Resource Guide for the Standards and Rubric for School Improvement

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Standard One:
School and District Leadership

1.1 Learning Community
1.2 Systems Focus on Student Achievement
1.3 Vision and Mission
1.4 Teacher Leadership
1.5 Communication
1.6 Growth Plans
1.7 "Reculturing" Around Accountability Systems
1.8 Data as Part of Planning
1.9 Instructional Materials
1.10 Time
1.11 Allocating Resources, Monitoring Progress
1.12 Use of Resources
1.13 Fiscal Resources



Standard Two:
Curriculum, Instruction, And Professional Development



Standard Three:
Classroom And School Assessments



Standard Four:
School Culture, Climate, And Communication



ADE Calendar of Events



Best Practices Academies

1.3 Vision and Mission

Leadership (i.e., governing board, district administration, and principals) has led an inclusive process of developing a sustained and shared philosophy, vision and mission that promotes a culture of excellence.

Leaders have a significant role in creating the state of mind that is the school. They can serve as symbols of the moral unity of the school. They can express the values that hold the school together. Most important, they can conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations, carry them about the conflicts that tear a school apart, and unite them in pursuit of objectives worthy of their best effort.

John W. Gardner,
No Easy Victories

Suggested Evidence
  • Copy of vision/mission statements
  • Evidence of inclusion from teacher and parent interviews
  • Principal provides evidence of focus on mission
  • Evidence available that mission and beliefs are considered in instructional planning
  • School-to-home communication
Level of Performance: Exceeds Standards
  • The leadership collaborates with the school and business community at large in the development and revision of the mission and belief statements that support the identified vision.
  • The leadership communicates the mission and belief statements to staff, students, families, and stakeholders.
  • The leadership focuses the staff and larger community on designing instructional programs that improve academic achievement and support the mission and belief statements.

Related Resources

Tips to go
Sample Mission Statements   

Here are some examples of mission statements.

Sample Vision Statements   

A vision statement expresses an organization's unique philosophy and can include goals based on data that will help the organization make its vision a reality. Here are some examples of vision statements.


Tools
NEW! Dialogue Guide for Facilitators   
Dialogue Guides are models for conducting interactive discussions across stakeholders in states and districts. These packages make new use of dependable and publicly available information. Each Guide circulates a common set of source materials and suggested procedures for involving various audiences. In this manner, stakeholders (families, practitioners, professional associations, professors, policymakers, legislators) all over the country can begin interacting in new ways around implementation issues.


Publication Date: May 2005
Publisher: IDEA, NASDSE, US Office of Special Education

NEW! Presenter's Guide: Response to Intervention and SLD Identification   
This presenter’s guide is intended to support the PowerPoint slides by offering
· Suggested background readings;
· Talking points relative to each slide;
· Suggested activities to enhance learning opportunities for participants;
· Tips to facilitate the professional growth experience; and
· Suggested readings for extension
Publication Date: July 2007
Publisher: IDEA, NASDSE, US Office of Special Education

AIMS Website   
This website provides Arizona teachers, administrators, students, and parents access to the AIMS Hotline phone number for tutoring help, an overview of the AIMS test, sample tests, study guides, and information about tuition waivers.
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education

Arizona’s Professional Administrative Standards   
This document provides all of Arizona’s Professional Administrative Standards.
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education

Tools from SchoolsMovingUp   
A compendium of easy to use tools to guide practitioners through continuous school improvement.


Articles
NEW! Principal Leadership in New Teacher Induction: Becoming Agents of Change   
This article discusses the principal's role in lowering the high attrition rate among beginning teachers.
Author: Finney Cherian and Yvette Daniel
Publication Date: 2008
Publisher: International Journal of Educational Policy and Leadership

Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals   
Thsi guide is designed to help school leaders use research on literacy practices to create a well-defined intervention plan that not only will improve the literacy of all students but also the long-range academic success of students.
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: National Association of Secondary School Principals

Developing Leadership Through the School Improvement Process   
The authors discuss the idea that school improvement is no longer an option- schools are either improving or declining. The article focuses on various factors that should be taken into consideration when discussing school improvement.
Author: Larry K. Kelly and Lawrence W. Lezotte
Publication Date: 2003
Publisher: NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement

