How can SEAs make sure district and school leaders pursue productivity?

August 11, 2015Dr. Marguerite Roza

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• Tuesday, June 16 – What role can SEAs play in making the

case for productivity?• Thursday, June 25 – What information systems are needed,

and how should they be used?• Thursday, July 9 – What changes in state funding and

regulatory structures work best to support productivity?• Thursday, July 30 – What leverage do SEAs have to influence

costs in districts?• Tuesday, August 11 – How can SEAs make sure district and

school leaders pursue productivity?

Five webinars: All at 1 EST, 10 PST.

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• Protect local decision makers from critics to help them make tough decisions

• Focus attention on productivity. a. Message productivity: How can “schools leverage their

dollars to maximize outcomes for the students they serve?”

b. Celebrate successes

c. Create grants to incent leaders to pursue their own productive models

d. Share high productivity models

Lead the change

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2. True or False: Two schools (with roughly same mix of students) can spend the same amount of money in the same way but get different results.

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1. True or False: Two schools (with roughly same mix of students) can spend the same amount of money but get different results.

Recap (in the form of a quiz)

=> Schooling hinges on human interactions. Getting the most for dollars requires that schools be bought in to this task of leveraging funds for greatest outcome possible.

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Role of states

1. Clarify desired outcomes (standards)2. Allocate $ (based on student need)3. Measure outcomes

4. Produce helpful tools that are done best with larger scalea. ROI measurement with visibility into high ROI school spending choicesb. Teacher eval systemc. Online PDd. Online course options for students

5. Leverage certification to reduce district costsa. Require minimum skills before hire or for recertification (SEL, standards, etc.)b. Remove certification for lowest performers.

6. Promote productivitya. Use SEA leverage to communicate productivityb. Celebrate high ROI schools, share their practicesc. Consider innovation grants to prompt school/district thinking.

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Which level of government should do the following?

Fed State District School

A Set pay scale for teachers

BSet standards for desired student outcomes

C Measure school outcomes

D

Determine delivery model (e.g. class sizes, how man hours of PE, # school days)

ESet aside $ for PD, books, transportation, etc.

FTarget funds to a desired service/program

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Which level of government should do the following?Continued

Fed State District School

GTarget funds to a desired student category

HBuild data sets measuring stuff that can aid school improvement

I Award teacher bonuses

J Pay the pension bills

KShut down a poorly performing school

LProvide incentive grants for innovation

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1. Build information systems that districts and schools can use to fuel productivity gains

2. School finance formulas:a. Prioritize flexibility so that districts and schools

are free to try new delivery modelsb. Fund students not delivery models

3. Use SEA leverage (including certification, tools, etc.) to affect costs, enable productivity improvements.

4. Drive a focus on productivity from the SEA.

Key Opportunities for States

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Your Questions

A. Doesn’t decentralization cost more? Smaller scale means less efficiency? Take, for example:

• Developing 504 paperwork. • Teacher contracts?

B. What is the role of superintendents? School board members? (What key overarching principles would you want to convey to a new cohort of superintendents?)

• How do we help school leaders become involved in these conversations when it’s something they have no experience with?

C. How do we balance the focus on productivity with other state priorities? For example, K-3 literacy.

Engaging district leaders… start with ROI district data.

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Then deliver school level data within their districts. Ask, what will you say to principals in each quadrant?

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Relative spending

High Spend. High Outcomes

High Spend. Low OutcomesLow Spend.

Low Outcomes

Low Spend. High Outcomes

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Your Questions

A. Doesn’t decentralization cost more? Smaller scale means less efficiency? Take, for example:

• Developing 504 paperwork. • Teacher contracts?

B. What is the role of superintendents? School board members? (What key overarching principles would you want to convey to a new cohort of superintendents?)

• How do we help school leaders become involved in these conversations when it’s something they have no experience with?

C. How do we balance the focus on productivity with other state priorities? For example, K-3 literacy.

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Productivity needn’t compete with other priorities.

Tweak:How can “schools leverage their dollars to maximize outcomes for the students they serve?”

To:How can “schools leverage their dollars to maximize K-3 literacy for the students they serve?”

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