OUR WORK - Partners in School Innovation

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OUR WORK PARTNERSSI SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEACHING “…it is increasingly clear that teacher learning is a linchpin of school reform...only teachers who are both knowledgeable in their content areas and extremely skillful in a wide range of teaching methods can respond appropriately to diverse students’ needs and enable them to succeed…” - Linda Darling-Hammond LEADERSHIP “In some parts of the country nearly 60 percent of principals will retire, resign, or otherwise leave their positions over the next five years. In other parts of the country the issue has less to do with dwindling supply than with the inequitable distribution of qualified candidates in suburban and affluent communities. In California, for example, the problem is not a shortage of certified administrators, but a shortage of highly qualified administrators with a commitment to working in underserved communities and schools.” - School Leadership Study: Developing Successful Principals (Stanford Educational Leadership Institute for The Wallace Foundation) Dramatic, sustainable public school improvement is a complex, multilayered challenge. Without a comprehensive approach, programs run the risk of offering narrow solutions that work on the margins of the fundamental issues. That said, a comprehensive approach that lacks depth, implementation strength or focus has little chance for lasting success. PartnersSI offers an integrated, results-oriented system that continuously improves teacher practice, leadership, and student learning. This system targets the most powerful levers for system-wide, sustainable school improvement. If “pushed” strategically within the system, these four levers will accelerate the learning of low-performing students and raise overall student achievement: 1. The focus and quality of teaching every year PartnersSI’s system provides the structures and strategies to support a collaborative, data-driven learning community of skilled teachers. Ongoing formal and informal literacy professional development is a critical component. 2. The focus and quality of district and school leadership PartnersSI’s system builds results-oriented leadership at all levels of the system from the classroom to the district office. Results-oriented leaders are motivated to achieve dramatic student learning gains and capable of leading the transformation of low-performing schools. 3. The school’s capacity for continuous improvement PartnersSI’s system develops the structures, processes, and culture to enable districts and schools to continually improve on their own. 4. The school’s commitment to all students succeeding PartnersSI’s system reinforces in district and school staff an unwavering commitment to accelerate the learning of the lowest-performing students – particularly African American and Latino students and English language learners – while raising the level of achievement for all students. RESULTS-ORIENTED CYCLE OF INQUIRY The core method employed in PartnersSI’s system is the Results-Oriented Cycle of Inquiry (ROCI) – the discipline of data-driven school and district improvement involving repeated cycles of data analysis, planning, action, accounting for results, and adjustment based on those results. The ROCI enables teams to identify areas for improvement and engage in continuous learning to achieve measurable results for students. 6 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.
OUR WORK INSIDE DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS PartnersSI staff works side-by side with teachers, principals, and district leaders in urban districts and low-income schools to plan and implement the results-oriented, continuous improvement system over multi-year partnerships. The overarching goal is to achieve dramatic student learning gains and close the achievement gap. Toward that end, the objectives for each district and school partnership are: • To strengthen school-site capability to close the achievement gap • To create broad-scale impact across all low-performing schools and within the district office • To foster results-oriented leadership at all levels of the system: district leaders, current and future principals, and teacher leaders To meet those objectives, we offer intensive on-site professional development and consulting, principal and district-level coaching, and leadership and strategy development through the following channels: Intensive Implementation Sites School sites (typically two to four per district) that receive intensive implementation support as well as ongoing professional development. These sites serve both as models of implementation and as research and development sites. Results-Oriented Leadership Networks A twice-monthly leadership development training combining a researchbased curriculum with practical application guidance and peer problemsolving. Networks are established for principals and teacher leaders (together or separately) to learn the skills and build the confidence to lead the continuous improvement process at their school sites. CAPACITY “Grand district-wide visions...focused on improving instruction” fell short when “districts failed to communicate and translate their ‘big ideas’ into improved instruction because their tools and mandates were not informed by school-level expertise and were not accompanied by the kind of support and capacity building necessary to change instruction.” - A Delicate Balance: District Policies and Classroom Practice (Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform) COMMITMENT “One of the myths that has undermined school reform efforts – and damaged millions of children – is the belief that differences in the educational performance of schools are primarily the result of differences in students’ inherent ability to learn. This belief is wrong. Schools fail for other reasons. Most significantly, they fail because of the low expectations they hold out for many students.” - Years of Promise: A Comprehensive Learning Strategy for America’s Children (Carnegie Corporation) Results-Oriented Leadership Coaching On-site coaching supports individual teacher leaders, principals, and district leaders. Leaders learn a tremendous amount in the network sessions, but the ability to implement new ideas and effectively lead school reform efforts greatly increases with ongoing coaching from an experienced PartnersSI staff member. Partners in School Innovation | 7
Page 1 and 2: I N N O V A T I O N . I M P R O V E
Page 3 and 4: MISSION To enable public schools in
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Page 13 and 14: OUR PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS SAN FRANCIS
Page 15 and 16: OUR PEOPLE STAFF Lisa Congdon Direc
Page 17 and 18: OUR FUNDING SOURCES PartnersSI grat
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OUR WORK - Partners in School Innovation

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