Technical Assistance for Kansas DistrictsSchools on Watch

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Technical Assistance for Kansas
Districts/Schoolson Watch
KSDE August 25, 2008
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Training Goals

• Participants will
• gain an awareness of on-watch accountability
  issues and suggested actions for improvement
• know and understand the components of an QPA
  School Improvement Plan template and the
  Eight-Stage Improvement process and
• utilize information and activities in the Kansas
  Improvement Notebook for continuous school
  improvement.

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On Watch

• What does the term on-watch mean?
• On-watch refers to a district or school that did
  not meet AYP targets in reading and or math for
  one year.
• KSDE will send an official notification letter to
  the district and/or building.

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What should the district or school do upon
notification?

• Verify the state assessment data.
• Review the existing QPA school improvement plan.
  Does it address needs consistent with the area
  (s) that did not meet AYP?
• Contact ETAT members for suggested improvements.

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What should the district or school do upon
notification?

• Examine the improvement process model that is
  place. Does it contain the critical components
  for improvement?
• What are the critical components?

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Kansas Improvement Notebook
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Kansas Improvement Process Model

• Tool to support district and school improvement
  efforts
• Focus on the development and implementation of
  systemic change
• Guides the development of the Integrated
  Improvement Plan

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Continuous Improvement
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Stage 2 Gather and Organize Data

• Collect a wide range of data that creates an
  accurate picture of the current reality for the
  school and/or the district. This includes
  collecting quantitative and qualitative data to
  conduct a self-evaluation by each school and/or
  district.

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Needs Assessment

• Each district/school needs a picture of their
  current reality. One way to capture the reality
  is through a needs assessment.
• What is a needs assessment?

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The District Integrated Needs Assessment (DINA)

• Collects information on 8 continuums of
  district improvement.
• Information and Analysis
• Student Achievement
• Quality Planning
• High Quality Professional Development
• Leadership
• Partnership Development
• Safe, Caring and Orderly Environment
• Continuous Improvement and Evaluation
• Note other examples

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• Schools that understand the needs of their
  students are
• more successful in planning changes
• remain more focused during implementation
• than those that gather the data, but make no
  sustained effort to analyze and use the data.

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How Data Can Help

• Replace hunches and hypothesis with facts
• Provides clear understanding of where the gaps
  are in the instructional program
• Identifies the root causes of the gaps
• Predicts and prevents failures
• Predicts and ensure successes
• Provides information to eliminate ineffective
  practices
• Using Data to Improve Student Learning, Victoria
  L. Bernhardt, 2003

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Data Collection

• Achievement Data
• ITBS, Local Assessments, State Assessment, ACT,
  SAT
• Perception Data
• District Integrated Needs Assessment, Climate
  Surveys, Focus Groups
• Contextual Data
• Discipline, Parent/Community Partnerships,
  Science Programs, Community Trend Data, Explore
  Plan
• Demographic Data
• Enrollment Trends, Mobility, Graduation

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What to Collect Activity

• Choose one of the four data items to review the
  template on pages 45 52 of the Kansas
  Improvement Notebook.

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Snapshots of Data

• By looking at the four data types separately,
  we get snapshots to answer questions such as-
• How many students are enrolled in the school?
  (Demographics)
• How satisfied are parents, students, and/or staff
  with the learning environment? (Perceptions)
• How did students at the school score on a test?
  (Student Learning/Achievement)
• What programs are operating in the school this
  year?
• (School Processes/Contextual Data)

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• Where we want to be as a school is to have all
  data intersect. When we arrive to that point, we
  can begin to address the root cause of the
  strengths and weaknesses identified from the data
  analysis.
• Using Data to Improve Student Learning,
  Victoria L. Bernhardt, 2003

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Stage 3 Analyze Data

• Analyze data to identify strengths and
  challenges as well as their root causes. This
  includes bringing together data to formulate
  inferences for making informed decisions about
  school improvement.

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Analyzing Strengths

• Which students grew the most? Why?
• Of these students how many were
• of ethnic background
• of low SES or
• of migrant status?
• What content area did most students have
  increased achievement? Why?

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Analyzing Weaknesses

• What group of students demonstrated the least
  academic success?
• What content and skills did they master?
• What content and skills did they miss?

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Analyzing Weaknesses

• What curriculum resources were used with these
  students? Are other resources needed to meet
  their needs?
• What instructional techniques were used? What
  needs to be changed?
• What additional support was used? What else is
  needed?

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• Activities to use with your Staff

• Data Carousel Activity Pages 54-55
• Narrative Statements Pages 56-60
• Emerging Themes Pages 61
• Prioritize Challenges Pages 62

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Cause Analysis

• What factors caused these needs of greatest
  concern to occur?

