Every Child, Every School: Lessons from Chicago s Partnership for Instructional Leadership

Transcription

1 Every Chid, Every Schoo: Lessons from Chicago s Partnership for Instructiona Leadership A report on a three-year project of Business and Professiona Peope for the Pubic Interest, Chicago Pubic Schoos, and Targeted Leadership Consuting, to hep schoos buid Pre-K 8 success from within. Business and Professiona Peope for the Pubic Interest

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3 Every Chid, Every Schoo: Lessons from Chicago s Partnership for Instructiona Leadership Business and Professiona Peope for the Pubic Interest October 2011

4 Tabe of Contents 3 Acknowedgments 4 Foreword 6 Executive Summary 9 Estabishing the Partnership Impetus 12 Activating the Partnership Partners Framework Process Integrating Pre-K 24 Assessing the Partnership Outcomes 30 Looking Ahead Lessons Learned 33 Endnotes

5 Acknowedgments 3 The generous support of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation made possibe the pubication of this report. BPI is gratefu for the Foundation s investment in both the work of the Partnership for Instructiona Leadership and this effort to share our earnings about the promise this initiative offers for improving teaching and earning from Pre-K through eighth grade. We extend specia thanks to Sara Saughter, Education Program Director, and Erica Okezie-Phiips, Program Officer, who supported and heped shape BPI s Partnership efforts and encouraged the pubication of this report. BPI is aso gratefu for funding provided by the Loyd A. Fry Foundation and the McDouga Famiy Foundation in support of the Partnership. The foowing current and former members of BPI s staff contributed to the Partnership and preparation of this report: Kim Zaent, Aexander Poikoff, Aya Barnea, Hannah Birnbaum, Katie Hi, and Steve Zememan. Survey research and editoria support were provided by the Socia IMPACT Research Center at Heartand Aiance. BPI wishes to recognize the foowing Chicago Pubic Schoos educators whose efforts in support of the Partnership for Instructiona Leadership contributed immeasuraby to the positive outcomes we describe: CPS Area 4 Leadership and Staff: Steven Zrike, Emi DeJuio, Oga LaLuz, Pedro Martinez, Taina Veázquez-Drover, Katie Wesh, Judy DeJan, Lisa Jackson, Lissette Rua, Jennifer Rath, and Anne Cine Principas of the Partnership Schoos: Nima Osiecki Frederick Funston Eementary Barbara Kargas Johann W. von Goethe Eementary Kitae Fernando Kim Henry D. Loyd Eementary Gadys Rivera James Russe Lowe Eementary David Pino and Maria Luisa Gonzaez Sharon Christa McAuiffe Eementary Manue Adrianzen Afred Nobe Eementary Eizabeth Gonzaez and Raque Saucedo Samon P. Chase Eementary Herman Escobar Wiiam P. Nixon Eementary Marie N. Laureano Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy Eba Maisonet Franz Peter Schubert Eementary Aexandra Sophia Guiamo Aexander Von Humbodt Eementary BPI gratefuy acknowedges the invauabe assistance of Targeted Leadership Consuting, especiay Jeff Nesen, Amaia Cudeiro, and Sara Expósito, whose expertise, guidance, and commitment contributed significanty to the Partnership for Instructiona Leadership.

6 4 Foreword

7 5 In the nation s current introspection about its pubic education system, much attention is righty paid to the question of scae. Wi a proposed reform, however effective it may be in a singe schoo, work at scae that is, for a group of schoos or an entire district? In this report, Business and Professiona Peope for the Pubic Interest recounts an experience that is promising in this regard. A group of Chicago neighborhood schoos expored a path that schoos rarey undertake working together. They didn t happen upon a magic pedagogica or curricuar buet. Neither were they visited by Superman, or favored with a massive phianthropic infusion. Instead they ooked within. Their key resource turned out to be themseves existing facuty and staff inteectuay powered, however, with a new idea. The idea was a Framework a mutifaceted, muti-year approach to schoo reform, unified by a singe focus, deveoped by a nationa education consuting organization, Targeted Leadership Consuting that has shown much promise esewhere, incuding in an entire district in Caifornia. (The TLC Framework bears a strong resembance to the principes empoyed in what is perhaps the most hopefu story in American pubic education today the near-miracuous achievements of the country s 16th argest schoo district, Montgomery County, Maryand.) The keystone of the TLC Framework is cutura change deveoping a coaborative cuture of shared eadership. Upon the keystone it is then possibe to ay other stones, such as improving instruction, using data effectivey, partnering with parents and community, and the ike. The mortar that hods the stones together is a seected area of instructiona focus, for exampe, reading comprehension, to which a ese is reated and upon which a Framework activities for severa years training, coaborative discussion, data gathering, and so on are connected. Teaching chidren to read, progressivey better and better, from Pre-K through eighth grade, becomes the mantra of the schoo, the odestar guiding a Framework activities, and the goa a unified facuty and staff hods itsef coectivey responsibe for reaching. The Partnership for Instructiona Leadership, as the group of participating schoos cas itsef, is very much a work in progress. Triumphant notes from the orchestra pit are premature. Yet for those who are frustrated by the state of pubic education in Chicago, and despair of finding a practica, doabe way to do something about it for a not just a seect few schoos, these pages offer promising food for thought. BPI invites you to read on. E. Hoy McConne, II Executive Director

