SPRING 2014 PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS PRESENTATION - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SPRING 2014 PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS

PRESENTATION TO BOARD OF EDUCATION July 29, 2014

The Study Process

• San Diego Unified School District identifies 5

problems of practice

• Harvard Graduate School of Education students

build a strong working relationship with district staff and form Project Teams

• Project Teams conduct interviews and collect data

in schools February 5 and 6, 2014

• Problems of practice refined for clearer definition
• Graduate students present initial findings to

district staff February 7, 2014

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The Study Process

• Graduate students and district staff engage

in ongoing collaboration during February and March 2014

• Graduate students make final presentation
• f recommendations March 26, 2014
• Findings shared with Project Teams staff

April 17, 2014

• Findings included in LCAP development May

and June 2014

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5 Problems of Practice

1.

Evaluating Discipline Policies and Practices

2.

Enhancing Early Childhood Readiness

3.

Closing the High School Achievement Gap and Increasing Graduation

4.

Improving Diversity in Teacher/School Leader Recruitment

5.

Long Term English Learners

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• 1. Evaluating Discipline Policies and Practices

Objective: End disproportional discipline, suspension and expulsion practices among African American and Latino students that perpetuate increased absenteeism, truancy, disengagement, academic failure, and dropout rates.

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Evaluating Discipline Policies and Practices

Recommendations:

• Build principals’ beliefs that inequitable discipline policies and

practices exist

• Support principals’ ability to address these inequities through

the establishment of more positive school climates Strategies:

• Celebrate and communicate success via regular communication and

appreciative inquiry with all stakeholders

• Establish task force to build shared vision and buy-in
• Implement differentiated professional development, including a Summer

Institute and focused follow-up

• Increase collective accountability using evidence-based inquiry cycles

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2014-15 District Actions / Vision 2020 / LCAP

Recommendations and Strategies District Actions

• Build principals’ beliefs that inequitable

discipline policies and practices exist.

• Provide cultural proficiency training that recognizes

personal bias and discriminatory practices.

• Monitor district and school policies, practices and services

for evidence of bias or discriminatory practices and take corrective action.

• Support principals’ ability to address these

inequities through the establishment of more positive school climates.

• Provide supports at multiple levels of leadership to foster

positive and collaborative student and staff relationships, positive school climate and students’ academic success.

• Assess the impact of intensive student behaviors and design

a differentiated system of support for school staff and students.

• Celebrate and communicate success via

regular communication and appreciative inquiry with all stakeholders.

• Area Superintendents, Chief of Staff, and Instructional

Leadership Team visit schools using an appreciative lens to

• bserve and identify positive practices to replicate and

take to scale.

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2014-15 District Actions / Vision 2020 / LCAP

Recommendations and Strategies District Actions

• Establish a task force to build shared vision

and buy-in. Existing ad-hoc discipline oversight committee

• Implement differentiated professional

development, including a Summer Institute and focused follow-up.

• High schools participate in Positive Behavioral Interventions

and Supports (PBIS) processes and develop strategic plans to improve both climate and student behavioral outcomes.

• Provide opportunities and supports for high schools and

middle schools to implement Restorative Justice practices.

• Increase collective accountability using

evidence-based inquiry cycles.

• District and school staff set goals to decrease suspension

and expulsion rates, discipline referrals, and removal from classroom.

• District learning cycle will focus on developing an

academic, social, and physical environment worthy of our children.

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• 2. Enhancing Early Childhood Readiness

Objective: Communicate a clear purpose of early learning and elevate its status across the district as essential first steps in the process to empower schools to provide high quality education to San Diego’s youngest learners.

