15 minute read
The Next Level
Taking your PLCs to the next level with the Power of Collective Efficacy
BY FELECIA EVANS
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There is an African proverb that states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” As educators, we are fortunate to be a part of the village that raises and educates young children every day. We provide them with a foundation of love, guidance, direction, skills, knowledge, and so much more. Often times we spend more waking hours during the week with our students than our own children at home.
In high functioning schools, our village is our professional learning community (PLC). The notion that PLCs can support school reform efforts, increase student performance, and aid in teacher retention is widely recognized; in fact you would be hard pressed to find an educator who has not heard the term.
A few years ago in the Mayfield City Schools, rather than start a new initiative, we recommitted to making PLCs a priority. Most recently we restructured our building leadership teams (BLT) into instructional leadership teams (ILT). Our ILT at Lander Elementary School includes a teacher leader representative from each of our six grade levels, as well as a representative from our specials team. Our ILT guides the work of our professional learning communities and provides much needed teacher leadership, teacher voice, and teacher ownership into our school.
We also carved out time each Monday by creatively scheduling a silent reading time in every classroom and combined this with contractual staff meeting time. Two Mondays a month our teachers have an hour of collaborative time, and two Mondays a month they have a two hour block of collaborative time in addition to their weekly contractual planning time. The model of sit and get staff meetings has been transformed into time for teachers to collaborate, reflect, and plan instruction. In the Mayfield City Schools, we ask our teams to focus
their PLC conversations on the following essential questions:
1. What do we want students to know, to be able to do, and to deeply understand? 2. How will we know students are learning? What evidence of student learning will we review? 3. What will we do differently when students are not learning? Do not understand? Cannot transfer? 4. What do we do for students that have mastered content? To extend learning? Develop talents?
These guiding questions and this dedicated time allow us to advance our district mission and priorities. Many schools have successfully implemented similar PLC structures. So once you have dedicated the time for professional learning communities, you have set up a teacher leadership model to support the work of your teams, and you have provided them with a road map of how to best use this time, how do you take people to the next level?
As a school leader, you must intentionally cultivate a shared positive belief that they can make a difference. This is the intersection at which John Hattie’s research collides with Robert Marzano and Richard DuFour’s research on PLCs. Hattie has conducted several large-scale, meta-analysis studies on the factors that impact student achievement; his most recent research from 2018 includes 252 factors. Of these factors he found that collective teacher efficacy (CTE) has a positive effect size of 1.57, which is the largest impact of all of the factors that he studied. In fact, collective teacher efficacy is three times more impactful than prior student achievement, classroom management, and socioeconomic status.
According to Hattie, he defines CTE on his Visible Learning website as, “the collective belief of the staff of the school/faculty in their
ability to positively affect students. CTE has been found to be strongly, positively correlated with student achievement. A school staff that believes it can collectively accomplish great things is vital for the health of a school and if they believe they can make a positive difference then they very likely will.”
The notion that we have to believe in our own shared ability to make a difference seems simple, but as school leaders we must be very intentional in ensuring that this is the type of culture that is built. At Lander, we go about ensuring collective efficacy in several ways. First, we set up a system of support that challenges all students to learn and grow, often called a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Teachers know that if they have a student who may be struggling, there is a team of their colleagues who are available to help them design and deliver interventions to support both their academic growth and social-emotional well-being. This type of collegiality builds a sense of team spirit that can diminish feelings of isolation and frustration, which lead to teacher burnout and negative associations.
Second, as leaders we have to be careful in the language that is used in our school and redirect negative statements into positive ones. For example, the use of the word “yet” is quite powerful. We have to reinforce the fact that our students might not be able to do something yet, but through our collaborative efforts they will be able to eventually. This is also very much supported by the idea of a growth mindset. We have to be observant of the power of our words and help support our teacher leaders in redirecting negative language.
Lastly, we have to be specific in using data to show the positive impact of our teams’ efforts. While I will surely line up as the first principal to tell you that our students are more than a test score, our current system of accountability unfairly disenfranchises our
most vulnerable populations, and our current system unfairly labels schools as failing—which is much more of a direct correlation to the wealth of the children who walk through the doors, rather than their ability to perform well on a standardized test.
Nevertheless, I will also advocate that we have the responsibility to analyze our internal data points to show that our teams’ efforts are making a positive impact on our students. For example, we use a program called Lexia in our school which allows us to drill down to small measurable data points on our students who use the program frequently. Another example is sight words. Our Kindergarten students may have started at 10% mastery of sight words, but as a team we selected sight words as a focus area. Now, 85% of our students are successful with sight words, and we attribute this success directly back to the efforts of our staff. These intentional, positive connections between this type of measureable student achievement data and the efforts of our PLCs is how you build CTE.
The examples of successful teams and, quite frankly, unsuccessful teams, exists in everything from sports to politics. In our schools, we must begin by creating PLCs focused on improving outcomes for all students, and as school leaders we must cultivate environments that allow those teams to believe in the positive power of their collective efforts. I challenge you to find those moments, tell the stories where success is happening, celebrate those together with your teams, and watch your PLCs grow to the next level.