8 6 Executive Summary

9 7 The Partnership for Instructiona Leadership Too many students in Chicago Pubic Schoos are performing beow often far beow grade eve. Ideay, a students shoud be increasing their subject matter knowedge and critica thinking skis over time. In September 2008 a three-year initiative, the Partnership for Instructiona Leadership, was created to hep a group of neighborhood eementary schoos in Chicago Pubic Schoos Area 4, on the city s Northwest Side, buid the interna capacity to improve schoo achievement for a students at a grade eves, incuding Pre-K and Engish Language Learners. Executive Summary Drawing upon educationa research and its own experience, Business and Professiona Peope for the Pubic Interest (BPI) formed the Partnership. In addition to BPI, partners incuded principas, teachers, and parents from the participating schoos as we as an educationa consutant and CPS Area 4. Each participating schoo adopted a common Framework a mutifaceted, muti-year approach to schoo improvement, unified by a singe curricuar focus. Originay deveoped by Targeted Leadership Consuting, a nationa education consuting organization, the Framework has shown much promise in a number of schoo districts across the country. In impementing the Framework, a instructiona activities at a grade eves training, coaborative discussion, data gathering, and so on are connected over a period of severa years to the chosen curricuar focus. Schoos received specia coaching to hep them become earning organizations, equipping facuty and staff to ask difficut questions, whie providing mutua support and hoding each other coectivey accountabe for improved student earning. Each schoo worked to buid its own capacity for professiona earning, coaboration, and shared, accountabe eadership, with students, parents, and the arger community paying important roes. Premise The premise of the Partnership is that when facuty and staff of a schoo are united by a shared goa with a coherent instructiona focus, and are engaged with the parenta and arger communities, student earning wi increase and be sustained. Learnings Over the course of three years, the Partnership was impemented in 11 eementary schoos six for the fu three years with five more schoos joining in the third year. Significant outcomes and earnings emerge from the Partnership experience:

10 8 Executive Summary The Partnership framework provides a system schoos can empoy to respond to the pressure to increase student earning in every cassroom. Participating schoos made significant progress across a number of domains. Their focus on students grew and deepened. They began using data much more effectivey. There was a considerabe increase in curricuar coherence and teaching consistency. Schoos strengthened their professiona cutures and showed progress toward their goas. Teachers and other partners noted a difference in their schoos work and in their students. With support, the Partnership Framework can be effectivey integrated into schoo processes and over time become sef-sustaining. The Partnership is designed to be manageabe and we-paced, moving schoos into action prompty, with fu impementation unfoding over three years. Over time the schoos took increased ownership for their own improvement and needed ess externa support. Seecting a singe area of instructiona focus for mutipe years of work heps deepen earning and acceerate schoo-wide change. In practice this meant that eadership meetings, accountabiity expectations, and content coaching a supported the schoos work on their focus. When the Area adopted the focus for a its schoos, this assured that schoos received both support and pressure from the Area to continuousy impement the Framework as we as to share their earning with other schoos. The deveopment of quaity practice around student assessments is critica to identifying student needs. Without reguary assessing students on an instructiona focus across a grade eves, teachers coud not effectivey monitor students progress. In progressive steps, the Area required a schoos to adopt a set of targeted, robust assessments for a students. Having teachers drive the process in concert with schoo eadership generates schoo-wide support and impact, whie faciitating sustainabiity. Through the work of the Instructiona Leadership Teams, teachers were abe to ead critica fact-finding and decision-making about the needs of a students in the schoo and methods for instructiona improvement. Their buy-in, openness, and wiingness to try new practices in their cassrooms, with the support of their principas, were the drivers of the improvements in the schoos. The integration of Pre-K, whie chaenging, is doabe and vauabe, especiay with system-eve support. In the face of barriers that make integrating Pre-K a chaenge, the Partnership offers a mode for how Pre-K can become an equa participant in the work of an entire schoo. Incuding Pre-K teachers in eadership team work heps strengthen the connection among teachers and ensures that they truy address the needs of a students. Using the Framework, schoos can begin to create consistency between Pre-K and K-12 cassrooms. Schoo instructiona earning initiatives are more effective and sustainabe when done in concert with a schoo district. In addition to providing coaching and data anaysis, Area 4 support enabed schoos to impement the Framework with confidence that their focus woud aign with and woud not be undermined by other district initiatives.

11 Estabishing the Partnership 9

12 10 Estabishing the Partnership Impetus: To Increase Learning for A Students in Every Cassroom Midst a nationa debate over student achievement and schoo improvement can schoos be improved soey by addressing schoo-reated factors such as teacher performance and parenta engagement, or must non-schoo factors such as famiy income and neighborhood dysfunction be addressed first? 1 Business and Professiona Peope for the Pubic Interest offers an encouraging story. It is a story of a three-year initiative, catayzed by BPI but invoving Chicago Pubic Schoos, principas, teachers, parents, and an educationa consutant, to hep a group of Chicago neighborhood schoos (Pre-K through 8th grade, with high percentages of Engish Language Learners and chidren from ow-income famiies) buid the interna capacity to improve. Too many students in Chicago Pubic Schoos are performing beow often far beow grade eve. Ideay, a students shoud be attaining subject matter knowedge and critica thinking skis, progressivey growing their understanding and abiities over time. Yet, in the schoo year prior to the aunch of the Partnership for Instructiona Leadership (2007), an unacceptaby high percentage of CPS students tested beow grade eve in reading. 2 That percentage importing tragicay imited ife trajectories has since remained depressingy arge. 3 Schoos, principas, and teachers are under tremendous pressure to raise achievement eves quicky. Schoos must reach specified achievement benchmarks or be subjected to corrective actions such as probation, turnaround, even cosing. Soon a schoos wi be adapting to new, strong, internationay benchmarked Common Core Standards. A schoos are expected to produce resuts with a students, regardess of background, income, race, or chaenges (the atter incuding Engish Language Learners 4 and specia education students).

