Dallas ISD Curriculum Audit Progress Report November 6, 2008
Primary Observations 1. Ratings improved on nine of 17 recommendations, and decreased on two recommendations. 2. Over the last year, Dallas ISD made tremendous progress in building teacher and principal capacity. 3. More work is needed in some areas to achieve deep implementation of district initiatives.
Progress Review Activities Document Review Site Visit (September 15-19) 19) District-level Administrators: Superintendent and Chiefs (Teaching and Learning, Chief Academic Officer) Executive Directors in Teaching and Learning Content Area Directors Learning Community Executive Directors School Visits (23 schools) Principal Interviews Teacher Focus Groups
Rubric for Rating Progress
Theme: Curriculum and Academic Goals Recommendation #1: Define clear, specific, and rigorous academic objectives by grade and subject, beginning in the core content areas, that are aligned from 12th grade to Early Education to prepare all students for advanced work in high school. Significant new content added to Curriculum Planning Guides (CPGs). Integration of Curriculum Central and MyData Portal creates new opportunities for aligned instruction and targeted interventions. CPGs for enrichment subjects, pre-ap, and AP courses have been developed and posted. 3 Teachers report lack of Internet access in portable classroom buildings. Updating and posting CPGs in a timely manner remains a challenge.
Theme: Curriculum and Academic Goals Recommendation #2: Ensure that principals and teachers know the specific knowledge and skills to be taught and learned at each grade and in each subject. Teachers use collaborative planning time to discuss and analyze CPGs, resulting in more effective use of these resources. District professional development is strongly aligned to the Principles of Learning and CPGs. The Learning Community structure creates opportunities for ongoing, meaningful discussion of the Principles of Learning among principals. 3 Orientation to the CPGs and Curriculum Central can be overwhelming for new staff. Inconsistent quality of CPGs across subject areas leads to uneven implementation.
Theme: Curriculum and Academic Goals Recommendation #3: Ensure that all students learn the same curriculum by monitoring principal and teacher use of district curricular documents for all grades and subjects. Principals report devoting the recommended 2 full days per week to visiting classrooms, monitoring instruction, and giving teachers constructive feedback. Teachers understand that use of Curriculum Central/CPGs is a non-negotiable. Teachers use collaborative planning time to analyze CPGs and engage in joint lesson planning. 4 3 Quality of principal feedback to teachers varies from school to school. Principal buy-in for Learning Walks
Theme: Curriculum and Academic Goals Recommendation #4: Develop and implement a curriculum development plan to include continual review and refinement of district curriculum by the Curriculum Advisory Council and prek-12 vertical teams of teachers, organized by subject. To solicit teacher feedback, each CPG includes a link to an online feedback form. Curriculum Central staff forwards feedback to content departments. Content directors report that they read and respond to all feedback. Most teachers and principals are either unaware of their ability to offer content-related feedback, or believe that their feedback will be ignored by district leaders.
Theme: Staff Selection, Leadership, and Capacity Building Recommendation #5: Breakdown silos of communication that exist throughout Dallas ISD to improve/broaden access to principals by district administrators. District and school-level interviewees reported that restructuring the district into Learning Communities has been a success. Principals appreciate the opportunity to meet and collaborate with other principals at their school level. 3 Roles and responsibilities of Learning Community Executive Directors require further clarification. Few principals report efforts by their Lead Principal to build collaboration within feeder patterns. District leaders struggle to get out in front of the message when rolling out new initiatives.
Theme: Staff Selection, Leadership, and Capacity Building Recommendation #6: Structure principal evaluations to emphasize the importance of time principals spend observing classroom instruction to monitor the instructional program. Learning Community Executive Directors understand that helping build principals instructional leadership capacity is their #1 priority. First year of Principal Incentive program was enacted in -08, with plans to continue the program in 2008-09. Rigorous but fair principal evaluations ask principals to show quantifiable evidence of successful student achievement. 4 4 Conception of on-track student performance in principal evaluation process still uses the passing standard. NCEA research suggests that students are not actually on-track at that performance level.
Theme: Staff Selection, Leadership,and Capacity Building Recommendation #7: Develop internal principal candidates to maintain program consistency. District professional development staff reported that they carefully consider feedback from successful program graduates and Learning Community Executive Directors. District leaders committed to improving the effectiveness of the Team 1 Dallas model. 2 3 Team 1 Dallas continues to show mixed effectiveness at placing graduates in district principal positions.
