Consortium of Innovation Final Report Prepared by Education First - - PDF document

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Consortium of Innovation

Final Report

Prepared by Education First December 2016

Overview of the COI:

Goals, timeline, approaches to data tracking

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The COI grant aimed to increase BOCES’ capacity to support districts’ progress on their teaching and learning priorities

• Support select BOCES and a subset of their districts to improve

implementation of CCSS and teacher effectiveness by commissioning, accumulating and distributing relevant, practical knowledge (e.g., tools, best practices) related to communicating with stakeholders, cultivating instructional leadership, and facilitating teacher and principal collaboration

• Equip participating BOCES with the skills and tools to

disseminate knowledge across their regions

Grant Objectives Participants And Components

• 3 BOCES, Questar, Wayne-Finger Lakes, Monroe 2, and cross-

functional teams from 17 districts

• LEAF supports: coaches (accountability partners), 2 convenings,

trainings (teacher leadership, instructional rounds, LDC, communications), Wiggio (resource sharing platform)

• BOCES and district expectations: district action plans, regular

BOCES-led regional gatherings to share and troubleshoot, attending convenings

The COI goals stem from a Theory of Action about BOCES capacity as a lever for change

IF LEAF connects, convenes and coaches BOCES and teams from a subset of their districts… …and engages them with tools, resources and learning opportunities focused on communicating with stakeholders and cultivating principal and teacher collaboration on instructional leadership …and BOCES disseminate relevant tools and resources to all the districts in their region through Regional Trainings …THEN participating BOCES and districts will develop skills and practices that strengthen the implementation of CCSS and teacher effectiveness reforms

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The COI spanned one year, forming new and deepening existing structures for knowledge sharing

5

Issue RFP Select Participants

Nov Dec

First Convening

Jan 2016

Second Convening

October

Coaching/ Support Regional Trainings/ PD

Evaluation/ Feedback

Nov/Dec

Planning

Oct 2015 LEAF

BOCES District

Accountability Partners – LEAF

supports BOCES to connect districts with relevant tools/ resources and follow through on COI commitments.

Convenings, Quarterly Newsletters, PD opportunities and Wiggio – LEAF

facilitates the sharing of valuable info, PD, resources and tools that BOCES and districts can adapt/adopt.

Regional Convenings– BOCES lead

regular regional convenings to support districts with their action plans and to facilitate sharing across districts.

Jan - October

3 surveys

To all participants in the COI (teachers, administrators and BOCES): February 2016 (baseline data)- 91 respondents August 2016- 65 respondents November 2016- 69 respondents

District Leader Interviews

Two district interviews from each COI BOCES in Nov. 2016: One from a district identified as “more engaged” in COI One from a district identified as “less engaged” in COI

We gathered data from participants to inform our reflections on the COI impact BOCES Focus Groups

Two focus groups in Nov. 2016 with: COI Accountability Partners (APs) who coached BOCES leads (two total) BOCES Leads (two total)

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Here is what we

learned…

We distilled takeaways into three categories

Achievements Challenges Takeaways

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Let’s begin with achievements

Achievements Challenges Takeaways

District leaders used the grant to deepen existing work and reported progress on improving culture between administrators and teachers

Grant work helped us further a goal already “in

• ur sights” as a district

We got to collaborate

• utside our district, beyond

the “usual suspects” Our grant work helped the district convey its earnest support for teacher-driven goals 5/6 interviewees 3/6 interviewees 5/6 interviewees

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District knowledge, support and tools for CCSS implementation received high ratings and improved

75.8% 75.9% 62.9% 84.4% 94.9% 92.6% TEACHERS BUILDING LEADERS & CENTRAL OFFICE

% RATING DISTRICT-PROVIDED TOOLS, RESOURCES & SUPPORTS FOR CCSS

• IMPLEM. AS VERY GOOD OR GOOD

Survey 1 Survey 2 Survey 3 ”We encourage teachers to teach each

• ther in after-school

training sessions and embedded learning walks and peer coaching.”

• Teacher

Frequency of teacher collaboration also improved in almost all areas

65.4% 57.7% 7.7% 3.8% 15.4% 58.8% 52.9% 11.8% 0.0% 35.3% Yes, within my building Yes, within my district Yes, with other districts in the region Yes, with other districts beyond my region No % OF TEACHERS SELECTING THE FOLLOWING RESPONSE ABOUT IF THEY ARE PROVIDED TIME TO COLLABORATE Survey 2 Survey 3

…and the percentage of teachers saying they had “no” collaboration opportunities reduced by 20%

51.80% 55.9% 61.6% SURVEY 1* SURVEY 2 SURVEY 3

AVERAGED DATA COMPARISON OF TEACHERS REPORTING

• COLLAB. OPPS ACROSS THEIR

DISTRICT†

*Survey 1 data have been averaged across multiple prompts in

• rder to arrive at comparable figures

“Yes, within my district” and “Yes, within my building” from graph to the left (Note- No Survey 1 data available)

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A large majority of teachers say district support has improved during the COI

73.1% 26.9%

YES NO

% OF TEACHERS SELECTING YES VS. NO IN RESPONSE TO WHETHER DISTRICT SUPPORT HAS IMPROVED “The district is open to listening to the teachers and letting us lead the way.”

