Meeting AYP Goals

Hi There - I recently received the following question from one of my contacts:

Hi Bruce,
Greetings from (city). I thought I would connect with you to possibly get some resources or make connections with some AYP special education issues my school is having. Bruce, I am looking for resources or people within schools that are currently staying out of AYP or that have moved out of AYP with a very organized plan…realized I maybe looking for needle in a haystack but I'd thought I'd try. Hope your family is well and your golf game is strong.

Please join us in a on-line discussion on how your schools are dealing with these issues.

Building Bridges for Student Outcomes

One of my school district clients recently had an interesting idea. This SpEd leader wanted to bring all of the major players in the district together to plan out a better model for better serving all students.

The two planning sessions were entitled: Building Bridges for Student Outcomes.

In the sessions, the group completed the following tasks
Session 1 (three hours)
1) Briefly review applied research / best practice ideas
2) ID & review recent successes & issues
3) Develop a vision for a better system
4) ID priorities for actions
5) Review possible next steps
6) Evaluate this session

Session 2 (two hours)
1) Briefly review products from session #1
2) Develop specific goals aligned w/ new priorities
3) Develop workplans for new goals
4) Review next steps
5) Evaluate this session

The group did excellent work & came up with the following priorities for the improved system:

#1) Comprehensive, inclusive interventions & differentiation plans (pyramid including social, emotional, behavioral)

#2) Define & train to a district coaching model & implement consistently

#3) Vertical alignment of curriculum & assessments K-12 (cross content included)

#4) Comprehensive assessment system embedded in instruction (variety of methods of assessment that is fully implemented

#5) Every child reads by grade 3 @ or above grade level

#6) Coaching model continues to support full implementation with fidelity of PA (Principles of learning) & is fully implemented.

Their work in FY09 will include implementation & evaluation. Obviously, they have a lot of work ahead. But bringing the players together to plan together is an excellent start.

Increasing Employee Unity

I recently caught a client doing a great job.

Prior to each monthly, one-hour staff meeting, he has been asking employees to read & reflect on a short article that he sends along in advance, typically on customer service.

That is good, but his next step was exceptional:

He sent out a survey with this statement: “Name two individuals that have excelled in customer service or teamwork over the last month. They will be included in summary notes.”

Wow! Did he get results!

A few comments came back that were good:

(Name): You are fitting in great.

(Name): Always very friendly to clients & coworkers.

But he received a few comments that were terrific:

(Name): I have noticed that (Name) is excellent with her phone skills. She is great with clients that are upset, etc. She is one of the best in dealing with our difficult clients!

(Name): Great with client checkout at closing. Made the client feel welcome even after closing time.

This type of feedback is fantastic. When highlighted at a staff meeting, it provides direction re: important themes within the organization, & provides specific positive reinforcement in a group setting.

This sort of material can also be used as a teaching tool with individual employees in a private feedback or review session.

Nice work, Jeff!