Key

to Success
Irving Principals’ Meeting
August 2 , 2007
 Why Consider a
Change?
A small group of
committed people can
change the world; and
indeed, it’s the only
thing that ever does.
-Margaret Mead
Did You Know?
"Insanity: doing the same
thing over and over
again and expecting
different results."
Albert Einstein
 It Takes a Village - Why
do we need to do things
differently?
• If
we could shrink the
earth’s population to
a village of precisely
100 people with all
existing ratios
remaining the same it
would look like this:
• 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western
Hemisphere (North and South) and 8 Africans
• 51 females and 49 males
• 70 non-Christians and 30 Christians
• 50% of the wealth would be in the hands of 6
people and all of those people would be in the
U.S.
• 80 would live in substandard housing
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• 1 would be near death and 1 near birth
• 1 would be college educated
• No one would own a computer
Paraphrased from an excerpt by Lisa Brahim, San Francisco
 What does this mean for
Texas?
• 4,383,871 students enrolled in Texas public schools
• More than 2,167,597 are enrolled in elementary schools
(about 48%)
• Ethnic Breakdown – 14% African American, 45%
Hispanic, 38% White, 3% Other
• About 55% are Economically Disadvantaged
• Only 62% of ALL students met passing standards on all
content area TAKS tests in 2004
• Overall drop out rate is about 4% (48,641 students)
with 61% of those students being Hispanic (29,671
students)
• 11 of 1229 Districts have an Exemplary rating. 172
Recognized and 989 are academically acceptable
• 304 of 7908 Campuses have an exemplary rating
 How Do You Measure
Success?
School 2003 2004 2005 2006 Change
Irving ISD 44% 50% 53% 58% +14
All Tests
Reading 70% 74% 79% 84% +14

Math 57% 60% 64% 67% +10

Writing 72% 86% 88% 89% +17

Social 77% 82% 85% 88% +11

Studies
Science 34% 44% 51% 61% +27
 Irving Cluster
Irving 
Cluster Subject 2003 2004 2005 2006 Change

  All 43 53 58 61 18.25

  Reading 67 74 81 83 15.62

  Math 61 68 73 75 12.75

  Writing 74 89 90 93 18.57

  SS 80 83 88 89 9

Science 24 32 47 58 33.57
 L.F. Smith Elementary

School 2003 2004 2005 2006 Change

L.F. Smith 50% 59% 70% 81% +31
All Tests
Reading 67% 72% 90% 88% +21

Math 66% 74% 77% 88% +16

Writing 90% 97% 95% 96% +6

Social * * * * *
Studies
Science 26% 38% 88% 91% +65
 Rick Schneider Middle
School
• Five Feeder Campuses • Lost Math Teacher
• Transitioned Teachers Mid Year – Sub for
to RSMS from the remainder of the
Intermediate and year – Most
Elementary Campuses Challenging Team
• New Concept of 5/6 • Lost AP Mid Year to
Campus Open New School
 What does the
research say?
• Comprehension is not increasing, but high school graduates are
expected to read complex, technical material in order to be successful
in the workforce.
• Secondary students in the U.S. are scoring lower than students in other
comparable nations. This is especially evident as secondary students
deal with understanding discipline-specific content.
• There continues to be an achievement gap.
• Secondary teachers are not prepared to teach literacy strategies that
are necessary for students’ comprehension of content-specific text.
• There is little empirical data to support some of the programs that are
being implemented within many of the secondary schools.

RAND 2002 – Reading Study Group Excerpts

 How do we find the
answers?
All Classrooms need…
• Access to a variety of reading material
• Skill building instruction that creates an interest in more
complex reading material.
• Highly quality assessments that indicate weaknesses and
strengths of students and the professional learning needs of
teachers.
• Highly skilled teachers who model and explicitly teach
reading comprehension and study strategies across content
areas.
• Reading specialists who apply explicit instructional
strategies for the struggling reader.
 Key Elements to Improve Middle and High School
Adolescent Literacy Programs
Instructional Improvements Infrastructure Improvements
Direct, Explicit Comprehension Instruction Extended Time for Literacy

Effective Instructional Principles Embedded Professional Development

in Content

Motivation and Self Directed Learning Ongoing Summative Evaluation of Students

and Programs

Bianca Text Based Collaborative Leaning Teacher Teams

-rosa
Strategic Tutoring Leadership
and
Snow, Diverse Texts A Comprehensive and Coordinated Literacy
2004 Program
Intensive Writing

A Technology Component

Ongoing Formative Assessment of Students

 What is Balanced
Literacy?
• 4 key Components
• Gradual Release
• Workshop Approach (Reading, Writing and
Word Study)
• Rigorous and Relevant
• Teacher is the most important element!
Gradual Release Model
• Four kinds of reading/writing and Four
levels of support.

