The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), OSEDA, and McREL will provide teams from districts and schools with expert guidance on how to improve student achievement and build capacity for sustained improvement. The content for this initiative will be based in McREL research focusing educators on high impact change resulting in improved student performance with particular emphasis on achievement gap issues. Bringing participants together into a consortium creates a supportive environment for guided practice, implementation and reflection.

Goals

The school improvement consortium has four main goals:

• Increased student academic performance

• Reduced disparities in achievement

• Increased capacity of school teams to guide improvement and sustain change

• Identified strategies for overcoming policy obstacles

Content

The school improvement consortium focuses on three major content strands derived from McREL’s meta-analyses of research with an emphasis on culturally responsive strategies.

Classroom practices
The research shows that these teacher classroom practices significantly impact student achievement:

• Instructional strategies

• Classroom management

• Classroom curriculum design

School practices
The research has also identified five school practices that significantly impact student achievement:

• Guaranteed and viable curriculum

• Challenging goals and effective feedback

• Parent and community involvement

• Safe and orderly environment

• Collegiality and professionalism

McREL will outline specific ways to address these classroom and school practices and will guide participants as they plan and implement changes in their schools. The Consortium project will focus on identifying and implementing culturally responsive strategies for impacting these practices.

Leadership practices
The research has identified 21 leadership responsibilities that are significantly associated with student achievement. The School Improvement Consortium project will provide leaders with ongoing, practical guidance on how to carry out these responsibilities as well as how to create, implement and lead school improvement efforts that address the needs of their schools with an emphasis on culturally responsive practices.

Elements

Participation in the school improvement consortium requires a two- to three-year commitment from members. During this time, the project coordinator, mentors, and McREL will deliver a series of professional development sessions and provide periodic technical assistance and consulting services, as described below.

Planning and reflection sessions
McREL consultants will meet with leadership teams two days each year. During the first meeting, participants will plan and discuss consortium goals and direction; during the second, they will review progress and make plans for next steps.

Professional development sessions
McREL will deliver three professional development sessions for school leadership teams. Each session will last two days and will focus on leadership, school, and classroom practices with an emphasis on culturally responsive practices.

On-site visits
McREL will also provide an additional day of on-site training or consultation for each leadership team. Mentors provide leadership teams with intensive on-site assistance.

School improvement tools and guides
McREL will provide leadership teams with tools and guides that help them facilitate school improvement, including a set of study guides and accompanying facilitator manuals that help schools create culturally responsive standards-based classrooms.

Online resources and assistance
McREL will also provide each consortium with a Web site that allows members to interact with mentors or McREL staff and download materials, including meeting agendas, custom resources, and customized tools.

Customized resources
Upon request, McREL can provide additional resources or services to consortium members or individual districts and schools. For example, McREL might develop a vocabulary list from the state’s standards or provide additional training to further support local improvement efforts.

Evaluation
DESE, OSEDA, and McREL will collect evaluation data - through participant interviews, classroom observations, and test results - to guide the consortium and gauge its impact on student achievement and on closing the achievement gap. Participants are expected to aid in this effort by providing access to appropriate data.

Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

For additional information contact: Howard Jones, Project SUCCESS Coordinator.

Project SUCCESS is sponsored by The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education