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Enhancing Early Childhood Readiness Recommendations:

• Co-construct a shared vision for early education programming
• Develop a strategy for communicating that shared vision
• Improve tools that can assess the extent to which practitioners

are fulfilling that shared vision Strategies:

• Collaboration – Scorecard documents; ECERS and CLASS assessment

pieces in ECE classrooms

• Communication – PD tailored for early childhood educators; shared vision
• Quality Instruction – Standard, thematic TK curriculum

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2014-15 District Actions / Vision 2020 / LCAP

Recommendations and Strategies District Actions

• Co-construct a shared vision for early education

programming; develop a strategy for communicating that shared vision.

• Early learning programs will define, develop and assure the

implementation of a well-articulated pathway from pre-school through grade 1.

• Improve outcomes for TK and kindergarten students with

disabilities by providing access to age-appropriate educational

• pportunities with non-disabled peers.
• Improve tools that can assess the extent to which

practitioners are fulfilling that vision.

• Collaboration – Scorecard documents; ECERS

and CLASS assessment pieces in ECE classrooms

• Establish standards and meaningful assessment tools for

reading, writing, oral language, and mathematics to monitor progress in TK and kindergarten.

• Communication – PD tailored for early

childhood educators; shared vision

• Provide professional learning for teachers of early learners

focused on quality reading instruction and research-based interventions.

• Quality instruction – standard, thematic TK

curriculum

• Provide high quality transitional kindergarten programs at all

elementary schools.

• Provide standards-aligned TK literacy and mathematics

curriculum.

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• 3. Closing the High School Achievement Gap

and Increasing Graduation

Objective: Prepare students to enter high school and remain on track for graduation.

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Closing the Achievement Gap and Increasing Graduation

Recommendations:

• Invest in prevention rather than remediation
• Use data to determine student needs
• Design structures to support transition from middle to high

school

• Strengthen programming (instruction, intervention, and

support) Strategies:

• Develop and implement an Early Warning System
• Develop and implement a middle to high school transition program that

includes a “step up to success” course for 8th and 9th graders, and 9th grade learning communities

• Revise district grading practices and promotion/retention policies

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2014-15 District Actions / Vision 2020 / LCAP

Recommendations and Strategies District Actions

• Invest in prevention rather than remediation.
• Strengthen programming (instruction,

intervention, and support).

• Design structures to support transition from

middle to high school.

• School staff support students and families to plan and monitor courses

to prepare them for graduation and post-graduation opportunities.

• Supports are provided at multiple levels of leadership to foster

positive and collaborative student and staff relationships, positive school climate and students’ academic success.

• Provide systems of supports at the school and district level to enhance

instructional practice, professional learning, attendance and success.

• Use data to determine student needs.
• School leaders participate in regular PLCs to plan and design lessons,

examine student data and engage in collaborative learning structures and processes.

• Schools use multiple assessment measures to gauge student

understanding and application of learning.

• Schools set and monitor progress goals for all students and student

groups.

• Central office staff support Area Superintendents, principals, and

school staffs to access data and build a culture of data analysis across schools.

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2014-15 District Actions / Vision 2020 / LCAP

Recommendations and Strategies District Actions

• Develop and implement an Early

Warning System.

• Dashboard and Early Warning System in development

2014-15.

• Develop and implement a middle to

high school transition program that includes a “step up to success” course for 8th ad 9th graders, and 9th grade learning communities.

• All middle and high school students have 6- or 4-year plans

that clearly articulate the courses they must complete to meet UC ‘a-g’ requirements (including World Language).

• Central office and secondary school staffs work

collaboratively to identify and implement best practices that improve the outcome for 9th grade students at every high school.

• Revise district grading practices and

promotion/retention policies.

• Policies and practices to be reviewed in 2014-15, and

revised as needed.

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• 4. Improving Diversity in Teacher/

School Leader Recruitment

Objective: Improve minority teacher and administrator recruitment and hiring practices to reflect the student population.

