New Merhartbury Public Schools

Leadership Team Notes: Deep Dive & Strategic Leadership, Curriculum

As a result of this work we have identified:

OUR BIG ROCKS
1. Building instructional capacity
2. Holding all stakeholders to High Expectations/Urgency
3. Collaboration for community building

Part 1: Midyear analysis

Where are we going?

(goals, big rocks, bets)
List current initiatives for

Part 2: Strategic Leadership

How are we going?

(current performance/status)
Summarize related
data trends

Intentional Practices for

Improving Instruction

(3)Intervention Block

Students are having needs

addressed within a
homogeneous grouping,
progress monitoring data
is being collected weeklyData collected is not
consistent, so the data
may not be reliable

Where do we go to next?
(closing the gap)

Classify current status by color code

Green:
moving
forward

Yellow:
Some
momentum
but
encountering
roadblocks/
difficulty

Red:
Not yet
addressed/
at a standstill

Broad Leadership
Strategy or
Theory of Action
(Ifthen)

If teachers
understand
what high
quality
intervention
delivery is and if
we are
consistently
delivering
intervention,
analyzing data

10 Day
March
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark
*2 weeks from
now- what are we
going to do

10-30 Day
April
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark
*30 days after

Consider
this
30-45 Day
May
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark
*30-45 days after

List additional
drivers and/or
preventers that
may impact goal.

and monitoring
progress then
our student
achievement
will improve.

(4) Scaffolding of
student work
(1)Tier I Instruction

(2)Data Teams

We have looked at how

teachers are scaffolding
and differentiating work
with data teams, however
this is not always a focus
We have universal
assessments
However these
assessments are not
necessarily aligned with
our curriculum
DIBELS is more closely
aligned with our K-3
curriculum, however
becomes very limited in
grade 3 and beyond.
We have curriculumbased measures but no
data to show that they
are using this data to
monitor and adjust
instruction.
Breadth vs. depth
Our focus changes from
week-to-week and we
feel that our focus is
scattered and then affects
the followthrough/follow-up; the
culture and buy-in of
adult learners is marked
by passive-aggressiveness

X (1)

X (2)

Individual Coaching
Sessions

and lack of preparedness

is perpetuated by a
culture that lack selfreflection
Modeling is the go-to
term, but when we
explore this deeper with
teachers to see what
needs are and how they
can be supported,
teachers are not asking
for modeling they are
asking for support relating
to planning
Not sure what data to
collect/use to set
priorities, monitor and
adjust

X (2)

Part 1: Midyear analysis

Where are we going?

(goals, big rocks, bets)
List current initiatives for

Part 2: Strategic Leadership

How are we going?

(current performance/status)
Summarize related
data trends

Leadership, Shared
Responsibility, and
Collaboration

Structures

Leadership team minutes

show that our meetings
have been more
consistent

Leadership Team Meetings

Leadership Chart of
Responsibilities

Ongoing communication
among team members

(1)Leadership

(2)Collaborative

Processes
- 5 days of common
planning time
- Teachers co-planning
- Staff Meetings
- Data teams

Chart exists but not

shared with staff, does
not guide daily activities
Sign In sheet at staff
meetings
Specials school-wide
schedule
Lesson plans are
consistent among grade
level teams
Not everyone is handing
them in consistently

Where do we go to next?
(closing the gap)

Classify current status by color code

Green:
moving
forward

Yellow:
Some
momentum
but
encountering
roadblocks/
difficulty

X (2)

X(2)

Red:
Not yet
addressed/
at a standstill

Broad Leadership
Strategy or
Theory of Action
(Ifthen)

10 Day
March
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

10-30 Day
April
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

Consider
this
30-45 Day
May
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

List additional
drivers and/or
preventers that
may impact goal.