Differentiation in Diverse Settings: A Consultants Experiences in Two Similar School Districts   
Dr. Tomlinson describes how two districts and their leadership pursue different approaches to addressing the issues of implementing differentiated instruction throughout their schools. Particular attention is given to outlining an effective leadership plan for success in meeting the needs of diverse learners through differentiation.
Author: Carol Ann Tomlinson
Publication Date: August, 2004
Publisher: American Association of School Administrators

Embracing Confusion: What Leaders Do When They Don't Know What to Do   
This Phi Delta Kappan article depicts how leaders who accept their confusion can turn a recognized weakness into a resource for learning.
Author: Barry C. Jentz and Jerome T. Murphy
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: Phi Delta Kappa

Hard Questions about Practice   
The author believes that educators need to look closely at the organizational and instructional practices in schools that affect the learning of students and adults, in order to effectively change practices and improve student learning. Instructional practice and the improvement of instructional practice are complex and require high levels of knowledge and skills across a number of important domains. Success requires that schools have structures that develop the knowledge and skills of administrators and teachers.

Note: The full-text article may be read for free on the ASCD Web site. Use the URL above to locate the article by date in the Archived Issues section of the Educational Leadership area.
Author: Richard F. Elmore
Publication Date: 2002, May
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

On Schools as Learning Organizations: A Conversation with Peter Senge   (to edit this resource, contact WestEd)
This article is an interview with Peter Senge, a Harvard business professor who wrote the book The Fifth Discipline in 1990. He stated that the successful business corporation of the 1990s would be a learning organization practicing the five disciplines of common vision, (reflecting on) mental models, personal mastery, team learning, and systems thinking.

Note: The full-text article may be read for free on the ASCD Web site. Use the URL above to locate the article by date in the Archived Issues section of the Educational Leadership area.
Author: John O'Neil
Publication Date: 1995, April
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

Professional Learning Communities: What Are They And Why Are They Important?   
This article explores the notion of professional learning communities and their outcomes for staff and students.
Publication Date: 1997
Publisher: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)

Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy   
The authors outline 15 key elements of an effective literacy intervention, and call on public and private stakeholders to invest in the literacy of middle and high school students today, while simultaneously building the knowledge base.
Author: Gina Biancarosa and Catherine Snow
Publication Date: 2004
Publisher: Alliance for Excellent Education

The Learning-Centered Principal   
This article describes how the principal of Adlai Stevenson High School reorganized the school to support student learning. Teachers worked in teams and clarified the essential outcomes of their courses, developed common assessments, and analyzed student achievement data. Advisors and counselors worked together with teachers to devise interventions for struggling students. The systematic response to those who were not learning made it clear to students that school staff members expected them to learn. The focus on what students learned rather than what teachers were teaching led to the development of a culture intolerant of student failure and improved student achievement.
Author: Richard DuFour
Publication Date: 2002, May
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

The Price of Accountability   
This article discusses the reorganization of schools in order to respond to external pressure of accountability.
Author: Richard Elmore
Publication Date: 2002
Publisher: National Staff Development Council (NSDC)

Why Change Doesn't Happen and How to Make Sure It Does   (to edit this resource, contact WestEd)
Author: Charles Schwahn and William Spady
Publication Date: 1998, April
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)


Useful Links
Critical Issue: Building a Collective Vision   
Based on the belief that a collective educational vision can help schools be more successful in achieving in-depth learning, this summary by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory presents brief statements (in both audio and text formats) from professors of education, a discussion of the importance of setting goals, and both options for actions and pitfalls of implementation to consider.
Publication Date: 1995
Publisher: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) National Standards for School Leaders   
Written by state and professional association representatives, in partnership with the National Policy Board for Educational Administration, these standards have been used by many states when developing administrator standards and licensing policies. The six standards are built on the principles that standards should reflect the centrality of student learning, acknowledge the changing role of the school leader, recognize the collaborative nature of school leadership, strive to upgrade the quality of the profession, inform performance-based systems of assessment and evaluation for school leaders, be integrated and coherent, and be based upon the concepts of access, opportunity, and empowerment for all members of the school community.
Publication Date: 1996
Publisher: Council of Chief State School Officers




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