|
Quality Quick Takes - October 2022 |
|
|
At the Office of School Quality (OSQ), we understand that successful school turnaround takes intentional effort, alignment, and lots of heavy lifting. As you plan to implement and monitor specific strategies, consider the following:
- Identify what implementation strategies show gains in student achievement, and truly study what is making the gains successful;
- Determine as early as possible if there is no impact being shown; then as a school leader, the “how” and “why” you respond to matters when turning around attempts towards more positive outcomes with student achievement;
- Pursuing too many priorities in monitoring at one time can weaken a school’s improvement efforts; and;
- Some priorities must be accomplished first so that other priorities may be addressed.
We know the principal leads the school leadership team and school community in developing specific aims and objectives. The principal monitors overall learning and scaffolding happening throughout the school. During this phase, teachers may visit classrooms, share responsibility across classroom groups, and document student learning. A school leader should consider identifying two to four high-leverage priorities and putting all priorities toward monitoring the implementation and impact in those areas.
Although year-long plans are well intended, they can be excessively long and seldom treated as a living document. Thus, it may be more beneficial to break down the traditional year-long approach into more discrete and manageable phases through a practice we refer to as short-cycle school improvement planning. Short-cycle planning typically takes a 90-day outlook, which enables schools to gauge their progress more frequently and permits principals to take a better pulse of progress than the traditional year-long planning process. In turn, this approach can lead to more intentional adjustments and improvements in organized outcomes.
Aurelia Ortiz, Director Office of School Quality
Support for High-Quality Educational Environment
The Virginia Continuous School Improvement Process (VaCSIP) requires divisions and schools to monitor their Comprehensive School Improvement Plans (CSIP) each year. This monitoring is most effective when embedded into each phase of the Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle (PDSA). Monitoring the progress of school improvement strategies requires improvement teams to collect data on both the implementation and the impact of these strategies to determine if they are being implemented with fidelity and whether, when implemented with fidelity, improvement strategies have the expected effects on student outcomes. Monitoring remains a key component in the successful application of the CSIP to achieve intended outcomes.
In this upcoming technical assistance webinar, the Office of School Quality (OSQ) will provide an in-depth look at data collection, with a specific focus on quality data measures to monitor the implementation and the impact of improvement strategies. The session will provide an overview of implementation and improvement science to enhance the current work of school leaders in determining whether to adopt, adapt, or abandon an improvement strategy. To learn more on this topic, join OSQ on Thursday, November 3, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. for an hour-long technical assistance session. Please complete the registration form to attend.
Promotion of Quality Leadership
Leaders across the Commonwealth work diligently to promote quality in their schools. Please take some time to recognize those leaders. The OSQ Team is happy to announce the names of school leaders who were recognized for their utilization of the School Quality Profile. You can view the list of individuals on this document.
Based upon this month's theme of the Monitoring for Implementation and Impact, please nominate a principal who has embodied this work as designated in the criteria below. Complete the nomination form by November 3, 2022, for consideration. The leader guides school improvement efforts by utilizing:
- Improvement teams to collect, analyze, and share data;
- Data-driven decision protocol to adopt, adapt, or abandon improvement practices/strategies as outlined in the Continuous School Improvement Plan;
- Communication systems to ensure all stakeholders are included in the continuous improvement efforts of the school.
|
|
|
The Office of School Quality (OSQ) cordially invites you to attend The Principal Leadership Conference, Charting the Course: The Journey of Continuous Improvement, virtually scheduled for December 7-8, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Principal Leadership Conference offers school and division leaders the opportunity to expand their knowledge in transformational leadership practices and access a variety of educational resources within the Virginia Department of Education. The conference will offer sessions from the following categories:
Assessment and Accountability Practices, Chronic Absenteeism, Climate and Culture, College, Career, and Civic Readiness, Continuous Improvement, Data Analytics, Dropout Prevention and Graduation, Professional Learning, Quality Instructional Practices, Social and Emotional Learning, Trauma-Informed Care, Systems and Support Resources, and Transformational Leadership
Principals, assistant principals, and division leaders are encouraged to attend. Please pre-register by Friday, October 28, 2022.
2022 Virtual Principal Leaders Conference Pre-Registration Form
All approved pre-registered participants will receive a conference program and access to the conference canvas site by November 1,2022, which will include session topics. One week prior to the conference, we will provide you with the session's zoom links.
|
|
Collaborative Corner
The Office of School Quality is hosting a collaborative series on Instructional Rounds. The overview webinar was held on Thursday, September 15, 2022. We are encouraging school and division leaders at all stages and levels of knowledge on Instructional Rounds to sign-up on this form and join us on this journey.
- Session 2
- Thursday, December 1, 2022 - 9:00 a.m.
- Problem of Practice and Theory of Action
- Session 3
- Thursday, January 19, 2023 - 9:00 a.m.
- How to Facilitate Instructional Rounds
- Session 4
- Thursday, May 4, 2023 - 9:00 a.m.
- Collaborating on Data and Outcomes
OSQ Foundations of Continuous Improvement Canvas Course
The Canvas Course includes videos, resources, and quick checks on each Virginia Continuous School Improvement (VaCSIP) module. Division and school leaders can access the resources and training any time, anywhere. For access to the Canvas Course, please sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/osqcanvas.
|
|
|
Any feedback about this communication is greatly appreciated. If you have a topic you would like to see in a future monthly edition of Quality Quick Takes, contact OSQ at OSQ@doe.virginia.gov.
This monthly communication is intended for school and division leadership throughout the Commonwealth.
Don't ever miss a Quick Takes, sign up to join our mailing list.
|
|
|
|
|
