Parker Plan Manager Revisions to Turnaround Plan

PIA DURKIN.Ph.D.

SUPERINTENDENT

NEWBEDFORDPUBLICSCHOOLS

PAULRODRIGUESADMINISTRATIONBUILDING

455 COUNTYSTREET

NEWBEDFORD.MASSACHUSETTS02740

(508)997-4511Fax(508)991-7483

"Wearecommittedtodeveloping acommunityoflearnerswho areacademicallyproficient,demonstratestrongcharacterand exhibitself-confidence.”

JASONDeFALCO

CHIEF ACADEMICOFFICER

HEATHEREMSLEY EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR OFHUMANCAPITAL SERVICES

KIMBERLIA.BETTENCOURT

EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR OF

SPECIAL EDUCATIONSTUDENT SERVICES

BARRYRABINOVITCH,Ph.D.

INTERIMBUSINESS MANAGER

SONIA WALMSLEYENGLISHLANGUAGELEARNERSFAMILY WELCOME CENTER MANAGER

January11,2015

MitchellD.Chester,CommissionerDepartment ofElementaryand SecondaryEducation

75PleasantStreet

Malden,MA 02148

DearCommissionerChester,

Aswenotedinourrecentprogressreport fortheParker ElementarySchool,Turnaround ManagerDebLetendreresignedfromherpositioneffectiveDecember4,2015.TheParker's Level5turnaroundplanstatesthataTurnaroundManagerwilloverseetheschool'srapid improvementbycloselytrackingtheturnaroundplan,ensuringtheplan'scomponentsare implementedwithfidelity; andcloselymonitoringteacherqualityandstudentlearningwiththe

principal,Superintendent,andChiefAcademicOfficer.(page3}andtheoriginalplanwasto

havethispositioninplaceforthedurationoftheParker'snewturnaroundplan. However, aftermuchconsideration,Ihavedecidednottorehirefortheposition,giventhelevelofdeep involvementthatI,asSuperintendent/ReceiverandtheChiefAcademicOfficer,JasonDeFalco haveinParker'sturnaroundefforts.Beginninglastspring,wehavere-setseveralkey

conditionsfortheParkerSchoolbasedonadeepanalysisoflastyear'sstudentandschooldata. The newPrincipalhasrestructuredtheschooldaytoprovideadditionalandintensive supports toallParkerScholarsandwehavedevelopedamoretime-datedscheduleofprogress monitoringthatallowsforquickmid-coursecorrectioninclassroompracticeandprocedures. We believethattheongoingcoaching,supervision,and monitoringoftheacademicandsocial­ emotionalsupportstructuresprovidesusthenecessarytoolstoenacttherobustturnaround planforParkerwithouttheneedforadesignatedturnaroundmanagerposition. Mypresence attheschool once-twiceaweeksupplementedbyMr.DeFalco'songoingconversationswith

thePrincipalensuresthatimplementation.JenFerlandisassistingwiththenecessaryreporting oftheprogressofouractions.

The NewBedfordPublicSchoolsdonot discriminateon thebasisofage.gender.race.color.religion, ethnicity.

nationalorigin,disability.sexualorientation.ancestry.homelessness. genderidentityorgenderexpression.

Therefore,theresponsibilitiesoftheTurnaroundManageroutlined intheParker'splanwillbe sharedamongthreeofusinthecentraloffice-myChiefAcademicOfficerJasonDeFalco, DirectorofSupplementaryServices,andme-asoutlinedinthechartattached.

Iamhappytodiscussthisfurther atyourconvenience.

Sincerely,

Pia Durkin, PhD

Superintendent/Receiver

Cc:JasonDeFalco,ChiefAcademicOfficer,NewBedfordPublicSchools

JenFerland,DirectorofSupplementaryServices,NewBedfordPublicSchools RussellJohnston,SeniorAssociateCommissioner,Department ofElementaryand SecondaryEducation

AndreaCondit,DistrictAssistanceLiaison,Department ofElementaryandSecondary

Education

LiseZeig,AssociateCommissioner,DepartmentofElementaryandSecondaryEducation JoanTuttle,Director,OfficeofDistrictandSchoolTurnaround,Department ofElementary andSecondaryEducation

ReassignmentoftheTurnaroundManager Responsibilities

Outlined intheParkerElementary School'slevel5TurnaroundPlan

FromtheTurnaroundPlan:

•TurnaroundManagerwilloverseetheschool'srapidimprovementbycloselytrackingtheturnaround plan,ensuringtheplan'scomponentsareimplementedwithfidelity;andcloselymonitoringteacher qualityandstudentlearningwiththe principal,Superintendent,andChiefAcademicOfficer(page3)

