MOVING YOUR NUMBERS

National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

An NCEO Technical Assistance and Dissemination Initiative

CEC 2013 CONVENTION & EXPOSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Presented by:

Laurene Christensen, Michael Tefs, & Deborah TelferApril 4, 2013

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NEW MEASURES FOR RESULTS AT OSEP… • New measures being developed by the Office of Special

Education Programs (OSEP) that will allow for better monitoring of outcomes for improved student performance.

• A process has been developed that will enable experts to work together to provide input and then reach consensus on the new measure.

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NCEO “RHETORIC”• Need high expectations for students with

disabilities• All but a small percentage of students with

disabilities should be held to grade-level achievement standards

• There are places where students with disabilities are achieving

Needed new existence proofs – districts where students with disabilities really were improving!

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FOCUS ON EFFECTIVE DISTRICTS• Built on previous work with

Ohio – values, structures, leadership

• Focused on what adults do – intentionally and collectively – to include and assist all students in learning at higher levels

• Highlighted districts across the U.S.

With considerations for states, districts & schools, and parents and families

MYN ASSUMPTIONSImproving outcomes for students receiving special education services:

– Requires their inclusion and participation in statewide assessment & accountability systems

– Requires a sustained focus on teaching and learning

– Acknowledges that consistent, high-quality implementation is a challenge for many districts

Implementation Gap• What is adopted is not used with fidelity and good

outcomes for consumers• What is used with fidelity is not sustained for a useful

period of time• What is used with fidelity is not used on a scale

sufficient to impact social problemsSource: Blasé, K., Fixsen, D., & Duda, M. (2011). Implementation science: Building the bridge between science and practice. University of NC at Chapel Hill/NIRN.

REDESIGNING SYSTEMS TO PROMOTE SCALABILITY & SUSTAINABILITY

• Support shared work & accountability of improvement of instructional practice and achievement for all students through unified system

• Redesign work at all levels to be about improving capacity at other levels (coherence)

• Redefine leadership as set of essential practices that must be implemented at all levels

• Provide structures & tools to support intentional use and consistent implementation of identified strategies/actions

MYN WORK: PROCESSDISTRICTS:– Known to be engaged in certain

practices believed to be associated with higher learning;

– Committed to district-wide implementation of such practices; &

– Committed to and showing evidence of improving the performance of all students and student groups

MYN DISTRICTS• Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. (Columbus, IN)• Bloom Vernon Local Schools (South Webster, OH)• Brevard Public Schools (Viera, FL)• Gwinnett County Public Schools (Suwanee, GA)• Lake Villa School District #41 (Lake Villa, IL)• SAU 56 (Somersworth, NH)• Stoughton Area Schools (Stoughton, WI)• Tigard-Tualatin School District (Tigard, OR)• Val Verde USD (Perris, CA)• Wooster City School District (Wooster, OH)

ESSENTIAL PRACTICES & LESSONS LEARNED

• Use data well and on an ongoing basis• Focus your goals• Select and implement shared instructional

practices• Implement deeply• Monitor and provide feedback and support• Inquire and learn (and build capacity)

USE DATA WELL• Use (and require the use of)

data at all levels to focus critical conversations, identify needs, gauge/monitor progress, and make continual improvements to instructional practice (ensuring that teams are working with district-wide data, not only school-level data)

FOCUS YOUR GOALS

• Establish a foundation to guide all work• Align all work across the district with the

district goals/district strategic plan to improve student learning

• Focus all work across the district to meet district-wide goals and strategies

• Align decisions about resource management with district goals

• Focus PD on district goals and involve EVERYONE

LESSONS LEARNED: Select and Implement (deeply) Shared Instructional Practices

• Hold all adults to high standards and clearly define expectations around the core work of teaching and learning, and for supporting all children to learn at higher levels

• Reduce the number of initiatives and ensure that all work aligns directly with a small number of goals and strategies

• Avoid programs or initiatives as the “answer” or silver bullet• Support shared learning and responsibility among adults for the

success of all students• Embed intervention as part of the district’s instructional

process/framework

TIGARD-TUALATIN SCHOOL DISTRICT

“There are two overriding messages from the district to all staff – that our systemic focus on instruction is non-negotiable and that I’m a critical part of it.”LAURA KINTZPRINCIPAL, ALBERTA RIDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

