Master Board Program...2016/01/25  · The business of the school board is student learning. •...

Master Board Program

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Florida School Boards

Association

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AGENDA Welcome The FSBA Governance Model What is Student Achievement? ~ ~ ~ Break ~ ~ ~ All You Want to Know About Student

Achievement But Are Afraid to Ask What Can YOU Do About Student Achievement?

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Desired Outcomes • Review the four (4) governance roles of school boards and how they relate to student achievement. • Obtain a greater understanding of what comprises student achievement. • Define what student achievement looks like in your school district. • Learn how student achievement has been transformed throughout history. • Review student achievement terminology. • Discuss what a school board can specifically do to raise student achievement.

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Assumptions • The school board and superintendent

compose the leadership team. • It is important that the leadership team

work collaboratively to raise student achievement.

• The business of the school board is student learning.

• School boards can have a tremendous impact on student achievement in their district.

• It is important for school boards to know how to use standards and assessments in dealing with student achievement.

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We hope you will…

• participate as much as possible. • be responsible for self. • listen with openness and respect. • withhold judgment of other’s beliefs

and concerns. • voice concerns as we go and be

honest with yourself and others.

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If you don’t know where you are going, you might

not get there. Yogi Berra

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VISION The starting point for the leadership

team that wants to focus on student achievement is

developing a shared vision of what it

wants students in the school district

to accomplish.

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This vision should . . . •envision the future of the district’s schools. •formulate the strategic direction of the school district. •determine how resources are allocated. •set the course for the school district.

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The school board establishes policies which facilitate

academic standards, budget priorities, and statutory

mandates and creates an organizational framework and

environment to achieve the district’s vision of student

achievement. 13

Some policies that should be adopted by the school board

include those . . . • Communicating

priorities and expectations.

• Aligning the district budget and school board priorities.

• Establishing local professional standards for teachers.

• Providing for an optimal learning environment for students.

• Outlining locally adopted curriculum and instructional standards.

• Demonstrating that the school board places student learning as its priority.

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It is essential that school boards provide the structure for improving

student achievement as it is critical to the success of their school district.

ACTIVITY: Identify and discuss policies that this school board has adopted to enhance the academic success of students in the school district.

ACTIVITY TIME: Five (5) minutes 15

Accountability

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ACCOUNTABILITY =

• Assuming responsibility for student achievement.

• Sharing results with the community in understandable formats.

• Analyzing student data for growth and improvement.

• Evaluating staff using student performance data.

• Using student achievement results to drive district decisions. 17

The school board advocates for students and public education. Efforts should continually be

put forth to acquire support from legislators and the community to promote student achievement

within the school district. 18

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Student achievement involves people’s

values, their educational philosophy,

and their view of contemporary life.

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The concept of student achievement has changed drastically throughout our

nation’s history.

Generally these changes have resulted in response

to criticism of public education.

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Early 1900’s

Frederick Taylor 1912

John Dewey 1916

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1950’s Sputnik was launched in

1957 and caused a major upheaval in the

educational community. Reform was called for. American schools were not producing enough

scientists, mathematicians,

engineers, and foreign language speakers.

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1983

“The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.”

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The most recent definitions of student achievement center around rigorous

academic study and the ability to use the knowledge acquired. Given the

revolutionary changes occurring in the Information Age, school boards may

wish to consider several societal trends that will affect students in the future.

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ACTIVITY

What does student achievement look like in your district? 26

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

1. Time: thirty (30) minutes

2. Each leadership team member will receive five (5) sentence strips. On each strip, write one (1) element of student achievement that is essential to your personal value system.

3. When you have completed all five (5) sentence strips, please tape them to the wall.

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ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

1. Time: thirty (30) minutes

2. Each leadership team member will receive five (5) sentence strips. On each strip, write one (1) element of student achievement that is essential to your personal value system.

3. When you have completed all five (5) sentence strips, please tape them to the wall.

4. As a group, identify similarities and discuss.

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ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

1. Time: thirty (30) minutes

2. Each leadership team member will receive five (5) sentence strips. On each strip, write one (1) element of student achievement that is essential to your personal value system.

3. When you have completed all five (5) sentence strips, please tape them to the wall.

4. As a group, identify similarities and discuss.

5. Determine the five (5) components of student achievement that this school board can agree on.

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What are the 5 components that this leadership team identified?

• Are these components aligned with what the legislature expects from our schools?

• Are they aligned with what our parents expect from our schools?

• What about our administrators and teachers?

• Ten (10)minute discussion 30

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When we think of student achievement we think of the new Florida Standards Assessment. The reality is, this test, as

are all tests is an assessment tool.

Assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes,

and beliefs. 33

Ten (10) minutes are allotted to complete

Handout #1. When you are finished, please turn your test paper over and put your

pencil down.

(Sound familiar?) 34

As the test answers are

revealed, circle the correct

response with a marker.

