FFC: Joe's Champs School Leader Professional Development Curriculum

Joe’s Champs

School Leader Professional Development PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Developed by

The curriculum for Joe’s Champs was developed by School Readiness Consulting and its Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center for Fight For Children.

School Readiness Consulting works on early childhood practice, policy and evaluation in an effort to improve early learning experiences for all children.

To learn more about School Readiness Consulting, visit www.schoolreadinessconsulting.com or call 1-877-447-0327.

COPYRIGHT 2013 FIGHT FOR CHILDREN AND SCHOOL READINESS CONSULTING

“ Perhaps the greatest insight we have gained in our work with school districts across the continent is that schools that take the plunge and actually begin doing the work of a PLC develop their capacity to help students learn at high levels far more effectively than schools that spend years preparing to become PLCs through reading or even training.” —Richard DuFour, et. al., Learning by Doing.

We are proud to welcome you to the Fight For Children family and are thrilled that you have chosen to become part of Joe’s Champs. At Fight for Children, we are passionate about every child having access to a high quality education because we know that it is one of the most important indicators for a child’s success later in life. We are proud to work in Washington, DC, where our schools, communities and leaders have prioritized access to early childhood education at a level unmatched in any other city in the country. We look forward to collaborating with you as we begin the next chapter in our work with Joe’s Champs.

Joe’s Champs is building upon DC’s commitment to universal access to early childhood education by supporting school leaders and their teachers to increase the quality of education. Joe’s Champs is the only program in Washington, DC that simultaneously addresses the professional development of school leaders, while preparing early childhood education teachers to fill gaps in existing and new preschool classrooms and supporting professional learning communities within schools. Working with you, we hope to create strong, sustainable learning environments in the city’s highest need neighborhoods to prepare young children from any family background to enter kindergarten ready to learn.

We are thankful for the passionate commitment of you and all of our pilot year partners, including School Readiness Consulting who wrote the School Leader curriculum that will serve as a foundation for our School Leader development, mentoring guide and teacher professional learning communities; Open Minds, LLC who is providing the evaluation support to document the effectiveness of our work; the Capital Teaching Residency and Urban Teacher Center, who have trained high quality teachers to be placed in some of our pilot schools; and last, but certainly most important to our work, you and your fellow Joe’s Champs pilot schools: DC Bilingual Public Charter School, E.W. Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, Friendship Public Charter Schools, Ingenuity Prep Public Charter School, Potomac Lighthouse Public Charter School and Powell Elementary School.

Thank you for the time and energy that you have invested in Joe’s Champs. We are excited about the progress we will make together on behalf of the city’s youngest students.

Sincerely,

Michela English President & CEO

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

iii

Table of Contents Program Summary.............................................................................................. 2 School Leader Curriculum Overview............................................................... 5

School Leader Curriculum Framework...............................................................6

Curriculum Implementation....................................................................................8

Curriculum Strands

Curriculum Scope and Sequence........................................................................ 13

In-Depth Look at Curriculum Strands

Strand A........................................................................................................................ 15

Strand B........................................................................................................................ 21

Strand C....................................................................................................................... 29

Teacher Professional Engagement................................................................ 39 Professional Learning Community (PLC) Guidance........................................... 40

Mentor Guide.................................................................................................... 47

Appendix........................................................................................................... 65

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

1

Fight For Children’s Joe’s Champs Program Summary Joe’s Champs is a holistic approach to improving early childhood education for students and support for early childhood teaching staff. The three-year long program comprehensively supports school leadership development, on-going teaching staff development, and supports schools that have staffing needs in their early childhood classrooms. Ultimately the Joe’s Champs program seeks to develop and empower school leadership to achieve a better understanding of early childhood education so that they provide a developmentally appropriate learning environment for students, evaluate and advise teaching staff in effective ways, and integrate pre-kindergarten classrooms into the elementary school pipeline of strong student achievement felt throughout the school community. The three major components of the program are outlined below:

School Leadership: One or two members of the leadership team (principal, assistant principal, early childhood coach and/or grade level chair) attend six professional development days throughout the school year. Each professional development day will consist of several different content sessions in early childhood education. The professional development sessions are guided by the leadership curriculum outlined in this guide. Each session will deliver content in a comprehensive way and will allow opportunities for leaders to share ideas, collaborate on action planning, and reflect on their practice. In addition, school leaders will be matched with an early childhood mentor that will meet with the leader at the school on a monthly basis to reinforce the information received at the professional development sessions and to help the leader implement their action plan at the school.

Professional Learning Community (PLC): The school leaders work collaborative with the mentor and the early childhood teaching staff (lead teachers and paraprofessionals) to identify a topic of study for the school year. The topic will be aligned to both the Joe’s Champs Leadership Curriculum and the professional development needs of the teacher staff. In addition, extensive planning is done prior to the start of the school year to align the Joe’s Champs topic of inquiry to the school’s curriculum, resources, and professional development priorities. The topic of inquiry will then become one of the schools’ early childhood development goals for the 2014-15 school year and will become the focus of monthly professional learning community meetings supported by the Joe’s Champs program.

2

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Teachers: Should schools have staffing needs in preschool and pre-kindergarten classrooms for the coming school year, Fight For Children has formed partnerships with three teacher training program to provide teachers to participating schools at a discount rate that provides savings over non-Joe’s Champs schools. The Joe’s Champs provides a discounted rate for teacher placements into preschool and prekindergarten classrooms from both the Capital Teaching Residency program and the Center for Inspired Teaching as well as for teaching residents from the Urban Teacher Center. Ultimately the decision about staffing remains the solely with the school leadership, though Fight For Children seeks to support schools in this effort in any way it can.

Theory of Change: Fight For Children’s Joe’s Champs program will improve the capacity of elementary school leaders to provide supervision, evaluation, and instructional support of their early childhood teaching staff. As a result of the leaders’ improved capacity, the staff will be more effective and productive teachers, resulting in higher academic and social and emotional outcomes for prekindergarten students.

Goals: • School leaders will be highly effective supervisors and administrators of quality preschool / pre-k programming and apply new knowledge and skills to their supervision and administration of all early childhood teachers; • Early childhood teachers will be effective instructors and valued team members in the elementary school community; supervision and administration of all early childhood teachers; • Early childhood students will be well prepared to succeed in kindergarten and will continue to be successful throughout elementary school; and • Participating schools will have high quality preschool /pre-k programming implemented by a stable pool of highly qualified teachers.

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

3

JOE’S CHAMPS

School Leader Professional Development

Curriculum YEAR

1

A B C

STRAND A

Child Development

STRAND B

Teaching and Learning

STRAND C

Instructional Leadership

YEAR

2

How Children Develop and Learn (Brain Research)

Special Topics in Child Development

Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies—Part I

Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies—Part II

Early Childhood Program Design

Leading an Early Childhood Community

Supporting ECE Teachers Through Classroom Coaching

Engaging Families

YEAR

3

Increasing Rigor in Early Childhood Instruction

Aligning Practices PreK–3rd

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

5

School Leader Curriculum Framework Over the last two decades, research has shown the importance of high-quality early childhood education to achieving our education goals in the United States.

Evidence has proven that children who participate in high-quality early childhood programs are better prepared for kindergarten and experience higher rates of educational attainment compared to their peers who did not benefit from early childhood education. Moreover, investments in access to high-quality early childhood education programs benefit society as a whole. Investments in early childhood education yield a rate of return between $5 - $18 for every dollar invested, and are often thought of as the most cost effective investment in public education. This has led to progressively higher enrollment in early childhood programs, particularly pre-K programs with nearly two-thirds of all children in a public program and greater investments being made to ensure all children have access to high-quality programs.1 Both states and the federal government have made true commitments to improving early learning and development programs for young children. With the introduction of the Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC), the federal government is providing states with the funds to support early childhood efforts.

The District of Columbia has a strong history of involvement in the field of early childhood education and has been a true pioneer in incorporating and ensuring that every young child has access to a high-quality early childhood education.

They became the first and only state to implement universally available pre-K services and provide free high quality pre-kindergarten education services to children 30 months to 5 years old through their public schools, public charter schools, and publicly funded community-based organizations. The Office for the State Superintendent for Education’s 2013 Annual Report on the Pre- Kindergarten Expansion Act reports that in school year 2012-2013, approximately 86% of all three- and four-year-olds in DC were enrolled in publicly funded pre-K programs.2 In the 2010-2011 school year, 72% of all of the District’s three- and four-year olds were enrolled, providing a 14% increase in enrollment in two short years.3 To keep up with the rapid growth of early childhood programs in public and charter schools, it is important to provide school administrators and other leaders in elementary schools with the support and professional development opportunities needed to fully integrate early childhood classrooms into their schools. Children enrolled in high-quality early childhood programs are linked to long term positive outcomes including higher academic achievement in both reading and math from the primary grades through young adulthood and higher 1 2

3

6

National School Board Association, The Pre-K Coalition: Building America’s Future. NSBA, 2011.

Office of the State Superintendent of Education, 2013 Pre- Kindergarten Enhancement and Expansion Amendment Act of 2008 Annual Report, 2013, http://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/Final%20 2013%20OSSE%20Pre-K%20Report.pdf Daily, S., Balsberg, A., & Simkin, S. (2011) Pre-Kindergarten Programs in the District of Columbia capacity Audit :20102011. Child Trends, 2011.

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

cognitive test scores. 4 Traditionally, few school leaders have a background in early childhood education, either in terms of their professional preparation or their own teaching experiences. Efforts to provide school leaders with training on child development and developmentally-informed instructional practices will help ensure that every child receives a high-quality early childhood experience and a better transition from Kindergarten and into the primary grades.