13 11 Research has consistenty shown that effective schoos are strong on mutipe fronts. The University of Chicago Consortium on Schoo Research identified five essentia supports for schoo improvement: strong eadership, parent-community ties, professiona capacity of facuty and staff, a student-centered earning cimate, and ambitious instruction. 5 The Consortium found that eementary schoos strong in most of the five essentias were at east ten times more ikey than schoos weak in most of them to show substantia gains in reading and math. 6 Estabishing the Partnership New best practices are emerging for schoos that incude deveopment of a coherent earning continuum that stresses the transition from grade to grade, beginning in Pre-K. When a schoo has consistent expectations across cassrooms, and skis are buit from grade to grade, teachers can spend more time deepening students understanding of content. Schoos have aso been found to perform more effectivey when they have strong interna accountabiity predicated on a high eve of agreement on norms, vaues, and expectations. 7 Absent such agreement, teachers are ikey to act in isoation and to respond to chaenges in shaow ways, compying with demands without efficacy or responsibiity. In these circumstances, students are unikey to take risks, coaborate, and earn higher-order thinking skis. 8 Schoo improvement thus requires that the schoo function as a team that incudes facuty and staff, students, parents, and the arger community, and that teachers constanty refect upon and seek to improve their own practice whie coectivey grapping with what is and is not working for students. What foows is the story of eeven Chicago Pubic Schoos in one administrative area (Area 4 a mini-district within CPS) that chose to respond thoughtfuy to the pressures for increased student earning for a students at a grade eves, incuding Pre-K and Engish Language Learners. In September 2008, together with Business and Professiona Peope for the Pubic Interest (BPI) and CPS Area 4 eadership, the schoos aunched the Partnership for Instructiona Leadership. A partner schoos began to impement a mutifaceted Framework for schoo improvement that was, however, unified by a singe focus. Schoos were coached to become earning organizations by equipping facuty and staff to ask difficut questions, whie providing mutua support and hoding each other accountabe for improved student earning. 9 Each schoo worked to buid its own capacity for professiona earning, coaboration, and shared, accountabe eadership with students, parents, and the arger community paying important roes. 10 The premise of the Partnership is that when facuty and staff of a schoo are united by a shared goa with a coherent instructiona focus and are engaged with the parenta and arger communities, student earning wi increase and be sustained.

14 12 Activating the Partnership

15 13 Partners In mid-2008, BPI, a group of Chicago Pubic Schoos Area 4 eementary schoos with high concentrations of Latino students (many of whom were Engish Language Learners), and Area 4 staff agreed to form the Partnership for Instructiona Leadership, recognizing that by joining together and combining resources each partner woud be abe to achieve more than it coud acting in isoation. Activating the Partnership As indicated in the chart beow, a participating schoos in the Chicago Partnership were eementary schoos assigned to CPS Area 4 and were ocated in the Logan Square, Hermosa, and Bemont Cragin neighborhoods of Chicago s Northwest Side. In 2008, at the commencement of the Partnership, six schoos joined and continued through a three years. Five additiona schoos joined in September 2010 (Year 3). Participating Schoos (As of schoo year) 15 Schoo Neighborhood Pre-K Tota % Latino % ELL % IEP % Low Mobiity 2011 ISAT Enroment Enroment (Students Income Reading % with (Free and Meet or Disabiities) Reduced Exceed Lunch) Cohort 1: Started 2008/09 Funston Hermosa Goethe Logan Square Loyd Bemont Cragin Lowe Humbodt Park McAuiffe Hermosa Nobe Humbodt Park Cohort 2: Started 2010/11 Chase Logan Square Nixon Hermosa Prieto Bemont Cragin Schubert Bemont Cragin Von Humbodt West Town

16 14 Activating the Partnership Chicago Pubic Schoos Area 4 Initiay, the roe of Chicago Pubic Schoos Area 4 was to endorse the Partnership Framework approach for participating schoos, dedicate two Area staff to serve as coaches (aongside BPI coaches) for the initia group of six schoos, and participate in schoo trainings. Over the three-year period, the Area became increasingy supportive and in Year 3 encouraged a second cohort of schoos to join the Partnership. Eventuay, Area 4 adopted the Partnership Framework for the entire Area, seected reading comprehension as the Area-wide focus, and aigned coaching and professiona deveopment for a Area 4 teachers, principas, and schoos to the Partnership Framework. Targeted Leadership Consuting (TLC) TLC is the nationa education consuting organization that originay deveoped the Framework for use in the Boston schoo system. In Chicago TLC provided periodic training for Partnership schoos and Area 4 staff throughout the three-year period. Business and Professiona Peope for the Pubic Interest (BPI) BPI convened the partners, heped fund the effort, provided management and on-site coaching for individua schoos, and offered the fresh perspective of an outside (non-cps) organization.

