Creating a System of Excellent Schools Community Conversation 28 November 2018
Today’s agenda FOCUS TIME PURPOSE Welcome & Overview Vision of School Garner perspective on attributes of an excellent school Excellence and school excellence framework Closing & Next Steps Identify next steps and reflect on the day 2
Why this project? Why now? Together, our aim is to: ● Knit together into a more cohesive whole the important initiatives and work streams we already have underway; ● Deepen our implementation of the strategic plan and core tenets of our operating model; and ● Better prepare us to develop our next strategic plan. 3 Photo credit: https://atlsuper.com/2018/05/25/congratulations-grad-nation-aps-class-of-2018/
What is this initiative about? 1. Picture a child in APS about whom you care a lot — a child, a niece, a nephew, a mentee. 2. How many of you would rate in your top 5 aspirations for that child to be zoned to an excellent school? 3. How confident are you that the child you are envisioning currently attends or can attend an excellent school? How do you know? 4. And, how confident are you that you could live anywhere in the city and have an excellent school in your neighborhood? How do you know? 4
What is this initiative all about? “This initiative is the natural next step in the implementation of our district transformation strategy. We will define the characteristics of an excellent school and what the district is committed to doing to ensure that every school is, in fact, excellent.” 5
APS holds beliefs about the relationship between its strategy and its intended impact on the instructional core (i.e., a theory of change) Theory of Change Strategy If we… Academic Talent Build the capacity of school-based Program Management leadership teams and empower them Theory of Change Then… Instructional They will make decisions that best meet the Core needs of their unique school communities Student Teacher So that… We will be positioned to achieve our mission Content of ensuring our kids graduate ready for college and career Systems and Culture Resources Notes: Strategy coherence framework adopted from Harvard Public Education Leadership Project 6
These three dimensions, when used in equal measure in practice, serve to “balance” how systems of excellent schools are managed Balanced system of excellent schools Autonomy Support • Central office is focused on a culture of innovation and • School funding is based on student need support • Central office has expertise that can be deployed • Schools have most decision-making power, including to schools, but schools can choose from an array control over staff, budget, pay, curriculum, assessment of service providers and professional development • Schools are able to learn from one another • Schools can seek and earn additional freedoms through waivers Accountability • Common framework measures school effectiveness • Framework is accompanied by a defined set of school actions to ensure students have access to better schools • Framework is available to the public and used as part of a comprehensive annual planning process 7
Today’s agenda FOCUS TIME PURPOSE Welcome & Overview Vision of School Garner perspective on attributes of an excellent school Excellence and school excellence framework Closing & Next Steps Identify next steps and reflect on the day 8
These three deliverables are intentionally linked together to help facilitate a System of Excellent Schools Replicate Expand Fill to capacity School Actions Vision of Excellence Excellent Schools Framework Framework Integrates with definitions of teaching and leadership Translates the vision of Outlines the scenarios and excellence to define the school excellence into decision criteria that will guide characteristics of excellent specific, measurable the district’s responses to schools and learning domains of school schools' progress toward our experiences that prepare performance to enable vision of excellence and APS students for college, planning, analysis and answers related questions career and community public transparency about autonomy, accountability and authorizing 9
A Vision of School Excellence defines the characteristics of APS schools that are preparing students for college, career and community Source: https://atlsuper.com/2017/05/26/congratulations-grad-nation-aps-class-of-2017/ 10
To date, hundreds of stakeholders have influenced our thinking STAKEHOLDER GROUP UNIQUE CONSTITUENTS TOUCH-POINTS Working Group 6 district leaders • 14 meetings totaling ~20 hours of engagement • 5 in-person meetings totaling >15 hours of engagement SELT ~30 district senior executives • 2 in-person and 1 virtual meetings totaling >6 hours of engagement Advisory Committee >40 teachers, principals, GO team members, community members, central office leaders Expanded • 2 in-person meetings totaling >4 hours of engagement ~66 principals Cabinet ~134 district leaders • Community-wide survey generating over 600 unique responses Community >600 respondents At-Large Additional engagement sessions, including citywide community meetings, will continue through January. 11
We’ve incorporated significant input from our previous sessions with the Board, SELT and Advisory Committee members Reviewed Reviewed internal and external Engaged stakeholders Examined existing and drafted new and improved artifacts to draft domains and indicators measures draft with stakeholders • Cross-walk of 2017 and 2018 Cluster Dialogues and surveys Sample debates have Plans with stakeholders helped included: CCRPI measures discern values and • Ensuring social-emotional • Inventory of school-level data priorities resulting in a learning, whole child on APS Insights draft vision with three Definitions of readiness and access to domains and twelve Teaching and • Cross-walk of domains and enrichment opportunities are indicators: Leadership well-established in the items on Georgia statewide Excellence vision student, parent, staff surveys, ADULTS as well as APS Gallup survey • Ensuring equity of outcomes INVESTED IN • Suggestions from other STUDENT is paired with equity of Strategic Plan access across as many SUCCESS systems nationally and some and Charter domains as possible of the research literature System • Debating the role of Contract • Discussed common tensions RIGOROUS + SUPPORTIVE “enabling conditions”, such in ESF measurement LEARNING as school culture and • Vetted possible measures for ENVIRONMENT effective management / Other operational excellence data availability and quality, systems conceptual alignment to • Assessing if clusters of GROWTH + indicators schools should have their ACHIEVEMENT • Identified gaps and proposed own unique indicators and measures new measures 12
Why produce an APS-specific Vision and Framework? Our engagement surfaced three reasons to Indicators of interest to APS and CCRPI augment the CCRPI: status Indicator Idea* CCRPI Talent development Not measured 1. Stakeholders want to provide a more complete picture of school quality. For Collaboration Not scored example, social-emotional competency Job satisfaction Not scored development and PK-2 progress are Effective school leadership Not measured important components of APS’ Excellent Effective teachers Not measured Schools Framework, but are not measured Family engagement Not scored by the CCRPI. Community trust Not measured 2. Stakeholders want to prioritize indicators Customer service quality Not measured that support the district transformation Rigorous instruction Not measured strategy . Culture is a critical pillar of the Culture of learning Not measured APS 2015-2020 strategic plan, and while Social-emotional learning Not measured the CCPRI measures aspects of family or Signature program implementation Not measured community investment in schools, they are Enrichment opportunities Not measured not scored in the CCRPI calculation (but School safety Not scored separately in the star rating). Caring culture Not scored Stakeholders want to co-create the 3. Adult trust Not scored Framework with the community so it Student satisfaction Not scored represents the values and voices of Atlanta Public Schools. 13 *These represent a subset of essential elements of an Excellent Schools Framework developed in Board and SELT brainstorming sessions
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