• Teacher

“[We’re] making changes; moving in the right direction, and COI was the impetus.”

• Teacher

And teacher leadership opportunities grew

SURVEY 1

53.6%

• f respondents rated

teacher leadership

• pportunities in which

teacher leaders meaningfully support and coach colleagues as Very Good or Good. SURVEY 3

88.5%*

• f teacher respondents said

both “Yes” they had teacher leadership opportunities at their school but, 69.2% said that teacher leaders meaningfully coach and support their colleagues.

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BOCES leaders also report increasing momentum for regional collaboration around teacher leadership

“[The districts] really liked the Teacher Leadership PD and want to try to grow that.” “Teacher Leadership is the piece we really think we could move forward with….Districts are wondering about an ongoing commitment.”

BOCES developed new expertise, expanded partnerships with their districts and deepened PD offerings

50.8% 55.6% SURVEY 2 SURVEY 3

% OF BUILDING/DISTRICT LEADERS SELECTING THAT BOCES FOSTER MEANINGFUL COLLABORATION AMONG DISTRICTS VERY OFTEN OR OFTEN

55.0% 89.5% 84.2%

% OF BUILDING/DISTRICT LEADERS RATING BOCES-PROVIDED TOOLS, RESOURCES & SUPPORT FOR GIVING TEACHERS FEEDBACK AS VERY GOOD OR GOOD

Survey 1 Survey 2 Survey 3 “Cross district PD coordinator

meetings were revived. It was useful to have common district planning time with Consortium members, though difficult to schedule.”

• District Leader

“The BOCES facilitated top notch principal PD as part of this grant.”

• AP

“We got to know some of

• ur districts more

deeply….developed a model

• f greater follow through vs.
• ne-off PD sessions .”
• BOCES leader

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And an increase in BOCES capacity to provide guidance for giving teachers feedback seemed to trickle down

75.0% 100.0% SURVEY 1 SURVEY 3

% OF BOCES RESPONDENTS SELECTING STRONGLY AGREE OR AGREE THAT THEIR CAPACITY TO SERVE DISTRICTS IN PROVIDING TEACHERS WITH FEEDBACK …

62.1% 82.4% 80.8% SURVEY 1 SURVEY 2 SURVEY 3

% OF TEACHERS RATING ADMINISTRATORS' FEEDBACK RELATED TO CCSS AS VERY GOOD OR GOOD

55.0% 89.5% 84.2% SURVEY 1 SURVEY 2 SURVEY 3

% OF DISTRICT/BUILDING LEADERS RATING BOCES- PROVIDED SUPPORTS FOR TEACHER FEEDBACK AS VERY GOOD OR GOOD

All participants valued convening opportunities highly

61.5% 84.6% 65.4% 69.3% 61.5% 23.1% 34.6% 80.8% 83.3% 91.6% 83.4% 88.9% 44.4% 47.2% 88.9% 88.9% SUPPORT PROVIDED BY AP* CONVENINGS WITHIN THE DISTRICT CONVENINGS WITHIN THE REGION STATEWIDE CONVENING IN FEBRUARY SUPPORT PROVIDED BY BOCES RESOURCES AND TOOLS PROVIDED ON WIGGIO COI NEWSLETTER STATEWIDE CONVENING IN OCTOBER

% OF TEACHERS VS BUILDING LEADERS/CENTRAL OFFICE RATING COI COMPONENTS AS VERY HELPFUL OR HELPFUL (SURVEY 3)

Teachers Building Leaders & Central Office ”Keep the statewide convening if possible—extremely valuable time and a great agenda for October.”

• Building or district leader

”Please continue this initiative. Amazing experience.”

• Building or district leader

*Accountability Partner

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Including the summer trainings provided by LEAF, which received high ratings

100.0% 100.0% 66.7% 100.0% 94.7% 95.2% 62.5% 92.9% 85.7% 85.7% 57.2% 57.2% TEACHER LEADERSHIP INSTRUCTIONAL ROUNDS LITERACY DESIGN COLLABORATIVE (LDC) COMMUNICATIONS

% RATING VERY GOOD OR GOOD

Teachers Building Leaders & Central Office BOCES Leaders

and…

EVERY district leader characterized the COI as a valuable experience yielding positive outcomes of some kind.

