Janet Angelis
Kristen Campbell Wilcox
University at Albany
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Overview (15)
How do I think my school is doing? (10)
Learning from each other (20-30)
Learning from the study (10)
How do we think our school/district is doing? (10)
Planning next steps (10-20)
•5 Key Elements
Relationships Lay the Foundation
Trust and respect make possible…
security and well-being for students and faculty;
constant collaboration;
honest evaluation of results and adjustments;
the development and enactment of a shared vision.
The Project and the Study
• National
• State comparable best practices
• Just for the Kids-NY
Our Sample
• 10 consistently HP schools with 6 similar but consistently
APs, based on 3 years of NYS Assessment data (2003-5)
• Half: = or > NYS average poverty level
• Urban, rural, suburban
• Open admissions
• NYS average per pupil expenditures
10 Higher
Performers
The Schools
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
J.T. Finley - Huntington UFSD
Holland - Holland CSD
John F Kennedy - Utica CSD
A. Leonard - CSD of New Rochelle
Niagara - Niagara Falls CSD
Port Chester - Port Chester-Rye UFSD
Queensbury - Queensbury UFSD
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill - Sherrill CSD
West - Binghamton CSD
Westbury - Westbury UFSD
For a case study of each school: www.albany.edu/aire/kids
And Analysis
The data
• 2-day site visits
• Interviewed teachers and administrators using survey
questions provided by JFTK
• Collected documents
• Analyzed and wrote a case study for each site
• Cross-site analysis
5 Key Elements
Findings
Relationships Lay the Foundation
Trust and respect make possible…
security and well-being for students and faculty;
constant collaboration;
honest evaluation of results and adjustments;
the development and enactment of a shared vision.
Each necessary; not sufficient alone or w/ 1-3 others.
Trust
• Respect for and from all
• Clear expectations of students
• Shared responsibility
I feel totally comfortable to talk about concerns with the
principal. When the principal comes into my classroom -we have strong support and trust.
We can’t do it alone . . . Parents are involved here.
Trust
The single most important thing . . .
is to build trust with your faculty.
• Deliberate and planned
• “Family”
• Provides safety to disagree, to share challenges, even
failures
Social & Emotional Well-Being
• Its lack interferes with learning
• Connect with every student: teaming, looping, “guide
rooms,” activities, and social services; special attention for
those at risk
• Transitions: ES – MS; MS – HS
• Safety, security, and diversity
We use social emotional learning to focus on what’s
common among us and not on what is different.
Collaborative Conversations
• Purpose: student learning and achievement
- collectively and individually
• Consistent, expected, and frequent
• Scheduled and unscheduled
• Teams and committees
- within and across grades and subjects
- within, across, and outside of school
Collaboration
You need to work as a team; there’s nothing a
teacher can accomplish alone.
We communicate from one grade to the next. We
respect teachers in the grades below.
Evidence-Based Decision Making
• Multiple sources
- student performance data
- teacher experience
- teachers and administrators
- students, parents, and community
- adopted programs
• Ongoing and acted on
• Focus beyond the state assessments: standards
Evidence-Based Decision Making
We invite students back after a semester or two at
college and ask what was most helpful . . .
[and not] so helpful.
[The school improvement model we chose] expects
teachers to make professional choices.
We analyze the state exam -kid by kid -- question by question.
Shared Vision
•
•
•
•
•
Raising learning and achievement for all students
Built by all
Clearly articulated
Echoed from central office to classroom
Never done
You never arrive, you are always becoming.
It’s a goal without a finish line.
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Overview (15)
How do I think my school is doing? (10)
Learning from each other (20-30)
Learning from the study (10)
How do we think our school/district is doing? (5)
Planning next steps (10-20)
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Overview (15)
How do I think my school is doing? (10)
Learning from each other (20-30)
Learning from the study (10)
How do we think our school/district is doing? (5)
Planning next steps (10-20)
Fishbowl: Learning from each other
• Why did you rank your school/district as doing very well
on this element?
• What are some of the steps that were taken/are being
taken?
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Overview (15)
How do I think my school is doing? (10)
Learning from each other (20-30)
Learning from the study (10)
How do we think our school/district is doing? (5)
Planning next steps (10-20)
www.albany/edu/aire/kids
• Case studies of the HP middle and elementary schools
• Best Practice Framework for middle and elementary
schools, with detail and samples of evidence
• Cross-site reports for middle and elementary schools
• 4-page summary of the middle school results
• Link to the national site
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Overview (15)
How do I think my school is doing? (10)
Learning from each other (20-30)
Learning from the study (10)
How do we think our school/district is doing? (5)
Planning next steps (10-20)
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Overview (15)
How do I think my school is doing? (10)
Learning from each other (20-30)
Learning from the study (10)
How do we think our school/district is doing? (5)
Planning next steps (10-20)
JFTK-NY cf. NYS Essential Elements
JFTK-NY
• Relationships
• Emotional Well-Being
• Collaboration
• Evidence-Based Decision
Making
• Shared Vision
NYS Essential Elements
Basic goals
• Intellectual
development/academic
achievement of all students
• Personal and social
development of each
student
JFTK-NY cf. NMSA This We Believe
JFTK-NY
NMSA This We Believe
• Relationships
Culture Matters:
• Emotional Well-Being
• Collaboration
• Collaboration
• Shared vision
• Evidence-Based Decision • Safe environment
Making
• High expectations for all
• Shared Vision
• Adult advocate for every
student
Jigsaw on the 5 Elements
• Count off by 5’s
• In your groups, read the element that corresponds with
your number
• Discuss what features, practices, beliefs seem prevalent
re: that particular element
• Prepare to report out to the whole group on the most
important aspects of that element