Person County Schools Summer Leadership Conference for Learning

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Person County Schools Summer Leadership
Conference for Learning Teaching
Person County Schools

• Piedmont Community College
• July 23- 25, 2008

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Continuing the Dialogue
Person County Schools

• Student Learning,
• Continuous Improvement
• Results

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Thanks Welcome
Person County Schools

• Teresa Shotwell
• Debbie Smith, Larry King, Jerry Ball, Lyn Holt
• Company

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Welcome New Team Members

• Steve Hester PHS
• Kirk Brozy PHS
• Simon Justice PCLA
• Annitra Leigh NMS
• Latoia Valentine SMS
• Jay Carmichael SMS
• Amy Whitlow -- EBPS

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Welcome New Principals

• Steve Hester PHS
• Simon Justice PCLA
• Darkarai Bryant NMS
• Chrystal Brooks NEES
• Amy Whitlow -- EBPS

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Changes in Attitude Changes in Latitude

• Deanene Deaton
• Accountability Media
• Debbie Smith
• Technology CTE
• Desi Jones
• Asst. Finance Officer
• Jason Clayton
• LAN/WAN Engineer
• Meredith Crowe
• EC Data Manager

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A word from our sponsors Brought to you by
Post-It

• Please use your POST-IT to label items for your
  clerical staff, SIT, grade chairs, etc.
• THANKS!!!

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And Mr. Spock --

• Please set your phaser to stun.

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WOW!! What a Year!!
Person County Schools

• 4Q3T
• Produce Globally Competitive Students
• Led by 21st Century Professionals
• Healthy and Responsible Students
• Leadership Guides Innovation
• Governed and Supported by 21st Century Systems

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Produce Globally Competitive Students
Person County Schools

• Math 3-5
• 2007 Level 1 _at_ 70 2008 Level 1 _at_ 45
• 2007 Level 2 _at_ 344 2008 Level 2 _at_ 208
• 2007 Level 3 _at_ 586 2008 Level 3 _at_ 618
• 2007 Level 4 _at_ 210 2008 Level 4 _at_ 252
• 2007 at or above 796 or 65.7
• 2008 at or above 870 or 76.5

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Produce Globally Competitive Students

• DISTRICT Met Expected Growth in ALL indicators
  grades 3-8
• ALL Elementary Schools Met Expected Growth
• 6 of 7 Elementary Schools Met High Growth
• BOTH Middle Schools Met Expected Growth
• NMS Met High Growth

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Produce Globally Competitive Students

• DISTRICT AYP
• 5 of 7 Elementary Schools Met AYP
• Congratulations to
• North, North End, South, Oak Lane, Woodland
• 50 of All Schools met AYP

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Kudos!!

• Oak Lane
• Highest age of Level 4 in Math 3
• North
• Greatest increase in at or above grade level in
  Math 4 (40)
• Helena
• Highest age of at or above grade level in Math 4
• South
• Greatest increase in performance of at or above
  grade level performance over 3 years in cohort
  improvement (32)

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Good News !!!!!

• North End
• Greatest increase in cohort at or above from Math
  4 to Math 5 (27)
• Woodland
• No Level 1 students in Math 5
• Stories Creek
• One Math 4 class above state average in all
  goals

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Middle Grades

• Southern
• 3 classes of Math 7 above state average in all
  goals
• Northern
• 3 classes of Math 8 above state average in all
  goals

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PHS is Moving!

• Double digit increases in proficiency in Algebra
  II and Geometry
• Double digit increase in Writing 10
• Four sections of US History where all goals were
  above the state average

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Challenges Ahead

• Reading Released in November
• Writing Changes for Next Year
• What do the goal summaries tell you?
• You will get proficiency through growth, but you
  will not get growth through proficiency.

