The Changing Learning Environment: Teacher's Roles in Student's Challenges and Opportunities Today

The world
is changing
rapidly
• Technology
• Science
• Demographics
• Diversity
Young people in school today have great
opportunities and great challenges.
National Staff Development Council s www.nsdc.org s Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 1

Outcomes for this session
• Develop a deeper
understanding of
how school
planning will help
us meet the
growing needs of
our young people
• Volunteer to participate in our school’s
efforts to plan effectively

Roles and responsibilities
• Take a few minutes to get to know everyone
at the table.
• Establish individuals to fulfill each of the following
roles for the session:
s Group facilitator
s Timekeeper
s Recorder
s Reporter

Decades strategies
activity
• Each table is to reflect on life
in a decade.
• We request that you depict
each decade as closely as you
imagine or remember.
What were the major discoveries? Fads? Trends?
s What was home life like? Business? School life? Churches? Government?
s

s What were the demographics?
s Who were some of the leaders?

• You will have about 30 minutes to work.
Each group will report out.
• Please use the materials provided at your table.

Reflections
• What ideas stand out
most in your mind
about how life has
changed over the
decades?
• What things/changes
have the greatest
impact on our students?
• How do these ideas affect our students?

Focusing our energies
For the next several sessions, we will:
• Focus on working and learning
together
• Gain synergy and develop
strategies for making decisions by
consensus
• Select a school leadership team
• Select a school planning team

Consider volunteering to serve!
Everyone is essential for our school’s success!

People who work together
accomplish more and achieve
greater quality
work than
those who work
alone!
Let’s work
together!

Outcome for this session
We will
experience
the effects
of synergy.


Experiencing synergy
A
•Write the 26 letters of the alphabet
vertically on a piece of paper.
•I am going to read a sentence; write the
first 26 letters in the sentence in a B
C
vertical column to the right of the listed
alphabet.
•You will have two columns, side by side.
D
•The two side by side letters represent
the first and last initials of a famous person’s name.
•What is that name?
•Do the best you can in the next 10 minutes!

Experiencing synergy
•Assign roles in your group. Remember you
will need a facilitator, timekeeper, recorder,
and reporter.
•Recorder, please write the 26
letters of the alphabet vertically
on a piece of chart paper.
•When I read a sentence to you,
record the first 26 letters in that
sentence.
•As a group, develop a second list of famous
person’s names.

Reflections
•How did we express our
difference in motivation
and frustration when we
worked alone compared
with when we worked together?
•What about levels of commitment when you
worked alone and when you worked with
others?
•What are the values of working together?

Reflections
• What did we
learn from this
experience?

• What is the
value of
collaboration as
we prepare to develop our school plan?


As effective teams work
together, they often use
consensus building as a
strategy to
develop
• a common sense
of purpose and
• a shared commitment to the
work they are doing together.

Making decisions
by consensus
CONSENSUS DECISION MAKING ENSURES
SUPPORT OF THE GROUP FOR FULL AND
SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION AND
PROBLEM SOLVING.
Consensus means:
• We understand what each other is saying.
• We agree and will support the decision publicly.
• We will support the group’s decision.
- We recognize everyone’s opinion was heard.
- The decision was agreed upon by everyone in the group
including me!

EXPLORE ARTICULATE
THE POWER THE
OF PROCESS OF
CONSENSUS AND THE
DECISION BENEFITS
MAKING OF MAKING
DECISIONS
BY
CONSENSUS


Assumptions of consensus
CONSENSUS IS:
• Finding common ground
• Developing shared responsibility
for the decision and its successful
implementation
• Building trusting relationships
• Not forced by external pressure
• Achieved informally through deep,
honest conversations
• Easiest to reach when input is sought, active
listening occurs, and ample time is provided for
thinking and reflection

Reaching consensus
THE MOST IMPORTANT STRATEGY FOR
REACHING CONSENSUS IS TO GIVE
GROUP MEMBERS AMPLE TIME FOR
INDIVIDUAL THINKING AS WELL AS
CONVERSATION.
• Allow individual time.
• Group participants into small groups of four or five.
• Request that each group discuss all ideas in the
small group thoughtfully and come to agreement
about their key ideas.
• Host a large group in-depth discussion to find
common ground.

Basic questions
• Has everyone asked
clarifying questions?
• Has everyone participated?
• Has everyone been heard?
• Is everyone willing to
support this decision
publicly?
• Is everyone willing to act on
this decision privately?

The task
•You and your group are
asked to determine a
strategy for recognizing
outstanding, high-quality
student work at an
end-of-year banquet, party, or showcase.
•Generate three decisions that must be
made about that celebration and determine
a plan of action to address one of those
decisions through consensus.

