|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.2 Systems Focus on Student Achievement District/charter holder leadership blends both expectations and support to ensure that systems (i.e., fiscal, curricular, instruction, effective practices, assessments) are aligned to goals that focus on student achievement. 
Level of Performance: Exceeds Standards
Related Resources Tools NEW! A Coherent Approach to High School Improvement: A District and School Self-Assessment Tool This tool was created to help districts and schools assess their current high school education policies and practices, identify areas of strengths and limitations, and implement coherent school reform initiatives. Author: Lindsay Fryer and Amy Johnson Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: National High School Center NEW! After-School Program Handbook for School Site Leaders The handbook identifies specific action steps in creating an alignment between students’ in-school and after-school learning. It includes suggestions for connecting curriculum and instruction, for preparing school site and after-school staff to work together, and for drawing upon after-school learning resources to expand upon and strengthen in-school learning opportunities and to connect with families. Author: Peg Winkelman Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: California State University NEW! Common Core Implementation Workbook This tool provides information, case stories of good practice, key questions and hands-on exercises to assist in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: Achieve NEW! Middle Grades Playbook: Leading a Full-Court Press on Student Achievement This hands-on guide highlights specific practices that are intensely implemented in higher-performing middle schools. Author: Susan Frey, Mary Perry, Matthew Rosin and Trish Williams Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: EdSource NEW! Online Practical Guide to Designing Comprehensive Teacher Evaluation Systems This website provides resources to support the building of effective teacher evaluation systems. Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality AIMS Intervention/Dropout Prevention Toolkit This interactive Toolkit is designed to help you quickly find useful information about dropout prevention. Research on best practices and current practices in Arizona combine to make this Program Toolkit a helpful resource for existing programs hoping to improve their results and for new programs hoping to get a head start on dropout prevention. Author: Arizona Department of Education Publication Date: 2007 Publisher: Arizona Department of Education IDEAL IDEAL is a single access point to educational resources and information for all Arizona Educators. It provides access to professional development, standards based curriculum resources, collaborative tools and school improvement resources. Take a tour, visit the Home edition, explore AIMS Resources and then log in to access the full suite of resources! Publisher: Arizona Department of Education Need to Address the Problem of Resources This site presents a tool used by NCREL in an institute for a school attempting to develop an atmosphere of collaboration and team-building while going through a period of school restructuring. It was intended to help the faculty focus on their goals and the resources need to reach them. Publisher: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) 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 Articles NEW! A System Approach to Building a World-Class Teaching Profession: The Role of Induction This article discusses how a comprehensive teacher induction system can assist schools and districts in delivering the high-quality content of the Common Core Standards. Author: Mariana Haynes Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: Alliance for Excellent Education NEW! Early Beginnings: Early Literacy Knowledge and Instruction Based on the research findings of the National Early Literacy Panel’s report, this document lists early predictors of reading success, learning activities, suggestions for professional development, and a glossary of terms. Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: National Institute for Literacy NEW! Learning Time in America: Trends to Reform the American School Calendar This report focuses on cost-effective strategies to expand learning time. Multiple vignettes and examples are provided throughout the document. Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: National Center on Time and Learning NEW! Easing the Transition to High School: Research and Best Practices Designed to Support High School Learning This article offers resources on how to support and guide a smooth transition into high school. Author: Corinne Herlihy, Scott Richman, Thomas J. Smith, Elizabeth Williams Publication Date: 2007 Publisher: National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research NEW! Learning-Focused Leadership and Leadership Support: Meaning and Practice in Urban Systems This report discusses how the transformation of the school leader and central district office can increase the focus on improving instruction. Author: Micharl A. Copland, Meredith I. Honig, Michael S. Knapp, Margaret L. Plecki, and Bradley S. Portin Publication Date: 2010 Publisher: The Wallace Foundation NEW! Seven Strategies for District Transformation This guide outlines seven key strategies for districts to improve student performance. Publication Date: 2010 Publisher: Education Resource Strategies A Framework for Operational Quality: A Report from the National Consensus Panel on