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SystemsTransformationCollaborativeFinalEvaluationReport

ThomasTimar,MaryBriggsandKelseyKrausenUCDavisSchoolofEducation

OneShieldsAvenue,Davis,CA95616Tel.(530-752-1533;email.caped@ucdavis.edu

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AcknowledgementsWewishtofirstthankthemanyindividualsfromtheparticipatingschooldistrictsfortheirgenerousparticipationintheevaluationoftheSTCproject—teachers,supportstaff,instructionalcoaches,principalsanddistrictadministrators.Weknowthattimeisapreciouscommodityinschoolsandknowthatschoolpersonnelhavemanydemandsontheirtime.

WewouldalsoliketothanktheFullanTeam—MichaelFullan,JoanneQuinnandEleanorAdams—fortheirtremendouscontributionduringtheSTCdesign,implementation,andevaluation.Weespeciallyappreciatetheirwillingnesstoincorporatesurveyandfocusgroupdatacollectionintotheirsessionagendassothatadiversearrayofvoicescouldbeincludedwithinourstudyoverthepastthreeyears.

Additionally,wearegratefultoChristinaMurdochandLenoraBruceintheUCDavisSchoolofEducationfortheirinvaluableadministrativesupport.

Finally,thisworkwasonlypossiblethroughthegenerosityoftheStuartFoundationandtheDirkandCharleneKabcenellFoundation.WeappreciatetheircommitmenttofindingnewandinnovativewaystoincreasethecapacityofschoolsandschooldistrictsthroughtheirsupportfortheSTCprojectimplementationandevaluation.

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SystemsTransformationCollaborative:FinalEvaluationReportTableofContentsAcknowledgements......................................................................................................................................1

ExecutiveSummary......................................................................................................................................5

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................9

ProjectOverview..........................................................................................................................................9

RationaleforSTC....................................................................................................................................10

ProgramParticipants..............................................................................................................................11

STCProjectActivities..............................................................................................................................11

Methods.....................................................................................................................................................12

ResearchQuestions................................................................................................................................12

Data........................................................................................................................................................12

Instrumentation.....................................................................................................................................13

STCEvaluationOverview........................................................................................................................14

DistrictGoalsandCoherencetoSupportTeachingandLearning..............................................................15

DevelopingDistrictGoals:ANecessaryPre-ConditionofCoherence....................................................15

IdentifyingGoalsinYear1:LinkingGoalstoExistingInitiatives........................................................15

UnderstandingofDistrictGoalsatDifferentLevelsoftheSystem....................................................16

EvolutionofGoalsinYears2(2014-15)and3(2015-16)...................................................................20

Greatergoalclarityasanindicatorofdevelopingcoherence............................................................20

ReducingDistractors..........................................................................................................................21

Balancinglocalflexibilitywiththeneedforcommonground............................................................21

Perspectivesaboutcoherencevariedwidely.....................................................................................25

The“PlanonaPage”asatooltofostercoherence...........................................................................28

Improvedteachingandlearning................................................................................................................30

STCandCommonCoreImplementation................................................................................................31

NewStructuresforImprovingInstruction.............................................................................................32

BuildingtheCapacityofDistrictandSchoolLeaders.................................................................................36

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FacilitatedMeetingsBuildDistrictCapacity...........................................................................................36

CollaborativePlanningTime:BuildingaSharedPlan.............................................................................36

AdaptingtheWorktotheSpecificNeedsoftheDistrict.......................................................................37

BuildingInstructionalCapacity...............................................................................................................39

LearningtheLanguageofChange..........................................................................................................39

BuildingLeadershipCapacity.................................................................................................................41

DistrictLeadersCo-PlanandCo-PresentMeetingContent...................................................................42

IncreasingOpportunitiesforCapacityBuilding......................................................................................43

TheNeedforBaselineCapacity..............................................................................................................44

Sustainability..........................................................................................................................................45

Creatingacultureofprofessionalism,learningandsharedleadership.....................................................47

AnInternalFocusonProfessionalLearningandGrowth.......................................................................47

SharedLeadership..................................................................................................................................51

Collaboration..........................................................................................................................................52

LeadershipStability................................................................................................................................59

IntegratingtheSTCwithExistingDistrictGoalsandInitiatives:DifferentApproaches,Differenttrajectories.............................................................................................................................................60

Districtownershipoftheworkwasessential........................................................................................61

Existingorganizationalculture...............................................................................................................64

Silos....................................................................................................................................................64

Culturesthatemphasizelocalinnovation..........................................................................................66

Trust...................................................................................................................................................67

Communicationplayedacriticalroleonmanylevels............................................................................68

CommunicatingtocreateasharedunderstandingoftheSTC...........................................................68

Communicationbetweensessions.....................................................................................................71

CommunicationwithteachersnotparticipatinginSLTs....................................................................72

Bringingmorestakeholders(likebargainingunits)intotheconversation........................................73

Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................75

KeyFindings............................................................................................................................................76

IssuesforfurtherStudy..........................................................................................................................76

Recommendations.................................................................................................................................79

References..................................................................................................................................................83

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ExecutiveSummaryExecutiveSummaryTheSystemTransformationCollaborative(STC)wasathree-yearprojectinitiallyfundedbytheStuartFoundationthroughtheCenterforAppliedPolicyinEducation(CAP-Ed)attheUniversityofCalifornia,Davis.CAP-EdcontractedwithDr.MichaelFullanandhisassociatestoimplementtheprojectinfourNorthernCaliforniaschooldistricts.TheregionalSTCinitiativewasdesignedtofacilitateinter-andintra-districtcollaborationandtodevelopcollectiveleadershipandinstructionalcapacity.Thetheoryofactionsupportingtheprojectisthatamorecoherent,systemicfocusonteachingandlearningwouldleadtostrategicimprovementsininstructionand,inturn,provideallstudentsintheparticipatingdistrictswithgreateropportunitiesforacademicprogress.CAP-Ed,withadditionalfinancialsupportfromtheDirkandCharleneKabcenellFoundation,conductedanevaluationoftheproject’simpactonparticipatingschoolsandschooldistricts.Aspartoftheevaluation,CAP-Eddocumentedandsynthesizedparticipants’experiencesoftheSTCprocess,particularlywhatpractitionersandpolicymakerscouldlearnfromSTCaboutgeneratingwhole-systemschange.Specifically,CAP-Edevaluatedprogresstowardsthefollowingprojectgoals:

ü Adistrict-wideapproachtofocusonlearningandteachingforimprovedstudentachievement;

ü Buildingthecapacity–knowledge,skillsandattitudes–ofdistrictandschoolleaderstofacilitateandsustainthefocus;and

ü Strengtheningthecultureofprofessionalismandlearningwithinandacrossdistricts.Methods

AlthoughfourdistrictswereinitiallyinvolvedwiththeSTC,thereportfocusesprimarilyonthetwodistricts—NapaValleyUnifiedSchoolDistrictandPittsburgUnifiedSchoolDistrict—thatremainedinthecollaborativeforthedurationoftheproject.However,datacollectedfromtheSanLorenzoUnifiedSchoolDistrictandtheAlamedaUnifiedSchoolDistrictareusedtoinformourfindingsabouttheconditionsthatsupportedorhindereddistrictimplementationoftheSTC.

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ThereportdrawsondatacollectedbetweenJanuary2013andApril2016.Interviews,focusgroupsandsurveysserveastheprimarysourcesofdataforanalysis,althoughwealsodrawuponfieldnotestakenduringSTCmeetingstotriangulatedata.

KeyFindings&Recommendations

Thefollowingkeyfindingsandrecommendationsarebasedonourindividualandfocusgroupsinterviewswithteachers,schoolanddistrictleaders,anddatacollectedthroughanannualsurvey.WholeSystemChangeisapromisingapproachtobuildingstrongandeffectiveorganizationsbycreatingconditionsthatcanfosterdeepchangeinschoolsanddistricts.Effectiveschooldistrictsareorganizationswhosemembersaretiedtogetherbycommonnorms,commonpurposes,commonmethods,andcommonlanguage.TheSTCoffersanalternativetothetop-downmodelofschoolimprovementthathasprevailedoverthepast40years.Atitscore,theSTCmodelisstructuredtosupportgrowthinorganizationalcapacityforcreatinghighqualityinstructionalregimesthroughprofessionalization,transparency,collaboration,andintensefocusonandcommitmenttofew,criticaleducationgoals.Incontrasttothetop-downinterventionapproach,thetwofundamentalpreceptsofSTCarethat1)continuousprofessionallearning,coachingandmentoringofkeyadministratorsandteacherleadersovermultipleyearsisessentialtotheachievementofwholesystemschange;andthat2)buildingrelationshipsandacollaborativecultureisfundamentaltosupportingthecapacityandsustainabilityofwholesystemschange.Baselinedistrictcapacitywasanimportantfactorintheimplementationofsystemschange.Datacollectedforthisreportsuggestthatdistrictcapacityandtheconditionswithinthedistrictattheoutsetoftheprojectwerekeydeterminantsofdistricts’abilitytoimplementsystemschange.AsexemplifiedbytheprogressmadeinNapa,thesedistrictconditionsandcapacityincludestableleadership,goodlabor-managementrelationships,cohesiveleadershipteams,andeffectivecommunicationbetweendistrictdepartmentsandbetweenthedistrictandschoolsites.

Nevertheless,itisalsoimportanttonotethatwhileNapamayhavesucceededincomingmuchclosertoachievingtheSTCinterventionobjectives,alldistrictsbenefitedfromtheirinvolvementwiththecollaborative.Theyalltookthefirststepstowardsystemtransformation—anincreasedawarenessoftheprocessofcapacitybuildingfordeeperlearning.STC,therefore,hasthepotentialtoserveasacatalystfortransformationratherthan“thereform”thatmakesforbetterteachingandlearning.

Cross-districtcollaborationisavaluabletoolforbuildingprofessionalcommunitiesonalargerscalethanjusttheschoolordistrict.However,collaborationcantakemanyforms—fromthesuperficialandritualtosharedlearningandtothedevelopmentofstrongprofessionalcultures.Datacollectedforthisreportsuggestthatthebenefitsofcross-districtcollaborationwerenotfullyrealizedthroughtheSTCproject.Bothinindividualandinfocusgroupinterviews,respondentsweremixedaboutthebenefitsofsuchcollaboration.Attimes,opportunitiesforcollaborationseemedtoovagueandwithoutaclearpurpose—sharingideas,mixinggroupstoengageinvariousexercisesdesignedtofostercollaboration

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foritsownsake.Strategiesformakingthecross-districtcollaborationsmoremeaningfulincludetheprovisionofopportunitiestoaddresscommonproblemsofteachingpractice,opportunitiestoengageininstructionalroundsandclassroomobservations,andincludinganannualculminatingeventsuchasthe“LearningFair”thattookplaceinyeartwo,intoeachyearoftheproject.TheSTCmodelmustmeettheuniqueneedsofallparticipatingdistricts.AlthoughtheFullanteamencourageddistrictstodeveloptheirowngoalsandstrategiesbasedontheirlocalneeds,ourfindingssuggestthatparticipantsperceivedaneedforgreaterdifferentiationinthecontentofthequarterlyDLTandSLTsessions.FeedbackfrommembersoftheSLTsandDLTssuggesttheinterventionandsupportstrategiesusedbytheFullanteamcouldhavebeenmorevaluabletotheirgrowthiftheywerespecificallytailoredtotheparticularneedsofeachdistrict.Theimportanceofdifferentiatedsupportwasrepeatedlyemphasizedintheinterviews.Theinterviewresponsesaresomewhatatoddswiththeevidence.TheFullanteamdidvisiteachdistrictforaninitialconsultationpriortothelaunchoftheSTCproject.AccordingtotheFullanteam,meetingswereformalwithaclearagendaandpurpose.SeveralmeetingswereheldbetweenNovember,2012andJune,2013.Thepurposeofthemeetingswasto• clarifyexpectationsoftheFullanteamanddistrictleaders:• buildaconsultationrelationshipasabasisforco-designingwiththedistricts;• co-plantoincreasealignmentwithuniquedistrictneeds.Again,accordingtotheFullanteam,althoughtheinteractionswereindepth,districthadnopriorexperienceinbringingtogetherallschoolleadershipteams.Consequently,thisapproachrepresentedalearningcurveforthedistrictsandschoolsinyearoneoftheproject.TheFullanteamalsonotedthatitwasnecessarytodifferentiatethesessionsforbothSanLorenzoandAlamedabeginningyearone,astheywereadifferentstartingpointwithdistrictleadershippriorities.Theteamusedfeedbackfromtheschoolteamsanddistrictleadership,whichithadgottentheprioryearinordertosettheagendaforthedifferentiatedsessions.BoththeFullanteamandparticipantsnotedthatitwouldhavebeenpreferabletohaveincludedamoreextensive“intake”processandneedsanalysistohelpwithimprovingtherelevanceoftheSTCprogramcontent.ThecriteriaforselectionofdistrictsweremadebyUCDavisandtherewerenodiscussionswiththeFullanteamregardingcriteriafordistrictselection.CriteriausedbyUCDaviswasbasedongeographicproximityofdistrictsinordertofacilitatecross-districtcollaboration.DistrictwerealsoselectedonthebasisofthesuperintendentshavingparticipatedintheUCDavisSuperintendents’ExecutiveLeadershipProgram.Atthebeginningoftheproject,districtsprovidedtheFullanteamwithsignificantstudentdemographics,studentachievementdata,andassessmentofsuccesses,challenges,andpriorities.

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ThreeyearsisnotenoughtimeforSTCtobecomeinstitutionalized.Whathasbecomequiteobviousattheterminationofthisparticularprojectisthatthreeyearsissimplynotenoughtimetointernalizethekindsofcultural,professionalandstructuralchanges,andpracticesrequiredtobringaboutmeaningfulchange.Buildingthesocial,cultural,andprofessionalcapitalthatanchorasetofnorms,values,competencies,andbehaviorstakesmorethanthreeyears.Transformingorganizationalcultures,especiallyofschoolsthataresodeeplyembeddedinasetofpracticesandunderstandingsthathavechangedlittlesinceWorldWarII,isalong-termprocessthatneedsconstantnurturingandattention.Continuity between sessions is an important element to sustain school and district engagement in systems transformation. Unfortunately, STC suffered from some of the same challenges that afflict many professional development efforts—too many competing distractors and the lack fo application with follow-up at their sites. Teachers and administrators go back to their schools or district offices and that reality trumps all others. Therefore,themostsignificantchallengeinsystemstransformationworkiscreatinganimpactintheclassroom.Itdoesnotmatterhowinformativeandbeneficialeachsessionmaybeiftheimpactofthatsessiononparticipantsdoesnotreachtheclassroom.SLTandDLTleaderssuggestedthatSTCwouldbenefitconsiderablyintermsofteacherandadministratorengagement,programcoherence,andimpactifthereweregreatersupportsinplacetoensurethattheSTCworkcontinuedbetweensessions.Therefore,werecommendastrongeremphasisoncontinuityinbetweensessions.ThiscontinuitycouldcomethroughemailremindersfortheSTCpointpersonatthedistrictofficetodisseminatetosites,orthroughtheprovisionofspecificstrategiesforintegratingthisworkyear-round. In addition, it is important to have a strong system of communication among district and school leaders in order to engage teachers and administrators at the school site.

Highleadershipturnoverindistrictscancauseinstability.Threeoftheparticipatingdistrictschangedsuperintendentsduringthethreeyearsoftheproject.Additionalturnoverindistrictadministrationledtofurtherchangesinthecompositionofdistrictleadershipteams.Thisturnoverindistrictleadershipcreatedsubstantialchallengesinparticipatingdistricts.Giventheinstabilityofschooldistrictsgenerally—thelargeturnoverofprincipalsandsuperintendents,theproblemofturnoverandinstabilityisthenormratherthantheexception.Forthatreason,thereneedstobeastrategyforturnoveramongdistrictleaders,inparticular,butalsostrategiesforchangesinthecompositionoftheschoolleadershipteam.Onesolutiontotheproblemofturnoverinthesuperintendencymightbetoengagetheschoolboardsfromthebeginningoftheproject.ItisintuitivelyapparentthatschoolboardmembershavetotakeownershipforSTCjustasteachers,administrators,andsupportstaffmust.Theprojectcouldalsoprovideadditionalstrategiestodistrictsforon-boardingnewmembersoftheSLTsandDLTs.

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SectionI:IntroductionIntroductionTheSystemTransformationCollaborative(STC)wasathree-yearprojectinitiallyfundedbytheStuartFoundationthroughtheCenterforAppliedPolicyinEducation(CAP-Ed)attheUniversityofCalifornia,Davis.CAP-EdcontractedwithDr.MichaelFullanandhisassociatestoimplementtheproject,whiletheresearchteamfromUCDavisconductedthefollowingevaluation.

TheregionalSTCinitiativewasdesignedtofacilitateinter-andintra-districtcollaborationanddevelopcollectiveleadershipandinstructionalcapacity.Thetheoryofactionsupportingtheprojectisthatamorecoherent,systemicfocusonteachingandlearningwouldleadtostrategicimprovementsininstructionand,inturn,provideallstudentsintheparticipatingdistrictswithgreateropportunitiesforacademicprogress.

CAP-Ed,withadditionalfinancialsupportfromtheDirkandCharleneKabcenellFoundation,conductedtheevaluationoftheproject’simpactonparticipatingschoolsandschooldistricts.Aspartoftheevaluation,CAP-Eddocumentedandsynthesizedparticipants’experiencesoftheSTCprocess,particularlywhatpractitionersandpolicymakerscouldlearnfromSTCaboutgeneratingwhole-systemschange.ItwasourintentiontofindoutiftheSTCstrategyofsystemtransformation,developedbytheFullanTeam,couldofferaviablealternativetotheprevailing,top-downschoolimprovementstrategiesofthepast40years.Thisreportsummarizesourfindingsbasedonthreeyearsofdatacollectedfromtheproject.

ProjectOverviewTheSTCProjectteamwasledbyDr.MichaelFullan,aninternationallyrecognizedleaderinwholedistrictreforminsupportofteachingandlearning.TheprojectbeganinJanuary2013andendedin

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spring2016.Initially,fourdistrictsvolunteeredtoparticipate:AlamedaUnifiedSchoolDistrict,SanLorenzoUnifiedSchoolDistrict,PittsburgUnifiedSchoolDistrictandNapaValleyUnifiedSchoolDistrict.DistrictleadersintheAlamedaUnifiedSchoolDistrictoptedtoleavetheprojectafterthecompletionofthefirstfullyear(2013-2014).Theoriginalgrantprovidedforatwoprimaryphases:planning(2012-2013),implementation(the2013-2014and2014-2015).Thethirdphase,focusedonsustainability,wasexpectedtobeginin2015-2016,buttheFullanorganization,CAP-Ed,Napa,andPittsburgdecidedtoextendtheimplementationphasethroughMarch2016.SanLorenzoUnifiedSchoolDistrictdecidednottocontinuetheprojectafterthesecondfullyearofimplementation.

RationaleforSTCTheFullanmodelisbasedonatheoryof“Whole-SystemChange.”TheconceptualunderpinningsofWhole-SystemChangearethatmeaningful,sustainableinstructionalimprovementcannotoccurwithoutacoherentinteractionofalltheelementsofhighqualityinstruction.

Thehistoryofschoolimprovementeffortsoftenresemblesarevolvingdoorofreforms,manyofwhicharetop-downandincompatiblewithotherinitiatives(Bryk,Sebring,Kerbow,Rollow,&Easton,1998;Fullan,1999).Moreover,becausedistricts,schools,andclassroomshavetendedtooperateinisolation,itisdifficultforeducatorstoshareexpertiseandbuildinstructionalcapacitythroughoutthesystem.Whilemostdistrictandschoolleaderscanpointtoindividual“islandsofexcellence,”oureducationsystemhasyettoensurethatallstudentshaveaccesstohigh-qualityinstruction,regardlessoftheschoolorclassroominwhichtheyareenrolled.Toaddressissuesofinconsistentinstructionalquality,manyeducationleadershaverecommendedthatteachingandlearningshouldemphasize“systemness”orcoherence.

TheSystemTransformationCollaborativedevelopedasanalternativeapproachtothetop-down,punitivereformeffortsexemplifiedbyNoChildLeftBehindandabevyof“categorical”programsthatfocusonfragmentsofthesysteminisolation.Todoso,theFullanteamdesignedthecollaborativeusingtheWholeSystemChangeFramework(Figure1).Theessentialelementsoftheframeworkinclude:

• Professionalcapacitybuilding• Collectiveresponsibility,teamwork,andcollaboration• Moralcommitmentandinspiration• Moreratherthanlessprofessionaldiscretion• Personallyengagingcurriculumandpedagogywithtechnologyastheaccelerator• Betterandbroaderperformancemetrics• School-to-schoolassistanceratherthanpunitiveinterventionfromonhigh• Systemicpoliciesthatarecoherentandcohesive

Figure1:WholeSystemChangeFramework(Fullan,Quinn,&Adam,2013)1

1 Forthepurposeofthisreport,wepresenttheoriginalWholeSystemsChangeFrameworksharedbytheFullanteamduringthefirstyearofimplementation.ItispossiblethattheFullan,Adams,andQuinnhaveupdatedtheirframeworkoverthecourseoftheproject,butthiswastheframeworkuponwhichtheprojectwasdesigned.

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Accordingly,twoofthefundamentalunderlyingpreceptsofWhole-SystemChangeare:thatcontinuousprofessionallearning,coaching,andmentoringofkeyadministratorsandteacherleadersovermultipleyears,fostersandisnecessarytoachievewholesystemchange;andthatbuildingrelationshipsandacollaborativecultureisfundamentaltosupportingthiscapacityandsustainability.

ProgramParticipants• TheSTCProjectTeam–AlsoknownastheFullanteam,thesethreeinternationalconsultants

specializeineducationalleadershipandschoolimprovement,andwereresponsiblefordesigningandfacilitatingtheimplementationoftheproject(though,aswereportlater,theycollaboratedwithNapaincreatingandpresentingcontentduringthefinalyear).

• DistrictLeadershipTeams(DLTs)–EachdistrictformedaDLTfortheprojectwith8-12keyadministrators,typicallyincludingmany“cabinet”membersandotheracademicleaders.AllsuperintendentsservedontheDLTs.Intwocases,certificatedunionrepresentativesalsoservedontheDLT,andinonedistrict,siteadministratorswerealsoincludedtorepresentelementary,middle,andseniorhighschools.

• SchoolLeadershipTeams(SLTs)–Principalsfromeachschoolwithinthedistrictsformedteamswith3-6members,typicallyclassroomteachers,butalsoincludingvice-principalsorspecializedpersonnelsuchasinterventionteachers.

• Teachersandclassifiedstaff–SLTswereexpectedtobringideasorassignmentsbacktocolleaguesattheirschoolsiteswhowerenotparticipatinginthequarterlymeetings(indirectinvolvement).

STCProjectActivitiesFormalSTCprojectactivitiesincludedfourprofessionallearningdayseachyearforbothdistrictleadersandschoolleadershipteams,aswellassomeprofessionalcoachingforindividualdistrictsbetweensessions.TheconsultantsandDistrictLeadershipTeams(DLTs)metforafulldayeachquarter.Thesesessionsweredesignedtoprovidesustainedprofessionallearning,coachingandmentoringtokeydistrictadministrators.TheDLTmeetingcontentfocusedontheroleofseniorleadersindesigningandsupportingchangeacrossthedistrict.Districtleadersfromalltheparticipatingdistrictsmettogetheratthesemeetings.

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Theconsultantsalsoledquarterly,full-daysessionswitheachdistrict’sSLTs.SchoolLeadershipTeammeetingsfocusedprimarilyondevelopingsharedcapacityforleadershipandincreasinginstructionalcapacityattheschoolsites.

Districtandschoolleadershipteamswerealsogiventaskstocompletebetweensessions(e.g.,60-dayplans).Alltheprojectactivitieswereintendedtobestrategicallytargetedtomeetthespecificneedsoftheparticipatingdistrictsastheymovedthroughthestagesoftheirdevelopmentintheprocessofsystemtransformation.Asstatedpreviously,theoverallgoalofthisworkwastocreateasustainableculturethatplacesteachingandlearningatthecenterofalldistrictwork.

MethodsThepurposeofthisevaluationistodocumentandassesswhathappenedinschoolsandschooldistrictsoverthecourseofthethreeyearsoftheSTCproject.ThestudyfocusesonSTCasamodelforwhole-systemchange.Whilewecollectedandanalyzeddatafromallfourparticipatingdistrict,thisreportfocusesprimarilyonthetwodistricts—NapaValleyUnifiedSchoolDistrictandPittsburgUnifiedSchoolDistrict—thatremainedinthecollaborativeforthedurationoftheproject.However,datacollectedinSanLorenzoandAlamedaisusedtoinformourfindingsabouttheconditionsthatsupportedorhindereddistrictimplementationoftheSTC.

Giventheemphasisonwhole-systemchange,CAP-Edevaluatedprogresstowardsthefollowingprojectgoals:

• Thedevelopmentofadistrict-wideapproachtofocusonlearningandteachingforimprovedstudentachievement;

• Buildingthecapacity–knowledge,skillsandattitudes–ofdistrictandschoolleaderstofacilitateandsustainthefocus;and

• Strengtheningthecultureofprofessionalismandlearningwithinandacrossdistricts.

ResearchQuestionsThefollowingquestionsguidedtheresearch:

1. Whatareteachers,administrators,andstudentsdoingatprojectcompletionthatisdifferentfromwhattheydidbefore?

2. WhatdifferencedidSTCmakeintermsofstudentattainmentandachievement?3. Aretherebenchmarksthatwouldindicatemovementtowardsystemtransformation?

DataThisreportdrawsondatacollectedbetweenJanuary2013andApril2016.Interviews,focusgroupsandsurveysserveastheprimarysourcesofdataforanalysis,althoughwealsodrawuponfieldnotestakenduringSTCmeetingstotriangulatedata.AbreakdownofdatacollectionactivitiesisincludedinAppendixA.

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Interviews.TheresearchersinterviewedmembersofthefourDistrictLeadershipTeamsinthespringofeachschoolyear,2014-2016.Each45-minute,semi-structuredinterviewaddresseddistrictcontextandprojectimplementation(n=27in2014;n=21in2015;n=142016).

Districtfocusgroups.InSpring2014-2016,researchersheldfocusgroupswithrandomlyselectedmembersofeachdistrict’sSchoolLeadershipTeams(SLT),includingteachers,principals,andotherstaff(n=26in2014;n=13in2015;n=10in2016).The45-60minutefocusgroupsincludedquestionsaboutdistrictcontext,goals,andparticipants’experienceswithprojectimplementation.

Casestudyschoolfocusgroupsandprincipalinterviews.Duringspring2015,researchersvisitedeightelementary,middle,andhighschoolsinthethreeparticipatingdistricts.Duringeachvisit,theresearchersconductedafocusgroupcomposedofthreeteachersservingontheirSLTandthreeteachersnotservingontheirschool’sSLT.Theresearchersalsointerviewedeachprincipal.Questionsinthefocusgroupsandinterviewscovereddistrictandschoolcontexts,goals,andparticipants’perceptionsaboutprojectimplementation.Surveys.Anelectronicsurveywasdistributedtoteachers,theDLT,andmembersoftheSLTsinspring2014(n=669),2015(n=373)and2015(n=365).Questionswerecustomizedforeachrespondenttype,anditemsaddresseddistrictgoals,collaboration,leadership,cultureandinstruction.Theteachersurveyincludedadditionalquestionsabouttheirinstructionalpractices.DistrictleadersfromAlamedaoptednottodistributetheteacherversionofthesurveyin2014duetocontentiouslabornegotiations.Accordingly,onlydistrictandsiteadministratorscompletedthesurveyinthisdistrict.ThesurveywasdesignedbyaconsultantfortheSTCProjectTeaminconsultationwiththeUCDavisresearchteam.

Observationsandartifacts.MembersoftheresearchteamattendedthequarterlyDLTandSLTmeetingstotrackprojectimplementationandcontentdelivery.Theresearcherscollectedhandoutsandalsotookphotographsandnotesatthemeetingstocapturekeypoints.

InstrumentationCAP-Eddevelopedseveralinstrumentstoguidethecollectionofdata.Theseinstrumentsincludeda:

1) SLTFocusGroupDiscussionProtocol;2) DistrictLeaderInterviewProtocol;3) STCSurveyProtocolsforDLTmembers,participantsattheSLTsessions,andclassroomteachers

notattendingtheSTCmeetings;24) CaseStudySchoolSiteObservationProtocol5) CaseStudySchoolSitePrincipalInterviewProtocol;and6) STCLeadersInterviewProtocol.

