Part+2+-+District+Level

High Performance on the District Level
How well do you think the different entities in our school districts work together: Boards, Admin, Unions, etc..

Note: Page 107 "School boards in high-achieving districts are significantly different in their knowledge and beliefs than school boards in low-achieving districts"

Page 112 "Instead of asking about "total reading time" our strategic plan requested October and February reports of "direct reading instruction minutes" specifically excluding reading in the content areas and practice time. What became clear is that there were large variations in instructional time in grades 1-3. Not only were standard blocks different, but some schools were front loading, with more time in first grade than in third, and were more flexible in increasing catch-up time.

Page 116 The School Board and the Superintendent in the Kennewick School District used the Time and Focus to highlight the need for proportional increases of direct instruction focused on deficient skills. What policies in our district have a similar instructional impact?

Increasing assessments across grade levels to provide teachers specific, timely data consistently produced increases in reading proficiency. What additional data would help me diagnose students' skill deficiencies and help me better target my direct instruction?

Page 118 Until you change your behavior, you cannot really change deep, embedded beliefs


 * Page 120**
 * Dr. Kame'enui "Teachers cannot be the conductors and composers of the curriculum. The job of the teacher is to conduct the curriculum in a way to benefit all kids."**

Page 124 Leaders across the Kennewick School District reflect that belief systems had to change to meet the 90% Reading Goal. They also report that behavior had to change before beliefs would change. In what ways does this observation parallel my professional experience?

In the past teachers often created their own curriculum materials. Which approach do you believe is most effective: for teachers to "compose and conduct" the curriculum or for teachers to focus on "conducting" the curriculum. Why?

Page 135 How would we describe the working relationship between our teachers' association and the district? How does this current relationship support increases in student achievement? How might it be hindering increases in student achievement? How would we like to see this relationship evolve?

How are we developing and using teacher leaders in our school and in our district to improve student achievement?

What are the pressure points and tipping points in our district? How are we responding?

Page 145 We never really leave our non-reading children behind. We may forget about them, but we are chained to them socially and economically. Like a ship and its anchor, we must either lift them up or drag them along behind us.