Summary and Thoughts / Connections for Chapter 9:
A Schoolwide Approach for Reading Excellence
- The school exhibits a "sense of urgency" about working toward schoolwide literacy. Teachers understand their role and are supported in their efforts.
- A strong instructional leader (principal or coach) has clear goals for schoolwide literacy; everyone knows about the goals and there is an organized effort.
- Teachers meet regularly to look at the results of assessments of student progress.
- Teachers and administrators receive the professional development and support they need to be able to meet the needs of their students. [In one school, teachers develop personal goals at the beginning of each semester and are given a choice of three formats of professional development activities to help them meet their goals. -Awesome! How is it paid for?]
- Teachers are given adequate time to plan and collaborate for effective reading instruction. [Like our PLC time on Wednesday mornings for 45 minutes? Or something more?]
- Decisions in the school are made based on the likelihood that academic excellence will be enhanced. Priority is given to hiring or keeping reading intervention teachers and to purchasing books and materials for the reading program.
- Results of statewide tests are used to evaluate the reading program as a whole rather than individual teachers.
- Intervention is provided to all students who need it. [Does this mean that students are placed into a corrective reading class or are the interventions happening in the regular classroom?]
- Reading instruction and intervention are given priority when schedules are developed.
- Possibly: the classroom or homeroom teacher is the coordinator of the services and has the primary responsibility for the student. [I would worry about the kids who have an elective teacher for their homeroom teacher. I feel like many (not all!) of these teachers do not understand what it takes to improve literacy, do not follow up with students, or know how to work with students effectively with reading.]
- Teachers, administrators, and other professionals in the schools adopt a no-excuses attitude with high expectations for all students. [But how do you make kids work, who simply do not want to?]
- Parents are seen as important participants. [But how do you get parents involved if they're not interested?]
The Reading Coach as a Facilitator
- Along with a reading coach's tasks of Collaborative Problem Solver and Teacher/Learner, the coach is also a Facilitator. They are there to help make a process easier or less difficult. The goal is to help bring down the barriers to change and to provide opportunities and encouragement for professional educators to work together with a sense of shared responsibility.
Revisiting SAILS
- "The reading coach focuses efforts of teachers and other school professionals to (1) support every student's progress towards standards; (2) use assessments to find out what students need; (3) plan instruction to address students' needs and monitor progress; and (4) develop expertise in designing and delivering instruction and intervention to meet the needs of all students.
- At the same time, the coach makes it easier (facilitates) for the school to adopt a committed attitude toward excellence in reading instruction."
- It is a fine art of both supporting teachers and 'nudging' teachers. "Balancing on a fine, thin line between supporting the status quo and placing too much stress on teachers." Administrators may feel that a person is a strong coach who had both the people skills to work effectively with teacher and the backbone to stand up to those who were resistant to adopting effective practices or who tried to manipulate the coaches.
Collaborative Planning
- In a few schools that were studied, teachers had joint planning sessions that included discussions of the curriculum standards and expectations for their students. They met at the beginning of each semester or grading period or before beginning a unit of instruction. Teachers focused on clarifying the critical concepts and skills that all students were expected to master, selecting materials to use in the instruction, and identifying accommodations and adaptations needed for students.
Collaborative Teaching
There are six basic approaches to co-teaching. [I wish I would've known this when I started teaching!]
1: One teacher provides the primary instruction to the class while another circulates among students, monitoring and helping them as needed. The teachers change roles frequently.
2: Teachers instruct students at different stations set up around the room.
3: Two teachers plan a lesson together, divide the class in half, and each teach the same lesson to half the class, sometimes using different instructional strategies.
4: Teachers in the same classroom provide instruction to students in small, flexible groups based on their assessment results and the need for re-teaching.
5: One teacher teaches the class while another provides instruction or re-teaching to small groups who need more support. The teachers change roles.
6: Two teachers instruct the whole class together - they take turns leading different activities or topics.
- Research on the effectiveness of co-teaching is limited, and merely participating in co-teaching does not ensure good student outcomes.
When teachers were given formally scheduled time for regular collaboration, most teachers often used the time to plan together for a particular lesson or unit, or problem-solve a student's progress. When teachers tried to meet informally, it led to many teachers to stop trying to collaborate. However, just providing time for collaboration does not meant teachers will collaborate.