TheprotocolsweredesignedtoofferparticipantsopportunitiestoreflectontheSTCproject,includingtheimpactoftheprojectontheirwork,theirreflectionsontheSTCmodel,highlightsandchallengesof

2 Asmentionedabove,thesurveywasdesignedbyaconsultantfortheFullanTeaminconsultationwiththeUCDavisresearchteam.

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thework,andtheirrecommendationsforhowtostrengthenthework.Theinterviewandfocusgroupprotocolsweremodifiedovertimeastheworkprogressed.ExamplesofeachprotocolareprovidedinAppendixB.

STCEvaluationOverviewThefindingspresentedinthisreportarecomposedoftwoparts.ThefirstsectionofthefindingsfocusesontheimpactoftheSTCproject.InthissectionwedescribetheimpactoftheSTCprojectbothattheschool-anddistrict-level,includingareaswherechangeisevidentoremerging.

Thesecondsectionofthefindingsfocusesonconditionsthatparticipantscitedassupportsorbarrierstochangeduringthecourseoftheproject.ThefinalsectionofthereportfocusesonrecommendationsbyparticipantsabouthowtostrengthentheCollaborativeandfinalreflectionsonSTCasamodelforchange.

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SectionII:SignsofChangeDistrictGoalsandCoherencetoSupportTeachingandLearningTheSTCgrantstipulatedthatbytheendoftheprojectparticipatingdistrictswouldhavedevelopedandimplemented“astrategicplanthatoutlinescoherentandalignedgoals;instructional,curricularandassessmentpractices;andproceduresforassessingprogresstowardsgoalsandpractices.”Withinthissection,weaddressevidenceofNapaandPittsburg’sprogresstowardsmeetingtheseobjectives,includingparticipants’perceptionsabouttheireffortstoachievedistrictgoals.

DevelopingDistrictGoals:ANecessaryPre-ConditionofCoherenceAccordingtotheFullanteam,systemstransformationisonlypossibleoncedistrictleadersdevelopaclearfocusandidentifyspecificstrategiestosupportcontinuousimprovementinteachingandlearningthroughoutthesystem.Inaninterview,onefacilitatorfromtheFullanteamdescribedthetheoryofactionfortheSystemsTransformationCollaborative:

Really,ourtheoryofactionisthat[districts]havetofocustheirdirection.Theyhavetobereallyclearongoalsandcomeupwithjusttwoorthreegoalareas,andthenreallybeclearaboutthestrategythatthey'regoingtousetoachievethemsothatpeopleinthedistrictsdevelopasharedunderstandingofwherethedistrictisgoing,howtheyfitintothat,whattheplanisforgettingthere,howtheybuildtheircapacitytodoso(interview,May2016).

PriorresearchsupportstheFullanteam’sclaimthatasharedvisionfocusestheenergyandattentionofindividualsatalllevels(Johnson,Marietta,Higgins,Mapp,&Grossman,2015;Senge,1990)andallows“leaderstoconveywheretheyareheadingandsharpenfocusontheprimarypurposeoftheorganization”(Supovitz,2006).Thus,animportantgoaloftheSTCwastodeveloporganizationalcoherenceinsupportofeffectiveteachingandlearning.Todoso,districtleadersfirstneededtosortthroughthemanycompetingprioritieswithintheirsystemstoidentifya“smallnumberofambitiousgoals”specifictotheirlocalcontextandneeds.

IdentifyingGoalsinYear1:LinkingGoalstoExistingInitiativesAttheoutsetoftheproject,theFullanleaderstaskedmembersofeachdistrictleadershipteamwithdevelopingthreetofivedistrictwidegoalstoguideeachdistrict’seffortsfortheremainderoftheproject.DLTmembersweregiventimeatthequarterlymeetingsduringYear1todevelopandrefinetheirgoalsandtoobtainfeedbackfromadministratorsfromtheotherparticipatingdistricts.TheDLTsalsodevelopedimplementationmemos.Interviewdatafromthreeofthefourdistrictsinvolvedintheprojectduringthefirstyearoftheprojectsuggeststhattheseconversationscontinuedinsomeformbackattheircentraloffices,ofteninconjunctionwithdiscussionsabouttheirLCAPpriorities.Perhapsnotsurprisingly,wefoundthatdistrictsenteringwithsomepre-existingagreementabouttheiroverarchinggoalsreportedamorecohesivevisionbytheendofthefirstyear.

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NapaandPittsburgweretheonlytwodistrictsoftheinitialfourthatreportedselectinggoalsthatwereacontinuationofworkalreadyunderwaywithintheirdistricts.AsaPittsburgDLTmembercommented,“IthinkoneofthereasonsthatweappealedtotheFullanfolksintheearlystageswasthatwealreadyhadreallytriedtonarrowourfocus.Soeventhoughwewereonlystartingtoincreasestudentoutcomesandstudentlearning,wehadspecificwaysweweredoingit”(interview,May2014).Likewise,aDLTmemberfromNapacommentedthat,“Thesehavebeenourgoalsforthelastthreeyears,butwe’retryingtogettighteron[them].”Infact,attheconclusionoftheproject,thesameDLTmemberattributedpartoftheirperceivedsuccesstocapitalizingonprioreffortswhentheyselectedtheirgoals:“Thatwasprobablythemostimportantthingwedid,whenwewenttothreeacademicgoals…We'vestayedconsistentforfiveyearswiththosesamegoals.Principalsappreciatethat.”Anothercentralofficeadministratoragreed,addingthathebelievedtheFullanteamacceleratedthedistrict’sabilitytomeetthosegoals.

UnderstandingofDistrictGoalsatDifferentLevelsoftheSystemTheFullanteamrepeatedlystressedtheimportanceofhavinggoalsthatareshareddistrict-wide,andbytheendofYear1,aPittsburgSLTmemberassertedthat,“Idefinitelythinkwe’reonthesamepagewithgoals.”ADLTmembercreditedtheSTCprojectwithhelpingrefinetheirpriorities:

Itreallyassistedwithusgettingveryclear,veryquicklyonour3majorgoals,whichwereactuallyonesthatweactuallybuiltourLocalControlAccountabilityplanaround.Soitwasjustkindofanaturalpieceofitthatwetookwhatwe'dbeenwrestlingwith,andwestartedtorefinethemandpolishthemalittlebit.Then,naturally,fromtherecameabunchofsubgoalsaswellasactionsandstrategies…whatwe'redoingasadistrictandwhereweseeourselvesinthenearfuture.It'saverytight,tightpackage,anditgivesaverycrystalclearviewofPittsburg'scurrentrealityaswellaswhereitmightbe3yearsdowntheline.

Asithappened,thefirstyearofthecollaborativecoincidedwithimplementationoftheCommonCoreStateStandardsandCalifornia’snewaccountabilitysystem,whichrequiresthateachdistrictdevelopa“LocalControlAccountabilityPlan”(LCAP)withgoalsineightdifferentstate-identified“priorityareas.”Throughoutourconversations,educatorsdescribedfeelingdelugedwithinformationaboutnewgoals,instructionalmaterials,andexpectations.DatasuggestNapaandPittsburgweresuccessfulatcommunicatingthegoalsamongSTCparticipantsinYearOneoftheproject,whileclassroomteachersandotherswhodidnotparticipateinthemeetingswerelessclearondistrictgoals.Bythefinalyear,however,PittsburgUnifiednolongerreportedclarityabouttheirdistrictgoals.

Forthemostpart,interviewandfocusgroupparticipantsfromNapacouldidentifythedistrict’sgoalsbytheendofYear1,referringfrequentlytotheir“PlanonaPage,”asingle-pagedocumentthatoutlinedNapa’sthreeprimarygoalsandassociatedsub-goals.ANapaprincipalcommented,"It'sthefirsttimewithelementaryprincipalsthattheywouldall,allofthem,fromtheirdifferentperspectivesofInternationalBaccalaureateandmagnetschoolscouldsay,‘Yeah,that'swhatourgoalsare.’Idon'tthinkwe'dbetherewithouthavinggonethroughthesesessions"(SLTfocusgroup,May2014).YetsurveyresponsesinTable1offeramoreconservativeperspectivethanweheardduringinterviewsandfocus

17

groups,withallthreetypesofparticipants(districtleadershipteammembers,schoolleadershipteammembersandteacherswhowerenotinvolvedwiththeproject)providingneutralresponsesorslightagreementthatthedistricthadasmallnumberofclearlydefinedgoals.Infact,bytheendofYear1,bothSLTmembersandclassroomteachersstillslightlydisagreedwiththestatementthatmembersthroughoutthesystemwereabletoarticulatedistrictgoals(2.88and2.76,respectively).Whileitisunclearwhataccountsfordiscrepenciesinparticipants’responses,respondentswhoattendedthequarterlyDLTorSLTsessionslikelyhadmoresustained,formalconversationsaboutdistrictgoalsthanthoseunabletoattend.3

DatafromthefirstyearinPittsburgalsosuggestthatalthoughthosewhoattendeddistrictandschoolleadershipteammeetingssharedsomeknowledgeaboutdistrictgoals,goalswerenotconsistentlyunderstoodatthesitelevel.SurveydataduringYear1,forinstance,indicatedthatDLTmembersagreedthatthedistricthadwell-definedgoals(4.0),clarityaboutthedistrict’sstrategy(4.0),andthedegreetowhichpeoplethroughoutthesystemcouldarticulatethegoalsandstrategies(4.33).LikeNapa,however,responsesfromclassroomteachersnotattendingthemeetingsindicatedthatgoalclarityhadyettoconsistentlypenetrateattheschoollevel.WhileDLTmembersagreedwiththestatementthatthedistrict’sgoalsandstrategieswereclearlyunderstoodthroughoutthesystem(4.33),SLTmembersandclassroomteachersdisagreedslightly(2.7and2.6,respectively).InaMay2014interview,aPUSDprincipalstated,“You'vegottohaveaclearvision,andthat'sapiecethatwe'vestruggledwith.It'slikewherearewegoing?Ithasn'tbeenclearhere.”

3 Wealsofoundthat,ingeneral,classroomteacherstendedtogravitatetowardsneutralresponsesthroughoutthebulkofsurveyanddisplayedlessvariationthanDLTandSLTmembers.

18 Table1:Surveyresponsesaboutdistrictgoals,Years1-3,N

VUSD

Napa

DistrictLe

aders

SchoolLe

aders

Teachers

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=8)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=7)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=5)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=95)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=110)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=61)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=126)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=30)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=103)

Y1to

Y3

Change

Thedistricthasasmallnum

berofclearlydefinedgoals.

3.383.58

4.200.82

4.044.04

3.98-0.06

3.563.96

3.28-0.28

Thedistricthasawell-definedstrategyfor

achievingthegoals.3.75

2.923.60

-0.15

3.353.59

3.910.56

3.293.88

3.05-0.24

Myschoolhasasm

allnumberofclearly

definedgoals.N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

4.16

4.224.04

-0.12

3.554.33

3.600.05

Myschoolhasaw

ell-definedstrategyforachievingthegoals.

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

3.89

3.983.96

0.07

3.533.88

3.660.13

Thedistrictalignsitsallocationofresourceswiththegoals

4.334.00

4.00-0.33

3.372.93

3.00-0.37

3.052.85

2.76-0.29

Everyoneinthesystemcanarticulatethegoals

andstrategyforachievingthem

3.142.67

2.80-0.34

2.883.10

3.110.23

2.763.43

2.800.04

Note:Surveyresponsesw

ereratedona5-pointLikertscale,where1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree.

19

Table2:Surveyresponsesaboutdistrictgoals,Years1-3,PUSD

Pittsb

urg

DistrictLe

aders

SchoolLe

aders

Teachers

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=3)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=7)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=4)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=59)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=42)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=50)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=189)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=81)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=137)

Y1to

Y3

Change

Thedistricthasasmallnum

berofclearlydefinedgoals.

43.86

2.33-1.67

3.553.00

2.98-0.57

3.363.11

3.02-0.34

Thedistricthasawell-definedstrategy

forachievingthegoals.4

3.712.33

-1.67

3.312.76

2.79-0.52

3.242.91

2.85-0.39

Myschoolhasasm

allnumberof

clearlydefinedgoals.N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

3.84

4.023.53

-0.31

3.403.37

3.23-0.17

Myschoolhasaw

ell-definedstrategyforachievingthegoals.

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

3.71

3.693.02

-0.69

3.413.27

3.16-0.25

Thedistrictalignsitsallocationofresourcesw

iththegoals3.88

3.004.00

0.12

3.533.52

3.49-0.04

3.293.58

3.14-0.15

Everyoneinthesystemcanarticulate

thegoalsandstrategyforachievingthem

4.33

2.712.80

-1.53

2.702.05

2.40-0.30

2.602.52

2.35-0.25

Note:Surveyresponsesw

ereratedona5-pointLikertscale,where1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree

20

EvolutionofGoalsinYears2(2014-15)and3(2015-16)InYear2,theFullanteamconsultedwithdistrictleaderstofurtherrefineandimplementthedistricts’goalsandstrategicplans.Atthistime,datacollectedforthisreportindicatethedegreetowhichgoalswerecommunicatedtoalllevelsoftheorganizationandthespecificityofstrategicplansvariedbydistricts,inpartduetocontextualfactorsdescribedinSectionIIIofthisreport.Bytheendofthethirdyear,interviewsandfocusgroupresponsesindicatethatNapamadenoticeableprogresstowardsthesystemwideunderstandingofthedistrict’s“PlanonaPage.”AdministratorssuchasoneSLTfocusgroupparticipantobservedtherewascomfortinknowingthat“thetargetwasn’tgoingtochange”(March2015).Districtleadersturnedtheirattentionfromcommunicatinggoals,whichremainedlargelystable,todevelopingcoherencebetweenthewidearrayofapproachesthatNapaschoolswereusingtomeetthosegoals.Interestingly,however,surveyresponsestoquestionsaboutgoalclarityanddistrictstrategiesremainedrelativelystable,increasingordecreasingbyonlysmallamounts(Table2).Ininterviewsandfocusgroups,participantsatalllevelscommentedthatNapastillstruggledtostaveoff“initiativecreep,”buttheFullanconsultantsnotedinaMay2016interviewthatNapa’sleaders“hadsteppedupinthattheyreallyfocusedtheirdirectionawayfromcluttertoreallyclear,focuseddirection.”

AlthoughPittsburgalsoselectedgoalsthatextendedordeepenedexistingdistrictprioritiesduringyearone,Pittsburg’ssuperintendentretiredduringthesummerof2014,justafterthecompletionofthefirstyearoftheproject.ThenewsuperintendentrevisitedthedistrictgoalsthroughtheLCAPprocessandataskforce(“Vision2027”)thatshecreatedinherfirstyear.Overthenexttwoyears,Pittsburgexperiencedseveraladditionalleadershiptransitionswithinthecentralofficeand,thus,thePittsburgDLT.WhileinterviewandfocusgroupresponsesindicatethatSLTmembers,centralofficestaff,andclassroomteachersinPittsburgsharedanunderstandingofdistrictgoalsinYearOne,ourdatasuggeststhatrespondentsperceivedadeclineingoalclarityandthedegreetowhichdistrictgoalswereshared(Table2).Inthesurvey,thesteepestdecreasewasevidentwithinthedistrictleadershipteam(2014=4.33,2015=2.76,and2016=2.80).4TheratingtrendsareconsistentwithinterviewandfocusgroupresponsesthatsuggestlessclarityaboutPittsburg’smainprioritiesaftertheextensivechangesinDLTleadershipcomposition.

GreatergoalclarityasanindicatorofdevelopingcoherenceAsstatedearlier,acentralobjectivefordistrictsinvolvedinthecollaborativewastodevelopcoherenceindistrictgoalsandobjectives.Intheirbook,Coherence:TheRightDriversforSchools,Districts,andSystems,FullanandQuinnarguedthatcoherence“isnotstructure.Itisnotalignment(althoughthatcanhelp)…Itisnotstrategy”(2016,p.1).Likewise,HonigandHatch(2004)describedcoherenceasschoolsandcentralofficesconstantlyworkingtogethertonegotiatebetweenexternalpressuresandlocalpriorities.Essentially,coherencecanbedescribedashowpeopleandprocesseswithinthedistrictinteracttosupportacommonvision.Thus,schoolsinadistrictdonotneedtooperatein“lock-step”or4 Thesefindingsshouldbeinterpretedwithcaution,however,becausethereareotherpossibleexplanationsforthedeclineinagreement,includingthepossibilitythattheyreflecttheopinionsofdifferentpeopleovertheyearsorthatthroughparticipationinthecollaborative,participantsdevelopedagreaterawarenessoftheimportanceofspecific,measurablegoals.

21

usescriptedprogramstoattaincoherence.

Adistrict-widefocusonasmallnumberofclearlydefinedgoalsmightserveasanearlyindicatorofdevelopingcoherence.Participantsthroughoutthesystemmustbeabletoarticulatedistrictprioritiesinordertomaintainfocusandensuredecisionsandresourcessupportthem.

ReducingDistractorsGiventheconstantbarrageofreforms,newinitiatives,regulations,andotherinformationdirectedatschoolsanddistricts,participantsinbothdistrictsarguedthatcleargoalsshouldserveasafilterfordecisionmaking.Otherwise,resourcesandattentionbecomefragmented,andcoherenceremainselusive.InPittsburg,administratorsexplicitlydescribedtheimportanceofusinggoalsasatooltoweedoutdistractions.Educatorsareoftencriticizedformovingfromonefadinitiativetothenext,andthemembersofthePUSDcentralofficestaffrepeatedlymentionedhowgoalscanhelpleadersprioritizenewandongoingactivities.InYear1,asenioradministratorfromPittsburgclaimedthatparticipationintheSTChelpedtightentheirfocusandexpressedprideintheirabilitytoreducedistractors:

We'reverydiscernible(sic)consumersofwhat'sbrightandshiny…We'reverytightwith,‘Okay,buthowisthatgoingtofitinto…oneofthesethreebuckets?’Ifit'sgoingtodeepenourunderstanding,ifit'sgoingtohelpus,youknow,reallymoveforward,that'soneconversation.Butifit'sgoingtobeseenasanadd-on,orifthereisanychanceit'sgoingtoendupbeinganadd-on,wesay,“Nothankyou.”(May2014).

Acolleagueinthedistrictofficeagreed,butwaslesscertainifthatstrategywasevidentatthesitelevel,commentingthat,“Witheverygoal,wetrytofilteritthroughthe[Pittsburg]LearningModel,butI'mnotsurethatpeoplealwaysseeitthatway…SoIthinkitgetsfilteredthrough,butI'mnotsureeveryonecouldbreakitdownand…articulateitthewayIjustdid.”Overall,however,participantsinbothdistrictsgenerallydescribedtheuseofgoalstoguidedistrictdecisionsasaworkinprogressratherthanacurrentstrength.

Yetwhileasmallnumberofshared,clearlydefinedgoalsarenecessaryfordistrictcoherence,theydonotguaranteethatleaderswillbeabletotranslategoalsintocoherentsystems.Inthenextsection,weexaminepossibleindicatorsofincreaseddistrictcoherenceandhowparticipantsperceivedeffortstoimprovedistrictcoherencethroughouttheproject.

BalancinglocalflexibilitywiththeneedforcommongroundSchoolsinNaparangefromtraditionalneighborhoodprogramstomagnetschoolsthatofferspecialprogramssuchasproject-basedlearning,theInternationalBaccalaureate(IB)program,dualimmersion,STEMorartsintegration.Whilehavingseveralschool“types”madedevelopingcoherencechallengingattimes,theirdecisiontoencouragethiskindoflocalvariationalsohighlightsthedistinctionbetweencoherentsystemsandstandardization.Thisbalanceisdifficulttoarticulate,muchlessdevelopandsustain,buttheSTCattemptedtofacilitateitoverthecourseoftheprojectratherthanencouragingdistrictstoimposeauniformapproachuponallsites.Ultimately“systemness”ismoreaboutmembersofthesystemunderstandinghowthe

22

differentmovingpiecesinteracttohelpschoolsattaintheirgoalsthaneveryonefollowingascriptedinstructionalfocusororganizationalapproach.

YetinYear1,Napaadministratorsandteacherswereunsurehowschoolswithsuchdifferentapproachescouldbepartofacoherentsystem.Whiletheschoolleadershipteamsweretryingtodevelopcommonground,oneDLTmemberobservedthat“becausewehavemagnetschools,wehavethedualimmersionschools,wehaveIBschools,wehaveNewTechNetworkschools,andwehavecommunitypartnerships…theykindofwanttofilteranythingthroughthat.”Thisrequiredthedistricttobecomemuchmoreexplicitabouthowtheireffortswereconnected.AttheendoftheSTCproject,acentralofficeleadersaid:

Ourchallengeinternallyisgettingourfolkstospeakwithonevoiceandtohaveasinglevisionthatwherewehavesomeflexibilitywithintheframeworkofourvisionforsitestohavetheirownpersonalitytwisttheywanttohave…yetyouarestillmovingallthehorsesintherightdirection…Allstudentstobeparticipatingindeeperlearningexperiences.Arethey?Wehopesobynow.

Overthecourseoftheproject,Napagrappledwithhowtoprovidecoherenceinalargedistrictsystemwhilehonoringitscommitmenttolocalinnovation.ADLTmemberwhohadworkedinNapaformorethanadecadedescribedthedistrict’stransitionfromadistrictof“fiefdoms”tocoherence:“Eventhoughwe're32schools,weallhavethesecommongoalsandstrategies.Forasuperintendenttoseeyou're32schoolsworking–oratleastspeakingandlookingat–commonstrategiesorcommonwork,that'sprettygood.”Sheattributedthistransition,inpart,toconversationsfosteredbytheSTCproject.

ByYear3,therewereindicationsthatthedistrictwasbeginningtoidentifytangiblewaystobalancelocalflexibilityandacoherentdistrictvision.Notably,thedistrictworkedinconjunctionwiththeFullanteamtodevelopandrefinearubricandprotocolsthatallschoolscoulduseasaframeworkfordiscussingdeeperlearningusingstudentwork.Afterinstructionalcoachespracticedusingtheprotocol,schoolleadershipteamsspentasignificantportionoftheMarch2016meetingusingtherubricandprotocoltodiscussstudentworkwithothersites,withtheexpectationthatleaderswouldattempttheapproachbackattheirsites.

Asadistrictadministratorsaid,“Wehadtomakesurethatworkingwithourpartners[e.g.,NewTech,IB],themessagewasagnosticandyetpersonal…Thatwasthechallenge.Thechallengeisnothavingitappearthatwearea‘onesizefitsall’message”(interview,April2016).InhisApril2016interview,anotherDLTmemberattributedthisprogresstotheSTCproject,saying,“WithoutitIthinkwe'dstillhaveallthisunevenimplementation.Ithinkwe'remoresystemwide.Weallagreethatsometypeofinquirybasedpedagogyisgoingtobethemainwaythatweinstructourstudents.That'smuchbetterthanitusedtobe.”HiscommentswereechoedbyyetanotherDLTmember,whosaid:

Itdoesn'tmatterifyouareaNewTechNetworkoryouareIB…orwhateveryoursliceofthepiemighthappentobe.Ifyouarereallytalkingaboutdeeperlearningforkids,these

23

aretheresourcesweareproviding...Wearereallytalkingaboutthesepedagogies.Everybodyfinallycametoagreementonthat,whichwashugebreakthroughforoursystem.ThisyearIthinkfinallykindofpushedusoverthattensionpoint.

Giventhatthesedevelopmentsoccurredtowardstheendoftheproject(anddatacollection),wedonothavedatafromSLTmembersorclassroommembersabouttheirexperienceswiththenewrubricsandprotocols.YettheircreationindicatesthatbothdistrictandFullanleaderswereintentionalaboutaddressingcoherencewithouteliminatingordiscouragingsite’sindividualapproachestothecurriculumandinstruction.

AlthoughPittsburgdidnothavethesamehistoryofschoolswithspecialprograms,districtrespondentsalsoreportedworkingtowardscoherencewhileprovidingforlocalflexibility.InaYearOnefocusgroup,aninstructionalcoachsaid,"SinceIsuperviseall8elementaryschools…andlookingatthe‘systemness,’it’sbeenafocusforustokeepcomingbackto[thefactthat]noteveryonedoestheexactsamethingallday,butthatthere’sacommonapproach.Thatthere’scommonresourcesavailablefortheteachers.”AnotherparticipantreferredtothedifferentinstructionalmodelsthateachPUSDschooldevelopedinYear1,observingthattheyweresimplydifferentapproachestoattainingtheirsharedgoals.

24

Table3:Surveyre

sponsesa

boutd

istrictg

oalalignmentw

ithdecisio

nsa

ndre

sourceallocatio

n,Years1

-3,N

VUSD

Note:Surveyre

sponsesw

erera

tedona5-pointLikertsc

ale,w

here1=stro

nglydisa

gree,2=disa

gree,3=neutra

l,4=agree,and5=stro

nglyagree.

NapaValleyDistrictLeaders

SchoolLeadersTeachers

2014RatingAverage

(n=8)

2015RatingAverage

(n=7)

2016RatingAverage

(n=5)

Y1toY3Change

2014RatingAverage

(n=95)

2015RatingAverage

(n=110)

2016RatingAverage

(n=61)

Y1toY3Change

2014RatingAverage

(n=126)

2015RatingAverage

(n=30)

2016RatingAverage

(n=103)

Y1toY3Change

Thedistric

t'sdecisio

nsa

realigned

with

thegoals.

4.00

3.18

3.40

-0.603.67

3.75

3.65

-0.023.48

3.88

3.19

-0.29

Thedistric

talignsitsa

llocatio

nof

resourcesw

ithth

egoals

3.88

3.00

4.00

0.123.53

3.52

3.49

-0.043.29

3.58

3.14

-0.15

25

PerspectivesaboutcoherencevariedwidelyAttheoutsetoftheSTCproject,districtleadersdescribedafairlycoherentsystembuiltarounditspre-existing“PittsburgLearningModel”(PLM)anduseofinstructionalcoaches.Theirfirstgoalwassystem-wideimplementationofthePLM.InMay2014,oneDLTmemberdescribedhowthePLMfacilitateddecisionmakingthatsupportscoherence,“'We'vestayedveryfocusedonthePittsburgLearningModelnowforthreeorfouryears,Ithink…anditissuchastrongfocusthatotherthingsareeasilyfittingintoit.It'seasytorecognizewhatdoesfitin,andwhatisnotreallyonourtarget.”AnothercentralofficeadministratornotedthattheSTCwashelpingthemrefinethePLMevenfurtheratatimewhenpolicychangesaddeduncertaintyandcouldhavederailedtheirexistingfocus:

Wespentthreeyearstryingtodeepenthedifferentlevels[ofthePLM],butIthinkwiththeshiftoftheCommonCore,becauseeverybody'smindwasgoingabout10,000differentdirections,andhowarewegoingtotakeallthesestandardsandputthemintothisPLM…Ithinkwhatwe'velearnedoverthecourseoftheyearisthatwejusthavetonarrowourfocus.Likewiththecoachingmodel,we'restillarefocusedondirectinstruction.It'snotthatwe'regoingtomakeathousanddifferentchangesbasedonwhatdidn'twork,butwe'regoingtolookatthingsthatdidworkandknowwherewehavetogoandmakeafinetweak.

26

InYear1,Pittsburgsiteanddistrictadministratorsnotedthatdevelopingcoherencewasmoredifficultatthesecondarylevel,aconcernalsomentionedinsubsequentyears.Oneprincipaldescribeda“disconnect”betweentheelementarysitesandsecondaryschoolsthatothersreportedpre-datedtheSTCproject.ADLTmembercommented,“Idon'tthinkwe'rethereyet,becausewhileattheelementarylevel,ourcurriculumisprettystandard,everybodyseemstobegoinginthesamedirection,inthesecondarylevel,we'renot”(interview,May2014).Acentralofficeemployeewhoworkedextensivelywiththesecondaryschoolsnoted,however,thatwhileitwastakinglongertoimpactthecultureofsecondarysites,theirsiteswereshowingsomegreaterbuy-inbytheendofthefirstyearduetotheirinvolvementwiththeSTC.

Sowe,thejuniorhighandthesecondary,wesetupaleadershipbootcamp.Weactuallytookthemthroughthosearticlesandwehadthemdothesamepostersthatyourteamhadusdo[duringaSpring2013sessionthatlaunchedtheproject].Itwasreallyvalidating…It'sbeenalotofwork,workingwithsecondarytotrytogetthemtogeltogetherandtryingtohaveprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforthemtocometogether…becausewhatIfoundwithsecondarytheyjustwanttogoquicktogofaster,theydon'twanttotakethetimetolearntheprocessandtodevelopthatcultureittakestodotheworkthatweneedthemtodo.ButIcanseewiththejuniorhighs,they'rejustlike,“Oh,thisisnotbeingmadeup,thisisactuallyresearchbased.”Soit'sjustaslowerprocessbutIthinkwe'vecomequiteawaywiththesecondary...Andithelpsthatwehaveoneoftheprincipalsonourexecutiveteamsohehearsittwice.