Reflections
• What did you learn about
yourself as you worked toward
reaching consensus?
• What strategies worked best
for you? Why?
• What strategies did not work?
Why?
• If you were to repeat the assignment, what would you
do differently to reach consensus?
• What do you project will be the impact of consensus
decision making on our school plan? What do we have
that is working well for us?
• What will be our challenges?

TO DEVELOP COMPETENCE
MAKING DECISIONS
BY CONSENSUS.
Practice in reaching
consensus will contribute
to our effective use of
these skills when we are
developing our school
plan.

Group reflections
•How did you feel about
your discussion?
•What strategy did you
use to reach consensus?
•What did each person
contribute?
•What might you do differently if you
repeated this process?
•What did you learn about consensus?

Reflections of the observer
•What did you observe that
helped the group come to
consensus?
•What specific examples did
you see of the qualities that
enabled them to reach
consensus?
•What barriers did each group face?
•How did they overcome those barriers?
•What would you have offered the group as
suggestions for reaching consensus?

Establishing norms
for working together
NORMS
•Facilitate our working
together and building
effective relationships
•Assist us in completing
our work
•Assist us in having a
greater opportunity for
success

To establish a
set of norms to
guide the
behavior of
group members
throughout the
planning process


Norms
•Allow groups to build trust as
group members do substantive
work together.
•Create structures that make it
safe to ask each other
challenging questions.
•Build space for listening.
•Make the most of people’s time.
•Open the opportunity for deep, insightful
conversation.

The planning process
WE ARE ESTABLISHING A
SYSTEMATIC PLANNING PROCESS
THAT WILL ALLOW:
•Everyone’s ideas to be heard
•Our school to establish a focus
and direction

KNOWING THE PROCESS, ASSISTS US ALL IN
•Understanding the components
•Using the system to develop our school plan


We want to be sure
that everyone has
a CLEAR
UNDERSTANDING
of the process that
we will be using to
establish our
school plan.


Reflections
WE HAVE DEVELOPED AN
UNDERSTANDING OF THE POWER
OF SYNERGY AND USING
CONSENSUS TO MAKE DECISIONS.
•What thoughts have you had concerning
synergy and consensus building?
•Have you begun to notice how decisions
are made in groups and committees?
•Have you noticed the impact of decision
making by consensus?

The planning process
• PURPOSE: To lead our school community to
achieve its vision, mission, and goals for all
students
• OUTCOME: A valuable, thoughtful plan based on
the needs of our students that will guide our work
for the next several years
• TIMELINE: About 8 to 12 months
• EXPECTATIONS:
- Study and reflect
- Participate on teams and in groups
- Lead study groups, action teams
- Support and contribute

STAGE I:
Getting ready to plan
• Understand our students and their
needs
• Understand the urgency for change
• Learn strategies for working
together and making decisions by
consensus
• Educate everyone on the planning
process and building interest
in participating
• Establish school priorities

STAGE II:
Designing a vision
• Analyze student data
• Research the world in
which our students
live
• Clarify and examine
our dreams for our school
• Declare our vision


STAGE III:
Drafting the plan
• Host a planning
session to draft the
school’s core values,
mission statement,
vision, goals, and
strategies
• Develop action plans

STAGE IV:
Implementing the plan
•Assign action plans for
implementation
•Establish a system for
monitoring progress


STAGE V:
Monitoring and adjusting
the action plans
• Monitor implementation
quarterly
• Host annual updates
• Use data to redirect and
adjust action plans
• Share progress

STAGE
Timeline V
STAGE Repeated as
appropriate
IV over 2 to 5
STAGE 2 or 3 days, years
then
III repeated
STAGE 4 to 5 as
months appropriate
II over 2 to 5
STAGE 3 months years
I
3 months

• The process for Stages I-III takes 10 to 11 months.
• The plan is implemented over 3 to 5 years.
• Stages IV-V give ample time to authentically
implement new strategies and to achieve the goals.

National Staff Development Council ■ www.nsdc.org ■ Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 36a

SESSIONS TIME PARTICIPANTS

SESSION A 90 minutes • Entire faculty
Exploring the urgency • Members and leadership of parent organization
of change • Student leaders
• Community partners
• Individuals from all support services in the school

PREPARATION 2 to 3 • School leadership team
FOR FOLLOWING SESSIONS weeks

SESSION B 45 minutes • Entire faculty
STAGE I: 3 MONTHS

Experiencing synergy in task • School planning team
groups

SESSION C 45 minutes • Entire faculty
Making decisions • School planning team
by consensus

SESSION D 45 minutes • Entire faculty
Practicing consensus: • School planning team
Citizens of the world