Felecia Evans is currently serving in her sixth year as the principal of Lander Elementary School in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Evans is also the OAESA Board of Directors Minority Rep. The author can be reached via email at fevans@mayfieldschools.org and via Twitter at @eduleadinglady.
BY PAUL G. YOUNG, PH.D.
Want to put a good idea into action this year? Your school community can offer the equivalent of 70+ days of expanded learning time for your students by providing an afterschool program. 1 Already have one? Make it better with improved collaboration. Don’t have one yet, but interested? You don’t need to feel that adding an afterschool program will become another responsibility to your already full plate. The most effective afterschool programs are collaborative partnerships that improve schools by sharing responsibility for success.
THE ORIGIN OF 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS (21ST CCLC)
Historically, afterschool programming has been provided by community organizations such as the YMCA, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 4-H, and various forms of communitybased for-and-nonprofit organizations. However, in the mid1990s, new research demonstrated the benefits of afterschool programs. With increased numbers of parents working outside of the home, the issue of afterschool care was brought to the attention of federal policymakers. The initial funding for what became known as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers was folded into The Improving America’s Schools Act, the 1994 reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA), later called the No Child Left Behind Act and now known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 2 Today, federal 21st CCLC multi-year grants are awarded to schools and community-based organizations via state regulatory agencies.
DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION MODELS
As a result of expanded resources, many new school-based afterschool programs have been developed in the past 10-15 years. In those targeted places where 21st CCLC funding was made available, some flourished, others did not. According to surveys, the most significant reason for failure was lack of administrative (principal) support. In many cases, principals found themselves appointed to schools without awareness of the grant requirements or simply did not buy-in. Feedback also showed that principals were overwhelmed with regular day-today responsibilities and could not devote their time and energy to organizing, managing, and supervising the afterschool program.
Principals should never have to shoulder full responsibility for administering afterschool programs.
However, to best meet the needs of kids, afterschool programs do need some amount of a principals’ time, attention, and support. Each setting is unique. The most effective models
share responsibility for success by allocating adequate space, determining responsibilities, aligning the curriculum, and establishing effective communications between school and afterschool. COLLABORATION BETWEEN NAESP AND NAA In recognition of the expansion of afterschool programs within schools, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) published Leading After-School Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do in 2006. 3 A copy of the book was mailed to each of the 30,000+ members, but it later became a must-read among those responsible for administering afterschool programs—the site leaders—who desperately sought insights about how to engage principals in discussion and gain their support. In 2009, NAESP and the National Afterschool Association (NAA) scheduled a joint national convention in New Orleans to engage principals and afterschool professionals in that important conversation and to showcase effective school and school-community program models. WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED Following that 2009 convention, feedback from surveys from subsequent trainings in most states indicated what afterschool program leaders wanted most from principals. The most prevalent responses included:
• an understanding of what quality looks like in afterschool programs, • help establishing and clarifying the program vision, • communication of program needs to school-day staff, • a strong connection between school and afterschool, • open-mindedness, • visibility in the afterschool program, • designation of program space and elimination of turf issues, • regular meetings with program leaders, • shared authority, and • help with recruiting and hiring staff. Likewise, when asked what principals wanted most from afterschool program leaders, the results were: • shared vision, • consistency with student discipline expectations and consequences, • program variety – principals did not want afterschool programming to be more of what students experienced during the school day, • confidence and empowerment to handle day-to-day issues, • flexibility, and • administrator mindset. 4 IMPLICATIONS FOR PRINCIPALS If you are new to afterschool, you don’t have to recreate the wheel to develop a high-quality program. There are numerous training venues and consultants within the state that can support your effort. Programs succeed when principals show evidence of support, maintain visibility, communicate regularly with program staff, insist on quality, and work to align student learning between school and afterschool. TOOLS FOR BOOSTING COLLABORATION Many tools that support school and afterschool collaboration emerged from the NAESP/NAA trainings. Most beneficial were a Responsibility Checklist 5
and a weekly 20-Minute Meeting Agenda Template to be shared by program leaders and principals. Both can be obtained from the Ohio AfterSchool Network (or contact me directly). My book, Principal Matters: 101 Tips for Creating Collaborative Relationships Between After-School Programs and School Leaders (2009), was designed to help new afterschool program leaders understand the tenets of leadership, initiate important conversations, and recognize why a principal may or may not be able to address every issue to their satisfaction. Additionally, model templates of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), quality standards, core competencies for staff, and curriculum models were shared to affirm decisions, address concerns, and guide practices for sharing people, places, programs, problems, and progress. THE WEST AFTER SCHOOL CENTER (LANCASTER) My venture into the afterschool realm of education came during my final principalship at West School in Lancaster (1996-2005). The school was one of the district’s most challenged. The staff “The most effective afterschool programs are collaborative partnerships that improve schools by sharing responsibility for success.”
