Processes for Change

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Each video includes relevant resources to guide further exploration of these topics.

• Developing Effective School and District Plans
  Principles and guidelines for effective local, state, and federal planning.
  

• Analyzing Data and Assessing Local Needs
  Local priorities guide the direction of the needs assessment and the nature of the questions that will guide next steps.
  
  
• Ensuring Equity in California
  Six goals are used to address the disparities between race, ethnicity, disability, and socioeconomic status when creating Equity Teams to ensure equitable practices for student target groups.

• Readership Story
  What it looks like to improve literacy and close the achievement gap for the most vulnerable adolescent students in 4^th–8^th grade.

Developing Effective School and District Plans

• Local priorities guide the direction of the needs assessment
• Overview of the four basic categories of data
• It is best to use data from multiple sources, comprising a significant time span

Running Time: 5:52 minutes

Tools

• Transcript: Developing Effective School and District Plans
• Spanish Video and Transcript for Developing Effective School and District Plans
• Discussion Guide: Developing Effective School and District Plans (PDF)

Topics

• Local, State & Federal Plans
• Parent & Community Engagement
• Implementing Strategies

Related Quality Schooling Framework (QSF) Elements

• Leaders
• Family & Community
• Resource Alignment
• Assessment
• Culture & Climate

Related Resources

• Rethinking the Scale-Up Challenge
  This video discusses the necessary components to bring about deep, meaningful, systemic change. The format and brevity make the video useful at both the state and local levels to initiate or deepen conversations around implementation and ways to effectively address common problems in education reform. The authors recommend developing an Implementation Infrastructure, which includes: Aligned Initiatives, Implementation Capacity, and a New Type of Leadership.

• Writing Effective Proposals: Guidance for Preparing Applications for Funds
  This Web page provides clear writing strategies and suggestions for producing effective plans.

• Unified Improvement Planning
  This comprehensive guide describes processes for schools and districts to engage in a cycle of continuous improvement to improve student learning and system effectiveness.

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Analyzing Data and Assessing Local Needs

• The purpose is to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement
• The data is examined over time to identify trends
• The areas identified for improvement should be prioritized

Running Time: 5:51 minutes

Video Resources

• Transcript: Analyzing Data and Assessing Local Needs
• Discussion Guide: Analyzing Data and Assessing Local Needs (PDF)

Topics

• Purpose and Process of Data Analysis
• Engaging Stakeholders Effectively

Related QSF Elements

• Resource Alignment
• Family & Community
• Culture & Climate
• Video: Developing Effective School and District Plans

Related Resources

• Reports and Dashboards: Tableau Data Dashboard
  Riverside County Office of Education has created multiple Tableau reports for any District, School, or Charter in California to use when conducting their needs assessments by analyzing statewide indicators for equity gaps LEA (local educational agency)- and school-wide, and by student groups. The data tables on Tableau provide an accessible way for stakeholders to review data and discuss student groups’ needs. Video tutorials are available for several of the Dashboards.

• Leadership Development Module: Using Data Effectively
  Organized as a module that includes videos, handouts, and a facilitator guide, this resource is designed to guide leadership teams to use multiple data sources, analyze data, and articulate how to support teachers’ use of data to improve instruction.

• Healthy Kids Survey
  Comprehensive survey used to assess many aspects of a school’s climate and culture.

• Organizing Data in Tables and Charts: Different Criteria for Different Tasks
  This short paper gives a succinct description of how to organize data into easy to read formats based upon the purpose—to accompany a description, to address specific questions, to be used as a reference. It demonstrates advantages and disadvantages of several types of organizing data.

• Effective Communication through Visual Design: Tables and Charts
  This paper, by professors from the University of Nebraska and University of Mississippi, presents a step-by-step process for organizing and presenting data for printed documents and for PowerPoint presentations using tables and charts. It provides guidelines for how to organize data by types and purpose, highlight data using color and show data using appropriate embellishments.

• Five Steps for Structuring Data-Informed Conversations and Action in Education (PDF)
  This facilitation guide shows education data teams how to move beyond simply reporting data to applying data to direct strategic action. Using guiding questions, suggested activities, and activity forms, this guide provides education data teams with a framework and the tools and vocabulary needed to support an informed conversation around the data they generate or acquire. The guide walks data teams through five key steps in using data for informed decision making and strategic action: setting the stage, examining the data, understanding the findings, developing an action plan, and monitoring progress and measuring success.

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Ensuring Equity in California

• All student groups achieve their highest potential
• Decision makers examine their systems, policies, procedures and practices
• Shared responsibility and accountability across all stakeholders

Video Resources

• Transcript: Ensuring Equity in California
• Discussion Guide: Ensuring Equity in California (PDF)

Topics

• Six goals to identify and address Equity
• Decision making using an Equity Lens
• Implementing an Equity team

Related QSF Elements

• Equity
• Culture and Climate
• Resource Alignment
• Family and Community
• Leaders

Related Resources

• How the Common Core Must Ensure Equity by Fully Preparing Every Student for Postsecondary Success (PDF)
  This document explains the call to action for state districts and schools to examine their policies and procedures while implementing equity practices.

• Partners In Education A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (PDF)
  This framework provides the tool to build capacity to successfully develop relationships between families and schools. By following the tools and framework, staff can systematically improve learning outcomes for children. Family-School-Community Partnerships 2.0.

• Communicating with English Language Learner (ELL) Families: 10 Strategies for Schools
  Learn how to stay in contact with English learners and their families and how administrators can support that outreach.

• Equity Through Language Access: Best Practices for Collaborating with Interpreters
  This article provides tips for teachers, administrators, bilingual staff, and families on how collaborate with interpreters to build effective family communication and ensure students have equitable access to their education.

• The Family Engagement Partnership Student Outcome Evaluation (PDF)
  This study emphasizes the value of having parents and teachers as equal partners in the education of their student. The report explained the implementation process of conducting home visits.

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Readership Story

• Encourage lifelong love of reading
• Provide high quality culturally diverse books directly into students’ hands
• Data showed reading achievement shifted and learning loss was mitigated

Running Time: 24:40 minutes

Video Resources

• Readership Story Discussion Guide

Topics

• Improving literacy outcomes
• Setting goals for site and staff improvement
• Two models for success

Related QSF Elements

• Culture & Climate
• Curriculum
• Family & Community
• Instruction
• Professional Learning

Related Resources

• Readership Story PowerPoint
  Review the PowerPoint which was used in the video as a resource in the activities and for contact information of the co-directors of the Readership Story.

For questions regarding the Readership Story, or assistance with setting up a regionwide literacy program, contact Jenean Bray at Jenean.Bray@tcoe.org or Tammy Milligan at Tammy.milligan@ersconnect.org.

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