LESSONS LEARNED: Monitor and Provide Feedback and Support

• Measure both adult implementation and student achievement to focus on the impact of district actions on student performance

• Value accountability and make results the central focus of the school system

• Provide a balance of defined autonomy and flexibility for schools to met expectations, but require that every single school meet them

CHANGING THE WAY ADULTS WORK

“We need to be able to connect results to specific action steps. We wouldn’t be able to do that if schools worked in isolation.”Alex BarbourAssistant SuperintendentLake Villa School District #41, IL

INQUIRE & LEARN

“It’s not what we do, it’s who we are.”Bob MarquisAssistantSuperintendentSAU #56Somersworth, NH

• Share leadership and support the development of essential leadership practices across the district

• Align curriculum, instruction, and assessment in real ways

• Move from a focus on individual buildings to a focus on district-wide implementation to sustain the work

• Make sure the district leadership team includes staff from across the district, not only cabinet level personnel or administrators

• Use the expertise around you, always reaching to the next level; never be satisfied with where you are

QUESTIONS ANDDISCUSSION

National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)18

WOOSTER CITY SCHOOLS – A 5-YEAR JOURNEY

• OLAC provided foundation for the Ohio Improvement Process (OIP) by articulating essential practices

• OIP provides mechanism for enacting Ohio’s Leadership Development Framework

www.ohioleadership.org District/Building Leadership Teams

State Diagnostic Teams (SDTs) work with selected high support districts

State Support Teams (SSTs) work with districts and schools in need of improvement

Educational Service Centers (ESCs) work with other districts requesting assistance

is involved?

Teams use data tools to identify critical needs

do these teams work in districts and schools?

District/Building Leadership Teams Regional Service Providers External Vendors Higher Education

is involved?

District/Building Leadership Teams State Diagnostic Teams State Support Teams Educational Service Centers

is involved?

District/Building Leadership Teams

State Diagnostic Teams

State Support Teams

Educational Service Centers

Regional Managers

Single Point of Contact

is involved?

Review data Gather evidence of implementation and impact

Provide technical assistance and targeted professional development

Leverage resources

Work with leadership to develop research based strategies and action steps focused on critical needs identified in stage 1.

How

Who

How

Who

How

How

Who

do these teams work in districts and schools?

do these teams work in districts and schools?

do these teams work in districts and schools?

WhoSTAGE 1

STAGE 3

STAGE 2

Implement and Monitor the Focused Plan

Evaluate the Improvement Process

Identify Critical Needs of Districts and Schools

Develop a Focused Plan

Ohio Improvement Process

STAGE 4

Revised November 2008

District Leadershi

p Team

Building Leadership

Teams

Teacher- Based Teams

Step 1Collect

and chart data

Step 2Analyze student

work specific to the data

Step 3Establish

shared expectations

for implementin

g specific effective

changes in the

classroom

Step 4Implement changes

consistently across all classrooms

Step 5Collect,

chart and analyze

post data

The Ohio 5-Step

Process:A Cycle of Inquiry

OIP LEARNING CONTINUUMPROCEDURAL

ASSESSMENTTeaching Strategy/Adult Practice: Dialogue with Team

Effective Teaching Strategy Shared and Practiced with Building/District

Growth in Student Achievement!

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES…

MYN RESOURCES• District Synthesis• District Self-Assessment Guide• Regional Provider Feature• Parent/Family Companion Guide• State Education Agencies Feature• Higher Education Companion Guides

– Administrator Preparation Programs– Teacher Preparation Programs

MYN WEBSITE www.movingyournumbers.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WOOSTER CITY SCHOOLS, CONTACT:

Michael Tefs, Ed.D., Superintendent

Phone: 330.988.1111 (ext. 1223)

Email: wstr_mtefs@woostercityschools.org

COMMENTS & QUESTIONS• Visit the MYN WEB SITE at:

www.movingyournumbers.org• Contact Laurene Christensen, NCEO, at:

chri1010@umn.edu• Contact Deb Telfer, Project Director, at:

dtelfer1@udayton.edu or deborah.telfer@yahoo.com