Stamford Public Schools Studying District Culture Through ... 5/LH 3 Stamford... · • We’ve...

4/6/2017

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Stamford Public Schools

Studying District Culture

Through Survey Data

March 2, 2017

Copyright 2017 by The Iowa Association of School Boards/Connecticut Lighthouse

4/6/2017

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Expected Outcomes

�Renewed understanding of the 7 Conditions

�How the Conditions Survey gauges the

presence of the 7 Conditions in the district

� Study the results of the Conditions Survey

Survey Data

� What Conditions for Success exist?

� What are our shared Beliefs?

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Participation

Stamford

RolesSurveys

Completed

Surveys

Started

Board Member 8 11

Building-Level Admin 27 34

District Central Office 16 19

Teacher 351 492

Total 402 556

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Aggregate Conditions Means, C1-C7

Stamford

Condition 1: Connections Across the System 2.36

Condition 2: Knowing What it Takes to Change Achievement 2.9

Condition 3: Workplace Support 2.86

Condition 4: Professional Development 2.47

Condition 5: A Balance Between District-Wide Direction and Building-

Level Autonomy2.79

Condition 6: A Strong Community Connection 2.63

Condition 7: Distributed Leadership 2.6

Aggregate Conditions Means by Role

Stamford

Condition 1: Connections Across the System

Condition 2: Knowing What it Takes to Change Achievement

Condition 3: Workplace Support

Condition 4: Professional Development

Condition 5: A Balance Between District-Wide Direction and Building-Level Autonomy

Condition 6: A Strong Community Connection

Condition 7: Distributed Leadership

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The 7 Conditions

1

Connections Across the System

�A self renewing professional community with

appropriately shared decision making

�School personnel feel connected and an important

part of the system

�Sense of a shared purpose

What does it look like?

What Indicators should we see as evidence of this Condition?

�Shared decision making

�Flow of information

�Emphasis on continuous improvement

�Connectedness

�Shared purpose

�Moral purpose

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Condition 1: Connections Across the System

Stamford

Question/Role Board MemberDistrict Central

OfficeBuilding-Level

AdminTeacher

C1Q12) Resources (people, time, money) in the district are aligned to the improvement goals.

1.62 2.38 2.44 2.02

C1Q20) The board of education considers information from many sources when making decisions.

2.50 3.18 2.58 2.25

C1Q29) Everyone has an opportunity (regardless of whether they represent the board, administration, teachers, or support staff) to become involved in decision making.

2.00 2.40 2.56 2.16

C1Q36) Continuous instructional improvement is the focus of all groups in this school district.

2.25 2.75 2.92 2.87

Open Ended Questions:

Condition 1

C1Q11. Describe how decisions are made in

the district. (379)

• Top/Down (242) 64%

• Collaboratively (55)

• Using data (17)

• No clear decision making process(65)

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C1Q11 Representative Comments• We follow what central office dictates.

• Decisions have been made in the past from Top Down

• Top down. Administrators downtown dictate to the administrators at the building level. Building principals have some input in how to improve the needs of the population. Teachers have little input.

• I am not clear on the decision making process in my district. As a teacher, it seems like every year or two there is a new plan, program or strategy to improve student performance without a clear explanation as to why we are making change.

The 7 Conditions

2

Knowing What it Takes to Change Achievement

�Developing a culture for learning

�Organizational structure that supports that

culture

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What indicators should we see as evidence?� Use of data

� Support for staff learning

� Focus on implementation and outcomes

� District-wide alignment of vision and goals

� Alignment of curriculum, instruction and assessment

� Focus on teaching and learning – PD

� Allocation of resources

� Clear focus

� Systemic change

Condition 2: Knowing What it Takes to Change Achievement

Stamford



AdminTeacher

C2Q5) Our district has a small number of clear and focused goals for improving student achievement.

2.25 2.69 2.30 2.56

C2Q13) Our improvement goals are based on data and information about student learning.

