The Leadership Department has been given the task of aligning all Principal and Assistant Principal trainings districtwide.
At first, this seemed like an unrealistic task. Due to the effective collaboration between HRD and Area Directors, quality staff development for all Broward County Administrators has been aligned. We have ensured collaboration, consistency and fidelity of implementation across Area Principal and Assistant Principal PLCs. The goal was to develop a process that strengthens the learning of all leaders. This year’s focus is on how to raise achievement of all students, while integrating the understanding and utilization of data to impact student performance across all subgroups to ultimately meet AYP requirements.
Please share how this process is assisting you in meeting your School’s SIP and meeting your subgroup targets? What have you learned from your colleagues that you have been able to take and implement back at your school? What are you doing differently this year to help you meet AYP?
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33 comments:
First of all I like the idea of giving all AP's in the District the same or similar training. At TTMS, I have been able to share more than just the data with the Leadership Team who, in turn, have shared more with their departments. They have gone through a paradigm shift in their way of thinking and now understand how grades and AYP are calculated and what "Safe Harbor" is really all about. They completed the same worksheet that the principals did this month. (Actually doing instead of just listening to a presentation!) It is a time of learning for us at Tequesta and my teachers are up to the challenges that lay ahead as a Prevent 1 school.
We are monitoring our AYP students more closely, therefore, I believe that we will be able to move them with more success than last year.
I purposely volunteered to facilitate the Central Area's AP meeting because I wanted to reaffirm my own comprehensive understanding of AYP, safe harbor, and their calculations. Furthermore, I was also able to share what I know with my colleagues because although we constantly hear these terms, not everyone understands it to the same degree. Breaking the information down to its simplest form provided everyone with a much deeper and holistic understanding of AYP, safe harbor, and which students need to be targeted to ensure that your school either successfully achieves AYP regularly, or makes AYP through safe harbor.
Jonathan Leff
Falcon Cove Middle
Working with my intern cohort as well as participating in the monthly principal meetings provides me with a support system and a group of individuals to share ideas and strategies. At the middle school level there are four administrators. The new system ensures that all administrators are given the staff development and work with a cohort of leaders. Furthermore, when all the leaders in the school receive the same message, it ensures that they are going in the same direction.
This year at RMS we are assisting our teachers in gathering and using their student data to inform the classroom instruction. Specifically the AYP training that we have received at the administrative level has been brought back to the teachers.
Sabine Phillips and I have been sharing data chat information back and forth. It seems that Crystal Lake and Pompano Middle are handling this topic about the same. We have asked teachers to identify three to four kids each. These kids will represent the AYP groups we are most concerned with. Once identified, the teachers are monitoring the progress and reporting back during data chats. This SHOULD ensure we meet Safe Harbor at least.
At Pompano we have asked each teacher to identify three to four kids who fall into several AYP categories or that fall into our critical ones. These kids are monitored by the teachers and given extra attention. The monitoring is reported back to administration once evry three weeks during our morning data chats. This should ensure we make safe harbor at the least.
The districtwide trainings and Intern Principal PLC's have proven very useful to an increased awareness of the AYP requirements. Through the trainings and collaboration that have been offered, I have been able to analyze student and teacher data differently and with more scrutiny. The trainings have afforded an increased understanding on what the data mean and what is required to meet district and state mandates. The collaboration in the PLC's has been instrumental in learning new strategies to increase student achievement through individualized instruction, extended learning opportunities, and teacher training.
At Coral Park Elementary we have asked each teacher to identify three to four kids who fall into several AYP categories or that fall into our bubble categories. These kids are monitored by the teachers and given extra attention. These children were also a part of our intervention groups, which meet once a week for a half an hour and work on either reading or math and sometimes both. The intervention groups are taught by our specials teachers. The monitoring is reported back to administration once a month during our morning data chats. On a quarterly basis we are reviewing mini benchmark data to ensure that we are on target for meeting AYP.
Here I go again. Apparently my 1st blog didn't go through. I love the centralized learning for the AP's. There are so many of us that it is difficult to get to see everyone otherwise. The information shared so far has been extremely beneficial. My leadership team has completed the task of really digging deeper into AYP and safe harbor. They completed the worksheet that was distributed to the principals. I think that with the changing times, changing attitudes and strategies are close behind. Yes, Jonathan, presenting the info is an excellent way to reaffirm your knowledge. You did a great job!
The Intern Principal and Assistant Principal Professional Learning Communiites have been very well organized and provide opportunities for us to learn from one another as well as district staff in the critical area of student acheivement as it relates to AYP and School Grade.
After presenting the South Area AP training on how to achieve highly effective instructional leadership standards using data, I was reminded how knowledgeable and informed the assistant principals are in the South Area. Thorough data analysis was conducted by school level groups. Passionate discussions about the steps in the FCIM model were shared among participating members. Insightful comments were presented by all groups. In addition, best practices were shared among assistant principals, mentor principals, area directors, and HRD personnel in attendance. In the end, the levels and depth of collaboration was impressive, worthwhile and meaningful. I appreciated the time spent with my colleagues and feel that it was beneficial.