Infact,overthecourseoftheproject,Pittsburgincludedtwosecondaryprincipals,anassistantprincipal,andanelementaryprincipalontheirdistrictleadershipteams,somethingnotrequiredbytheSTCbutthatadministratorsbelievedwouldfostertightercoherencebetweenthecentralofficeandschoolsites.

TherearealsoindicationsofmovementtowardsimprovedcoherenceinassessmentsandcurriculumthatcoincidedwiththeimplementationoftheCommonCoreandnewaccountabilitysystem.Attheendof2013-14,aDLTmembercommentedthat“Afewyearsago–andIthinktheSystemTransformationhashelpeduswiththis–wehaddifferentschoolsdoingdifferentassessmentsystems,particularlyatthesecondarylevel."Additionally,in2015-16,thedistricthiredhalf-timeinstructionalcoachesatallthedistrictelementarysitestoexpandanearlyliteracyassessmentandinterventionapproachthatoneelementaryhadimplementedsuccessfullyinprioryears.Sitessharedthesameassessments,datamanagementsystem,pacingguides,andtrimesterbenchmarks.Yet,accordingtoparticipants,coherenceinthedistrictwascompromisedbyhighturnoverinthedistrictofficeandthearrivalofanewsuperintendentin2014.TheSTCusedexplicitstrategiesformaintainingcoherenceduringtheleadershiptransitionsthatPittsburgexperiencedruingthesecondandthirdyear.Theseincludedinterviewswiththenewsuperintendentandco-planningwithhernewleadershipteam.Subsequenteffortstoco-planwiththedistrictleadershipteamandtoobtainacopyoftheVision2017werenotsuccessful.

27

Table4:Surveyre

sponsesa

boutd

istrictgoalalignmentw

ithdecisio

nsa

ndre

source

allocatio

n,Years1

-3,PUSD

Pittsb

urg

DistrictLe

aders

SchoolLe

aders

Teachers

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=3)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=7)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=4)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=59)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=42)

2016Ratin

g

Average

(n=50)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=189)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=81)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=137)

Y1to

Y3

Change

Thedistricta

lignsitsa

llocatio

n

ofre

source

swith

thegoals

4.33

4.00

4.00

-0.33

3.37

2.93

3.00

-0.37

3.05

2.85

2.76

-0.29

Thedistrict'sd

ecisio

nsa

re

alignedwith

thegoals.

4.00

4.00

2.67

-1.33

3.49

2.93

2.86

-0.63

3.26

2.96

2.84

-0.42

Note:Surveyre

sponsesw

erera

tedona5-pointLik

ertsca

le,w

here1=stro

nglydisa

gree,2=disa

gree,3=neutra

l,4=agree,and5=stro

nglyagree.

28

TwosurveyquestionsofferadditionalperspectiveabouttheperceivedcoherenceinPittsburgovertime:whetherparticipantsreportthatthedistrict’sdecisionsarealignedwithitsgoalsandwhetherdistrictresourcesareallocatedinkeepingwithitsgoals(Table4).Attheendofthefirstyear,PittsburgDLTrespondentsagreedthatPittsburg’sresources(4.33)anddecisions(4.00)wereinalignedwithitsgoals.Schoolleadersreportedslightagreementaboutresourceallocation(3.37)anddecisions(3.49),whileclassroomteachersweremoreneutralintheiranswers(3.05forresourcealignment;3.26fordecisionsalignedwithgoals).ThereisanoticeablediscrepancybetweenDLTmembersandclassroomteachers,thoughonemightassumethatcentralofficeadministrators,ingeneral,havegreaterfamiliaritywithspecificsaboutresourceallocation.Bytheendoftheproject,however,allthreegroupsofrespondentsreportedaboutonethirdofapointdecline,onaverage,intheperceivedalignmentofresourceswithgoals.Notably,whiledistrictleadersagreedthatthedistrict’sdecisionswerealignedwithitsgoals(4.0)attheendofthefirstyear,by2016theaveragedropped1.33points,indicatingslightdisagreement.

By2015,someinterviewandfocusgroupparticipantsreportedarelationshipbetweenaperceivedreductioningoalclarityandalossofmomentumtowardsbuildingdistrictcoherence.OnerespondentwhoservedontheDLTduringthefirstandsecondyearclaimed:

Ifeelthattherehasnotbeenthesamecohesivevisionandworkthathadbeendoneinthepast.We'reverymuchintransitionrightnow.Inaway,it'salmostasifit'skindofreverseditself.Before,wekindoffeltasifthedistricthadavisionandtheschoolsiteswerelookingtoustoinformtheirwork.Nowit'salittlebitoftheopposite.Thatwe'rehavingtolooktotheschoolsitesbecausewe'relackingabitofcohesiveness.

ItisdifficulttomakecausalclaimsaboutwhymanyinterviewandfocusgrouprespondentsdescribeddecreasedcoherenceinYears2and3.Howmuchcanbeattributedtoleadershiptransitions,newstandards,newassessments,orotherfactors,isunclear.Itispossiblethattheattentiontosystemstransformationduringaperiodofleadershiptransitionmightfacilitategreatercoherenceoncethenewdistrictleaderssettleinandeducatorsgainexperiencewiththenewstandardsandassessments.Attheendofthethirdyear,aPittsburgDLTmemberofferedapragmaticassessmentoftheircurrentlevelofcoherence,describingitsimplyasa“workinprogress,”adding,“Idon'tknowifIcandirectlyrelateittoFullanornot.Ithinkthatweasadistricthavesomeworktodointhatarea.ThetransitiontotheCommonCoreandthingslikethat.ButdefinitelyIthinkthe[collaborative]…helpstheconversation.”

The“PlanonaPage”asatooltofostercoherenceMeanwhile,findingsfromNapaofferaconcreteexampleofhowadistrictinvolvedintheprojectusedtoolssuchastheir“PlanonaPage”totransitiontogreatercoherence.ThisincreasedcoherencerepresentssignificantgrowthforNapa,whichsomeparticipantsnotedhashistoricallystruggledtointegratewide-rangingprogramsandinitiatives.OnedistrictadministratordescribedNapa’shistoryasoneofreformoverload:“Napahas,foralongtime,struggled…withlimitingthenumberofinitiativeson

29

thetable”(interview,June2015).Atthetimetheprojectstarted,forinstance,NapahadadditionalconsultingrelationshipswiththeNewTechNetworkbecausemanyschoolswereusingortransitioningtoproject-basedlearning.Anotherleadershipconsultantalsoledongoingprofessionaldevelopmentworkshopsandcoachedadministratorsthroughoutthedistrict.CombinedwiththeSTCefforts,therolloutofCommonCore,andtheLCAP,manyadministratorsandteachersinYear1interviewsandfocusgroupsdescribedstrugglingtounderstandhowthedifferentinitiativeswererelated.Asaresult,membersoftheDLT(aswellastheFullanfacilitators)describedatippingpointinthefirstyearwhenprincipalspushedback,advocatingforaclearerarticulationofthegoalsandhowitconnectedtotheirsites’work.ADLTmemberin2015reflectedbackonthedevelopmentofthe“PlanonaPage”asadirectresponsetoarequestfromschooladministrators:

Theprincipalsaskedforit.“Giveusaonepageronwhatyouwant,”sotheycanhelpfilterthingsout.Andtheysaidtous,“Okay,sonowwhenanewideacomesin,canyouusethistofiltersomethingout,toinformus,protectus?

Withinthefirstyear,weobservedexamplesofNapa’sdistrictleadershipteammembersattemptingtodevelopgreatercoherenceamongthedifferentmovingpieces.InaMay2014interview,forexample,acentralofficeleadercommentedthatshehadmetearlierthatmorningwithaNewTechrepresentativeaboutensuringthatthesummerleadershipdevelopmentprogramwouldcomplementdistrictgoals:“Iwanttobeexplicitaboutthisishowthis[NewTech]projectnotonlyconnectsbutsupportstheworkwithFullan,theworkthatwe'redoingwithleadershipdevelopmentwithLyleKirtman.Youknow,allofthesethingsfit.”Aspartofthiseffort,thedistrictofficemandatedthatschoolsiteplansincorporatethedistrictgoals.Asone2015focusgroupparticipantsaid,“Ourplanislinkedtothethreegoals,isalignedtothosethreegoals.Alltheworkwedofiltersthroughthosethreegoals..."Administratorsandteachersarenowevaluated,inpart,usingthegoalspulleddirectlyfromthe“PlanonaPage.”Inaddition,bytheendofthefirstyear,thecentralofficestaffusedthegoalsasthestartingpointforplanningthe2014-2015professionaldevelopmentcalendar,apracticethatcontinuedinsubsequentyears.

Inafocusgroupduringthespringof2014,oneNapaSLTmembercommentedthatherunderstandingofthevalueofSTCtotheirdistrictevolvedoncetheconnectionsbetweenthedifferentprogramsandinitiativesbecamemoreevident:

[Atfirst,]itwaskindoflike,‘Thisisjustanotherthingthatwehavetogetdone.’Anditwaskindoftakingitapartandlookingat‘Okay,howdoesitallfittogether?’Ithinkthatwasimperativeforustofigurethatouttokindofembraceitandmoveforward.ItwastofigureouthowitworkedwiththePBL[“project-basedlearning”],howitworkedwithCommonCore,orhowitworkedwithalltheotherthingsthatwerecomingdownandchannelingintowhatweneedtodo…it’s…kindofhelpfultogetaglobalsensethatthisallfitsintogether,andthatit’snotjustanotherthingthatyougottodo,butatooltodothesamejob.

Thevariationinparticipants’responsesinthefirsttwoyearssuggestsittooktimetomaketheconnectionbetweenSTCandthevariedinitiativesinthedistrictandtocommunicatetheconnection

30

throughoutthesystem.OneDLTmembersaidattheendofthefirstyear,"Iseeusstrivingtomakethoseconnectionsandlookingforopportunities,especiallysite-levelopportunitiestomakethoseconnections,butI'mnotsureI'veseentheresultsofthatstrivingyet"(interview,May2014).InYear2,severaladministratorsatalllevelssuggestedthatNVUSDremainedintheearlystagesofdevelopingcoherence:aprincipal,threesitefocusgroupparticipants,andthreeDLTmembersdescribedsignificantchallengesaroundcoherence,particularlywiththeselectionofnewmaterials,useofassessments,andpacingguidesassociatedwiththeCommonCoreandLCAP.Asoneteachercommentedinafocusgroup,“Insteadofstickingwithaproblemthatneedstobedealtwithandcomingupwithasolution,it's'Here'smorestuff,andhere'smorestuff,andhere'smorestuff.’"

Inaddition,whileseveralrespondentssawthe“PlanonaPage,”asevidencethatthedistrictwasbecomingmorefocusedinitsimprovementstrategies,severalotherparticipantsinNapaweremoreskeptical.AfewrespondentsinYear2describedthe“PlanonaPage”assobroadthattheybelievedadministratorscouldcontinuetoaddoninitiativesbyidentifyingwhichgoalsthatbestmatchednewpetprograms.OneDLTmembercommented,“Isatthereandwatched[them]sorteverythingunderthe4Cs[partofadistrictgoal]!”AnotherDLTmemberagreed,saying,“Maybenowattheschoollevelithelpstofilterthingsout…Ithinkatthislevel[centraloffice],wetendtotakeonanewinitiativeandsay,‘ThatfitsinGoalTwo…’So,Idon'tthinkwe'vebeengoodatresistingnewinitiatives.”In2015,oneprincipalclaimedthat“'What'shappeninginthemiddleofourtransformationisthere'smoreinitiativesnowbeingputonthetable.Andit'slike,‘Butdidwetakethemthroughthefilter?’Andtheanswertothatisunsuallyno."Afellowadministratoradded,“...Wemayhavethethreegoals,andwemayhavethingscoordinated,butwestillcan'tsayno.”

Othersreportedthatpeoplewithinthedistrictwerebecomingmorethoughtfulaboutusingthegoalstodevelopcoherence.InMay2014,forinstance,amemberofNapa’sDLTcommentedthatbytheendofthefirstyear,leadersbegantoresistthetemptationtosortanynewinitiativeintooneofthethreegoalsandbeganadeeperexaminationofexistingandnewinitiatives:

Ithink,ittookusaboutthree-quartersofthewaythrough[Year1]beforeIstartedseeingsomeswitchinghappeningwithourthinking.Itseemedtomelikenowwe'rebeginningtolookatthingsalittlebitdifferent.Insteadofsaying,“Howdoesitfit?Howdoeseverythingwe'redoingfitintoacategory?”it'smoreof“Whatdoesthatcategorymean?"

ItisdifficulttoattributethischangedirectlytotheSTC,buttheprojectbuiltinmultipleopportunitiesforreflectiononhowtoapproachcoherence-building.Attheveryleast,theirparticipationcontributedtotheirshiftinthinking.Inaddition,allofthesecommentssuggestthateffortstobuilddistrictcoherencecantaketimeandacontinuedcommitmentfromdistrictandsiteleaders.

ImprovedteachingandlearningIna2016interview,Fullan’steamemphasizedthataclear,sharedvisionwillnot“makeanydifferenceunlessyoutiethemtogettingdeeperongoodpedagogyandlearning.”Substantiveshiftstoinstruction

31

andstudentachievementrequiretimetotakeroot,however,andthisevaluationwasnotdesignedtodirectlymeasurechangestoteachingandlearningorstudentoutcomes.Evenifithadbeen,thechangeinannualstateassessmentswouldhaveinhibitedyear-to-yearcomparisonsinstudentachievement.Instead,thefirstobjectiveoutlinedwithintheSTCgrantistheexpectationthatdistrictswouldworkwiththeFullanteamtodevelop“instructional,curricularandassessmentpractices;andproceduresforassessingprogresstowardsgoalsandpractices.”Inthissection,weaddresssomeearlyindicatorsthatdistrictsweremakingprogresstowardsfulfillingthatobjective.

BeginninginYear1,facilitatorssharedvideosateverymeetingwithexamplesofinstructionfromthetransformationofotherdistrictssuchasSangerorschoolswithintheOntarioschoolsystem.Instructionalvideoswereusedthroughouttheprojecttoreinforceinstructionalpracticesfordeeperlearningandtoprovidecommonframesofreferencefordiscussionsaboutteachingandlearning.TheFullanteamalsosharedinstructionalstrategiesfromresearcherssuchJohnHattieandRobertMarzano,modelingthemduringthesessionssothatteacherscouldexperienceandpracticethemtogether.SessionsinthesecondyearfocusedheavilyonCommonCoreimplementationtosupportdeeperlearning.InYear3,thesessionsemphasizedusingstudentworkaswaytoimproveteachingandlearningwithindistricts’andschools’localcontexts.

TheFullanteamintroducedthe60-dayplanasakeypracticefordistrictstoinforminstructionandassessprogressinschoolsthroughoutbothdistricts.Duringthe2013-14year,theSTCfacilitatorstaughtschoolleadershipteamstodevelopplansfortheirsites’next60daysofinstruction.ByYears2and3,SLTsplannedandsharedtheir60-dayplansduringeachquarterlymeeting,apointwediscussfurtherinthesectionsonbuildingcapacityandcreatingacultureofprofessionalism.TheFullanleadersprovidedtimeateachsessionforeachteamtoreflectontheirsuccessesandchallengesfromthepriorplan’simplementationanddraftthenext60-dayplaninconsultationwiththeirpeers.

STCandCommonCoreImplementationAsaNapaDLTmemberobservedina2016interview,involvementwiththeSTCcomplementedtheconcurrentimplementationoftheCommonCorebyfocusingthedistrict’sattentiononteachingandlearningfordeeperlearningbeyondincreasedtestscores.Formanyteachers,however,thistypeofinstructionrequiredteacherstoapproachteachinginnewways.

RememberwhatwasgoingonatthesametimewiththisprojectwastheCommonCorestandardsshift.Ithinkthatwashugeleverageforthetimingofthis[theSTC]withCommonCorestandards,whichrequiredanewwayofthinkingabout,notsomuchthecontentbuthowthecontentisdelivered,andit'show…it'saboutcollegeandcareerreadiness…As[colleaguename]likedtosay,changeishard,andrealchangeisrealhard.We'dlikejustsomerealchange,andit'sreallyhard…[Teaching]practiceisinthere,andifwedon'tchangepractices,wearenotgoingtogettodeeperlearning.

YetimplementationoftheCommonCoreandassessmentsalsoconfoundedwhichchangestoinstructionthatparticipantscouldattributetotheSTC.ManyNapaandPittsburgparticipantsechoedthesentimentsofPittsburgprincipalwhosaid,“'Ithinkthattherethere’sbeenconnectionforusatour

32

site.There’sbeenopportunitiesforreflection,butdirectconnectiontoinstructionalcapacity…it’shardtodrawadirectcorrelationbecausethere’ssomanydifferentvariablesinvolvedinthat”(interview,April2016).Atthesametime,someadministratorsandteachersfelttheywouldhaveusedsimilarinstructionalpracticeswhethertheyhadparticipatedintheSTCprojectornot.Othersdescribeditasacatalystforcommonunderstandingsofeffectiveinstructionalpractices.

NewStructuresforImprovingInstructionWedidfindevidencethat,asproposedintheinitialgrant,eachdistrictdevelopedandrefinedstructuresforassessingstudentachievementusinginterimassessments.InNapa,administratorsandteachersdescribed“LearningWalks”asawayforadministratorsandteacherstofocusonconcreteinstructionalissuesandevidenceoflearning.ModeledinpartonElmore’s“InstructionalRounds,”thelocalprotocolsweredesignedtodirectlysupportafocusoninstructionalproblemsofpractice.AndinYear3,teachersbroughtsamplesofstudentworktothequarterlySTCsessionstoreviewusingprotocolsthatcouldbeimplementedbackattheirsites.AsoneNapaDLTmembercommentedattheendoftheproject,“Iwouldsayonethingthatwe'veshiftedthroughthisprocessisreallylookingatstudentworkwithamorecriticallens…Insteadofsayingthekidswereengagedandtheydidtheirwork,nowtakingthatandseeingwhatdoestheworkactuallylooklike?Iguessusingthatasadatapoint.”Hiscolleagueagreed,adding,“We'vealsobeenabletolookatmoreofstudentworkandlookingattheprojectsandseeingreallyhowdoweknowthatthekidsaremakingprogressbasedontheproductsthatthey'redeveloping,butalsowithintheplanningoftheteachersandmeetingsthey'rehavingintheirPLCs”(interview,April2016).

OneexampleofNapa’sincreasedfocusonstudentworkwasthedevelopmentandimplementationofcommonprotocolsforusingstudentworkasthesourceofdatainYear3.ADLTmembercommentedontheimportanceofthisshifttolookingatstudentworkinthefinalyear:

Inlookingatstudentwork,teachers…Weneverdidthat[duringSTCsessions]inthefirsttwoyears,butinlookingatactualprojectsandtheresultsofthatproject…andlookingatstudentworkandagreeingon,“Isthatgoodorbad?”Usingarubrictoevaluatethat,thatwasahugeshiftinthatitallowedprincipalstosaythey’regoingtohelpyougetbetterasateacherwithyourunitdevelopmentandyourabilitytoassesskidsonthe6Cs[adistrictsub-goal].

Itisdifficulttogaugethechangestoinstructionalfocususingasurvey,buttheresultsfromNaparemainedfairlystable.Ingeneral,respondentsacrossallgroupsreportedmoderateagreementwithitemsrelatedtoinstructionalfocus,theuseofevidence-basedstrategies,anduseofdatatoimprovestudentlearning(Table5).

33 Table5:Surveyresponsesaboutdistrictfocusoninstructionalim

provementandpractices,Years1-3,NVUSD

Napa

DistrictLe

aders

SchoolLe

aders

Teachers

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=8)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=7)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=5)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=95)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=110)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=61)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=126)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=30)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=103)

Y1to

Y3

Change

Thedistricthasaclearfocusoninstructionalim

provement.

3.863.64

3.80-0.06

3.793.97

3.790.00

3.494.00

3.28-0.21

Thedistricthasarelentlessfocusonim

provedlearningforALLthroughinstructional

improvem

ent.3.71

3.183.80

0.09

3.703.85

3.810.11

3.373.87

3.20-0.17

Thedistrictconsistentlyrecom

mendstheuseofaw

iderangeofevidence-basedinstructionalstrategies.

3.573.64

3.40-0.17

3.723.75

3.960.24

3.433.96

3.37-0.06

Thedistrict'sprimaryuseofdatais

toimprovestudentlearning

3.713.45

4.000.29

3.823.74

3.940.12

3.553.65

3.48-0.07

Note:Surveyresponseswereratedona5-pointLikertscale,w

here1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree.

Incontrast,Pittsburgresponsesvariedmorebetw

eenrespondentgroupsandovertime(Table6).Theaverageratingsshouldbeinterpreted

cautiously,particularlywiththesm

allsamplesizeoftheDistrictLevelTeam

.Moreover,ayear-to-yearcom

parisonwaslikelyim

pactedbythesubstantialchangestotheDLTcohortcom

position.Onetakeaw

ayfromthesurveyresponses,how

ever,isthatparticipantsPittsburgand,toalesserdegree,Napa,perceivethattheirdistrictscouldim

provetheirfocusoninstructionalimprovem

ent,pedagogy,anddatause.

34 Table6:Surveyresponsesaboutdistrictfocusoninstructionalim

provementandpractices,Years1-3,PUSD

Pittsb

urg

DistrictLe

aders

SchoolLe

aders

Teachers

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=3)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=7)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=4)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=59)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=42)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=50)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=189)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=81)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=137)

Y1to

Y3

Change

Thedistricthasaclearfocusoninstructionalim

provement.

4.674.14

2.67-2.00

3.943.71

3.09-0.85

3.403.18

2.98-0.42

Thedistricthasarelentlessfocusonim

provedlearningforALLthroughinstructionalim

provement.

4.674.14

2.67-2.00

3.823.33

2.93-0.89

3.243.09

2.87-0.37

Thedistrictconsistentlyrecom

mendstheuseofaw

iderangeofevidence-basedinstructionalstrategies.

4.334.14

2.67-1.66

3.743.33

3.21-0.53

3.313.01

2.95-0.36

Thedistrict'sprimaryuseofdatais

toimprovestudentlearning

4.334.14

4.670.34

3.923.10

3.16-0.76

3.442.91

3.14-0.30

Note:Surveyresponseswereratedona5-pointLikertscale,w

here1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree.

35

OnePittsburgprincipalsawtheSTCasimpactinginstruction,indirectly,bydeprivatizingpractice.

WhatIseeisthatasaresultofbeinginvolvedinthis,theircomfortlevelwithleadingotherteachersandtheircomfortlevelininfluencingthepracticeofotherteachershasincreased,whichovertimewillhelpaswe’reworkingonaffectinginstructionalpracticeacrosstheschool…That’swhereIseetheprojecthavingadirecteffectoninstructioninourschool.

Again,itisdifficulttodeterminehowmuchtheSTCimpacteddistricts’focusonteachingandlearning,giventheshifttowardfullimplementationoftheCommonCoreStateStandardsandanewaccountabilitysystem.Forexample,changesinthefocusonteachingandlearningmighthaveoccurred,inpart,asaresultofCalifornia’snewrequirementfordistrictstocreateaLocalControlAccountabilityPlan(LCAP),regardlessofparticipationintheSTCproject.However,interviewresponsesfromdistrictleaderssuggestthattheprocesshasbeenshapedbycoreconceptsfromthecollaborative.OneNapaadministratorcommentedthatwhetherornottheSTCwasdirectlyresponsibleforthechanges,itcertainlysupportedtheirefforts:“Ithinkithelpedbreakdownsomeofthosebarriersforteachers.Justagainhardtoparseoutwhereisthethingthatreallyhelpedteachersmakethatshiftandtheirthinkingtowheretheworldhaschanged…Idon'tknowwhereallthatshiftcame,butIdefinitelythinkthecollaborativeandtheirmessage…andtheircontentinthosemeetingshelpeddothat.”

Participantsfrombothdistrictsnotedthattheultimateindicatorofimprovedteachingandlearningwouldbebetterstudentoutcomes.Whetherornotthiswilloccurremainstobeseen,butwecanexaminehowtheSTCsupportsustainedattentiontoinstructionalcapacityandstudentachievement.Inthenextsection,wefocusspecificallyonthewaysinwhichtheSTCaddresseddistricts’capacitytoinfluenceimprovement.

36

BuildingtheCapacityofDistrictandSchoolLeaders

FacilitatedMeetingsBuildDistrictCapacityAccordingtotheFullanteam,thetheoryofactionbehindthismodelofsystemstransformationbeginswithaclearfocusandawell-definedstrategyforaligningthedistricttowardscontinuousimprovementinteachingandlearning.Inaddition,districtgoalsmustbesharedsystem-wide,andeveryoneinthedistrictmusthaveaclearunderstandingoftheirroleinhelpingtomovethedistricttowardsachievingthesegoals.Thesefoundationalcomponentsofthemodelrequirethatdistrictsbuildormaintainacertainlevelofinternalcapacitytosetgoalsandtofacilitateandsustainchange.Italsorequiresabaselineofknowledgeabouteffectiveinstructionandacommitmenttoimprovingeducationaloutcomesforallstudents.

Importanttothesuccessofthismodel,therefore,isgrowthinthecapacityofdistrictandschoolleaderstofacilitateandsustainasystem-widefocusonteachingandlearningthatcontinuesaftercompletionoftheformalproject.Consequently,theFullanteamdesignedtheschoolleadershipanddistrictleadershipteammeetingstofosterthisgrowthinknowledgeandskillsacrossthesystem.

CollaborativePlanningTime:BuildingaSharedPlanOneofthefirstaspectsofcapacitybuildingthattheSTCaddressedwasdistrictandsiteleaders’abilitytodevelopsharedgoalsandstrategiesforaffectingchange,acriticalcomponentofsystemstransformation.Accordingtodistrictandsiteleaders,oneofthemostvaluableaspectsofthefacilitatedsessionswastheopportunitytodevelopaunifiedfocusonchangeandastructureandstrategytoimplementandsustainthisfocus.Thisfoundationalcapacitybuildingexercisewasnotedasanimportantcomponentofboththesiteleadershipteammeetingsandthedistrictleadershipteammeetings.Forexample,onedistrictleaderfromNapasaidattheendofyearthree,

IthinktheFullanprojecthasbeenacatalystintermsofmakingsurethatpeoplestayfocusedonwhattheyneedtodo.Ithinkithashelped.Ialso,andIhavenotparticipated,butIwitnessthesitedayswhentheymeetat[nameof]HighSchoolandeverysitebringsateam,andtheywork.Again,Ithinkthatbringingthewholedistricttogetherlikethat,undertheinstructionalmission,Ithinkisveryhealthybecauseeverybodyunderstandswhatthegoalsandthemissionis,orare.Thengivingeachsitetheopportunitytoworkindividuallywiththeirleadershipteams,Ithinkthatisveryproductive.

APUSDdistrictleadersimilarlynotedinyeartwo,“ThecapacitybuildingandtheframingthatSTChasaffordedmydivisioninparticularhasbeensignificant.Allofthedirectors,allofthecoordinatorshavereallyseemedtovaluethework.”Atthesametime,thisdistrictleadernotedheruncertaintyabouthowtheworkwouldcontinueduetohighturnoverinherdivision.”Attheendofthisyear,fourormaybefiveofthemajorplayersinthisdivisionwillnotbehere,andsothere’sgoingtobeatranslationora

37

transitiontowhetherornotthatsamekindofimpactcontinuesonwiththenewteam…Ithasmadeatthedistrictlevelinmydivisiontheworkmorecoherent.”Thisdistrictleader’scommentssuggesttheimportanceofongoingworktobuildcapacity,particularlywhenthereishighturnoveramongdistrictstaff.Newstaffmightnothavebeenexposedtothesamelearningexperiencesaffordedbytheleadershipteammeetings.Therefore,districtsmighthavebenefitedfromanexplicitprocessorstructuretosupportcontinuityinthefaceofpersonnelchanges,anall-to-commonconditioninschooldistricts.

