#INspirEDleaders
February 2020, Vol.10
Celebrate Black History Month
February is Black History Month. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) joins with our schools in recognizing and celebrating this month through classroom and school-community activities.
The National Education Association offers these resources, and Scholastic, Inc, has these materials available to educators.
New and Improved Professional Development Menu
By: Sarah Rush, School Improvement Specialist
Common Formative Assessments: The What, The Why, The How
A Common Formative Assessment (CFA) is a team-designed, intentional measure used for the purpose of monitoring student attainment of essential learning targets throughout the instructional process. CFAs measure student progress without the pressure of high-stakes testing, while still providing teachers the data necessary to determine team-level interventions. Additionally, CFAs are a critical piece to PLCs which provide designated time for teachers and leaders to reflect on the most effective instructional practices based on current student outcomes. Please consider reviewing the process of creating common formative assessments by accessing our newly recreated professional development resource found here.
Evaluating My Impact on Student Learning
By: Diane Vielee, School Improvement Specialist
Over the next few months, we will dive into John Hattie’s new book, 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning: Teaching for Success. These powerful mindframes should underpin every action in schools and are founded on the principle that teachers are evaluators, change agents, learning experts, and seekers of feedback who are constantly engaged with dialogue and challenge.” (Hattie & Zierer, 2018)
The first mindframe, or behavior, is “I am an evaluator of my impact on student learning.” Some critical factors to consider:
Ensure all students experience academic achievement;
Understand the importance of responding to data from formative evaluations;
Utilize Response to Intervention (RTI) to guarantee students with learning difficulties experience academic success; and
Maximize teacher impact through diagnosis, intervention, evaluation, and quality implementation.
For more information, click here.
Panorama Survey Required for All CSI Designated Schools
By: Tarrell Berry, School Improvement Specialist
For the continued support of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools, Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has again partnered with Panorama Education to administer a climate and culture survey. The use of Panorama's survey platform is mandatory for all CSI schools this year with no cost to districts. The survey window is February 3 to February 28. If your district has an existing contract with Panorama, please contact Tarrell Berry. After surveys are finalized, the IDOE will partner with Panorama to provide technical assistance with data analysis which should be used to complete a Comprehensive Needs Assessments (CNA) due October 2020. If you have any questions please contact Tarrell Berry.
Alternative Education Programs
Alternative education programs frequently enroll students who are pregnant and parenting. While helping students to achieve their goals, programs can also help parents ensure that students’ children are meeting critical early childhood milestones. The CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” (LTSAE) has free research-based, parent-friendly resources to help students understand and track their child’s development while also providing simple strategies to implement at home.
For more information, please see Act Early Indiana.
How Evident is Your Vision and Mission?
By: John Purcell, School Improvement Specialist
“When you have superb alignment, a visitor could drop into your organization from another planet and infer the vision without having to read it on paper.” (Jim Collins, Leader to Leader, 1996)
School missions are not statements but the driving force behind what each person does in the school every day. Without words, the mission is clear. It is seen, felt, and heard throughout the school from the moment a person arrives and remains evident until he or she leaves. A school’s mission comes from a shared vision by everyone in the school and is rooted in a unified purpose that puts students and their learning at the forefront.
Schools with strong professional learning communities (PLC) have a crystal clear vision, mission, and purpose. They are the driving force behind every decision, shape the culture of the school, and leave no doubt that each person in the school is committed to learning and to one another.
Leadership Spotlight
Dr. Colleen Moran- Superintendent, North Montgomery Community School District
Dr. Collen Moran has served in the North Montgomery Community School Corporation for the past nine years. As superintendent of a rural district, she has built strong relationships with the community, as well as with the students and staff. Dr. Moran can always be seen with a smile on her face, and she has kept her finger on the pulse of the entire community. Over the past few years, Dr. Moran has expanded the early learning academy, incorporating three and four year olds. Also, over the past few years when she began noticing that students were lacking resiliency, Dr. Moran went full-steam ahead in growing the district's knowledge and practice of brain-aligned, social-emotional practices. She has brought in Dr. Lori Desautels to work with the staff, and the district has started weekly lessons centered on neuroanatomy, including Mindful Mondays. These practices are also being used by the staff, with the monthly recognition of teachers who have demonstrated exemplary brain-aligned strategies. Dr. Moran is described as the embodiment of an exceptional educational leader. Her professionalism and support for her staff have created a true sense of community within her district.
Dr. Brad Bakle - Principal, Cedarville Elementary School
Dr. Brad Bakle is serving his 13th year as principal of Cedarville Elementary in East Allen County Schools. During his time as principal, Cedarville has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School and a Four Star School. With Dr. Bakle’s leadership, the school is seen as a safe-haven for all students. He believes it is critical to develop trust and collegiality with the families, as well as the entire community. Dr. Bakle’s believes leaders should be reflective instead of reactive, and he always works to keep a sense of humor. Dr. Bakle listens to those in his building, and he is frequently seeking advice from others. Dr. Bakle loves the work at Cedarville Elementary and looks forward to the continued work of building a culture of trust.
Leadership Spotlight Nominations
Upcoming Opportunities
OSI Regional Training
The Office of School Improvement will be at a location near you this winter offering free professional development workshops for teachers and leaders. The sessions include Identifying High Priority Standards and Unpacking Standards, Creating Instructional Calendars, Creating Common Formative Assessments, and Culturally-Responsive Teaching. The training is targeted towards ELA and math teachers from Kindergarten through eighth grade.
Space is limited at each location. Learn more and register here.
2020 School Improvement Summit
Please contact Sarah Rush with any questions.
MTSS Leadership Academy
Vape Education and Prevention Regional Training
To see dates, locations, and to register follow this link.
The School Improvement Resource Hub
The School Improvement Resource Hub is designed to provide educators with access to tools that can be adopted or adapted to support locally-driven school improvement efforts. Additional guidance is provided to (1) describe potential ways to use each tool, (2) outline strategies for getting started with each tool, and (3) share background information on the individual tools.
Given the importance of cultural responsiveness in each of the five sections of the resource hub, tools that address this topic are integrated into each of the sections of the School Improvement Resource Hub. To make it easier to identify these resources, the tools from each section of the resource hub that address cultural responsiveness are available on this webpage.
Connect with us on Twitter!
According to edsurge.com, 4.2 million tweets a day are related to education conversations. This is a great way to connect with other leaders in the education world. We invite you to connect with us and each other!
1. Tweet about all things in LEADERSHIP using #INspirEDleaders
2. Follow the hashtag and connect with other leaders around the state
3. Follow @EducateIN for the latest updates from Indiana Department of Education
4. Follow @LeclaireRobin, @MelissaABlossom, @DVielee, @sarah_rush1, and @scott_jaws for the latest from the SI team
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Melissa Blossom
@MelissaABlossom
Tarrell Berry
John Purcell
Scott Jaworski
@scott_jaws
Diane Vielee
@DVielee
Sarah Rush
@sarah_rush1