SESSION E 45 minutes • Entire faculty
Establishing norms • School planning team

SESSION F 45 minutes • Entire faculty
Understanding the planning • School planning team
process

National Staff Development Council s www.nsdc.org s Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 36b


SESSION G 90 minutes • Entire faculty
Visioning • School planning team

SESSION H 45 minutes • Entire faculty
Conducting • School planning team
the environmental scan • Parents
• Community members
STAGE II: 3 MONTHS

• School partners

SESSION I 90 minutes • Entire faculty
Conducting the internal audit • School planning team

SESSION J 90 minutes • Entire faculty
Setting school priorities

PREPARATION 2 to 3 weeks • School leadership team
FOR THE FOLLOWING
SESSION

National Staff Development Council s www.nsdc.org s Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 36c


SESSION K 11/2 days • School planning team
Writing the key elements of
the school plan

PREPARATION FOR 4 weeks • School leadership team
THE FOLLOWING SESSIONS
STAGE III: 4-5 MONTHS

SESSION L 45 minutes • Action team leaders
Training action team leaders

SESSION M 7 meetings, • Action team members
Facilitating action team 1 hour each
planning (See timeline
Handout
#14)

SESSION N 1 day • School planning team
Approving the plans of action • Action team leaders

National Staff Development Council s www.nsdc.org s Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 36d

SESSION O 45 minutes • Entire faculty
Organizing to achieve results

SESSION P 45 minutes • School leadership team
OVER 2-5 YEARS Maintaining momentum
2-3 DAYS, THEN

through shifting the role
APPROPRIATE
REPEATED AS

of the leadership team
SESSION Q 90 minutes • New faculty members
Inducting new staff • New members of the school leadership team
STAGE IV:

members, new members of • New members of the school planning team
the school leadership team,
or new members of the
school planning team

SESSION R 3 meetings, • Entire faculty, school planning team
Using data to make decisions 45 minutes
each

SESSION S 90 minutes • School planning team
OVER 2-5 YEARS

Assessing progress through quarterly
APPROPRIATE
REPEATED AS

quarterly reviews

SESSION T 4 meetings, • Entire faculty
Conducting annual updates 45 minutes • School planning team
STAGE V:

and adjusting the plans of each
action

National Staff Development Council s www.nsdc.org s Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 36e

Vision
PEOPLE WITH A COMMON VISION ENGENDER
PASSION IN OTHERS TO ACHIEVE COMMON GOALS.
The clearer the
vision to everyone
and the more that
vision is shared
by everyone the
greater the
success!



We will create a vision
of our “ideal school.”

Our dream
of an ideal school
WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF AN IDEAL SCHOOL?
•What pictures come
to mind?
•What would students
be doing?
•What would staff be doing?
•How would parents and
community be engaged?

Many external factors
affect our school:
• Shifts in demographics
• Social issues
• Political issues
• Economic issues
• Scientific/technological changes
• Educational trends



During this session, we will analyze the
events and conditions outside the school
that may have a major impact on our school
over the next 3 to 5 years.

Scientific/technology
IMPLICATIONS
FOR OUR SCHOOL
• Teachers require
knowledge and skills to
respond to student
interests and questions.
ISSUES/TRENDS
• Integrating technology
Students today are into all curriculum areas
much more may increase student
sophisticated in their interest and
use of technology and achievement.
the Internet.

Successful
organizations
conduct regular
internal audits
as an integral
part of their
commitment to
the vision and
continuous
improvement.


PARTICIPANTS WILL ANALYZE DATA RELATED TO:

•Student performance
•Strengths and weaknesses
of the curriculum,
instructional strategies,
and school organization
•Climate and culture
•Causal factors


A strength
and a weakness
A STRENGTH is something
that is a part of us already
that makes a positive and
powerful contribution to
the achievement of our
mission and vision.

A WEAKNESS is a barrier that also belongs to
us — anything that could prevent us from
achieving our mission and vision.

CATEGORY:
Student performance
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• 98% of 3rd graders passed the 56% of 5th graders
reading comprehension section of the passed the math
standardized statewide assessment in problem-solving
2003, up from 95% in 2002. section of the
• At least 95% of 3rd graders passed standardized
the problem-solving section of the statewide
standardized statewide assessment assessment, a drop
for the last three years. of 27 percentage
• For the last three years, the school points over the last
has exceeded the Adequate Yearly three years.
Progress target in reading.


CATEGORY: Curriculum
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• In 1998, all grade • The maps have not been
levels developed upgraded since the new
curriculum maps standardized statewide
aligned with the assessment was developed.
state standards and
assessments. • New teachers have had no
staff development on how to
• In 2001, all grade use these maps.
levels developed
common • Meetings about student work
assessments. have not been held
consistently at all grade
levels.