17 15 Framework The expicit goa of the Partnership for Instructiona Leadership is to improve earning for students at a grade eves, incuding Pre-K and Engish Language Learners, by impementing a Framework that enabes each participating schoo to buid its own capacity for effective professiona earning and coaboration, with a strong instructiona focus and accountabe eadership. The Framework was deveoped by Targeted Leadership Consuting (TLC), a nationa education consuting organization. TLC was aready working successfuy with some Chicago high schoos, and its Framework was in use in other schoo districts across the country, notaby in Chua Vista, Caifornia, once a very ow-performing district, whose achievement scores rose steadiy after it adopted the TLC Framework. 11 Today the district ranks first in the state for Engish Language Learners and students with disabiities, and overa is among the state s top performing districts. 12 Activating the Partnership Success with the TLC Framework: Chua Vista Eementary Schoos 13 Located in San Diego County, Chua Vista Eementary Schoo District is the argest K-6 eementary schoo district in the state of Caifornia, serving 27,000 students in 45 schoos. It is a argey Latino schoo district with a high percentage (35%) of Engish Language Learners. TLC began work with Chua Vista in 2001 with a cohort of five schoos. In subsequent years, cohorts were added so that by 2007 a schoos were participating in instructiona eadership buiding with TLC s hep. After TLC competed its direct training and support to the district and schoos, the district continued to carry out the TLC Framework on its own. Chua Vista schoos have seen dramatic growth in student achievement, as measured by Caifornia s Academic Performance Index (API), which rates schoos and districts. The API ranges from 200 to 1000, with the state standard set at 800. In 2002, Chua Vista s overa API was 653. By 2009, the district s API had reached 833, and 31 out of 44 schoos had API scores above 800. Since then, its API scores have continued to grow. In 2011, the district made a 13-point gain, moving from an overa API of 848 to 861. For Engish Language Learners and students with disabiities, Chua Vista has the highest API in the state.

18 16 Activating the Partnership The Framework for schoo improvement impemented by the Partnership incorporates the foowing six steps: 14 1 Buid Coaboration Deveop shared eadership to buid a schoo-wide cuture of coaboration. 6 Aign Resources to Support Pan Aign resources to support each of these steps. 2 Set Instructiona Target Target an area of instructiona focus designed to improve earning for a students. 5 Engage Parents and Community Partner with parents and community. 4 Review/Seect Powerfu Practices Buid instructiona expertise in the use of effective, researchbased practices. 3 Examine Data Guide instructiona practices and professiona earning by continuous examination of student work and other data.

19 17 Process Once a schoo decides to use the Framework, what happens? The first step in impementing the Partnership Framework was for each schoo to estabish an Instructiona Leadership Team (ILT), one of the primary purposes of which is to deveop shared eadership and a cuture of coaboration. Activating the Partnership What is an ILT and what does it do? The size and composition of an ILT are up to each schoo, but it is intended to incude teachers from each grade eve, incuding Pre-K, ead iteracy and biingua teachers, and members of the administrative staff, incuding, of course, the principa. Each working group in a schoo, such as grade eve, biingua, or subject matter teams, shoud be connected to at east one ILT member. Though not responsibe for day-to-day schoo operations, the ILT is the engine for organizing and buiding momentum for a schoo-wide effort to improve teaching and earning. How does the ILT initiate change? On behaf of its schoo, each ILT seects a singe area of instructiona focus, such as reading comprehension, writing, or math, around which to unify and organize a mutifaceted, schoo-wide effort. The steps that foow incude: Choose a Targeted Instructiona Area (TIA): Seecting a schoo s singuar focus is a key deiberative process, based not ony upon the professiona judgments of ILT members but aso upon input from the entire facuty, and upon the examination of data, such as student work and test performances. Estabish SMARTe Goas: Once a schoo has seected its TIA, the ILT sets reaistic yet ambitious goas for student earning caed SMARTe goas Specific, Measurabe, Attainabe, Reevant, Timey, for every student. Since the goas appy to every student, they necessariy engage the schoo in considering the earning and achievement of a students at each grade eve, incuding Pre-K. SMARTe goas aso incude the assessments that are to be used to measure student progress. Seect Powerfu Practices: Powerfu Practices are research-proven practices that are the how and what of teaching and earning. An exampe of the former is the instructiona/student earning strategy caed guided reading. Exampes of the atter are state earning standards that describe what students shoud know or be abe to do. The seected Practices shoud be impementabe in age-specific ways at every grade eve so that students wi be abe to buid on their own earning as they progress through the grades.

