School Leadership Teams Workshop

“It is about focusing on building a culture of quality data through professional

development and web based dynamic inquiries for school improvement.” April 2010

Today’s Agenda

8:30-9:15 Introductions, develop common knowledge about Data4SS

9:15-9:30 Understand the ESD’s role, vision and implementation plan

9:30-11:00 Creating a culture of quality data

11:00-12:00 How to use Data 4SS

12:00-12:45 Lunch!

12:45-2:45 Data mining time

2:45-3:00 Next steps

Building Background Knowledge

“Which Came First: The Data or the Decision?”

• Read the article.• Choose one sentence, one phrase, and one

word that you believe captures the message of this article.

• Share your selections with your leadership team.• Share your word with the whole group.• Create a wordle (www.wordle.net)

Data 4 SS Overview Video

http://www.mistreamnet.org/videtail.php?who=cisd071509

Picture This…• Teachers are no longer working in isolation,

instead there is a culture of collaboration in place.

• Decisions are based on the findings from quality data.

• Professional development is job-embedded on a steady basis.

• The community is aware of the power of having a collaborative culture of educators using quality data and they are well-informed of the impact this can have on all students.

Making it Happen

AMA ESD’s Mission:

Serve and Support Student Achievement

Data Initiative Vision:

With support from the AMA ESD, school leadership teams will guide their schools in creating a collaborative culture using quality data.

Two Data Mining Systems + PLC model = Vision!

AMA ESD has two data mining systems available for schools:

• Data 4 Student Success (historical state-level data)• Data4 SS vs. TestWiz• Data Director (historical plus local data)

School leaders and AMA ESD Data Coaches understand the concept of the PLC model

Let’s put these two pieces together to create a collaborative culture that focuses on quality data!

Implementation Plan

Five schools signed up to be the first cohort group to dive into the AMA ESD’s data initiative journey.

The plan was developed for this first cohort to become the inspiration and guide for the rest of the schools.

AMA ESD will lead the workshops, offer support, and sustain resources.

We need to think of “the leader as one whose function is to engage groups of people in a way that creates accountability and commitment.” Peter Block

To do this, the leader should:

• Create a context based on gifts, generosity, accountability and commitment.

• Initiate and convene conversations that shift people’s experience, which occurs through the way people are brought together and the nature of the questions used to engage them.

• Listen and pay attention

Guiding the Pioneer SchoolsYear 3 Year 2 Year 1

School wide implementation of collaborative culture using quality data (PLCs)

Implement and evaluate SMART goal determined by leadership team (mini PLC)

Overview of Data 4 Student Success (data mining tool)

Initiative is showcased by pioneer schools to other schools in the ESD

Warehouse classroom data

Using data to drive decision making (develop a SMART goal for next year)

Pioneer schools continue using data to guide instruction and make decisions

Utilize Data Director and Data 4 Student Success to guide instruction

Brainstorm ways for leadership team to share data tools with staff and begin to build a collaborative culture

A new cohort of schools begin the journey

Train additional ESD Data Coaches

Begin learning about working in PLC models using SMART goal

Creating a Culture of Quality Data

Learning Target:

Understand a culture of quality data and the impact of change theory on staff

Culture of Quality Data

On chart paper, please answer the following questions with your school team:

• What is a culture of quality data?• What does it look like?• What does it sound like?• What is the evidence?

The School’s Culture…

dictates, in no uncertain terms, “the way we do things around here.” Ultimately, a school’s culture has far more influence on life and learning in the schoolhouse than the state department of education, the superintendent, the school board or even the principal can ever have…

Roland Barth (2001)

Continuum of Community Function

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Toxic Laissez-faire Congenial Collaborative Accountable

Toxic – All about the teacher, adults not nice to one another or to the students

Laissez-faire – Teacher centered, autonomous, individual contractors

Congenial – Counterfeit, confuse niceness w/collaborative, focus not on kids

Collaborative – Have structures and skills in working together for improved student achievement

Accountable – Able to acknowledge and deal with difficult data effectively;Move beyond familiar solutions and approaches; Let go of instructional practices that do not work; Call one another on unmet expectations or violated norms. Source: Skillful Leader II, Warnock presentation

Changing Cultures

• Bringing about cultural change in any organization is a complex and challenging task.