Theme: Staff Selection, Leadership and Capacity Building Recommendation #8: Build the instructional leadership of principals and district administrators through differentiated, engaging, and rigorous professional development that is focused on specific academic goals and tied to student achievement needs. Restructuring into Learning Communities has helped school leaders build capacity and internalize the Principles of Learning. Learning Community meetings focus on instructional issues, not operational concerns. Tiered professional development for principals demonstrates strong alignment with Dallas Achieves goals. 4
Theme: Staff Selection, Leadership, and Capacity Building Recommendation #9: Organize use of instructional coaches to ensure co- accountability for learning by maximizing contact with teachers in schools with greatest need to ensure that evidence-based teaching strategies are being implemented effectively in every classroom. Tiered 4x2x1 instructional support model delivers intensive coaching to schools with the greatest academic need. Dallas ISD s Systems of Support model clearly outlines the instructional coach job description. Confusion over the coaching model persists among teachers and principals. Teachers and principals report inconsistent quality of coach expertise.
Theme: Staff Selection, Leadership, and Capacity Building Recommendation #10 10: Ensure that all professional development activities, especially the use of consultants, are tightly aligned to demonstrated student need and the stated district academic goals. Dallas ISD has developed a training process to connect consultants to district goals. As Dallas ISD further builds internal capacity, district leaders plan to further reduce use of consultants. Teachers and principals report that professional development aligns with the district instructional program and district goals. 4 4
Theme: Staff Selection, Leadership, and Capacity Building Recommendation #11 11: Focus role-specific staff development on the core process of teaching and learning, as opposed to simply requiring seat time, and build collaborative work time into the structure of the school day. Collaborative planning time has been implemented at district middle and high schools. Teachers and principals report using collaborative time to engage in a variety of capacity-building activities. Examples: collaborative lesson planning, common assessment development, analysis of student work, sharing instructional practices Members of Campus Instructional Leadership Teams are trained to assist principals in leading professional development. 4 3 Veteran teachers complained of repetitive training requirements.
Theme: Provide Evidence-Based Instructional Programs Recommendation #12 12: Select instructional resources that are proven effective with similar student populations, aligned to district academic objectives, and thoroughly supported with district resources to ensure fidelity of implementation. Curriculum Planning Guides identify recommended instructional resources and model lessons linked to individual Learning Standards. District is piloting a rigorous Algebra I instructional program; they plan to expand the program to Geometry courses next year. Teachers reported that some district-provided instructional programs and resources do not adequately address the district curriculum.
Theme: Provide Evidence-Based Instructional Programs Recommendation #13: Require that schools use district-selected selected materials when student achievement does not reach determined goal levels while providing flexibility to high-performing schools to continue successful practices that may differ from others in the district. The district s 50/50/50 plan for managed instruction with earned empowerment has been fully implemented. Additional flexibility was granted to 35 Master Principals for 2008-09. 4 District leaders continue to secure greater principal buy-in for the program.
Theme: Provide Evidence-Based Instructional Programs Recommendation #14: Fully implement the Bilingual Education Program and staffing plan. Dallas ISD continues to greatly reduce the number of certification exceptions filed with TEA. Core content and MLEP staff have increased collaborative curriculum writing efforts. Intensive training for dual-language teachers was included in the three-day K-3 Institutes. Teachers report being nervous about the moving the dual-language model into a TAKS-tested grade. The implementation of the two-way dual-language model is still low. Addressing the needs of students speaking languages other than English and Spanish remains a challenge.
Theme: Develop Student Assessment and Monitoring Systems to Monitor School Performance Recommendation #15: Monitor student learning beginning in the early grades with a comprehensive, coherent district assessment system that includes district benchmarks to supplement state and standardized tests. District leaders have increased training and support for common assessments. The number of local assessments has been reduced. 2 3 Teachers continue to have negative perceptions about benchmark alignment and relevance.
Theme: Develop Student Assessment and Monitoring Systems to Monitor School Performance Recommendation #16: Develop the capacity to translate the wealth of Dallas ISD data (TAKS, ITBS, district benchmarks, ACP, CEI, SEI, etc.) into actionable information that will impact instruction for teachers. Many teachers are using the integrated Curriculum Central and MyData Portal resources to differentiate instruction and tailor interventions to student needs. Hands-on professional development helps teachers learn how to incorporate Dallas ISD data into their daily work. Collaborative planning time allows teachers to analyze student data together. 4 3
Theme: Recognize, Intervene, or Adjust Based on Student Performance Recommendation #17 17: Develop an intervention plan that targets support and expert assistance to Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools and provides additional instructional time and resources to ensure that all students master the stated curriculum, rather than lowering expectations for some students. District leaders continues to deploy resources, support and personnel to the Superintendents Learning Community. -Three out of four open principal positions were filled by principals from higher-performing campuses in Dallas ISD. District leaders continue to develop tiered interventions for the CPGs. 3 3 Teachers reported that not all interventions in CPGs were effective/useful. Teachers reported the need for additional interventions for English Language Learners.