EDLD 5399- CARE MODEL

CARE Model Reflection-EDLD 5399

Concerns:  Student lists concerns identified from experiences with the District/Campus Improvement Initiatives or action research.

My first concern from experiences with the District Improvement Plan is making sure that the FWISD community buys in to the radical philosophies of the learning platform.  While I express moving to this learning platform as a concern, I also know that by maintaining status quo and continuing to embrace a teaching platform will also yield concerns.  The results of not implementing this learning platform will mean that we will continue to experience widening achievement gaps, continue to only appeal to compliant students, and continue to miss an opportunity to engage students in relevant and rigorous education.  Educating the community on the benefits of moving to these instructional strategies that embrace technology, utilize collaborative skills of students, and model short and intentional assessments for learning will be most beneficial.  The district has taken some bold steps in beginning this journey with the teachers, but I believe the next hurdle will be allowing the parents an opportunity to learn why this type of instruction is critical to our future.

My second concern from the District Improvement Plan is implementation of the individual education plan for every student.  This is also a part of our campus improvement plan, which adds even stronger evidence that this is a critical piece of the plan.  I am concerned because I struggle with implementation of this plan.  No one has identified all the components of this plan yet.  There have been discussions of including yearly standardized test scores, learning style profiles, goals for after graduation and course selections to support those goals. Those original plans also include meeting with a committee with each student to discuss these plans and provide career and course counseling.   All of these items sound very positive and supportive.  It would be difficult to argue that these are not awesome goals.  I have not seen a plan yet for implementation that is feasible within the current school calendar and with the current expectations of class time for students.

Lastly, I am concerned about finding the budget for some of the programs recommended in the District Improvement Plan.  The plan recommends increasing career and technology courses.  None of these plans can take place without a huge financial commitment by the community/district.  In order for the community/district to embrace these financial commitments, a strong education program about how these investments will make a difference in the education of our students is essential. 

Affirmations – Review your participation in improvement initiatives or efforts and affirm or identify actions that must be sustained and supported to achieve the District/Campus improvement initiatives.

In order for the District Improvement Plan, to be successful, we must continue to focus on sustaining the change from a teaching platform to a learning platform.  District leadership must continue to refine the definition of a learning platform and provide instructional strategies that support this change.  They can do this by modeling these strategies in district meetings, professional learning opportunities, and in conversations with teachers.  By using data from classroom observations, we can continue to address the change and highlight those classrooms that have embraced these methods and experienced the success for the students.  Lastly, the district can celebrate those student successes as a testimony to the importance of moving to this type of relevant learning for students. 

The district must also sustain the community support of our schools.  FWISD is known for the wonderful support of the community in almost every endeavor.  The community, usually with a two to one ratio, passes our bonds.  The booster clubs for the various extra-curricular activities are quick to aid our students with their time, their talents and their financial support.  In order for our schools to continue rising to the top as one of the best in the area and nation, the district must continue to celebrate this support and find ways to sustain the commitment to education.  As budgets get tighter and tighter, and districts must continue to learn to do more with less, the commitment to finding creative financial solutions is critical.

We must continue to focus on meeting the needs of all students.  The achievement gap in our standardized scores is shrinking, but it is shrinking very slowly.  We still have students on the high achieving end that continue to achieve.  Our Advanced Placement enrollment is improving slightly, but the diversity in that program does not match the diversity of our district.  We must continue to support creative ways to reach out to our diverse population and support them in pursuing challenging classes. This especially applies to our low-socio-economic students.  Implementation of programs such as AVID are a step in the right direction, but we need to continue providing support for these students.

Recommendations:  Review your participation in improvement initiatives or efforts and describe recommendations you would make regarding the District/Campus Improvement Plan or action research plans.

I would recommend that the district focus on providing a parent education piece.  While the district has done an outstanding job of helping teachers to understand the change, as we begin to implement some very progressive strategies, I believe parents need to know the rationale.  By educating the parents, the district can truly make a difference in helping others understand the needs of today’s learner and the strategies that will be most helpful in supporting their learning.  I would recommend that the district consider some of the same community town hall meetings that were employed in educating parents about the budget and bond issues. 

Many of the plans require significant time and organization.  I would recommend that the district strategically determine small beginnings.  For example, as the district considers implementing the individual plans mentioned earlier, using a pilot program with the most at-risk students or identifying an implementation grade might be most helpful.  By starting small, this provides the district with the opportunity to make adjustments before embracing a full adoption of the plan. 

I am constantly reminded of the importance of finding the bright spots.  I would recommend that the district identify several bright spots throughout the district that can be broadcast to the community.  These bright spots can include classrooms that are embracing the learning platform.  Other bright spots can include successes of the students as a result of relevant and rigorous learning, such as an increase in the number of economically disadvantaged students enrolling in an AP class.  By focusing on the bright spots, the community can begin to understand the importance of these intentional changes and identify the rewards for our students by implementing these changes.

Evaluate:  Review your participation in improvement initiatives or efforts and identify strategies for evaluating the improvement plans or recommendations.

Enrollment in these classes has stressed to me the importance of written reflection.  By taking time to write a short reflection about my learning, I have increased my retention and appreciation for the learning that has taken place.  I would suggest that the district consider asking key participants to provide written reflections about implementation of new programs throughout the district.  These written reflections can include specific questions that need to be answered, or general reflections about the implementation of the plan.  Not only would these written reflections be of benefit to the writer, but they would also be helpful in providing written data for feedback purposes to the superintendent. 

The district can also use data from classroom observations to evaluate implementation of the learning platform strategies.  By designing a specific observation form, administrators can easily conduct walk-through that will identify and record classroom practices.  Reviewing this data periodically by curriculum and instruction team members as well as campus leaders can provide great insight into the strengths of the program and opportunities for growth.  This can also help drive continual professional growth for teachers as well as providing data to share with the parents and community about the learning platform.

Never underestimate the power of formal and informal gathering of data from stakeholders.  Whether using a formal survey or conducting informal meetings to gather data about the implementation of new programs, both of these formats provide important evaluation information.  I believe the district could utilize the public relations department to help create a survey that would direct district leaders to important and helpful feedback.  If the district decided to provide parent education programs, these could also provide an opportunity to gather feedback information on the success and perspective of FWISD.