and I recognized that there wasn’t enough time during the school day for many kids to learn everything they needed to know and be able to do. That awareness led to the welcoming of community volunteers to tutor and provide homework assistance for dozens of our most needy students in the neighboring Sixth Avenue United Methodist Church from 3:30-5:00 p.m. after school. The initial program was totally managed and staffed by volunteers. Despite tremendous enthusiasm, it became obvious that it would be very difficult to rely upon the volunteers to sustain the program. Grant funding helped provide paid staff, but my experience with substantial grants such as the 21st CCLC was that programs became unsustainable once the grant ended. Our best and most lasting decision was to form a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization which enabled community leaders to interact and support the West School initiative while being separate and different from what sometimes were constraints of the public school.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both school-based and community-based afterschool programs. As Jamie Volmer, author of Schools Cannot Do It Alone, writes, “We cannot touch the system without touching the culture of the surrounding town; everything that goes on in a school is tied to local attitudes, values, traditions, and beliefs.” As the leader of your school, you must work in harmony with others to establish what works best for you and your afterschool professionals in your unique setting.
How do I know that school-afterschool programming works? Within a few short years of our sustained collaborative planning and work, prior to my tenure as NAESP president, West School students and staff from grades 1, 4, and 6, with support of community volunteers from the West After School Center, earned the highest district reading scores!
Were there obstacles? Certainly. But with a clear vision, strong commitment, determination, and sustained support from community leaders, the West After School Center is poised to celebrate its 20th year of existence and has expanded services to all district elementary and middle schools.
Our fledgling volunteer initiative flourished because of a strong, shared vision, intentional connections with afterschool experts, commitment from countless school and community leaders with heads working together, and a principal who was wise enough, fortunately, to say yes much more often than no.
Dr. Paul G. Young, a past-president of OAESA, also served as President of both the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National AfterSchool Association (NAA). He most recently retired as an adjunct professor of music and education classes at Ohio University-Lancaster. He has written extensively on topics of school leadership, school and afterschool alignment, teacher preparation, and more. His books for principals and afterschool professionals can be found on Amazon.com. He has led training workshops throughout the country for school and afterschool leaders and is a frequent presenter at the OAESA Professional Conference. He can be contacted via email at paulyoungohio@gmail.com or Twitter @paulyoungohio.
Recommended Reading Bodilly, S. & Beckett, M. (2005). Making Out-of-School-Time Matter: Evidence for an Action Agenda. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation (for the Wallace Foundation).
National Association of Elementary School Principals. (2006). Leading After-School Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do. Alexandria, VA: NAESP.
National Institute on Out-of-School Time (2011). Connecting School and Afterschool: 15 Ways to Improve Partnerships. (www.niost.org)
Hansen, M. (2009). Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity, and Reap Big Results. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Vollmer, J. (2010). Schools Cannot Do It Alone. Fairfield, IA: Enlightenment Press.
Young, P. (2009). Principal Matters: 101 Tips for Creating Collaborative Relationships Between After-School Programs and School Leaders. Lewisville, NC: Gryphon House/ExtendED Notes.
Web Resources Afterschool Alliance (afterschoolalliance.org): The Alliance works to ensure that all youth have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs by engaging public will to increase public and private investment in afterschool program initiatives at the national, state, and local levels.
The 50 State Afterschool Network (statewideafterschoolnetworks.net): The 50 State Afterschool Network fosters partnerships and policies to develop, support, and sustain high-quality opportunities for children and youth.
Ohio AfterSchool Network (ohioafterschoolnetwork.org): The Ohio Afterschool Network (OAN) is an organization of stakeholders working together throughout the state to help children and youth succeed.
National AfterSchool Association (naaweb.org): NAA is the membership association for professionals who work with children and youth in diverse school and community-based settings to provide a wide variety of extended learning opportunities and care during out-of-school hours.
National Association of Elementary School Principals (afterschool.naesp.org): NAESP has collected and vetted a variety of resources to help principals and other school leaders expand quality afterschool and summer learning programs.
Crowdfunding best practices for K-12 public schools
Public schools have long used donations to enrich students’ academic experience and fund materials that budgets cannot always afford. Crowdfunding is becoming a viable funding source, filling resource gaps and providing strategic acceleration for academic programs. However, because the practice may be misunderstood, it may result in unexpected liabilities without the proper partners and safeguards in place.
Horace Mann is a national sponsor of DonorsChoose.org, an organization that connects teachers in need of classroom resources with donors who want to help. Schools served by Horace Mann representatives have received more than $486 million in classroom funding through DonorsChoose.org.
Horace Mann can help you learn how to implement crowdfunding best practices like these in your schools. • Crowdfunding guidance and which sites to trust • Financial accountability • Controls over materials and supplies • Safety and privacy
Horace Mann can host no-cost workshops to help your teachers understand how DonorsChoose.org works, how to set up a project and how to help make it a success. To learn more, contact your local Horace Mann representative.