TheFullanteamremarkedontheusefulnessofthestructuredplanningtimetodistrictandsiteleadersinNapaandinPittsburg.AttheendofyearthreetheFullanteamnoted,“Thefactthattheyhadtotalkabouttheirschoolplansandtheirgoalsandhowtheyweregettingthereandexampleswasgoodforbuildingknowledgeandcapacity,Ithink.Itprovedtobeareallyworthwhilething.”AmemberoftheteamalsoclaimedthatdespitetheconsequencesofhighleadershipturnoverinPittsburg,thesite-levelteamscontinuedattendingtoteachingandlearning:“Iwouldsayalltheschoolteamswerereallyfocusingonstudentlearning,forsure.Theymaynothavebeenquiteclearonwhatthefocusisasadistrict,butasaschooltheywerecertainlydoingthat.Ithinktheywerealsobuildingtheircapacityalongthewaytoachievethatbackatschool.”AstheFullanteamnotes,schoolleadersinPittsburgwereabletousetheSLTmeetingstocreateaplanfortheirsites,despitelimitedcoherenceatthedistrict-level(tobediscussedfurtherinthe“Barriers”sectionofthisreport).

AdaptingtheWorktotheSpecificNeedsoftheDistrictLearninghowtoadaptthisworktothespecificneedsoftheirdistrictwasanothergoalofthefacilitatedsessionsandanimportantelementtobuildinginternalcapacity.Therefore,inadditiontoprovidingcollaborativeplanningtime,theFullanteamprovidedarangeoftoolstoencouragedistrictstoconnectthetheorybehindsystemstransformationtothestrategiesneededtooperationalizethework.Severalparticipantsreportedthatthe60-dayplanwasoneofthemosthelpfullearningtoolsprovidedbytheFullanteam.Forexample,inaYearTwofocusgroupwithmembersoftheNVUSDsiteleadershipteams,oneadministratornoted,“AndIthinkforme,mybiggesttakeawayfromFullanwasthe60-dayplan,andbeingabletoputthatintomyhead,whatdoesthatlooklikeatmyschool?AndthatwaswiththeFullanpeoplelastyear.Ourteacherteamhelpeduswiththat.Andthenothergroupsofteachersthatwehadinleadershiprolesandleadershipcapacitybuilding.”AparticipantintheyearonefocusgroupinNapasimilarlynotedthevalueofthe60-dayplantotheirsite.“The60DayPlanisareallygoodtoolforusasaleadershipteamtomakesurethatwhatwe’redoingwithourstaffismeaningfulandimportant.Soithelpedguideourownworkthatimpactedthestaff.” Bothparticipantsnotedthevalueofcollectiveplanningandadaptingthatplanfortheirschoolasahelpfulexerciseincapacitybuilding.Similarly,anothermemberoftheNVUSDfocusgroupduringthesecondyearoftheprojectnoted,“Fullan’sbeengoodforus,internally,inalotofways…”andthenwentontosaythattheSLTmeetingsprovided,“powerfullearningforusbecausewealwaysbringthingsbackthathelpusmoveforwardasasite.”

PittsburgparticipantsechoedtheircounterpartsfromNapainhighlightingtheimportanceofprotocolsortoolsasstrategiesforcapacitybuilding.IntheYearTwofocusgroup,onePUSDadministratornotedthevalueofexercisessuchasthe“InstructionalFramework”eachsitedevelopedtofocustheschoolsiteteamsonbuildinginstructionalcapacityfordeeperlearning.“Idefinitelythinkitwasverypowerfullast

38

yeartomakethechartofour,Iforgetwhattheycallit,deeperlearningchart,whereweidentifiedthemostimportantaspectsofourschoolandwhatwe’refocusedon,becausethatreallygaveuspurposeandhitokaythesearethethingsthatwedoandwedowell,weneedtocontinuetodothesethings,andthenhowcanweimplementthosethingswithourownteachingandhavingourkidsalsouseit.Forexample,thecommunicationandthecollaborationpartsweredefinitelyveryhelpful.”Asthisparticipant’scommentexemplifies,somesiteswereabletosuccessfullyusetheactivitiesduringthefacilitatedsessionstoconnectthetheorybehindsystemstransformationtotheworkoftheirschoolsites.

Employingtheprotocolsandactivitiesfromtheschoolleadershipanddistrictleadershipteammeetingsbackattheirschoolsiteswasanotherimportantwaythatsiteleadersadaptedthelearningfromthefacilitatedsessionstomeetthespecificneedsoftheirdistrict.Yet,someparticipantsnotedthedifficultyofbringingthelearningfromtheleadershipteammeetingsbacktotheirschoolsites.Forexample,afocusgroupparticipantinPittsburgcommentedonthechallengesteacherswerefacingtointegratenewteachingforcommoncore,withthepedagogicalskillssuggestedbytheFullanteam.

Becausewe’retryingtonavigateandfigurethingsoutandtrytoimplementthosecriticalthinkingskillswhichispartofthedeeperlearningmodelofFullan,it’stryingtogettheteacherstobuyinwhenrightnowthey’rebarelystayingabove--youknow--drowninglevelwiththestuffthatthey’rebeingaskedtodo,andthentryingtobringinmoreinformationandtryingtogetthemtobuyinisdifficult.

Thisparticipant’scommentindicatesthedifficultyofthisworkifitisnotintegratedintootherinitiativesatthesites(seethe“Barriers”sectionforanextendeddiscussionofthisissue).

Asmentionedpreviously,byYearThree,NVUSDwasparticularlysuccessfulatadaptingtheirworkwiththeFullanteamtomeettheneedsoftheirdistrict.Specifically,NVUSDleadersadaptedtheirlearningthroughtheSTCtointegratemultiplestrainsofworkintoasingledistrictfocus.OneNVUSDleadernoted,

Wedefinitelyseetheneedtousethisworkasthegluetobringeverythingtogether.Imeanwe'renevergoingtobeallIBschools,andwe'renevergoingtobealldualimmersionschools,sowehavetohavesomecommonlanguage,andIthinkthatthereisavalueinthat...we'vekindoflearnedasasystemwehavetoalignthiswork.

Importantly,districtleadersintheNVUSDwereabletoconnectthelearningthatoccurredatthesiteleadershipteamanddistrictleadershipteammeetingstotheongoingworkintheirdistrict.Toachievethis,districtleaderscreatedacommunicationandintegrationstructurewithinthedistrict.Inaddition,inthethirdyearoftheproject,NVUSDdistrictleadersworkedwiththeFullanteamtoco-createandco-presentcontentattheschoolleadershipanddistrictleadershipteammeetings(discussedinmoredetailonpage37).

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BuildingInstructionalCapacityAnotherkeycomponenttoincreasingdistrictcapacityisgrowthinknowledgeofpedagogicalconceptsacrosstheorganization.ThiswasanotherareainwhichmembersofthesiteteamsfromNVUSDandPUSDreportedthatthefacilitatedsessionshadapositiveimpactontheirpractice.Forexample,aparticipantintheyeartwofocusgroupinPittsburgnotedthatthesessionsprovide,“Lotsofgreatideas.Imeanthey’regreatideas…every3months,Igetreminded,okay,IneedtomakesureI'mteachingthe6C’sandmakesurethatitisdeeperlearningandIgetideasfromwatchingthevideosandfromdoingthearticlesandthendothatbackandeitherimplementitinmyownclassroomoratleastshareitwithmygradelevelandwiththestaff.”

AnotheryeartwofocusgroupparticipantfromPittsburgnoted,“Thecontentismeaningful…as[nameofsiteleader]eloquentlysaid,youcantieitintoeverything.It’sreallyapplicableanditreallysupportsCommonCore,anditsupportscriticalthinking...”Atthesametime,thisparticipantnotedthatsomeofthepotentialgainsoftheprojectwerenotrealizedbecauseofthewaythedistricthadstructuredthedisseminationofinformationtoothersinthedistrictandbecauseofalackofcontinuitybetweenthefacilitatedsessions.Theparticipantnotes,“Thestructureoftheprocessiswhathinderedthegreaterthinkingfromtheprofessionals.AndIthinkifthestructurecouldbealtered,thenwemayseemorebenefit.”5

WhenaskedduringafocusgroupinthefirstyearoftheprojectinNapaiftheirinvolvementwiththeprojecthadimpactedinstructioninthedistrict,oneparticipantremarkedthat,“Idon’tknowthatit’snecessarilyquote/unquote‘impacted,’butitgaveusnewtoolsandrefreshedpeopleonMarzano’sstrategies.”Anotherparticipantduringthesamefocusgroupsimilarlynotedthat,“Ithinkthatithasimpactedinstructionatoursitewiththepeopleparticipating,ouradministratorsandourthreeinstructionalcoaches…Ican’tthinkofspecificexamplesrightnow,butIknowthattherehavebeenstrategiesthatwe’vetakenbackandusedwithourteachers.”Inaninterviewinthethirdyearoftheproject,adistrictleadernotedthatinvolvementwiththeSTChasledtoagreaterfocusonstudentwork.“We'vealsobeenabletolookat…moreofstudentworkand…attheprojects,andseeingreallyhowdoweknowthatthekidsaremakingprogressbasedontheproductsthatthey'redeveloping…”Asthisspeakernotes,regularreviewsofstudentworkareanimportantcomponentofdistricts’effortstobuildinstructionalcapacity.

LearningtheLanguageofChangeAnotherimportantareaofgrowthwasbuildingacommonvocabularyaroundthechangeprocessforgreaterfocusonteachingandlearning.OneNVUSDdistrictleadernotedattheendofYearTwo,“IthinkwhatwehavebecomegoodatissomeoftheFullanvocabulary,andsowetalkaboutcapacitybuilding,wetalk,weusesomeoftheFullanwords,soourcommonvocabularyhasgottenbetter,sothat’swhywhenwesaydeeperlearningweallwantdeeperlearningbutwhatdoesitlooklike,howdowedescribeit?Whatdoesqualitylooklike?Andso,justhavingthatconversation,weweren’thavingthatconversationthreeyearsago.”

5 Thisisdiscussedingreaterdetailinthesectiononcommunication.

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Thesamedistrictleaderalsonoteduseofasharedvocabularyasanindicationofsuccessincapacitybuildingatthesitelevel.“TwoelementaryandonejuniorhighschoolleaderreallysawandpracticedandbuiltthecapacityoftheirteamstoseethedynamicsthattheSTCwereteachingusandgivingusasframeworkstoactuallyframethework,toactuallyusethelexiconandthevocabularyandeventhetechniquesthatweoftenusewhenwegettogetherasdistrictorsiteteams…thevariouswaysofinteractingwithoneanothertogetthecollaborationandtheconversationgoingaroundcertainconcepts.Thesethreeleadersactuallydothatonaregularbasis.So,thosearerealclearexamplesoffolksthatreallyuseSTConaregularbasis.”

Similarly,anotherdistrictleaderinNapacommentedattheendofyearthreeonthevalueofasharedlanguagetodiscusslearningandchange.“Ithinkweare,amongsttheprincipalswe'reusingsomeofthelanguage,havingcoherency,buildingcapacity.Thosearethekindsofthingsthatweallnowsaytoeachother.”

Yet,buildingasharedvocabularyaroundthechangeprocessisonlyafirststepintheworkofsystemstransformation.AsonesiteleaderinPittsburgnotedattheendofYearThree,howthelanguagetranslatesintoactualchangeisevenmoreimportant:

Icanspeakfortheelementarysitesthatweallunderstandthatwehavetosetsomegoalslongterm,andwehavetostickwiththoseuntiltheyaresolid.That'sonethingthat'scomeoutofit.Weallunderstandthatwehavetobuildthecapacityofourstaffandthatthat'shuge.Wedogetthosepieces.Weunderstand…andIthinkwhatmanyofuswouldadvocatefor,ishowthedistrictofficescouldsupportusinthosetasksbecausethey'redaunting…Sometimesyou'reontherunalldaylongandthenwhenwesitdownit'sabout,it'seasiertosaythatallthosecatchphrasesarereallysmartones,theyaresogoodandworthwhile.Iseetheusefulnessinallofthem.Sometimeswestrugglewithhowtomakeithappen.

Thiscommentindicatesatleastoneparticipant’sperceptionabouttheneedforgreatersupportfromthedistrict-levelassitesengageintheworkofsystemstransformation.Moreover,thisparticipantreportsthatdevelopingthelanguageofchange,anunderstandingoftheneedforchange,andthestepsthatmusttakeplaceinorderforchangetooccur,stilldonottranslateintoactualchange.

AYearThreeNapafocusgroupparticipantdescribedasimilarneedforscaffoldingbetweentheoryandsiteimplementation.

Ithinkitwouldbeadvantageousforthemtocomeupwithaprotocol,"Okay,thisiswhatitcanlooklike."Howcanyoutakethisbacktoyourschoolsiteandmakethishappen?Thatwillbereallyhelpfullybecausethisisjustonelittleaspectofourjobandthey'remulti-facetedandthere'snotalotoftime.Issomekindofscaffoldingtohelpusbringitbacktoourteams,wouldbereallybeneficial.

Giventhatthesetypesofcommentswereevidentthroughouttheproject’simplementation,itsuggeststhatdistrictsandtheFullanteammighthavefocusedmoreonprovidingsufficient

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supportforthetranslationbetweentheoryandpractice.Importantly,multiplemembersoftheSanLorenzoUnifiedDLTidentifiedthedifficultyofmovingfromtheorytoactionandapplicationintheSTCworkabarriertotheirsuccess

BuildingLeadershipCapacityParticipantsalsoreportedthatthefacilitatedsessionshelpedtobuildtheirowncapacityasleaders.Forexample,aPUSDdistrictleadernotedinyearthree,“Fromthebeginningwetalkedaboutinitiativesandhavingafewnumberandleadingfromthemiddleandthepush/pull.Allofthoseideashavereallysupportedmyleadershipinbeingastrongerleader.Thosekindsofthingsspecificallyhavereallygrownmycapacity.”Interestingly,thisleaderusesthelanguageofchangefromtheSTCproject(“push/pull”and“leadingfromthemiddle”)todescribegrowthasaleader.

Buildingthecapacityofprincipalstoleadattheirschoolsitesisanimportantelementofthiswork.Tothisend,attheendofYearTwoadistrictleaderinPUSDreported:

Ithinkit’sbeengreatfortheprincipalstohavethatopportunitytoworkinafacilitativewaywiththeirteamsandhavethatexperienceofbuildingthoserelationshipsandtheirteacherleadercapacityandyouseeitindifferentschoolshavedifferent,youknow,wereinfluenceddifferently….doingthefinalprojectandsortofreflectingontheirworkandwhattheywantedtoshare,ina,youknow,smalldesignatedamountoftime.Ithinkworkingtogetherforthemtodothatwashelpful,andyouknowbutgoingthroughthosesortofguidedexerciseswiththeirteamsIthinkwasagreatexperience.AndIthinkthatexperiencewouldbegreatforacentralteamaswell,too.Itjustwasn’tforoursforavarietyofotherreasons.

Thisparticipant’scommentsagainspeaktothewayinwhichsomesiteteamswereabletoadapttheactivitiesandprotocolsprovidedbytheFullanteamtobuildcapacityattheirsites.Yet,theparticipantnotesthattheprojectinfluencedtheworkatschoolsitestodifferentdegrees.Inaddition,thisdistrictleaderseesthesuccessoftheseactivitiestoschoolsiteteams,buttheyalsonotethelackofpenetrationamongdistrictstaff.

AdistrictleaderinNapasimilarlycommentedonthegrowthinleadershipcapacityamongprincipalsduringaninterviewattheendofthesecondyearoftheproject.“Iseetheseprincipalswhowereinschoolsthatdidn’thavetheextrafunding[forleadershipdevelopmenttraining]nowkindofcominguptothislevelbecausethey’regettingtheaccessoftheFullanwork,theaccessofthelearningwalksthattheyusedtonotdowitheachother’ssites,theprincipalmeetingswheretheyworkonthingstogether.”InaYearThreeinterview,adistrictleaderremarkedonthewaythatthedistrictcannowusestudentdatainordertoidentifypotentialteacherleadersinthedistrict.

Ithinkthereisagreatopportunitytohavethoseparticulareducators,theyarewillingtodosomeprofessionaltrainingforotherstoperhapshaveagreaterinfluenceintheirPLCteamsorwithgradelevelPLCteams,wherepeoplecometoobservethemorwevideotapethem…howisitthattheyaremovingtheseEnglishlearners,theselowachievingresultsintosomeprettysignificantgrowthbytheendoftheyear?Weknow

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partofwhat'sgoingonandiscontributingtothatresultbutweneedthem,theirvoicewouldbehelpfulto‘usethegroup,tochangethegroup,’that'swhatFullansays.Weneedtoknowwhothoserealleadersare.Withtechnologynowwecandrilldowntothatgranularlevelandidentifywhoarethosepeople.

Thisdistrictleader’scommentindicatesamoresystematicwayofidentifyingteacherleadersinordertousethemtoimproveinstructioninthedistrict.

TheFullanteamalsonotedPittsburgandNapa’sgrowthinleadershipcapacityattheendofYearThree.“Itwasprettypowerfulwhatwentonthelastdaywithallthedistrictleadersintermsofhowmuchtheyhadgrownandtheirabilitytoarticulatenowwhattheirdirectionwasandhowtheywerebuildingthecollaborationandwhattheyweregoingtodoaroundlearning.”AswediscussinSectionIII,thecapacitytocommunicatethegoalsandstrategieswasakeysupportforimprovedcoherence.

DistrictLeadersCo-PlanandCo-PresentMeetingContentAccordingtotheFullanteamanddatacollectedforthisreport,Napaclearlydemonstratedthegrowthincapacitynecessarytocarryoutandsustaintheworkofsystemstransformation.Inthethirdyearoftheprogram,theFullanteaminviteddistrictleadersfromNVUSDandPittsburgtoco-planandco-presentthecontentofthemeetings.AccordingtotheFullanteam,“LastJune,wemadeaspecialtriptoworkwiththedistrictteamsofbothNapaandPittsburgbecausewewantedtoco-planwiththemwhatwasgoingtohappenoverthecourseofthethirdyeartoensuregreatersustainability.Andwhenwearrived,wefoundthatNapahadalreadyhadapre-meetingtomakesurethattheyhadalloftheirthoughtsinorder.Sotheyreallyhadawholestrategythattheywantedtoworkwithusonsothattheywouldreallybebuildingthatcoherenceacrosstheirwholesystem,andsotheyredesignedhowtheyweredoingtheirprincipalsmeetingssothattheywereallconnected.”

NapaactivelyworkedwithintheirleadershipteamstoaddressperceivedgapsincoherenceandSTCimplementation,aproactiveapproachnotevidentintheotherdistricts.CentralofficeadministratorsfromNapacommentedthatthischangetothestructureofthefacilitatedsessionsaugmentedtheirlearning.Accordingtoonedistrictleader,“Ithinktheco-planningwasthekey,andevenco-presenting.Inthepast[theFullanconsultants]wouldcomeupandpresentandtalkatthem.Thistimewemixeditup,wherewenotonlyhadsomeofouradministratorspresenting,butthenwehadeventeacherspresenttheirprojects.Thenteachersintheroomgottoseeteachersuptheresaying,‘Thisisourunit.ThisishowwedidthefourCs.6Thisishowwegotstudentengagement.’There'sjustmorebuyin.”

AccordingtotheFullanteam,Pittsburgwasalsoinvitedtoco-planandco-present,asuggestionthattheDLTagreedwouldbehelpful,butplanstocollaboratefellthrough.“Pittsburgwasnotpreparedforus

6NapaValleyparticipantssometimesreferredtothe“FourCs”(critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity) within the district’s “21st Century Learning Plan.” Others referred to the “Six Cs,” which later added character and global citizenship; the data reflects this variation within our report.

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whenwearrivedandindicatedthattheyreallydidn'tknowwhattheirfocuswasgoingtobeforthenextyearbecause[thesuperintendent]wasstillnew.Butshe'dbeenthereforayear,andtheyhadsomenewpeopleontheteam.Sothejointplanningconsistedofourworkingwiththenewassistantsuperintendent,whilewewereatthesession,toplanthenextstages.”ThisindicatesthatPittsburgdidnotexperiencethesametypeofgrowthinleadershipcapacityforsystem-widecoherencefromtheSTCprojectthatisevidentinNapa.

IncreasingOpportunitiesforCapacityBuildingDuringinterviewswithdistrictandsiteleaders,participantswereinvitedtosharetheirrecommendationsonhowtomakethefacilitatedsessionsevenmorevaluabletotheirlearning.Manyoftheirsuggestionsfocusedongreatersupportforbuildingdistrictcapacitytoapplytheconceptsofchange.Inotherwords,somedistrictandsiteleadersreportedthatthefocusofthesiteanddistrictleadershipteammeetingscouldhavebeenshiftedmorefromtheconceptual—moreabstractnotionsofchange—totheoperational,orhowtoapplytheknowledgeandsustaintheirfocus.Forexample,adistrictleaderfromPittsburgnotedattheendofYearThreethatalthoughthedistrictleadershipteammeetingsprovidednewstrategiesto,“informwhatwearedoing,”thedistrictneededadditionalsupportaroundhowtosustainthisfocusoninstructionalimprovement.Thedistrictleadersaid,

Weneededmorearoundhowtosustainsystemstobuildcapacityandthatchangeprocessandwhatistheroleoftheteacher,theprincipal,thedistrictoffice?Whatdotheygothroughandexperienceastheyaregrapplingwiththatchange?That'smorewhatweneededandthenhowdoyouhelpdevelopsustainabilitybycreatingsystemsthatwillhelpinternalizethiswork,becausefrommyperspectivethat'sreallywhat'sgoingtomakeitmoresustainable…Iftheydon'tinternalizeit...

Inaddition,somedistrictleadersreportedthatthecontentofthefacilitatedsessionsinYearOnewastoogeneric,andwasnotcraftedtomeetthespecificstrengthsandchallengesintheirdistrict.Forexample,onedistrictleaderfromNapacommented,

Peopledon’townwhattheydon’tbuild.It’salwaysbadwhenyouputyourpeopleinfrontofconsultantsthatdon’treallyknowwhoyouare.“Sitandget”,“drive-by”workshopsaren’tworkinganymore.There’sjusttoomuchinformationforpeopletotryandabsorb.Soyouhavetoensurewhenyou'regoingtospendfacetimewithyourpeoplethatwhatthey’regoingtogetisnotasurprise,andwhatthey’regoingtogetisalignedtowherethey’reheaded…Nobodypushedusinthedirectionofsaying,‘Hey,whydon’tyoucometosomeagreementsaroundwhataretheoverallgoalsoftheworksothatyoucanstarttodothat?’

Thesamedistrictleader,alongwithothersinNapa,notedanimportantshiftinthevalueoftheworktotheirdistrictinthefinalyear.Notably,districtleadersinNapadiscussedthewayinwhichtheFullanteamsadaptedtheworktomakeitmorerelevantandmeaningfultodistrictsinthesecondandthirdyears.Theparticipantnoted,“I’mprettyoptimisticaboutthework.Ithinkgettingthewholefamilyinagymandtalkingaboutdistrictgoalsandhavingasustainedapproachtothathasbeenbeneficialtothe

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overalldirectionofthedistrict.Ithinkitwasalotofthings.Itchangedoverthethreeyears.IthinkthattheFullancollaborativeadaptedtotheneedsofthedistrictthisyearmuchmorethaninthefirsttwoyearsandreallycustomizedtheirmessagetowhatourdistrictgoalsare.”ThisadaptabilitywasacentralcomponentoftheSTC.Ratherthanafixedapproach,theFullanteammadeitclearfromtheoutsetthatthecollaborativewouldevolvethroughoutimplementation.

Asdiscussedpreviously,districtleadersinNapaandinPittsburgwereinvitedtoco-planandco-presentattheworkshopsinthefinalyear.Eventhoughparticipantsofferedrecommendationsforstrengtheningthefacilitatedsessions,mostdistrictandsiteleadersfeltthefacilitatedmeetingsthroughouttheprojectwerehelpfultotheirgrowth,especiallythededicatedtimetoworkintheirsiteanddistrictteamstowardssystemsimprovement.

TheNeedforBaselineCapacityAccordingtotheFullanteam,internaldistrictcapacityiscriticaltotheworkofsystemstransformation.Therefore,districtsthatenteredtheprojectwithoutabaselineofinternalcapacity(asdiscussedlaterinthesectionon“barrierstosuccess”)facedanenormouschallengewhenengaginginthiswork.Inotherwords,toomanydistractions,alackoffocus,andhighleadershipturnoverinadistrict,canhampertheworkofsystemstransformation.ReflectingondistrictsthatstruggledwithSTCimplementation,theFullanTeamnotedthatwhenyou'reselectingdistrictsforthiskindofwork,iftheydon'thavesomelevelofinternalstabilityandcapacity,theyneedadifferentkindofintervention.Theyneedtobuildinternalcoherenceandcapacityforthistypeofcross-schoollearningbeforefocusingoncross-districtcollaboration.

InaseparatecommunicationattheendofYearThree,theFullanteamreiteratedtheideathatsomedistrictsneededtobuildtheirinternalcapacitybeforeengaginginsystemstransformation.Inthiscomment,theFullanteamdiscussesthedistrictsthatstruggledthemosttoachievethegoalsoftheSTCproject.

Oneofthethingswelearnedisthatweneededtofocuswiththeseparticulardistrictsonthelateralcapacitybuildingbeinginsidethedistrictbecausetheydidnothaveexperiencewithcross-schoolcollaboration.Thefirsttwoyearsbuiltcapacityforthistypeofcollaborationbecausetheydidn’thaveschoolleadershipteamsthatwereusedtomeetingandthengoingbacktotheschoolsanddoingsomethingwithitintheschool.Whiletheyvaluedit,itjusttakestimetobuildthatcapacity.Withtheirpartnership,werenotinvolvedwithwritingtheproposalorselectingthedistricts,andsowedidn’tknowwhattheirinitialcapacitywas.Thismeantthatweneededtostartatadifferentplaceandemphasizetheinternalbeforewecouldgettothecross-district.

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senseof[It],ittookthewholetwoyearsjusttogetthatreallymovedtoacertainlevelofcapacitybecausetheydidn'thaveschoolleadershipteamsthatwereusedtomeetingandthengoingbacktotheschoolanddoingsomethingwithitintheschool.Theyweren'tusedtomeetingwithoneanother.Whiletheyvaluedit,itjusttakesyoutimetobuildthatcapacity.Withthispartnershipwedidn'tknowwhattheir...Wedidn'tpickthedistricts,andwedidn'thaveanythingtodowithpickingthem,sowedidn'tknowwhattheircapacitywascomingin.Theproposalwaswrittenfirst,iswhatI'msaying,andthenyouendupwithcertaindistrictsandwejustneededtostartatadifferentplaceandemphasizetheinternalbeforewecouldgettothecross-district.

Thesecommentsindicatethatintheirfuturesystemstransformationwork,theFullanteammayaltertheirprocessforselectingdistrictsbasedontheirinternalcapacitytoengageinthiswork.ThisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatdistrictswithlimitedcapacitycannotundertakeaprojectliketheSTC,butitdoessuggestthatthebenefitsofnetworksandcross-districtcollaborationmaybemoreappropriateoncecapacityhasbeendeveloped.Weaddressthisingreaterdetailinourconclusion.

SustainabilityFinally,itisimportanttonotethatbuildinginternalcapacitymustbepartofeachdistrict’scontinuedworkandmustbebuiltintothestructureoftheorganizationinordertosustainthefocusoncontinuousimprovement.TheFullanteamrecognizedthisgrowthinNapa.

Napahasmadeoutstandingprogressinmovingtowardcoherence.Ithasintentionallydevelopedmechanismstobuildtheverticalandhorizontal.Fromthebeginning,theSuperintendentanddistrictleaderscommittedtodeepreflectionandwereopentochangingtheirownprocessesandassumptions.Overthethreeyearstheywereabletoreduceoverloadandarticulateandsupportacleardirectionatalllevels.Theybuiltconditionsthatfosteredcollaborativeworkwithinandacrossschools.Theyintentionallycreatedmechanismstobuildverticalintegrationofbothdirectionandsupport.Byyearthreetheywereproactiveasleadlearnersinensuringsustainabilitybyco-designingwiththeconsultants.Theyhavealreadycommittedtoastrategytodeepentheworknowthatthisprojecthasended.

DistrictleadersinPittsburgnotedthatdespiteevidenceofgrowthininternalcapacity,particularlyattheschoolsites,thisgrowthwasjeopardizedbyhighleadershipturnoveratthedistrictlevel.Therefore,anotherareaofpotentialgrowthinthecontentofthefacilitatedsessionsisastrongerfocusonhowtosustainorganizationalgrowthinthemidstofleadershipturnover.Accordingtoonedistrictleader,“Ifoundthedaysthatwemetreallyvaluable.Thisyear…whenwewentawaytoNapa,IfoundthatIlearnedalotfromotherschoolsiteswithinthedistrictsandthentheotherdistrictthatwe'veworkedwith...Oneofthechallenges,havingprettymuchanewEdServicesdepartment,ifyouwill,isthatalotofthethingsthatwebeganundertheformerleadership,justdidnotcontinueinournewleadership.

