session114

Tom Venezio – International Center for Leadership in Education Vice-President, Successful Practices Network Director July 1, 2007 Model Schools Conference 2007 – Washington D.C.

Benefits of the Successful Practices Network and Collaborating Online for Rigor and Relevance (CORR) – Session 114

The Successful Practices Network is an alliance of more than 650 schools (K-12) that have made a true commitment to continuous school improvement. This session, designed for new and prospective Network members, will provide a comprehensive overview of Network benefits, services, expectations, and new activities for 2007-08. This session will also describe Collaborating Online for Rigor and Relevance (for Quad D Lessons and for Instructional Strategies), interactive, collaborative experiences for creating high quality lessons and using varied instructional strategies that reinforce the use of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. Any school can participate in CORR.

SPN = about 650 schools in 40 states (501C3) – each has made the commitment to continuous school improvement SPN is a separate institution from the ICLE SPN is meant to facilitate the sharing of expertise among schools

Membership benefits:
 * Connect w/other schools to share best successful practices
 * Assistance forma personal liaison
 * Professional development activities
 * Access to members-only web site (material can be accessed by anyone in the member districts/schools)
 * Discounts on products and conferences

Member responsibilities
 * Be an active member of the Network by using its services and resources to nurture school improvement and provide support and assistance to other Network schools

Staff involvement
 * All staff are entitled to use ALL resources and services of the Network (every faculty member gets personal access)
 * Sign up staff for a web site long-in ID and be placed on the Network mailing list

Liaison
 * Every school has an appointed liaison who:
 * Provide personal assistance
 * Respond promptly to requests
 * Provide access to shared expertise
 * Connect members w/consultants and each other

Instead of single contact, Network wants a contact team (3 people) w/contact information

Cost is $6,000 for first year – included site visit / each successive year is $4,000/year

Professional development
 * Collaborating Online for Rigor and Relevance (CORR)
 * 30 hour online staff development program
 * Rigor Relevance framework walk-through (limit numbers to cohorts of 25 - with one facilitator who will help with the threaded discussion following support from SPN)
 * Development of Quadrant D lessons
 * Arrangement w/University of South Dakota – graduate credit

Discussion points [|http://rigor-relevance.com]

Components of CORR
 * Develop
 * Connect
 * Explore
 * Share
 * Apply

High Rigor/High Relevance Lesson Components
 * Focus
 * Student learning
 * Performance tasks
 * Standards
 * Scoring guide
 * Exemplars (optional)
 * Teacher procedures (optional)

Quadrant D Lessons: 10 Topics
 * Why R and R
 * R/R Framework
 * Identifying levels of R and R
 * Teaching for high R and R
 * Identifying student learning
 * Writing performance tasks
 * Linking to state standards
 * Assessment for high R /high R
 * Writing lessons for high R/high R
 * Submitting and revising lessons

Looks like some really high quality sample pages – infuses multimedia and is visually appealing

Gold Seal Lessons Implementing the R/R Framework
 * if member school sends between 5-10 lessons, a SPN content editor will edit to assure D Quadrant
 * once submitted, member school gets access to bank of Quadrant D lessons (over 600 exemplars currently in bank)
 * Submit lessons to SPN for review
 * SPN will review up to 10 lessons
 * Lessons are returned to school
 * Free to member schools
 * digital template online – sent to SPN digitally

[|www.successfulpractices.org] – members only web site

SPN - //Moving schools from promising to proven//


 * Website updated nearly daily
 * Anyone can have direct access to their liaison
 * Best Practices Repository – example given in packet
 * Resource Library – curriculum library, successful practices bulletin, Network monthly (e-newsletter), views you can use, white papers, curriculum survey of essential skills, gold seal lessons, PPT presentations, Lexile, Quantile, and Quadrant D Lessons

NESS report offered at no cost to members – also available on the SPN home page (as of June 27, 2007, over 10,000 respondents)

The Learning Criteria to Support R, R, R – Packet that can be downloaded from the website
 * Way to assess school improvement initiatives
 * Measure that will be used to identify top-performing schools
 * Four components – Core academic learning, stretch learning, student engagement, personal skill development
 * How do you define and measure core?
 * How do we stretch kids and push them beyond the core?

Podcasts/Vodcasts
 * Strategies for implementing reading and writing across the curriculum
 * Collaborating online for R and R and the Quad D Gold Seal Lessons are explained
 * Successful strategies from Brockton High School
 * Data about students with special needs – Larry Gloeckler
 * Implementing the Learning Criteria to Support R, R, R, - Ray McNulty
 * At least one podcast/vodcast per month / accompanied by hard copy

Member discount of 20% for all International Center Products
 * $1,000 off Daggett and McNulty speaking fees
 * 20% discount on registration fees for the Model Schools Conference and Symposium (great events for teams because collaboration time is built into the activities)

Additional benefit - $500 professional development credit for instructional membership

Regional Workshops
 * Free one-day workshops (looking for 100 people)
 * Broad range of topics (literacy, R & R, CORR, differentiation, STEM)
 * *STEM – Science, Tech, Engineering, Math
 * UT, FL, MI, KY, CO, OH – scheduled so far this year
 * More to come . ..