services. In conjunction with this, the diistrict was awarded
approximately $70
0 million in Fed
deral E-rate fund
ds to help with the
t upgrade of physical
p
network
k and system haardware for 204 schools. In
collaboration with
h the new Inform
mation Security Officer, hired in
n November 2011, a plan for in
nstituting a Dataa Governance Co
ouncil has been
draafted along with
h a proposed listt of participants from across thee district.
Th
hrough early December, the Perrformance Manaagement team haas been working
g with departmeents to shore up the processes arround data
an
nalysis and the development
d
of performance
p
goals. These perfo
ormance goals will
w translate to the
t individual em
mployee appraisal. The district
haas facilitated oveer 40 meetings with
w senior leadeers and managerrs to discuss perrformance objecctives, data meaasures and targett goals for the
year as well as con
nducted four Peerformance Man
nagement trainin
ng sessions for managers
m
to pro
ovide an overvieew of the perform
mance
w
the district.
maanagement cyclee of activities within
Fo
or Key Strategy
y 4.3, business processes and programs
p
have been defined and
a all system components aree in place, how
wever a change in
leaadership in both
h the Procuremen
nt and Curriculu
um areas has im
mpacted our abiliity to move forw
ward as plannedd.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 C
Core
Initiativee: 4. Ensure Data-driven
D
A
Accountability
y (cont’d)
IIn the coming weeks
w
and mon
nths, the team will
w reconvene with
w the new leeaders to validatte and verify thhe progress and status of what is
a
already
complette. It is imperative that all decisions, processess, systems and procedures
p
are re-evaluated
r
andd that all parties have buy-in priior
t rolling out to the schools and
to
d departments th
hat are impacted
d by Instructionaal Products and Services.
P
Planned
for Neext Period
IIn mid-to-late Jaanuary, the nextt period, we plan
n to initiate the Phase
P
1 data waarehouse and bu
usiness intelligennce tool implem
mentation
a
activities.
We will
w continue thee HISD Network
k Re-design Pro
oject and begin deployment
d
of E-rate
E
network eequipment in sch
hools. In
a
addition,
we willl deploy 51 mob
bile carts to the transformation schools for insttructional use. Last,
L
we will inttegrate the techn
nology roadmap
p
f dashboard deevelopment in order
for
o
to summarrize performance metrics for disstrict leadership
p such as departm
ment heads, prin
ncipals, SIOs, an
nd
d
district
administtrators.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 S
Strategic
Direection Manag
gement Repo
ort
C
Core
Initiative: 5. Culture of Trustt Through Action
n
W
What
we will do
We will put in place
W
p
structures, processes, and methods to ensu
ure that we havee effective two-way communication to engage both internal an
nd
e
external
stakeho
olders, including
g staff, parents, and community
y members.
W we will do
Why
d it
A powerful sensse of community
y and a shared direction
d
among
g all stakeholderrs is crucial to th
he successful traansformation of HISD. Yet, wee
k
know
that curren
nt communicatiion structures in
n place are insuff
fficient to foster authentic engag
gement.
During the process of developin
D
ng the Strategic Direction, we have
h
attempted to
t begin the mov
vement toward a communicatio
ons approach thaat
i more interactiive and transparrent. Throughou
is
ut dozens of meeetings, commun
nication emerged as a clear areaa for improvemeent. Thousands
o stakeholders shared concernss, ideas, and sug
of
ggestions on how
w we can impro
ove. Taking all this
t valuable feeedback into acco
ount, we
d
designed
two strrategies that willl enable us to reevamp our comm
munication so we
w can engage in
nternal and exteernal audiences in
i meaningful
w
ways
and ensuree we have autheentic two-way co
ommunication. By doing so, we
w will prove ourr commitment to change, re-bu
uild trust and
c
confidence,
and
d start a new era in our commun
nication and relaationship with HISD’s
H
broad co
ommunity.
W
What
we will report
The following Strategic
T
S
Directiion Managemen
nt Report answers the question: Is HISD acting
g on the prioritiees identified in th
he strategic plan
n
w fidelity? It measures HISD
with
D’s accomplishm
ments and risks for
f each Key Sttrategy in support of the overalll Core Initiative.