ANALYZING DATA
AND
SEEKING CAUSAL FACTORS
leads schools
to determine
effective
strategies for
achieving their
visions.

The school faculty will review all of
the information collected throughout
our planning process and make
recommendations to the school
planning team of 5 to 7 school
strategies for
achieving our
vision.

CONTRIBUTING
CAUSAL
FACTORS
•Factors that we control
•The absence of something
•Barriers that prevent us
from being successful

STRATEGIES FOR REMEDY
•Systematic approaches that will shift our
direction and facilitate our change to achieve
our mission and vision

CONTRIBUTING STRATEGIES
CAUSAL FACTORS FOR REMEDY
• Inconsistent training for • Create a systematic
teacher in teaching writing approach to teaching writing
has led to inconsistent and use professional
student performance on the development in the writing
state writing sample. process and holistic scoring.
• Varying philosophies and
approaches to teaching
writing have caused
students to lack confidence
and competence as writers.
• Inadequate understanding
and application of holistic
scoring of teachers has • Develop and use a system to
caused misunderstanding work together to plan and
among students on how monitor instruction and its
state samples are scored. results in student writing.

A school plan
provides a framework for making
decisions regarding future actions and for
establishing a direction for achieving the
school vision.
PLANS THAT TRANSFORM
SCHOOLS LEAD SCHOOL
COMMUNITIES TO ACHIEVE
THEIR DREAMS AND
ASPIRATIONS FOR THEIR
CHILDREN.


WE WILL DRAFT KEY ELEMENTS
OF OUR SCHOOL PLAN.
These key elements are our:
•Core values
•Vision
•Mission
•Objectives and leading
indicators of success
•School priorities
•Strategies

Day I AGENDA
8:30-9:00 Continental breakfast
9:00-9:45 Introductions, purpose,
introduction to the process
9:45-12:30 Core values
12:30-1:15 Lunch
1:15-2:30 Vision
2:30-4:00 Mission
4:00-4:15 Break
4:15-5:30 Environmental scan:
internal and external analysis
5:30-6:00 Closure

Day 2 AGENDA
7:30-8:00 Continental breakfast
8:00-8:15 Reflections and setting
the stage for the day
8:15-10:30 Objectives and leading
indicators of success
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 Priorities and strategies
12:00-12:30 Closure, lunch, and
celebrations


Rules of consensus
WE HAVE REACHED CONSENSUS WHEN:
•We all understand what
others are saying;
•We believe that others
understand what we
are saying; and
•We agree and will
support the decision
publicly and act on the
decision privately.


Process for working
together
• 10 minutes Facilitator introduces the
components of the plan.
• 15 minutes Team members work alone.
• 45 minutes Small groups formalize
recommendations.
• 1-2 hours School planning team meets
to reach consensus.

Core values
• Core values are our
DEFINITION:

fundamental convictions,
beliefs, theories, and
assumptions that, if stated
and “lived by,” shape our
community behaviors.
• They are “protocols” to
guide our actions and
provide a foundation for
working together.

Core values
EXAMPLES:

•We believe that focusing on one
challenging, complex, integrated curriculum
raises achievement for all students.
•Community inquiry renews professional
learning.
•Mutual respect, open communication,
and willingness to commit build trust.
•All learn best in a caring, nurturing,
risk-free environment.

Roles and responsibilities
FACILITATOR: Manages the group to ensure
everyone participates effectively;
builds consensus in the small
group
TIMEKEEPER: Manages the time;
facilitates renegotiation of time,
if necessary
Writes down major ideas
and concepts; records
RECORDER:

suggestions of the group
Shares the report, ideas,
and suggestions of the group
REPORTER:


Mission EXAMPLES:
• The mission of Excel Elementary
School is to ensure that young
learners love to learn, explore
personal interests, and respect,
DEFINITION:

The mission
participate in, and enjoy the
diversity of our global community.
of the school • The mission of
is the Excel High School,
as a community of
statement of learners, is to

our purpose
graduate all
students with
— our reason the skills,
competencies, and
for existence. attitudes to be
successful in a complex,
multicultural world.

Internal audit
DEFINITION:
•The internal audit is an
analysis of our strengths
and weaknesses
•These strengths and
weaknesses are
attributes in our school —
attributes we completely
control.
EXAMPLES:
Let’s look at the actual work done by our school staff for
examples.

External audit
DEFINITION:
The external audit is an analysis of factors and
impacts of attributes outside our control.
These factors relate to significant areas of
impact:
• Demographic issues
• Education trends
• Political issues
• Economic implications
• Social concerns
• Scientific and technological trends
EXAMPLES:
Let’s analyze the work of the staff in these areas.

