Springboard Best Practices Study Findings 2003 2006

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Springboard Best Practices StudyFindings 2003
2006

• Lessons from High Performing, High Poverty
  Districts and Schools

Presented by Dr. Ron Leon and Jeannie
Murphy Executive Coaches, Springboard Schools May
5, 2006 San Diego National Center for Urban
School Transformation - First Annual Symposium
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Agenda

• Introduction to Springboard Schools
• Why How We Did This Study
• Spotlight on 3 High Performers
• Findings in 2 areas
• Before the test strategies
• After the test strategies
• Upcoming Studies
• QA

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Achievement, Equity and Inquiry
Identify systems, and practices which enable
districts and schools to raise the achievement
level of all students and close the achievement
gap.
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Springboard Schools

• Eleven-year history
• Statewide work in California
• Non-profit
• A three-part program
• Research
• Professional development
• On-site coaching

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Prior Springboard Studies

• After the Test Using Data to Close the
  Achievement Gap-
  Elementary Study
• Challenged Schools, Remarkable Results Three
  Lessons from Californias Highest Achieving High
  Schools -
• High School Study

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Why this District Study?

• For decades districts were seen as
• Dispensable
• Barriers
• or
• Even villains

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What has changed?

• Mounting accountability pressure

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What has changed?

• Emerging view that districts are key to
• scale scaling up best practice takes district
  involvement
• sustainability school level work is too
  fragile without district support
• equity creating an equitable system
• of schools requires a district

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How We Do Our Studies?

• Sample Selection High performing, high EL and
  high poverty
• Principal survey 60 sites spanning high- and
  average and low- performing districts
• Intensive site visits of three case study sites

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District Case Study 1Oak Grove Elementary
School DistrictSan Jose, CA

• The District
• 11,714 students
  41 Economically Disadvantaged
• 41 Latino, 27 White and 18 Asian 29
  English Learners

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District Case Study 2 Elk Grove Unified
School DistrictElk Grove, CA

• The District
• 58,670 students
• 32 White, 20 African-American, 20 Latino and
  19 Asian
• 18 English Learner
• 39 Economically Disadvantaged

English Learners Outperform State Peers 2004 -
2005
Language Arts and Math
EL Elk Grove - AYP
EL State Avg - AYP
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District Case Study 3Rowland Unified School
District,Rowland Heights, CA

• The District
• 17,945 students
• 60 Latino, 20 Asian
• 31 English Learners
• 59 Economically Disadvantaged

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Two Questions

• What specific policies, actions, and strategies
  at the district level lead to academic success?
• How does the district deliver effective support
  to schools?

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Finding Districts do matter

• Evidence High performing districts do more
  explicit goal setting

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Evidence High performing districts offer more

• in user-friendly formats

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Evidence High performing districts offer more

• Support to schools in analyzing that data

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Evidence High performing districts offer more

• Professional development on differentiated
  instruction

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Evidence High performing districts offer more

• Professional Development on English Language
  Development strategies

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A deeper lookStudy findings in two key areas

• Before the test strategies
• Building the foundation
• After the test strategies
• Supporting continuous
• improvement

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Area 1 Before the test strategies

• Building the foundation for high performance
• Focusing on clear goals
• Aligning curriculum
• and support
• Investing in people

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Before the test strategies High performing
districts frame and focus more sharply
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Before the test strategies High performing
districts frame and focus more sharply
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Before the test strategies High performing
districts frame and focus more sharply
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Before the Test StrategiesInvest less in
materials
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Before the Test StrategiesInvest more in human
resources
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Area 2 After the test strategies

• Supporting Continuous Improvement
• Providing feedback
• Becoming knowledge managers
• Building the systems for in class and out of
  class intervention support

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After the Test StrategiesHigh performing
districts Provide more Feedback
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After the Test StrategiesHigh performing
districts Serve as knowledge managers
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After the Test Strategies Districts help build
in-class and out-of-class interventions support
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After the test strategiesDistricts help build
in class and out of class interventions support
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After the Test Strategies High performing
districts help build in-class and out-of-class
interventions support
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Key Findings

• Focus on clear goals
• Align curriculum and support
• Invest in people
• Provide feedback
• Become knowledge managers
• Build systems for in-class and out-of-class
  intervention and support

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Upcoming Studies from Springboard Schools

• Report Minding the gap New roles for school
  districts in the era of accountability (June
  2006)
• Springboard California Best Practice Middle
  Grades Study (December 2006)

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Question and Answer

• What is confirming?
• What is surprising?
• Other remarks?