A leadership curriculum should include the following strands: I. Child Development II. Instructional Practice (Teaching and Learning in ECE) III. Instructional Leadership

4

FPG Child Development Center. Early Learning, Later Success: The Abecedarian Study. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1999.

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

7

Curriculum Implementation The Joe’s Champs program will include participants from both the traditional public and the public charter schools. In order to ensure that Joe’s Champs is a supportive and productive programmatic resource, every effort will be made to implement this curriculum framework in alignment and as a complement to the resources, processes, vision and goals already in place in the larger school, school district or network of schools.

I. Child Development Our leadership curriculum includes the following strands: n STRAND A Child Development

n STRAND B Instructional Practice (Teaching and Learning in ECE)

n STRAND C Instructional Leadership

“The most rapid phase of a child’s development occurs in their first five years of life. These early years are when the brain grows the most—85% of children’s core brain structure is developed by the age of four—providing the foundation for children’s future health, academic success, and social and emotional well-being.”5 High-quality early childhood education programs must be designed and delivered to reflect current research on how children develop and learn. To introduce leaders to the learning processes of young children, the initial portion of the curriculum has a strong emphasis on child development.

Year One: How Children Develop & Learn (Brain Research) a. b. c. d.

3-5 year old brain function The importance of social-emotional development Learning through play Language development

Year Two: Special Topics in Child Development a. b. c. d.

Executive function, self-regulation Toxic stress Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and Cultural Responsiveness Early Intervention/Children with Disabilities

At the completion of the curriculum, school leaders should: • defend the importance of learning in ages 3-5; • distinguish the difference between how young children learn and grow including the importance of play, language and social-emotional development; • examine how best to teach and nurture young children using age appropriate methods of creating, evaluating, analyzing, comprehension and knowledge; and • analyze special topics in early childhood education including children with different needs.

5

8

The first five years determine a lifetime: Children’s early years are absolutely critical Children NOW http://www. childrennow.org/index.php/learn/early_learning_and_development/

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

II. Instructional Practice (Teaching/Learning in ECE) To properly guide instruction, school leaders should be aware of a range of teaching strategies , learning formats and trajectories of learning in early childhood education. Thus, the second strand of the curriculum will focus on instructional practice in early childhood education with attention paid to developmentally appropriate teaching and assessment strategies and increasing rigor in early childhood instruction.

Year One: Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies Part I a. b. c. d.

Developing appropriate classroom environments Behavior guidance for young children Research-based curricula (evaluating school’s curricula) Authentic assessment in ECE

Year Two: Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies Part II a. Content based instruction in ECE (literacy, mathematic) b. Content based instruction in ECE (science, social studies, the arts and technology) c. Teaching along developmental trajectories d. Supporting higher order thinking in ECE classrooms

Year Three: Increasing Rigor in Early Childhood Instruction a. The balance of teaching content and habits of mind (approaches to learning) b. Integrating content into topics of interest/project-based learning in early childhood c. Analysis of assessment data to drive instructional practice d. Response to Intervention (RTI) in ECE At the completion of the training, school leaders should: • contrast developmentally appropriate curricula and teaching strategies to be used in their schools; • support teachers to use a variety of teaching methods that will allow children to move up the ladder to higher-level thought; • recognize activities for young children to develop different ways of thinking and learning to stimulate curiosity and promote divergence while being creative and exploring materials; • observe and analyze interactions in the classroom to ensure developmentally and age appropriate learning environments; and • discriminate quality assessment tools to evaluate effectiveness and make informed decisions.

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

9

III. Instructional Leadership “High-quality early care and education programs— those that provide structured, cognitively enriched learning environments with low adult-child ratios—have a significant and enduring impact on children’s long-term academic achievement.”6 Analyzing and studying the tools, strategies, and structures that best assist young children in learning is an important aspect of the school leader’s curriculum.

Year One: Early Childhood Program Design & Supporting Early Childhood Teachers Through Classroom Coaching a. Examining your school’s culture and vision: Goal setting for your early childhood program b. Program design elements (ratios and class size, schedule, professional learning communities and routines, etc.) c. Supporting teachers at various levels of development d. Using a research-based lens to evaluate and monitor quality (CLASS etc.)

Year Two: Leading an Early Childhood Community & Engaging Families a. b. c. d.

PK to K transition planning Advocating for high quality early childhood education Actively engaging parents Seek opportunities for community engagement

Year Three: Aligning Practices PK-3rd a. Kindergarten entry assessments (KEA) b. Expand professional development opportunities to other staff and teachers to introduce them to the importance of child development and support continuity of developmentally informed teaching practices c. Alignment of curriculum and standards p-3rd grade d. Use assessment data to monitor and improve individual student learning and teaching and learning across the pk-3rd span

At the completion of the training, school leaders should: • support teachers through coaching and continued professional development opportunities; • construct opportunities to engage parents as partners; • advocate for high-quality early childhood education for all children and seek opportunities in the community to advance services; and • take steps towards vertical alignment and integration of pre-k as an integral part of the schools larger environment.

6

10

Child Development Policy Institute Education Fund. Promoting School Success: Closing the Gap Between Research and Practice :Policy Implications of Current Research on Early Brain Development and Findings from Longitudinal and Cross-site Evaluations of Early Care and Education Programs . San Francisco, CA: CDPI, 2003.

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

11

School Leader Curriculum

Scope and Sequence At-A-Glance Year 1:

Year Two:

Year Three:

How Children Develop & Learn (Brain Research)

Special Topics in Child Development

Increasing Rigor in Early Childhood Instruction

a. 3-5 year old brain function b. The importance of socialemotional development c. Learning through play d. Language development

a. Executive function, selfregulation b. Toxic stress c. Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and Cultural Responsiveness d. Early Intervention/Children with Disabilities

a. The balance of teaching content and habits of mind (approaches to learning) b. Integrating content into topics of interest/project-based learning in early childhood c. Analysis of assessment data to drive instructional practice d. Response to Intervention (RTI) in ECE

A A B B B C C C

Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies - Part I

a. Developing appropriate classroom environments b. Behavior guidance for young children c. Research-based curricula (evaluating school’s curricula) d. Authentic assessment in ECE Early Childhood Program Design & Supporting Early Childhood Teachers Through Classroom Coaching

a. Examining your school’s culture and vision: Goal setting for your early childhood program b. Program design elements (ratios and class size, schedule, PLCs, routines, etc.) c. Supporting teachers at various levels of development d. Using a research-based lens to evaluate and monitor quality (CLASS etc.)

Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies - Part II

a. Content based instruction in ECE (literacy, mathematic) b. Content based instruction in ECE (science, social studies, the arts and technology) c. Teaching along developmental trajectories d. Supporting higher order thinking in ECE classrooms Leading an Early Childhood Community (May-October) & Engaging Families (NovemberApril) a. PK to K transition planning b. Advocating for high quality early childhood education c. Actively engaging parents d. Seek opportunities for community engagement

Aligning Practices PK-3rd a. Kindergarten entry assessments (KEA) b. Expand professional development opportunities to other staff and teachers to introduce them to the importance of child development and support continuity of developmentally informed teaching practices c. Alignment of curriculum and standards p-3rd grade d. Use assessment data to monitor and improve individual student learning and teaching and learning across the pk-3rd span

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

13

STRAND A:

Child Development

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

15

Year 1: How Children Develop and Learn Session 1: 3-5 Year Old Brain Development - The science of brain development helps us understand the role of both genetics and the environment in building the foundation for learning. In this session, school leaders will acquire new knowledge regarding key brain functions, and begin to integrate this information with their existing understanding of effective instructional practice for preschool-aged children.

Objectives: • Examine science of how the brain develops, pre-natally through early childhood, with particular attention to the higher brain functions involved in regulating emotions, language, and abstract thought • Discuss concept of brain plasticity – the influence of the environment on brain development and function, including how adversity impacts development • Describe sensitive periods whereby brain development can be most influenced to ensure the development of certain capabilities associated with learning • Explain the impact of brain science on instructional practice Session 3: The Importance of Social-Emotional Development – Skills in the domain of social and emotional development are critical to school readiness, successful transitions to kindergarten, and outcomes in the early primary grades. In this session, school leaders will discuss the research and desired outcomes in this domain of development.

Objectives: • Examine the research on how skills in social and emotional impact school readiness and early school success (Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2004; Smith & Hart, 2002) • Identify the appropriate expectations in the domain of social and emotional development for preschool-aged children • Assess how the early childhood program at your school teaches social and emotional skills Session 4: Learning Through Play – Through play, young children develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments. In this session, school leaders will examine the research on play-based learning, and differentiate the different types of play.

Objectives: • Discuss the research on the role of play in pre-kindergarten focusing on how play supports learning goals for children (Bodrova & Leong, 2007, 1998) • Compare different strategies used at schools to accomplish learning through play • Define how to assess different stages of play in the pre-kindergarten classroom, including “mature” play • Discuss how a school leader talks to families about the benefits of play-based instructional strategies

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

17

Session 6: Language Development – Children go through a number of different stages as language develops, from the earliest stage of producing cooing sounds to being able to produce complex, multi-word sentences. In this session, school leaders will examine knowledge of how oral language develops, including vocabulary development in order to evaluate what teaching strategies and approaches are most effective for promoting it.

