Educator Autonomy Working Group

May 5, 2014

Developing Recommendations

At our May and June meeting, we will be working on developing our recommendations to send to the Governor. Based on your feedback at our Educator Autonomy Working Group, we have developed a set of “straw recommendations” to begin that work. Below is the structure for a recommendation and three “straw recommendations” for your review in preparation for the meeting. At our May meeting, you will have the opportunity to work in small groups to provide your point of view in terms of the positives, negatives, and ways to refine/revise the recommendations. Structure of a Recommendation:

Begins with a strong action-oriented verb that states what should be done

States how it may be accomplished

Includes a rationale for why the recommendation is being made

Straw Recommendation #1: Increase awareness of the existing autonomies at the district and school level. This may be accomplished by: (a) a series of forums developed and co-hosted by key stakeholders; (b) the development of an autonomy guidance playbook, and (c) communication and outreach to educators and policy makers. We believe this is necessary because there is varying degrees of understanding of what levels of autonomy educators already have in Rhode Island. Straw Recommendation #2: Provide training and support to educational leaders in the competencies necessary to carry out effective and successful practices in an autonomous structure. This may be accomplished by: (a) defining the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of educational leaders in an autonomous setting; (b) developing formal professional development forums; (c) creating partnership with higher education on the preparation of teacher-leaders on autonomous practices. We believe this is necessary because research, interviews with experts, and experiences of practitioners carrying out autonomy practices stressed need for pre-and in-service training and support. Straw Recommendation #3: Develop a legislative strategy in tandem with district, state, and union leadership that fosters autonomous decision-making and innovation at the district and school level to support student success. This may be accomplished by (a) creating a working group to draft a legislative bill that fosters autonomous decision-making and innovation; and (b) collaborating with existing educational partners to generate buy-in for the strategy. We believe this is necessary because legislation in other states (e.g., Massachusetts) have proven effective in increasing autonomous decision-making and innovation at the school and district level.