The alignment of AP and Principal trainings have been extremely helpful in the reporting, communicating and sharing of information to keep all administrators on the same page. It has been most helpful for me in ensuring that my new principal and I have been communicated the same information in order for us to meet the needs of our staff, students and parents for continued success at our school.
The trainings have allowed me to gain a deeper sense of what we all need to accomplish and strive to do each day in increasing student achievement and meeting AYP. The trainings develop us further, provides strategies/techniques from all levels that we can utilize at our schools and gives us a support system we can depend on. I have taken presentations from the trainings and shared them with my leadership and support team to then train my teachers in data analyzes and spark/monitor discussions on how to best meet the AYP subgroups to maintain AYP success.
This year we are focusing on specific students within each subgroup, targeting bubble students by providing additional small group instruction,having detailed data chats with both teachers and students and implementing vertical teaming/best practices during our PLC groups to learn new fresh ideas for student achievement.
It has been a wonderful asset having a great group of leaders in my Intern cohort. I have been able to share ideas and gain a larger knowledge base from them. Attending the Principal's Meeting and the trainings that are provided have been a great experience. The topics that have been shared and worked through have been awesome. The AYP training and activities that we have worked through with the Intern Cohort has really provided a wealth of knowledge. It has opened up avenues to work with peers and get new ides to ensure making AYP or Safe Harbor.
Having all of the APs together at the AP meetings ensures that everyone receives the same information. Having these meetings soon after the Principals' meetings allows the APs to take the information back to the school and implement it with the students and teachers immediately.
It was very insightful of our directors and area superintendent to create a forum where assistant principals can learn from the best principals, assistant principals, and fellow peers. The session was informative, full of energy, and germane to what we do daily as administrators. I cannot wait for next months training.
The trainings give me an opportunity to network with school administrators and share best practices. As a district administrator and an Intern Principal these meetings help connect what's happening at schools and at the district. I'm learning about what other schools are implementing in Reading and Math to improve student achievement for all subgroups, which in turn I share with my own staff.
I think the process of working together with other AP’s within our zone is a great opportunity. It allows for us to collaborate. The idea of AP’s receiving information as principals do, allows AP’s an avenue to share best practices and to have a common goal/language. If the “new” emphasis is on PLC’s why not start with our own group. This “new” forum will allow for a systematic process, in which administrators can work together, interdependently, to analyze what is working or not and learn from one another. As administrators we can support one another by joining our "collective intelligence". If as administrators we provide time during the workday for teachers to meet collaboratively then as administrators we should also have opportunities to meet collectively to share horizontally and vertically practices that will impact our students’ achievement.
The first AP Staff Development in South Area was an effective experience that provided an opportunity for school administrators to share their knowledge of data disaggregation practices. It was the first time where all the AP's were given the opportunity to receive the same staff development that the principal's receive each month. It was a positive experience working with other elementary AP's going through the FCIM process. The sharing of best practices and professional conversation was powerful.
The AP learning communities have been great! Very well organized with meaningful, relevant information. Having the opportunity to share best practices with colleagues is beneficial and extremely valuable for our professional growth.
The AP learning communities have been great! Very well organized with meaningful, relevant information. Having the opportunity to share best practices with colleagues is beneficial and extremely valuable for our professional growth.
I believe that it will be very beneficial for the Principal & AP Staff Development sessions to be aligned. This will enable the administrators in each school to be equally informed as they plan their strategies for increasing student achievement. The collaboration that took place within each group while disaggregating data was very insightful. It was obvious that the participants were very knowledgeable as they presented their data driven plan for meeting AYP.
I found the North Area AP meeting regarding AYP and Safe Harbor very effective. It is so beneficial to have the AP meetings mirror that of the Principals in order to develop one vision designed to boost student achievement.
I found the North Area AP meeting regarding AYP and Safe Harbor very effective. It is so beneficial to have the AP meetings mirror that of the Principals in order to develop one vision designed to boost student achievement.
I thoroughly enjoyed our South Area Assistant Principal Training this month. Although my principal consistently shares the information she receives at her principal's meetings with me, it was great to get the information directly. The data disaggregation and planning activity was an effective, hands on approach which allowed us to delve into data. Working with our colleagues was an incredible experience. It is great to see what our counterparts at other schools are doing to meet AYP!
The Intern Principal and Assistant Principal learning communities have been a tremendous help to me this year. The meetings are informative and relevant to my daily duties as an Assistant Principal.
The Intern Principal and Assistant Principal learning communities have been a tremendous help to me this year. The meetings are informative and relevant to my daily duties as an Assistant Principal.
Aligning the training for Principals and Assistant Principals ensures a fluency of policies, procedures, and practices we are all utilizing in our schools. I appreciate the forum for sharing and learning and see how this can be used to strengthen our shared goals.
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