Objectives: • Explain the importance of early relationships and attachment to language development • Examine the developmental trajectory of language development • Recall scientifically-based reading research on vocabulary (Beck, McKeown Kucan, 2002) • Discuss use of child centered practices, emergent curricula, and play-based learning as approaches that promote language development in the classroom context

18

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Year 2: Special Topics in Child Development Session 1: Executive Function/Self Regulation (SR/EF) – Successful transition into formal schooling for young children, and subsequent academic success, require a variety of competencies, beyond the early literacy and numeracy skills that provide the foundation for reading and mathematics. In this session, school leaders will discuss other competencies that are intrinsic to school-based instruction, namely the skills associated with SR/EF Objectives: • Examine the research on SR/EF, including how the development of SR/EF skills positively impacts children’s academic achievement and social competencies (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard, 2011) • Identify teaching strategies that influence the development of SR/EF skills in young children, and those that work against it • Explain the difference between child behavior that is teacher regulated and the behavior of a self regulated learner Session 2: Toxic Stress –Early adversity, such experiences as physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship, affect a child’s stress response system making it more difficult for them to learn. In this session, school leaders will review the research on toxic stress, including how it impacts a child’s ability to think, learn, and perform at a high level.

Objectives: • Examine research on the biology of stress in young children, and how it impacts development and learning (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2005) • Discuss typical behaviors associated with a child that has a compromised stress response system • Identify classroom strategies that can help children deal with stressors Session 4: Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and Culturally Competent Practice – The population of children in U.S. schools who are learning English as a second language is growing at a faster rate than the population of native English speaking children, while the achievement of DLLs in preschool and throughout their school careers lags far behind native English speakers. In this session, school leaders will review the most current research on how to effectively teach young DLLs and consider how their school aligns to best practices regarding linguistic and cultural competence.

Objectives: • Examine research on language development for DLLs, including the stages of 2nd language acquisition, what is known about effective culturally and linguistically appropriate teaching practices, and the theoretical basis for bilingual education • Discuss the role of families in language and literacy development of DLLs • Examine successful state and local approaches to successfully serving DLL children and their families • Assess program policies at your school (i.e., staffing, family engagement, K transition) and teaching and learning decisions (i.e., curriculum, screening, assessment, learning goals) for appropriateness with DLL children and families

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

19

Session 5: Early Intervention/Children with Disabilities – Research confirms the importance of intervening early to address atypical development, including the benefits of preschool programs to mitigate the need for special education later on.

In this session, school leaders will integrate research and relevant policies to guide program decision making for serving young children with disabilities.

Objectives: • Examine trends in the prevalence of developmental and learning disabilities for preschool-aged children • Discuss the research on the benefits of inclusive educational environments – “least restrictive environment” for preschool-aged children with disabilities (Division for Early Childhood and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2009; Mclean & Odom, 1998) • Review the characteristics of effective early childhood programs for children with disabilities, (i.e., RTI models, curricular and assessment considerations, professional development) • Identify the local and federal policy context for serving young children with disabilities, including by reviewing regulations Part C and Part B, Section 619 of IDEA and the District’s local policies and systems to support compliance with the federal law (screening, transitions, eligibility, reporting on child outcomes)

20

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

STRAND B:

Teaching & Learning

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

21

Year 1: Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies Part I Session 1: Developing Appropriate Classroom Environments - The physical environment is often referred to as the 3rd teacher in an early childhood classroom.

In this session, school leaders will discuss how the classroom environment supports effective classroom management and children’s engagement in developmentally appropriate experiences.

Objectives: • Identify how the science on child development informs arrangement and display of student work • Describe how teachers facilitate the use of the physical environment to support their learning goals for children • Explain key differences between pre-K classroom environments and classrooms in the early primary grades Session 2: Behavior Guidance – The prevention and resolution of common behavior problems in young children require a full understanding of the developmental foundation underlying a child’s behaviors. In this session, school leaders will discuss how a focus on the development of social/emotion and selfregulation skills is fundamental to behavior management.

Objectives: • Describe the relationship between children’s social emotional development, self regulation, and challenging behaviors • Analyze how challenging behavior serves a function for children • Identify strategies that can be used to - build positive relationships with children, families and colleagues; help children learn rules and routines; and plan opportunities for children to become emotionally literate and regulate their own behaviors.

Session 5: Research-based Curricula – Effective early childhood curricula should be based on sound child development principles, reflect the skills and knowledge of school success based on the most current research, and offer teachers the how, why, and what to teach. In this session, school leaders will apply new understandings about the state of early childhood curricula in order to become better consumers of early childhood instructional resources.

Objectives: • Explain the difference between research-based and evidence of effectiveness • Identify common characteristics of effective early childhood curricula • Apply decision-making strategies to determine if their curricula meets goals for students, teachers, and school contexts

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

23

Session 6: Authentic Assessment in Early Childhood – Authentic assessment in early childhood involves assessing what child know and can do in familiar contexts and realistic settings and situations for the child. In this session, school leaders will review research on appropriate assessment for young children, including how to best use this information to guide learning experiences for every child.

Objectives: • Define appropriate purposes for assessing young children and uses for assessment data, including potential misuses of assessment data • Differentiate between direct assessment versus observation “authentic” assessment • Review decision-making processes that should be utilized when making assessment decisions in early childhood • Identify special considerations for assessing DLLs and children with disabilities

24

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Year 2: Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies Part II Session 1: Content based instruction in ECE (literacy, mathematic) Literacy and numeracy are foundational elements of a quality early childhood program. In this session, school leaders will understand how instruction in these content areas are intentionally integrated throughout the curriculum and the schedule.

Objectives: • Explore revised DC Kindergarten readiness standards in math and literacy • Analyze research on widely held expectations for preschool-aged children in literacy and math (National Early Literacy Panel, 2004, 2008; Neuman, Coople, & Bredekamp, 2000; Clements & Sarama, 2009) • Critique effective instruction in the literacy and math content areas Session 2: Content based instruction in ECE (science, social studies, the arts and technology) Kindergarten readiness goes beyond math and literacy, and should include a balance of teaching and learning in all content areas. In this session, school leaders will identify best practices in these content areas, and consider how to make them a greater priority at their school.

Objectives: • Explore revised DC Kindergarten readiness standards in science, social studies, the arts and technology • Evaluate the curriculum at your school for a balance of teaching in these content areas • Critique effective instruction in these content areas Session 3: Teaching along developmental trajectories Understanding the sequence of development is a precursor for good decisionmaking around instructional practice in early childhood classrooms. In this session, school leaders will learn what the sequence of development looks like for preschool children, and how to apply this information to their instructional leadership.

Objectives: • Review key academic and developmental milestones for preschool-aged children • Recognize examples of scaffolded instruction • Plan for how to support teachers use of development continuums in teaching and learning processes

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

25

Session 6: Supporting higher order thinking in ECE classrooms Rigor in early childhood can be defined as the level in which children are engaged in complex thinking tasks. In this session, school leaders will learn how to support teaching and learning practices that create the conditions for children to become complex thinkers in pre-K and throughout the elementary grades.

Objectives: • Utilize Bloom’s taxonomy to evaluate the way the teachers currently promote children’s inquiry/complex thinking • Set goals for integration of teaching and learning practices that support higher order thinking in early childhood programs • Utilize the instructional support in the CLASS to support teacher’s practice in the development of children’s complex thinking

26

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Year 3: Increasing Rigor in Early Childhood Instruction Session 1: The balance of teaching content and habits of mind (approaches to learning) Research shows that the development of approaches to learning –attention and engagement, persistence, problem solving, curiosity and motivation, flexibility and inventiveness – are particularly malleable during the early childhood years, and important predictors of school success. In this session, school leaders will review research and look at examples of practices that support the development of these skills in young children.

Objectives: • Recognize the dimensions of approaches to learning • Critique teacher practice relating to the development of children’s approaches to learning • Defend the relationship between approaches to learning and academic skills Session 2: Integrating content into topics of interest/project-based learning in early childhood Research shows that project based instruction encourage students to be more engaged than other more rote learning and memorization to providing more challenging, complex work; having an interdisciplinary, rather than departmentalized focus; and encouraging cooperative learning Objectives: • Construct an appropriate definition of the project approach, including guidelines for planning and implementing projects • Distinguish project based instruction that is co-constructed by teachers and children from other approaches that incorporate projects into the curriculum and lesson plans • Discuss how project based learning approaches align to rigor in early childhood, and support integration of content standards with cooperative approaches to learning Session 4: Analysis of assessment data to drive instructional practice Effective schools have a data driven culture and make data part of an on-going cycle of instructional improvement. In this session, school leaders will integrate knowledge of early childhood assessment practices with the practice of using data to monitor students’ progress and evaluate instructional practices.

Objectives: • Apply knowledge of appropriate assessment in early childhood to inform use of assessment data to create effective small group instruction • Discuss how to set goals with teachers for using assessment to drive instruction and implementing effective small group instruction • Establish a clear vision for integrating early childhood assessment data with collection and use of school wide data

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

27

Session 5: Response to Intervention (RTI) in ECE Effective schools have a data driven culture and make data part of an on-going cycle of instructional improvement. In this session, school leaders will integrate knowledge of early childhood assessment practices with the practice of using data to monitor students’ progress and evaluate instructional practices.

Objectives: • Apply knowledge of appropriate assessment in early childhood to inform use of assessment data to create effective small group instruction • Discuss how to set goals with teachers for using assessment to drive instruction and implementing effective small group instruction • Establish a clear vision for integrating early childhood assessment data with collection and use of school wide data

28

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

STRAND C:

Instructional Leadership

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

29

Year 1: Supporting Early Childhood Teachers Through Classroom Coaching (November – April) Session 2: Examining your school’s culture and vision: Goal setting for your early childhood program – A high-quality early childhood program should have goals that permeates throughout all aspects of the program, align with the school culture and system and serve to guide actions, thoughts, behaviors, planning, and decisions of staff. In this session, school leaders will identify the contextual factors that shape their program, and build a coherent vision for early childhood services at their school.