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Assessing Your Knowledge of Assessment Tools

1. Content taught at each grade level is called ________. b. curriculum 2. Performance standards based on either

best practices or measurable progress in specific areas are called _________.

c. benchmarks 3. A process to ensure that all district

resources are prioritized and allocated according to student achievement goals is called _________.

a. alignment

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4. Tests designed to determine whether students have acquired predefined knowledge or mastered specific skills are called _________.

b. criterion-referenced tests

5. Any form of measuring what students know and are able to do other than traditional standardized tests are _________. c. alternative assessments

6. Information broken out by specific groups within the total student population is called _________. a. disaggregated data

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7. This type of assessment is used to aid learning and is not for grading purposes but for feedback. c. formative assessment 8. Tests that are designed to compare student performance to a representative sample of students are: a. norm-referenced tests 9. The State of Florida’s assessment system is based on the: b. Florida Standards

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10. Testing that is to be conducted at the end of a course or project is called: b. summative assessment 11.The Florida Standards are the criteria which

the Florida Standards Assessment and EOCs are based upon.

a. true

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The Iowa Association of School Boards set out on a journey to define the school board’s role in student achievement.

Lighthouse Study “A beacon to provide programming”

Study #1: High Achieving vs. Low Achieving Districts (Georgia) Study #2: Action Research with Five (5) School Boards in Iowa

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LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #1

The Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) in 2000 began a study to

define the school board’s role in student

achievement. The Association needed a beacon to guide its

programming which was based on research.

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LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #1

IASB researchers studied Georgia board/

superintendent teams in districts where schools had generated unusually high student achievement over a period of several years

with those that had generated unusually low levels of achievement.

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LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #1 KEY FINDINGS

Handout #3 compares the behaviors of “moving” and “stuck” school boards in relation to productive change. Handout #4 compares the governance behavior of school boards in moving and stuck school districts.

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LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #2 This study was led by Iowa School Boards Foundation

(research affiliate of IASB), took the second step by

working with five (5) pilot school boards over a five-year period on their role in student achievement. Their focus was

simply to determine what knowledge and skills school board members need to lead

their districts to high achievement. 46

STUDY DISCOVERED FIVE MAIN LEADERSHIP ROLES

to IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

• Set high and clear expectations. • Create conditions for success. • Hold the system accountable for

expectations. • Build collective will. • Learn together as a board team.

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LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #2

Leadership Role 1

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SET SET HIGH AND CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

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SET HIGH AND CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

• 91% of middle school students expect to graduate

from high school.

• 83% of these students expect to enroll in college.

• 68% believe their teachers think they will attend college.

• 58% of students believe that their teachers think they can do better in school next year.

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SET HIGH AND CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

• Vision statements should reflect the belief that ALL children can be successful.

• Communicate that belief throughout the organization and throughout the community. Take a no excuses approach.

1. Believe more is possible and communicate high expectations.

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SET HIGH AND CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

2. Focus on student learning and teaching with improving teaching skills as the key strategy to achieve student learning gains.

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SET HIGH AND CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

3. Establish a clear and narrow focus for improvement and clarify improvement goals and specific targets.

• School board members should be knowledgeable about the district’s efforts to meet the needs of ALL children.

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SET HIGH AND CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

4. Get clear about the greatest student learning needs – the most important content area to improve first.

• Take time at the board table to discuss what is at stake for children who are not successful and the impact on the community. • Share successes!

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DIRECTIONS: Use Handout #5

to establish a plan for setting high expectations in this school district.

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Give Your Brain a Break!

“Your FCAT scores are better . . . But I think we still ought to go to Oz and get

you a brain.” 56

LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #2

Leadership Role 2

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CREATE CONDITIONS

FOR SUCCESS

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To increase student

achievement, school

districts must emphasize a

key factor within their

control – improving instruction

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CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS

“We believe that creating a system focused on the ongoing improvement of instruction must be the central aim of any education improvement effort.

In a way, it seems to be a statement of the obvious: our core business is teaching and our

product is student learning. The only way we can improve our product is to get better at our core

business.”

Tony Wagner and Robert Kegan Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Transforming Our Schools

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CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS

~ School Board Behaviors ~

1. Demonstrate commitment to the improvement focus through board actions and decisions.

► Policy Development ► Budget ► Workshops

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CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS

~ School Board Behaviors ~

2. Support quality professional development.

High achieving districts revamped their professional development to where it was meaningful, relevant, and research-based.

School boards in high achieving

districts were able to identify the link between teacher training and

board goals.

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CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS

~ School Board Behaviors ~

3. Support and connect with district-wide personnel. Show confidence in staff. Recognize contributions of staff.

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CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS

~ School Board Behaviors ~

3. Support and connect with district-wide personnel.

In high-achieving school districts, teachers and staff had access to the information needed to make decisions about student learning.

The leadership of the principal was valued.

Regular meetings occurred between the superintendent and principals.

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CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS

~ School Board Behaviors ~

4. Develop and nurture board/superintendent team leadership by:

Holding board retreats. Attending training. Having open communication. Developing Trust Showing Respect Sharing information. 65

CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS

~ School Board Behaviors ~

5. Align all parts of the system around the learning needs of the students.

Curriculum Instruction Assessments Goals Resource Allocations = Student Learning

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In high achieving districts, school board members were knowledgeable

about what was occurring in the district in relation to curriculum,

instruction, and assessment.

