Download - District Data Team
District Data TeamDistrict Data Team
Bringing Coherence and Focus to the Work
of the Central Office
Seminar Overview
• Holistic Accountability• Change• Change Through Holistic Accountability• Is Your System (School) Ready for Change?• Review of Current Plan• Team Concept at District Level• Creating the District Plan• Implementation/Monitoring• Communication
Holistic Accountability Recommended Structure
Instructional Data Teams
Task Force
District Data Team +
Why A District Data Team?
We are very comfortable in our individual silos:
-Curriculum Department-Technology Department-Assessment Department-Human Resources Department-Special Services Department-Business Department
We Give Plenty of Direction to the Schools
School
There Is A Better Way
But
What You are Really Asking People To Do Is …
Change !
Change? “You can’t make me!”
Change? “Why should I?”
“It will never work!”
Change? “Why Should This Time Be Any Different?”
Remember: A Good Idea Is Not Good Enough
It’s About Change
“The fundamental flaw in most innovators’ strategies is that they focus on their innovations, on what they are trying to do–rather than on understanding how the larger culture, structures, and norms will react to their efforts.”
Senge, 1999, p.
Most Change Initiatives Fail
“We can produce many examples of how educational practice could look different, but we can produce few, if any, examples of large numbers of teachers engaging in the practices in large scale institutions designed to deliver education to most children.”
Elmore, 1995, p. 5
What Will Make Your Change Initiative Different?
Reflection
Take a few moments to think about a change initiative you are familiar with that was not as successful as it should have been. As you think about this, what seemed to go wrong? What could have been done to improve the outcome?
• Establishing a sense of urgency• Creating a powerful guiding coalition• Developing a vision and strategy• Communicating the change vision• Empowering broad-based action• Generating short-term wins• Consolidating gains and producing more
change• Anchoring new approaches in the culture
Kotter, 1996, p.
Eight-Stage Process of Creating Major Change
Combining Change Theory and Holistic Accountability
Kotter Reeves
Description of Current Status
(“Honest Bad News”)
Sense of Urgency
Guiding Coalition District Team
Creating a Vision of the Future
Goals/Outcomes(Task Force)
Kotter Reeves
Develop a Strategy Adult Actions
Empower Action
Adult Actions(Subcommittees)
Communicate the Vision & Strategy
Communication Strategy
Kotter Reeves
Generate Short-term
WinsResults Indicators
Consolidate Gains, Produce More Change
Implementation Monitoring
Anchor New Approaches
in Culture
ImplementationMonitoring
(Policy, Contracts)
Combining “The Changes To Be Made” with
“The Process of Change”Change Theory
(How To Get People To Do It)
Holistic Accountability
(What We Want To Do)
1. Sense of Urgency
2. Guiding Coalition
3. Vision and Strategy
4. Communication
5. Action
6. Short-term Wins
7. Consolidation
8. New CultureKotter, J.P. (1996)
1. Current Status
2. District Team
3. Goals/Outcomes
4. Adult Actions
5. Communication
6. Adult Actions
7. Results Indicators
8. Implementation
9. Monitoring
Is Your District Ready For a Change?
Organizational Response to Change
If This Change Is a Success, Then …
Before you begin your
change initiative write down
the answer to this question.
See page ___ in the manual
Defining Success
Failure Intermediate Success
•Partial implementation•Significant change to original idea•Some aspects of initiative have sustainability•Some degree of improvement in student outcomes
•No change occurred•Ideas not implemented•No change in studentoutcomes
•Full implementation•Ideas are now just, “the way we do things”•Sustainability is assured•Student outcomes significantly improved
There is Hope(But It’s Much More Difficult than We Thought)
Let’s start at the beginning. Is your system (school) ready to change?
As you contemplate a change initiative, ask yourself the following questions (there are more, but these will do for a start) before you begin.
Questions
1. What stakeholder groups are going to be affected by this change?
2. Are these groups likely to be supportive of the change or opposed?
3. What skills will the people charged with implementing the change need? Do they have these skills? If not, how will they acquire them?
Questions
4. How much training will be needed? Where will we get the training? How much will it cost? Where will we get the funding?
5. If we start to receive some push-back, what is the board of education likely to do?
6. How can we develop the political support we will need to see this change through?
Questions
7. How are we going to develop a plan that will allow us to deal with the issues we can’t possibly anticipate beforehand?
8. Are there skills that I, as the change catalyst, need to acquire before I attempt this change?
9. Am I, as the change catalyst, prepared to stay here for the several years it is likely to take to imbed this change in the culture?