Objectives: • Review the history and trajectory of the early childhood policy landscape in your community and identify areas of opportunity to make positive changes to your program • Analyze district policies that influence your early childhood program • Articulate your schools’ philosophy about early childhood education (i.e. comprehensive services, how children learn, overall approach, transitions, family engagement etc.) and align this philosophy with the overall school philosophy and that of the school system (if applicable) Session 3: Program Design Elements – There is a large body of research that has documented the relationship between program elements such as ratios, class sizes, and teacher competencies and higher quality in early childhood classrooms. In this session, school leaders will examine best practices in program design and analyze the strengths and weakness of their current model.

Objectives: • ratios and class size (Bradekamp & Copple, 1997; Barnett, Schulman & Shore, 2004) • If applicable, amend class ratios and size based on research • Analyze developmentally appropriate schedules and routines • Discuss appropriate training and qualifications for staff who work with young children (what we know about what teachers need to be effective teachers of 3-5) • Brainstorm opportunities for current staff to obtain more professional development and/or education • Integrate new knowledge regarding indicators of program quality with your school context (master schedule, enrollment, policies on assemblies, outdoor, staffing)

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

31

Session 4: Supporting Teachers at Various Levels of Development – New thinking and research shed light on the importance of tailoring professional development and coaching support for teachers in order to bring about measureable changes in their practice. In this session, school leaders will conceptualize professional development for early childhood educators along a continuum, and determine the most appropriate tools and strategies they can use to individualize coaching and professional development for their early childhood teachers.

Objectives: • Evaluate the current research on coaching in educational contexts and within other disciplines (National Staff Development Council, 2009 Child Trends, 2012, Mathematica 2012) • Analyze coaching practices and strategies and their application in early childhood classrooms • Discuss how to utilize classroom quality assessments in order to differentiate teachers’ professional development needs • Analyze coaching and appropriate support for teachers at different stages of their practice Session 5: Using a research-based lens to evaluate and monitor quality – Distinct from the approach in K-12, which places a heavy emphasis on student performance outcomes for evaluation, early childhood has a long history of evaluating the performance of early childhood programs by measuring the quality of services through the use of valid and reliable assessments. In this session, school leaders will distinguish among the most common program quality assessments, and apply this information by considering how these tools support the vision and goals for their early childhood program.

Objectives: • Examine the most common early childhood program quality assessments and the indicators of program quality that are addressed by each tool • Identify the classroom quality measures that are most appropriate for use in your school taking into account program standards • Create an action plan for using classroom quality assessments to support your goals for children and teachers, and monitoring the quality of your early childhood program

32

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Year 2: Leading an Early Childhood Community and Engaging Families Session 3: Pre-kindergarten to Kindergarten Transition Planning – Transition planning involves focusing on the time period between preschool and kindergarten in order to help children maximize the gains made in pre-K. Effective transitions require connections between teachers, families, and schools. In this session, school leaders will establish a clear vision for what transition to kindergarten should look like at their school.

Objectives: • Identify elements of high-quality transition plans, including issues such as establishing partnerships, providing family support, and aligning curricula/ assessments • Discuss transition from both a general education and special education perspective (IDEA, part B) • Generate sample transition policies and practices that allow for continuity of each child’s learning opportunities from pre-K to kindergarten Session 4: Advocating for High-Quality Early Childhood Education – The impact of high-quality pre-k on children’s learning and development is well established.

Conversely, pre-k programs that are not developmentally appropriate or low quality can do harm. In this session, school leaders will define what they should know and be able to do to support high-quality, developmentally-appropriate experiences for young children.

Objectives: • Identify the attributes of effective early childhood school leaders • Examine attitudes and gaps in knowledge that work against a focus on the whole child • Analyze a policy issue at the school, local, or federal level and make recommendations for how it can be strengthened in order to support best practices in early childhood Session 5: Actively Engaging Families – The importance of the home to school connection is critically important for achieving learning goals for children, as families are the primary influence on child development. In this session, school leaders will evaluate approaches that work to create a school environment that is welcoming to all families and engages them in their children’s learning.

Objectives: • Examine strategies for engaging diverse or hard to reach families (non-English speaking families, highly-mobile families, low or non-literate parents) • Assess policies and programs at your school related to reporting and communicating to families about children’s progress • Develop, review, or revise metrics for tracking family engagement at your school

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

33

Session 6: Seek Opportunities for Community Engagement – Effective early childhood programs use partnerships to align school and community resources in order to produce successful students, strong families, and engaged communities.

In this session, school leaders will plan for how to build community partnerships that support the vision for the early childhood program at their school.

Objectives: • Examine models of community partnerships that support the essential conditions for learning • Determine strategies for establishing formal relationships and collaborative structures to engage community stakeholders and facilitate the sharing of resources (taskforces, advisory committees, formal agreements) • Use school level data to identify an issue in your early childhood program that can be addressed by leveraging community partners, and develop an action plan

34

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Year 3: Aligning Practices Pre-K through 3rd Grade (May – April) Session 1: Kindergarten Entry Assessment – Assessment at kindergarten entry is an important component of an early childhood assessment system, and can serve as an important lever to align pre-K with instruction in the early primary grades. In this session, school leaders will examine policies and practices for understanding the status of children’s learning and development at kindergarten entry with a focus on how to align KEAs with pre-k assessments.

Objectives: • Review policies and practices for kindergarten entry assessment in the District, including how data is used to inform improvements to birth to five programs and services • Identify strategies that help to prepare families for participation in assessments at kindergarten entry • Analyze the alignment of assessments used in your early childhood program with assessments used at kindergarten entry Session 2: Aligning Professional Development to Support Continuity in Pedagogy Supporting teachers to use consistent strategies to guide children social, emotional, cognitive development in the early elementary years is critical element of successful pre-K through 3rd grade approach. In this session, school leaders will align professional development strategies to goals for teaching quality in grades pre-k through 3rd grade.

Objectives: • Summarize research on developmentally informed teaching practices (Goldstein, 2008; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997; Epstein, 2007) • Articulate a vision for what teaching should look like across the grade span • Explain the elements of a professional learning community that fosters teacher teamwork within and across grade levels • Examine strategies for planning joint professional development among all teachers and staff at the pre-K – 3rd grade levels, including when K-3 is not part of your school Session 3: Aligning Curriculum, Standards, Assessment to Support a Whole Child Approach The lack of Instructional coordination from year to year has been identified as a factor that leads to fade out of gains made in pre-K. In this session, school leaders will articulate an understanding of continuity and coherence in teaching and learning across pre-K through 3rd grade.

Objectives: • Review case studies of successful pre-K – 3rd grade reforms in districts to identify common elements regarding instructional alignment • Determine what constitutes aligned standards, curriculum, and assessments as part of a pre-K – 3rd grade approach • Discuss the opportunities in the common core standards for supporting a whole child approach to teaching and learning and vertical alignment with pre-K standards

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

35

Session 4: Using Child and Program Quality Assessments to Monitor and Improve Student Learning and Teaching Practices – PreK-3rd requires a comprehensive approach to assessment that monitors children’s progress and evaluates program quality across the pre-K – 3rd grade span. In this session, school leaders will examine strategies for assessing and using data as a key lever to ensure continuity pre-K to 3rd grade.

Objectives: • Analyze research on appropriate ways to assess and provide evidence for children’s learning across the preK-3rd grade span (Kaurez & Coffman, 2012) • Examine exemplary tools for assessing children ages three through age 8 across key developmental domains (physical, social emotional, language, cognitive) and academic content areas (literacy, mathematics, science) • Articulate how to use assessment results to improve instruction and program quality

36

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

References Barnett, W.S., Schulman, K. & Shore, R. Class Size, What’s the Best Fit? NIEER Preschool Policy Matters, Issue 9, December 2004.

Bodrova, E. & Leong, D. J. (2007). Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education (2nd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Bodrova E. & Leong, D. J. (1998). “The role of play in early childhood development: Standing a head above himself.” Colorado Early Childhood Journal, 1 (1), 4-7.

Bredekamp, S. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice: The early childhood teacher as decision maker. In S. Bredekamp & C. Copple (Eds.), Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Revised edition (pp. 33–52).

Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Bredekamp, S. & Copple, C. (1997), Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Revised edition. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University: In Brief Series. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2011). Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function: Working Paper No. 11. Retrieved from www.developingchild. harvard.edu Clements, D.H., & Sarama, J. (2009). Learning and teaching early math: The learning trajectories approach. New York: Routledge.

DEC/NAEYC. (2009). Early childhood inclusion: A joint position statement of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute.

Epstein, A. S. (2007). The intentional teacher: Choosing the best strategies for young children’s learning. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Goldstein, L. Teaching the Standards is Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Strategies for Incorporating the Sociopolitical Dimension of DAP in Early Childhood Teaching. Early Childhood Education Journal Volume 36, December 2008 Issue 3, pp 253-260.

Kauerz, K., & Coffman, J. (2012). Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Prk-3rd Grade Approaches. Seattle, WA: College of Education, University of Washington.

Mclean, M. & Odom, S. Least. (1998) Restrictive Environment and Social Integration.

Division for Early Childhood White Paper. Reston, VA: Division for Early Childhood,

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

37

Council for Exceptional Children.

National Early Literacy Panel. (2004). A synthesis of research on language and literacy. Retrieved from http://www.famlit.org/ProgramsandInitiatives/ FamilyPartnershipsinReading/index.cfm National Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Retrieved from http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publication/pdf/ NELPReport09.pdf.

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2005). Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain: Working Paper No. 3. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu Neuman, S., Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2000). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Smith, P.K., & Hart, C.H. (2002). Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

Webster-Stratton, C., & Reid, M. J. (2004). Strengthening social and emotional competence in young children -- The foundation for early school readiness and success. Infants and Young Children, 17(2), 96-113.