Objectives
DEFINITION:
Objectives are
short-term goals that
will lead us to
achieve our mission.
EXAMPLES:
• Annually, all students will meet the state standards for
mastery of the state curriculum.
• All students will engage in non-violent ways of resolving
conflict.
• All students will participate in extra- and co-curricular
activities of their choice that relate to community service.

Leading indicators
of effectiveness
DEFINITION:
Leading indicators of
effectiveness are
data that may be
used to determine
and monitor
progress toward
achieving our
objectives.

Leading indicators of effectiveness
EXAMPLES:
OBJECTIVE INDICATOR ADEQUATE
OF EFFECTIVENESS YEARLY PROGRESS
All students will pass The number and percentage In 2005, 156 or 78% of
the annual of students performing students in grades tested will
standardized successfully on the pass all three levels of the
statewide standardized statewide standardized statewide
assessment to assessment of reading, assessment as opposed to 100
reflect mastery of mathematics, and writing will students or 50% in 2004.
the state curriculum. be monitored annually.

All students will • Student participation • Student participation will
engage in in peer mediation increase from 25 in 2004 to
non-violent ways of and conflict resolution. 75 in 2005.
resolving conflict.
• Numbers/percentages • The number of students who
of students who commit commit serious offenses in
serious offenses at school. school will decrease from 20
in 2004 to 10 in 2005.


School priorities
DEFINITION:
School priorities are areas
of concern in which the
school must establish
strategies if the school is
going to achieve its mission.
EXAMPLES:
• The school must establish a professional learning
community if professional development is going to become
meaningful to the staff.
• The school must establish strategies for engaging parents
in their children’s education.

Strategies EXAMPLES:
• We will develop and
implement a
challenging writing
•Strategies are systems
DEFINITION:
program for all
students to ensure
that are essential to all our students
discover, design, and discover a variety of
implement that will ways to express
themselves
contribute to the effectively.
successful achievement • We will become an
of the vision and mission. aggressive, caring,
compassionate
•A school may have learning community
several essential as models for our
strategies. students.


Plans of
action
are
recipes for
achieving
our
school’s
mission.


We will work
together to
develop the
knowledge
and skills
necessary to
facilitate the
development
of powerful
action plans.

Responsibilities of
action team leaders
•To assist your team in developing a
deeper understanding of the
school’s core values, vision, mission,
objectives, and strategies;
•To facilitate action teams to define
their specific tasks and conduct
extensive research; and
•To develop effective action plans.


After hearing the core
values, vision, mission,
objectives, leading
indicators of success,
school priorities, and
strategies, what
captured your
attention?

What vision
did you see?

Plans of action
• Plans of action are recipes to
produce specific outcomes that
will lead us to achieve our
vision, mission, and objectives.
• We write action plans to
describe our effective,
recommended implementation
of our strategies.
• Each strategy will have a
sufficient number of plans of
action to translate research into
best practices for our school.


The seven
meetings
Establish understanding of the school plan,
define terms, and establish research questions
MEETING I:

Share research findings and develop extended
research questions
MEETING II:

Establish a vision of how the strategy leads to
achievement of the mission and objectives
MEETING III:

Establish specific long-term outcomes
to be achieved
MEETING IV:

MEETING V: Design short-term and intermediate goals
Establish the essential steps for each goal
and conduct cost/benefit analysis
MEETING VI:

Develop presentation for the school
planning team
MEETING VII:


Meeting I
PURPOSE
• To establish an understanding of the school plan
• Define terms in the strategy
- What does “best practices” really mean to us?
- What are “professional learning communities” to us?
• Establish research questions
- What strategies are characteristic of “best
practices” in teaching mathematics?
- What are the many ways schools have
implemented professional learning
communities? What barriers did they face?
What strategies did they use to remove
those barriers and continue successfully?
I

Meeting II
PURPOSE
To share the research findings among action team
members focused on a particular strategy
ACTION TEAM MEMBERS WILL:
• Report on their research and findings;
• Reflect on the impact of their research on the school
plans of action; and
• Establish extended research questions
around what they are learning.