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Nobody'sfault,it'sjusthowitis.Everybodycomeswithadifferentpictureofhowtheywantthingstogo.”Thisparticipant’scommentindicatesthedifficultyofsustainingthisworkduringtimesofsignificantturnoverindistrictleadership.Giventhehighincidenceofleadershipturnoverinmanydistricts,findingwaystobuildinternalcapacitytoaccommodateleadershipchangeseemstobeanimportantelementtothesuccessofthismodel.

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Creatingacultureofprofessionalism,learningandsharedleadershipInadditiontobuildingdistrictcapacity,theSTCmodelcallsfordistrictstocreateasystem-widecultureofprofessionalism,continuouslearningandsharedleadership.Thisshiftinculturecanhelptosustaineffortstoimproveteachingandlearningbyinstitutionalizingcertainprofessionalnorms.Yet,district-wideshiftsinculturemaybeevenmoredifficulttoachievethanincreasingdistrictcapacity—especiallyinashortperiod—andcanbedifficulttomeasure.InthissectionwelookatthegrowththatoccurredinPittsburgandNapawithregardtodistrictculture.Specifically,welookatshiftsintheinternalfocusonprofessionallearning,shiftsinthecultureofcollaborationandsharedleadership,andthewayinwhichparticipationintheSTCprojecthelpedtofacilitatethesechanges.

AnInternalFocusonProfessionalLearningandGrowthOneofthegoalsfordistrictsinvolvedintheSTCprojectwastobecomelearningorganizations.Inotherwords,districtsshouldshowmovementtowardscreatingacultureofprofessionalismthatincludeson-goingopportunitiestoincreasethecapacity—knowledgeandskills—ofteachers,siteleadersanddistrictadministrators.Astartingpointtofacilitatethisshiftindistrictcultureistoallowdistrictstoreflectonthestrengthsandweaknessesoftheirinstructionalmodelandtheopportunitiesavailableforprofessionalgrowthatalllevelsoftheorganization.

Tosomedegree,alleducatorsandeducationalleadersoperatewithamentalmodelaboutwhatconstituteseffectiveinstructionandhowtoattainit.Yetoften,thesemodelsareimplicitratherthandiscussedopenly.Whenthisisthecase,teachingbecomesanchoredinthepersonalbeliefsandpreferencesofindividualteachersratherthaninsharedprofessionalnorms,andcoherencearoundasharedvisionremainsimpossible.

TheFullanteamprovidedopportunitiesforteachersandsiteleaderstoreflectontheinstructionalmodelintheirdistrictatthefacilitatedsessionsduringthefirstyearoftheproject,effectivelypushingadministratorsandteacherstomaketheirinstructionalmodelsexplicit.Accordingtoourinterviews,thiswasacriticallearningopportunityforteachersandsiteleaderstothinkabouttheworkthattheydoandhowtheycandoitbetter.

Forexample,participantsinPittsburgnotedincreasedattentiontosupportingqualityinstructionintheirdistrictduringthefirstyearoftheproject.Onedistrictleaderremarked,“Whatthisexperiencehasallowedmetodoistoreflectonhowthedistrictoffice,specifically[mydivision],isprovidingsupport…Afterhearingfromeachoftheschoolsites,justtheactivitytodaywiththeinstructionalvision,it’sreallyallowedustoseesimilaritiesacrossoursystemaswellasacrossourdistrict.”AparticipantinthePittsburgfocusgroupinthesecondyearoftheprojectsimilarlycommentedonthewayinformationfromtheprojectisbeingusedtoinformprofessionallearninginthedistrict.“ThewaythatIapplythisknowledgeisquitedifferent.Inthat,we’reusingittowardsdevelopingprofessionaldevelopmentforteachersandinjustcreatingour,whateverwe’recreating…We’reusingwhatwe’relearninghereandapplyingthatforteachersversusforstudents.”

AnothermemberofoneofthesiteleadershipteamsinPittsburgsimilarlynotedthevalueoftheSTCprojecttotheireffortstodevelopaninstructionalcoreduringthefirstyearoftheproject.“Isupervise

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alleightelementaryschoolswithasystematicprogramandlookingatthe‘systemness.’It’sbeenafocusforustokeepcomingbackto.Noteveryonedoestheexactsame[thing]allday,butthatthere’sacommonapproachandthatthere’scommonresourcesavailablefortheteachers,whichagainreinforcesthatwe’reontherighttrack.”Asthisparticipantnotes,theopportunitytoreflectonthealignmentininstructionalpracticesacrossthedistrictandtoensurethatsupportsareavailabletocontinuetoguideinstructionalimprovementisakeyfeatureofalearningorganization.Throughtheactivitiesatthefacilitatedsessions,teachersaskedquestionssuchas‘Howdoweusetechnologyintheclassroomforthebeststudentoutcomes?Orwhyshouldweuseproblembasedlearning?’Askingthesetypesofquestionsandcollectivelydeterminingtheinstructionalmodelforthedistrictcanhelptoinstitutionalizeatheoryoflearningandanewanddifferentculture,oracommonlyunderstoodwayforimprovinginstructioninthedistrict.

InNapa,ashifttowardsastrongerorganizationalcultureoflearningandprofessionalismmanifestedintheirdistrict-widefocusonpedagogyfordeeperlearning.Napa’sfocusondeeperlearningwasnotjustforstudentsbutalsofortheadults.OnedistrictleaderinNapanotedtheimportanceofbuildingthissharedfocusondeeperlearninginthethirdyearoftheproject.

Itwentmuchsmootherthisyear,Ithink,andwealsowereabletoreallysharpenthefocusonournextstepswithcollaboratingbetweentheFullantransformative[workshops]andourworkwith,ourpartners,withNewTechNetwork.Becauseit'skindofatensionpointforsomefolksinthedistrictwhocan'tseemtoconnectdotsbetweendeeperlearningfromonepersonanddeeperlearningfromanotherperson.WhattheFullanprojectthisyearwasabletodothroughtheresourcestheyprovidedwastogiveusagnosticresources.Itdoesn'tmatterifyouareaNewTechNetworkoryouareIB…Ifyouarereallytalkingaboutdeeperlearningforkids,thesearetheresources...Wearereallytalkingaboutthesepedagogies.Everybodyfinallycametoagreementonthatwhichwashugebreakthroughforoursystem.ThisyearIthinkfinallykindofpushedusoverthattensionpoint.

Napa’sfocusonasharedpedagogyofdeeperlearning,whichunitedseveraluniqueeducationalmodelsinthedistrict,isevidenceofaculturalshiftwithinthedistrictthatoccurredoverthecourseoftheirthreeyearswiththeproject.AtthefinalschoolleadershipteammeetinginMarch,alloftheschoolsiteteamsworkedwitharubricdesignedtomeasuredeeplearninginstudentworkregardlessoftheinstructionalmodel.OnedistrictleaderinNapanoted,“IntheMarchday,teachersthemselvespresentedamongstcommongroupsanditwasaroundthepedagogiesofinquiry.Itjustreinforcedthat,‘Oh,thisisnotjustmyschool.ThisisnotjustmyprincipaltellingmeIgottodothis.Thisisallofus.’Thentheycanlearnfromeachotherandsay,‘Oh,that'sagoodidea.’Whenthatteacher-to-teacherlearningishappening,thenwe[administrators]canjustbeonthesidelines.”Thisdistrictleaderindicatedtheimportanceofbuildingacultureoflearningwhereteachersplayanimportantroleindrivingthelearningaroundtheinstructionalmodel.Thisshiftinthecultureofanorganization,thatitisaboutsharedleadershipbuiltaroundastronginstructionalcore,isimportanttothesustainabilityofthemodel.Therubricwasusedtomeasuregoodteachingandlearningindependentofthespecificeducationalapproach.Inbothdevelopingandinstitutingtheuseofthisprotocol,Napafurther

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developedtheircultureofprofessionalism.ThiscorrespondswiththemodelputforthbytheFullanteam,anattempttobuildaninstitutionalculturefromthegroundup,ratherthanimposeitondistricts.

Napaalsoused“learningwalks”ortheopportunityforteacherstovisittheclassroomsofotherteachersasawaytocultivateacultureoflearning.Accordingtoadistrictleaderattheendofyearthree,theselearningwalkswerestrategicallytimedtocoincidewiththefacilitatedsessionsputonbytheFullanteam.“WeintentionallyhadlearningwalksbeforewehadtheFullanmeetingssothatpeoplecouldbeoutintheclassrooms,lookingatwhatwasgoingon,[and]bringthatinformationbeforewemetasthebiggroup.Thosearesystempiecesthatwechangedasaresultofthisworkwedid.”Thesamedistrictleaderwentontosay,“Weneedtolearn,digdeeperonourownDIBELSdata7andsay,‘Whichteachersaremovingkidsoutof‘intensive’[support]andinto‘core’atasignificantrate?Whoarethoseteachers?’Becausesometimesit'sasingleteacherataschoolorateamofteachersatagradelevel.Regardless,weonlyhad,weidentifyinitiallyrightnowIthinkadozen.Thatworkgoingthatdeep,tellsus,wewanttomakesurewhenwearedoinglearningwalks,thosewalks,thosearetheteachersthatpeopleareseeing,becausesomethingisgoingonintheirclassroom.Theyaretotallyhavingaprofoundimpactonresults.”

SurveydatacorroborateinterviewdataonprofessionallearninginPittsburgandinNapa.Whenaskedtoagreeordisagreewiththestatement“Thedistrictprovidesopportunitiesforprofessionallearningalignedwithitsgoals,”inPittsburgschoolleaders(3.14)andteachers(3.30)were“neutral”onaverage,whiledistrictleaders(4.00)“agree”onaverage.Notably,averagescoresinPittsburgdecreasedbetweenYearOneandYearThreeforbothschoolleadersandteachers(Table7).Incontrast,whenaskedtorespondtothesamequestioninNapa,in2016districtleaders(4.00),schoolleaders(3.83)andteachers(3.76)all“agree”onaveragethat“thedistrictprovidesopportunitiesforprofessionallearningalignedwithitsgoals.”(Table8).

Asecondsurveyitemaskedrespondentstoagreeordisagreewiththestatement“Thedistricthasaclearstrategyfordevelopingeffectiveteachers.”InPittsburg,averageresponsesfordistrictleaderswentdownconsiderablybetweenYearOne(4.33)andYearThree(3.00),from“agree”to“neutral.”Averageresponsesfromschoolleadersalsodecreased(from3.58to2.98),asdidtheaverageresponsesfromteachers(from3.28to2.95;Table7).InNapa,averageresponsesimprovedslightlyorremainedthesameonthissurveyitem.Districtleadersshowedaslightdecrease(from3.71to3.60);siteleadersshowedanincrease(from3.22to3.63);andteachersshowedaslightincrease(from3.21to3.29;Table8).

ThesefindingsechointerviewdatawhichindicatethatNapahasstrengtheneditscultureofprofessionalismwhilePittsburgincreasinglystruggledinthisarea.Yetaverageresponsesonthesurveyitemsoverallindicatethatcreatingacultureofprofessionallearningremainedanareaofgrowthforbothdistricts.

7 DynamicIndicatorsofBasicEarlyLiteracy(DIBELS)isacommercialreadingassessment.

50 Table7:M

easuresofBuildingaCultureofProfessionalism,PU

SD,Years1-3

Pittsb

urg

DistrictLe

aders

SchoolLe

aders

Teachers

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=3)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=7)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=4)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=59)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=42)

2016Ratin

g

Average

(n=50)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=189)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=81)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=137)

Y1to

Y3

Change

Thedistrictprovidesopportunitiesforprofessionallearningalignedw

ithitsgoals3.29

4.144.00

0.71

3.743.71

3.14-0.60

3.383.38

3.30-0.08

Thedistricthasaclearstrategyfordevelopingeffective

teachers.4.33

4.003.00

-1.33

3.583.26

2.98-0.60

3.283.04

2.95-0.33

Note:Surveyresponsesw

ereratedona5-pointLikertscale,where1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree.

Table8:MeasuresofBuildingaCultureofProfessionalism

,NVU

SD,Years1-3

NapaValley

DistrictLe

aders

SchoolLe

aders

Teachers

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=8)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=7)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=5)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=95)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=110)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=61)

Y1to

Y3

Change

2014

Ratin

g

Average

(n=126)

2015

Ratin

g

Average

(n=30)

2016

Ratin

g

Average

(n=103)

Y1to

Y3

Change

Thedistrictprovidesopportunitiesforprofessionallearningalignedw

ithitsgoals3.86

3.424.00

0.14

3.833.79

3.830.00

3.664.09

3.760.10

Thedistricthasaclearstrategyfordevelopingeffectiveteachers.

3.713.42

3.60-0.11

3.223.47

3.630.41

3.214.00

3.290.08

Note:Surveyresponsesw

ereratedona5-pointLikertscale,where1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree.

51

SharedLeadershipAnotherimportantcomponentoftheSTCmodelisstrengtheningdistrictcapacitybybuildingshared

leadership.InterviewswiththeFullanteamandwithdistrictandsiteleadersinNapaandPittsburg

suggestthatthiswasavitalareaofsuccessfulgrowth,particularlyamongsiteteams.Accordingly,at

theendofyearthreetheFullanteamnotedtheprogressatthesitelevelinPittsburg.

Pittsburgschoolteamsdemonstratedstronggrowthinleadershipandanemerging

focusonDeepLearning.Itisanexampleofwhatwecall“LeadershipfromtheMiddle”-

principalsandteamstakingactionbothwithinandacrossschoolstosecuregrowth.

Attheendofthesecondyearoftheproject,adistrictleaderinPittsburgalsonotedthegrowthin

leadershipattheschoolsites,despiteshiftsinthedistrict’sleadershipteam.“Ithinkthehighlights

wouldreallyrevolvearoundsupportingtheschoolsites.Seeingkindoftheirdevelopmentwithregards

tothembuildingtheirleadershipteamsandthecapacityoftheirstaffsfromleadingfromthemiddle,

beingabletokindofbepartoftheirteamastheykindofmovetheworkforward.”

OnememberofthedistrictleadershipteamfromPittsburgnotedattheendofYearThreethewayin

whichthefacilitatedsessionshelpedthedistricttosupportgrowthinleadershipatthesitelevel.

Thereweredefinitelypiecesinpreviousyearsthatwereabsolutelyusedtoinform

professionaldevelopment…Therewerebitsandpiecesthatwerebroughttodifferent

groups,differentleadershipteamsthatcouldthentakethatlearningtoanothergroup.I

canthinkspecificallyabouttheconcernsbasedapproachthatwasdiscussedacoupleof

yearsagoandthatwassomethingatthesiteday,thesiteleadershipteamtalkedabout,

“Well,whatdoesthatmeanforhowwesupportdifferentpeoplewithinour

department?”Sothatwaslearningthattheytookaway,tothenbeabletofacilitate

withintheirdepartments,andthenthatwasalsosomethingthatItooktoourentire

departmentchairteamwhichwasadifferentteamandhadthemself-evaluate.Where

didtheyfallonthisscaleandaretheyreallyleadersinsomeofthethingsthatwe're

tryingtodo?Thatwasactuallyveryuseful.Someofthosethingswetookawayand

directlyinformedwhatwedidoncampus.Someotherthingswerejustmoreofa

personallearning.Thisyearitfeltmorelikeitwasmoreofapersonallearningor

personaltakeaway.Wedidn'thaveasystemicapproachtohowweweregoingtotake

thisinformationbackandpotentiallyuseitintheworkthatweweredoingoncampus.

Thathadtodowithsomeofthetransitionsthatwerehappeningatthehighschoolas

wellassomeofthetransitionsthatwerehappeningwithinitsservicesaswell.Youcan't

necessarilyplanforthat.

Asthisparticipantnotes,oneofthekeystothesuccessofthismodelisthedisseminationofinformation

fromthemeetingstoothersinthedistrict.Whilethisadministratorbelievedschoolleadershipdida

goodjobofdisseminatinginformationbacktotheirsitesinYearOne,thissystemofdisseminationwas

compromisedbythethirdyear.Thiscommentsuggeststheimportanceofdistrictsleadersmaintaining

strategiestodisseminatethelearningandprotocolsfromtheleadershipmeetingstoothersinthe

district.

52

DespitethegrowththeFullanteamnotesatthesitelevelinPittsburg,theyalsocommentedonthe

persistentchallengesatthedistrictlevelduenewleadership.Yet,commentsfromtheFullanteam

suggestthatgrowthwasevidentatthedistrictlevelbeforethechangeinleadershipinthesecondyear

oftheproject.“PittsburgwasonthesametrajectoryasNapainYearOne.Whiletheschoolteamsand

middledistrictleadershipcontinuedtogrowthroughoutthelifeoftheproject,thesuperintendent

changeafteryearoneshiftedfromfullcommitmenttothisworktoafocusonotherthings.Schoolsand

districtleaderscontinuedtoseethevalueandworkdiligentlybutsustainabilityofthegainsisfragile

withoutdeepsuperintendentcommitment.”Wefurtherexplorethechallengeofsustainabilityinthe

faceofsuperintendentturnoverwithintheconclusionofthereport,asithasimplicationsforfuture

systemstransformationefforts.

TheFullanteamwasmuchmorepositiveaboutthegrowthinleadershipinNapaatalllevelsofthe

organization.TheteamnotedattheendofYearThreethat,“Napaisclearlyonthemovewithmuch

strongerleadershipfromthemiddle,averystrongdistrictteamandafullycommittedsuperintendent.“

CollaborationAccordingtotheFullanteamanotherimportantcomponentoftheSTCmodelisbuildingacollaborative

culturewithinthedistrict.Inaddition,theSTCwasdesignedtofostercross-districtcollaboration.

Consequently,afocusoncollaborationwascentraltothecontentofthefacilitatedsessions.TheFullan

teamnotedattheendofyearthree,“Wemodeledforthemhowyoubuildthatcollaborativeculture.It

hastobearoundrealwork,ithastobefocusedwithprotocolsandprocessesthatfacilitatethework,

andithastobeongoingandsustained.”

SimilartotheircommentsaboutthegrowthinsharedleadershipinPittsburg,theFullanteamreported

thatPittsburgmadegainsinthefirstyearoftheprojecttobuildacultureofcollaboration.However,

theyalsonotedthatthesegainswerecompromisedbyhighturnoverindistrictleadershipinthesecond

andthirdyearoftheproject.“AsfarasPittsburggoes,thatwouldbetheotherdistrictthat...It'strying

torebuildthatcollaborativeapproachtoleadershipandworkingtogetherasateam,andit'sgoingtobe

difficultforthemtodothatatthispointintime,especiallyastheycontinuetolosepeoplethatareon

theirdistrictteam.”

Duringafocusgroupinyearoneoftheproject,amemberofoneofPittsburg’sschoolleadershipteams

describedtheopportunitiesforcollaborationasoneofthehighlightsoftheirinvolvementwithSTC.“I

thinkthemainhighlightthatIcantakefromthisexperienceisbeingableto--youknow--collaboratewith

ourschoolsiteteamaswellasotherschools—secondaryandelementaryandhighschoolswhenweall

gettogetherandkindoftalkaboutthis.Ithinkoneofthechallengesforusinitiallywasunderstanding

whatexactly,whatweweregoingtobedoing.Weweren’tsurehoworwhatourrolewas–whatwe

wereactuallygoingtobecreating.Aswe’vegonethroughit,it’sbeentakingshapeandit’sbeen

comfortablebecausewe’vefiguredthatouttogether.”Thisparticipant’scommentcorroborates

commentsfromtheFullanteamthatthequarterlysessionsweredesignedtofacilitateacollaborative

culture.However,theparticipantalsonotestheirinitialstruggletounderstandthepurposebehindtheir

workwiththeSTC.

53

Arepresentativefromtheteacher’sunioninPittsburgalsonotedthewayinwhichthefacilitated

sessionshelpedtobuildcollaborationbetweendistrictadministratorsandsiteadministratorsandsite

administratorsandteachers.“'Icandefinitelyseethebenefitofthemparticipatingalongsidetheschool

teams,hearingwhat’shappening,hearingaboutchallenges.Itdefinitelykeepsthemmoreconnectedto

theschoolsites.Abigperceptionhereforalongtimewasthatthecentralofficeissooutoftouchwith

what’shappeninginclassrooms,andIthinkthatthisshowedthattheyareveryinterestedinsupporting

teachersintheclassroomandthisgavethemanopportunitytoreallystayintouch.”Accordingtothis

participant,thestructureofthefacilitatedsessionsnotonlybroughtschoolsiteteamstogetherbutalso

createdastrongerconnectionbetweenthecentralofficeandtheworkatschoolsites.

Byyearthree,however,focusgroupparticipantstalkedaboutthelossofthiscollaborationinPittsburg.

“Wehadteachersonspecialassignment,andwehadcollaborationtimes.Specificgradelevelswouldgo

tocollaborationwith...Tofindspecialassignments,instructionalcoaches,andthey'dworktogetheron

collaboratingaspecificstandardorskillorwhateverthetopicwas.That'snotinplaceanymore,itwas

justtakenthisyear,completelytaken.Newteachersandoldteachersdidn'tgetachanceto

collaborate.”Anotherfocusgroupparticipantsimilarlynoted,“wehadaverysystematizedroutine,

especiallyforK-5,whereteachersweregoing4timesayear,they'regoingintoclassrooms,soitwas

very...Structuredandsystematic,thelevelofsupportandthelevelofexpectationwasveryclearly

identified,andtheexpectationwaslaidout,thisiswhat'sgoingtohappen,thisiswhatwillhappen,and

teachersfeltveryconfidentleaving.Thatstructurehaskindofcavedinonitselfandwithoutthatsystem

inplaceit'sleftpeoplemoretobeislandsthanfeelinglikeyou'repartofastructuredsystem,ifIcanuse

thatanalogy.”Yetanotherparticipantnoted,“priortothissuperintendentwehadadifferent

superintendentwhowasveryfocusedonprofessionallearningcommunitiespriortousgettinginto

Fullan,andwetalkedaboutitateveryleadershipmeetingthatwehadaselementaryprincipals…We

haven'thadthatasoflate.”Onceagain,evenparticipantsontheschoolsiteteamsnotethedifferences

inthedistrictwithregardtocollaborationafterthechangesindistrictleadership.Thesecomments

suggestthepossiblebenefitofincreasedsupportfordistrictsduringtimesofsignificantleadership

turnover.Atthesametime,adistrictleaderinPittsburgremarkedattheendofthethirdyearona

willingnessofteachertocollaboratewithotherteachers.“Ithinkthere'salotofopennessto

collaborationinthisdistrict,betweentheteachers.Ireallydo.”

TheFullanteamreportedgrowthinNapaintheareaofbuildingacollaborativeculture.“Napawould

definitelybetheonesthatmadethemostgrowth,thestrongestchanges.Theyhadsteppedupinthat

theyreallyfocusedtheirdirectionawayfromcluttertoreallyclear,focuseddirection.They'rebuilding

thatcollaborativeculturebylinkingdifferentwaysthatthey'reinterveningwiththeirschools.”

AfocusgroupparticipantinNapasimilarlycommentedonthecultureofcollaborationinthedistrict.

“Somehighlights:we'vebeenabletocollaborateherewithourleadershipteamsandreallycometoa

consensusaroundwhatwewantourworktolooklikebackonourownsitessowe'reabletocomehere,

gainideasfromotherschoolsiteswhenwedopairupwiththemandgetfeedback.Thentakeitbackto

ourownteam.Atschoolwefirstdiscussitwithourleadershipteamthereandthenanythingthatwe

feelisreallyimportantoruseful,wethensharethatwithourentirestaff.That'sbeenahighlightthat's

54

beenabletohelpfocusourworkonourownschoolsiteandgiveusareastoworkonandthencome

backandreallycollaboratewithotherschoolswithinthedistrict.”

SurveydatasimilarlysuggestsagrowthintheperceptionofacultureofcollaborationinNapaanda

decreaseinPittsburg.AverageresponsesfromdistrictleadersinNapaincreasedonallofthesurvey

itemsrelatedtocollaboration,indicatingthatdistrictleadersbelievethattherewasastrongercultureof

collaborationinthedistrictinthethirdyearoftheprojectthantherehadbeeninthefirstyear(Table9).

Theonlyexceptionwasonaquestionthataskedwhether“Schoolleaderscollaboratewithleadersfrom

otherschoolsinthedistrict.”Theaverageresponseonthisquestiondecreasedby.26.Incontrast,

districtleaders’responsestothesurveyquestionsaboutcollaborationinPittsburgdecreasedonevery

item,withdecreasesashighas2pointsonthreeofthequestions.Thisindicatesadramaticdecreasein

districtleaders’beliefsinthepresenceofacollaborativecultureinPittsburgbetweenthefirstyearand

thethirdyear.TheaverageresponsesfromschoolleadersandteachersinNapaandPittsburgclosely

mirroredtheresponsesfromthedistrictleadershipteam,withslightincreasesonmostsurveyitems

betweenyearoneandyearthreefromNapa,anddecreasesonalmostallofthequestionsabout

collaborationfromPittsburg(Tables10and11).Thesesurveyresponsescorroboratethefindingsfrom

interviewsonthegrowthinacollaborativecultureinNapaandreductionsinthecollaborativeculturein

Pittsburg,seeminglydue,atleastinpart,toahighturnoverindistrictleadership.

Table9:MeasuresofBuildingaCultureofProfessionalism,DistrictLeaders,NVUSD&PUSD,Years1-3

DistrictLeadersDifferencebetweenYearOneandYear

ThreeNVUSD PUSD

2014

Rating

Average

(n=8)

2015

Rating

Average

(n=7)

2016Rating

Average

(n=5)

Y1toY3Change

2014

Rating

Average

(n=3)

2015

Rating

Average

(n=7)

2016Rating

Average

(n=4)

Y1toY3Change

Thedistrictandschools

workcollaborativelyto

achievegoals

3.5 3.33 3.80 0.30 4 3.86 3.00 -1.00

Districtleaderscollaborate

withleadersfromother

districts

3.29 3 3.40 0.11 4.33 4 2.33 -2.00

Schoolleaderscollaborate

withleadersfromother

schoolsinthedistrict

3.86 3.5 3.60 -0.26 4.33 3.86 2.33 -2.00

Thedistrictallocatestime

forcollaborativework

3.71 3.67 4.20 0.49 3.43 4.14 3.00 -0.43

Theschoolorganizestime

forcollaborativework

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Thedistricthaswell-

establishedmechanismsfor

two-waycommunication

withschools.

3.14 3.08 3.40 0.26 4 4 2.00 -2.00

Note:Surveyresponseswereratedona5-pointLikertscale,where1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree.

55

Table10:MeasuresofBuildingaCultureofProfessionalism,SchoolLeaders,NVUSD&PUSD,Years1-3

SchoolLeadersDifference

betweenYear

OneandYear

Three NVUSD PUSD

2014

Rating

Average

(n=95)

2015

Rating

Average

(n=110)

2016

Rating

Average

(n=61)

Y1toY3Change

2014

Rating

Average

(n=59)

2015

Rating

Average

(n=42)

2016

Rating

Average

(n=50)Y1toY3Change

Thedistrictand

schoolswork

collaboratively

toachieve

goals 3.58 4.34 3.74 0.16 3.25 3.38 2.89 -0.36Districtleaders

collaborate

withleaders

fromother

districts 3.37 3.47 3.43 0.06 3.1 2.81 2.74 -0.36Schoolleaders

collaborate

withleaders

fromother

schoolsinthe

district 3.63 3.88 3.43 -0.20 3.44 3.36 3.26 -0.18Thedistrict

allocatestime

for

collaborative

work N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/ATheschool

organizestime

for

collaborative

work 4.3 4.41 4.24 -0.06 3.82 4.29 3.67 -0.15Thedistricthas

well-

established

mechanisms

fortwo-way

communication

withschools. 3.21 3.48 3.43 0.22 2.98 2.55 2.42 -0.56Note:Surveyresponseswereratedona5-pointLikertscale,where1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree.

InmanyoftheNVUSDitems,weobservedaperceivedimprovementfromY1toY2,followedbyadrop

inthefinalyear.Thisisworthnoting,buttheimplicationsareunclear.Thismayrepresentstatistical

“noise”;thefactthatastheprojectprogressed,participantshadhigherexpectations;oragenuine

decline.Onlylongertermsurveydatacouldhelpdistinguishbetweenmeasurement“blips”ortrends

withinthedata.