20 18 Activating the Partnership How does change actuay happen? An important ILT task is to design and impement successive Cyces of Professiona Learning, generay four per year, each asting from six to eight weeks. Within each Cyce, teachers earn to master and use the seected Powerfu Practices. A given Cyce shoud focus on ony one or two manageabe components of a Powerfu Practice, in order not to diffuse its efforts. For instance, in guided reading most students work independenty whie the teacher works with a sma group. A first Learning Cyce might therefore focus on techniques for instituting independent reading practices that engage students and buid their interest in and stamina for reading books. We-designed Cyces of Professiona Learning have cear teacher and student earning goas reated to the Powerfu Practice, thus making cear what change shoud be evident by the end of the Cyce. It is important for the ILTs to meet frequenty (e.g., bi-weeky) to maintain momentum, fuy impement and earn from the Cyce, and make adjustments as necessary. Each Cyce incudes the foowing eements: Training/Input: Teachers earn about one or two components of the seected Powerfu Practice through participating in earning sessions at grade eve meetings, staff meetings, or on professiona deveopment days, and by exporing the iterature reated to their seected TIA and Powerfu Practices. Opportunities for Practice: Eary in the Cyce, opportunities for safe practice are provided, permitting teachers to experiment with new cassroom strategies without being evauated. Observing/Coaching/Feedback: Later in the Cyce, as teachers gain experience with new strategies, they receive feedback from another teacher (peer coaching), a schoo-based iteracy coach, or the principa. Looking at Student Work and Data: Using the annua SMARTe goas, ILTs and teacher teams reguary use protocos to consider student assessment data and examine student work. Grade eve teams can then gauge whether students are on track to meet SMARTe goas for the year and make adjustments as indicated. Monitoring and Measuring Impementation: At the end of each Cyce (sometimes more frequenty) each ILT conducts a Targeted Learning Wak to a cassrooms, conversing with students, observing teachers, and examining cassroom environments. 16 Resuts are reported to the entire schoo and are used to make decisions about the content of the next Cyce. Throughout Cyces, principas and other coaches aso conduct informa earning waks to provide ongoing feedback and support to teachers. Parent Connection: At reguar times in the Cyce, the schoo creates opportunities for parents to support their chid s earning in the Targeted Instructiona Area, for exampe, by earning how to choose books at their chid s specific reading eve.

21 19 How does change spread and deepen throughout the schoo? A teachers, not just ILT members, pay integra roes during each Cyce of Professiona Learning. A facuty impement Powerfu Practices in their cassrooms, anayze student work and assessment data, participate coectivey in grade eve earning and probem-soving, and engage parents and the Loca Schoo Counci in the schoo s focus area. In addition, a teachers participate in schoo-wide professiona deveopment, facuty meetings, and Learning Waks. Cyce success depends upon each teacher paying her or his part. Through the spirit of mutua accountabiity that the Framework fosters, a facuty become part of the schoo s change. The Framework requires that mutipe Cyces of Professiona Learning be impemented, at east four per schoo year. Momentum deveops with successive Cyces as teachers observe the progression in student engagement and earning. Schoos are expected to adhere to their chosen area of focus unti a substantia portion (80 90 percent) of students are at grade eve in the Targeted Instructiona Area. Generay, this takes pace over three to five years. Momentum for change within a schoo can be acceerated by reaocating resources to support the area of focus for exampe, by rearranging schedues to provide more teacher coaboration time, purchasing more books for cassroom ibraries, or reprogramming the schoo day to enabe a students to have 90 minutes of uninterrupted time for iteracy instruction. Activating the Partnership What externa supports go into the process? Training Reguar team training sessions for a ILT members from a member schoos drive the Framework s impementation. Trainings are provided on specific topics (for exampe, panning a Cyce or protocos for examining student work and discussing data). Structured opportunities to earn from the other schoos and panning time for individua ILTs are aso key components of each training session. Guided Learning Waks Guided Learning Waks, hed at a Partnership schoo, prepare ILT members to conduct such Waks at their own schoo. Coaches A Leadership Coach is assigned to work with the ILT to hep impement the Framework between training sessions. The Leadership Coach is a guide, providing ideas and resources, examining evidence, and asking friendy yet hard questions. Infusing the entire process are the fundamenta principes that teachers and principas are designing and impementing their own change, and that they themseves are coectivey accountabe for resuts.

22 20 Activating the Partnership Integrating Pre-K: Creating a Continuum of Learning Vaue of Pre-K Strong evidence supports the merits of investing in high-quaity eary chidhood education for a. Intervention from birth through three, as we as in Pre-K, produces considerabe short- and ong-term benefits such as improved cognitive and anguage deveopment, ess in-grade retention, higher rates of high schoo competion, attendance at four-year coeges, and fewer specia education needs. 17 For chidren from ow-income backgrounds, eary chidhood educationa experiences are particuary critica. Quaity Pre-K experiences hep chidren buid vocabuary, use higherorder thinking skis, and evauate their environment, and in turn buid the cognitive skis that chidren need to be successfu throughout the rest of their schooing. 18 Preventing Fade-Out: Creation of a Continuum of Learning Though eary education creates numerous positive impacts, without proper foow-up support the cognitive gains of Pre-K are reduced or fade out as chidren move on to eary eementary grades. 19 Aigning Pre-K with kindergarten, and kindergarten with eary eementary grades, is a critica too for fighting this fade-out. 20 The approach incudes aigning standards, curricua, and assessments for students Pre-K through third grade, as we as coordination of eadership to estabish a shared vision and common goas among principas and teachers across these eary grades. 21 A earning continuum from Pre-K into eementary grades aso can incude coaborative panning among teachers to achieve greater continuity in earning and accountabiity to parents and community. 22