II

Meeting III
PURPOSE
• To reflect on the extended research
• To establish a vision of how what the team is learning
leads to achievement of the school’s mission and
objectives
• Report on their research and findings;
• Reflect on the impact of their research
on the school plans of action; and
• Draft a vision statement that best
describes what people would be doing
if the school were effectively
implementing the strategy as
researched.
III

Meeting IV
PURPOSE
To establish specific long-term outcomes that must be
achieved by the school to achieve the strategy
successfully
Determine specify systems, processes, or programs that
have the best promise of achieving the outcomes
established.
EXAMPLE:
Teachers will use common reading
comprehension strategies and
assessment strategies across all
content areas.
IV

Meeting V
PURPOSE
To establish short-term and intermediate goals
• Consider a “pathway” to achieve the mission;
• Establish short-term goals for first steps; and
EXAMPLE: All teachers will receive intensive training in using
comprehension strategies in their curriculum area.
• Determine intermediate goals that reflect
more significant levels of change over
a period of four or five years.
EXAMPLE: All teachers will participate in
lesson study, and design and teach effective
lessons applying what they have learned
about reading comprehension strategies.
V

Meeting VI
PURPOSE
• To determine the steps for each outcome and goal
• To determine a cost/benefit analysis for each
action plan
• Detail essential steps for each short-term goal,
intermediate goal, and long-term
outcome. Each goal and outcome is a
plan of action.
• Determine a cost/benefit analysis
based on their research and current
market prices.
VI

Meeting VII
PURPOSE
To develop an effective, persuasive presentation for the
school planning team
Plan carefully a presentation that reflects what they
have learned, what they are recommending, and how
their plans will assist the school in achieving
its vision and mission.

VII

Recruiting action
team members
• Action team leaders have a major
responsibility in recruiting action team
members.
• Action team members need to mirror
the school community and reflect all
perspectives.
• Parents, community members, teaching
and support staff, and students are vital
to powerful action teams.
• Final decisions about all action team
members will be made by the school
leadership team.

Action team meeting I
MEETING OUTCOMES
•Establish an
understanding of
the school plan
•Define terms in
the strategies
•Establish
research
questions


Definition of terms
•Which terms in your
strategy do you believe
are essential to
define?
•How would you define
or describe those
terms in light of the
vision shared by
members of the
school planning team?


A vision of your team’s
strategy
Working alone, draft a description of your
strategy as you see its contribution to
achieving our mission.
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
• What would our school look like if we were successfully
implementing your strategy?
– What would staff be doing?
– What would students be doing?
– What would parents and/or community members be doing?
• How do you see this strategy leading us closer to achieving our school
vision and mission?
• How does the strategy contribute to our ability to live by our
core values?

Emerging themes
After working individually, let’s look for common ground among
all members of your action team.
• Are there big ideas that have emerged that are common
among all statements from individual members in your action
team?
• What are these big themes or ideas?

DRAFT A COMMON
VISION STATEMENT
CAPTURING THE MOST
DESCRIPTIVE AND
COMPELLING IDEAS
THAT EMERGED FROM
YOUR CONVERSATION.

Developing research
questions
•Your action team will develop research
questions that will guide your study and inquiry
over the next several months.
•Consider areas, ideas, or themes of greatest
interest to you.
•What would you want to know
about these big ideas or themes?
– What does the literature say about
these ideas?
– What schools are implementing
these ideas?
– How do they know they are successful?

Developing
research
questions
•Choose a theme that interests
you.
•Assemble a small research team
for each major idea or theme.
•Meet with your small research
team and draft open-ended
research questions to guide your
work for the next three weeks.

Research questions
•What are your
action team’s
research
questions?
•How do they
explore your vision
of your strategy?
•How are they
open-ended
investigations
worthy of study?


Action team meeting II
MEETING
OUTCOMES
•Share and
discuss
research
•Extend thinking
by developing
new research
questions
based on
findings

Action team meeting III
MEETING
OUTCOMES
•Review new
research
findings
•Establish the
implication of
research on
the school
plan and the vision for our strategy

Action team meeting IV
MEETING
OUTCOME
Establish
goals to
achieve the
strategy


Establishing long-term
outcome statements
DEFINITION:
• Long-term outcome statements are expected results
of our work.
• These results are
essential and sufficient to
achieve the strategy
successfully.
• They describe the desired
outcomes of the work
established in the steps
of the plans of action.

Establishing long-term
outcome statements
WHILE WORKING WITH YOUR ACTION TEAM,
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
•Are the outcome statements clear, specific,
and easy to understand?
•Are the expected results essential
to achieve the strategy?
•If we achieve all of these
outcomes, will we have
sufficiently addressed the
strategy?

Action team meeting V
MEETING OUTCOMES
Finalize outcome statements for all strategies.
• Each team will share its statements and the
research to support these outcomes.
• We will give each other
feedback using the
questions on Slide 94.
• We will examine all outcome
statements to look for gaps,
overlaps, and contradictions.