56

Table11:MeasuresofBuildingaCultureofProfessionalism,Teachers(Non-SLT),NVUSD&PUSD,Years

1-3

TeachersDifferencebetweenYearOneand

YearThree NVUSD PUSD

2014

Rating

Average

(n=126)

2015

Rating

Average

(n=30)

2016

Rating

Average

(n=103)

Y1toY3Change

2014

Rating

Average

(n=189)

2015

Rating

Average

(n=81)

2016

Rating

Average

(n=137)Y1toY3Change

Thedistrictandschools

workcollaborativelyto

achievegoals 3.39 4.17 3.26 -0.13 3.22 2.99 2.80 -0.42Districtleaders

collaboratewith

leadersfromother

districts 3.21 3.48 3.16 -0.05 3.02 2.89 2.91 -0.11Schoolleaders

collaboratewith

leadersfromother

schoolsinthedistrict 3.45 4 3.45 0.00 3.27 3.08 3.10 -0.17Thedistrictallocates

timeforcollaborative

work N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/ATheschoolorganizes

timeforcollaborative

work 4.09 4.22 4.07 -0.02 3.36 3.68 3.56 0.20Thedistricthaswell-

established

mechanismsfortwo-

waycommunication

withschools. 2.99 3.70 3.01 0.02 2.8 2.76 2.47 -0.33Note:Surveyresponseswereratedona5-pointLikertscale,where1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree.

Severaldistrictleadersalsocommentedonthebenefitoftheircollaborationwithotherdistrictsthrough

theSTC.Forexample,onedistrictleaderfromNapasaidattheendofyearthree,“Ilearnedalotin

talkingwithotherdistrictsandaskingthemquestions.”AnotherdistrictleaderinNapasimplystatedat

theendofyearthree,“Itwasgoodtotalktoothermembersofotherdistricts,justtofindoutwhere

theywereonthesametopic.”

However,somefeltthattheopportunitiesforcollaborationcouldhavebeenstrengthenedtoyield

greaterbenefitsforthedistrictsinvolved.Forexample,adistrictleaderfromNapacommentedatthe

endofthethirdyearonthedifficultyofacollaborativewithfourdistrictswithsuchdifferentneedsand

priorities.“Itappearedtomeaboutayearandahalfintoit,theysaid,thisdistrictisallaboutdeeper

learningand21stcenturyskills…butwewereworkingwiththeseotherdistrictsthatweren’tdoingthat,

andthat’sprobablywhytheydroppedoff.Becauseit’slikethewholeagendashiftedtosomethingthat

madesenseforus,butIdon'tknowthatitdidfor[nameofdistrict]andtheotherplaces.”Thesame

districtleaderelaboratedfurtheronthispoint.

Iseehowitcouldhavehadabenefit.Idon’tthinkitdid.Idon’tthinkanyofthedistricts

…Otherthanmaybe‘we’regoingtobeabletorecruittheirAssistantSuptobeour

AssistantSup.’…It’snotunlikeanyotherofourclassroomsat[nameofschool]High.A

57

wholebunchofkidsondayoneshowupintheroomfortheteacherandthey’re30

differentlearningprofiles.They’realloverthemapandwedon’ttrackanymore.The

teacherischallengedwithhowdoImeettheneedsofthese30kids?Ithinktheir

consultantswerechallengedwithhowdoImeettheneedsofthesefour

districts?...Theydidn’tdoenoughtosee,well,thisdistrict…Theytried.Thisdistrictis

reallyintothisandthisdistrictisreallyintothat.Itneverreallysyncedup…”

Accordingtothisdistrictleader,thepotentialofthecollaborativetofosterlearningacrossdistrictswas

hamperedbythefactthatthedistrictsweresodifferent.

AnotherdistrictleaderinNapanotedthevalueoftheLearningFairforthecultivationofideasacross

districts,butalsonotedthedifficultyofworkingwithdistrictsthathavesuchdifferentneeds.“Ithink

it'sgoodtolearnfromotherplacesandIthinkwhentheydidtheFairlastyearinMaythatwasniceto

seewhatotherschooldistrictsaredoing.Ithinkinthecollaborative,theonlythingIsawisitmightbe

goodtochoosedistrictsthatareworkingonasimilarproblemorsimilarfocusbecauseweweremore

inquirybased,whichIthinktheotherdistrictsweremorejustthestandardscommoncorebased.There

wasnotalwaysalotofthingsincommon.”Nevertheless,thisdistrictleadermentionedthatshehas

stayedincontactwithsomeofthedistrictleadersfromtheotherdistricts.

DistrictleadersinPittsburgweresimilarlymixedabouttheirworkwithotherdistrictsthroughthe

collaborative.Onedistrictleadernotedthat,“Itwasagoodthingtoseehowotherdistrictsfunction

andtheirgoalsandtheirvisions…learningfromotherdistricts.Itvalidatesmaybesomeofwhatyou're

doingoritdoesn't,whatareasthatwecanchangeandimprove.”AnotherDLTmembersimilarlynoted

thevalueoftheopportunitytomeetwithpeoplefromotherdistrictsinthesamepositionattheDLT

meetings.ThesameDLTmembermentionedthatoneofthemostvaluablelearningopportunitieswith

theotherdistricts,however,tookplaceoutsideoftheSTCproject,whenthedistrictarrangedtovisit

classroomsinNapa.AccordingtotheDLTmember,“[onthisvisit]welearnedalotfromhowadistrict

likeNapahasbeenreallyputtingpiecesintoplayalongtimeago.Welearnedthatweneedtore-

evaluatesomeofoursystemsyetagain.”

SimilartothecommentsfromdistrictsleadersinNapa,anotherDLTmembernotedthatSTCmighthave

beenamorevaluableexperienceforPittsburgiftheyhadbeenabletofocusontheproblemmost

relevanttotheirdistrictbyworkingindividuallywiththeconsultants.“Ialsothinkthatitmighthave

madeitmorestickyforPittsburg,ifwehadfocusedonourproblem.Although,it'snotthatweweren't

allowedtofocusonourownproblem.Ithinkthat'sthepartwhere,withoutthatunderstanding,without

thatclarityorvisionof,‘WhyareweatFullan?’Ifwecan'tanswer,whywe'reatFullan,thenregardless

ofthewaythatyoustructureit,wemighthavehadthesameoutcome.Ifyouhadcomeinandsaid,

‘Okay,whatisgoingtoworkwithjustPittsburg?Whatisyourproblemthatyoureallywanttoaddress

andbeabletochange?’3yearsfromnowwecansay,‘Thatoutcomechangedbecausewewereableto

putasysteminplaceandhavethislevelofcoherence.’"CommentsfromthisDLTmembersuggestthat

thevalueoftheprojectmayhavebeenraisedforsomedistrictsiftheyhadreceivedmoreindividualized

support.

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TheSTCconsultantsalsodiscussedthebenefitsofdoingthisworkasamulti-districtcollaborative.For

example,theyattributedthevisitthatthePittsburgteammadetoNapatotheirworkwiththe

Collaborative.“Wethinkthatthat[thevisit]camethroughprobablyfromthedistrictleadersbecause

theyweredoingrole-alikeandtheywereworkingsointensivelyoverthethreeyears…Sothattheyhad

timetogettoknoweachotherandtoknowhowtheywere,becauseofthesharingthattheywere

doing,howtheywerestructuringdifferentthings…Wedidn'tstructuresomeofthat,itcamefrom

internallyfromthem…Whatwedidtrytodowasputtheminasituationwheretheywouldknoweach

other'sstrengthsandwhattheyhadtobringinandthinkaboutwhatcouldbeshared.”

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SectionIII:SupportsandBarrierstoSTCImplementationCountlessfactorsshapeddistrictactivitiesoverthecourseofproject,includingconcurrent

implementationoftheCommonCoreandnewaccountabilitymeasures.Participantsstruggledto

disentanglewhatchangescouldbeattributedtotheirdistrict’sparticipationintheSTCfromother

variables.Inpart,thiswastobeexpected.Theprojectwasintendedtobeintegratedwithotherdistrict

effortsinsteadoffunctioningasastand-aloneintervention,butitdidpresentchallengesforour

evaluation.

Ourlongitudinaldata,however,allowedustoidentifyseveralpatternsorthemesfromthedistricts’

experiences.Inthissection,weexplorehowthestructureandimplementationoftheSTCsupportedor

constrainedprogresstowardsdevelopingthecapacityforimprovementstoteachinginlearning.We

foundfiveprimaryconditionsthatcontributedtoeachdistrict’sabilitytoexperienceashiftindistrict

culture.Theseincludeleadershipstability,howwelldistrictsandtheFullanteamintegratedtheSTC

withotherdistrictefforts,thedegreeofownershipoftheworkthatdistrictsassumed,districts’existing

organizationalculture,andcommunicationaboutboththedistrict’sgoalsandtheprojectitself.Inthe

conclusionofthisreport,weconsidertheimplicationsoftheseconditionsfordistricteffortstodevelop

system-wideimprovementofteachingandlearning.

LeadershipStabilityThemostevidentthemethatweidentifiedinthedatawastheimpactofleadershipcontinuityor

transitionsonthedistrictsinvolvedinthecollaborative.Wehavealreadymentionedleadership

turnoverthroughoutourevaluation,sowewillnotexpandonitmuchherebeyondnotingthatturnover

isafactoflifeinschooldistricts.InthecaseoftheSTC,threeofthefourinitialdistrictsexperienced

significantturnoverinthecourseoftheproject’simplementation.SanLorenzo’ssuperintendent–the

onewhohadcommittedthedistricttotheprojectandworkedwiththedistrictandFullanteamduring

theplanningphase–retiredandanewsuperintendentwashiredinSeptember2013,shortlybeforethe

secondDLTmeetingoftheimplementationphase.Alameda’sDLTcompositionalteredsubstantially

betweentheplanningphaseandYearOne,withonlythreeoriginalteammemberscontinuing.The

superintendentmovedtoanotherdistrictduringthesummerof2014,andthedistrictwithdrewfrom

theprojectpriortothestartofthesecondyearafteranewsuperintendentwashired.WhilePittsburg’

leadershipteamhadbeenfairlystableatthestartofourproject,thesuperintendentretiredattheend

ofthe2013-14schoolyear.InYearsTwoandThree,therewereseveraladditionalcentraloffice

leadershipchangesinPittsburg.

Asnotedthroughoutourreport,itappearsthatthesetransitionspresentedabarriertoimplementation,

whileNapabenefitedfromleadershipstability.Yettransitionsaresomethingtoanticipate,apointwe

addressinourrecommendationthatfutureeffortsliketheSTCincorporatesupportforleadership

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turnoverintotheirdesign.

IntegratingtheSTCwithExistingDistrictGoalsandInitiatives:DifferentApproaches,DifferenttrajectoriesTheSTCtheoryofactionassumesthatmembersatalllevelsofthedistrictsystemmustdevelopa

commonvisionbeforetheycanensureallstudentsconsistentlyhaveaccesstohighqualityinstruction

toimprovelearningoutcomes.Ratherthanimposeexternalstructuresorasetofstep-by-step

directions,however,theFullanteamintentionallydesignedthecollaborativetoencouragedistrictsto

developtheirowngoalsandstrategiesformeetingthem.Ourfindingsindicatethatdistricts’firstyear

trajectoriesvarieddependingonwhethertheyenteredtheprojectseekingtodevelopgoalsforsystem

transformation–orwhethertheyviewedthecollaborativeasanopportunitytobuildoffexisting

prioritiestoacceleratetherateofchange.

IntheirApril2014interviews,respondentsfromPittsburgandNapaspokeaboutselectinggoalsthat

capitalizedonexistingdistrictefforts.Accordingly,districtleadershipteamswereabletodirectmore

attentionintheplanningstagesandfirstyearofimplementationtowardsrefininggoals,communicating

themwiththesites,andexamininghowdistrictworkcouldfurtherhelpthemattaintheirgoals.Inthe

caseofNapa,thiswasevidentintheirdecisiontofocusontheir“PlanonaPage,”includinghowit

connectedwithpiecessuchasprofessionaldevelopment,sitegoals,andpersonnelevaluations.

InPittsburg,responsesfrommanyparticipantssuggestthattheeducatorsandadministratorsinitially

usedtheirSTCtimetofocusontheexistingPittsburgLearningModelandemphasizingcollaborationasa

keycomponentofthemodel.Aswediscuss,however,PUSDhiredanewsuperintendentinthesummer

of2014,whothenworkedwithhercabinetandotherstakeholderstorevisittheirvisionduringthe

developmentoftheirstrategicplan,“Vision2027.”WeobservedlittleevidencethatthePittsburg

leadershipteamandFullanconsultantsdiscussedhowthenewvisionandstrategicplanmighthave

beenintegratedintotheirexistingworkwiththecollaborative.Again,thissuggeststhatthedesignof

futureinitiativessuchastheSTCmightbenefitfromexplicitplansabouthowtoincorporatenew

initiativesandapproachesintotheSTCworkwhenleadershipchangesoccur.ForPittsburgparticipants,

thetransitionappearedtohavehamperedtheirmomentum.

LeadershiptransitionswerenottheonlyreasonthatDLTsmightopttofocusonestablishingnewdistrict

goals.TheSTCattemptedtosupporttheimplementationoftheCommonCoreStateStandardsinaway

thatwaspragmatic(reducingso-called“initiativefatigue”)andstrategicforfosteringcoherence,andat

thedistrictleadershiplevel,theSTCsessionsprovidedseveralopportunitiesfordistrictteamsto

developtheirLCAParoundacoherentsetofgoals.InthecaseofPittsburg,oneadministratorsaid:

[TheSTC]helpednaildownsomethingsandhelped…definitelywithregardstogetting

anLCAPputtogether.Hugestrategicplan.Alotofdistrictskindoffellapartwithit,but

becausewehadthosetwoyearsofkindofworkingtogetherongettingclear,naming

somecommongoalsandallofthat,Ithinkitacceleratedit,oritreallyhelpedusbeing

abletogetsomethingdownonpaper(interview,June2015).

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WhilesomedistrictsapproachedtheSTCasawaytotightencurrentgoalsandfacilitateLCAP

development,othersusedthestate-mandatedLCAPfeedbackprocesstodeterminewhatgoalswould

guidedistrictworkduringremainderofthecollaborativeandideally,beyond.WhenSanLorenzohireda

newsuperintendentinSeptember2013,forexample,thedistrictoptedtousethestakeholderfeedback

asawaytoselectnewgoalsandwriteanewstrategicplan.Asonecentralofficeadministratorsaid,

“WedecidedthatallofourgoalswillrelatetoourLCAPgoals…WhentheLCAPbecameimposed…[our

newsuperintendent]tookthatopportunitytomaketheLCAPourvehiclefordeterminingourdistrict

goals”(interview,April2014).

Bothapproaches–usingtheprojecttodevelopafocusoraccelerateeffortstoimplementexistinggoals

–areconsistentwiththeSTC’spurposeoffosteringasustained,system-widefocusoninstructionfor

deeplearningandimprovedachievement.Ultimately,ourfindingssuggestthatdistrictsleveragedtheir

workindifferentways.Accordingly,districtsandtheFullanteamshouldanticipatehowthedifferent

approacheswilllikelyaltertherateofchange,particularlyinthefirstyear.

DistrictownershipoftheworkwasessentialUltimately,ariskofworkingwithexternalconsultantsisthetendencytoassumetheyaretheones

responsibleforthesuccessorfailureofaproject.InYear1,participantsfromallfourdistrictteams

describedaminimaldegreeof“ownership”oftheSTCworkinthecentraloffice.TheFullanconsultants

designedthesessions,andwhileeachdistricthada“pointperson”forcommunicatingwiththeFullan

team,theprojectdidnotexplicitlytaskaleaderorgroupofleaderswithclearresponsibilityfor

continuingtheworkbetweensessions.WhiletheadministratorsdescribedvaluingtheDLTandSLT

sessions,withoutafewindividualswhowereexpresslygiventheresponsibilityofweavingSTCworkinto

otherdistrictdecisionsandactivities,theworkofintegratingtheireffortsgenerallydependedonthe

individualcommitmentorcapacityofsiteanddistrictleaders.Thisresultedinunevenimplementation.

Atthesitelevel,someSLTmemberssuchasteacherleadersandprincipalsreportedthattheywere

unsurewhotocontactwhentheyneededclarificationabout“assignments”orotherSTCitems.Ina

spring2015site-levelfocusgroup,onePittsburgteachersaid,“TherewasnooneIcouldcontacttoget

clarification.”Hiscolleagueadded“Ifthere’sago-topersonthatunderstandseverythingandisawareof

everythingthatyoucancontact,Ithinktherewouldnotbenearlyasmuchconfusionand

misunderstandingsastherehasbeen”(focusgroup,April2015).Oneparticipantwhoservedonboth

thedistrictandsiteleadershipteamscommentedthatthelackofownershipoftenmeantthattheydid

notfollowuponSTCassignmentsoractivitiesuntiltheweekbeforethenextmeeting.

Nobodyeversaid,"Idon'twanttodothiswork,"or"Idon'tbelieveinthiswork,"or

"Thisisn'ttherightwork,"nobodyeversaidthat.Itwasjustlike,"Wehadagreat

meetinginNapa,whatdowedotobringthatback?"…"Ohshoot,wehaven’treally

debriefedwhenwetalkedaboutthatinNapa."Nowwe'resettogoagainandtherewas

onewhere[nameoffellowDLTmember]missed,andIwaslike,"I'mjealousbecause

I'membarrassedtogobackthistimebecausewehaven'tfollowedupontheworkfrom

lasttimeandthat'snothowanyofusgottowherewearetoday,"sothatwashard.

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Commentsfromdistrictandsiteleadersindicatetheimportanceofbuildingstructurestoensure

continuityoftheworkinbetweensessions.

Bytheendofthesecondyear,Napaadministratorsrecognizedthatmerelyattendingthequarterly

sessionsandcompletingtheirassignmentstheweekbeforethemeetingwaslimitingtheimpactofthe

STCwork.Iftheyweretomakethemostoftheprogram,theywouldhavetotakeownershipand

integratethecollaborative’sworkwiththeirongoingefforts.Forexample,Napawasalsoworkingwith

severalotherconsultantsonvariousdistrictimprovementefforts.Thedistrictleadershipteam

recognizedthatitwasnotjusttheFullanteam’sresponsibilitytocreateacoherentsystem.One

participantnoted,“Weweren'towningthework.Inotherwords,wewantyou[Fullan’steam]tochange

andmodifyitforus,butwe'renotreallygoingtoowntheproductoftheresultoranything,whichyou

reallycan'tdo…"(interview,June2015).Assuminggreaterownershipdemandedmoreoftheir

attention,butalsohaditsadvantages.Attheendoftheproject,oneDLTmembernotedthatittook

moreworktointegratethepieces,butitwasuptothemtogetthemostoutoftheproject:

It'smoreofachallenge,butit'ssortoflikeyougetyourvoiceandthenyourealize,

"Waitaminuteguys,let'sstepuptothis…It'stheleadingfromthemiddleandthatyou

can'twaitforthesuperintendenttodoeverything,youcan'twaitfor[Fullanteam

leader]todoeverything(interview,April2016).

Asaresult,NapainitiatedameetingwiththeSTCconsultants,anotherleadershipconsultingpartner,

andrepresentativesfromtheNewTechNetworkinMay2015.AsoneDLTrememberedit,theyhad

“morepeopleintheroomsaying'Waitaminute,weneedtoOWNthis;weneedtoownthework.We

needtoalignit.Thisisourresponsibility.Ifwedon'tdothis,thenit'sbeingdoneuntous,andwhen[theFullanteam]leaves,we'llhavenothing”(interview,June2016).

Asdiscussedearlier,theteamfromNapabegantoco-planandco-presentthemeetingcontentinthe

thirdyearoftheproject.AccordingtoonememberoftheDLT,thischangewasinitiatedbyNapa.,“I

thinkwesaid,‘We'dliketoco-createthoseagendassothatwe'reusingourlanguageandpeopleknow

thatwe'reallinthistogether.Itwasn'tjustpeopleontheoutsidecominginandtellingourpeoplewhat

todo…Thisiswhatweneed,andthisiswhatgotdelivered.”

Inaddition,betweenthespringofYear2andfallofYear3,districtleadersproposedlinkingallthree

projectssothattheycouldbuildgreatercoherence.Forexample,severaladministratorswrotea

professionaldevelopmentplanfortheyearcalled“TransformationalLearningWorkshops”(TLWs),to

integratethevariousstrandofworkinthedistrict.

Itbecamemorepersonalforus.[TheFullanteam]werealwaysveryflexibleabout

checkingbackwithus,thefeedbackfromourfolksandwhenwebegantosaythatwe

aremakingprogress,butifyoureallywanttomakethenextsteps…Wehadseveral,

three-wayphoneconferenceswithNewTechnetworkandtheNapaAllianceandthe

Fullanfolks.

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TheyalsobeganholdingadditionalsessionsbetweentheofficialmeetingswiththeFullanteam.AFullan

facilitatordescribedhowthesupplementarysessionsacceleratedchangeandfosteredcoherence:

Themeetingsthattheywerehavinginbetweenwerewithaprincipalandoneperson

fromtheschool.Whateverweweregoingtoworkoninthelargegroupsessions[quarterlySLTsessions],theydidapre-cursorofitwiththatthatgroupsothatthey

wereskilledinhowtousetheprotocol.Theyhadadryrunandexperienceatworking

throughit…Soweendeduphavingpeoplewhocouldserveasgoodfacilitatorsfortheir

ownschools…Also,itverymuchtiedintowhattheschoolwasworkingonbetweenthe

sessions.

OurrespondentsindicatethatNapa’sincreasedownershipandcollaborationwithprogramfacilitators

becameaturningpointforthedistrict,asevidencedbyreportsofgreaterattendanceinthethirdyear

oftheSLTmeetings.ParticipantsinNapaalsoreportedthatmoreparticipantsfeltthecontentofthe

sessionsdirectlyrelatedtothedistrict’sneeds.ADLTmemberwhohadbeenfrustratedbywhathe

perceivedas“canned”contentduringYears1and2wassatisfiedbytheworkinYear3,especially

becauseofthegreaterrelevancetoNapa’sgoalsandissues:

InthelasttwoTLWs,everybodysaid,"Ohmygosh,it'ssomuchbetter.Whatmakesthe

difference?"It'slikethedifferenceiswe'renowfinallystartingtoownthelearning

ourselvesuphere,andco-leadingitandco-planningit…

AnotherDLTmembersaidsheappreciatedthatco-planningallowedprincipalstogetasenseofthe

biggerpicture,whichmadeiteasiertodevelopactionplansinbetweenformalsessions.

Wecouldfillinthoseinbetweenmeetings,thoseprincipalmeetings.Imeanwe’renow

ataplace,we’regoingtobeco-planningmore,soweknowwherethevision’sgoing.[In

prioryears],Ifeltlikeweweren’texactlysurewhatwasgoingtobeontheagendauntil

wegottheagenda,whichwas,like,threeweeksbeforethething.Bythattime,itwas

toolate,andwecouldn’tfrontloaditwiththeprincipals’meeting,whichwouldhave

beengoodforustodo.

Along-servingNapaDLTmembersaidthatthelastyearoftheprojectwasprobablytheirbestyearin

thecollaborativebecausetheSTCmeetingswere“personalizedforourdistrict.Again,ourprincipalsand

sites[were]moreinvolvedinthosebestpracticesandstrategies,inquiry-basedlearning,butIthinkit

takestimeforthingstostartclicking,”

TheFullanteamalsocommentedonthegrowthinNapainthethirdyear.InaninterviewwiththeFullan

team(April2016),onefacilitatorcommentedthattheteammadeanextratripduringthesummerto

workwiththedistrictteamsfrombothNapaandPittsburg:

…Whenwearrived,wefoundatNapahadalreadyhadapre-meetingtomakesurethat

theyhadalloftheirthoughtsinorder.Sotheyreallyhadawholestrategythatthey

wantedtoworkwithusonsothattheywouldreallybebuildingthatcoherenceacross

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theirwholesystem,andsotheyredesignedhowtheyweredoingtheirprincipals

meetingssothattheywereallconnected.Theyre-designedhowtheywouldmeet

betweensessionsthatwewererunning.Theywouldofferoneinbetweeneachsothat

therewascontinuity,sotheyhadanumberofstrategies,andweworkedwiththem

acrosstheyeartomakesurethatitwasmuchmore.

Ultimately,Napa’sincreasedownershipoftheSTCwork–theirsenseofresponsibilityforensuringthe

projectfully,coherentlyimplemented–wasakeycontributortotheprogresstheyreported.

ExistingorganizationalcultureNoreformoperatesinavacuum,andadistrict’sorganizationalcultureimpactstheabilityofleadersto

developsharedgoals.Ourresearchteamidentifiedthreespecificaspectsofdistrictculturethat

impactedthework:thedegreetowhichpeoplereportedthattheirdistrictsoperatedinseparate“silos”

priortothestartoftheproject,thevaluedistrictsplacedoninnovationandautonomyatschoolsites,

andtheleveloftrustbetweentheadministrationandteachers.Inthissection,weelaborateonthese

factors.

SilosTheFullanconsultantsemphasized“systemsthinking”asacorecomponentofworkwithintheproject,

yetmanyparticipantsdescribedexisting“silos”or“fragmentation”withintheirdistrictsasabarrierto

developingsharedgoals.TheSTCwasdesignedtoreduceoreliminatefragmentationandisolation

betweenschoolsanddistrictdepartmentsbydevelopingsystem-widegoalsandemphasizingvertical

andhorizontalcollaboration.Yetdistricts’initialdegreeoffragmentationinfluencedtherateatwhich

participantsreportedthedevelopmentofgreatercoherence.

InNapa,forinstance,thedistrictleadersgenerallyreportedthattheSTChelpedfostergreater

coherence,despitehavingahistoryoffragmentationattheprojectoutset.Forexample,some

participantsreportedthatleadersintheNVUSDstillfounditchallengingtoconnecttheworkofthe

HumanResourcesdepartmentwiththedevelopmentofsystem-wideinstructionalcapacity.Yethiring,

placing,andevaluatingasystem’spersonnelisdirectlyrelatedtocapacity.AsoneDLTmembersaidina

2015interview,however,thedisconnectbetweenthedistrict’sdepartmentspersistedthroughyeartwo

oftheproject.

…Toalargeextent,thisinitiativehasbeencarriedbytheinstructionaldivisionandina

veryformalway.NapaUnifiedlikemanyorganizations,dividestheirworldbetween

instructionandoperationalsystems,andinNapa,HumanResourcesfallsonthe

operationalsidemoreoftenthanitfallsontheinstructionalside,sothere’salittlebitof

adisconnectthere.Iknowthereissomesynergisticworkdoneininstruction,andI'm

notapartofthat…So,thelinkagewithHRisweakening.

Atthesametime,manyparticipantsdescribedincreasedcoherenceinNapa,andthereis

substantialevidencethroughoutthisreportthatsuggestsNVUSDwasabletousetheirgoals

fromthe“PlanonthePage,”alongwithmorecollaborationtobreakdownsilos.Yet,tracesof

Napa’shistoryofwhatoneDLTmemberdescribedas“fiefdoms”stillhinderedcoherenceatthe

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centraloffice.AnotherNapaadministratoragreedwiththecommentabove,providingexamples

ofthechallengescreatedbythesiloswithinthedistrict.

SoonethingisthatIhavenotseenenoughfromMichaelFullan’sworkisdevelopinga

systemamongthedistrictoffice.ThereasonIsaythatisHumanResourcesoperateson

theirown;businessoperatesontheirown;technologyisdoing…I'mnotsurewhat

they’redoing,soyouhavethesesiloswithinadistrictsystemthatoftenputalotof

roadblocksforinstructiontogetresults…Forexample,rightnowwe’reatastandstillin

hiringteachersjustbecausewe’reinatransitionofnewHRpeople,butwe’realsoata

standstillbecauseournextboardmeeting’snotuntilJuly23wherewecan’tpostany

jobsorwecan’topenupanyjobsuntiltheboardgivestheirapproval,eventhoughwe

knowwehave15peopletohire…ButbetweennowandJuly23,wecan’tdoanything

untiltheboardsaysyes,andthenoncewesayyes,thenwecanpostthemonEdJoin.In

themeantime,we’relosingpeopleouttheregettingjobs,sowhat’sgoingtohappenis

July23,youknowwe’regoingtostart,they’regoingtobepostedandthenwe’regoing

tobehiringinAugust.Sothat’soneexample…Theotheroneistechnology,um,ourkids

shouldhavecomputersreadythatfirstdayofschoolinAugust.Thatwon’thappen.I

don’tknowwhy.Butitwon’thappen.