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CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS

~ School Board Behaviors ~

6. Stay the course. “Schools have demonstrated time and again that it is easier to initiate change than to sustain it to fruition.”

Rick DeFour School Improvement Expert 68

ACTIVITY: 15 Minutes

DIRECTIONS: Use Handout#6 for establishing a plan to create conditions for success in the school district.

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LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #2

Leadership Role 3

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HOLD THE SYSTEM

ACCOUNTABLE TO THE

EXPECTATIONS 71

HOLD THE SYSTEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THE EXPECTATIONS

1. Use data extensively.

In “moving” districts: ● Decisions were data driven.

● Staff was taught how to interpret and use data.

● Early and ongoing assessment data went beyond the state mandates.

● Attendance data, drop out rates, and other data besides assessment data were utilized.

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HOLD THE SYSTEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THE EXPECTATIONS

continued . . .

1. Use data extensively.

● Link people to results. Accountability should be put in the hands of those closest to the product.

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HOLD THE SYSTEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THE EXPECTATIONS

2. Determine what will be acceptable as evidence of progress/success.

● Clear, measurable targets should be set to give guidance and to energize the system.

● Remember: There needs to be a no excuses approach.

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HOLD THE SYSTEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THE EXPECTATIONS

3. Monitor progress regularly.

Remember: What gets

monitored, gets done!

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“The purpose of our efforts is not the educational version of an autopsy, in which we announce that the patient has expired and suggest some insight into the cause of death. Rather we are concerned with the health of the patients . . . Educational leaders are the wise physicians who must consider how to improve education, not merely how to analyze the demise of the system.” Douglas Reeves in Daily Discipline of Leadership

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HOLD THE SYSTEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THE EXPECTATIONS

4. Apply pressure for accountability. High achieving school districts felt a sense of urgency about academic improvement initiatives. Pressure came from wanting what was best for students.

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DIRECTIONS: Use Handout #7 to establish a plan for holding the system accountable to expectations in the school district.

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LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #2

Leadership Role 4

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BUILD COLLECTIVE WILL

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BUILD COLLECTIVE WILL

1. Create an awareness of need.

● High achieving school boards used data to show the need for improvement throughout the system and community.

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BUILD COLLECTIVE WILL 2. Create urgency around the moral purpose of improvement.

● It is not change for the sake of change. It is change for the sake of the children and the future of the community.

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BUILD COLLECTIVE WILL 3. Instill hope that it is possible to change.

● School board members can reinforce that they have confidence that improved student learning will occur by allocating resources for the change efforts.

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BUILD COLLECTIVE WILL 4. Connect with the community.

“Real lasting instructional

improvement in student

achievement will take long term commitment of

schools, parents, and families

working together.” Rick DeFour

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DIRECTIONS: Use Handout #8 to establish a plan for holding the system accountable to expectations in the school district.

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LIGHTHOUSE STUDY #2

Leadership Role 5

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LEARN TOGETHER AS A BOARD TEAM

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LEARN TOGETHER AS A BOARD TEAM

1. Establish board learning time. 2. Learn together. ● Set aside ample time to study an issue.

● Learn to be consumers of research.

● Make data a part of school board’s way of doing business.

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LEARN TOGETHER AS A BOARD TEAM

3. Talk to each other. 4. Build commitment to the focus through shared information and discussion.

● Take time for reflection.

● Consistently discuss the initiatives in place and what schools are doing to improve student learning.

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LEARN TOGETHER AS A BOARD TEAM

5. Develop a willingness and readiness to lead and allow others to lead.

● Stay away from micromanaging.

● Defer to the experts.

● Walk the talk of leadership and collaboration.

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LEARN TOGETHER AS A BOARD TEAM

6. Engage in deliberative policy development - lead through your policies.

● Goals should be embedded in policy.

● Policy should reflect alignment priorities. 91

DIRECTIONS: Use Handout #9 to complete the action plan for improved student learning in this school district; discuss how all five (5) leadership roles will impact the school district.

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How School Board Members Impact

Student Achievement

RECAP

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1. Set high and clear expectations.

2. Create conditions for success.

3. Hold the system accountable to the expectations.

4. Build collective will.

5. Learn together as a board team. 94

The Common Sense of Leadership for Student Learning

You get what you expect.

If you want to improve, focus on what matters most.

You cannot do everything at once.

It takes time and effort to become an expert at anything.

What gets measured gets done. 95

The Common Sense of Leadership for Student Learning . . .

continued

Act like an island and you will be all alone.

Nothing sticks until it becomes “the way we do things around here.”

You cannot lead what you do not know.

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The Common Sense of Leadership for Student Learning . . .

continued

It takes lots of people pulling together to make big things happen.

Collaboration must be the way of work.

It takes trust and respect to make this happen.

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What do you want for the students, teachers, families and community

members of this district?

Are you providing the necessary resources?

Are you modeling those behaviors?

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Ask yourself this………..

Ask yourself this……

What kind of Board do you want to be for your

students?

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Time to do the

evaluation!

Remember: It’s all about

student achievement!

Have a great

day!

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