(3)Professional

Sign In Sheets

Development

Protraxx sign up

Learning Walks
Walkthroughs
District and in-house
offerings

Powerpoints and handouts

Feedback letters from
learning walks and
notecatchers
*Staff signing up to
provide in-house PD
during staff meetings
Follow-up and transfer of
learning on the part of the
teachers-data is missing

(4)The evaluation

process
- Informal and Formal
- Co-evaluators
- Walkthroughs

No set schedule of
learning walks
Teachscape
SLOs
Pre- and post-conferences
No set schedule of
walkthroughs

Where are we going?

(goals, big rocks, bets)
List current initiatives for

How are we going?

(current performance/status)
Summarize related
data trends

Providing Student-Specific
Instruction and Supports
for all Students

Where do we go to next?
(closing the gap)

Classify current status by color code

Green:
moving
forward

Yellow:
Some
momentum
but
encountering
roadblocks/
difficulty

(1) RTI/SRBI
Intervention Block

Intervention Planning
document and Progress
Monitoring data collectorinconsistent

(3)SAT Process

SAT data shows

consistent meetings, but
lack of consistent
membership

(2)Behavior
Response Team
(Reflection Room)

BRT team has met, but

this process is
inconsistent and meetings
are inconsistent, should
be based on SWIS data

Red:
Not yet
addressed/
at a standstill

Broad Leadership
Strategy or
Theory of Action
(Ifthen)

10 Day
March
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

10-30 Day
April
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

Consider
this
30-45 Day
May
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

List additional
drivers and/or
preventers that
may impact goal.

(6) PPT/Special
Education

Large caseloads
Influx of high needs
students- 6 coming from
self-contained classrooms
PPTs happening regularly
PPTs interfering with
service delivery

X
*Red
for the
district
* Green
for MLK

IEP Compliance Monitor

(6) English Language

Support

Inadequate adult support,

either not written into IEP
or we are unable to offer
Large caseloads

Many Level 1 and 2

speakers
Home-Language Survey

(5)Small Group
Instruction

(4)Differentiation
within the classroom

LAS Links
Confines of daily schedule
(time allotments)
Lesson Plans
*No evidence to show
if/how small group
breakouts are happening
in core content
Lesson plans
*No evidence to show
if/how core content is
being differentiated for

(scaffolding, CFAs, etc)

diverse learning needs

Where are we going?

(goals, big rocks, bets)
List current initiatives for

How are we going?

(current performance/status)
Summarize related
data trends

Safe, orderly and respectful

learning environments.

Classify current status by color code

Green:
moving
forward

Culture

(4)Keeping staff
informed

-Staff Bulletin
-Protraxx
-Master calendar

(2)Morale

- Lack of relationships

Relationship building
- Build relationships
and trust
-Staff breakfast
-Holiday celebrations
-Blue Ribbon classrooms
-Tiger Paws
-Kindly Acts
Supporting staff
-Professional Development
-Staff Forum
-Union School Committee

-Lack of trust
-Collegial Conversations
-Have lots of incentives,
not always geared
towards staff

Where do we go to next?
(closing the gap)

Yellow:
Some
momentum
but
encountering
roadblocks/
difficulty

X (3)

X (2)

Red:
Not yet
addressed/
at a standstill

Broad Leadership
Strategy or
Theory of Action
(Ifthen)

10 Day
March
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

10-30 Day
April
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

Consider
this
30-45 Day
May
Strategic
Leadership Action
and Benchmark

List additional
drivers and/or
preventers that
may impact goal.

(3)PBIS

(1)Professionalism
Accountability

There is a need to have a

culture where there is an
openness to give/accept
constructive feedback, feel
personally responsible for
your actions and be held
accountable as part of fair
and transparent
processes/procedures

- Celebrating students and

staff
- Student incentives
- School-wide assemblies
-Climate and culture
classes
-Reflection room
-School-wide and
classroom expectations
and routines
- Lack of openness
to accept
constructive
feedback
- Staff sign-in
- Following
procedures
- Meeting deadlines
- Feedback given to
staff
(on lesson plans and
behaviors)
-School-wide expectations
(i.e. checking e-mail)
-Staff Handbook (?)
School-wide access and
review
-Holding teachers
accountable

X (2)

X (1)