Creating the Schools Our Children Deserve

Activity Guide

Activities are listed in the order they appear in the power point presentation.

Activity 1

Build your ideal school

  1. Individually, write the qualities of your ideal school on the provided index cards; one attribute per card. Write as many as you need.
  2. When you have finished, compare the qualities of your school with the others at your table. Discuss the conditions that would be evident at your school.
  3. Create a school building using the index cards and tape. Be as creative as your wish.
  4. When complete, have each table describe their school and the qualities they determined to be most important.
  5. Extension- take several (or all) of the schools nad join them to make a district. How does this change the schools? Are they stronger? Why? Are the any conflicts? Why?

Supplies needed:

·  Index cards

·  Markers

·  Masking tape

Activity 2

Data Review

  1. Review TAPR reports for the Region, District or Campus based on your audience.
  2. Ask what they notice. Do this individually or as a group.
  3. Record each attribute on a “sticky note”.
  4. Continue until there are no more interesting facts to notice.
  5. Group the “sticky notes” into categories.
  6. What student groups are doing well?
  7. What student groups are struggling the most?
  8. What questions emerge?

Supplies needed:

·  Print TAPR reports for the Region, District or Campus based on audience or online access to the reports.

·  “Sticky notes”

Activity 3

Equity Audit

  1. Pass out copy of Equity Audits: A Practical Leadership Tool for Developing Equitable and Excellent Schools, by Linda Skrla, James Joseph Scheurich,

Juanita Garcia and Glenn Nolly

  1. Number tables 1 to 3.
  2. All- Scan introduction and history (pages 133-142)
  3. Assign sections to jigsaw:

·  All- Scan introduction and history (pages 133-142)

·  1- Review Teacher Quality (pages 142-145)

·  2- Review Programmatic Quality (pages 146-148)

·  3- Review Achievement Quality (pages 148-150)

  1. Pass out poster paper and markers.
  2. Ask each group to record:

·  3 things you notice

·  1 question you still have

  1. Report out by area: Teacher Quality, Program Quality, Achievement Quality
  2. Provide time between each section for teams to review their TAPR data and questions. Have them add or revise as needed.
  3. Go back to your ideal school/district. How does that compare to the outcomes for the real school/district you are studying.

Supplies needed:

·  Copies of Equity Audits: A Practical Leadership Tool for Developing Equitable and Excellent Schools, by Linda Skrla, James Joseph Scheurich, Juanita Garcia and Glenn Nolly

·  Poster paper

·  Markers

Activity 4

Program, Practice & Intervention Review

1.  Distribute the Program, Practice & Intervention Review worksheet

2.  List the various programs and practices (intervention) in place at your school/district to support targeted areas of need in the left hand column.

3.  Next to each indicate the target audience.

4.  Rate the effectiveness of the intervention based on a review of System Safeguards as

·  Highly effective

·  Moderately effective

·  Not yet effective

·  Time to change

5.  List the evidence you used to make the rating.

6.  Complete the chart for each program, practice or intervention targeting specific academic or behavioral needs.

7.  Review your findings to determine which programs, practices or interventions are most effective, which ones need review and any that should be considered for discontinuation.

8.  Next review your data and this chart to determine if there are areas of unmet needs.

Supplies needed:

·  Program, Practice & Intervention Review worksheet

Activity 5

Changing Beliefs and Practice

1.  Review the Changing Beliefs and Practices chart.

2.  For each belief, answer the following questions:

·  What 3 things could you do to move along the continuum?

·  What one question do you still have?

Supplies needed:

·  Copies of Changing Beliefs and Practice chart

·  Chart paper

·  Markers

Activity 6

Putting FACES on the Data – What Great Leaders do!

  1. Distribute Putting FACES on the Data – What Great Leaders do by Lyn Sharratt & Michael Fullan, Journal of Staff Development (JSD), December, 2011
  2. Determine the best way to jigsaw the article depending upon the size of the group.
  3. Discuss

·  How does Fullan & Sharratt’s approach differ from your current practice?

·  What information does the focus on individual students provide that percentages do not?

·  Why might you want to use this process?

  1. Review the actions you previously considered.
  2. Which actions are the most powerful?
  3. Pick 3 to make an action plan

·  What tools do you need?

·  When will it happen?

·  Who will take the lead?

·  Who needs to be in the conversation?

  1. Give each table a sticky chart and have them record their plan.
  2. Post when completed.
  3. Do a Gallery Walk to share ideas or have each team present out

Supplies needed:

·  Copies of Putting FACES on the Data – What Great Leaders do by Lyn Sharratt & Michael Fullan, Journal of Staff Development (JSD), December, 2011

·  Chart paper

·  Markers

Activity 7

Articulate a hypothesis

  1. With the sentence stem visible, have teams create one or more hypotheses.

If students ______then their ability to do______would improve.

  1. Group target students by narrow sub skill to be taught
  2. Consider time and place
  3. Consider best way to explicitly teach the target skill
  4. Measure results with small exit ticket or mini-assessment
  5. Repeat….

Supplies needed:

·  Chart paper

·  Markers