1. Becoming a World-Class School District
2013-2014 – Our Journey
Do you believe?
Please sit with
your department

2. Superintendent’s Vision
• Define a World Class School System
– Academic Rigor
– Writing
– Planning (PLCs)

3. • According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly
two-thirds of the new jobs created between 2006
and 2016 will be in occupations that require
postsecondary education/training … while jobs
requiring routine manual tasks will continue to
decrease.

4. • Occupations that require a bachelor’s degree will
grow twice as fast as occupations that require only
a high school diploma.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

5. • Wages for careers that require higher levels of
education and training will outpace non-degreed
jobs, with the average college graduate earning 77
percent more than the typical high school graduate.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

6. Building Bridges for Success
• It begins with a relationship.

7. The Task
• Define World Class
– How would staff, students, parents
and/or the community perceive the
following?
•
•
•
•
Programs
Characteristics
Feels like
Sounds like

8. Activity
• 1) Individually jot your thoughts using one vision
per post-it for what World Class means to families,
teachers, students, and community.
• 2) Discuss your ideas of a world class system with
your department as you sort into categories.
• 3) As a department, use the provided chart paper to
come up with one definition of what World Class
means for each of the following: family, students,
teachers, and community.

9. Defining World Class
• What is our definition of a World Class
School District?

11. What Do We Want the School to
Provide?
• Think about a special child in your life that you
would do anything for. What would you want a
school to provide to that child?
• Using poll everywhere, answer the question in 10
words or less.
• Text to phone # 64481
• Msg 64481

12. The Current State
Where are we now in
becoming a
World Class School?

13. How Do We Get There
• Awareness
– Data
– Proficiency is Level 3 or above
– In order to make a learning gain, student must increase
one level. However, level 1 students who make at least
an 8 point gain or level 2 students who make at least a 7
point gain also qualify as making a learning gain (even
though they did not increase a level).

14. Teacher Data Folders
• Disaggregated Student Data (Performance Matters)
• Content Guides for your subject area as well as
reading and writing standards
• Helpful resources (provided by TIF teachers)
• Baseline Data
• Midyear Data
• FCAT/EOC Data
• Student Grades Reports (Pinnacle Gradebook)

15. Classroom Summary Chart
Student names blocked to protect privacy.

16. How do I read that???
• Red – STOP!
– Failed to master
• Yellow – Slow Down
– Partial mastery
• Green – Go
– Mastery

17. The Desired State
Where do we want to be
as a World Class
School?

18. How Do We Get There?
• Shared Accountability
– Teacher
• Share Best Practices
• Dialogue/Collaboration
– Support to both Teachers and Students
• Review data, interventions, remediation, enrichment
– Community
• School initiatives, school celebrations of success
• Volunteers
• All Means ALL – No Opting Out!

19. What Do We Need to Do?
•
•
•
•
•
Take responsibility for student learning.
Work together in true teams.
Clearly define what every student needs to learn.
Constantly measure our effectiveness.
Respond collectively when students don’t learn.

20. World Class Schools Provide
• Endless Possibilities
• The Power of Words

21. ALL MEANS ALL
• A Data Picture of Our School
• An Ongoing Process of Educators Working
Interdependently to Improve Learning

22. Teacher Evaluations and PDPs
• New policies this year…

23. Teacher Evaluation - To maintain the
TIF Grant, every teacher must have…
• 5 Walkthroughs
• 2 Formal Observations
– Short Formals
•
•
•
•
Teachers with at least 1 year of experience
Will cover ONE category in Domain 2 or 3
The domain will change for the 2nd semester
15-20 minutes
– Long Formals
• First-year teachers
• Will cover Domains 2 and 3
• 60 minutes
• All Formals must be given a rating level (rather than
observed/not observed).

24. Professional Development Plans (PDP)
• No more PDPs for
experienced teachers!!
• PDPs are still a requirement
of the A.P.P.L.E.S. program
• If you qualify for an A.P.P.L.E.S.
exemption because of prior teaching
experience, you do not need to
complete a PDP

25. • Break TIME!!!!

26. Teamwork
• We’re your buddies!

27. Essential Functions of Teacher
Leaders (T.I.F. Grant)
1. Works collaboratively with the principal, assistant
principals, faculty, and staff to increase student
achievement.
2. Provides professional development opportunities for all
faculty and staff members.
3. Supports colleagues by providing information, mentoring,
modeling, and problem-solving strategies that align with
the School Improvement Plan.
4. Communicates with administration regarding professional
development.
5. Assists in identifying and developing future Teacher
Leaders in the building.

28. Can Every Student Learn?
• Why don’t students learn?
• On a sheet of paper, write down one reason that
students don’t learn that is beyond our control.
• What can we control?