38

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Teacher Professional Engagement Overview Teacher professional engagement is central to school improvement. In order for Joe’s Champs to successfully transform early childhood programs and practices within schools, while school leaders and new teachers are engaged in capacity building work in early childhood, teachers who are already a part of the school staff in early childhood grades must also be working along a professional learning continuum.

The most effective way to engage in this professional learning is through an ongoing professional learning community (PLC). “The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is building the capacity of school personnel to function as a professional learning community. The path to change in the classroom lies within and through professional learning communities.

Throughout our ten-year study, whenever we found an effective school or an effective department within a school, without exception that school or department has been a part of a collaborative professional learning community.” -- Milbrey McLaughlin Data-driven instruction has transformed elementary instruction, and its impact extends to early childhood settings. Aiming to ensure instruction is both purposeful and accomplishes intended goals has led to a focus on Continuous Quality Improvement in schools. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is an approach to quality improvement that focuses on “process” rather than the individual; it promotes the need for objective data to analyze and improve processes. For early childhood teachers, CQI can be applied through the scientific method, or “serial experimentation,” toward targeted teaching practices. CQI contends that “most problems are found in processes, not in people. Through improving these processes, and making small, incremental changes using the scientific method, teachers will better direct their instructional practices to align with student needs.” 7

7

“The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is building the capacity of school personnel to function as a professional learning community. The path to change in the classroom lies within and through professional learning communities.

Throughout our tenyear study, whenever we found an effective school or an effective department within a school, without exception that school or department has been a part of a collaborative professional learning community.”

-- Milbrey McLaughlin

(Iowa State University, Facilities Planning and Management World Class Journey, http://www.fpm.iastate.edu/ worldclass/cqi.asp)

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

39

Early childhood teachers should engage in a cycle of Continuous Quality Improvement that mirrors the capacity building being facilitated through Joe’s Champs with school leaders and colleagues new to the early childhood classroom.

This process advances the ECE program in substantive ways. In order to do this, teachers must be a part of a community that: 1.

Collaboratively develops a widely shared mission, vision, values, and goals that underscore the fundamental purpose of the school and specifically the early childhood program

2. Fosters collaborative teams that work interdependently to achieve common goals 3. Maintains a focus on results as evidenced by a commitment to continuous improvement and a recognition that “Learning for All” is the purpose of schools

Structure and Process The structure and process for this work mirror the content of school leader curriculum, and should include the following:

Teacher Professional Engagement Process:

A. Choosing a topic of inquiry Each year, school leaders will identify one topic of inquiry from the school leader curriculum that will be pursued by early childhood teachers. These topics of inquiry should be drawn from the school leader curriculum either the child development or teaching and learning strands.

• For example, in Year 1, the topic might be “How children develop and learn” or “Developmentally appropriate teaching and assessment strategies.” This overall topic of inquiry should be one that school leaders and teachers agree is an area of need for the school community.

40

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

B. Monthly professional learning sessions that are self-led/ facilitated by school leader/co-facilitated by mentor and school leader Monthly professional learning sessions can include topics such as “How children develop and learn: language development” or “Developmentally appropriate teaching and assessment strategies: developing appropriate classroom environments.” The content for these modules can be adapted from the school leader sessions and extended to meet the needs of teaching staff.

In a school with an early childhood instructional coach, the coach may be the person responsible for delivering the content, or the mentor and school leader can adapt and deliver the sessions. The topics covered in the school leader session can be broken into multiple modules/segments as needed *As school leader sessions are designed with school leaders in mind, it is important that considerations are made to tailor training to the specific needs of classroom practitioners.

C. Teacher Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings on the identified topic and its application to planning and instruction As teachers meet for grade level planning, they should work to apply the topic of inquiry to their planning, in the forms of lesson study, data meetings or focus child discussions, and/or long-term planning meetings.

I. Lesson study: Lesson Study is a model of professional development that originated in Japan. Through the lesson study process, teachers systematically examine their practice, in an effort to become more effective. Teachers work collaboratively on a small number of “study lessons.” This involves planning, teaching, observing, and critiquing the lessons. Teachers use an overarching goal (which would be the topic of inquiry selected by the school leader and teachers).

STEPS IN THE LESSON STUDY PROCESS: a. Define the problem. Teachers develop a problem-solving process, shaping and focusing “the problem” until a learning goal can be developed (including standards) and addressed through an experience or activity/lesson. b. Plan the Lesson. Teachers research the problem and prior work of researchers or practitioners. “The goal is to go beyond producing an effective lesson to understanding how and why the lesson works to promote understanding among students.” c. Teach the Lesson. The team works together to develop the experience or activity/lesson. One teacher teaches the lesson, and is observed by the others, who watch and take notes on what the students and teacher are doing and saying. Videotaping for future analysis and discussion is also helpful.

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

41

d. Evaluate the Lesson and Reflect on Its Effect. The group meets soon after for an examination and reflection process. The teacher who taught the lesson begins the critique and other members of the group share their observations on the parts of the lesson that were seen as successful and problematic. Data from observations, including student work, is reviewed. The focus is not on the teacher but rather on the lesson and how it promotes student learning. e. Revise the Lesson. Based on their observations, data and reflections, the group revises the lesson. They might decide to change the materials, activities, problems posed, questions asked, or all of these things. f. Teach the Revised Lesson. Once the revised lesson is ready, the lesson is taught again to a different class. Sometimes the same teacher teaches the lesson, but most often another member of the group teaches it. School leadership may be invited in at this stage to observe the experience or activity/lesson. g. Evaluate and Reflect, Again. This time, school leadership may be invited to participate. The reflection follows the same format, however this time the discussion goes beyond the specific lesson to more general issues raised around what was learned about teaching and student learning? h. Share the Results. Sharing may take place in several ways. Teachers might create a portfolio that documents their role in and reflections on the lesson study process, sharing the plans with other colleagues.8

8

42

Minnesota River Valley Educational District http://www.mrved.com/Page/64

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

II. Data Meetings or Focus Child Discussions: In early childhood classrooms, teachers regularly assess student progress toward learning goals. Using child outcome data, whether from informal “check for understanding” assessment or formal assessments, this information helps teachers ensure children are making progress towards identified learning goals. Simply gathering data is not enough. Teachers need to translate data into areas of strength and knowledge gaps, and be able to set a course of action based on these identifications. Data-focused meetings do just that.

In an early childhood PLC, data can serve as the foundation for enhanced learning by both novice and veteran teachers. This process should be driven by a topic that matters to the teachers. A robust, focused PLC should: 1. A shared goal. For example, in one early childhood program, teachers chose to spend the year focused on language instruction. All PLC topics and data collection processes would stem from this.

2. A shared text. Once the topic is selected, teachers preview and select a common text that addresses their topic of inquiry. This text should provide a balance of research with implementation so that teachers can translate the ‘whys’ of instruction into their planning and implementation.

The teachers focused on language instruction selected a text “Speaking and Listening for Preschool Through Third Grade” by Lauren B. Resnick and Catherine E. Snow.

3. Focused implementation goals that stem from the topic of inquiry. Each month, a reading should focus on one sub-topic to explore in depth. In our sample school, teachers examined progress monitoring data and noticed a trend across the grade: expressiveness scores were well below average. Many pupils were offering responses to stories that were brief, low in content and lacked rich vocabulary. (For example, when reading Peter’s Chair, a teacher might ask, “Why do you think Peter hid from his parents? And a child might respond, “scared.”)

Using this data, the monthly presenting leader of the PLC devised an approach to story time that enabled teachers to measure the number of utterances a child made in conversation. To accompany this project, a simple data tracking tool was developed to record each child’s number of utterances per feedback loop. Teachers used the approach to story time and tracked data for two weeks, then compared their results. After noticing a trend among children who were assessed to be below widely held expectations in expressive language, teachers co-constructed questions, and accompanied follow-up questions, that might enhance a child’s ability to increase their number of utterances and the quality of those utterances. Then, they tracked the implementation for another two weeks. At the end of the month, all children experienced significant growth in their expressive vocabulary, as well as the number of utterances they made per exchange. In one classroom, children identified as needing additional intervention in this area experienced 70% growth in their length of utterances after one month of intervention. This means that the same student who initially responded that Peter was “scared,”

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

43

might instead offer, “Peter hid behind the curtain because he was scared his parents would forget about him.”

To use data to drive a robust, self-sustaining PLC, teachers need: 1. Alignment on student learning goals. This should stem from the topics identified by school leaders and teachers together to promote a greater sense of ownership among teaching teams.

2. Participation of both veteran and novice teachers. In early childhood programs, this means that the lead teacher and resident/assistant teacher both get to fully participate in the PLCs. This affords both parties the great opportunity of contributing to a community of practice where experiences and approaches to practice are shared. Grades can work together to schedule coverage for classrooms so that all teachers can participate. For example, in one school, a PLC took place during lunch/naptime. When PK3 teachers held their PLC, PK4 teachers shared the responsibility of having one teacher “cover” a PK3 classroom to ensure all could participate.

3. Leadership opportunities for all. In a PLC, titles such as “coach,” “lead” and “resident” do not dictate who gets to lead meetings. Each month, the topic may change, and so too does the leader of the PLC. By sharing the responsibility for these sessions, teachers get to refine their leadership abilities, organizing the topic of inquiry, a related reading, and a data collection process that stems from this focus.

4. Follow-through. PLCs should remain focused in their goals, ensuring members share a laser-like focus on what they aim to learn about through the data collection, reading, and reflection process. Throughout the month, teachers in a PLC can help each other develop questions and lessons for students, can encourage each other in the data collection process, and share insights into their breakthroughs with children that may translate to increased student learning across the grade.