•Strategy1.3:Superintendentwillhireaturnaroundmanagertoensurethattheturnaroundplan's strategiesleadtoimprovementsinstudentlearning.(page10-specificresponsibilitiesoutlinedbelow)

•PositionwillbeinplaceforthedurationoftheParkerturnaroundplan.Thisstrategyisinformedby

LocalStakeholderGrouprecommendationE-4.(Page11)

NewapproachasofDecember4,2015:Movingforward, theTurnaroundManager'sresponsibilitieswill besharedamongtheSuperintendent,ChiefAcademicOfficer(CAO),andDirectorofSupplemental Services,giventhedeepinvolvementofthesethreerolesaswellasaresettingofkeyconditionsthat allowforboththeexplicitmonitoringandongoingadjustmentoftheacademicandsocial-emotional structuresthatareinherentintheParkerturnaroundplan.Thesekeyconditionsincludeamajor restructuringofthescheduleoftheschooldayandamoretime-datedsystemof progressmonitoring to

reviewgoalsandefforts. Theongoingcoaching,supervision,andmonitoringofthisworkprovidesuswith

thenecessarytoolstoenactandthe planwithouttheneedforadesignated turnaroundmanager.The Superintendent/Receiver'spresenceintheschoolonaonce-twiceweeklybasisandongoing communicationbetweentheCAO andthePrincipalensuresstrongimplementationoftheplan.

Specificresponsibilitiesoutlined intheParkerlevel5turnaroundplan:

Turnaroundmanagerwill: / Reassignedto:
Strategy1.2:Uselevel 5authoritiestoincreasetheamountoffocusedandaccountable professionaldevelopmentforteachersondeliveringeffective,engaging,andrigorousreading andmathinstructioninTiersI,II,andIllduringandbeyondthecoreblock.(Responsibility sharedwithprincipal;page8) / Superintendent, ChiefAcademic Officer, Principal
Manageimplementationoftheschool'sturnaroundplanandorganizeandcoordinate resourcestoensureplanisimplemented.(Page10) / Directorof Supplemental Services
Coordinateprofessionaldevelopmentwithprincipal,ChiefAcademicOfficer,and
Superintendentandassessimpactofprofessionaldevelopmenton classroominstruction(page
10)
0HelpprincipalcoordinatejobembeddedPDbyliteracycoach(p.21,3.3) / Superintendent, Principal, Directorof Supplemental Services
Helpschooldevelopdatamanagementsystemsandongoingassessments(page10)
Strategy3.1Createacoherent systemfororganizingstudentdata,communicating datato studentsandteachers,andactingondata.
0Collectthedata:Createacoherent systemforcollectingandorganizingcommon formativeassessment(CFA)data.
0Identifyanexternalpartnertoassistinthiswork
0Communicate thedata:Createastudentdata"dashboard"systemtoprovidethe principalandteacherswithtimelyviewsofallstudents'academicprofiles andnon- academicprofilesforstudentswhoareat-risk(seePriority Area4).
0Sharedatawithstudents:Helpstudentsunderstandtheirownperformancedata,set goals,andidentifystrategiesforimprovement.
0Createtoolstouse thedata:Improveexistingtoolsandcreatenewtoolstohelp
teachersandtheprincipalanalyzedata(e.g.,spreadsheetsforreviewingCFAdata schoolwide,TCTtoolkit,etc.)ProvideappropriatePOintheuseofthesedatatools.
0Usingexistingdata,conducta"rootcause"analysistoidentify whystudentsstruggleto meetgrade-levelgoalsandexpectations.
0Thisanalysiswillinformthescheduleandtopicsforprofessionaldevelopmentneeds addressedinPriorityArea1.
Thisstrategyisinformed byLocalStakeholderGrouprecommendationA-2. (p.20}
0 Withthesupport oftheprincipalandtheturnaroundmanager,createbanksofrigorous assessmentquestionsalignedwiththecurrent curriculumstandardsforteacherstouse intheirCFAs.Sharequestionswithotherelementaryschools.(p.20,3.2) / Superintendent, andthe
Managerof
Curriculum, Dataand Assessment
Sharelessonslearnedandbestpracticesfromotherdistrict andschoolleaderswithprincipal
(page10) / Superintendent andChief Academic Officer
ReporttoSuperintendentdirectly toensurethatprogressisbeingmadeandrecommendmid- coursecorrectionsifprogressisnotontrack(page10-11) / ChiefAcademic Officer; Managerof Curriculum, Dataand Assessment; andPrincipal
Providegeneralsupport forTiersI,II,andIll, includingtrainingforcoreteachers,summer institute,targeted PO(p.8-9) / ChiefAcademic Officerand Principal
Providegrowth-producingfeedbacktoteachers / Superintendent andPrincipal