Tools/Toolkit

Using Needs Assessments for School and District Improvement

April 12, 2018 by Nick

This document is a tactical guide that describes the core components for developing and administering needs assessments for improvement. The guide includes information on ESSA requirements, planning a needs assessment, designing a needs assessment, how a needs assessment is part of the improvement process, and key decision points.

Worksheets are included to aid users in designing and developing needs assessments for schools and/or districts. A companion document includes the worksheets in a format that can be completed.

A Rubric for Assessing Schools; Plans for Rapid Improvement

April 12, 2018 by Nick

School improvement planning has become more prevalent and important due to increased calls from federal and state governments, state education agencies (SEAs), and the general public for more accountability in education. In many cases, the school principal is responsible for conceptualizing, drafting, and submitting the plan. However, there are very few publicly available tools that assess the content and quality of school improvement plans (SIPs). This new publication is designed for use by schools, districts, and state education agencies (SEAs). Schools can use the rubric to help create, organize, and assess their improvement plans and efforts; districts can use it to facilitate and coach co-creation of effective SIPs; and SEAs can use it to better conceptualize how they support districts — especially those with low-performing schools — in analyzing their SIPs. Although this rubric is useful for all types of schools, we feel it is especially valuable for low-performing schools because it can help them better jump start the process of planning for success, building momentum, and, ultimately, turning themselves around.

Assessing and Improving Special Education: A Program Review Tool for Schools and Districts Engaged in Rapid School Improvement

April 12, 2018 by Nick

Anecdotal reports from those who have worked extensively in efforts to turn around persistently low-performing schools, and at least one state study of such schools,* suggest that our lowest-performing schools tend to have above-average enrollment of students with disabilities. For schools in which this is the case, successful turnaround will depend on a focused and data-driven effort to ensure that those students are provided with a high-quality special education program. This program review tool was developed by the Center on School Turnaround to assist school districts or individual school leaders in catalyzing conversations about, and reviewing and improving the quality of, their special education program as a key component of school improvement efforts.

The tool was developed through the use of Leading by Convening,^ a stakeholder-engagement strategy from the IDEA Partnership at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. Leading by Convening engages individuals representing different stakeholder groups in an approach to program improvement that is rooted in shared goals; in this case, the goal is having a high-quality special education program in every district. Participating in the process were 21 individuals from 19 agencies or other organizations representing youth, families, school administrators, general education teachers, special education teachers, occupational therapists, special educators, school social workers, school psychologists, higher education, and state education agency and technical assistance center personnel. Building from their collective experience and expertise, including knowledge of the research, participating stakeholders started by identifying 16 features that they consider essential to a high-quality special education program and, for each feature, provided examples of practices that demonstrate the highest standard, an acceptable standard, and an unacceptable standard.

The tool consists of three parts: an overview of the program features with examples of the features at three different levels of quality (i.e., high, acceptable, and unacceptable); a template for conducting a special education program review inventory; and a template for developing a quality improvement plan based on results of that inventory. The templates are created as “fillable forms,” which means they can be completed directly in this document.

* LiCaisi, C., Citkowics, M., Friedman, L. B., & Brown, M. (June 2015). Evaluation of Massachusetts Office of District and School Turnaround assistance to Commissioner’s districts and schools: Impact of school redesign grants. Washington, DC: AIR, p. 25. Retrieved from http://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/15-2687_SRG_Impact-Report_ed_FINAL.pdf

^ Cashman, J., Linehan, P., Purcell, L., Rosser, M., Schults, S., & Skalski, S. (2014). Leading by convening: A blueprint for authentic engagement. Alexandria, VA: National Association of State Directors of Special Education.

Casting a Statewide Strategic Performance Net: Interlaced Data and Responsive Supports

April 12, 2018 by Nick

The state education agency (SEA) has been shifting its emphasis for decades, from a compliance-focused authority to a change agent equipped with systems, processes, training, and support to heighten the progress of the local district and its schools. This publication highlights a strategic approach to performance management that fits neatly in the new organizational environment. Ideal for organizing people and their work in one entity (SEA, LEA, or school), strategic performance management is equally suited to a multi-organization system where interlaced data and responsive supports are critical.

The publication is presented in four parts:

Part I: Casting a Responsive Net
Part II: Synopsis of the Modules and Steps for an SEA, LEA, or School to Implement SPM
Part III: Interlaced Data and Responsive Supports
Part IV: Best Practice, Productivity, and Innovation

Coaching and Developing Turnaround Leader Actions

April 12, 2018 by Nick

The professional learning module (PLM) on coaching turnaround leader actions was developed collaboratively by the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center), the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd, Public Impact, and the University of Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leader in Education. This module contains the materials designed to implement a work session that builds the knowledge and capacity of leaders and staff members from regional comprehensive centers (RCCs), state education agencies (SEAs), and within-state regional centers. The goals of the module are to develop understanding of the connection between turnaround leader competencies and the actions of successful turnaround leaders and to learn strategies for coaching and developing turnaround leaders.

Staff members from these agencies may wish to modify and turnkey the work session based on this module for use with district leadership teams, principals, teacher leaders, or other roles. The duration, scope, and sequence of the work session may be customized to accommodate local needs and conditions. The entire work session is designed to take place during a 3-hour period but can easily be broken into smaller portions and accomplished during multiple sessions to accommodate participant time and availability.

The facilitator’s guide provides suggestions for structuring the work session, notes on how to implement the suggested activities, and talking points to be used with the slide presentation. It also includes additional, in-depth content information for facilitators to use within their presentations or to offer to participants who are interested in deeper learning.

All materials are available on the GTL Center’s Professional Learning Modules website. These materials may be used and adapted to fit the needs of the state context. To cite the content, please use the following statement: These materials have been adapted in whole or in part with permission from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd, Public Impact, and the University of Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education.