23 21 Montgomery County: A Powerfu Exampe of Creating Consistency Across A Grades Montgomery County, Maryand, which successfuy aigned Pre-K to 12th grade, stands out as a powerfu exampe of the benefits of a earning continuum across a grades. 23 Montgomery County Pubic Schoos (MCPS) in Maryand raised the achievement eves of a students by intentionay connecting eary earning and K-12 education. As a resut of MCPS s efforts, by 2010, neary 90% of kindergarteners entered first grade ready to earn, 88% of third graders read proficienty, amost 90% of 12th graders graduated from high schoo, and 77% of graduating seniors enroed in coege. Eements of the MCPS strategy incuded: kindergarten by deveoping its own diagnostic assessment program for use in Pre-K through 2nd grade that was aso aigned to benchmarks used in ater grades. The assessment provided a ink to what students needed to know before entering kindergarten to meet benchmarks in ater grades. The assessment aso provided teachers with a common anguage to use across grade eves when discussing student progress. Activating the Partnership Estabishing a District-Wide Goa that Linked to Eary Learning The district goa caed for 100% of students to graduate and 80% of students to be coege-ready by This goa heped overcome phiosophica differences between teachers about what was taught in kindergarten and Pre-K. Teachers instead focused on the concrete steps they needed to take to hep students meet the goa. Deveoping a Common Assessment System In conjunction with its Pre-K 12 Curricuum Framework, MCPS set a new standard for iteracy in Providing a Common System of Support A teachers attended common professiona deveopment and were hed to the same expectations. The trainings incuded a specia eary earning portion for Pre-K and kindergarten teachers. Fostering Shared Accountabiity Schoos hed weeky meetings where Pre-K through 4th grade teachers discussed data, instructiona methods, and the needs of specific students. Teachers reported that these meetings instied a sense of shared responsibiity for a students within a schoo. Chaenges to Creating the Continuum Though deveoping a continuum of earning seems ike common sense, creating coherence is a chaenge. 24 The task is particuary daunting due to structura issues that separate Pre-K from eementary cassrooms, even when the Pre-K program is officiay part of the schoo. 25 Because of funding source stipuations, Pre-K has different requirements for ength of day, teacher quaifications, parent invovement, eigibiity, curricua, and assessments, which contribute to its separation from the rest of the schoo. Many Pre-Ks, even those formay connected to an eementary schoo, are ocated in separate off-site faciities, making for ess interaction among students, parents, and teachers in the Pre-K and eementary programs.

24 22 Activating the Partnership CPS Pre-Ks are open to famiies city-wide, whie the adjoining neighborhood eementary schoo may have an attendance boundary. Some Pre-K students may thus not be assigned to the adjoining eementary schoo for kindergarten. As a resut, schoos may not fee a need to buid strong connections between their Pre-K and eementary schoo cassrooms. Finding time for teacher coaboration is aways difficut, but finding time for Pre-K teachers to coaborate with the rest of the schoo is even more difficut because Pre-K schedues are typicay different from those of the eementary grades. How The Partnership Worked to Integrate Pre-K To better understand how Partnership schoos responded to the chaenge of integrating Pre-K, Pre-K 3 teachers in the 11 participating schoos provided feedback regarding their views via an eectronic survey. (See Sources of Information on page 36 for survey description.) These responses formed the basis for the observations identified beow: 1. Schoos incuded Pre-K teachers on their Instructiona Leadership Teams. In the initia stages of the Partnership, the notion of incuding Pre-K teachers in the ILTs was a nove, even controversia idea. One skeptica principa asked, Why woud I want to do that? Eventuay, most schoos either incuded Pre-K teachers on their ILTs or ensured that they were represented, for exampe, by the iteracy coach. Most ILT members (80%) fet that integrating Pre-K into the rest of the schoo was a very important goa for the success of students. Pre-K teachers contribute a vita perspective. They have deeper knowedge of eary chidhood deveopment. We want to achieve consistency and continuity of instruction throughout the whoe schoo, and Pre-K is an important part of that. 2. Schoos seected a Targeted Instructiona Area (TIA) that woud appy to Pre-K. A schoos eventuay seected reading comprehension as their TIA, an important choice for Pre-K and K-2 students. Too often work in reading comprehension does not begin in earnest unti 3rd grade when it is evauated by standardized tests. Research indicates, however, that teachers shoud begin reading comprehension strategies in Pre-K, for exampe, earning how to use anguage to express ideas, raising questions, and reteing parts of a story Schoos incuded Pre-K students in their schoo-wide SMARTe goas. Incuding Pre-K students in the schoo-wide SMARTe goa process proved to be a chaenge for amost every schoo, because Pre-K teachers use different assessments than the rest of the schoo and are concerned with pushing students too far beyond their deveopmenta abiities. One schoo paved the way for an incusive approach. It used its existing assessments, but caibrated them to the rigorous Fountas and Pinne Benchmark Assessment System (BAS), which incudes an eary iteracy assessment appropriate for Pre-K students. As a resut, in whoe-schoo data anayses grade eve teams were abe to detect how students at different reading eves were distributed across grades. This schoo eventuay decided to officiay convert to the Fountas and Pinne BAS, and by the end of the third year of the Partnership, Area 4 had begun to train a Area schoos to do ikewise.