Pittsburg(alongwithSanLorenzo)alsodescribedcultureswherethecentralofficewasfragmented

alongdepartmentalandschoollines.InaYear1interview,onePittsburgDLTmembersaidheinitially

hopedthatparticipationintheSTCprojectwouldincreasecentralofficecohesion.

That'spartofourstruggleasasystemrightnow,becausewe'vebeenverysiloed,like

extremely.Soasaprincipalwewouldcomein,andIrememberlastyear,itwasalmost

likeacartoon:Whatcanyoucatchthat'sfallingfromtheair,becauseSpecialEdisgoing

todothisforus,andELDisgoingtodothisforus.Scienceisgoingtodothisforus.It

waslike,"Whoa,overload!"…Thatsilocontinued.Idothinkthatthe[STC]workinspiredthatandencouragedthatandsupportedthat,Idothinkthat.Ithinkthatthatwas

happeningatsomeofoursites,likeIsaid.Formeitwasalreadyhappening,sowhenI

read[abouttheSTC],Iwasrelieved…becausewhenIsawthat,Iwaslike,"Allright,this

isgoingtoberightinlinewithwhatwe'redoing.”

Bythefinalyear,however,Pittsburgwasstillgrapplingwiththetendencytorelyondepartmental

“experts”andasenseofterritorialism.YettheSTCfosteredanawarenessthatadministratorsshould

worktoreducethatkindofmindset.AsoneDLTmemberdescribedcabinetmeetings:

Everybody'sgoing,“Well,thesuperintendentneedstounderstandthatwe'reallexpertsin

whatwedo.”…Well,yes,buthowdoweintegrateallofthat?Howdowebringthissoit'sacohesiveproduct?Wehaven't,it'sbeenverysiloed,sothat'stheworkwe'redoingright

now:Totakeitoutofsilos,and[consider]howdoweintegratethosethings?

Despitethefactthatahistoryofdepartmentalizationmadesystemscoherencemoredifficult,the

collaborativefosteredconversationsabouttheimportanceofaddressingit.Bybringingdistrict

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leadershipteamsbeyondthesuperintendent’s“cabinet”totheSTCsessions,forinstance,the

projectbuiltinopportunitiesforadministrators(andinsomecases,teachersandunionreps)to

considerhowthepiecescouldbecoordinated.Napa,forinstance,reorganizedsomeoftheir

centralofficerolesandreportingstructuressothatgreatercommunicationcouldhappenbetween

departments.LeaderslikeMichaelFullanandMeredithHonighavecautionedthatchanging“Org

Charts,”doesnotnecessarilytranslatetogreatercoherence.InthecaseofNapa,however,DLT

membersnotedthatshiftsinthestructureofthedistrictofficeweredevelopedspecificallyto

addressthesilosobservedduringSTCconversations.

CulturesthatemphasizelocalinnovationAsmentionedpreviously,throughouttheproject,theSTCfacilitatorsemphasizedasystemsperspective.

Yetadministratorsandteachersfromtwoofthefourdistrictsdescribedatensionbetweenanexisting

culturethatsoughttobalancesite-basedautonomyandinnovationwithcoherent,system-widegoals.

Theconceptsarenotmutuallyexclusive.Manyparticipantsdescribedthepossibilityofhavingthesame

goalsdistrict-widewhileallowingschoolsorteacherstousedifferentstrategiestoattainthegoals.Asa

Pittsburgadministratorcommented,itispossiblefordistrictgoalsto“feedintoeachschool,havingthe

sameumbrellaofaninstructionalframework,butalsomakeittheirownandrecognize,‘We'repartofa

system,butweareanindividualsite.[Therefore],thisiswhatwehavegoingon,andthisishowitfits

intothedistrictgoals.’”Asiteadministratoralsoagreed,adding:

Ithinkthatmakingthattransformationateachsitehasbeenaworkinprogress.You

canseeitinthegraphicsthatit’shappeningateachsite.Itmightlookalittledifferentin

theprocessthatit’sbeingused,likeI’msureat[schoolname],whenyouanalyzedata,

it’sdifferentfromhowweanalyzeitat[schoolname],butwe’regettingsomeofthe

sameresultsfromitandusingitinasimilarfashion(SLTfocusgroup,April2014).

Asdiscussedearlier,NapaValleyisalargedistrictwithnumerousmagnetanddependentcharter

schools.Duringthefirstyear,onefocusgroupparticipantsaidthatsharedgoalswereaworkinprogress

thathehopedthecollaborativewouldfosterthroughtheon-goingconversationsaboutthedistrict’s

fourgoals.Yetwhendescribingthecurrentdegreeofsharedvision,hesaid:

…Ifeellikewestilldon’thaveone;everyoneisdoingtheirownthing.Andeveryone’s

celebrated,andthat’sgreat,but…wheredowecometogether?Where’sourresearchbase,you

know,theconnection?Howcanwetrulycollaborateacrossthedistrict–elementary,middle,

andhighschool?Where’sourcommonlink?AndIthinkthatbybringingeveryonetogetherand

havingallthesedayswherewehaveeveryschoolinthedistricttogether…[trailsoff]…We

haven’tgotthereyet.

Bytheendoftheproject,however,Napaappearstohaveaddressedthischallengedirectlythroughthe

implementationofprotocolsandpracticeslikethe“agnostic”rubricdescribedearlier.

TheSTCfosteredconversationsaboutthebalanceatatimewhenCaliforniawashighlightinglocal

flexibilityintheiraccountabilityandfiscalplans.Againhighlightingthefinelinebetween“coherence”

and“standardization,”anotherNapafocusparticipantquestionedwhethercoherenceispreferable:

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…butasacounterposition,isthefactthatwehavesomanydifferentkindsofschoolstoserve

allthedifferentkindsofchildrenwehavewithalltheirdifferentneeds…Isthat,inandofitself,a

strengthinourdistrict–thefactthatparentscansay‘Ilovethefactthatyourschooldoesthat,I

wantmykidtogothere’or‘Ilovethefactthatyourschooldoesthat.’?Inotherwords,Idon’t

wantthosetwoschoolstolookthesame,becausethenIdon’thavechoice(focusgroup,April

2014).

Thetensionbetweenlocalflexibilityandsystemnesswasnotedbyfirst-yearparticipantsfromAlameda,

aswell.Althoughtheirwithdrawalfromtheprojectprecludesusfromdrawingconclusionsabouthow

muchthisimpactedtheirattemptstodecreasefragmentation,itfurthersuggeststhatdistrictcontexts

thatencourageorhavehistoricalculturesoflocalautonomymustcarefullyworktoaddresshowthe

centralofficeandsitesnegotiatethebalancebetweenflexibilityand“systemness.”

TrustEachdistrictenteredthecollaborativewithvaryinglevelsofperceivedtrustbetweenthecentraloffice

andsites,especiallyamongteachers.Thisemergedasafactorthatinfluencedparticipatingdistricts’

abilitytodevelopandimplementsharedgoals.OurfindingsechowhatJohnsonetal.(2015)foundin

theirstudyoffivelarge,urbanschooldistrictsattemptingtodevelopcoherence.Astheauthorsnote,

althoughestablishingreciprocalrelationshipsandtrustbetweenthecentralofficeandtheschoolswere

keysupportsfordistrictcoherence,districtleaderstendedtooverlooktheimportanceoffostering

relationships.

Aswedescribedearlier,NapaValleyUnified,includedtheunionleadershipontheirdistrictleadership

teamfromtheoutsetoftheproject.Asoneadministratorcommentedindiscussingthedistrict

leadershipteam’sworkintheplanningstagesforYear1,“Wheneverwehaveanopportunity…toturn

ourattentionawayfromagrievanceoraninjuryoradismissalandhaveaformalopportunitytoturn

ourattentiontosomethinginstructional,that'sahighlight.Sothat'sverymuchbeenahighlightofour

work.”Aunionleaderaddedthattheybelievedhavinga“seatatthetable”benefittedthe

administration,too,saying,“Itwasagrowthforus,sittingtherewiththedistrictpeople,becausewe

werechangingideas,doingthings."ConsistentwithDLTreports,focusgroupparticipantsfromNapadid

notdescribechallengesrelatedtotrust.

Startinginthefirstyearoftheproject,Pittsburgincludedsomesiteadministratorsfromthreeschool

sitesontheirDLT–oneelementary,onemiddleschool,andone(eventuallytwo)representativefrom

thecomprehensivehighschool.AfterobservingNapa’sinclusionoftwocertificatedunionleadersduring

thefirstyear,PittsburgalsodecidedtobringinitsunionrepresentativeinYear2.Yettrust,especially

duringtheleadershiptransition,wasdescribedasachallengebysixdifferentprincipalsandteachersin

ourfocusgroupandindividualinterviewsinPittsburg.Insomecases,participantsdescribedconcerns

aboutthedegreeofrespectorinputteachersweregiven.Whilehorizontalcollaborationbetween

schoolsappearedtohaveimproved,verticalcommunicationmayhavesuffered.

Notably,mistrust,especiallybetweenteachersandthecentralofficeweresignificantbarriersforSan

LorenzoandAlameda,issuesthatparticipantsdescribedaspre-datingtheFullanproject.Giventhat

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threeofthefourdistrictsexperiencedthisasabarrier,trustappearstobeanimportantcontextual

featureforprojectsliketheSTCtoconsiderintheirdesign.

CommunicationplayedacriticalroleonmanylevelsTheSTC’sconcurrentimplementationoftheCommonCorecomplementedanongoingfocuson

instructionalpracticesfordeeperlearning,agoaloftheSTCproject.Ateachsession,theFullanleaders

remindedparticipantstheSTCwasnotaseparatereform;itwasintendedtobuildcollectivecapacity

throughoutthesystem.YetsomerespondentsdescribedtheSTCasan“add-on”ordistraction.Our

findingssuggestthatcommunicationaboutthepurposeofparticipationwithinthecollaborativeand

howdifferentinitiativesanddistricteffortsrelatedtotheoverarchinggoalswarrantedgreater

attention.Furthermore,participantsreportedthattheirdistrictswouldhavebenefitedfromadditional,

strategiccommunicationbetweensessions.

CommunicatingtocreateasharedunderstandingoftheSTCLeadersfromPittsburgandNapareportedthattheyintentionallyintegratedtheSTCwithexisting

practicesandreforms,buttheconnectionwaslessevidenttothoseatthesitelevel.Teachersdescribed

feelingoverwhelmedbyinitiativesorfrustratedbytheperceptionthattheSTCsessionsand

assignmentswere“extra”work.ANapateacherlamentedthatherinboxwasoverflowingwithemails

thatoutlinednewexpectationsandresponsibilities,addingthatshewas“treadingwater”tokeepup

withallofthechanges(focusgroup,April2014).APittsburgprincipaldescribedthenewstandards,

assessments,andtheSTCasdisjointed:“It'sjustthesubdividingofsomanythings,likethey'retryingto

dosomanythingsthatthey'renotdoingmuchwell…IfeellikeI'mbeingpulledinamilliondifferent

directions,whereitwouldbenicetojustfocusonFullanandletstuffgofromthere”(interview,March

2015).

InYear1inparticular,manyparticipants,especiallyteachersandprincipals,reportedthattheywere

unclearaboutthegoalsanddesiredoutcomesfortheproject.TheFullanconsultantshaddesignedthe

projecttobeopentolocalneedsandinterests,hopingthatdistrictswouldco-constructtheworkover

time.YetaPittsburgprincipalnoted,“Buteventhen,weweren'tcompletelyclear.Eventhough[name]

hadenvisionedmaybehowtouseit,andmaybeshedidn't,sheseemedlikeshedid,weasprincipals

werelike...afterthefirstcouplesessions,westillwerelike,‘Whereisthisgoing?’”Twoyearslater,a

DLTmemberwhohadalsoservedonaSchoolLeadershipteamsaid,“That'swherewemayhavemissed

it,missedthemark,isthatnoteveryone,evenmaybeatthispoint…noteverybodycouldarticulate[the

purposeoftheproject]toyouthroughoutoursystem.That'sjustworkthathastobedone”(interview,

PUSD,April2016).

Attheendoftheproject,onePittsburgsiteadministratorclaimedthatprincipalsessentiallyhadto

communicateconnectionsfromtheirpersonalinterpretationsofthework:

…butevenuntilnowasanelementaryprincipal–there'seightofus–ifyouaskedall

eightindividuallythelasttwoyearshowdidweapproachit,notoneofuswouldgive

youthesameanswer.Notoneofus,becauseyou'reright[speakingtoanother

principal],theintentforallthis,orthewhywasnotclear.Wehadtocreatelike,"Well,

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whyarewedoingthis?Howcanwemakeitmoremeaningful?"soweeachcamein

withadifferentperspective(interview,April2016).

Pittsburgwasnotaloneintheirstruggletomaketheconnectionsevidenttotheirteachers.AsaNapa

DLTmemberobservedduringaJune2015interview:

Inthedistrictoffice,wegetit,becausewearealwaysaroundit.Ithinktheprincipals

haveaprettygoodunderstandingofthekeythings.ButIthinktherearestillgapswith

theteachers.Idon'tknowthattheteachersseetheconnections.Unlesswehelpthem

throughcommunicatingfocusandjustbeingreallyclearonwhat's"havetodo"and

"maybeyoucoulddoifyouhavetime.”That'sanareaweneedtoworkon.

Thisis,perhaps,asimplewaytoincreasethelikelihoodthatcoherencedevelopsinanapproachlikethe

STC.OneDLTmemberfromNapasaidthatbeingintentionalaboutcommunicationdoesnothavetobe

burdensome:

Ithinkwhatitcouldbeifweweretocapitalizeontheprojectwellistobemoreclear

aboutthegoalsandexpectationsofwhatwe'redoing,tocommunicatebetterevery

timewedosomething,about,“Thisiswhywe'redoingit;thisishowitfitsinthesystem…Havingacommonunderstandingofit.

ThesamerespondentnotedthatthosewhoattendedtheFullanmeetingsdevelopedclarity

overtime,evenifithadbeenabarrierinthepast.“IthinkthatpeoplewhowenttotheFullan

traininggetthat,attheelementaryschools.Theyabsolutelygetthat(interview,April2016).”

Yetnotalldistrictteachersandotherpersonnelattendthequarterlysessions,andtheydepend

onDLTandSLTmemberstocommunicatethepurposeandkeyprinciples.

Severaldistrictadministratorssuggestthatmoredirectcommunicationattheprojectoutsetwouldhave

increasedbuy-inatthesitelevel.InYear2,aPittsburgprincipalsaid,“…Becausewehaveparticipated

[inthequarterlymeetings],wethoughtwewerebeingtransparent…butwefoundouttowardstheend

thatourteachersweren'tclearonthatpieceofthework....ithasn'tbeenasclearaswewouldalllikeit

tobe”(Interview,June2015).Ayearlater,anotherPUSDsiteadministratorcametothesamegeneral

conclusionabouttheircommunication:

…Thatgetsattheheartofoneofthetensionswithreformefforts,whichisteachers

whoareleavingtheclassroomforadaywhentheyarefacingsomanydifferent

changes…Theyarelookingforthingsthatdirectlyrelatetotheirclassroompractice,

whereastheFullanworkasitwasdescribedinthefirstyearreallyismoreofthe

systemspiece,butwiththislackofclarityaboutwheretheprogramwouldgoover

threeyears,thatseemedtoaffectteacherbuy-infromwhatweheard(interview,May

2016).

TheFullanconsultantsacknowledgedtheneedformorecommunicationabouttheproject’spurpose

andtheinteractionsbetweentheSTCanddistrictactivities.OneoftheFullancoordinatorssaidthat

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duringtheproject,theylearnedtheimportanceof“explicitness”intheirimplementation.Similarly,one

NapaDLTtoldusthatitwasthedistrict’sjobto“connectthedots”forteachers.

Infact,frustrationaboutthesporadiccommunicationwiththeFullanteamaboutthetrajectoryforthe

project’swork,andthedistrict’ssubsequentinabilitytocommunicatethe“bigpicture”clearlywiththeir

sitesservedasacatalystforchangesinthefinalyear.Napawasproactiveinaddressingthisdesign

issue,somethingwedidnotobserveintheotherparticipatingdistricts.

Evenwhenthedistrictleadershipteamisclearaboutthepurposeoftheprojectandhowdistrictworkis

connected,site-levelstaffmightnotbe.SomePittsburgandNapaDLTmembersexpressedconfusion

abouttheSTC,wellintotheproject.InJune2015,forexample,aNapaDLTmembersaid,"IfeltlikeIdidn’tknowwhatthelongrangeoutcomeswereordeliverableswouldbe,soIwasn’t,Ithinkwecould

haveplannedbettertogether.”Likewise,inPittsburg,adistrictleadersaid:

Tothisday,and[name]andIgobackandforth,butI’mstilllike…”Isitjustme?”Tobe

honest,ifyoutalkherewithalotofmycolleagues,weareallveryunclearstilltothis

day.It'snotthattheindividualtrainingsortheworkshopsweren'thelpful…Goingback

towhatthepurposewasoftheFullanproject,sotospeak,Istillthinktothisdayit's

veryunclearintermsofwhatwewereexpectingtoaccomplish.Iknowthat'srather

general,but…that'swhatthefirstthingthatjustcametomind(interview,April2016).

Accordingly,aPittsburgcabinetmemberclaimedthatthelaunchoftheprojectcouldincludemore

directcommunicationaboutwhydistrictswereinvestinginamulti-yearprojectthatbroughtsomany

personneltogether.Askedifthereweretherewassomethingotherdistrictsmightlearnfromtheir

experiences,shesaid:

Ithinkbeingreallyclearonwhatitisthatadistrictwantedtogetoutofit.Ifitwas,we

wouldhaveacommonsetofprotocolsthatweuseinallofourmeetingsorwe'regoing

tohaveacommonwayoftalkingaboutthetransitiontoCommonCore,orhowweare

narrowingitdown...Thenwhoeverwassortofleadingthatworkincurriculum

departmentorwhateverwouldcontinuallyusethosetoolsintheirmeetingsorthingsas

well,too.Ithinkthatwewouldhavetakenholdalittlebitdeeperaroundit.

Likewise,aPittsburgDLTmembersuggestedthatfromtheoutsetofthiskindofcollaborative,districts

wouldbenefitfromcommunicatingthebigpictureandageneraltrajectoryfortheproject,something

likea“Threeyearplan.Evenifyoudon'twanttogiveusthedetails,whatareyouexpectingafterthe

firstyear?Andthenhowdoesittieintothesecondyear?Whatareyouexpectingofthesecondyear?

Andtyingtothethirdyear…”

Clearcommunicationabouthowtheprojectanddistricteffortsarerelatedwouldhelpdistrictstobuild

greatercoherencebecausemembersofthesystemcouldthenfocusonintegratingtheirwork.One

Pittsburgprincipalsummarizedthecriticalroleofcommunicationincraftingaclearvision,“Weneeda

clearvisionofhowallthosepiecesconnect,andwhatourplaceisinrelationtothatvision,andwhat

ourseparatepieceiswithinthesystem,sothatwecantakecareofthatpieceandthencomeback

togetherandtalkaboutwhereeverybodyelsestands.”

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CommunicationbetweensessionsInadditiontocommunicatinganunderstandingabouttheproject,theFullanconsultantsanddistrict

leadershipteamsbothgrappledwithhowtostructurecommunicationbetweenmeetings.First,itis

importanttonotethatbecausetheprojectwasprimarilyorganizedbyexternalconsultants,districts

wereresponsibleforcommunicatingwithsitesbetweensessions.Nevertheless,DLTmembersnoted

thattheprojectwouldhavebeenmoreeffectiveifadditionalcommunicationwiththeFullan

consultantsbetweensessionshadbeenincludedwithintheSTCdesign.AsoneFullanconsultantnoted:

It'swhattheyaredoingbetweenthesessionsthat'simportant.Yes,wetouchinwith

them,butit'sthatthey'realwaysapplyingthelearninginameaningfulway,whether

they'readistrictpersonoraschoolperson.Soit’sthosecycles–or“learningloops”as

wecallthem–thatarereallycritical.Otherwise,ifyoujustshowupeveryfewmonths,

nothingwilleverhappenorchange…(interview,April2016).

InthecaseofNapaValleyUnified,severalcentralofficeadministratorssoughttoreinforcethefour

goalsthroughouttheyear.BythetimeourresearchteamvisitedthedistrictofficeinMay2014,the

directorsofelementaryandsecondaryeducationhaddevelopedacalendarfortheirprofessional

development(PD)andprincipalmeetingsthatprovidedregularopportunitiestorevisitspecificaspects

ofthegoals,eachlistedatthetopofthecalendaroverview.Furthermore,eachgoalwasincludedinthe

principalevaluationstoensurethegoalsremainedanongoingfocus.Asthesuperintendentsaid,“The

PDcalendarisanexampleofthedirectorstryingtofosterthecommunicationbetweenmeetings.Sois

thefactthatthegoalsarepartoftheprincipalevaluations…keepsitontheirradar.”AsaFullan

consultantobserved:

Ittakestimeforpeopletoconnectthedotsandseetherelevanceforthemselvesand

theschoolandtheirkidsintheclassroom.Ithinkwealwayshopeit'sgoingtohappen

soonerthanlater,anditjusttakestimeforthattohappen,butcertainlyaswesawthat

takingplaceovertime.AndithappensfasterinadistrictlikeNapa…[where]they're

facilitatingitinbetweenthesessions.Itreallystartstotakeoff(interview,April2016).

YetreportsofhowclearNapacommunicatedwithsitesvariedbetweenrespondents.SomeDLT

membersofferedconcreteexamplesofstrategiccommunicationefforts.Othersfeltthatin

betweensessionsthedistrictwaslesseffectiveatcommunicatingthevisionandapproachto

thework.Asoneadministratornoted,“[Principals]havetocommittoengaginganongoing

sense-makingoftheconnectionsbetweentheworkandfacilitatingthesense-makingwiththe

schools…NVUSD'sjobistocreate…theopportunityforhumanbeingstomakesenseofwhat's

goingon.Andtheydidn'tdothat.Theydidn'tdothat”(interview,June2015).

ParticipantsinPittsburg,alongwithAlamedaandSanLorenzo,reportedthatimplementationwas

impededbythelackofstructurestoensuremorecommunicationbetweenthesessions.Asonefocus

groupparticipantsaid,"Having3monthsofnocommunication[abouttheSTC]whatsoeverandthen

comingback,thatknowledgeandthatdriveislost"(PUSD,March2015).Agreeing,anotherSLTmember

added,“There'snofollowthroughforanyofit.It'slike,‘Okay,yougotthisinformation,seeyouin3

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months,rememberthehomework’…Soit'skindoflike,‘Well,thenI'mjustgoingtoshowup;’soitloses

itsvalue"(focusgroup,March2015).AskediftheywouldrecommendtheSTCapproachtoother

districts,oneprincipalsaidit“mightbeworthitiftheymetoncepermonth…becausethedrawbackis

thetimeinbetweenthemeeting...Youlosethatfire,thatmomentum.Thenit'slost,andthenyouhave

tocomebackagaintodothesameprocess"(PUSDFocusGroup2015).

Betweenthelossofmomentumfromthecentralofficeleadershiptransitionsandlimitedinfrastructure

forcommunicationabouttheSTCbetweensessions,DLTmembersinPittsburgrecognizedmissed

opportunitiesfordeeperimplementation.

BecauseIthinkwherewelostmotivationonourend,istheinbetween.Ifyoudon'thavepeoplereallydoingthat...Thereisnocommunicationinbetweenthesessions...It

canfeellikea“dropin”momentoftimeifyoudon'thavesomeoneattheschoolsite

levelsandatthecentralofficeembeddingthoseelementsinthings."Oh,wait,we'vegot

somehomeworkbecausethiscomingnextweek”versusbeingembeddedin.Ithink

that'sreallyonthedistrictstodothatupfrontandmakesurethatthey'reclearon

that...Idon'tthinkwedidagoodjobofthatinPittsburgatall(interview,DLTmember,

April2016).

CommunicationwithteachersnotparticipatinginSLTsOnepotentialgapinimplementationisbetweentheSLTsandteacherswhodidnotattendthequarterly

Fullanmeeting.Non-SLTmembersdependedontheirsite’steamstobringbackinformationandwork

withthemonimplementation.TheSTCattemptedtofacilitateongoingcommunicationbetween

meetingsinavarietyofways.First,theconsultantsassigned“homework”assignmentsforparticipants

inbetweensessions.Often,thishomeworkincludedactivitiesthatencouragedsite-wideengagement.

Second,principalswereaskedtoincorporatecontentinfacultyorgrade-level/departmentalmeetings

aftertheSLTsessions.

Althoughtheconsultantstoldteamstobringbackwhattheyhadlearnedorworkedonwiththeirsites,

theydidnotimposeguidelinesaboutwhatmethodleadersshoulduse.Furthermore,giventheday-to-

daydemandsonteachersandadministrators,districtsandsitesvariedintheirapproachto

communicatingthegoalsbetweenmeetings.Unsurprisingly,thisinfluencedhowwellparticipants

understoodthegoalsandhowdistrictactivitiesconnected.

Asaresult,districts–andschoolswithindistricts–variedintheirapproachesto….Insomecases,the

principaltookresponsibilityforcommunication.Inothers,thesiteadministratorsaskedtheteachers

fromtheleadershipteamstopresenttheinformationtotheircolleagues.Althoughweasked

participantsinourfocusgroupstosharehowtheycommunicatedthegoalsandcontentfromthe

sessionstotherestoftheirstaff,itisdifficulttodrawconclusionsabouttherepresentativenessoftheir

approaches.Whatfollowsareexamplesofcommunicationstrategiesdescribedbydistrictorschool

leadershipteammembers.

Iourfocusgroupsandprincipalinterviews,manySLTmembersexpressedadesiretoserveasabuffer

betweentheonslaughtofreformsandchangesandtheirteachers.Therefore,administratorsfrequently

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mentionedthattheydidnotrefertotheworkoftheSTCor“FullanProject”(assomeparticipants

referredtoit)byname.Thismadeitdifficulttoaskteacherswhowerenotdirectlyinvolvedinthe

projectabouttheperceivedimpactoftheSTC–orevenwhatactivitieswererelatedtotheproject–but

itdoesnotmeanthatchangewasnothappening.Infact,thedecisiontonotattributeactivitiesorgoalstotheSTCwasoftenassociatedwithasensethatitwaseffectiveleadershipalignedwiththeproject’s

theoryofaction.Asoneprincipalsaid,"Administratively,wehavenotfeltanytemptationorneedto

familiarizeourstaffwithFullan…Webelievethatthesimpleryoukeepitforteachers,themorefocused

onjustafewgoals,thebetterresultsthatyouget.”Hercolleagueagreed,adding:

Someschoolsintentionallydon’trefertoitastheFullanproject,becausethenithasthe

potentialtobecomejustlikeanotherinitiative…theirhopeisthatthesesortof

strategiesandideasaroundcoherenceinthedistrictwillpersist….someleadershave

justnotreferredtoitasaseparatethingbutaspartofwhatthey'realreadydoingora

wayofapproachingCommonCoreimplementation,somethingalongthoselines(SLT

focusgroup,NVUSD,March2015).

Bringingmorestakeholders(likebargainingunits)intotheconversationMultipleparticipantsacknowledgedtheneedtocommunicateaboutgoalswithabroadgroupof

stakeholders.Inthissection,wehighlightafewthemesidentifiedbyrespondents,frominclusionofthe

unionleadershiptoschoolboards.

Attheoutsetoftheproject,districtsidentifiedasmallteamofadministratorstoincludeinthe“district

leadershipteam”forthecollaborative.Theresearchers–andsoon,otherdistricts–notedthatNVUSD

wastheonlyparticipatingdistrictthatincludedtworepresentativesofthecertificatedemployeeunion

ontheirDLT.OneDLTmemberrecalledthatthedecisionwasmadeearlyintheprocess,andbothhe

andtheunionrepresentativesindicatedthattheyfounditparticularlyeffectivetocarpooltothe

quarterlydistrictandschoolleadershipmeetings,astherideallowedthemtodiscusskeyissuesina

constructivemanner.TheDLTmembernoted,[W]heneverwehaveanopportunitytoturnourattention

awayfromagrievanceoraninjuryoradismissalandhaveaformalopportunitytoturnourattentionto

somethinginstructional,that'sahighlight.”

