The Harvard Turnaround Leadership Training Presented by: Toyia - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Harvard Turnaround Leadership Training Presented by: Toyia Wilson, Principal Chris Sloane, Principal Jeremy Smalline, Principal Marc Fleming, Asst. Principal Gina Biondolillo, Asst. Principal

8/1/2014 2

 Envision Greece 2017 outlines a commitment to the development of Career Ladders for teachers and principals.  The plan also calls for providing state of the art, national best practice training for teachers and school leaders to bring the best practices to Greece schools.  The Harvard Turnaround Training occurred on June 2-6, 2014. 8/1/2014 3

The following Teachers and Leaders attended this intensive five day training program Harvard Program: Olympia School Olympia School Arcadia MS / Arcadia MS / HS HS Chris Sloane, Principal Mason Moore, Asst. Principal Marc Fleming, Asst. Principal Gina Biondolillo, Asst. Principal Sean Espositio, Teacher Lauri Secker, Teacher West Ridge West Ridge Mark Balsamo, Principal Turn Turnaroun around Principal Principal Toyia Wilson (new Odyssey Principal) Longridge Longridge Jeremy Smalline, Principal Shannon Heller, Asst. Principal 8/1/2014 4

 Topics Included: ◦ Creating a culture of excellence. ◦ Leadership practices to leverage high yield strategies for school improvement. ◦ Changing adult behavior in schools to leverage student learning and developing a culture of collaboration. ◦ The impact of both perception and performance data to build leadership capacity. 8/1/2014 5

Coherence is vital. 1. The district must operate as a system. One • Vision, One Team, One Greece. Our strategic plan includes a coherence • framework. 8/1/2014 6

It takes time and effort to train everyone in 2. the system in high quality practice. Professional Development must be high quality and ongoing. • Greece’s commitment to high quality national training and annual professional development is critical. • A theory of action is essential. • Coaching is essential. The investment in our Turnaround Principal, Principal Leaders and Teacher Leaders to have coaching be part of our system is on target with research. 8/1/2014 7

 Data must be analyzed and actionable.  The strategies must be research-based, implemented with fidelity (time and quality), with time to support changes in adult practices to achieve results.  There are districts and schools who have “stayed the course” for the 3-5 years it takes to change the culture. Used as exemplars (Springfield, Stonewall Jackson MS, Brockton).  Professional development is critical, and must be embedded in the day-to-day practice of the school. 8/1/2014 8

 Innovation must be evidence-based and technology in the classroom/schools will be more and more important.  Schools and classrooms must be transformed to allow for choice and voice. Learners must see the relevance. Small learning communities, built around student career pathways need to be designed as well as other innovative models.  Improving schools takes time and great effort. Everyone must row in the same direction. 8/1/2014 9

 Leadership is critical  So is a guaranteed and viable curriculum. The New York State modules are the means to ensure this. Other states are using the modules as a way to ensure curriculum coherence.  Initial classroom instruction is vital. ◦ Teachers must receive ongoing training and coaching in schools and in classrooms regularly. ◦ We need to find ways to increase coaches for teachers. 8/1/2014 10

 Relationships are key. Relationships with students, with parents, with each other.  It is critical that the theory of action be central to what we are about.  Adult learning and k-12 articulation is vital. We need to step outside ourselves and learn from others. 8/1/2014 11

Based upon what we learned we would identify these areas as needing our continued attention:  Mental health and wraparound services must be available to all children who need them.  Each school needs enough mental health counselors, drug/alcohol supports, and family assistance to meet the needs of all students.  Community schools – where services are built into each local school keeping the system cohesive. 8/1/2014 12

 What each will do with our learning this year.  The outcomes we hope to achieve.  The Turnaround Principal will meet monthly with the District Turnaround Team to monitor action research and assist the Teaching and Learning Teams to monitor student performance.  Questions? 8/1/2014 13