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Miyo Wahkohtowin EducationSchool Evaluation

Summary of FindingsApril 17, 2013

Prepared by:Hoda Jawad – Intellimedia Inc.

Evaluation Purpose & Objectives

• Purpose– Provide information on the school program to First

Nations recipients, the School Authority, AANDC and the people of the community from an independent evaluator

• Objectives– Information and recommendations to help improve and

strengthen education delivery to contribute to the academic success of the students

– Meet departmental program reporting requirements for monitoring and accountability

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Evaluation Team

Hoda JawadProject Manager, Survey and Focus Group Facilitator Dr. Carmen Mombourquette, University of LethbridgeLead Evaluator: Instructional Leadership and Programming / School Climate and Building Management Dr. Hal KlucznyEvaluator: Instructional Leadership and Programming / School Climate and Building Management Bruce CutknifeLead Evaluator: School – Community RelationsEvaluator: Instructional Leadership and Programming / School Climate and Building Management Terry FortinLead Evaluator: Governance

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School Evaluation Content

• Describe existing conditions, programs and practices

• Assess the adequacy, strengths, and areas of growth of existing programs as well as practices for present and future needs

• Make recommendations for maintaining, modifying or changing programs and practices

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Terms of ReferenceCore Components of Evaluation

Community Context

Baseline Statistical Information

School Governance

Instructional Leadership & Programming

School – Community Relations

School Climate and Building Management

Overall Recommendations

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Process & Inputs

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Executive Summary• Solid governance practices

• Key performance measures continually improving (graduation rates, attendance, achievement on standardized tests)

• Strong leadership

• Foundational practices in place to continually improve instructional leadership and student outcomes

• MWE is operating from a position of strength

Congratulations MWE!

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Governance

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Governance Harvard Project

1. Stable institutions and policies

2. Fair and effective dispute resolution

3. Separation of politics from business management

4. A competent bureaucracy

5. Cultural “match

Summary of FindingsSTRENGTHS

Governance • Well aligned to Alberta Ed. Guidelines and other identified best practices

• Board and Executive are accountable and accessible

• Strong vision and established planning practices in place

• Collaboration with other School Boards

• Strong fiscal management

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSGovernance • Board review the need for a renewed band council resolution

on compulsory education (student attendance), monitoring mechanisms and sanctions for non-compliance

• Consider becoming a best practice site for the delivery of Alternate First Nation Education High School Program

• Board approve the “Vision, Mission and Values Statements” and incorporate into on going documents and communications

• Board approve the MWE logo and any other document/symbol related to the corporate identity

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSGovernance • Board review current student transportation responsibilities,

services, policies, management & clarify/seek governance authority from Chief and Council

• Board request annual or biannual meetings with Chief and Council to report on achievements, plans & other governance matters

• Executive obtain Board approval to arrange annual intra Board meetings with one or more surrounding school boards

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSGovernance • Board consider revising the current “MWE Organizational

Chart” to better reflect the instruments of authority

• Executive develop a MWE “Vision, Mission and Values” communication and validation plan with staff, students, parents and community to build and to sustain community ownership

• Board develop policies that prescribe the roles of the Director of Education, Principals, Vice Principals, teachers, financial comptroller, and other senior administrators

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSGovernance • Board develop a historical Board Motions Log that includes

every Board Motion, Date, Subject and motion number

• Board review the documents & procedures used to advertise, apply, short list, & interview of applicants to become a Board Governor

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Summary of Findings

STRENGTHSSchool Community Relations

• Highly satisfied parents

• Parents and community recognize strides being made and celebrate the success with the schools

• Pride in the focus on Cree

• Respect for administration, teachers and support staff

• Schools offer a warm, inviting and inclusive atmosphere

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSSchool Community Relations

• Continued focus on literacy and numeracy including maintaining existing programs such as the home reading program that involve parents

• A school-led initiative to help parents organize and establish a Parent or School Council would help formalize direct parental involvement with the school

• Formal sharing and celebration of school successes with the parents and broader community, such as improvements in PAT results

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSSchool Community Relations

• Executive/board level focus on working with the transportation company to address existing issues

• Develop additional programs tailored to students at grade level or above to offer additional challenge

• JSH – focus on increased and sustained communication with parents and the community through newsletters etc.

• Expansion of existing co-curricular options that invite and involve community participation

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Summary of Findings

STRENGTHSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Engaged and visible leadership team

• Focus on continuous improvement

• Highly effective Literacy, Numeracy and Special Education Coaches with well run programs and support strategies for teachers and students

• Variety of unique and creative teaching strategies in place, esp. in the Elementary (focus on Program of Studies)

• On par with Provincial curriculum standards in many areas

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Summary of Findings

STRENGTHSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Strong Cree focus and integration in life and culture of the schools

• Fiscal responsibility and practices

• Strong focus and strength in managing Special Education Needs

• Examples of well run extra-curricular activities – Basketball, Student Council, Drum Club

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Summary of Findings

STRENGTHSSchool Climate & Building Management

• Students are cared for, respected and safe

• Very engaged and content student population (higher than national average across numerous measures of engagement)

• Continual focus on mitigating bullying and dealing with disciplinary matters

• Very clean and well maintained buildings

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Cree Language and Culture Program: Administrators and staff should continue to use Cree verbs and commands to interact with students. The use of the Cree language by staff in the daily life of the schools will reinforce its use and show the students that it is an important component of the school.

