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(ST-1)
SCHOOLHOUSE TRANSFORMATION RESULTS
A Strategy for District Transformation: Becoming a Learning Organization
PHASE ONE
PHASE TWO
PHASE THREE
1. A School Design Team works
1. School improvement plans demonstrate
1. Students show gains in learning.
as a learning community and,
with the principal, focuses on
the school’s Directional System
and the changes needed to
support a focus on student
engagement.
2. The school uses the district’s
beliefs to generate a vision of
what the school would be like if
it made student engagement its
focus.
3. Teachers and the principal
have a clear, consistent, and
shared understanding of what
students are expected to know
and be able to do at various
grade levels. This includes not
only one’s own grade level but
also the grades above and
below so there is a “big picture”
of what all students are to know.
The understanding is consistent
with the standards adopted by
the state and district.
4. Teachers collaborate with
one another at the level of the
grade/discipline around the
work that they are providing to
students.
5. Teachers are engaged in
the core business of the school
and indicate higher levels of
satisfaction as a result of work
they are doing individually and
as a staff.
6. Teachers share a common
language as they talk with one
another about the work they are
designing for students.
7. The principal uses time and
resources differently to support
teacher collaboration around the
work provided to students.
8. New work designed around
“hard-to-teach” and “difficultto-learn” concepts has been
designed and tried and is now
available for teacher use.
focus on the core business of the schools,
reflect schools’ vision, make use of the
Classroom and School Standards, and are
congruent with district vision and beliefs.
2. Teachers routinely examine assessments
of student engagement (focus groups and
student groups) to modify or redesign the work
provided to students.
3. Students, when asked about their
engagement in the work they are provided,
report increased engagement.
4. Principals and teachers have control over
decisions about the allocation and use of
resources, the design of curriculum, and the
management of their students.
5. Teacher conversations and collaboration
increase around the work provided to students
and those matters teachers can control and
improve.
2. Indicators such as graduation rates,
grade-level passing rates, and student
attendance rates show positive trends.
3. Parent, teacher, and student satisfaction
continues to increase based on previous
years’ responses.
4. There are fewer teacher and student
transfers to other schools.
5. Principals and teachers feel they have
sufficient authority and resources to exercise
flexibility and innovation in their approach to
achieving intended results.
6. The school identifies and uses resources
in a strategic manner, the Classroom and
School Standards among others, to keep
focused on its beliefs, vision, and core
purpose.
7. The school eliminates practices that do
not support the core business and the role of
teachers as designers and leaders.
direction—student attendance is up because
students want to be in school; student discipline
8. Parents are more engaged in their
referrals are down because students want to
child’s education.
be in class and teachers are creating work
students want to do; and parent complaints are
9. Principals and teachers see the
down because they know their students are
relationship between their innovative use of
safe psychologically and physically.
resources and the success of their students
using a range of performance assessments
7. Parents report increased satisfaction with
devised by the district.
the school and with what is happening for
children.
10. Teachers routinely collaborate with one
another within schools and across all levels
8. The principal assesses himself/herself
of the system.
based on the capabilities of leaders of leaders
and develops his/her own growth plan for the
11. Staff members can articulate the means
year.
by which Working on the Work will be
sustained over time.
9. The School Design Team is a welldeveloped and respected vehicle for shaping
12. Principals and teachers maintain formal
both strategic decisions in support of the
and informal relationships with community
school’s direction and tactics that might be
agencies, businesses, and other youthemployed in the pursuit of that direction. In
serving agencies to ensure student success.
this regard, the School Design Team is clearly
committed to designing and refining the
13. Students are resources to schools and
systems needed to ensure that all students are collaborating agencies.
provided high-content, engaging work.
14. The School Design Team is a well10. School-level leaders develop themselves developed and respected vehicle for
and others to understand the roles and
shaping strategic decisions in support of
competencies needed to support and sustain
the school’s direction as well as the tactics
change.
that might be employed in the pursuit of that
In this regard, the School Design
11. A school participates in districtwide sharing direction.
Team is clearly committed to designing
about innovative practices and lessons from
and refining the systems needed to ensure
school transformation that might benefit other
that all students are provided high-content,
schools in the district.
engaging work.
6. Student indicators are moving in the right