Dr. Pat Ashley, DirectorDistrict and School Transformation Divisionpat.ashley@dpi.nc.govNorth Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Alessandro Montanari, RttT Project CoordinatorDistrict and School Transformation Divisionalessandro.montanari@dpi.nc.govNorth Carolina Department of Public Instruction

October 17, 2012

Turning Around Lowest-Achieving Schools (TALAS)

Remodeling NC Public Education

Race to the Top will take us from blueprints to results.

How did we get here?1996-97 2007 2008 2010-14

ABCs

State Board’s “Framework for Change”

New Teaching Standards

District and School Transformation (DST)

ACRE

New Educator Evaluation Instrument

Race to the Top

“Funding to help us move our State education agenda further…faster”

The central focus of READY is improving student learning ...

by enabling and ensuringgreat teaching.

PROJECTMAP

New Standard Course of Study

Balanced Assessment System

New Accountability Model

Strong Leaders

A Fair Evaluation System

Support in Low-AchievingLEAs and Schools

Improved Supply of Teachers

Tools and Training toImprove Practice

Goal for Today

New principals and assistant principals develop a deeper understanding of how statewide initiatives under Race to the Top (RttT) relate to their responsibilities for turning around a school that has been identified as low achieving under the RttT grant.

PROJECTMAP

New Standard Course of Study

Balanced Assessment System

New Accountability Model

Strong Leaders

A Fair Evaluation System

Support in Low-AchievingLEAs and Schools

Improved Supply of Teachers

Tools and Training toImprove Practice

AfternoonSession

MorningSession

Morning SessionStrong Leaders

• Leadership Academies

A Fair Evaluation System

Tools and Training to Improve Practice

Improved Supply of Teachers• Strategic Staffing• Recruitment Incentive• High Growth Incentive• NC Teacher Support Program• NC Teacher Corps

Support in Low-Achieving LEAs and Schools• USED Reform Models• District Non-negotiables• Professional Development for School Leaders• Coaching

Where does your school fit?

How do the bottom 5% of NC schools compare to the top 5% of NC schools?

Table 26: Core Demographic Data Comparisons (NC Race to the Top Application)

% Minority Students

% Economically Disadvantaged Students

% Students With Disabilities

% Limited English Proficient Students

Bottom 5%

85% 89% 15% 5%

Top 5% 25% 21% 9% 3%

Goal of Race to the Top:No School in North Carolina Below 60%

Lowest 5% of schools

(111)

Schools with 4-yr grad rate

below 60% (2 of last 3 years) (9 schools)

Districts with

aggregate performance below 65% (12 districts and 180 schools)

Longitudinal Performance Composite Data for the 118 Schools Identified Under Race to the Top

Percent Proficient

0-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90+

2009-10 (118 Schools)

2 6 49 54 2 4 1 0

* Ten schools closed during the 2011-12 school year. They used school closure as their transformation strategy. West Charlotte did not test at least 95% of its students and does not have a reported Performance Composite for 2011-12.** E E Waddell and West Mecklenburg High did not test at least 95% of their respective students and do no have reported Performance Composite for 2010-11.

Reducing the Variation in Quality of Education

18.2%

60%

100%

New baseline

Map of RttT Service

WHICH REFORM MODEL IS YOUR SCHOOL IMPLEMENTING?

Non-Negotiables for Reform

• District must strategically support reform

• Effective principal must be in place (or be capable of developing)

• District and school must select USED reform model

• How the school supports student learning has to improve dramatically and impact all

• Teacher effectiveness has to improve both universally and significantly

NC RttT Change Strategy

Turnaround13

Transformation93

Restart1

Closure11

Comprehensive Needs

Assessment

Dis

tric

t C

oach

ing

Lead

ersh

ip C

oach

ing

Instructional Coaching

What Questions Should I Be Asking?• How is the school doing at the midpoint?

– Above 60%?

– Between 50-60% and moving at what rate?

– Still below 50% proficient?

• Reviewing Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA): Has anything changed?

• What has worked? What is missing? The Framework for Action and the USED model are useful tools for a mental review.

• What are my skills? What help do I need to be an effective principal for a turnaround school?

– Are you a beginning principal or assistant principal?

– Are you an experienced turnaround principal?

• What are the next things I need to accomplish?

– 30, 60, 90 day plan

• What is my district support? Are there conversations I should be having with the superintendent?

• What is my state support? Do I know all the pieces and how to use them?

Longitudinal Performance Composite Data for the 118 Schools Identified Under Race to the Top

Percent Proficient

0-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90+

2011-12(107 Schools)*

1 3 12 52 30 7 1 1

2010-11(116 Schools)**

1 9 23 64 15 2 2 0

2009-10 (118 Schools)

2 6 49 54 2 4 1 0

* Ten schools closed during the 2011-12 school year. They used school closure as their transformation strategy. West Charlotte did not test at least 95% of its students and does not have a reported Performance Composite for 2011-12.** E E Waddell and West Mecklenburg High did not test at least 95% of their respective students and do no have reported Performance Composite for 2010-11.

Longitudinal Data for the Graduation Rate Schools Identified Under Race to the Top

Graduation Rate

0-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90+

2011-12(7 Schools)*

0 0 0 2 3 2 0 0

2010-11(9 Schools)

1 0 0 2 4 1 1 0

2009-10 (9 Schools)

1 0 0 8 0 0 0 0

* Atkins Computer Tech and E E Waddell closed.