3.12 3.13 3.19 3.11

C3Q22) Time is designated regularly in the work calendar (day/week/month) for small groups/teams to meet and work together to improve instruction and student learning.

3.50 2.93 3.15 2.98

C2Q37) Student achievement improves as a result of professional development inthis school district.

2.43 2.88 3.23 2.86

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Open Ended Questions:

Condition 2

C2Q19. Describe how teaching and learning

get better in your district. (257)

• PD (68 - 26%)

• Collaboration (61 – 24%)

• Quality teaching/instruction (34)

• Data Teams (24)

• Strong leadership (21)

• Don’t know (20)

• It doesn’t (17)

Condition 2 Question 19

Representative reponses

• Through effective training of our teachers

• We’ve gotten better PD and our curriculum is tighter than ever so there’s

more consistency between teachers and grade levels.

• Teaching gets better through a balance of effective, meaningful

professional development, active use of the development, and time to

reflect and discuss methods, scores, and new learning.

• IDT and more collaboration with colleagues

• Efficient collaboration and planning time

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What are the top 1or 2 improvement goals for this district? (294)

• Improve Student Achievement (109– 37%)

• Improve climate and culture (67)

• Close the achievement gap (51)

• Improve test scores (30)

• Not clear/Don’t know (24)

• Improve attendance (13)

Condition 2: Question 28

C2 Q28 Representative Comments

• Increase reading and math scores

• Every student is being prepared for college.

Improvement in reading, writing and math

scores.

• Literacy gains, specifically in our black,

Hispanic, and EL populations.

• I’d have to look at the website to find out.

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The 7 Conditions

3

Workplace Support

�Support to staff focused on improving student

learning


What Indicators should we see as

evidence?� Efficacy

� Time allocation

� Collaborative practices

� Transparency & shared responsibility

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Stamford


Stamford



AdminTeacher

C3Q6) Staff members are confident in their ability to make significant improvement in student learning.

2.29 2.44 2.93 3.08

C3Q14) Teachers and administrators are currently organized into small groups/teams that exist to improve student learning.

3.12 2.92 3.08 3.03

C3Q22) Time is designated regularly in the work calendar (day/week/month) for small groups/teams to meet and work together to improve instruction and student learning.

3.50 2.93 3.15 2.98

C3Q30) Teams in this district are interdependent with other groups all working to improve student learning.

2.14 2.33 2.42 2.45

C3Q45) Teachers, administrators and the board in this district see working collaboratively as an important part of improving student achievement.

2.25 3.13 3.00 2.72

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C3 Q35 Of all the leadership groups that exist in your

district, name the one or two that have the biggest

influence on improving instruction? (89)

• Building administrators (59/229 – 26%)

• Data Teams (48)

• Teachers/Staff (41)

• Central Office Administrators (34)

• Don’t know/not sure (32)

• Curriculum Committees (15)

C3 Q5 Representative Comments

• Administrative teams at the school level can

make a significant impact on student learning.

• Building Leaders/Principals, District Data Team

• Teachers have the biggest influence on

improving student learning.

• The leadership groups that currently exist

have no positive influence on student

learning.

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The 7 Conditions

4

Professional Development

�Purpose

�Process

�Professional learning



evidence?

�Embedded PD

�Reflective & linked to content, instruction &

outcomes

�Evidence based

�Impacts student learning

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Stamford


Stamford



AdminTeacher

C4Q23) Staff members participate in professional development as a part of a team.

2.83 3.12 3.33 3.15

C4Q31) Professional development activities are focused on learning a limited number of new instructional practices through ongoing training over time with a system to support implementation.

2.00 2.31 2.12 2.13

C4Q39) Student achievement improves as a result of professional development in this school district.

2.50 3.21 2.77 2.34

C4Q46) Professional development as conducted in this district is a good use of the district's resources.