TO

WITH

BY
 What is
a Workshop Approach?
An organized set of language and literary
experiences (typically, a mini-lesson,
variety of grouping (small, large,
individual, conferring and sharing with
peers/teacher) designed to help
students to become more effective
readers and writers in any content area.
 Translate effective
instruction into a
classroom framework
Workshop Approach
Explicit Immersion of Large Blocks of
Instruction in print of every time for
Reading genre extended
Strategies that reading and
facilitates Accessible writing
greater access to Resources
including: Opportunities for
content
organized books readers to read
objectives.
baskets, charts, and practice
Continuing
computers, pens, strategies in self
opportunities for
clipboards, selected text
teacher and peer
sticky notes, that they are
response
journals, able to read.
notebooks
 Components of
Balanced Literacy
Reading Framework
• Think Aloud / Read Aloud / Interactive Read Aloud /
Book Talks
• Shared Reading
• Guided Reading
• Independent Reading
• Reader’s Notebooks
• Reading Response Journals
• Literature Circles
• Literacy Workstations / Workboard
 Components of
Balanced Literacy
Writing Framework
• Writer’s Talks
• Modeled/Shared Writing
• Interactive Writing
• Independent Writing
• Writer’s Notebooks
• Investigations
• Poetry
Components of Balanced
Literacy
Word Work / Word Study
• Phonological Awareness (Constituent Sounds
of words in learning to read and spell)
• Orthographic Awareness (Symbols within a
writing system)
• Semantics (Derivation of meaning; could be
context clues)
• Syntax (Structure of language and Sequence;
grammar)
 Create a Narrow
Focus
• Balanced Literacy in All Content Areas
• Safe and Civil Schools
• Effective Technology Instruction
 Building a Strong
Literacy Leadership
Team
Essential Questions
• What are the characteristics of a
successful curriculum focus on your
campus?
• What does it look like?
• What does it sound like?

• How do you communicate that focus

to your team?
Building Strong Cross
Curricular Teams
Successful Teams…
• Discuss curriculum and instruction
and view literacy and an integral part
of their content area.
 Traps that Negate
Success
When the campus stakeholders…
• Believe that time will fix all problems.
• Refuse to acknowledge that teaming
is a process not an event.
• Have unreasonable expectations.
• Resist change and/or refuse to
compromise.
• Allow personality conflicts or personal
needs to dictate the team focus.
 Traps that Negate
Success, cont.
When the campus stakeholders…
• Display an inability/unwillingness to
work collaboratively.
• Are inconsistent in meeting or in
holding team responsibilities and
deadlines.
• Refuse to commit adequate time and
attention for planning, organizing,
and preparing.
• Allow inequities.
 Timeline for Training
and Implementation
• Year 1: The Training Year
• Year 2: Non Negotiable and Negotiable
List created and Implemented by Staff
• Year 3: Increase Non Negotiable List
and Deepen Understanding of Literacy
at Given Level
• Year 4: Integrate Across Content for
Concept Based Instruction
• Year 5: Needs Assessment and Begin
Improvement Cycle
What do we observe
in our classrooms?
Curriculum & Instruction
• Do we know what is going on in each
core classroom?
• How can we integrate instruction?
• How are we differentiating?
• What strategies (reading, writing,
listening and speaking) should be
consistent across the curriculum?
• How can we plan together for more
effective delivery?
Who is accountable
on your campus?
Accountability
• What do we need to know about our
students?
• What do we need to know about our
team practices?
• Where and how can we get this data?
• How will we know if we are
successful?
 212° - The Extra
Degree
At 211 degrees, water is hot…

At 212 degrees,

IT BOILS!!
 212° - The Extra
Degree
What will the extra degree
look like at
Your campus?
 Eleanor Roosevelt
Every effort must be
made in childhood to
teach the young to use
their own minds. For
one thing is sure; If
they don’t make up
their own minds,
someone else will do it