Charter School Operational Quality This report is designed as a guide for charter school leaders and support organizations as they establish schools that are prepared to achieve and sustain success. Publication Date: 2009 Publisher: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Achieving Dramatic Improvement: An Exploratory Study This sub-study report, by researchers from WestEd and its CSR evaluation partner, American Institutes for Research, includes in-depth, retrospective case studies of 11 schools. Drawing from those case studies, it identifies reform-related approaches and themes that were common across both types of school. But it also describes how these schools, both as types and as individual organizations, differed in the specifics of their improvement efforts. Author: Daniel K. Aladjem, Beatrice F. Birman, Martin Orland, Jenifer J. Harr-Robins, Alberto Heredia, Thoma Publication Date: 2010 Publisher: U.S. Department of Education Adolescent Literacy Walk-throughs for Principals This article was written to offer guidance on using principal or instructional leader literacy walk-throughs as part of effective literacy leadership best-practices. Author: Lila Rissman, Debra Miller, and Joseph Torgesen Publication Date: 2009 Publisher: Center on Instruction Adolescent Literacy Walk-throughs for Principals: A Guide for Instructional Leaders This guide is designed to help principals monitor and support adolescent literacy instruction in their schools more effectively. It provides a scaffold to build principals' understanding of scientifically based reading instruction, as a means for a principal to gather information about the quality of literacy and reading intervention instruction in a school, and as a data collection guide for planning targeted professional development and resource allocation. Author: Debra Miller, Lila Rissman, and Joseph Torgesen Publication Date: 2009 Publisher: Center on Instruction Buried Treasure: Developing a Management Guide from Mountains of School Data (to edit this resource, contact WestEd) Publication Date: 2005, January Publisher: Center on Reinventing Public Education Classroom Walkthroughs: Learning to see the trees and the forest Pilter and Goodwin discuss how to effectively use walkthroughs to collect data and provide useful feedback to educators to improve instruction. Author: Howard Pitler with Bryan Goodwin Publication Date: Summer 2008 Publisher: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Coaching: A Strategy For Developing Instructional Capacity Barbara Neufeld and Dana Roper discuss how coupling professional development with coaching support can produce sustainable continuous improvement in school organization and classroom instruction. Author: Barbara Neufeld and Dana Roper Publication Date: June 2003 Publisher: Annenberg Institute for School Reform 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 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 Foundations for Success: Case Studies of How Urban School Systems Improve Student Achievement This report examines the experiences of three large urban school districts that have raised academic performance for their district as a whole while also reducing racial differences in achievement. Author: Jason Snipes, Fred Doolittle, and Corinne Herlihy Publication Date: 2002 Publisher: MDRC Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades This article highlights the common actions of high-performing middle schools. Author: Trish Williams, Matthew Rosin, and Michael W. Kirst Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground: How Some High Schools Accelerate Learning for Struggling Students This report investigates four high-impact high schools where previously underperforming students made unusually large achievement gains, and notes 21 differences between the orientation and practices of high impact schools compared to average schools. Publication Date: 2005 Publisher: Ed Trust Increasing Student Attendance: Strategies from Research and Practice This publication offers research-based ideas for developing better policies and practices to increase attendance. Publication Date: 2004 Publisher: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Leading in Tough Times: New Lessons for Districtwide Reform This article discusses 10 components the authors feel are crucial components in the success of large-scale systemic improvement. Author: Michael Fullan, Al Bertani, and Joanne Quinn Publication Date: 2004 Publisher: Center for Development and Learning Mathematics Intervention at the Secondary Prevention Level of a Multi-Tier Prevention System: Six Key Principles The author lists and describes six principles necessary for RtI in mathematics at a secondary level. Author: Lynn S. Fuchs, Ph.D. Publication Date: Retrieved November 2008 Publisher: RTI Action Network Professional Learning Communities: What Are They And Why Are They Important? This paper focuses on the professional community of learners, in which the teachers in a school and its administrators continuously seek and share learning and then act on what they learn. Publication Date: 1997 Publisher: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) RTI in a Middle School Culture: Fitting and Tailoring the Approach Through Leadership This article shows how leadership is needed to successfully implement an RTI model. Author: Michelina Manzi, Elizabeth Alderton, and Jean Erdmann Publication Date: 2010 Publisher: Academic Leadership School Safety: What Schools Can Do Appropriate physical features, campus layout, prevention programs, policies, and procedures of schools can