• Phil Schlechty (2005) refers to the challenge of reculturing as “disruptive change” because it “calls upon the system and those who work in it to do things they have never done”. It has been referred to as “2nd order change”- a dramatic departure from the expected and familiar.

CHANGE is difficult…

Those who undertake a 2nd Order Change - such as transforming their schools into Professional Learning Communities must realize that change is difficult but not impossible.

Anxiety, discomfort and conflict will accompany 2nd Order Change initiatives. 17

1st and 2nd Order Change

First Order Change:• Extension of past• Within existing paradigms• Consistent w/ current norms,

values• Incremental• Linear• Implemented w/ current

knowledge, skills• Implemented by experts

Second Order Change:• Break w/ past• Outside existing paradigms• Conflicts w/ current norms,

values• Complex• Non-linear• Requires new knowledge,

skills• Implemented by stakeholders

8 Common Mistakes

1. Allowing too much complacency • Establish a sense of urgency

2. Failing to create powerful guiding coalition• Create guiding coalition• ID critical number of champions re: change process

3. Underestimating the power of vision• Vision = direction, alignment, inspiration• Without direction, individuals “do their own thing”• Lack of direction leads to “permission” or “debate”

8 Common Mistakes

4. Under communicating the vision by a power of 10• 2nd Order Change requires credible and frequent communication• Important to communicate vision often• Unite leadership focused on vision• Action aligned to vision

5. Permitting structural, cultural obstacles to block change process

• Confront obstacles: PD, structures, staff, policy

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8 Common Mistakes

6. Failing to create short-term wins• Build on incremental gains; avoid “long march”• ID goals, performance criteria, celebrate

7. Declaring victory too soon• Know difference between “win” and “victory”• Successful change must be anchored in culture• Celebration provides impetus to tackle bigger problems

8. Neglecting to anchor changes firmly in culture• “Change” is part of the way we do things• Behaviors must be rooted in social norms, shared values

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Managing Complex ChangeSource: Ambrose, Adapted from Villa and Thousand (1995)

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Required Elements Result

Vision Skills Incentives Resources Action Plan Collegiality PositiveChange

***  Skills  Incentives  Resources  Action Plan  Collegiality  Confusion

Vision  ***  Incentives  Resources  Action Plan  Collegiality  Anxiety

Vision  Skills  ***  Resources  Action Plan  Collegiality  Resistance

Vision  Skills  Incentives  ***  Action Plan  Collegiality  Frustration

Vision  Skills  Incentives  Resources  ***  Collegiality  Treadmill

Vision  Skills  Incentives  Resources  Action Plan  ***  Isolation

Complex Change…•Requires leadership greater than one person can provide.

•Distributed leadership maximizes the collective strengths of individuals in a coherent, adaptive, and sustainable organization. •It requires individuals to assume responsibility, take action, learn and grow for the benefit of the whole. 23

How do we impact culture?• Begin by focusing on changing BEHAVIORS.

• Attitudes follow behavior. That means people accept new beliefs as a result of changing their behavior. (Fullan)

• Behaviors and emotions change before beliefs so we need to act in a new way before we get insights and feelings related to new beliefs. (Elmore)

What will it look like?

From …• A focus on teaching• Emphasis on what was

taught• Coverage of content

• Infrequent summative assessments

• Remediation• Isolation

To …• A focus on learning• A fixation on what

students learned• Demonstration of

proficiency• Frequent common

formative assessments• Intervention• Collaboration

Roles and Responsibilities in Creating a Culture of Quality Data

Learning Target:

Understand the roles that need to be involved in building a culture of quality data

Roles and Responsibilities Group Activity

• In your teams, please choose one person to record your answers on the worksheet.

• Be ready to share with the group.

Assessing the Culture ofQuality Data

Learning Target:

Assess your current culture of quality data to help develop a plan of action

Assessing Your Culture of Quality Data

• After completing the chart together in your school teams, please take some time to answer the questions that follow.

• Share a few thoughts with the whole group.

• We will re-visit this chart as we journey through this initiative.

The Impact of Quality Data

• In small groups, answer these questions:– What is the impact of missing kids?– What is the impact of mislabeling kids?– What is the impact of having only historical

data?– What other systems depend on student data?

Getting to Know Data4SS

Computer Lab Tips:• Sit with your school team• Assign one person to be in charge of the

computer operations (one computer per team to get started)

• When it’s “Tutorial Time” please avoid using your computer until it is over, then we can explore