Tag Archives: Improvement

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Measuring Success

“Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
– Vince Lombardi

In DPS109 we measure success in many ways. We measure student academic performance, we measure staff culture, we measure all stakeholder satisfaction and we probe into special areas for discoveries about ways we can improve. This year we administered an all staff Culture Survey for the second year in a row. The all-district results will be shared at the September 15, 2014, school board meeting. Last year’s summary results were presented to the Board in October, 2013 and are linked here. This year’s culture survey will show levels of engagement and satisfaction with comparisons to last year’s results. Our aim is excellence and our aim is continuous improvement. Our teachers have high expectations for students, our students have high expectations for themselves, and we leverage our vast instructional resources to support learning and provide timely feedback.

Like our aims for student learning, growth, success, and excellence, one of the Big 5 in our District is Organizational Culture. We address Organizational Culture through multiple measures and through multiple behaviors. Behaviors include collaborative leadership, teamwork, presence in the schools and classrooms, and overall follow up and focus on morale. Measures include a number of surveys, observations, focus groups, and data analytics.

Last year we measured the climate and satisfaction levels of the community, staff, and for the students in the 1:1 pilot classrooms. Later this fall, in October, we will again administer climate surveys to our stakeholders – by comparing results from one year to another we can track trends in the data as well as data as compared to our goal setting and implementation. This year we are adding a section to the climate survey on special education programming. Our aim is to listen, hear, and act in the best interests of students, staff, and the community.

This year we are also working with Let’s Talk for ongoing climate/culture/satisfaction/concern collection. We encourage anyone to use Let’s Talk so that we can track trends of interest in the school district.

In addition, we are getting ready to measure the impact(s) of the 1:1 Roll Out. On September 15, 2014, and again on March 15, 2015, we are going to send out links to online survey instruments to all students, staff, and parents regarding the 1:1 roll out. With our research partner Bright Bytes, using an algorithm from MIT and Stanford researchers, we will measure and learn about impacts on learning, classroom, access, schools, and environment.

Please know, we are listening and we truly care about what you have to say! Please reach out, please share your thoughts about what we are doing well, in what areas we can improve, and if we ask you to complete a survey or two or three, please take the time to do so – we truly appreciate your input!!

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From the Superintendent’s Desk: We’re ‘making our rounds’ in Deerfield schools

The majority of the article was originally published in the Deerfield Review April 23, 2014

The Deerfield Review asked if we would make regular contributions; as a result, we created a column, “From the Superintendent’s Desk.” The articles will be about 400 words – not too in depth, but a great opportunity to give the community highlights of our important initiatives. Our aim is to make monthly contributions! Our first article, linked here is reproduced here along with additional resources describing Instructional Rounds Since the publication of the article, we have also “made our rounds” at Wilmot School!

In an effort to communicate with the community on a broader scale, I am writing this column to stay connected! As brief background, I have been a middle school social studies teacher, a middle school associate principal, principal and assistant superintendent for personnel services. This is my second “superintendency” after having spent three years in District 79 in Norridge, Ill.

In DPS109, our motto is “Engage, Inspire, Empower” and that comes from our mission statement. Our aim with this news column is to share what’s happening from DPS109 so our community is better informed about the exciting work going on in our classrooms each and every day.

Something of interest that we are starting to implement this spring is called Instructional Rounds (IR). These are team visits to schools by administrators and teachers from across the school district. It’s based upon the medical rounds concept where teams of medical doctors and professionals “make their rounds” in the hospital checking on patients and collaborating on best methods for treatment.

Noted educational researcher Robert Marzano states: “…the primary purpose is for observing teachers to compare their own instructional practices with those of the teachers they observe. The chief benefit of this approach resides in the discussion that takes place among observing teachers at the end of the observation as well as in subsequent self-reflection” (ASCD 2011).

Under the leadership of Jeffrey Zoul, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, and members of the teacher leadership and administrative leadership teams, we are “making our rounds” in an effort to inform instruction.

An example comes from a recent inaugural rounds experience at Walden School. The school focus areas were on student engagement and questions teachers ask students and questions student ask each other. After 10, two person teams conducted four, 15 minute observations of teaching and learning — the equivalent of 10 hours worth of instruction — clear patterns emerged for discussion and review.

For example, observers noticed clear patterns where students were actively engaged in their classrooms (K-5 and specials areas) as evidenced by their questions, their behavior, and their work in class. The observers also noticed how technology tools were used across the board to aid teachers in the engagement of learning.

Through the Instructional Rounds process, scheduled for all of the schools this spring, we can continue the internal discussions around engagement, inspiration, and empowerment in support of student learning and teacher instruction.

To learn more about Instructional Rounds, here is a link to a 12-minute podcast with one of the authors of the original book.

More Resources (provided courtesy of Dr. Zoul)

Link to Book:

Link to Podcast:

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/2013/12/harvard-edcast-making-the-rounds/

Links to Articles:

Teachers Observing Teachers: Instructional Rounds:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/instructional-rounds-ells-observations-elena-aguilar

Why Aren’t School Leaders More Like Doctors?

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3754210

Supporting Teacher Growth with Instructional Rounds:

http://www.wholechildeducation.org/blog/supporting-teacher-growth-with-instructional-rounds

Using Rounds to Enhance Teacher Interaction and Self Reflection: The Marzano Protocol:

http://www.iobservation.com/files/Marzano-Protocol-Using_Rounds1009.pdf/

Through Rounds, our BIG 5, and commitment to growth and learning, we Engage, Inspire, Empower each and every day!