Case Studies

2016 – 2017

OUR CLIENT

Teaching Trust develops effective leaders at every level, within and across schools. Their three reinforcing programs develop school leaders, school leadership teams, and teacher-leaders at all levels to build leadership capacity in schools. At the conclusion of the 2016-17 school year, over 600 educators across Dallas-Fort Worth have participated in one of the following Teaching Trust programs:

1. Aspiring Leaders
2. Leadership Teams
3. Ed Fellows

THE NEED for the project

Teaching Trust’s Program Officer determined that program participants needed clear and finite action steps to support implementation of the three Teaching Trust strategic priorities or “big rocks” for the 2016-2017 school year:  student culture, instructional planning calendars and lesson plan alignment.

The Teaching Trust team also wanted objective data to benchmark progress toward successful implementation of the three big rocks.  Benchmark data helps guide Teaching Trust’s Leadership Development Directors (LDDs) as they coach principals on the appropriate action steps to take for successful implementation.

WHAT WAS THE PROJECT?

• BRES created Implementation Guides including resources and step by step directions on how to implement the three Teaching Trust big rocks.
• BRES completed School Diagnostics for each of the 30 schools in the Teaching Trust Teams Program at the beginning and end of the year consisting of evidence-based ratings for the three big rocks of student culture, instructional planning calendars and lesson plan alignment. The school diagnostics identify strengths, upgrades and action steps utilizing the implementation guides.

WHY WAS THIS PROJECT CHOSEN?

Which of the following two coaching actions will increase the chance a principal can implement the big rock of student transitions to fidelity?

Coaching Action One: provide step by step directions on how to implement, co-plan and work side by side with the principal during implementation

                                Five steps to upgrade student transitions during morning arrival:

1. Create a step by step system for transitions during morning arrival. More specifically what should adults and students be saying and doing?
2. Following the system in step one, create a rubric and observation form
3. Conduct initial professional development on the system with all pertinent staff
4. School leader and leadership team create an observation and feedback schedule to provide ongoing feedback and coaching using the observation form created in step two

• prework: initial norming and training on observation form
• ongoing norming and coaching with leadership team
• ongoing data-based scheduling of who to support and how often

5. Continue observation and feedback throughout the school year

Coaching Action Two: tell the principal that morning arrival data is low and upgrade that big rock

Coaching Action One is clearly the most impactful.  Thus the reason for the project; creating implementation guides with the Teaching Trust team and performing school diagnostics.

PROCESS FOR HOW THE PROJECT WAS IMPLEMENTED

• Collaborative conversations occurred with the Teaching Trust Leadership Development Directors (LDDs) and Program Officer to determine the greatest areas of need

• BRES / Teaching Trust framework and rubric created to clearly define and objectively assess three big rocks of student culture, instructional planning calendars and lesson plan alignment in preparation for the school diagnostics

• Implementation Guides created with resources and step by step directions on how to implement the three Teaching Trust big rocks on the framework

• School diagnostics performed twice during the school year using the BRES / Teaching Trust framework and rubrics to collect data and objectively assess three big rocks

• Report of findings presentation delivered at the end of each school diagnostics with data based strengths, upgrades and recommendations including step by step directions on how to implement, enabling the LDDs to work with the principals to make necessary changes and upgrades

CLIENT BENEFIT – where are they now?

• The implementation guides and school diagnostics were used by the Teaching Trust LDDs to prioritize the three high-impact big rocks – student culture, instructional planning calendars and lesson plan alignment – for the 2016-2017 school year and increase student achievement
• Click here for project results and student achievement gains!