NCA-CASI Annual Meeting - March 2008

For our fifth consecutive year, we conducted sessions and sponsored          a booth at the the NCA-CASI Annual Meeting in Chicago. This year we conducted a 3 hr. pre-conference session and 5 breakout sessions - including  one with Advanc-Ed's David Hurst. Session attendees tell us     that GATEWAY TO MASTERY is the missing piece that drills accreditation   and school improvement criteria down into the classroom. Getting it into    the classroom allows school improvement to come from the bottom up and transform the key interrelationships that influence student behavior  and learning over time. Contact us us for more details on how GATEWAY    TO MASTERY aligns with District Accreditation and Break Through School Improvement models.

One of the best things about GTM processes is that great insightful data is easy to collect and lets you see true progress. After workshops, we are typically asked about the availability of software to make managing the data even easier. We have been recommending the web-based Knowledge Power^® Software for years and it is still the best, most powerful program we have seen for aggregating and disaggregating data. However, we have also heard a need for something simpler that helps people bridge the gap between no data management experience and the advanced abilities of Knowledge Power^®. Now, for those who need an easy first step into data management, we have developed a preformatted, secure Microsoft^® Excel^® workbook that will automatically create individual and class graphs. The Progress Workbook™ will manage data for up to seven classes of 35 students as well as create cumulative and comparative graphs for all classes or subject areas. Currently, it is set up for the Knowledge Mastery^™ process, but will also be available to monitor rubric and non-rubric performance based assessments soon. Useful for elementary through graduate school, it can be purchased as a school license or by individual teachers. Contact us for a preview, pricing and availability.

As you may have seen on our web-site, the Summer Institute had to be cancelled this year because of problems at the host college. However,     past participant feedback has consistently indicated the value of the 5   day institute format, so we are looking for a new place to hold it. We are thinking about holding multiple regional events to reduce travel costs and  fit better into schedules. So far, a high interest level in Indiana has us considering sites near Indianapolis. Contact us if you are interested in the Indiana Institute or if there is interest in bringing an institute to your area.

We often talk about using GATEWAY TO MASTERY as a  classroom-up form  of school improvement and many administrators are using the processes we teach with their staff and students. The following stories illustrate a few of the ways they are seeing great benefits by applying the simple quality principles we teach in our workshops.

(One of these stories is a repeat from the Winter 2006 edition)

Ohio

Tony Loewer, principal of Mayfield High School in Mayfield, Ohio, is using  GTM tools from the Culture Mastery™ workshop with his staff. His school began professional learning communities recently and Tony is using the Enthusiasm/Learning graph, along with teacher input, to make the experience better for everyone involved. Below, are two graphs that show how they are doing. The "X" axis of each graph indicates levels of enthusiasm, the "Y" axis indicates levels of learning. For example, a dot     in the upper right corner indicates someone who loves the PLC's and has learned a lot.

As you can see, through their combined efforts, Tony and his staff have reduced the range of responses and the overall number of responses in the  in the bottom left corner. This is proof that we all - students and adults - want to approach our tasks with enthusiasm and participate in the improvement. As leaders, when we work on the system, with our people's help, we can allow that enthusiasm to emerge.

In different situation, Tony and the union president developed a “Happy Face” survey to establish their current level of overall staff enthusiasm. When the survey was conducted, the staff was also given a “Plus/Delta”   to uncover the causes of any dissatisfaction. The data and feedback was organized and shared with the staff and together they decided on 4 main areas (building security, staff meetings, staff development days and workload) where the principal could improve the school culture. The graph below shows the progress of staff enthusiasm over three surveys.

As you can see, there are some interesting insights to be gained from     the progress shown. The first follow-up survey in October actually showed a decline in enthusiasm, but the January follow-up survey showed a big  turn around. In conversation with the staff, Tony discovered that the teachers had not taken the first survey seriously. They had been asked for input before and nothing was done with it, so they weren't truthful about how they really felt. Once they realized that Tony fully intended to act on their input, they got serious and October's data is their true feeling.       The December turn around was a result of all of their improvement efforts. Not only are Tony and his staff beginning to enjoy a more pleasant workplace, teachers have indicated that the he has gained a tremendous amount of respect and trust as he models the Culture Mastery™processes and takes the risks associated with it.

Arkansas

Bill Stringer, high school principal in Arkansas, has begun to work with   groups of students to solve big school issues. The last time we spoke with him, students were tackling issues such as the achievement gap between  Hispanic and non-Hispanic students. As Bill says, "When you have a problem, go to the people that need to do the work." The students are creating action plans and testing theories to help close the achievement gap. When you give students responsibility like this - they respond and Bill says that many students in these groups do not want to "let him down."   Bill is changing the interrelationships between himself and the students at his school.

Multiple Places around the Country

Administrators are supposed to be the learning and cultural leaders at their school, but typically they get so bogged down with their other duties, they do not get to enjoy the learning going on all around them. The following examples show how the Knowledge Mastery™ process allows a principal    to be more directly aware of how students' learning is progressing and celebrate learning with them.

In the classroom

Usually when a principal gets a call from a classroom, it is not good news.   However, in many schools where Learning Checks™ are occurring,  whenever a class gets its new high score, they call the principal to let   them know. This allows the principal to be a part of learning celebrations   all year long.

At grade level

At many schools, not only do they have class graphs of progress, but they also post cumulative grade level learning graphs in the hallway for each core subject area. The principal, and anyone else, can easily see and celebrate the learning that is occurring at the grade level perspective.

With the whole school

Some schools take that cumulative graph idea a step further. They use class graphs, hallway grade level graphs and then also school-wide graphs. The administrator can see how any subject is progressing as an entire school. When the school has it's all time best in any curricular area, many places put a notice on the the marquee out front. Everyone can celebrate, because everyone contributed.  

All of these examples show evidence of the change in the interrelationships, between people and their environment, that will influence behavior over time. They are not quick fix solutions to our problems, but more lasting and permanent ones. This is the only way to create true school improvement  and it is exciting to see it actually happening.

Keep up the great work!

If you are currently practicing any discipline of GATEWAY TO MASTERY^®, please send your stories, so we may share them in upcoming editions.   Click here to send us your story

Thank you for your interest,

Jacquie and Jeff Burgard

Improvement Facilitators

J.J. Burgard & Associates, Inc.

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