Percent Proficient

0-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90+

2011-12(6 Schools)**

0 0 0 1 3 1 1 0

2010-11(7 Schools)***

0 1 0 1 3 0 2 0

2009-10 (9 Schools)

1 0 1 0 2 4 1 0

** E E Waddell and Atkins Computer Tech closed. West Charlotte did not test at least 95% of its students and does not have a reported Performance Composite for 2011-12.*** E E Waddell and West Mecklenburg did not test at least 95% of their respective students and do no have reported Performance Composite for 2010-11.

Transformation – 95 Schools

Teachers and Leaders (1-

4)

• Replace principal (1)• Implement new evaluation system that uses student growth (2)• Identify and reward staff who are increasing student outcomes; support

and then remove those who are not (3)• Implement strategies to recruit, place, and retain staff (4)

Instructional and Support Strategies

(5-7)

• Select and implement an instructional model based on student needs (5)• Provide job-embedded professional development designed to build

capacity and support staff (6)• Ensure continuous use of data to inform and differentiate instruction (7)

Time and Support (8-10)

• Provide increased learning time (8)• Provide ongoing mechanism for community and family engagement (9)• Partner to provide social-emotional and community-oriented services

and supports (10)

Governance (11-12)

• Provide sufficient operating flexibility to implement reform (11)• Ensure ongoing technical assistance (12)

Framework for Action

1. Develop goals and priorities with an effective plan for implementation

2. Use data to drive decisions

3. Recruit, train, and retain high quality staff

4. Implement quality Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

5. Implement strategies for ensuring ALL students are learning

6. Implement a strategic literacy plan

7. Maintain student engagement and plan transitions to ensure on-time graduates

8. Re-evaluate practices and procedures’ impact on learning

9. Engage the community in partnerships to support high quality education for ALL students

Additional RttT Supports Targeted to Low-Achieving Schools

• Development of three regional leadership academies

• Support in developing a business plan for recruiting and retaining effective teachers

• Funding for recruitment incentive– Student loans

– Additional education

– Housing

• Funding incentives for high student growth

• NC Teacher Support Program - New teacher mentoring

Regional Leadership Academies

Goal: In collaboration with IHEs and LEAs use case studies in effective leadership and intensive administrative internships to train new principals to lead turnaround efforts in low-achieving schools.

Regional Leadership Academies

RegionalLeadership Academy

Cohort 1 Participants

Completed Program

Percentage Employed as Leaders

Cohort 2 Participants

Cohort 3 Participants

Northeast 24 21 76% 21 21

Sandhills 20 20 100% 21 20

Piedmont Triad

21 21 95% 20 23

Regional Leadership AcademyEmployment Sites

Strategic Staffing

Goal: Develop a recruitment and retention plan for the 12 lowest-achieving school districts in NC. Conduct regional marketing workshops for all 38 districts that contain TALAS schools.

Strategic Staffing

Key areas addressed in LEA strategic staffing and retention plans:

• Marketing

• Recruitment Materials

• Job Fairs

• Alumni Relations

• IHE Collaboration

• Teacher Appreciation

• Social Media Use

High Growth & Recruitment Incentives

Goal: Provide incentives for educators at TALAS schools

Two Types of Incentives

• Recruitment Incentive

– Offer incentive to teachers to teach at low-achieving schools in Hertford, Lenoir, Edgecombe, Halifax, Weldon City, Vance, Hoke, Thomasville City, Anson, and Rowan-Salisbury. Incoming teacher must have a Standard Professional II License. ($5,360)

• High Growth Incentive

– Certified personnel at TALAS schools that meet High Growth get a $1,500 bonus. Starting in 2012-2013 teachers at High Growth schools have the opportunity to obtain $2,000 instead.

New Teacher Support Program

Goal: Provide intensive support to new teachers in the State’s low-achieving schools through professional development and instructional coaching.

New Teacher Support Program

2011-12 Services Provided 2011-12 Participants

Number of participating LEAs in 2011-12 5

Number of participating schools in 2011-12 12

Number of participating new teachers in 2011-12 33

Number of new teachers who attended the 2011 NTSP Summer Institute 33

Number of new teachers who received instructional coaching services during the 2011-12 school year

30

2012-13 Services Provided 2012-13 Participants

Number of participating LEAs in 2012-13 18

Number of participating schools in 2012-13 64

Number of participating new teachers in 2012-13 339

Number of new teachers who attended the 2012 NTSP Summer Institute 145

Number of new teachers who will receive instructional coaching services during the 2012-13 school year

339

Teach For America Expansion

Goal: Increase student achievement by reducing teacher shortages in northeastern NC by expanding the number of TFA Corps members employed.

Teach for America Expansion

Incoming TFA Corps Year

Teacher CommitmentContractual Goal

of Additional TFA Teachers Employed

2011Recruited in 2010-11; teaching in 2011-2013 100

2012Recruited in 2011-12; teaching in 2012-2014 125

2013Currently recruiting; will teach in 2013-2015 125

NC Teacher Corps (NCTC)

Goal: Provide trained teachers to serve in high-needs subject areas and grades in low-achieving LEAs not served by TFA

North Carolina Teacher CorpsEmployment Sites

2

5

23

1

23

13