InNapaValley,therewasalsoevidencethatthedistrictleaderswereresponsivetofeedbackfrom

principalsandteachers.Inoneparticularlysignificantdevelopment,theprincipalsrequestedgreater

clarificationaboutthedistrictgoals,andthedistrictrespondedbygeneratingaone-pagesummaryof

thegoals.Thesuperintendentbroughtthatsheetintoourinterview,andotherdistrictleadersandfocus

groupparticipantsreferenceditintheirresponses.OneDLTmemberwasquicktocredittheprincipals

forthiscommunicationstrategy:“Aftertheprincipalssaid,‘Youhave[givenustoo]muchtodo.You’re

notbeingclearwithus,’thenwesaid,‘Okay,thesearewhatwe'recommittedto.Thisiswhatwe're

focusedon.Andsoitjusthelpedusmessage…”(interview,May2014).

YetwhileNapaValleyincludedthecertificatedunionontheirDLT,noparticipantsinthedistrictspokeof

intentionalcommunicationwiththeclassifiedstaffinthedevelopmentordisseminationoftheirgoals.

OnePittsburgcabinetmemberreflected:

Ithinkanareaofgrowthforusiswhenyousay“staff,”thatmakesmethinkbeyond

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teachers…[W]e’venotbranchedoutorreachedoutnearlyasclearlytoclassifiedstaff,toschool

boardmembers,andtoparents.Sothosewouldbethreeconstituentgroupsthatneedbetter

understanding.

Ifasystemistodevelopcoherence,itiscriticalthatallmembersmustbeabletoarticulatetheshared

visionandtheirroleinadvancingtheirgoals,butourfindingssuggestthatthedesignand

implementationoftheSTCcouldhavefurtherextendedtheworktoincludeotherstakeholderslike

classifiedemployees,orasseveralparticipantsalsonoted,boardmembers.OneprincipalfromPittsburg

feltasifthecoherencebuildingwouldhavebeeneasierifthecentralofficehadincludedtheirboardin

moreconversationsabouttheSTC,butinsteaddescribeda“disconnect”withtheboard(interview,

February2015).ADLTmember,reflectingbackontheprojectattheendofYearThreesimilarlynoted

theimportanceofgreatercommunicationabouttheprojectwiththeirschoolboard.

NowthatI'mreflectingonit,itwouldhavebeengoodtomaybehavehadthemattend

someofthesessionsorevenunderstandthebackground.That,whenthemarching

ordersaregiventotheSuperintendent,therewouldhavebeenanunderstandingabout,

whatwewereworkingon.

ThesameDLTmemberaddedthatthistypeofboardinclusionmighthavereducedthedisruptionwhen

thesuperintendentandseveralcentralofficeleaderschanged.Becausetheboardselectsnew

superintendents,thisparticipantnoted,theycouldemphasizetheimportanceofcontinuingthework.

ButwithoutincludingthemintheSTC,weheardonlytwoparticipantssuggestthattheirboardsknew

anythingabouttheSTCbeyonditscosts.AsoneNapaadministratornoted,thatmeantthatsometimes

theboardcouldbeworkingonitsowngoals,decreasingthelikelihoodofcoherence.

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SectionIV:ConclusionandRecommendations

ConclusionAswenotedatthebeginningofthisstudy,theSTCoffersanalternativetothemodelofschool

improvementthathasprevailedoverthepast40years.Atitscore,theSTCmodelisstructuredto

supportgrowthinorganizationalcapacityforcreatinghighqualityinstructionalregimesthrough

professionalization,transparency,collaboration,andintensefocusonandcommitmenttofew,critical

educationgoals.Whatthisapproachtoschoolimprovementattemptstoreplaceisareformstrategy

drivenbytop-downinterventionprograms—primarilythroughacombinationoftargetedfunding

streamsandregulations.

Incontrasttothetop-downinterventionapproach,thetwofundamentalpreceptsandapproachesto

wholesystemchangearethat1)continuousprofessionallearning,coachingandmentoringofkey

administratorsandteacherleadersovermultipleyearsisessentialtotheachievementofwholesystems

change;andthat2)buildingrelationshipsandacollaborativecultureisfundamentaltosupportingthe

capacityandsustainabilityofwholesystemschange.

OuroverallconclusionabouttheSTCmodelisthatitisapromisingapproachtoschoolimprovement,

particularlylarge-scaleimprovement,andissupportedbyagrowingbodyofresearchliteratureaswell

asevidencefromtheSTCproject.Themostimportantcontributionofthisstudyisthatitwillprovide

policymakersandpractitionerswithamuchdeeperandmorecompleteunderstandingofthenecessary

conditionsforwholesystemchangetooccur,bothintermsofthereform’sdesignandinthedistrict

context.Incontrasttopast,one-dimensionalpolicystrategiespromulgatedbystateandfederal

lawmakers,wholesystemchangereliesonmulti-dimensional,aligned,andcoherentstrategiesfor

systemtransformation.

Inprevioussectionsofthisreport,wediscusshowSTCwasoperationalized—buildingthecapacityfor

wholesystemchangeanditssustainability.Itentailschanginghabitsoftheheartandmind,developing

professionalnormsandnewwaysofthinkingaboutteachingandlearning.Earlierinthereportwealso

discusboththeopportunitiesandbarrierstowholesystemchangeasweobservedthemplayoutinthe

STCprojectoverthreeyears.Thefollowingkeyfindingsandrecommendationsarebasedonour

individualandfocusgroupsinterviewswithteachers,schoolanddistrictleaders,anddatacollected

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throughanannualsurvey(discussedindetailintheMethodologysection).

KeyFindings

• STCisapromisingapproachtobuildingstrongandeffectiveorganizationsbycreatingconditions

thatcanfosterdeepchangeinschoolsanddistricts.Effectiveschooldistrictsareorganizations

whosemembersaretiedtogetherbycommonnorms,commonpurposes,commonmethods,

andcommonlanguage.

• Cross-districtcollaborationisavaluabletoolforbuildingprofessionalcommunitiesonalarger

scalethanjusttheschoolordistrict.However,collaborationcantakemanyforms—fromthe

superficialandritualtosharedlearningandtothedevelopmentofstrongprofessionalcultures.

• Wholesystemschangeisunlikelytooccurintwoorthreeyears.Transformingorganizational

cultures,especiallyofschoolsthataresodeeplyembeddedinasetofpracticesand

understandingsthathavechangedlittlesinceWorldWarII,isalong-termprocessthatneeds

constantnurturingandattention.

• Inlightoftheabove,continuityandstabilityarecriticalconditionsforwholesystemchange.

• Continuitybetweensessionsisanimportantelementtosustainschoolanddistrictengagement

insystemstransformation.

• Inaddition,awiderangeofstakeholdersmustbeinvolvedinthiswork.Importantly,school

boardsneedtobeinformedaboutSTCandregularlybriefedontheprocess.

• Finally,itisimportanttohaveastrongsystemofcommunicationamongdistrictandschool

leadersinordertoengageteachersandadministratorsattheschoolsite.

IssuesforfurtherStudyWedonotintendthisstudytobeasummativeevaluationofanembeddedsystemschange

intervention,butratheranexploratorystudyofsystemschangewiththegoalofbuildinghigh-quality

instructionalsystems.Thisstudyisintendedtoopentheorganizationalblackboxofschoolingto

illuminatetheconditionsandprocessesthatshapeschoolorganizationalcultures.Ourfindings,asnoted

above,arenotsurprising,theyreifywhatweknowfromother,similarresearchonschoolchange.The

studyalsoraisessomeimportantquestionsthatwecannotfullyansweratthistime.Thereasonsfor

thathavetodowiththeproject’stime-frameandthedepthofchangesoughtbythisintervention.As

wenotedearlierinthestudy,threeyearsisnotenoughtimetoeffectchangesofthemagnitudethat

systemstransformationrequires.Thereareno“on/off”switchestochangedeeplyheldbeliefsabout

teachingandlearningortoalterthecultureofschooling—adeeplyentrenchedculturethathasnot

changedin100years.But,policymakers,practitioners,andthepublicwantchange,andtheyusually

wantitimmediately.

Inadditiontothefindingsandrecommendationsthatwediscuss,wehavealsoidentifiedsomeissues

andtensionsthatemergedfromtheprojectthatweareunabletofullyaddressinthispaper.Wesimply

donothavesufficientdatatodrawclearconclusions.Theseare1)coherenceand“systemness,”2)

leadershipcapacityvs.instructionalcapacity,3)couldschooldistrictsachieveontheirownwhatone

districtachievedwithouttheFullanintervention,4)mightCA’schangesinaccountability,standards,

assessment,andfinancebeconvergentissuesaroundwhichtobuildsystemcoherence?

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Coherenceand“Systemness.”Asdiscussedearlierinthispaper,coherenceandsystemnessarethecore

principlesofhighqualityinstruction.Coherencesimplymeansthatdistrictsneedtohaveconsistent

goalsandastrongprofessionalcoretoimplementthosegoals.Italsorequiresastrongsystemof

instructionalsupporttoprovideteachersandadministratorswiththenecessarytoolstoshapeeffective

instructionalstrategies.Amongthetwodistricts—NapaandPittsburg--thatremainedintheprogramfor

threeyears,wefoundsomeimportantdifferencesbetweenthemonthemeasureofcoherenceand

systemness.

Napa’smovementtowardscoherenceandsystemnessismanifestedinthreeways:collectiveattention

todeeplearning;amovementtowardbuildingstrongconnectionsbetweendistrictdepartments(e.g.

HRandprograms;andtheir“planonapage,”evidenceofsharedunderstandingofdistrictgoalssystem-

wide.

Pittsburgindicatedincreasedawarenessoftheimportanceofsystemnessandcoherenceatmultiple

levelsofthedistricts.However,thiscoherenceandsystemnesswasnotrealized(insomeareaslikePDit

hasactuallybrokendown).Thisseemedtobelargelyaresultoftheturnoveramongtop-level

administrators.

ThedifferencesbetweenNapaandPittsburgonmeasuresofcoherenceandsystemnessraisesthe

questionwhetherhighlevelsofcoherenceandsystemnessarepossibleintheabsenceofstable

leadership.Turnoverinleadershipmayunderminecoherencewhenturnoverresultsinalackof

continuity.Schoolboardsoftenhiresuperintendentsto“shakeup”thesystem.Theyoftenseek

individualswhowillbringchangeratherthanstabilityandcontinuitytothedistrict.Giventhedemands

ofCCSS,LCFF,andLCAP,districtsareunderconsiderablestrainanddisruption.Furtherdisruptionis

morelikelytooverwhelmteachersandadministrators,ratherthanleadtostrongerinstructional

systems.

Itisdifficulttodifferentiatewiththeinformationthatwehavebetweentherelativeimportanceof

leadershipchangeasopposedtoprogramcontinuity.Itisconceivablethatthereareschoolboardsthat

mightstressprogramcontinuityandmovingforwardwithexistingcapacity-buildingstrategies.Thereis,

however,asnotedearlier,atendencyforschoolboardsandschoolleaderstoseekthe“silverbullet”

thatwilltransformschools.TheFullanapproachtoschoolchangeisapromisingwaytoimprove

educationsystems.Butittakesthoughtful,knowledgeableleadership;time;andresources.

Finally,wearguethatgivenenoughtimewithastableleadershipcorethatallowstheeffortstotake

root,onecanimaginecreatingasustainablesystemthatthrivesinspiteofleadershipchanges.

LeadershipCapacityvs.InstructionalCapacity.Thelinkagesbetweenleadershipandclassroomswere

mostobviousinNapa.InSanLorenzo,thenewsuperintendent,whowashiredafterthefirstyearofthe

STCproject,hadadifficulttimeconvincingfacultythatSTChadrelevancetotheirowndistrict’s

problemsofpracticeandwasnotconvincedthatintheircircumstancescross-districtcollaborationwas

usefultothem.InPittsburg,theconnectionsbetweenleadershipandinstructionalimprovementwere

fragmentedbychangesinleadership,asnotedearlier.Thismeantthatrelationshipsamong

administrators—bothcentralofficeandschool—hadtobere-established.Weknowfromresearchthat

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suchrelationshipsarefragileandmaytakeyearstodevelop,dependingonthesocialcontextofthe

schooldistrict.

ThedrivingtheorybehindtheFullanprojectwasthatinstructionalcapacitywasdependenton

competentandcommittedleadershipthatwasdistributedacrosstheentiresystem.Thesuperintendent

iscriticalinsettingthetoneforinstructionaldevelopment,butthevisionofteachingandlearningthatis

theengineofinstructionalqualityhastobesharedbytheleadershipatalllevelsofthesystem—the

schoolsitesaswellasthecentraloffice.

STCcouldbeseenasawayofnurturingthosechanges,creatingopportunitiestocollaborateandto

facilitatebig-picturediscussionsoutsideoftheeverydaydemandsoftheworkplace.Itcouldcontribute

tothe“sharedvocabulary”andacultureofpushingtowardsdeeperlearning.Yetitisdifficulttoknow

whetheranopen-endedprofessionallearningopportunitysuchasSTCcouldhaveapowerfulimpact.

Afterall,STCwasnotdesignedtobeconcreteinitsdevelopmentofpedagogy.STCwasnevermeantto

beaboutpowerfulcontent-areaprofessionallearning,forexample.Suchprofessionaldevelopmentis

muchmoreintentional,muchmoreintense.Thedemandsplacedonteachersgomuchfurther.

SupportandTime.Coulddistrictssystemtransformationhaveoccurredwithouttheinterventionofthe

Fullanteam?Napawouldcertainlybethefront-runnerwithouttheFullanintervention.However,itis

quitelikelythatitmighthavetakenthedistrictlongertoaccomplishwhattheyachievedinthreeyears

withouttheirinvolvementwiththeSTC.Napahadthenecessaryingredientsforsuccess:continuity—the

Fullaninterventionbuiltonexistinggoals;stableleadership;goodlabor-managementrelationships;and

cohesiveleadershipteams.ItisimportanttonotealsothatwhileNapamayhavesucceededincoming

muchclosertoachievingtheFullaninterventionobjectives,alldistrictsbenefitedfromtheintervention.

Theyalltookthefirststepstowardsystemtransformation—anincreasedawarenessoftheprocessof

capacitybuildingfordeeperlearning.

WithregardtotheissueofwhetherdistrictscouldgettothelevelthatNapaattainedwithoutan

outsideintervention,weneedtoemphasizethedistinctionbetweentheideaoftheSTCasacatalystfor

transformationandtheSTCas“thereform”thatmakesforbetterteachingandlearning.Thus,itmay

belessabout“goodcandidates”forthismodelandmoreaboutbestfitfordesign.Forexample,perhaps

onedistrictneedsahighlevelofsupportinthecentralofficebeforerollingouttheSLTs.Afterall,the

SLTsrequiresignificantorganizationalresources.Gettingsubstitutesforeverysiteinthecontextof

teachershortagemustbeworththetimecost.Ifthecentralofficecannotagreeongoalsandsharpen

theirfocus,itisdifficulttoimaginethattheycouldmakemuchheadwaytowardcoherentgoalsthatare

widelysharedthroughoutthedistrict.

Certainly,moreresearchneedstobedonetogainabetterunderstandingofthekindofsupportsystem

thatcouldbecreatedthatwouldbeavailabletolargenumbersofdistrictsandschoolsthroughoutthe

state.Atthepresenttime,theredoesnotappeartobethecapacitytoprovideonalargescalethekind

ofinterventionthattheFullanteamprovides.

Systemtransformationrequiresasignificantcommitmentoftimeandeffortbyparticipatingschool

districts.Napa,forinstance,estimatedthatthecostofteacherparticipationintheworkshopscostover

$100,000perday.Inorderfordistrictstoengageinthistypeofprofessionaldevelopmentnecessitates

newapproachestohowprofessionaldevelopmentofthiskindcantakeplace.Thisraisesthecritical

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questionofwhattypesofstateandfederalresourcesareavailableforbuildingstrongsystemsof

supportforschools.

Obviously,theStateDepartmentofEducationhasneithertheresourcesnortheorganizationalcapacity

toprovideover1000schooldistrictsandover10,000schoolsinthestatewiththekindofsupportthat

mostschoolsanddistrictsneed.Policymakersshouldconsiderwhatkindofsupportinfrastructurecould

becreatedstatewidebutonaregionalbasistoprovidethekindofsupporttoschoolsanddistrictsthat

willmovethemalongtowardbuildinghighqualityeducationsystems.Policymakersshouldconsider

whatisthebestuseofstateresourcestobuildlocalprofessionalandorganizationalcapacity.

TheoverlapwiththeimplementationoftheCommonCoreandLCAP.TheconvergenceofCCSS,LCFF,

andLCAPareaready-madeopportunitytoanchorschoolimprovementstrategies.AllthreegiveLEAs

considerablediscretioninhowtoallocateresources,designtheirinstructionalprograms,anddetermine

howtomeettheeducationalneedsofallstudents.Whileallthreeareinter-related,thereisthedanger

thatdistrictsregardthemasdistinctareasofeducationpolicytobeaddressed.TheSTCsoughtto

addressthisissuebybringingallofthemundertheumbrellaofsystemschangeandeffortstofocus

districteffortsonimprovementsinteachingandlearning.

Recommendations

Cross-districtcollaboration.InourproposaltotheStuartFoundation,wesuggestedthattheputative

benefitsofcross-districtcollaborationwerethedevelopmentofsharedlanguage,norms,protocols,and

knowledge.Thebenefitsofcollaborationwerealsobasedonconceptsofimprovementscience:the

powerofnetworksandthewisdomofcrowds.Perhapsmostimportantly,itisbasedontherecognition

thatsignificantanddeepchangehastoengagethosewhoareresponsibleformakingandsustaining

change.Thosewhoaremostcloselyresponsible—school-levelpractitioners—mustbeengagedinthe

processofimprovement.Itisanorganicprocessthathastocomefromwithin.

Datacollectedforthisreportsuggestthatthebenefitsofcross-districtcollaborationwerenotfully

realizedthroughtheSTCproject.Bothinindividualandinfocusgroupinterviews,respondentswere

mixedaboutthebenefitsofsuchcollaboration.Attimes,opportunitiesforcollaborationseemedtoo

vagueandwithoutaclearpurpose—sharingideas,mixinggroupstoengageinvariousexercises

designedtofostercollaborationforitsownsake.Onepossiblestrategyformakingthecross-district

collaborationsmoremeaningfulmightbetoaddresscommonproblemsofteachingpractice.For

instance,SLTsmighthavebeengivencasestudieswithdiscussionprotocols,whichSLTswouldfirst

discussintheirrespectiveschoolsandthendiscusswithmembersofotherdistrictSLTsinsmallgroups.

Anotherstrategyforcreatingamoreintentionalstructureforcollaborationbetweendistrictsmightbe

toengageininstructionalroundsandclassroomobservations.Therecouldalsohavebeenmoreexplicit

discussionoftheadvantagesofcollaborationamongdistrictswithSLTsandstrategiestotakethoseback

totheschoolsfordiscussion.

TheLearningFairwasdesignedtobeacentralmechanismforcross-districtcollaboration.Thepurpose

oftheLearningFairwastogiveSLTsandDLTsopportunitiestodiscusstheirresponsestotheSTC—

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developingafew,focusedgoalsanddevelopingstrategiesformeetingthosegoals.Inaddition,the

intentofsuchcollaborationisforschoolleaders(teachers,principals,districtleaders)tolearnfromone

another,andperhaps,catalyzedevelopmentofaprofessionalcore.

DistrictandschoolleadersreportedthattheLearningFairwasanimportanteventthathelpedto

cultivateverticalandlateralcollaboration,helpedbuildanddisseminatenewknowledgeandwasa

mechanismforrecognizingthegrowthacrossdistricts.However,theLearningFairoccurredonlyinthe

secondyearoftheproject.Tomaximizecollaborationbetweendistricts,especiallyattheschoollevel,

leadersmightconsiderbuildinginmoreopportunitiesforthistypeoflearningandcollaboration.We

recommendincludinganannualculminatingeventofsomesortintoeachyearoftheproject.Thefairs

mightalsobemodifiedtobeshorterbutmorefrequentinanefforttomaketherelationshipsbetween

districtsmoremeaningful.Similarly,classroomvisitsfromdistrictandschoolleadersofonedistrictin

anotherareopportunitiestodiscussproblemsofpracticeandfindcommonapproachestotheir

solution.

Greaterdifferentiationandindividualcoachingandsupportfortheuniqueneedsofdistricts.Although

theFullanteamencourageddistrictstodeveloptheirowngoalsandstrategiesbasedontheirlocal

needs,ourfindingssuggestthatparticipantsperceivedaneedforgreaterdifferentiationinthecontent

ofthequarterlyDLTandSLTsessions.FeedbackfrommembersoftheSLTsandDLTssuggestthe

interventionandsupportstrategiesusedbytheFullanteamcouldhavebeenmorevaluabletotheir

growthiftheywerespecificallytailoredtotheparticularneedsofeachdistrict.Theimportanceof

differentiatedsupportwasrepeatedlyemphasizedintheinterviews.However,itissomewhatdifficultto

interpretthisviewsincethesessionsweredesignedwiththepurposeofdifferentiatingdistrictneeds.

Somesurveyrespondentsnotedthat,forthem,theinitial,year-onemeetingswerenotasspecifically

targetedtotheirproblemsofpracticeastheymighthavewishedandcoveredmaterialthatteachers

andadministratorshadbeenimplementingpriortotheproject.Inresponse,NapaapproachedtheSTC

leaderstomodifytheimplementationtoallowforco-planningandco-facilitationofthesessioncontent.

Theirparticipantsbelievedthattheproject’sfinalyearwasthemostvaluableforthemastheFullan

teamworkedcloselywiththedistricttodeveloptheirownstrategiesforbuildingacoherentsystemof

teachingandlearning.Findingsfromthisstudysuggestthatthisisanimportantstrategyforbuilding

buy-inandforcreatingmoremeaningfulcontentandopportunitiesforgrowthforthedistrictsinvolved

intheSTC.Werecommendthatopportunitiestoco-planandco-presentmeetingcontentbe

incorporatedintotheprojectasearlyasthefirstyear.

Furthermore,boththeFullanteamandparticipantsnotedthatitwouldhavebeenpreferabletohave

includedamoreextensive“intake”processandneedsanalysistohelpwithimprovingtherelevanceof

theSTCprogramcontent.TheFullanteamdidvisiteachdistrictforaninitialconsultationpriortothe

launchoftheproject,butitwasnotaformalprocessincludedwithinthedesign.Possiblestrategies

mightincludeafewfocusgroupsandsitevisits,abriefstaffsurvey(ortheuseofrecentdistrictclimate

surveys,ifavailable).InthecaseofCalifornia,nowthatschoolsdevelopanLCAPplan,theconsultants

couldusethedocumentsandstudentaccountabilitydatatoprepareforamorein-depthconversation

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duringtheintakeprocess.Moreover,ifthedistrictintakesuggeststhattherearesubstantivechallenges

intermsoforganizationalorleadershipcapacity,theconsultantsmightsuggestsettingasidetimeto

addressthoseissuespriortosystem-wideimplementation.

Greateremphasisoncontinuitybetweensessions.Unfortunately,STCsufferedfromsomeofthesame

shortcomingsthatafflictmostprofessionaldevelopmentefforts—theeffecttendstostaywith

participantsaslongastheyseetheprofessionaldevelopmentlocationintheirrearviewmirrors.

Teachersandadministratorsgobacktotheirschoolsordistrictofficesandthatrealitytrumpsallothers.

Therefore,themostsignificantchallengeinsystemstransformationworkiscreatinganimpactinthe

classroom.Itdoesnotmatterhowinformativeandbeneficialeachsessionmaybeiftheimpactofthat

sessiononparticipantsdoesnotreachtheclassroom.SLTandDLTleaderssuggestedthatSTCwould

benefitconsiderablyintermsofteacherandadministratorengagement,programcoherence,and

impactifthereweregreatersupportsinplacetoensurethattheSTCworkcontinuedbetweensessions.

Forexample,someparticipantsreportedthattheywouldoftenwaituntilrightbeforetheSLTsessionto

completetheassignmentfromtheprevioussession.Bythattime,theycouldnotrememberthespecific

detailsoftheassignment.However,inthisparticulardistrict,therewerenosupportsinplacetoremind

SLTsoftheassignmentanditspurpose.Therefore,werecommendastrongeremphasisoncontinuityin

betweensessions.ThiscontinuitycouldcomethroughemailremindersfortheSTCpointpersonatthe

districtofficetodisseminatetosites,orthroughtheprovisionofspecificstrategiesforintegratingthis

workyear-round.

Strategiestoaddressleadershipturnoverindistricts.Asnotedinthisstudy,threeoftheparticipating

districtschangedsuperintendentsduringthethreeyearsoftheproject.Theissueofturnoverinthe

superintendencymightbeaddressedbyengagingtheschoolsboardsmoredirectlyfromthebeginning

oftheprojectasoccurredinoneofthedistricts.Itisintuitivelyapparentthatschoolboardmembers

havetotakeowenershipforSTCjustasteachers,administrators,andsupportstaffmust.

Asnotedearlierinthereport,theFullanteamsuggestedthatdistrictshavetohavea“baselinecapacity”

tofullybenefitfromtheirinvolvementintheCollaborative.Thereareseveralproblemswiththat.First,

itisdifficulttopredictwhichdistrictwillexperiencesuperintendentturnover.Amongthedistricts

(about120)thathaveparticipatedinUCDavis’Superintendents’ExecutiveLeadershipForumprogram,

roughlyhalfofthesuperintendentshaveeitherchangedpositionsorretired.Inmostinstances,

turnoverincentralofficeandschool-leveladministerstendstobequitehighaswell.Thiswascertainly

trueforPittsburg.Inaddition,districtsnaturallyexperiencechangesinsiteleadershipandhighteacher

turnover.Allofthesechangesimpactnotonlythecompositionoftheschoolleadershipteamsandthe

districtleadershipteams,butalsotheirabilitytosustainmomentumforsystemschange.Forexample,

manynewteachersjoinedthesiteleadershipteamsintheproject’sthirdyearwhowerenotinvolvedin

thefirsttwoyears.Ifastrongprofessionalcoreexistedamongschoolpersonnel,turnovermightnotbe

aseriousproblem.ThefactthatthelackofaprofessionalcoreisoneofthechiefproblemsthatSTC

addressesmakesthematterofturnoverallthemoreproblematic.

Giventheinstabilityofschooldistrictsgenerally—thelargeturnoverofprincipalsandsuperintendents—

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theproblemofturnoverandinstabilityisthenormratherthantheexception.Forthatreason,there

needstobeastrategyforturnoveramongdistrictleaders,inparticular,butalsostrategiesforchanges

inthecompositionoftheschoolleadershipteam.

Asnotedinthisstudy,threeofthefourdistrictsparticipatinginthisstudychangedsuperintendents.

Onesolutiontotheproblemofturnoverinthesuperintendencymightbetoengagetheschoolboards

fromthebeginningoftheproject.Itisintuitivelyapparentthatschoolboardmembershavetotake

ownershipforSTCjustasteachers,administrators,andsupportstaffmust.Theprojectcouldalso

provideadditionalstrategiestodistrictsforon-boardingnewmembersoftheSLTs.

ThreeyearsisnotenoughtimeforSTCtobecomeinstitutionalized.Finally,thisstudysuggeststhat

theSTCapproachtoschoolimprovementhasconsiderablepotential.Whathasbecomequiteobvious

attheterminationofthisparticularprojectisthatthreeyearsissimplynotenoughtimetointernalize

thekindsofcultural,professional,structuralchanges,andpracticesrequiredtobringaboutmeaningful

change.Buildingthesocial,cultural,andprofessionalcapitalthatanchorasetofnorms,values,

competencies,andbehaviorstakesmorethanthreeyears.Forthatreason,Napaiscontinuingbeyondit

originalthree-yearcommittmentwiththeworkofthecollaborative.

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ReferencesFullan,M.,&Quinn,J.(2016).Coherence:Therightdriversinactionforschools,districts,andsystems.

ThousandOaks,CA:CorwinPress.

Fullan,M.,Quinn,J.,&Adam,E.(2013).SystemTransformationCollaborative:SeniorLeaders’Session

(March10)[PowerPointslides,Slide10].Courtesyoftheauthors.

Honig,M.I.,&Hatch,T.C.(2004).Craftingcoherence:Howschoolsstrategicallymanagemultiple,

externaldemands.EducationalResearcher,33(8),16–30.

Johnson,S.M.,Marietta,G.,Higgins,M.C.,Mapp,K.L.,&Grossman,A.(2015).Achievingcoherenceindistrictimprovement:Managingtherelationshipbetweenthecentralofficeandschools.Cambridge,MA:HarvardEducationPress.

Senge,P.M.(1990).Thefifthdiscipline:Theartandpracticeofthelearningorganization(Doubleday/).NewYork:CrownBusiness.

Supovitz,J.A.(2006).Thecasefordistrict-basedreform:Leading,building,andsustainingschoolimprovement.Cambridge,MA:HarvardEducationPress.