• School Plan Development: Each school should develop a site-specific school plan based on the vision and mission of the school. The school plans should be extensions of the Authority’s strategic plan. Additionally, the school plans need to address goals and objectives based on a review of data pertinent to each site. Once the plans are developed they should be posted on the School Authority’s website for greater public involvement.

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Dedicated PLC Time: Expand the number of days/time periods available for grade- and/or subject-based PLCs to develop. Embed PLC time during school day. Topics for teacher professional learning must focus on the goals for education established by the system and the school.

• Interschool Interactions: Have junior high school teachers meet on a regular basis with division 2 teachers—with leadership from both schools present—and for the junior high school experience to become a natural extension of what was achieved in upper elementary school

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Instructional Leadership: School leaders are strongly encouraged to attend to the full demands required of an effective and efficient staff supervision process. The more school leaders are seen to be present in the classrooms of the schools, the more teachers will pay particular attention to the goals and objectives set for student growth and success.

• Staff Meeting Effectiveness: Use monthly staff meetings as a

means of enhancing staff professional learning and development. Monthly staff meetings should be directed towards reviewing the progress of school specific plans, which must ultimately link directly to student learning outcomes.

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Budget Development: School administrators facilitate more opportunities for teachers to be actively involved in developing school level budget.

• Transportation Enhancement: The transportation company

should meet on a regular basis with a committee of educators so that routines, rules, and procedures can be monitored for bus travel that is consistent for all buses.

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Jr./Sr. High School Athletic and Co-Curricular Program Enhancement: Consideration should be given to expand the athletic and co-curricular program of the school to further complement the existing programs. Suggestions from students included a Cree Club, French club or a math club.

• Movement Away from a Textbook-driven Program: We saw considerable focus on textbooks being used as a primary source of instruction in the jr./sr. high school, and to a lesser degree a reliance on textbooks in the upper elementary grades in the elementary school. Resources should be allocated to help teachers move away from textbooks as a primary focus and towards the use of resources that have more meaning for students.

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Inter-grade and Inter-curriculum PLC Time: Increase the amount of time available for teachers to meet, collaboratively plan, and come to common understandings of student performance standards based on the respective Program of Studies GLOs and SLOs. Forum can also help improve communication and transference of knowledge about students from year to year.

• Continue Initiative to “Revamp” the Library Program: Make the school libraries learning centers, as described in Alberta Education’s “School Library Service Initiative” (SLSI). Provide for one teacher-librarian, or one at each library if possible, and provide consultation time between teachers and the teacher-librarian. For added guidance, join a central library organization. l

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Summary of Findings

• RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Kindergarten Growth and Additions: Consider, in the future, employment of more certificated teachers in the kindergarten program. Start planning for expansion into full-day programs for both K4 and K5. Movement to a full-day program, especially under the guidance of teachers with specialist training in Early Childhood Services, will have a major impact on literacy and numeracy rates.

• Technology PLC Time: Leverage PLC concept to identify teacher technology leaders who can help share share teacher-made plans that highlight technology integration. Principals need to continue to identify teachers who may need assistance in using various aspects of technology, and sending teachers for in servicing to learn the technology.

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Close Tracking of High School Course Completion: Graduation rates can be further improved with closer tracking of course completions of each and every high school student. One system we have seen to be effective is for school counselors and school leadership to track student course completion at the end of each semester and year. Counselors and leaders need to examine the marks, and whether or not students have passed or failed their courses. If they passed—great. If they did not, then plans need to be put in place immediately to deal with the issue. For instance, the student may write the final exam of a lower level of the same course. A plan could also be developed to allow students to deal with course objectives they didn’t understand when they took the course the first time, do some remediation, and then take the final exam again.

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Improved Coordination of Services Between Schools: It would be helpful for service providers between schools to meet and plan for the transition of children in order to make that process as seamless as possible.

• Inclusive Education: The need to have the permission for assessment from the parents must be a priority. Although permission is granted a majority of the time the priority should be to assess all students that may require it. This could be done by inserting a clause in the school registration form that all parents agree to an assessment if the Special Needs Department feels it is necessary.

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Summary of Findings

RECOMMENDATIONSInstructional Leadership & Programming

• Assessment Practices: The biggest change in student success rate may very well come from having teachers, especially the secondary teachers, adopt current assessment for learning, assessment of learning, and assessment as learning practices. Through a change in assessment, students will be much more successful. They will believe that they can indeed learn and in turn results will improve. To make sure that the assessment practices are in keeping with current pedagogy, counselors and school leaders need to review all grade records at the end of the semester and look for things like “marks of zero.”

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Questions/Discussion

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