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Identify the Root Cause

• Root Cause Analysis is a process that enables us
  to identify the deepest underlying cause or
  causes of the results being realized. If those
  cause or causes were dissolved, the symptoms can
  be reduced or eliminated.
• For example It takes three elements to make a
  fire a source of combustion, oxygen, and a
  source of fuel. Take any one of them away and a
  fire cannot start or continue to burn.

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When is a Cause a Root Cause?

• 1. Would the problem have occurred if the cause
  had not been present?
• If no, then it is a root cause.
• If yes, then it is a contributing cause.

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When is a Cause a Root Cause?

• 2. Will the problem reoccur as the result of the
  same cause if the cause is corrected or removed?
• If no, then it is a root cause.
• If yes, then it is a contributing cause.

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When is a Cause a Root Cause?

• 3. Will correction or removal of the cause lead
  to similar events?
• If no, then it is a root cause.
• If yes, then it is a contributing cause.

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Other indicators that you have found the root
cause

• You run into a dead end asking what caused the
  proposed root cause.
• The cause is logical, seems reasonable, and
  provides clarity to the problem.
• The cause is something that you can influence and
  control.
• If the cause is dissolved, there is realistic
  hope that the problem can be reduced or prevented
  in the future.

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Act on the Findings

• Budget
• Staff
• Resources
• Data Collection
• Assessment

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Stage 1 Orientation Readiness

• Develop a level of cooperation and commitment to
  support the changes that
• will occur within the improvement process.
• This includes a common understanding and
  readiness to orient stakeholders to systemic
  district and school improvement processes.
• Attention is given to understanding the
  vision/mission of the school and/or district.

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District/School Planning Team

• Engage staff in comparing the current reality
  against where the school needs or wants to be in
  the future

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For Lasting Improvement

• Have we examined and do we agree on the purpose
  of schooling?
• What is our Mission?
• Have we identified a truly shared vision of
  possibilities to create change?
• What is our Vision?
• What do we believe is true about student
  learning?
• What do we Value?
• Unpacking our Vision and Mission Statement Pages
  47 48

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Magnitude of Change

• Magnitude of change refers not to the size of
  the change, but rather to the implications the
  change has for those who are expected to
  implement it or will be affected by it.
• School Leadership that Works, McREL (2005)

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First Order

• Change is
• Technical
• An extension of the past
• Within existing paradigms
• Consistent with prevailing values and norms
• Linear
• Implemented with existing knowledge and skills
• Problem and solution oriented
• Implemented by outside experts
• School Leadership that Works
• ASCD/McREL

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First Order Examples

• Change in schedule
• A new innovative program
• Change in classroom practice
• Aligned curriculum with resources

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First Order Results

• They may be positive but do not necessarily
  create sustained change to student outcomes.
• Kansas Improvement Notebook

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Second Order Change

• a change that is not obvious as to how it will
  make things better for people?
• a change that requires individuals or groups of
  stakeholders with similar ideas to learn new
  approaches?
• a change that creates conflicts with prevailing
  values and norms?

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Second Order Examples

• The role and use of content standards
• High stakes testing and accountability
• Adjustments in the school schedule
• days, weeks, years
• Non graded classrooms
• Results-based data

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Second Order Results

• Often focuses on systems as opposed to single
  programs
• Disrupts cooperation or a sense of well being and
  cohesion
• Confronts group identities
• Changes working relationships
• Challenges expertise and competencies

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Kansas Multi-Tiered System of Support
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Multi-Tiered System of Support
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• Differences between high performing
• schools and low performing schools is
• that successful schools may first
• need to change far more complex
• Peoples perceptions, expectations,
• motivations, and behaviors.
• Three school improvement mistakes and how to
  avoid them,
• Changing Schools, Spring 07, pp 3-4

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Why do it?

• 85 of publicly traded companies market value
  is related to intangible assets, namely
• Talents
• Dispositions
• Ideas of its employees
• Three school improvement mistakes and how to
  avoid them, Changing Schools, Spring 07, pp 3-4

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• The process outlined in the Kansas Improvement
  Notebook encourages second order change through
  activities that help staff reflect on their
  beliefs and gain focus and ownership that leads
  to lasting benefits for students and all
  stakeholders.

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• In Summary Top 10 questions
• What student academic data is being reviewed?
• What have we learned from the data? (strengths
  and challenges)
• Why are we getting those results?
• Do we need to collect other types of data to
  develop a more complete picture? If so, what data
  do we need?
• What are possible causes to the findings?
• If there are many causes which one should be
  addressed? How do you know?
• What is the root cause?
• What is the SMART Goal?
• What might we do to eliminate the cause?
  Intervention?
• What action do we take to implement the
  intervention?