CEC’s System Assessment and Visioning processes help ensure districts or individual schools construct a sound foundation for change and build capacity within the system for continuous improvement in student achievement.
The processes are founded on evidence-based continuous-improvement frameworks, informed by data-based analysis, and facilitated by cross-functional teams of inside stakeholders and outside experts.
SERVICES
Shared Accountability
CEC helps districts or schools align a data system and ensure all stakeholders understand how success will be measured and how progress toward goals will be monitored, tracked, and reported.
CEC training and coaching provides leaders with knowledge of the SMART goal process, including the development of scorecards, or dashboards, at each level of the system, including the district, school, department/program, grade-level team, and classroom.
The dashboard is aligned to professional growth plans and goals for the school, team/department, and individual staff members.
System Assessment
CEC’s System Assessment is a data-based analysis of district or school policies, practices, and procedures that is conducted by a cross-functional team of inside stakeholders and outside experts. The analysis is guided by evidence-based best practices that foster continuous learning and improvement.
The System Assessment also involves organizational self-study, written assessment, site visits, and collaboratively written feedback, based on the criteria of a high-performing organization.
Assessments can be conducted using either the Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria or criteria from the Professional Learning Community framework.
Baldrige Performance Excellence Continuous Improvement Framework
Seven Categories of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Continuous Improvement Framework:
- Leadership
- Strategic Planning
- Customer and Market Focus
- Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
- Human Resource Focus
- Process Management
- Results
- Clarity of Purpose
- What is it we want students to learn?
- What should each student know and be able to do?
- How will we respond when a student has achieved this learning?
- How will we respond when a student is not learning?
- What systematic process is in place to provide support for students who are struggling?
- Collaborative School Culture
- No school can help all students achieve at high levels if teachers work in isolation.
- Schools improve when teachers are given the time and support to work together to clarify essential student learning and assessment.
- Schools must identify and implement new practices for raising student achievement.
- Focus on Results
- PLCs measure their effectiveness on the basis of results rather than intentions.
- All programs, policies, and practices are assessed on the basis of their impact on student learning.
Visioning
CEC guides the development of long-range plans that help schools, districts, and unions understand where they are, where they need to go, and what it will take to get there.
Through the strategic visioning process, districts or schools review current data in order to determine where the district is currently with regard to learning. At this point in the process, many districts or schools schedule a System Assessment visit as a data point.
Before the district or school develops its long-range plan, CEC helps stakeholders envision a preferred future for the organization and students. The final plan will include a mission; vision; beliefs and core values; goals, with indicators and measures; and high-priority strategies that will address gaps.
The plan will include a data system for shared accountability to measure progress as the district/school moves from where it is to where it wants to be.
Capacity for Continuous Improvement
Capacity for continuous improvement is facilitated relying on the Baldrige Performance Excellence and Professional Learning Communities frameworks.
The Baldrige Performance Excellence framework includes an understanding an integration of the seven framework categories, related components, and core values.
The Professional Learning Community (PLC) framework includes an understanding and integration of the three big ideas, essential elements and characteristics, and core values.
CEC training and coaching on the frameworks provides stakeholders with the tools, strategies, and knowledge necessary to create and sustain conditions for that foster continuous system improvement.
Three Big Ideas that Drive a Professional Learning Community
- Clarity of Purpose
- What is it we want students to learn?
- What should each student know and be able to do?
- How will we respond when a student has achieved this learning?
- How will we respond when a student is not learning?
- What systematic process is in place to provide support for students who are struggling?
- Collaborative School Culture
- No school can help all students achieve at high levels if teachers work in isolation.
- Schools improve when teachers are given the time and support to work together to clarify essential student learning and assessment.
- Schools must identify and implement new practices for raising student achievement.
- Focus on Results
- PLCs measure their effectiveness on the basis of results rather than intentions.
- All programs, policies, and practices are assessed on the basis of their impact on student learning.
- Leadership
- Strategic Planning
- Customer and Market Focus
- Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
- Human Resource Focus
- Process Management
- Results
Board of Education Work
As one of the three CEC anchor groups, boards of education have both “inside” and “outside” governance responsibilities.
The “inside” responsibilities are around quality board function – board actions, policies and behaviors that determine a) how the board manages itself, b) how it distinguishes between its board role and the roles of the educators it hires, and c) how it interfaces with both the community and the school district staff.
The function question to be addressed is, how does the board operate cohesively and effectively as a deliberative elected body? CEC Areas of function training and support include:
- basic board organizing structures,
- setting board norms and ground-rules,
- managing governance regulations such as the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act,
- determining among local, state and federal board requirements,
- setting and monitoring policies,
- board self-assessment options, and
- productive board/ superintendent relationships.
The “outside” responsibilities are around quality board leadership - how the board teams with administrator and teacher leaders to give clear and grounded direction to a continually improving school district. Board leadership determines a) how the board sets long-term strategic improvement goals, b) how it monitors school district improvement, c) how it appropriately utilizes data to drive improvement, and d) how it aligns its strategic work with tactical planning and the operational delivery of instruction.
The leadership question to be addressed is, how does the board’s strategic leadership contribute to an aligned and continually improving collaborative school district? CEC areas of strategic leadership training and support include:
- strategic planning and visioning,
- developing shared accountability structures,
- monitoring school district improvement through data,
- aligning strategic responsibilities with tactical and operational responsibilities across the school district,
- the board as a cultural bridge between the community and school district employees, and
- utilizing the Gold Standard Rubric for board performance excellence.
CEC can partner with the Illinois Association of School Boards where desired.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Continuous improvement is not an event – it is a way of thinking and behaving. It engages individuals, teams, departments and entire organizations in the ongoing process of learning – building a community of continuous learners.
S.M.A.R.T. Schools provide a way to link learning and improvement with valuable tools, processes and methods that enable schools and districts to increase their capacity for improvement.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals Make SMART Schools.S.M.A.R.T. goals provide a basis for assessing progress and tools for assuring that team efforts are focused on strategically important targets. S.M.A.R.T. goals become the engine that drives continuous improvement. These goals are:
Strategic and SpecificMeasurableAttainableResults-basedTime-bound
Consortium for Educational Change and Quality Leadership by Design partner the S.M.A.R.T. Way!
The Consortium for Educational Change has partnered with Quality Leadership by Design and their founders and managing partners, Anne Conzemius and Jan O’Neill, authors of The Handbook for SMART School Teams. CEC and QLD have designed a series of SMART Schools Trainings to help schools, districts and organizations in building a culture of shared responsibility for continuous learning and improvement.
The Framework for Shared Responsibility
The Framework for Shared Responsibility addresses the following elements needed to build and sustain a culture of continuous learners.
Focus: Be clear on where you want to go
Reflection: Use data and information to understand where you are now and what impact your actions have.
Collaboration: Working together to create learning and improvement
Leadership Capacity: Develop skills and knowledge to take effective action and have the authority to act on ideas that will support the organization’s vision. Leadership capacity grows as the other three elements work together.
