one small school’s story: collaboration, training and technology shelee king george puget sound...
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One Small School’s Story:Collaboration, Training and
Technology
Shelee King George
Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology
Dedicated To• Bill Ellis
• Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
• Seattle School District
• Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology
Table of Contents
• TISS Grant
• Transforming High Schools
• Cleveland High School
• Cleveland’s Journey
• Lessons Learned
• The Road Ahead
Chapter OneThe TISS Grant
Technology Infusion in Small Schools
• a.k.a. TISS
• Grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
• Acknowledges the labor intensive tasks transitioning to small schools
How can technology be applied to enhance teacher productivity, efficiency, and
effectiveness in the adoption of engaging instructional
practices?
The TISS Wish
• Greater student engagement and personalization of learning
• More project based learning
• Increased use of technology to enhance teacher productivity, communication and effectiveness
Size Matters
• Too many classes
• Not enough rigor
• Lack teacher/mentor relationships
• Tend to be rigid
• Tend to be schedule driven
Small Schools
• Emphasis on personalized learning
• Rigorous achievement
• Engaged communities of learning
• Professional growth for teachers
• Equity
Good Schools
• Have a common focus
• Have high expectations
• Are personalized
• Value mutual respect
Teachers in Good Schools
• Have time to collaborate
• Have time to strengthen their skills
• Integrate technology into the teaching and learning environment
• Value student exhibitions, performances, and portfolios
Cleveland High School
• Seattle School District– 110 schools– 46,416 students
• Part of the Gates Foundation High School Transformation and the Achievers Scholarships Programs
Small School Transition
• 2003 Small Schools Planning
• 2004 Small School Implementation
• 2004 TISS grant begins
735 Students
• 59% graduate
• 59% free/reduced lunch
• Culturally diverse– 48% African American– 28% Asian – 11% Latino– 11% Caucasian– 2% American Indian
Cleveland StaffOf 44 certificated staff members
• 50% are new to Cleveland
• Current staff 40% have less than 4 years teaching experience– 75% Caucasian– 14% Asian– 11% African American
Theme-based Learning Communities• InfoTech Academy
• Global Studies Academy
• Health Environment and Life Academy
• Arts Conservatory Satellite
Student Advisory• 20 students per advisory
• Intent
– Build relationships
– Personalize learning
– Culminating project
• Reality
Achievement
• 2nd year program improvement in Math and Reading
• Lowest test scores in the district and state
• Minimal progress
Resources• Gates Foundation• Paul Allen Family Foundation• Social Venture Partners • Global Visionaries• One World Now• Stuart Foundation
Many OUTSIDE resources
If Good Schools Have• Time for collaboration
• Time to strengthen skills
• Integration of technology into teaching and learning
• Student exhibitions, presentations and portfolios
TISS Journey Year 1• Grant focused
• Advisory formed
• Gathered information
• Selected tools
• Established training model
TISS Focus• Personalize and improve learning
• Strengthen Web based communication among staff, students and parents
• Facilitate collaboration
• Provide meaningful professional development
TISS Advisory• Interested business community members
• Fiscal manager: Alliance4Education
• Project manager: Puget Sound Center
• District technology representative
• Principal
• One teacher per academy
Gathering Information
• Parent Info Meeting
• Student Info Meeting
• Teacher Info Meeting
• Spring Survey 2004
Teachers
• What makes your job so labor intensive?
• What is the most difficult part of personalizing learning for your students?
“Keeping track of kids in my advisory; their
attendance, their grades in all classes and to keep
parents informed”
SharePoint
• Collaboration tool
• Portals of communication
• Shared resources
• Widely used in business
• Educational application?