29. Paradigm Shift
• We are going to work collaboratively, which will
create some Cultural Shifts for us.
–
–
–
–
–
A Shift in Fundamental Purpose
A Shift in the Use of Assessments
A Shift in the Response When Students Don’t Learn
A Shift in the Work of Teachers
A Shift in Focus

30. What will we see (T.I.F.) Teacher
Leaders doing at Riverdale?
• Collaboration with teachers within our Professional
Learning Communities (PLC’s) to build & identify a
shared understanding about:
–
–
–
–
What students should learn (what is essential).
Evidence of student learning.
Analyzing that evidence.
Teaching strategies that improve student learning.

31. Five Essential Elements
•
•
•
•
•
Focus on learning
Create a collaborative culture
Clearly define what all students must learn
Constantly measure your effectiveness
Systematically respond when students don’t learn

32. The BIG IDEAS of a PLC
• We accept learning as the fundamental purpose of our
school and therefore are willing to examine all practices in
light of their impact on learning.
• We are committed to working together to achieve our
collective purpose. We cultivate a collaborative culture
through the development of high-performing teams.
• We assess our effectiveness on the basis of results
rather than intention. Individuals, teams, and schools
seek relevant data and information and use that
information to promote continuous improvement.

33. PLC Critical Questions
•
•
•
•
What do we expect students to learn?
How do we know when they have learned it?
How will we respond when students don’t learn?
How will we respond when students have learned?

34. Professional Learning Communities
Focus on Results to Identify …
• Each student who has not yet learned the essential
skills and concepts
• Each student who has learned the essential skills
and concepts
• Strategies to improve upon our individual ability to
teach each essential skill and concept
• Strategies to improve upon our collective ability to
teach each essential skill and concept

35. Why Should We Collaborate?
• “The era of isolated teachers, working alone to meet the
myriad needs of all their students, is neither educationally
effective nor economically viable in the 21st century … When
teachers are given the time and tools to collaborate, they
become life-long learners, their instructional practice
improves, and they are ultimately able to increase
achievement far beyond what any of them could accomplish
alone”
- Carroll, Fulton, & Doerr, 2010

36. Why Should We Collaborate?
• “The challenges of schooling are too great for
individuals to shut themselves away behind closed
classroom doors and try to resolve them alone. A
concerted collaborative effort is necessary when
teachers and other colleagues work and learn
collaboratively with a clear focus on the learning of
students as well as themselves.”
- Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Thomas, Wallace,
Greenwood, & Hawkey, 2006

37. Why Should We Collaborate?
•
•
•
•
Gains in student achievement
Higher quality solutions to problems
Increased confidence among all staff
More peer support of strengths and
accommodation of weaknesses
• Ability to test new ideas
• More support for new teachers
• Expanded pool of ideas, materials, and methods.
- Little, 1990

38. What is Collaboration?
• “A systematic process in which we work together,
interdependently, to analyze and impact
professional practice in order to improve our
individual and collective results”
- DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, 2010

39. Seven Keys to Collaboration in a PLC
• Embed collaboration with a FOCUS ON LEARNING in
routine practices of the school.
• Schedule time for collaboration into the school day and
school calendar.
• Focus teams on critical questions.
• Make products of collaboration explicit.
• Establish teams norms to guide collaboration.
• Pursue specific and measurable team performance goals.
• Provide teams with frequent access to relevant information.

40. A Little Inspiration…
• “If you are not on fire with enthusiasm, you will be
fired with enthusiasm!”
• “When the rate of change on the outside exceeds
the rate of change on the inside… you’re finished!”
• “Have you noticed that when you are tired and
stressed, people around you get real stupid?”
• Lava Lamp leaders are always changing; they are
agile, resilient, innovative, imaginative, bold and
adaptable.”

41. Be a “Lava Lamp Leader”
Make learning fun!

42. So…how can I make learning fun?
• Do something new and fresh
• Create a unique learning environment
• Make real-world connections to things THEY care
about
• Every lesson can be memorable and awesome
• Give them something to ARGUE ABOUT! The
students will be engaged and they’ll retain more
information
Here’s one way…
.

43. Romeo and Juliet – CSI Style!

44. Why the Romeo and Juliet CSI Lesson
was Awesome
•
•
•
•
Memorable and unique
Included physical and mental engagement
Collaborative learning
ALL Students Researched, Analyzed, Explained,
Created, Defended, Wrote
• Conversations continued long after class had
dismissed

45. All students can and will learn…
• If we make the content
exciting, rich, and
relevant
• If we teach on our feet
• If we make connections
across the content
areas
• If we give every kid the
chance

46. You CAN!

47. We’re here to help you…
• Help us to help you