Action team meeting VI
MEETING
OUTCOMES
•State intermediate and
short-term goals to
achieve the long-term
outcomes
•Establish sequential,
logical steps to achieve
each outcome and goal


Establishing intermediate
and short-term goals
• Our long-term outcome is our
transformed school.
• Many goals must be achieved for us
to truly accomplish this.
• We will establish initial “first steps,”
or short-term goals and
intermediate goals that lead us to
our long-term outcome.
• Sequencing these goals reflects a
thoughtful, effective change process
to ensure our success.

Action plan #
Long-term outcome statement/intermediate goal/or short-term goal:

Rationale:

ACTION PERSON RESOURCES TARGET DATE FOR EVALUATION
STEP/PROCESS RESPONSIBLE NEEDED COMPLETION

List discrete steps. State the name of State essential State a specific State the strategy
Start with a verb. the individual resources including date on the that will be used to
Think about the responsible for time, professional calendar for the measure not only
logical order of ensuring the action development, year of completion but
events that will is taken. materials, people. implementation. impact of this step
lead the school to on achieving the
achieve the goal. goal.


Cost/benefit analysis
Cost for the plan Possible funding Benefits to spending
of action sources these revenues to
achieve the mission

National Staff Development Council s www.nsdc.org s Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 98a

Action team meeting VII
MEETING
OUTCOMES

• Finalize plans of
action
• Prepare for
presentation to
the school
planning team


We will engage in a
process of studying
recommendations
made to us by the
action teams and
recommend to the
principal and school
leadership team those
outcomes and goals that have the greatest
promise of leading us to achieve our
mission.

The process
• We will first listen attentively to the presentations of
the action team leaders on each of the strategies.
• We will recommend to the principal and school
leadership team those outcomes that are essential to
achieve our strategies.
• We will make our recommendations based on
– How well the long-term outcome will assist us
in achieving our vision and mission
– The logic of the change process being recommended
– The clarity of the outcome
• After we hear each presentation, we will work in small
groups to make recommendations about each
outcome and each intermediate and short-term goal.
• We will come to consensus on all recommendations to
the principal and the school leadership team.

Small group
recommendation
STRATEGY:

LONG-TERM INTERMEDIATE SHORT-TERM ACCEPT/ REJECT/
OUTCOME GOAL GOAL RATIONALE RATIONALE


Recommending acceptance
of a
long-term outcome,
intermediate goal,
and/or short-term goal
• Assessing the value of each outcome or goal is not based on
our likes or dislikes, our comforts or discomforts.
• Carefully consider the following questions before making
your recommendation:
– Is the outcome/goal essential to achieve the strategy?
– Does it move us closer to the vision and mission of our school?
– Is it aligned with our core values?
– Is it a powerful leverage point?
– Is the entire set of outcomes and goals comprehensive and logical?
– Are there gaps that need addressing?
– Do the benefits outweigh the costs?
• If you and your group wish to make modifications,
ask us for approval.

School plans are useful only when
school staff members take full
responsibility for achieving the
mission and goals and moving
toward the vision.
LET’S
COMMIT TO
DEVELOPING
A SHARED
VISION!

THE STAFF WILL:
•Accept responsibility for and commit
to living the core values and achieving the
mission;
•Commit to lead implementation and
achievement of our goals for the next
two years;
•Establish an implementation
team for each goal; and
•Celebrate completion of the
school plan!

SCHOOLS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS AS LEADERS ON THE TEAM
INSPIRE OTHERS TO SHARE THE VISION AND TO ENGAGE IN
THE JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION.

The school leadership team will assume
responsibility for:
•Implementing the plan;
•Monitoring progress
on achieving school
goals; and
•Inducting new
members.

New roles of the school
leadership team
THE FACILITATOR:
• Ensures meetings run smoothly;
• Establishes agendas;
• Ensures we abide by our norms;
• Designs strategies to assist us
in accomplishing our outcomes
for the meetings; and
• Facilitates the professional learning for the school
leadership team.
THE RECORDER:
• Develops a history of our work;
• Publishes agendas and sends them to us before our
meetings; and
• Records major decisions.

Our leadership will:
• Set the tone in our school;
• Ensure others we will “stay the course”;
• Continuously consider how the core values, vision,
mission, and objectives affect everyday life in our
school;
• Monitor the work of implementation teams;
• Study the progress on our objectives that students
are making using the leading indicators of
success; and
•Communicate
our progress to
others.

National Staff Development Council ■ www.nsdc.org ■ Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 108

Shared vision develops as
everyone in the school has a
deep understanding of the
vision of the school and its
direction.
NEW MEMBERS WILL:
•Understand the mission of the school, the direc-
tion the school is taking to achieve it, and the
leadership and commitment needed from
everyone.
•Understand the planning process and how to
become involved.

Schools that are most
successful identify key data
and use that data to make
effective
decisions for
increasing
student
performance.