2.50 2.87 2.54 2.09

C4Q54) Professional development in this district focuses on student needs, over adult needs and preferences.

2.25 2.80 2.80 2.60

C4Q59) Professional development is a priority in this district and is supported with adequate time and resources.

2.75 2.60 2.60 2.20

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C4 Q43 Describe the impact of your professional

development experiences over the past year on

improving instruction. (275)

• Very little impact/ none (165/275 – 60%)

• Positive/Improving (110/275 – 40%)

Q43 C4 Representative comments

• Little classroom application of strategies taught in

PD's.

• The PD is a travesty overall. It doesn't allow for

personal growth and teachers expressing WHAT they

need for PD.

• The social studies PD I received in the last three years

has been better than I received in the 11 years prior.

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The 7 Conditions

5

A Balance Between District-wide Direction &

Building Level Autonomy

�Focus & direction based on district & school-level

data

�District focus – flexibility at the school level

�Equity



evidence?

�Relentless use of data & information

�District-wide alignment

�Use of action research processes

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Stamford


Stamford



AdminTeacher

C5Q4) School building leaders have some autonomy in making decisions based on student data.

3.75 3.19 3.30 3.12

C5Q8) In this district there is a clear districtwide direction and focus for improving student learning.

2.12 2.88 2.41 2.49

C5Q16) In this district there is a balance between districtwide direction and building level autonomy for improving student learning.

2.38 2.80 2.67 2.34

C5Q24) There is strong agreement that decisions in our district must be based on data.

3.00 3.12 3.23 3.08

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C5 Q62 Describe how district leaders and

building leaders work together. (151)

• Don’t know/not sure (54 – 36%)

• They meet and communicate regularly (44)

• Collaboratively (22– 15%)

• Building leaders told what to do (22)

• They don’t (9)

C5 Q62 Describe how district leaders and

building leaders work together.

• This is not information available to teachers, such as myself. There are meetings but the information is often not brought back to the building sites and teaching staff.

• It is unclear to me how they collaborate. There seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction. I have worked in this district K – 12 and the sentiment has been the same across the board.

• They meet regularly, I think, but I don’t know what is discussed.

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The 7 Conditions

6

A Strong Community Connection

� How to generate community involvement

� Shared responsibility for improvement



evidence?� Close connection to the community

�Distinctions between professional & lay communities

are “blurred”

� Community involvement in district functions

�District responsive to community needs

� Shared responsibility for district success

� Frequent acknowledgement of community support

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Stamford


Stamford



AdminTeacher

C6Q9) The school district aggressively seeks community involvement.

2.62 2.88 2.69 2.86

C6Q25) Community members are well informed about student achievement.

1.62 2.53 2.64 2.62

C6Q38) Community members take responsibility for helping to ensure the school district meets its improvement goals.

1.50 2.36 2.30 2.09

C6Q47) This school district communicates openly about needed improvements as well as strengths.

2.62 2.87 2.65 2.45

C6Q60) Community members believe that high standards of achievement are reasonable expectations for all students.

2.43 3.07 3.26 3.07

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Open Ended Question: Condition 6

C6Q53 Describe how community

members are involved in school

improvement (251)

• PTO/PTAC/SpEd PAC (53– 21%)

• Don’t know (41 – 16%)

• Volunteers (38)

• They are not/very little (28)

• Corporate support (19)

• Community agencies (17)

• Parents (13)44Copyright 2006 by The Iowa School

Boards Foundation

C6 Q53 cont’d

• School Governance Council (12)

• Fund raising/grants (12)

• Mentoring (10)

• Board of Education (8)

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C6 Q53: Representative comments

• Principally through Parent Teacher Organizations at the

school and district levels.

• Parental involvement seems to decrease as students

enter higher grades.

• I see minimal community involvement.

• Grants, participation in big school events, donations.

The 7 Conditions

7

Distributed Leadership

�Broad-based leadership

�Strong, dynamic & sensitive

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What Indicators should we see as evidence?