Principals may have a difficult time balancing how to reach their (assessment) goals, while trying to get staff to participate. For instance, a principal may not involve teachers in any decision-making processes and then feel resistance among staff. Some principals may have the same goal, but see their role as supporting their faculties with necessary resources rather than controlling teacher behavior. In some schools, someone other than the principal had an important role in building a collaborative community -this person would need the administration's support to show that everyone was on the same team.
"Two elements of a collaborative culture in schools were of trust and having a shared set of expectations for all students. For teachers to form a collaborative community, they must have a feeling of trust and comfort with their peers. If teachers feel that they will be criticized because of their practices or suggestions, or if they think that other teachers will gossip about them, they are unlikely to be able to share ideas openly. A collaborative school is one where the doors of the classrooms are open and teachers are respectful of each other." --honestly, how realistic is this?
One high school teacher said, "We don't care what category they're in [or what label they have]. We don't excuse them from succeeding." --This is a great mentality to have. But again, how do you make kids work, read, study, turn in work, etc. if they won't want to and parents aren't supportive?
Key to making lasting changes is ongoing mentoring and support of classroom teachers. Above all, teachers are more likely to adopt an attitude of ownership if they get enough training and support to develop a real mastery of new practices.
-A good facilitator not only helps individual teachers implement the program successfully but is also able to deal with problems and overcome obstacles that come up along the way.
Steps for Supporting Schoolwide Commitment and Participation
1) Have a plan. There must be a long-term plan with funding that is linked directly to the expectation that student reading outcomes will improve. This plan should allow for three to five years of growth. [Is this growth for one grade level, or for a group of students? For instance, if my husband teaches a group of 8th graders for one year, is he expected to increase the next year's 8th graders scores to be higher than the previous years' kids? Or is just that group of kids he currently has, supposed to have increased scores over their three to five years?]
2) Get everyone involved -including counselors, librarians, etc.
3) Align standards, curriculum, textbooks, instructional programs, and assessments.
4) Organize your time.
5) Use the expertise of colleagues, mentors, and outside experts.
- The school exhibits a "sense of urgency" about working toward schoolwide literacy. Teachers understand their role and are supported in their efforts.
- A strong instructional leader (principal or coach) has clear goals for schoolwide literacy; everyone knows about the goals and there is an organized effort.
- Teachers meet regularly to look at the results of assessments of student progress.
- Teachers and administrators receive the professional development and support they need to be able to meet the needs of their students. [In one school, teachers develop personal goals at the beginning of each semester and are given a choice of three formats of professional development activities to help them meet their goals. -Awesome! How is it paid for?]
- Teachers are given adequate time to plan and collaborate for effective reading instruction. [Like our PLC time on Wednesday mornings for 45 minutes? Or something more?]
- Decisions in the school are made based on the likelihood that academic excellence will be enhanced. Priority is given to hiring or keeping reading intervention teachers and to purchasing books and materials for the reading program.
- Results of statewide tests are used to evaluate the reading program as a whole rather than individual teachers.
- Intervention is provided to all students who need it. [Does this mean that students are placed into a corrective reading class or are the interventions happening in the regular classroom?]
- Reading instruction and intervention are given priority when schedules are developed.
- Possibly: the classroom or homeroom teacher is the coordinator of the services and has the primary responsibility for the student. [I would worry about the kids who have an elective teacher for their homeroom teacher. I feel like many (not all!) of these teachers do not understand what it takes to improve literacy, do not follow up with students, or know how to work with students effectively with reading.]
- Teachers, administrators, and other professionals in the schools adopt a no-excuses attitude with high expectations for all students. [But how do you make kids work, who simply do not want to?]
- Parents are seen as important participants. [But how do you get parents involved if they're not interested?]
The Reading Coach as a Facilitator
- Along with a reading coach's tasks of Collaborative Problem Solver and Teacher/Learner, the coach is also a Facilitator. They are there to help make a process easier or less difficult. The goal is to help bring down the barriers to change and to provide opportunities and encouragement for professional educators to work together with a sense of shared responsibility.