5. Support from leadership. For a PLC to thrive, it must be developed and supported intentionally, and consistently across the year. This time should be preserved, and respected, as a community of practice with a dedicated meeting time, place, and the resources and materials needed to implement projects based on the topic of inquiry.

III. Long-term Planning Meetings: Focusing on the day-to-day needs of an early childhood program often takes precedence over planning for long-term growth. By engaging in long-term planning meetings, teachers can set strategic goals as a grade level team to ensure larger goals receive the time, depth of inquiry, and refinement necessary to make substantial changes. Long term planning presents a great opportunity for early childhood programs to create alignment with other school priorities. For example, in adopting the K-12 Common Core standards, many schools are faced with ensuring their early childhood program prepares children for kindergarten readiness. Simply maintaining existing early childhood curriculum and standards may not ensure all children are ready for kindergarten, even if they stay at the same

44

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

school. In this instance, teachers and school leadership may engage in a long-term planning process in order to chart a new path for kindergarten readiness that emphasizes shared input and collaboration among PK3, PK4 and kindergarten teachers.

Creating a shared long-term plan helps teachers and leadership understand where the school community would like to be at particular benchmarks and by the end of the year. Setting a strategic end goal such as kindergarten readiness, and then breaking down this goal into its sub-goals (achieving proficiency across PK3 learning standards), and milestones (all students will be able to follow three step directions by the end of the third advisory), teachers and administrators can co-construct a map to making this goal a reality.

For long term planning to work, teachers need: 1. A shared vision. Simply stating “kindergarten readiness” is insufficient as it may mean many things to different people. This vision should be clear, terms should be defined, and the vision must be created, and owned, by all involved. This is accomplished if administrators, teachers, and students can quickly articulate the goal, they know what that vision means in relation to their role.

2. Knowledge about the road map. What will it take to get to achieve this long-term goal? Again, PLC participants need to set parameters for what they can measure, define, and work towards in pursuit of this goal.

In keeping with our example of kindergarten readiness, perhaps in a program’s first year, they may aim for “readiness” in three set content areas rather than across the spectrum of early learning standards so that they are laser-focused on what they want to achieve.

3. Realistic standards and expectations. Long-term planning asks us to dream big, but keep our dreams grounded in the reality of our schools.

For example, let’s say a PK4 grade has an average of 50% proficiency average for content areas. Based on the strategic goal set, perhaps aiming for 80% advanced proficiency across the three content areas selected for kindergarten readiness, and 70% proficiency across all content areas would be most appropriate.

D. Intervisits Practicing teachers must experience opportunities to observe and analyze emerging practice, and explore various approaches to curriculum, instruction and assessment. These program visits can be utilized to address critical questions of practice that relate to the focus topic for the year that teachers are grappling with. Through intentional community and capacity building, school leaders can work with their mentor to set up and encourage teacher visits to charter, public, and private schools throughout the DC Metro area. This process, using an inquiry-based approach should begin with a preparatory reflective assignments (developing a goal for the visit, reading about the school’s mission and instructional approach). The process should continue with site visits to promote critical analysis of classroom practice. Site visits should followed by team discussion addressing lessons learned and application to practice.

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

45

Ongoing Evaluation and Feedback Reflection questions for teachers to evaluate the professional learning process in a sustained and ongoing way: 1. What were the team norms on your team/PLC? How were those established?

2. What was your participation level in your group? How did it grow over time?

Why? 3. What was the participation level of others in your group?

4. How did you contribute to the team/PLC? How would you describe your communication style?

5. What were some of the key findings from your PLC? 6. How did these findings transform your teaching practice on a daily basis? Over the course of a quarter? A year?

7. How did your participation in the PLC impact your ability to work on your teaching team? With your grade-level team? With administration? With families?

8. In a PLC, teachers collaborate in order to strengthen your school’s capacity to best serve young children and families. What were the strengths and challenges of beginning this process? How did it evolve over time?

9. What aspects of working in teams/PLCs will you try to improve as you continue this process?

10. What feedback would you like to share with the school leader/administration about this ongoing professional learning process?

In order to have this work be successful, school leaders must support this work by ensuring that collaboration is embedded into every aspect of the school culture, time for collaboration is built into the school calendar, and that products of collaboration are made explicit.

“Perhaps the greatest insight we have gained in our work with school districts across the continent is that schools that take the plunge and actually begin doing the work of a PLC develop their capacity to help students learn at high levels far more effectively than schools that spend years preparing to become PLCs through reading or even training.” -- Richard DuFour, et. al., Learning by Doing.

46

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

School Leader Mentoring An important component of the Joe’s Champs school leader curriculum is customized, needs-based mentoring that occurs between a qualified early childhood ‘systems’ advisor and the school leadership. Joe’s Champs will provide individualized mentoring to each school, working with school leadership on issues specific to the school/site. These sessions are designed to help create administrative level improvements that elevate early childhood education within the school community and work to improve instructional leadership processes.

This component begins with a needs assessment process that is collaboratively facilitated between the mentor and the school leader (and the school leader’s leadership team as desired). The needs assessment provides a road map for the activities that the mentor and the school leader will engage in throughout the academic year, and helps to outline the outcomes or goals that the work aims to achieve within this time frame. This may include connecting to topics from school leader professional development sessions in any of the three strands, and supporting learning topics or areas for school leaders in a results-oriented fashion.

School Leader Needs Assessment Interview:

The needs assessment provides a road map for the activities that the mentor and the school leader will engage in throughout the academic year, and helps to outline the outcomes or goals that the work aims to achieve within this time frame

These questions are designed to begin the process of helping the school leader reflect on the school’s mission, vision, and execution of the teaching and learning process SPECIFIC to early childhood. The mentor can use the questions in a way that supports a discussion, noting areas that may be revisited during the goal setting process. The needs assessment conversation need not include every question below, the mentor can tailor and adjust her/his questions based on prior knowledge of the school and priorities, or can conduct the interview in multiple parts, perhaps choosing components of the interview to begin with that will lead to shorter term goals and continuing with additional components in subsequent sessions.

The mentor should practice a reflective process during the interview, mirroring back what she or he thinks she hears the school leader saying throughout the interview, asking probing questions when appropriate, and noting areas that may benefit from focused work and ensuring that the school leader has multiple opportunities to articulate the successes and challenges faced by the school and the school leader in his or her efforts to lead.

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

47

Interview: Year One 1.

Tell me about your vision and philosophy for your early childhood program.

2. How does child development research inform your decisions about ECE programming?

3. Describe your school’s early childhood program (ages served, number and composition of classrooms, teacher population, etc.)

4. Describe the schedule and constructs for the early childhood program (i.e. classroom groupings, rest time, outdoor time, content blocks, etc.)

5. What are your expectations for how ECE classrooms are set up and utilized?

6. Please describe your curriculum, instruction and assessment approach in ECE (curriculum used, process for assessing students, how instruction should look etc.)

7. Describe your expectations around behavior guidance in ECE and the relationship between social-emotional development and behavior.

8. Who is on your instructional leadership team? How do you build and support this team? What are their greatest successes and challenges? Who on your leadership team has deep early childhood expertise? How do you leverage or plan to leverage this expertise? If it does not exist, what are your thoughts and plans on building it?

9. How are your EC professional development needs assessed, who provides PD, and how is the effectiveness measured?

10. How are you supporting teachers at different levels of development (i.e. identifying early childhood teachers for leadership and growth opportunities within the school, providing peer mentoring for a new or struggling teacher)?

11. Bringing it all together, what are three major accomplishments or successes in your ECE program and why?

48

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Interview: Year Two 1.

How are decisions made around curriculum, instruction and assessment at your school?

2. Describe how your early childhood program specifically addresses areas of child development such as executive function and self-regulation; that are associated with school success.

3. How are your teachers and other staff prepared to work in a culturally responsive way with diverse populations, including Dual Language Learners?

4. How are your teachers and staff prepared to work with children who have disabilities, and what structures are in place to support that work?

5. What are your expectations for content teaching and learning in your early childhood program? How are teachers prepared to differentiate their instruction and what do you expect this to look like in an early childhood classroom?

6. What are your expectations around teachers facilitating children’s higher-order thinking in early childhood?

7. How engaged are the families of your early childhood students? What are the specific ways families are invited to be a part of the community at these grade levels? What successes and challenged have you and your team faced in this area?

8. Bringing it all together, what should be the main focus of your ECE program this year and why?

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

49

Interview: Year Three 1.

How are your leadership, teachers and families involved in driving the curriculum, instruction and assessment process? How do you ensure that everyone is “on the same page” with the school’s espoused philosophy for ECE?

2. How are you ensuring that all children are successful? What is in place to support individualized learning for each child?

3. How are you determining children’s readiness for transitioning to kindergarten (both those that attended your ECE program and those who did not)?

4. How do you include staff outside of your ECE program in professional learning in order to create the conditions for true vertical alignment?

5. How is vertical alignment being addressed in curriculum, instruction and assessment choices and processes?

6. Describe your data systems and how they work to inform instruction, improve student learning, improve your program, and inform families and the larger community.

7. Bringing it all together, what should be the main focus of your ECE program this year and why?

50

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Moving from Interview to Goals: A high quality school leader has big goals for the school in which students will achieve academically and grow socially and emotionally. After conducting the interview discussion with the school leader, the mentor and the school leader should sit together and determine goals for the year. It is critical that both parties have input in this process, the school leader can identify his/her own areas for growth and that of the school, but the mentor has a broader lens and can also contribute important thinking about what the most high-impact goals might be for the school and the school leader in the short and long-term. The process should be self-reflective and a process of collaborative reflection between the school leader and mentor. The “journey” of setting goals is a powerful end unto itself. The goal setting process may take more than one session, and may be an iterative process between mentors and school leader. Goals will be revisited over the course of the year, when mid-course corrections can be made, but the goal itself should be substantive enough that it will remain consistent throughout the year.