THE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM WILL:
• Develop and establish systematic
approaches to analyzing
the school’s
effectiveness;
•Analyze findings and
possible causal factors;
•Modify the school plan;
•Lead celebrations!

Purpose of Meeting I
We will review
the indicators
of effectiveness
and develop a
system for
continuously
gathering and monitoring
student performance.

Assessment options
for staff
• Any department, grade level, or
team may choose other
assessments to complement the
state-like instruments to help us
determine how well students are
performing.
• Such common assessments as
research projects, culminating
demonstrations, or authentic
tasks are encouraged and often
essential.

Team reflections
What recommendations do you
have concerning:

•Leading indicators of success and the
data related to each?
•The system for collecting and aggregating
data?

Purpose of Meeting II
WE WILL ANALYZE THE DATA AND REPORTS FROM EACH
IMPLEMENTATION TEAM BY RESPONDING TO THE FOLLOWING
QUESTIONS:
• What trends, if any, are emerging in our data?
– Are some groups of students doing better than others?
– Are some grade levels/teams or departments making greater progress?
– How are students performing by classroom teacher?
– Are parents and student perceptions changing over time?

• What statements of findings can we make?
• What are possible causal factors?
– What impact do we believe our efforts in implementing our goals are having
on these data?
– What successes are we seeing?
– What challenges are we facing?

• What are the essential next steps?
• Should we make any shifts in direction at this time?

Purpose of Meeting III
We will recommend
changes in our
school plan.
WE WILL CONSIDER:
• Recommending no changes other
than to continue the work being
doing by the implementation
teams;
• Recommending minor change to
refocus the work; and
• Recommending stopping the efforts, doing additional
research, and redesigning the action plans.

Recommendations
• We recommend NO CHANGES. Continue the work being done by the implementation
teams on the following goals:

• We recommend MINOR CHANGE to refocus the work on
the following goals. They are:

• We recommend STOPPING the efforts, doing additional
research, and redesigning the action plans for the
following goals. Our rationale is:

• We COMMEND the implementation team for the following:

SIGNATURES OF TEAM MEMBERS DATE


Organizations that
are most effective
in achieving their
goals monitor
their progress
regularly and
adjust their
directions to
ensure their
success.

THE SCHOOL
LEADERSHIP TEAM AND
THE PRINCIPAL WILL:
•Review progress
of the
implementation
teams and
•Recommend necessary
adjustments.

As the world changes and
needs of students and
staff change, action plans
must be adjusted for the
school
community
to achieve
its mission.

The school leadership
team and school planning
team will:
•Ensure that the
school plan is
current and
•Address new and
emerging issues
that impact
achievement of
the mission.

Internal analysis
DATA TRENDS FINDINGS POSSIBLE POSSIBLE
CAUSAL RECOMMENDATIONS
FACTORS
Student Student • 80% of all students Teachers have • Continue
performance performance in grades 3 and 5 had extensive efforts
data in data on passed the professional
writing in standardized standardized state development • Commend
grades 3 and state writing writing assessment, in the writing teachers for
5 assessments an increase of 35 process and their work
has percentage points in write with • Initiate an
continued to three years. students daily. Author’s
go up over Conference to
the last three • Students
competently use the highlight the
years successes of
writing process and
the state rubric to students and
produce quality work. staff.

2nd data item

3rd data item


External scan
TRENDS: DEMOGRAPHICS, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC,
TECHNOLOGICAL, EDUCATIONAL
CATEGORY FACTOR IMPACT RECOMMENDATIONS
Economic Reduced Slowing down • Persist over time to
funding implementation of ensure all staff
for the the school’s staff members are
school development plan. trained.
Only 25% of teachers • Initiate peer
had professional coaching and
development this year mentoring program
in the writing process. to assist teachers not
trained yet and those
struggling with
implementation.
2nd category

3rd category


Purpose of our meeting
Together, we will continue to
make recommendations in the
best interest of
our students
and the vision
and mission of
our school.

The school planning team
recommendations
AFTER REVIEWING THE ANALYSIS OF OUR DATA
AND PROGRESS ON THE SCHOOL PLAN, YOU AS A
TEAM MAY RECOMMEND THAT WE:
• “Stay the course”;
• Make minor modifications in our
direction;
• Adopt addition goals;
• Stop work, conduct additional research,
and revise our plans of action; or
• Add new objectives or strategies.
National Staff Development Council ■ www.nsdc.org ■ Transforming Schools Through Powerful Planning 125

We want to be sure that, if we are
recommending new objectives
and strategies, we realize:
•New action teams will be
formed;
•Research will be
conducted;
•New indicators of
success established; and
•New data systems
organized to gather data.

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