Equipment• TISS Mini Grants
• Tied to learning unit
• Collaborative
• Mid year journal reflection
• Year end presentation to Advisory
Peer Coaches
• Build capacity
• Opportunity to increase collaboration
• Reflect on teacher practice
• 8 Session Training
Development Team• Meet the needs of staff, students
and parents
• Honor the teaching and learning process
• Build tools
Summer Slam• Development team
– Attendance and progress report tool– Scheduling tool– Set up SharePoint
• Peer Coaching Training– Coaching skills– Engaging teaching practices
TISS Progress Report Tool• Easy Grade Pro
• Sync with the SIS
• Class lists import
• Accessible by all via password
• Student driven vs teacher driven
• Attendance
Staff Rollout• August training
• Leadership support
• Expectation to use Easy Grade Pro for attendance and progress reports
Student Rollout• A new focus for advisory
• A new emphasis for teacher training
• Students ask good questions
Parent Rollout• Online viewing of Progress
Reports– Student network accounts
• Parent orientation
• Community access locations
• Word spreads
Big Win
At the end of the first month…
• 18,193 hits
• 242 of 735 students (or parents) access their progress reports
• 43 of 45 teachers look at the online version of progress reports at least once
Beyond the Tool• Teachers reflect on grading
and teaching practices
• Academies begin to compare student progress across classes
• Coaches provide just in time support
Internalizing
• Students begin to ask questions
• Advisory focus moves from the tool to student reflection and goal setting
• Personalizing learning
Journey Roadblock
• Momentum halts
• Change in leadership
• Change in district support
• Only a detour: New leadership support
SharePoint for Communication
• Public Web site
• Maintained by each academy
• Communication to community
• Emphasis on public communication
Coaching Collaborations
Migrating to the Northwest: Should We Stay or Should We Go? Students decide what to leave behind when migrating to a new home.
Getting’ Down with Langston How does the art and music of the Harlem Renaissance reflect the time period?
Mini Grant Implementation
• Video editing project
• Using Inspiration and Posters to present “Arrival Stories”
• Document cameras for writing prompts and presentations
• On line staff handbook
• Video portfolios for Arts Conservatory
Mini Grant Reflections“The collaboration experience was a
rewarding one for me because I worked on my coaching skills. I also learned a lot about how my collaborating teachers
thought about technology. It was challenging to bring technology into the
picture without my collaborating teachers seeing this as more work.”
Mini Grant Reflections“Working with my two collaborating teachers has been wonderful. They have been very excited about adding another dimension to their teaching.”
Mini Grant Reflection
“One student that has become quite experienced using Photoshop will
be entering several of his Photoshop works in an exhibition
later this month. He is now assisting other students in the use
of this program.”
Mini Grant Reflection“The collaboration is the part that has moved us forward. This collaboration
between teachers has given the students an example of how we want
them to connect with others and connect in a different way with
materials.”
Mini Grant Reflection
“I was amazed that students who show little interest in class work and are failing
most other classes, really got into the video editing and
know more about it than I do at this point!”
Peer Coaching Triads• Deliberate collaboration• 5 coaches with 2 collaborating
teachers each affects 15 staff members
• Deepen our understanding about student work
• Increase engaging instructional practices
• District equipment incentives
Evaluation
• Administered a self-report skill and practice survey (Pre and Post)– Year One 19 responded– Year Two 28 responded
• In Year Two included questions related to technology tools– Easy Grade Pro– Online Student Progress Reports
Communication with Parents
I have been delighted when I have been able to email a progress report to a parent, to clarify a point or simply update a parent
about a student’s work.”
• 23 out of 28 teachers reported using online student progress reports to communicate progress to parents.
Impact on Advisory Classes• 26 out of 28 teachers reported using
online student progress reports to review student progress in other classes
“Easy Grade Pro has made it possible for me to get a total academic picture of my
students.”
Impact on Teacher Practices• 22 of 28 reported using EGP to
record grades
• 25 of 28 reported using EGP on a daily or weekly basis
“Almost every student knows how to access their grades on line and they do so frequently. I post grades almost every day for this reason.”
“I can monitor student progress more quickly thus allowing me more time for
lesson planning and delivery.”
• 20 of 28 reported monitoring student progress in other classes on a daily, weekly or monthly basis
• 22 of 28 report using online student progress reports with students
“Students can now track what their grades are and don’t wait until the end of the quarter.”
“I know my students really pay attention when the grades are updated which inspires me to stay on top of it.”
Good Schools Value• Time for collaboration
• Time to strengthen skills
• Integration of technology into teaching and learning
• Student exhibitions, presentations and portfolios
TISS provides this opportunity
Other Lessons• Honor teacher needs
• Build district relationships
• Align resources
• Maximize Peer Coaching
• Strengthen collaboration
• Build capacity for sustainability
The Road Ahead• Advisory curriculum
• Academy Integrated Units
• Transition to district tools
• Expand the use of SharePoint’s collaboration feature
• Implement Coaching Triads
• Sustainability emphasis
Contact Information• Project Management and Evaluation
– Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology www.pugetsoundcenter.org
– Shelee King George [email protected]
• TISS Tool Development– Clif Swigget [email protected]
• Small Schools Initiative in Seattle Schools– Alliance4Education – Emily Carlson [email protected]