Minnesotas Lighthouse High Schools

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Minnesotas Lighthouse High Schools

• Connecting Action and Research

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Building the Foundation

Data retreats
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Building the Foundation

Data retreats
Taskforce
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Building the Foundation

Data Retreats
Taskforce
Breaking Ranks
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Foundational Pieces
Data Retreats

Taskforce
Breaking Ranks
Newmann Framework
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A Unifying Framework for School Improvement Based
on the research of Fred Newmann The key is to
integrate cultural and structural conditions to
focus on intellectual quality and professional
community in a sustained way.

• Cultural Conditions
• Primary concern for the intellectual quality of
  student learning
• Commitment to high expectations for all students,
  regardless of individual differences
• Support for innovation, debate, inquiry,
  seeking new professional knowledge
• Ethos of caring, sharing, mutual help among
  staff, between staff students, based on
  respect, trust, shared power relations among
  staff
• Strong, mutually influential relationship between
  the school the parents community (Fullan).

• School Capacity
• Teachers Individual
• Knowledge, Skills
• Dispositions
• Professional Community
• Program Coherence
• Technical Resources
• Principal Leadership
• Professional development is more
• likely to enhance capacity when it
• addresses several aspects of
• capacity instead of focusing only
• on teachers knowledge, skills
• dispositions.

Student Achievement
Instructional Quality Instruction Assessment

• School Structures
• Policies Programs (e.g., homework policy, prof.
  development program, length of school day class
  periods, etc.) that provide
• Sustained time for instruction, planning, staff
  development, student advising
• Interdependent work structures for staff, esp.
  teaching teams committees for schoolwide
  decision making
• School autonomy from regulatory constraints
• Small size for school instructional units
• State district level policies and programs also
  affect school level structures (Fullan).

• Teachers Individual Knowledge, Skills
  Dispositions
• Staff are competent in instruction assessment
  which is centered on curriculum appropriate for
  their particular students
• Staff hold high expectations for all students
  learning

• Professional Community
• Clear shared goals for student learning
• Collective collaborative responsibility among
  staff
• Reflective professional inquiry among staff
• Opportunities for staff to influence schools
  activities policies

Program Coherence Programs for student
staff learning are coordinated, focused on clear
learning goals, sustained over a period of time.
Technical Resources High quality standards
assessments, curriculum, books other
instructional materials, lab equipment,
computers, adequate workspace, remodeled physical
facilities, etc.

• Principal Leadership
• Principal is very influential in life of the
  school is a critical force in the schools
  capacity.
• Principal has primary legal authority to
  positively affect each aspect of school capacity.

• Sources
• Fullan, M., Rolheiser, C., Mascall, B. K. Edge
  (2001). Accomplishing large-scale reform A
  tri-level proposition. Retrieved from
  http//sustainability2002.terc.edu/invoke.cfm/page
  /70/show/print.
• Newmann, F. et al (2000). Professional
  development that addresses school capacity. Paper
  presented at the American Education Research
  Association annual meeting, New Orleans.
• Newmann, F. Associates (1996). Authentic
  achievement Restructuring schools for
  intellectual quality. San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
  
  B. Aune, MDE 6/16/05

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Broad Goals

• Build SEA capacity to facilitate high school
  redesign
• Support systemic high school redesign through
  action research

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Finding the Schools

• Site leadership team
• Data collection and analysis
• School improvement plan
• development and refinement
• Evaluation of grant activities
• Public reporting of results

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Building SEA Capacity

• Facilitators partnered with school
• teams
• Periodic training and work sessions
• Site visits and team retreats

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Working with Data

• From reporting outcomes to documenting
  implementation
• From sharing practice to sharing knowledge