Revisiting SAILS
- "The reading coach focuses efforts of teachers and other school professionals to (1) support every student's progress towards standards; (2) use assessments to find out what students need; (3) plan instruction to address students' needs and monitor progress; and (4) develop expertise in designing and delivering instruction and intervention to meet the needs of all students.
- At the same time, the coach makes it easier (facilitates) for the school to adopt a committed attitude toward excellence in reading instruction."
- It is a fine art of both supporting teachers and 'nudging' teachers. "Balancing on a fine, thin line between supporting the status quo and placing too much stress on teachers." Administrators may feel that a person is a strong coach who had both the people skills to work effectively with teacher and the backbone to stand up to those who were resistant to adopting effective practices or who tried to manipulate the coaches.
Collaborative Planning
- In a few schools that were studied, teachers had joint planning sessions that included discussions of the curriculum standards and expectations for their students. They met at the beginning of each semester or grading period or before beginning a unit of instruction. Teachers focused on clarifying the critical concepts and skills that all students were expected to master, selecting materials to use in the instruction, and identifying accommodations and adaptations needed for students.
Collaborative Teaching
There are six basic approaches to co-teaching. [I wish I would've known this when I started teaching!]
1: One teacher provides the primary instruction to the class while another circulates among students, monitoring and helping them as needed. The teachers change roles frequently.
2: Teachers instruct students at different stations set up around the room.
3: Two teachers plan a lesson together, divide the class in half, and each teach the same lesson to half the class, sometimes using different instructional strategies.
4: Teachers in the same classroom provide instruction to students in small, flexible groups based on their assessment results and the need for re-teaching.
5: One teacher teaches the class while another provides instruction or re-teaching to small groups who need more support. The teachers change roles.
6: Two teachers instruct the whole class together - they take turns leading different activities or topics.
- Research on the effectiveness of co-teaching is limited, and merely participating in co-teaching does not ensure good student outcomes.
When teachers were given formally scheduled time for regular collaboration, most teachers often used the time to plan together for a particular lesson or unit, or problem-solve a student's progress. When teachers tried to meet informally, it led to many teachers to stop trying to collaborate. However, just providing time for collaboration does not meant teachers will collaborate.
Principals may have a difficult time balancing how to reach their (assessment) goals, while trying to get staff to participate. For instance, a principal may not involve teachers in any decision-making processes and then feel resistance among staff. Some principals may have the same goal, but see their role as supporting their faculties with necessary resources rather than controlling teacher behavior. In some schools, someone other than the principal had an important role in building a collaborative community -this person would need the administration's support to show that everyone was on the same team.
"Two elements of a collaborative culture in schools were of trust and having a shared set of expectations for all students. For teachers to form a collaborative community, they must have a feeling of trust and comfort with their peers. If teachers feel that they will be criticized because of their practices or suggestions, or if they think that other teachers will gossip about them, they are unlikely to be able to share ideas openly. A collaborative school is one where the doors of the classrooms are open and teachers are respectful of each other." --honestly, how realistic is this?
One high school teacher said, "We don't care what category they're in [or what label they have]. We don't excuse them from succeeding." --This is a great mentality to have. But again, how do you make kids work, read, study, turn in work, etc. if they won't want to and parents aren't supportive?
Key to making lasting changes is ongoing mentoring and support of classroom teachers. Above all, teachers are more likely to adopt an attitude of ownership if they get enough training and support to develop a real mastery of new practices.
-A good facilitator not only helps individual teachers implement the program successfully but is also able to deal with problems and overcome obstacles that come up along the way.
Steps for Supporting Schoolwide Commitment and Participation
1) Have a plan. There must be a long-term plan with funding that is linked directly to the expectation that student reading outcomes will improve. This plan should allow for three to five years of growth. [Is this growth for one grade level, or for a group of students? For instance, if my husband teaches a group of 8th graders for one year, is he expected to increase the next year's 8th graders scores to be higher than the previous years' kids? Or is just that group of kids he currently has, supposed to have increased scores over their three to five years?]
2) Get everyone involved -including counselors, librarians, etc.
3) Align standards, curriculum, textbooks, instructional programs, and assessments.
4) Organize your time.
5) Use the expertise of colleagues, mentors, and outside experts.
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