25 23 4. Pre-K teachers and students became famiiar with their schoos Cyces of Professiona Learning. Neary a Pre-K 3 grade teachers surveyed reported being invoved in their schoos Cyces of Learning. They received copies of the Cyces and reated professiona readings, participated in Cyce-reated teacher team meetings and professiona deveopment, visited each others cassrooms, and opened their cassrooms for Learning Waks. Activating the Partnership 5. CPS Area 4 supported Pre-K impementation with specia casses. Area 4 staff determined that Pre-K and kindergarten teachers needed additiona support in order to participate fuy in their schoos Cyces of Professiona Learning. As an initia step, in the spring of 2011, the Area offered professiona deveopment casses on guided reading that were taiored to Pre-K and kindergarten teachers. Approximatey 40 Pre-K and kindergarten teachers attended. These Area 4 casses instructed Pre-K and kindergarten teachers how to teach reading comprehension in an eary chidhood setting, integrate reading comprehension into their daiy instruction, and to appreciate the roe that Pre-K can pay in connecting the two grades. The casses aso examined both Pre-K and kindergarten assessments, earning the vaue of each and how to overcome the practica difficuties of using different assessments in different grades. 6. The Partnership increased understanding between eary education teachers and the rest of the schoo. As compared to before the Partnership, most eary education teachers (Pre-K 3) beieved that their schoos new focus heped bring a greater sense of purpose and direction to their cassroom teaching (78%). Many (61%) fet that administrators and eementary teachers aike understood and appreciated the importance of eary chidhood education better than before the Partnership. This shift in attitude on the part of both Pre-K and eementary teachers is an important first step in deveoping a common understanding of how chidren earn. When Pre-K is an equa participant in the schoo, best practices and key theories from Pre-K cassrooms can be appied to eementary cassrooms, whie core instructiona techniques from eementary cassrooms can be appied to the schoo s youngest earners eading a students to benefit from the exchange of ideas.

26 24 Assessing the Partnership

27 25 Outcomes Over the ong term, the primary criterion for measuring schoo improvement is cear: Have substantia student earning gains occurred? Yet the fact remains that it is chaenging to measure the short-term impacts of schoo improvement efforts. As the Chicago Consortium observes, Judging the short-term efficacy of major institutiona change efforts... is... compicated. These are not simpe programs from which we shoud expect direct and immediate effects on students. In fact, student outcomes might actuay ook worse in the short term as estabished routines are discarded, and experimentation with new, untested practices emerges. 27 Assessing the Partnership The Partnership has been in pace for ony three schoo years in Cohort 1, and just a singe year in Cohort 2. Scores on standardized tests cannot reasonaby be expected to improve significanty in these time frames. Given these circumstances we have sought to capture the impact of the Partnership upon the participating schoos through surveys of teachers and principas and from anayses generated by the Partnership. (See Sources of Information on page 36 for survey description.) The significant outcomes of the Partnership fa into three areas: impementation of the Framework, strengthening schoo cutures, and systems changes. Impementation of the Framework Partnership Schoos Became Fuy Engaged in Impementing Mutipe Aspects of the Framework. A 11 participating schoos utimatey chose reading comprehension as their focus or Targeted Instructiona Area. 28 A 11 ILTs were representative of schoo staff. (A 11 incuded principas, 10 incuded biingua teachers, and 5 incuded a Pre-K teacher; none of the schoos had ILTs prior to the estabishment of the Partnership.) Schoos chose different Powerfu Practices and professiona readings, based on their own research with guidance from coaches and the Area. Schoos deveoped SMARTe goas, seected assessments, created reguar Learning Cyces, and engaged in Learning Waks.

28 26 Assessing the Partnership Schoos began to engage parents, using Powerfu Practices and reading assessments to hep them understand how their chid was (or was not) progressing, and providing guidance about what parents coud do that woud directy compement student earning in the cassroom during the schoo s Cyce of Professiona Learning. Some schoos offered specia workshops in which parents visited cassrooms to see the Powerfu Practices in action. Others used reguar parent events, such as report card pick-up or iteracy nights, to emphasize the Practices. Teachers and Staff Found Vaue in ILT Participation. According to teachers and staff, ILTs were vauabe because: ILTs strengthened instruction and consistency across the schoo. (77%) Our students performance needed to acceerate. (56%) ILTs provided an opportunity to earn new things and buid expertise. (52%) Schoos Effectivey Empoyed Data to Drive Decision-Making. Schoos began to use data not ony as an evauative too, but aso as a earning too. At the outset of the Partnership, whie schoos were concerned about reading comprehension, amost none reguary assessed student reading comprehension eves across a grades and therefore coud not effectivey monitor student progress. The Partnership Framework enabed schoos to institute new data-driven assessment practices for measuring reading comprehension. Key Benefits of the Partnership Identified by Virtuay A Surveyed Incuded: Creating expectations that a teachers woud earn and grow. (99%) Ensuring adherence to the Targeted Instructiona Area unti the goa was reached. (97%) Buiding a shared cuture of professiona inquiry and accountabiity. (96%) Estabishing mutipe, fuy-deveoped Cyces of Professiona Learning. (94%) Appying the TIA to a students at a grade eves. (93%)

29 27 Strengthening Schoo Cutures Significant Progress Was Made in Engaging Schoo Cutures Necessary to Improve Achievement. Teachers and principas reported that to a greater extent than prior to the Partnership: Schoos paced an increased focus on students. Assessing the Partnership We measure success by what students earn. (69%) We make decisions about aocating time and resources based on the students best interests. (66%) We beieve that a students can and wi earn at high eves. (63%) Important gains were made in coherence and consistency. We understand why consistency across cassrooms is important for students. (80%) We have deveoped a common anguage around earning for teachers and students. (80%) We deiberate and use our professiona judgment about what practices shoud be consistent across cassrooms. (78%) Teachers and principas became more committed to using data for identifying needs and setting goas. Data (incuding student work) has heped us understand students needs. (77%) We know where every individua student is performing. (75%) Pre-K and eementary teachers discuss data with each other to guide discussions on cassroom instruction. (59%) Schoos deveoped a professiona cuture within and across grade eves. Seeing other cassrooms is a purposefu professiona activity. (77%) Grade eve meetings are productive and are focused on teaching and earning. (64%) Teachers from different grade eves tak to each other productivey about how to meet students needs. (62%)