1.

How do we define big goals for your early childhood program? (2-3 goals with related objectives)

2. Being realistic and breaking goals into smaller milestones makes it easier to work towards and track your goals.

3. What specific metrics might you use to measure growth in these areas (quantitative and qualitative)?

4. Who else do you need in order to accomplish these goals?

As the final phase of goal setting, school leaders should be encouraged to reflect on what it would “look like” if all of his or her goals were accomplished, and how this accomplishment would translate to the schools, staff, children and families. As a result of this learning; • My school will…

• My leadership team will…

• Our teachers will…

• Our students will…

• Our families will…

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

51

Facilitated Experiences Menu and Examples: As a mentor to a school leader, there are several types of facilitated experiences that you can select from or adapt, and many ways in which the experiences described below can help you reach a multitude of goals. Both school leaders and schools are at different places on a continuum of learning and development, and a new school leader at a second year school would likely have a different set of goals than a sixth year school leader at a decade old school.

As part of the mentoring process, school leaders will document their learning in some way that meaningfully brings together artifacts of learning throughout the year and culminates in a final product or resource reflects the school leader’s learning and that serves not only the school leader but also the school community as a whole. Below is a suggested menu of experiences, each with a potential artifact of learning that the mentor might consider. Ultimately, these examples should be a template to guide the mentor and the school leader in cooperatively designing experiences that will serve as valuable and meaningful in the course of the mentoring relationship.

Year One At-A-Glance: How Children Develop & Learn (Brain Research) a. b. c. d.

3-5 year old brain function Language development The importance of social-emotional development Learning through play

Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies - Part I a. b. c. d.

Developing appropriate classroom environments Research-based curricula (evaluating school’s curricula) Behavior guidance for young children Authentic assessment in ECE

Early Childhood Program Design (May-October) & Supporting Early Childhood Teachers Through Classroom Coaching (November-April) a. Creating a vision for your early childhood program b. Program design elements (ratios and class size, schedule and routines, etc.) c. Using a research-based lens to evaluate and monitor quality (CLASS etc.) d. Supporting teachers at various levels of development

52

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Year One Facilitated Experiences: 1.

Side by side observing children and discussing child development a. Work together to videotape or observe target child/ren, making objectives notes about what children say and do. b. Map demonstration of developmental areas/domains back to demonstration of behaviors observed Suggested artifact: Preferred developmental milestones reference for school community (leaders, teachers, families) Examples: CDC milestones chart, PBS ABC.s of Child Development

2. Discussion of articles or texts relating to topics covered in year one a. Provide a text or article relating to year one topic and develops questions specific to the school leader’s context. b. Discuss questions and potential impact on leadership or school Suggested artifact: Article with brief journal reflection on potential impact statement 3. Classroom observations of play a. Review types/stages of play b. Observe live classroom or videotape of classroom with children engaged in play, determining levels of children’s play c. Develop feedback points for teachers on scaffolding play to higher levels Suggested artifact: Feedback points on types/stages of play 4. Classroom Environment Audit a. Look at classroom environments and usage through the lens of developmentally appropriate principles b. Identify “areas of growth” across classrooms Suggested artifact: Before and after photos of classroom environments 3. Curriculum selection, mapping, review and analysis a. Use session discussion as a starting point to continue work on curriculum b. Develop a process/protocol for ongoing Suggested artifact: Curriculum review and feedback process and protocol 3. Assessment audit a. ‘Map’ state early learning and school developed standards b. Align current assessments onto standards to take stock of what is being assessed and where there are gaps c. Make decisions about how to address overlap and gaps Suggested artifact: Alignment map and decision document

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

53

4. Master Schedule and daily schedule audit a. Analyze master schedule and/or classroom daily schedules for appropriateness b. Make decisions about how to organize master or classroom schedules based on information gleaned from program design session Suggested artifact: Before and after master schedule/classroom schedules 3. CLASS Observation shadowing a. Using the CLASS tool, observe classrooms side-by-side b. Debrief evidence and potential areas for professional development at classroom and grade level Suggested artifact: Professional development plans for early childhood teachers based on side-by-side CLASS observations

Year Two At-A-Glance: Special Topics in Child Development a. b. c. d.

Executive function, self-regulation Toxic stress Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and Cultural Responsiveness Early Intervention/Children with Disabilities

Developmentally Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Strategies - Part II a. Content based instruction in ECE (literacy, mathematic) b. Content based instruction in ECE (science, social studies, the arts and technology) c. Teaching along developmental trajectories d. Supporting higher order thinking in ECE classrooms Leading an Early Childhood Community (May-October) & Engaging Families (November-April) a. b. c. d.

54

PK to K transition planning Advocating for high quality early childhood education Actively engaging parents Seek opportunities for community engagement

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Year Two Facilitated Experiences: 1.

SR/EF Observations a. Work together to videotape or observe child/ren and teachers, making objectives notes about what children and teachers say and do. b. Map demonstration of self-regulation back to demonstration of behaviors observed Suggested artifact: Observed exemplars (video or observation notes) of teacher facilitation of SR/EF

2. Cultural and Linguistic Competence Reflection a. Map population of children and families, language cultural contexts etc. b. Review school policies (mentor to provide policies from other schools/ Districts) c. Revise policies and consider practice implications Suggested artifact: Revised language and cultural competence policy and expected practices 3. Early Childhood Disabilities Capacity Audit a. Review school policies (mentor to provide policies from other schools/ Districts) including screening, SST and service plans for children under 5 b. Consider staffing expertise in the area of early childhood disabilities c. Revise policies and consider staffing implications Suggested artifact: Revised disabilities policy and expected practices 4. Observing Classrooms for Content Based Instruction or Higher Order Thinking a. Work together to videotape or observe child/ren and teachers, making objectives notes about what children and teachers say and do b. Review lesson plans for evidence of appropriate content based instruction and promotion of higher order thinking c. Map demonstration of content learning and higher order thinking back to demonstration of behaviors observed Suggested artifact: Observed exemplars (video or observation notes) of teacher facilitation of content or higher order thinking 5. Leading Grade Level Planning a. Co-plan for leading pre-k grade level planning b. Debrief facilitation/leadership strengths and areas for growth and teacher needs Suggested artifact: Facilitation plan or protocols utilized, reflection from teachers on planning session 6. Transition Planning a. Review policies for transition planning at school level and classroom level b. Revise policies and consider staffing implications Suggested artifact: Revised transition policy and expected practices

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

55

7. Advocacy Opportunity Scan a. Discuss advocacy opportunities within local and/or national context b. Plan for an advocacy engagement (presenting work at ECE conference, writing an ECE school leader blog, etc.)

Suggested artifact: Presentation or blog from advocacy opportunity 8. Family and Community Engagement Process a. Review plans and practices for family and community engagement at school level and classroom level b. Determine areas in need of growth and revise expectations for teachers and school staff as necessary (two way communication, sharing children’s progress, community outreach and partnership, etc.)

Suggested artifact: Revised expectations for family and community engagement

56

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Year Three At-A-Glance: Increasing Rigor in Early Childhood Instruction a. The balance of teaching content and habits of mind (approaches to learning) b. Integrating content into topics of interest/project-based learning in early childhood c. Analysis of assessment data to drive instructional practice d. Response to Intervention (RTI) in ECE Aligning Practices PK-3rd (May-April) a. Kindergarten entry assessments (KEA) b. Expand professional development opportunities to other staff and teachers to introduce them to the importance of child development and support continuity of developmentally informed teaching practices c. Alignment of curriculum and standards p-3rd grade d. Use assessment data to monitor and improve individual student learning and teaching and learning across the pk-3rd span 1.

Project based learning inquiry a. Use the project-based learning website to review a project completed in an early childhood setting b. Reflect on alignment to school’s philosophy, curriculum instruction and assessment practices Suggested artifact: Pros and cons of project-based work in current school context, plan for implementation, or input from staff on interest in project-based learning

2. RTI protocol/process a. Gather RTI process plans from other ECE schools or via webinar b. Determine fit with school philosophy, curriculum instruction and assessment practices c. Develop and /or revise RTI plan for early childhood Suggested artifact: RTI plan for ECE 3. Kindergarten Entry Assessment a. Determine how KEA is used at school level to inform transition to kindergarten Suggested artifact: Plan for comprehensive assessment process upon kindergarten entry 4. Professional development plan a. Consider current professional structures (Professional learning communities, lesson study groups, intervisitation processes, etc.) b. Determine additional structures and necessary inputs from school leadership (facilitation, additional planning time) Suggested artifact: Professional development plan for ECE grade levels

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

57

5. K-3 audit a. Accreditation facilitation (National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and Middle States Commission on Elementary Schools (MSCES) process b. Focus groups with leadership teachers and families on accreditation readiness Suggested artifact: Accreditation readiness report

58

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Mentor Guidance and Proposed Periodicity The purpose of these principles are to help mentors plan for ongoing mentoring of a school leader in order to build the school’s early childhood capacity. The two areas presented are the different roles that a mentor might assume in her/ his work with a school leader, and guidance on effective meetings and facilitated experiences.

Roles of Mentors Mentors serve as a significant resource to school leaders at any stage of development. A mentor will assume different roles based on the dynamics in the relationship between herself and the school leader, and the stage of development of the school leader as well as the dynamics and development of the school.

