What works in schools, afternoon session

Objectives:

• look @ what we know
• ID specific improvment issues
• Draw on our collective knowledge and experiencces to suggest reoponses to those issues and challenges
• share and celebdrate successes

CES--coallition of essential schools--jill davisdon

"We are what happens next"

NCLB discussion--Has NCLB caused more harm that good? It is a federal mandate and is a state issue. The problem lies in this paradox. if education is to be a state issue, how can feds mandate standards that deem what is sucessful and what is failure. Additionally, the TASS was the model for NCLB and now Texas students are not the top of the game according to the rules of NCLB. Too often we focus on the product in education, not the process and it is this product driven attitude that has Oklahoma focused on single snapshot of a few key items to determine a school's performance. Standards do have a place, need a place, but too often the end of education, from the federal point of view, is the test score--and in the process the student-the whole reason for the school to exist- is lost.

Scenarios for reform

9%=nonreform--like Small Learning Communities

2%=momentary reform--quickly fades but doesn't last and is quickly replaced.

13%=nominal reform--we have some posters....

22%=resident reform--reform is a way of life

7%=transient reform--we are going to reform

12%=temporary reform--what we do until we are really going to do something

9%=Sustained implementation--actually doing the work

26%=substantial reform=reform works and is a constant work in progress (think Baldridge)

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The myth of linearity--the idea that if we implement greater we will have greater achievment, but it's done a little bit at a time. HOWEVER; to see significant school improvment, extensive implementation will show academic results. THEREFORE, "Deep implementaiton of a few things beats superficial implementation of many things. THUS more that one goal = no goal at all. Depth is better than breadth. Knowing "how" is very different from knowing "that" THEREFORE havinga goal without a plan to implement that goal is just silly and a big waste of time. the HOW is essential to the doing. PLANS, ORGANIZATION, AND MEASUREMENT MUST BE PLANNED FOR GOALS TO BE ACHIEVED. Backwards planning is the only way to success (If I want to see X happen, the I must allow A,B, and C to happen; thus X is supoported by process and procedure.) It's all about systems of support to lead/teach a new point of view that make the achievement of the goal possible.

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In most school improvement initiatives, things seem to get worse. Implemantation dip is part and parcel of the process. Some theorist feel that implementation needs to go far enough and fast enough to reach the point of no return so the implementaiton process will not be abandoned. It's all in the spin--it isa hard to sell implementaiton with mere statistics--data is hollow. We need to attach faces, testimonials, real people to sell implementation of reform--to get to that area of substantial implementation. We need to appraoch our faculty with not only logos (data), but also ethos and pathos to cocnvince teachers to get through the implementation dip (which I think is where we as a school are)

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Internalize Best Practices

make expectations clear, provided practies, feedback, coaching, accountability, Whatever else is needed? Essentially build a culture of trust and cammeraderie. not a culture of distrust and fear of retribution.