The Strategic Direction
T
D
Manag
gement Report iss produced Quarrterly. Color ind
dicators are used
d as an indicatioon of whether ad
dministration is
o track to accomplish a Key Strategy’s quarteerly goals. A “G
on
Green” indicator means the diistrict has made acceptable prog
gress with respeect
t budget, scopee and timeliness. A “Yellow” in
to
ndicator
mean
ns the district haas identified risk
k with respect too one or more aspects.
a
A “Red
d”
i
indicator
meaans progress hass stopped or hass a significant deeficiency. As th
he Strategic Direction builds a ffoundation towaards achieveing
t district’s goaals over a multi--year period, no
the
ot all Key Strateg
gies will have in
nformation to co
ommunicate in a given period.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 S
Strategic
Direection Manag
gement Repo
ort
C
Core
Initiativee: 5. Culture of
o Trust Throu
ugh Action
Key Strattegies
Progress
5.1
Develop
D
effecttive, timely, tw
wo-way comm
munication fo
or internal stak
keholders
5.2
Develop
D
effecttive, timely, two-way
t
comm
munication fo
or external staakeholders
Acccomplishmentts
W launched a cro
We
oss-functional workgroup
w
to meeet monthly witth communicatio
ons representativ
ves from variouus departments to
t help integratee
ou
ur efforts to com
mmunicate the Sttrategic Directio
on and other inittiatives in a coh
hesive, consisten
nt way and ensurre that limited communications
c
s
ressources are used
d most effectiveely.
We migrated 43 school websites to SchoolWires, which providees a more focuseed place for pareents, students, annd the local com
W
mmunity to find
d
infformation and communicate wiith the individuaal schools. The school
s
website provides
p
faster access
a
to the schhool-specific infformation,
en
nabling us to buiild community at
a the local levell where people are
a more involved and feel they
y can make a diffference.
We analyzed the final
W
f
statistics fo
or the Back to School
S
Fest held
d in August throu
ugh a partnershiip with the City of Houston at the
t George R.
Brrown Conventio
on Center that seerved approximaately 45,000 stu
udents, providing
g free backpack
ks, school suppliies, uniforms, im
mmunizations,
freesh produce, and
d other resourcees. Approximateely $1.5 million
n in-kind donatio
ons and $158,00
00 in corporate ssponsorships weere raised with
plaans already under way for next year’s event.
We launched a co
W
ontent-rich multiimedia commun
nications strateg
gy around the ST
TAAR test. We created a comm
munications kit for
f principals –
wiith video, a Pow
werPoint presenttation, talking po
oints and handouts – to both ease the communiications processs and ensure a co
omplete and
co
onsistent messag
ge is shared with
h internal and ex
xternal audiencees. Principals aree currently utilizzing those resouurces during meetings with
paarents.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope Quarter: 2nd Octt – Dec 2011 C
Core
Initiativee: 5. Culture of
o Trust Throu
ugh Action (co
ont’d)
We also provided
W
d simplified, com
mmunity-focuseed presentationss for use by the Parent Engagem
ment departmentt – along with a STAAR
ov
verview video containing
c
an ex
xplanation of cu
umulative scoress. All resources, along with sam
mple questions, were posted to our
o STAAR
reesources websitee and, to ensuree access to all, an
n updated STAA
AR brochure waas mailed out to all families in O
October.
We organized an
W
nd covered six Community
C
Con
nversations forum
ms, where Dr. Grier
G
heard from
m hundreds of paarents, students, employees, and
d
co
oncerned citizen
ns about what th
hey’d like to seee for their childrren and for theirr schools. Turno
out varied, but oon average, abou
ut 150 people
atttended each event and dozens engaged with Dr.
D Grier on a mu
ultitude of topiccs, which ranged
d from school poolicy to food alllergies. The
op
pportunity for tw
wo-way converssation was also an opportunity for immediate action
a
- participaants were directted to school offficials who weree
on
n site and ready
y to help them. The
T Communications Office traacked the issuess and reported on
o the status of tthem.
Planned for nex
P
xt period
W are drafting a social media policy,
We
p
which wiill be communiccated to all emplloyees, and a so
ocial media impllementation plan
n that will
in
ntegrate those to
ools into our daiily workflow.
We are in the pro
W
ocess of building
g a prototype fo
or the “Time to Talk”
T
toolkit, which
w
help paren
nts set up meetinngs with other paarents to share
in
nformation and district-produceed resources. Th
he content has been
b
written, and
d the kit will bee ready for beta ttesting in Januarry 2012.
We are in the pro
W
ocess of redesign
ning the Friday eNews publicattion. We will esstablish a clear identity and ediitorial focus for the community
an
nd employee veersions. We will incorporate a video
v
player in the
t design of thee newsletter to increase
i
visibility of our multim
media projects,
an
nd shift toward more links and less text. We are
a also evaluatin
ng processes thaat will enable beetter metrics so we can maximizze the use of thiis
vehicle.
Green indicates accceptable progress Yellow indiccates a concern witth timeline, budgett and scope
R
Red indicates a deficiency in time, bud
dget or scope