Questions
What additional questions might you add to this list? On page ___ in the manual, the previous questions are
duplicated. There is room for you to add your questions.
Change Readiness Assessment
Conducting an assessment of your system (school) to determine the answers to these questions and more before you embark on the change initiative can save a great deal of time and effort later on in the process. It can also be the first step in a systemic change process that will inform the initiative and perhaps improve it.
OK, We’ve Decided We Have to Make Some
Changes, But Before We Begin
Let’s Take a Test(See Page ___ in Manual)
How Does Our Current Process Measure Up?
Current District Practices Yes No
1. Do we have a District Improvement Plan?
2. Have all major stakeholder groups “signed off” on the plan?
3. Have we communicated the plan across the district (internally and externally)?
4. Is the plan focused on improving student performance?
5. Are goals stated in measureable terms?
6. Are there goals focused on areas other that test scores?
7. Are the adult actions limited in number?
8. Do the adult actions have “high leverage”?
9. Are the adult actions based upon evidence of effectiveness?
Current Practices (continued)Current District Practices Yes No
10. Are the action plans specific enough to hold people accountable?
11. Are the actions powerful enough to achieve the goals?
12. Does a senior team meet regularly to monitor implementation?
13. Do program implementers make regular progress reports?
14. Are “results indicators” identified before hand and measured regularly?
15. Is the plan modified in response to the data ?
16. Are periodic reports made to stakeholders regarding progress?
Total
Common Problems of District Plans
• Ignored
• Vague
• Weak
• Little buy-in
• Pretty, but …
• Law of diminishing impact
• Poor implementation
• Communicate, Communicate
Communicate
Moving From Isolation to Collaboration
Teams
“One of the most consistent findings in the literature on decision-making and performance is that the best groups perform better than the best individuals because groups are able to take advantage of the collective wisdom and insight of multiple individuals, while individual judgments reflect the narrower insights and skills of just one person.”
Pfeffer & Sutton, 2006, p.
Complex Business
Complex Business
Creating & Sustaining Change in Complex Organizations
A. Understand and monitor the change process
B. Team concept at the district level
C. Focus and align the work of the district
D. Create a plan to improve student outcomes
E. Implement and monitor the plan
The District Data Team
District Data Team
A District Data Team is designed to do several things at once. As such, it must
Be structured Be focused Be collaborative Focus on the changes to be made Focus on the process of change
Purpose of a District Data Team
1. To write a strategic District Improvement Plan
2. To implement the District Improvement Plan
3. To monitor the implementation of the District Improvement Plan
4. To guide the district through a strategic change initiative
Guiding Principles
• The actions of the adults in the system will determine the outcomes for students (Reeves)
• The most significant adult actions are those that effect the “Instructional Core” (Elmore)
• District actions must have high leverage• District actions must be aligned and
coordinated• District actions must be focused• District actions must be monitored
Membership Superintendent
Senior leadership
District departments
Building representatives
Bargaining unit representatives
Creating a Team
Guiding Coalition
District Data Team
Team-Building Activities Creating team norms Common vision Common purpose Common mission Trust
Creating a Team (continued)
Guiding Coalition
District Data Team
Reflection
In thinking about the membership of your district or central office team,
are there things that you could do to make it more effective?
See page ___ in the manual
Process
• Data Team Process
• Regular, scheduled meetings
• Agendas
• Minutes
• Subcommittees
• Roles
District Data Team
Guiding Coalition
Reflection
In thinking about how your current group operates, are there things you
could do to improve the effectiveness?
See page ___ in manual
Five Step Process1. Describe the current status
2. Identify strengths and weaknesses
3.Decide upon student outcome indicators
4.Decide upon adult actions indicators
5.Write an action plan for each adult action indicator
6.Create results indicators
Writing a Strategic Improvement Plan for the
DistrictDistrict
Data Team
Step One
Using data to describe the current status
1. Confronting the brutal facts
2. “Honest bad news”
3. Transparency
4. Emotion
District Data Team
Task Force
Step Two
Identify Strengths and Weaknesses• Using questions
• Looking at trends
• Looking at subgroups
• Looking at relationships
Step Three
Decide upon student outcome indicators1. Make goals measureable
2. Broad stakeholder agreementa. What do we want for our children?
3. More than test scores
4. Data based analysis
5. Create a vision for the future
6. “Confront the brutal facts”
District Data Team
Create a sense of urgency
Task Force
Step Three
Decide Upon Student Outcome Indicators
1. Goals
2. “As indicated by”
3. Data analysis
4. Examples and format
5. Honest and transparent
District Data Team
Create a sense of urgency
Task Force
Goals
• Goals are good. They define in general terms the outcomes for students that the system desires, e.g., all students will perform at an exemplary level in literacy and numeracy.
