This document summarizes a presentation about school improvement. It discusses the importance of having a vision and plan for change. It identifies 21 responsibilities of effective school leadership from research. It also discusses Washington state's changes to their school accountability system, replacing AYP with new measures and requiring Student and School Success Plans using the Indistar system. Indistar is presented as a tool to help schools improve in a continuous cycle by assessing practices, creating plans, and monitoring progress through data and reports while keeping everyone focused on the same goals.

1. WSU Presentation
Thursday October 10, 2013
School Improvement Discussion
by Kathy Ehman, Chief Special Services Officer, Puyallup School District

2. HowDoWeImproveStudentAchievementand
WhatDoesLeadershipLookLike?

3. A Plan for Effective School Leadership
According to an old proverb, "A vision without a plan is just a
dream. A plan without a vision is just drudgery. But a vision with a
plan can change the world.“
Our meta-analysis resulted in the identification of 21 responsibilities
that define the role of a school leader.
School Leadership That Works
by Robert J. Marzano, Timothy Waters and Brian A. McNulty

5. What should I know about School
Improvement?
All schools must have a School Improvement Plan ………… and
You will want one!
Your district may direct or guide your work in this area
So what should I know or do……….

9. And then came the State ESEA
Waiver. . . . .
Gone was:
AYP
Steps 1-4
Choice
Supplemental Educational Services
School Improvement Plans
In came:
AMO’s
Priority, Focus, and Emerging Schools
Student Growth Percentiles
Student and School Success Plans i.e.: Indistar
*Same animal, just different stripes. . . . . . .

10. School improvement can be a complicated journey.
Lots of people have ideas on where to go and what to do.
They just don’t always have the same idea on how to get there.

11. The journey can become complicated and messy.
The destination gets lost in the mess.

12. Indistar® isn’t faster than a speeding bullet. It isn’t even the “magic bullet”
every school would like to find, but it does get everyone headed in the same
direction and moving toward the same destination.

13. The ultimate goal in school improvement is for the people
associated with the school to drive its continuous
improvement for the sake of their own children and
students.

14. A New Way
The Old Way
Accountable for Rules and Regulations
Data = Student Outcomes Only
Culture of Compliance
Annual Paper Plan
Mail, Fax Paper Reports
Focus on Programs
Top-Down Initiative, with Oversight
Indistar
Accountable for Effective Practice
Data = Practice + Student
Culture of Candor and Support
Continuous Improvement Process
System-Generated, Electronic Reports
Focus on Effective Practice
School Initiative, with Support

16. Main Menu
When the School Indicators link is
selected from the dashboard, the
Main Menu screen appears.
The School Improvement Process is
a continuous cycle of Assess, Create,
and Monitor the work on the
indicators of effective practice.
Also provided are tutorial videos,
resources, reports, a place to set up
agendas and keep minutes, and
access to coaching comments.
“Where are we now?” provides a
quick glimpse of the work of the
school team in graphs and reports.
Convenient access to tech support
or to view state contacts is also
provided on the main menu.

17. It Bears Repeating
There’s no magic in the web system. It does help keep a
school focused on what really matters, and keeps the
conversations centered on the professional practices of the
people most closely connected to the students in the
building, but the real magic happens in the work of the
teams.

18. Good luck in your journey. . . . .
Comments and/or Questions?