In considering the roles that he or she may play, a mentor should recognize that one moves in and out of these roles fluidly, but generally should focus on providing support in two-three of the roles at any one time. Roles that a mentor might play (think about the roles as a package that would build on each other) introduce a certain concept and help the school leader make the successful implementation of the concept part of the school culture. Mentors might play the role of resource provider when a school leader is at a stage of wanting to look outside of his or her school community to what others are doing, data coaching and curriculum/instructional specialist roles might be undertaken with a school leader who does not have a background in early childhood education and needs to understand what best practice looks like and how to encourage it in his or her school, the learning facilitator role would be undertaken when the school leader or leadership has a discrete need for training on information that is not available to them in another format. Ideally, a mentor would play the role of learner and change agent throughout the mentoring relationship.

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

59

Resource provider • Recommends resources to school leader that relate to topics the mentor and school leader have discussed • Shares research, best practices, or emerging trends with the school leadership and staff

Data Coach • Helps school leaders identify instructional strategies, structures, programs and curriculum to addressed identified needs • Facilitate data dialogues with leadership team and/or school leader • Works with school leader and leadership team to identify which data to examine and how to display the data so that the analysis process is effective and efficient

Curriculum/ Instructional Specialist • Provides school leader with context and background (including mentor’s own experiences) with curriculum, instruction and assessment approaches.

• Assists the school leader in determining the “goodness of fit” between philosophy of school and approaches chosen.

• Facilitates discussion about integrating content areas to provide additional opportunities for students to apply their learning

Learning Facilitator • Coordinate, facilitate and/or provide professional learning activities that meet the varied needs of school leaders, increase the relevance of the learning experience • Provide “just-in-time” training to school leaders in small groups or individually

Learner • Model attitudes and behaviors school leaders need to be successful – the desire to learn, knowing how to learn, and knowing how to apply learning • Use reflection as part of their own learning

Change Agent • Asks hard questions • Engages school leaders in critical conversations—looking critically and analytically to discover what is working and what is not in order to redefine their work and improve results • Introduces alternatives or refinements to current practices • Makes his or her own mentoring practice public, seek feedback from critical friends, examine and refine their own practice, think aloud about their work, and learn continuously from networking with other coaches, reading, and conducting action research

60

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Effective Meetings and Facilitated Experiences Planning can help a mentor make the most of limited time with a school leader and ensure that goals are accomplished. In planning for a meeting, it will always be important to refer back to your overall goals with the school leaders, derived from the needs assessment you completed at the outset of your work.

Planning for a facilitated experience with a school leader includes: • Having a clear rationale for the experience, and ensuring that it is connected with one of the goals set • Developing objectives for the experience • Documenting topics or themes you wish to cover during the experience; • Relating your discussions to the school leader/school’s goals; • Recording examples or anecdotes to share with the school leader at the reflective portion of the experience; • Selecting pertinent research or literature to support the experience; and • Ensuring that there is a clear artifact that will demonstrate learning and improve the school.

Final Product- Artifacts of Learning: Each school leader mentoring session should culminate in one or more learning artifacts. This final product is for the school leader as well as for the school. It represents that something concrete has come from the work that is done. This final product should reflect what the school leader has learned, the progress that the school leader and the school have made, and something that represents institutionalization. Artifacts by school leaders may include new forms developed, new processes, communications with staff or partners, videos etc. Artifacts can be also contributed by teachers, children, families or other community members. Each artifact will likely take approximately 60 minutes to produce (although some may take longer if they need to be vetted over time by the school community), but will be a representation of the culmination of a body of work that the school leader engages in on a long-term basis.

When school leaders convene each May, they will share their progress- walking through the process of reflecting, observing, and working with their mentor in order to improve their ability to set and achieve big goals for the school. School leaders will showcase their work, using their final products to support their presentation within a community of practice.

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

61

Proposed Periodicity Mentors serve an important function in the process of the connection and application of professional learning.

1.

Professional Learning Session and Program Visits: Quarterly or bi-monthly fullday sessions for all school leaders in learning community and program visits to focus on a topic of learning from the school leader professional learning sessions

2. Mentoring: • New school leaders/school leaders at new schools/school leaders with no early childhood experience: 1 days per month • School leaders 2-5 years of practice and some experience with early childhood and seasoned school leaders with significant experience in early childhood: ½ day per month

*Mentoring sessions can be designed as a daylong experience or half-day experience. In this way, a new school leader may have the mentor on site 4 mornings in a particular month.

62

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

Appendix

RESOURCES/EXISTING PROGRAMS CONSULTED: PROGRAM

CONTENT STRANDS

CAYL – MA Principal Toolkit, “Five Promising Practices that Every Principal can use to Support Developmentally Appropriate Learning for Young Children”

1. Vision 2. Practice and Pedagogy 3. Supervision 4. Family and Community 5. Policy Perspectives

LINC (Leadership to Integrate the Learning Curriculum) Module - Illinois

1. Birth-12 as a Continuum and Single System 2. Basics of Early Childhood Programming 3. Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Across the Continuum 4. Relationship & Communication: Family-School Partnerships

Pre-K-3rd Leadership Training Series –New Jersey

1. Access to programs 2. Teacher/teaching quality 3. Program quality 4. Leader quality 5. Whole child learning standards 6. Child-based assessments 7. Transitions 8. Infrastructure 9. Family and community engagement

National Institute for School LeadershipEarly Childhood Executive Leadership Institute

1. Application of the latest brain development research 2. Effective program design and strategies 3. Family engagement and multi-generational services 4. Action learning projects that improve classroom quality 5. Strengthen family engagement 6. Integrate birth through third grade systems

Getting it Right from the Start –

1. Early Childhood Education: An Expanding Enterprise!

2. Quality Makes All the Difference 3. Breaking New Ground: Getting Involved in Early Childhood 4. Early Childhood Education: Stakeholders 5. Developmentally Appropriate Practice 6. What Principals Need to Know About How Young Children Develop and Learn 7. Early Childhood Curriculum 8. Learning Centers and Classroom Routines 9. Early Childhood Assessment 10. Early Childhood Education: Family Involvement 11. Early Childhood Teachers 12. Finding and Keeping Good Teachers 13. Physical Environments that Support Early Learning 14. Early Childhood Education: Funding

by Marjorie J. Kostelnik and Marilyn L. Grady (2009)

NAESP

1. Embrace early childhood learning 2. Engage Families and Communities 3. Promote Appropriate Learning Environments for Young Children 4. Ensure Quality Teaching (curriculum & instructional practice) 5. Use Multiple Assessment to Strengthen Learning 6. Advocate for High-Quality, Universal Early Childhood Education

Pre-K 3rd Principals as Crucial Instructional Leaders By Sara Mead

1. Create a Pre-K 3rd Culture 2. Drive Effective Teaching 3. Create Structures and conditions in the school that support quality instruction 4. Building relationship with community partners 5. Eliminate barriers to exercising instructional leadership 6. Forster strategies that develop effective Pre-K 3rd Leaders 7. Get the Incentives Right (Acct. Systems)

Additional Resources: • Mead, S. Prek-3rd: Principals as Crucial Instructional Leader. Prek-3rd Policy to Action Brief No. 7, Foundation of Child Development, April 2011.

• http://fcd-us.org/resources/prek-3rd-principals-crucial-instructional-leaders • National Association of Elementary School Principals. Leading Early Childhood Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do. Alexandria, VA: NAESP, 2005.

• Rasmussen, K. Early Childhood Education: Building a Foundation for Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Growth. Curriculum, ASCD, Winter 1998. http://www.ascd.org/ publications/curriculum-update/winter1998/Early-Childhood-Education.aspx

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

65

Annual Actions

To ensure that all schools leaders set up appropriate and effective practices for their students, schools leaders will be required to complete one or two annual actions during each year of the Joe’s Champs program.

Each annual action will be completed in alignment with and in addition to the leadership professional development days, teaching staff professional learning community meetings, and monthly artifacts and mentor meetings.

Mentor and Fight For Children staff will support school leaders in completing each annual action.

66

Schools leaders participating in the Joe’s Champs program have a diverse set of needs and experiences that they bring to the program. Joe’s Champs helps every participating school leader to receive high quality training, exposure to research and best practices in early childhood education and the support to reflect on the work being done at their campus. To ensure that all schools leaders set up appropriate and effective practices for their students, schools leaders will be required to complete one or two annual actions during each year of the Joe’s Champs program. Each annual action will be completed in alignment with and in addition to the leadership professional development days, teaching staff professional learning community meetings, and monthly artifacts and mentor meetings. Mentor and Fight For Children staff will support school leaders in completing each annual action.

Beginning in year 1 of the program, school leaders will spend the first half of the program year researching and establishing a professional learning community for the early childhood teaching staff. School leaders will utilize the expertise of their mentors and conduct their own research to learn about the purpose and appropriate design of a PLC meeting and will then work collaboratively to design and begin holding monthly PLC meetings.

School leaders will spend the second the second half of their first program year reflecting on the kindergarten transition plan that is utilized by the school. School leaders will then research, compare, draft and implement a revised transition plan for prek4 students transitioning to kindergarten. If appropriate, transition plans should be created for each rising grade level to ease the transition from one grade to the next.

School Leader Professional Development | PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM

June

Year 1

July

Aug

Sept

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

June

Research and establish a professional learning community (PLC) among prek3 and prek4 teaching staff, to include leader teachers, paraprofessionals, teaching residents, associates, and assistant teachers.

Research and design and/or revise kindergarten transition plan.

Year 2 of the June

Year 2

June Year 3

July

Aug

Sept

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

June

Research and design and/or revise the vertical alignment strategy between prek and k classrooms.

July

Aug

Sept

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

June

Research and design and/or revise the vertical alignment strategy for prek through 3 grade classrooms. rd

PROGRAM GUIDE AND CURRICULUM | School Leader Professional Development

67