• However, they lack the specificity needed to track accurate progress. This is where Student Outcome Indicators come in.
District Data Team
Task Force
Student Outcome Indicators
Example: Example: “All students will perform at an exemplary level in literacy and numeracy”
As indicated by:As indicated by:90% of students will score at the goal level or higher on the ____ in grades 3 to 8 by 201190% of students will score at the goal level or higher on the _____ by 201190% of students will score at a combined score of 1250 or greater on the SAT in 2011
DistrictData
Team Task Force
Deciding onStudent Outcome Indicators
Use Data ToUse Data To1. Describe current status
2. Describe history
3. Greatest successes
4. Greatest challenges
5. More than test scores
District Data Team
Developing a Vision
Task Force
Some Examples of Student Outcome Indicators
• The % of students demonstrating proficient or better technology skills as measured by technology skills assessment
• The % of students demonstrating proficient or better collaboration skills as measured by performance on integrated collaboration task
• The % of students demonstrating proficient or better oral language skills at grades 5, 8, and 10 as measured by oral presentation task
District Data Team
Task Force
District Improvement PlanStudent
Outcome Indicator
Historical Data Goal
Percentage of students in Grade 4 goal or above in:
05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 2012
Reading 79 83 80 81 87
Math 85 86 83 84 90
Writing 76 75 84 83 90
Percent of students proficient or above in technology
n/a n/a 50 55 75
District Data Team
District Improvement Plan(continued)
Student Outcome Indicator
Historical Data Goal
Percentage of students in Grade 10 goal or above in:
05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 2012
Reading 79 83 80 81 85
Math 85 86 83 85 90
Writing 76 75 84 82 90
Percent of students who graduate within four years
82 81 79 84 90
District Data Team
Reflection
In looking at your current goals or outcome indicators:1. Do they create a sense of urgency
2. Do they create a strong vision of the future
3. Are they specific enough
4. How could they be improved
5. Do they have stakeholder commitment
Now That We Know Where We Want To Go,
How Will We Get There?
Creating a Strategy
Step FourStep Four
• Decide upon Adult Actions
(Adult Action Indicators)
• District Adult Action Indicators focus on district work
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
Task Force
Focusing on District Work
District Adult Actions Usually Have
The Following Characteristics:Very high leverage (effect many
student outcome indicators)Work only the district can performLimited in number at any given time
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
Examples of District Adult Actions
• Increase the quality of the new teaching staff by improving the recruitment, induction, and retention process
• Expand the length of the school day and year
• Create a series of magnet schools• Increase the quantity and quality of
staff collaboration at all levels
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
Before Talking About WhatWe Are Going to Do
• Why do we even have to set these goals
• Why aren’t we achieving these things already
• What ideas, procedures, traditions, or other issues are preventing us from accomplishing the goals already
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
Some Guidelines Before We Answer
1. Cannot blame the students
2. Stay objective, factual, no personal attacks
3. This conversation may help us with a direction as to what we need to do
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
How Do You DevelopAdult Action Indicators?
• Generate as many ideas as possible
– Controlled brainstorm activity
• Apply a set of consideration standards
– Research– Previous experience– Pilot program
• Narrow the field• Do extensive research• Beware of “I think”
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
What Are We Going To Do?
“ In the end, patterns of decision-making based on philosophical commitments, political necessities, and the attractiveness or popularity of ideas prevailed over efforts to attend to evidence in all three districts. The emergence of evidence-based decision-making was hampered by professional cultures in which the “good” and the “popular” were valued more than the effective…”
Corcoran, 2003, RB-40
Consideration Standards
What standards will we apply to the ideas that are proposed?
• Research• Previous experience• Pilot programs• Rigor• Probability of success• Leverage
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
Domains
• StructureStructure – How we deliver instruction
• CurriculumCurriculum – What we teach
• InstructionInstruction – How we teach
• ClimateClimate – How people behave
• PersonnelPersonnel – Who “teaches”
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
Reflection
• In thinking about your current improvement plan, what decision-making process was used to determine your priority actions?
• What standards would you propose to improve the quality of ideas considered?
Generating Ideas for Adult Action Indicators
Getting Started
Controlled Brainstorm ActivityControlled Brainstorm Activity
1.Individual reflection
2.Small group discussion
3.Large group discussion
District Data Team
Focusing on Priorities
• Staffing
• Grade structure
• Curriculum
• Budgeting
• Assessment
• Supervision/Evaluation
• Administration
• Current Practices • Priority to Change
• Staffing
• Grade structure
• Curriculum
• Assessment
District Data Team
Subcommittees
• For each adult action the District Data Team identifies, a subcommittee is created. The chairman of the subcommittee must be a member of the District Data Team. The chairman may recruit members from throughout the district. The subcommittee creates an Action Plan to accomplish the change.