30 28 Assessing the Partnership Systems Change Area 4 Embraced the Framework, and Became a Strong Partner from the Outset of the Partnership. Area 4 provided coaches and organizers as we as data support and instructiona speciaists. In addition, it encouraged a second cohort of five schoos to join the Partnership. In progressive steps it eventuay ed a other Area schoos to adopt and impement the Framework, and provided suitabe training. These steps incuded: Faciitating the adoption of reading comprehension as the schoos Framework focus for a Area schoos. Providing teacher, principa, and staff professiona earning inked to the focus, with an emphasis on the Powerfu Practice of guided reading. During Year 3, five Area coaches taught three eight-week casses on guided reading for 650 teachers. Area staff aso organized a three-day institute at the cose of the schoo year that was attended by 300 teachers. Teams of teachers faciitated workshops for their peers. Area work with principas, assistant principas, iteracy, and biingua coaches was organized around the reading comprehension focus. Leading Learning Waks as toos for schoo-based coaching. Reguar Learning Waks were ed by Area staff at a Area 4 schoos and incuded Pre-K cassrooms. Instituting quaity practices for reading assessment. Initiay, the Area ed a schoos to measure reading comprehension for a students, incuding Pre-K, suppementing their existing assessments and reporting their resuts to the Area three times per year. Subsequenty, the Area required that a its schoos adopt a set of robust diagnostic reading assessments that encompassed Pre-K. Sponsoring two trips to Chua Vista, Caifornia, for 75 teachers, principas, and Area 4 coaches, incuding the Chief Area Officer. Teams from Partnership schoos visited three comparabe high-performing schoos that had impemented the Framework and Learning Cyces for amost a decade. 29

31 29 Exporing more deepy the connections between Pre-K and K-8. In addition to emphasizing the crucia importance of incuding Pre-K in a aspects of the Framework (ILTs, Powerfu Practices, etc.), Area staff expored how Pre-K coud be inked more securey with the Area-wide focus by investigating Pre-K curricua, assessments, and teaching practices, and consuting with their CPS Pre-K counterparts. Specia guided reading casses were hed for Pre-K and kindergarten teachers, heping teachers grasp how they coud indeed work together. Assessing the Partnership Increasing the priority for biingua education for Engish Language Learners. The Chua Vista trip and growing Area expertise fueed interest in examining the compex issues facing biingua earners. Aided by TLC, a Biingua Conversation heped schoos earn about comprehensive approaches to biingua program modes that incude expicit Engish Language Deveopment for ELLs. By the end of Year 3, a Area 4 schoos had structured new minute Engish Language Deveopment periods for biingua students and attended specia professiona deveopment sessions. Additionay, an Area 4 Biingua Advisory Committee was estabished to determine a comprehensive Biingua Program mode suited to Area 4 schoos.

32 30 Looking Ahead: Lessons Learned

33 31 What earnings may be geaned from the Partnership experience? BPI offers three: Schoos working in concert with other schoos are ikey to accompish more than schoos working in isoation, and schoos working together with their district are ikey to accompish more than either working separatey. In this respect, the Partnership experience is consistent with that of Chua Vista, CA, and Montgomery County, MD, where schoo improvement efforts have made noteworthy progress. Looking Ahead: Lessons Learned Athough there may be more than one road to Rome, working together on the Partnership road means a particuar kind of work and set of reationships. The work must be mutifaceted yet focused. Many chaenges must be addressed, but driven by a singe infusing idea coherenty. The reationships within schoos must be characterized by unity among facuty and staff, shared eadership, and coective accountabiity, a centered around the seected infusing idea. The reationship with the district must be supportive and ikewise centered around the same idea. With the focus and reationships set in pace, the particuars of the TLC Framework coectivey form a powerfu set of muti-year actions that have the potentia to bring about truy major improvements in teaching and earning for a students in a grades. We may aso ask, what are the keys to reaizing that potentia? BPI offers four keys to successfu impementation of the TLC Framework: Both Schoo and Schoo District Leadership Must be Fuy Committed to the Partnership Mode. In the Chicago experience, each schoo principa and CPS Area 4 eadership were vita engaged, determined, and supportive to ensuring that the mutipe interreated facets of the Partnership mode were rigorousy and continuousy impemented (i.e., ILTs, Targeted Instructiona Area, Cyces of Learning, Powerfu Practices, data anaysis, Guided Learning Waks, etc.). ILTs Must Be Truy Representative. In order for ILTs to become the agents of change they are designed to be, they must incude strong teachers representing a grade eves, incuding Pre-K, as we as the principa and assistant principa. They shoud aso incude other specia interest teachers such as iteracy coaches, biingua and specia education teachers, and members of subject matter teams. This broad representation is essentia to creating the cuture of shared eadership and coaboration that is fundamenta to effective Framework impementation. Parents Matter. The Partnership is not ony about students and teachers. The essentia invovement of parents requires that schoo eadership proactivey focus on the roe of parents for exampe, by creating specia events to educate parents about Partnership goas and activities, and by providing parents with opportunities to earn what their chid shoud be and is earning, how to measure progress, and what they can do to hep.