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Led by 21st Century Professionals

• Assistant Principals Fully Staffed
• Counselors
• Elementary Planning Time
• Lead Teachers
• Setting Leadership Priorities
• Leading for Results

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Challenges Ahead

• Teacher Working Conditions Survey
• New Principal Evaluation Instrument
• Efficacy

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Healthy and Responsible Students
Person County Schools

• Cheers for Health Inspections!
• Challenges of Increased Costs at All Levels
  Food Operating

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Governed and Supported by 21st Century Systems
Person County Schools

• Technology
• On-Line Services
• Policy Revisions
• Leadership Development
• Leading for Results
• Setting Leadership Priorities

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Leadership Guides Innovation
Person County Schools

• Invest in our people
• Honesty
• Trust
• The Main Thing
• Distribution of Resources

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Administrator Responses to TWC Survey Spring 2008
Person County Schools

• 79 7 of 10 Principals
• What did we say?

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This We Believe About Expectations

• 86 Believe
• The district clearly defines expectations.
• There is an atmosphere of trust and mutual
  respect.
• The district provides principals with support
  when needed.
• Principals are trusted to make sound professional
  decisions about instruction.
• In this district, we take steps to solve
  problems.

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This We Believe About Expectations
Person County Schools

• AS A WHOLE, compared to the state
• PCS administrators spend significantly less time
  on disciplinary issues.
• PCS administrators spend significantly less time
  on personnel issues.
• PCS administrators spend significantly less time
  in meetings sponsored by the central office.
• PCS principals spend about the same amount of
  time in instructional planning with teachers.

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This We Believe About Decision-Making

• 100 Believe they have a large or primary role
  in
• Establishing the school mission and vision
• School Improvement Planning
• Establishing school budget priorities
• Establishing and implementing student
  disciplinary policies
• Hiring new teachers

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This We Believe About Decision-Making

• 86 believe they have a large or primary role in
  selecting instructional materials
• 86 believe they have a large or primary role in
  removal or transfer of teachers
• 72 believe they have a large or primary role in
  determining the content of professional
  development programs

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This We Believe About Personal Growth

• 71 agree that principal professional development
  is a priority in our district.
• Only 58 believe that professional development
  opportunities are made available to principals.

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This We Believe About Professional Development

• 85 agree that funds are available to principals
  for professional development
• Only 43 believe professional development for
  principals provides the skills most needed to be
  effective.
• 29 disagree
• 29 have no opinion

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This We Believe About Resources
Person County Schools

• 86 believe their school has adequate certified
  staffing
• 43 believe their school has adequate
  non-certified staffing
• Only 43 believe their school receives
  instructional resources commensurate with other
  schools
• 43 disagree
• 14 have no opinion

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This We Believe About Time

• 43 believe central office has not streamlined
  procedures to minimize principals time on
  non-instructional tasks
• 71 believe principals are not provided time to
  collaborate with other principals and district
  officials
• 67 believe that principals are not provided time
  for networking and collaboration outside the
  district
• 71 believe principals do not have enough time to
  focus on instructional leadership issues

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This We Believe About Student Learning

• Top 3 Working Conditions Most Influential to
  Student Learning
• School Empowerment in Decision Making (40)
• Professional Development Time (Tied _at_ 20)

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This We Believe About Student Learning
Person County Schools

• Top 5 Areas Which Need Additional Support
• School Improvement Planning (86)
• Data-Driven Decision Making (71)
• Student Assessment (57)
• Budgeting (57)
• Instructional Leadership (43)

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So what do we need to do to improve these items

• Professional Development
• 72 believe they have a large or primary role in
  determining the content of professional
  development programs
• 58 believe that professional development
  opportunities are made available to principals.
• 43 believe professional development for
  principals provides the skills most needed to be
  effective.

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So what do we need to do to improve these items

• Resources
• 43 believe their school receives instructional
  resources commensurate with other schools

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So what do we need to do to improve these items

• Time
• 43 believe central office has not streamlined
  procedures to minimize principals time on
  non-instructional tasks
• 71 believe principals are not provided time to
  collaborate with other principals and district
  officials
• 67 believe that principals are not provided time
  for networking and collaboration outside the
  district
• 71 believe principals do not have enough time to
  focus on instructional leadership issues

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Five Premises

• School occurs in a group context. The behavior of
  one affects all.
• Learning occurs best in an orderly environment.
• An orderly environment is achieved by policies
  and regulations that promote self-reliance rather
  than policies that force compliance.
• Things improve when adults behave.
• Behavior expectations must be simple, well-known,
  and continuously consistently applied.