District Data Team
Step Five
Write an Action Plan (Strategies)
Characteristics of good Action Plans Specific Detailed Names Timelines
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
Specificity
• Specificity Improves Accountability
Example of Action PlanDistrict
Data Team
Plan A Plan B
Goal–By 2011, all teachers will participate in collaborative teams at an exemplary level
Strategies:1. Train teachers in Data Team
procedures2. Create time in schedules for
teams to meet3. Implement Data Teams Person(s) Responsible:Building Principals
Goal–By 2011, all teachers will participate in collaborative teams at an exemplary level
Strategies:1. Planning committee will research
collaborative models. Report due by 9/30; Mark Jones responsible.
2. Following selection of model on 10/5, training schedule will be developed by 10/30; Mark Jones responsible.
Specificity Improves Accountability
• As you think about your improvement plan, is it specific enough to allow a high level of accountability
• How could it be improved
Step Six
Create Results Indicators(How will we know we are on the right track?)
Must track three things:1. Are the adults doing what they said they would do
2. Is adult behavior changing
3. Is some important student outcome changing
District Data Team
Creating a Strategy
Adult Behavior
Doing What They Said? Adult Behavior Changing?
Checklist
Research
collaboration
models
Make decision on
model
Secure funding
and time
Train lead people
Schedule training
sessions.
If we do this well, what important adult behavior will change?
How will we measure that change in behavior?
Adult Behavior Change
“Exemplary collaborating teacher teams”
• What does a good one look like
• Define our practice so specifically that we can measure it reliably
“Exemplary collaborating teacher teams”
Criteria•Meet for min. 1 hr/day•Focus on improving instruction•Decisions based on data•Use 5-step DDDM process
Student Behavior
If we do this well, and we change a significant adult behavior, how will we see that reflected in student outcomes?Performance on summative assessmentsPerformance on formative assessmentsGradesSurveys
Results Indicators
Data on Adults Data on Students
District Data Team
Results Indicators
Data on Adults Data on Students
The Plan is Finished! ( I guess we’re done.)
The greatest challenge to a District Data Team is implementing and monitoring the plan.
Empowering Broad-Based
Action
Ongoing Work of District Data Team
Implement the Plan!• Regular, scheduled meetings• Agendas• Minutes• Subcommittees• Modify plan• Monitor plan• Problem solving group
District Data Team
Generating Short-term
Wins
Consolidating Gains &
Producing More Change
Implementing the Plan
Regularly Scheduled Meetings(See page __ of Manual)
Generating Short-term
Wins
Consolidating Gains &
Producing More Change
Implementing the Plan
Subcommittees( See page __ of Manual)
Generating Short-term
Wins
Consolidating Gains &
Producing More Change
Implementing the Plan
Monitoring the Plan( See page __ of Manual)
Generating Short-term
Wins
Consolidating Gains &
Producing More Change
Implementing the Plan
Modifying the Plan( See page __ of Manual)
Generating Short-term
Wins
Consolidating Gains &
Producing More Change
Implementing the Plan
Team as a
Problem-Solving Group
Generating Short-term
Wins
Consolidating Gains &
Producing More Change
Staying the Course
• Years, not months• This is just the way it is done here
Anchoring New
Approaches in the Culture
Communication(You can’t do too much, but you can do too little)
• Importance• Beginning to end• Frequent• Honest• Two-way• Multiple formats• All stakeholder groups
Reflection
• In thinking about your plan, have you paid enough attention to
communicating the plan to all stakeholders
• How could you improve your communication process
Standards for District Data Teams
A Process to Formally
Evaluate the Work( See page __ of Manual)
A Coordinated Set of Teams
Does This Work?(Evidence from the Field)
• Bristol, Connecticut• Norfolk, Virginia• CALI―Connecticut’s Accountability for
Learning Initiative New Haven Waterbury Meriden Middletown
Final Reflection
Take a few moments to review all of the reflection pieces you have
completed during this seminar.
Now, answer this question:
What will I do tomorrow to
improve the process in my district?
Discussion and Questions
Please take time to complete the short evaluation form that we reviewed at the
beginning of this seminar.
Mike WastaMike Wasta
The Leadership and Learning CenterThe Leadership and Learning Center866.399.6019866.399.6019
[email protected]@LeadandLearn.comLeadandLearn.comLeadandLearn.com