�Found & supported at all levels

�Focus on “what we do well”

�Collaborative, collegial & democratic

�Focused on solving problems

Condition 7: Distributed Leadership

Stamford



AdminTeacher

C7Q18) The leadership in this district keeps the focus on the priority student learning goals in order to succeed.

2.67 2.69 3.04 2.66

C7Q26) Leaders in this district help others solve problems and create solutions.

2.71 2.94 3.08 2.37

C7Q40) Leaders in this district create a sense of urgency for improvement.

1.88 3.07 2.88 2.88

C7Q50) There is shared leadership in this school district.

1.88 2.60 3.04 2.45

C7Q56) The board team can describe the level of student achievement in the district.

2.75 3.00 2.53 2.40

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Open Ended Question: Condition 7

C7Q61 Describe the role of leaders within the

system. (358)

• Negative/No leadership (54 – 15%)

• Instructional leadership/supervision/

motivating teachers (33 – 9%)

• Support teachers/instruction – inspire (33 –

9%)

• Setting & communicating the

mission/vision/goals/direction (11)

• Combined 12% 50

C7Q61 Cont’d

• Day to day management (11)

• Maintain order(7)

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C7 Q61 Representative comments

• They run the show. . . Underlings are never asked for input.

• I’m not sure of their role, once they leave the classroom to become “leaders” they forget what it’s like to be in there.

• To inform, support, and guide instruction with parents, teachers, students, and community members

• To guide, influence, and support the teachers by providing positive environments and timely/updated materials and strategies that will improve student learning

• To lead with wisdom and information. To usher innovation.

Stamford Public Schools

Studying District Culture

Through Survey Data

Part 2

April 6, 2017

Copyright 2017 by The Iowa Association of School Boards/Connecticut Lighthouse

4/6/2017

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Beliefs

4/6/2017

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Beliefs Survey - Beliefs Statement Averages

Stamford


Stamford

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Stamford


Stamford

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Beliefs Survey - Students Achieving at or above Grade Level (BQ44 and BQ48)

Stamford

BQ48) Percentages of Expectations of Student Future Acheivement

Stamford

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Q48) Expectations of Student Achievement by Role

Stamford

BQ48) Reasons for Perception of Expected Achievement

Stamford

RoleBoard

Member

Building-Level Admin

District Central Office

Teacher Total

Feedback from graduates of our school district 3 2 39 44

I believe all children are capable of learning 7 17 11 185 220

Results of state and/or national standardized tests 5 11 7 133 156

We have quality teachers 8 14 4 172 198

The number of our graduates who go on to college 4 4 2 67 77

The parent participation and support in our school district

2 6 2 69 79

Our class size 2 3 2 60 67

Other 2 7 3 43 55

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Stamford

Q63) In your district, what would it take for all students to achieve at a higher level?

RoleBoard

MemberBuilding-

Level Admin


Teacher Total

Parental Support 8 21 9 287 325

More State Funds 8 15 6 169 198

Quality instruction 4 24 13 171 212

Combined Admin/Teacher Support 7 23 12 214 256

More 1x1 / Smaller Class 7 17 9 297 330

Student Willingness 7 16 5 244 272

Other 3 8 3 77 91

Q64) What has the biggest impact on student learning?

RoleBoard

Member


Building-Level Admin

Teacher Total

The student's parents 8 9 16 270 303

The student him/herself 6 9 16 253 284

Family income 5 3 6 78 92

Student's racial or ethnic background 2 33 35

The student's teachers 6 16 25 253 300

The school administration 3 6 13 97 119

The school board 2 4 4 42 52

Other 2 7 42 51

So what…Now what?

�How can these data be used?

�What is the most compelling issue to address?

�What becomes your focus?

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Copyright 2017 by The Iowa School Boards Foundation/Connecticut Lighthouse

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