minimize the impact of disruptions and intrusions. This article provides research that supports the effectiveness of these action items. Publication Date: 2008 Publisher: Arizona Department of Education Similar Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? This report consists of the initial findings from a large-scale survey of California elementary schools serving low-income students, and lists the practices associated with the higher performing schools. Author: Trish Williams, Michael Kirst, and Edward Haertel Publication Date: 2006 Publisher: EdSource Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small High Schools Based on a three-year effort aimed at building understanding and tools that would support districts in creating cost-effective systems of high-performing urban high schools, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) created the following report and tools to support district leaders. Author: Karen Hawley Miles and Regis Anne Shields Publication Date: 2008 Publisher: Education Resource Strategies Student Learning Grows in Professional Cultures The authors discuss how a culture of professionalism in the school fosters improvement in instruction and systems change. Author: TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS - August/September 1998 Publisher: National Staff Development Council (NSDC) Time & Attention in Urban High Schools This publication provided ways to improve time and attention practices across whole systems of urban high schools. Author: Stephen Frank Publication Date: 2010 Publisher: Education Resource Strategies What Experience From The Field Tells Us About School Leadership And Turnaround This document provides research that supports the idea that successful school transformation is characterized by strong school leaders who achieve dramatic results by intensely focusing all available resources on improving student learning. Author: Catherine Barbour et al. Publication Date: 2010 Publisher: American Institutes for Research Useful Links NEW! Arizona Department of Education's A-F Accountability Page This webpage provides information that explains the new A-F Accountability System, the implementation process, and the criteria upon which each grade designation has been based. Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: Arizona Department of Education NEW! Arizona Teacher/Principal Evaluation Information On April 25, 2011, the State Board of Education (SBE) unanimously passed the proposed Arizona Framework for Measuring Educator Effectiveness. This action resulted from the passage of SB 1040 that directed the SBE to adopt and maintain a model framework for teacher and principal evaluation that includes quantitative data on student academic progress. ADE will continue to update this page in order to provide the most current information and resources to assist all Local Education Agencies (LEA) with the successful implementation of the framework in the 2012-2013 school year. Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: Arizona Department of Education AZ Response to Intervention (RTI) The Response to Intervention (RTI) process is a multi-tiered approach to providing services and interventions to all learners at increasing levels of intensity. This page offers resources to Arizona educators regarding the academic and behavioral system of support. Publisher: Arizona Department of Education RTI Response to Intervention Glossary This is a list of terms and acronyms used when discussing RtI, Response to Intervention. Publication Date: 2007 Publisher: IDEA Partnership, NASDSE, & US Office of Special Education Tiered Instruction/Intervention The site offers details and information on the RtI process and articles as well as descriptions of the three tiers. Publication Date: Retrieved November 2008 Publisher: RTI Action Network Whole District Data This site from the Chenowith School District in Oregon displays staff survey data on a variety of school improvement areas. Survey 1 about “Building” specifically addresses issues about measuring student performance, curriculum assessment, and overall school performance evaluation strategies. Though presented with district data, questions can be used to build questionnaires which can be administered within your own district. Other Resources NEW! How Middle School Mathematics Teachers Use Interim and Benchmark Assessment Data This study examines how various forms of interim assessments influence teachers' judgments of student understanding of mathematics as well as the influence of assessment results on teachers' instructional strategies. Author: Lorrie A. Shepard, Kristen L. Davidson and Richard Bowman Publication Date: 2011 Publisher: National Center for Res on Eval Standards and Student Testing Dr. Archer Video Series “Dr. Anita Archer is a talented author and beloved teacher of teachers. This video series is one of her many gifts to the educational community. Produced with support from the Sonoma County Office of Education, it is made available at no cost thanks to her generous spirit. The series addresses strategic literacy instruction in grades K-8 using a research to practice approach grounded in pragmatic real-world application. Each video is 4 to 8 minutes long, has a particular strategic focus, and was shot unrehearsed in real time. A short viewing guide is included for each video, providing guidance for viewing and feedback for post-viewing applications.” Sonoma County Office of Education Author: Dr. Anita Archer Publication Date: 2008 Publisher: Sonoma County Office of Education ©2005 WestEd. All rights reserved. |
|
|
 |
||||