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What did our teachers say?
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Selected Items from TWC Survey
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Teachers Have Reasonable Class Sizes
41
Teachers Are Protected from Duties that Interfere
with Teaching
42
School leadership minimizes administrative
paperwork.
43
Sufficient non-instructional time is provided at
my school.
44
Teachers have sufficient access to appropriate
materials and resources.
45
Teachers have sufficient access to instructional
technology.
46
Teachers have sufficient access to communication
technology.
47
Teachers work in an environment that is clean and
well-maintained.
48
Teachers are centrally involved in decision
making about educational issues.
49
Teachers are trusted to make sound decisions
about instruction.
50
Teacher role in determining content of
professional development.
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Teacher role in school improvement planning.
52
There is an atmosphere of trust and mutual
respect in my school.
53
The school leadership communicates clear
expectations to students parents.
54
The SIT provides effective leadership at my
school.
55
School leadership makes a sustained effort to
address teacher concerns about use of time.
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School leadership makes a sustained effort to
address teacher concerns about professional
development.
57
School leadership makes a sustained effort to
address teacher concerns about leadership issues.
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Overall, the school leadership at my school is
effective.
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Overall, my school is a good place to teach and
learn.
60
At this school, we utilize the TWC for school
improvement.
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Two Things to Remember .
Person County Schools

• Leadership Matters
• YOU ARE THE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER

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The influence that educational leaders have on
student learning is indirect, but crucial.
Person County Schools

• Our ultimate effect depends on where (what part
  of the organization) we devote time and
  attention.
• Teachers are the number-one determiner of student
  learning. Focusing on teachers and classroom
  instruction offers the greatest opportunity to
  influence student learning.

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What is the most important factor in determining
student achievement?
Person County Schools

• Quality of teacher and their instruction

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What is the second most important factor in
student achievement?
Person County Schools

• The principal is the second most important
  factor, after the quality of the teacher in the
  classroom, having the greatest effect on what
  children learn.

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Instructional Leadership

• Analyzing what is being taught and what should be
  taught in a school.
• Designing, modifying, and organizing the
  curriculum.
• Delivery of curriculum including scope and
  sequence.
• Evaluation of curricula.

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Three Critical Areas of Leadership

• Establishing the direction in which the school
  will go setting goals and expectations of high
  performance, and using data to inform decisions
• Building capacity in people support and
  training for teachers and other staff and
• Developing a climate and culture that promotes
  rather than restricts teaching and learning.

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Goal Setting

• One of the last private sanctuaries in the world
  is the American classroom.
• Isolation
• Ask the right questions
• Why are we doing what we are doing?
• What are we doing to achieve our goals?
• Can it be done a better way?

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What is Average?

• The top of the worst and the bottom of the best.

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A Silver Bullet????
Person County Schools

• No single organizational structure has been found
  to work better than another climate and culture
  are the key ingredients.

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So whats an instructional leader to do?
Person County Schools

• Develop a mission and set goals held by all
  staff members,
• Monitor effectiveness of programs and
  practices, and
• Involve teachers in making and implementing
  decisions.

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Simply knowing what to do is often not enough to
transform schools and classrooms.

• Leaders must also know
• why certain practices are important,
• when they should be used, and
• how to apply them skillfully in their own
  schools and classrooms.
• (MCREL)

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Some closing thoughts to guide our work over the
next days and in the coming year
Person County Schools
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You must have a plan for improvement or you
will not improve.
Person County Schools

• We did not find a single case in the literature
  where student learning increased but had not been
  central goal.
• Joyce, Wolf, and Calhoun 1993

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Powerful Teaching
Students learn as much for a teacher as they
do from a teacher. Linda Darling-Hammond,
Stanford University
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• Failure to learn does not develop out of thin
  air it is scrupulously created through policies,
  practices, attitudes, and beliefs.
• (Gerald Ubben)

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We are preparing children for their future. Not
a repeat of our future. For the first time in
history, as educators we do not know what our
future will look like.

• Preparing kids for their future is a human
  endeavor. It requires holding hands, human
  contact, and walking into an uncertain future.

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One of the most talented groups in our nation
now sits in this room.
Person County Schools

• What Shall We DO?

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Person County Schools
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Person County Schools