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Improving Diversity in Teacher/School Leader Recruitment

Recommendations:

• Expand upon existing practices to increase workforce

diversity

• Build staff cultural proficiency

Strategies:

• Expand the hiring pool by recruiting from communities of faith and

ethnic studies programs

• Create a paraprofessional pathway to elevate para-educators of

color into full-time teaching

• Develop cultural proficiency among staff through an internal design

challenge and the work of groups such as the National Equity Project

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2014-15 District Actions / Vision 2020 / LCAP

Recommendations and Strategies District Actions

• Expand upon existing practices to increase

workforce diversity.

• Provide for effective teacher hiring, recruitment

(including partnerships with local universities) and retention practices (including Special Education, bilingual, and other hard-to-staff positions) and assure that teachers are properly assigned and supported.

• Build staff cultural proficiency.
• Begin cultural proficiency professional learning for

principals and new teachers.

• Expand the hiring pool by recruiting from

communities of faith and ethnic studies programs.

• Design Visiting Teacher Academies to build capacity of

visiting teachers and develop a cohort of quality teacher candidates.

• Create a paraprofessional pathway to

elevate para-educators of color into full- time teaching.

• Bring Teacher Pipeline recommendations forward to the

Board of Education.

• Develop cultural proficiency among staff

through an internal design challenge and the work of groups such as the National Equity Project.

• Provide cultural proficiency training that recognizes

personal bias and discriminatory practices, beginning with principals and new teachers.

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• 5. Long Term English Learners

Objective: Effectively prepare English Learners for high school, college, and career.

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Long Term English Learners Recommendations:

• Use data and engage in cycles of learning
• Share/replicate effective practices

Strategies:

• Establish an English Learner Task Force to plan, create, and communicate a

clear vision and set district-wide expectations, and align structures and policies

• Create a program efficacy team to research and track innovations,

implement programs with fidelity, collect relevant data, and make recommendations to the Task Force

• Include English Learner data in school-based PLCs and inquiry teams

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2014-15 District Actions / Vision 2020 / LCAP

Recommendations and Strategies District Actions

• Use data and engage in

cycles of learning.

• Elementary schools provide dedicated instruction for English Language Development

as well as instruction that expands and extends academic language across the school day.

• Principals, teachers and support staff participate in high quality professional

development designed to support EL development and quality instructional practices for ELs.

• Central office departments collaborate to support schools in providing quality

professional learning and instructional support for ELs including new arrivals, LTELs and reclassified students.

• Refine the work of the ELST and other supports to English Learners.
• ELSTs will implement and facilitate quality teaching and learning for ELs, LTELs and

reclassified students.

• Share/replicate effective

practices.

• English Learner course placement and pathways are provided, refined and monitored

to assure access to appropriate secondary courses to assure college and career readiness.

• Expand Academic Language Development (ALD) courses to more middle and high

schools; focus on developing scholarly behaviors.

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2014-15 District Actions / Vision 2020 / LCAP

Recommendations and Strategies District Actions

• Establish an English Learner Task Force to plan,

create, and communicate a clear vision and set district-wide expectations, and align structures and policies.

• Central office staff will convene and lead an English Learner Task

Force and organize and support a network of schools to focus on the prevention of and immediate supports for long-term English Learners and underperforming reclassified students.

• Include English Learner data in school-based

PLCs and inquiry teams.

• Develop and refine efficient data reporting tools and systems with

the capacity to monitor the progress of ELs, including LTELs and reclassified ELs.

• Establish district and site goals for reclassification and engage in

cycles of learning through the PLC structure. Parents/families are engaged and informed of EL programs, services and progress through school based and district parent committees, events, tools, and resources and learning opportunities.

• Create a program efficacy team to research and

track innovations, implement programs with fidelity, collect relevant data, and make recommendations to the Task Force.

• Instructional Data Support will work with the instructional team to

provide ongoing support to develop a culture of data analysis.

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Next Steps

 LCAP metrics development  Progress on implementation of recommendations

and strategies to be included in 2014-15 Vision 2020 status updates to the Board of Education

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