“This gave us an incentive to get some work done…I thought it was good work.” “We do a shared PD day with other counties now …these are so valuable.” “[The COI] helped our teachers see that what they’re struggling through is valuable.”

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There were also some challenges, though

Challenges Achievements Takeaways

In the early stages, BOCES and districts had difficulty defining the work ahead for the grant

“[We needed] a clearer vision and process right up front. The vision was somewhat there, but how to bring it to life wasn’t determined or shared clearly enough right away.”

• District Leader

“BOCES felt a bit disadvantaged by the way the grant was conceived—they were the ‘guinea pigs’ so to speak and that

• nly dawned on them halfway through.”
• Accountability Partner

“People didn’t sign up for the grant because of the PD—PD wasn’t spelled-out, so many districts didn’t know what they’d signed up for.”

• BOCES Leader

“We thought BOCES wanted districts to form

• ne, cross-district team…it was after we

submitted our application that we found out we need our own district team—we had to scramble.”

• District Leader

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Some districts did not feel that BOCES (or the COI) sufficiently customized supports to meet districts’ needs

Some districts did not see real shifts in BOCES supports as a result of COI BOCES still need to become more proactive in learning about our needs and offering supports The COI seemed to have its own agenda (e.g., instructional rounds) that did not fit our goals

“No, no change at all in [how BOCES] support.” “We sometimes have to remind the BOCES that we’re the 'customer,' they need to keep us in the loop." “[BOCES support] wasn’t dramatically different just more targeted PD." "We wish there was a menu of services [from

• ur BOCES] for districts.

We have to make it up and ask for it." “We benefit when the BOCES leadership works from an understands our district goals—the grant provided the root [of] that understanding." "It felt like the resources for the grant were prescriptive and I had to fit that into our work." “In all honesty, I got the impression that they had a couple of topics they wanted everyone to go for like instructional rounds—it was forced a little bit."

And there is some disconnect about perceived BOCES skills, especially in providing feedback to teachers

61.5% 65.4% 69.3% 69.3% 88.9% 72.2% 97.2% 97.2% 85.7% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Providing support related to state standards implementation. Providing feedback to teachers related to instruction. Providing resources to districts. Providing professional development to districts. % OF RESPONDENTS SELECTING STRONGLY AGREE OR AGREE THAT THEIR BOCES IS SKILLED IN… BOCES Leaders Building Leaders & Central Office Teachers

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The online component of sharing and collaboration had limited impact

“I used Wiggio where we had to. We had to upload

• ur district artifacts…the

resources that were shared were the right ones, but the tech was unknown, clunky.”

• District Leader

“Wiggio felt static. Resource weren’t updated

• r customized enough.”
• BOCES Leader

“Sharing technology is untapped. Some districts and regions have their own systems, [and are] reluctant to use something new.”

• BOCES Leader

23.1% 47.2% TEACHERS BUILDING LEADERS & CENTRAL OFFICE

% OF RESPONDENTS RATING RESOURCES AND TOOLS PROVIDED ON WIGGIO AS VERY GOOD OR GOOD

Acknowledging these challenges and learning from the achievements led us to these takeaways

Achievements Challenges Takeaways

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If we take survey, interview and focus group input and revisit the grant objectives…

…we find that the COI made progress on all its goals to some degree

Support select BOCES and a subset of their districts to improve… Implementation of CCSS by commissioning, accumulating and distributing relevant, practical knowledge Advancement Teacher effectiveness commissioning, accumulating and distributing relevant, practical knowledge Strong advancement Equip participating BOCES with the… Skills to disseminate knowledge across their regions Strong advancement Tools to disseminate knowledge across their regions Emerging advancement

BOCES are poised to deepen their professional learning

• fferings to districts (esp. for teacher leadership)

“Teacher leadership was a common thread cross all our districts. [We] would want to provide more PD on that beyond a two-day training.”

COI Work in Teacher Leadership

Wayne-Finger Lakes intends to continue to offer teacher leadership PD then follow-up with districts to hold them accountable for the

• utcomes.

Monroe 2-Orleans will launch a new teacher leadership institute series based on COI work, expanding this PD to non-COI districts.

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Questions for Panel of Superintendents:

• 1. How did being a participant in the Consortium aid

your district?

• 2. What were some of the key components of the

Consortium for your district?

• 3. How was being a part of a statewide consortium

helpful to your team?

• 4. Teacher leadership became a strong component of

the Consortium as the year progressed. How did the concept of teacher leadership grow and develop in your district during the year?

• 5. What from the Consortium experience has “stuck”

with your district and will affect it into the future?

• 6. What from the grant experience can we and should

we replicate without grant funding?

Thank you