district-sponsored programs fostermentorship and/or opportunities to collaborate with other new teachers

results of this study support the notion that self-efficacy, derived fromsuccessful field and student teaching experiences and the ability to use reflection forproblem solving actually outweighed positive school climate as a factor in noviceteacher success

Research on teacher retention underscores the need for a positive and support-ive school environment in order to assist novice teachers in becoming successful,confident teachers.

Much of the teacher education literature focuses on teacher quality and how bestto produce that level of quality in teacher education programs.

teachers in this study pointedto the numerous and diverse field and student teaching experiences connected tocontent that gave them the confidence they needed to develop and use a widerepertoire of teaching and management strategies

positive and supportive school culture

focus should be on raising competence and confidence

onfronted with inadequate support by administrators, lack of re-sources, and the mismatch between the traditional practices of teacher educationprogram curricula and schoo

dissatisfaction from administration and opportunities forprofessional development are key factors in teachers choosing to transfer to otherschools to find better employment opportunities and working conditions.

Unlike those in the study who left the public school classroom altogether, thevoluntary movers had not given up on teaching instead they looked for schools thatmade good teaching possible.

Reflection is a fundamental part of this assessment process,from daily reflections in “exit slips” at the end of classto more in-depth reflections during portfolio defenses orexhibitions

Key to this approach is a focus on mastery, which shiftsthe purpose of instruction from task completion to deeperlearning

research has shown that group work is particularlyeffective,

Schools that incorporate these key features are more likelyto develop students who have transferrable academic skills,feel a sense of purpose and connection to school, graduateand go on to college, and are prepared for a fast-changingjob market.

Individual differences, along with differences in parents’education, amount of time parents can spend with theirchildren, environmental stimulation, social context, andculture all affect the developmental process

Students come to the classroom with prior knowledgethat must be addressed if teaching is to be effective.2. Students need to organize and use knowledgeconceptually if they are to apply it beyond theclassroom.3. Students learn more effectively if they understand howthey learn and how to manage their own learning

Moreover, research suggests that poverty and the socialissues that frequently accompany it (e.g., housing instability,substance abuse, crime, and unemployment) have anegative impact not only on individual students but on theculture of their schools, undermining the collegiality andtrust that organizations need in order to improve

workingvocabulary of four-year-old children from low-incomefamilies is approximately one third the size of that ofchildren from middle-income families

Complicating matters further, the segregation of studentson the basis of race and socio-economic status hasintensified over the last thirty years

many administrators inside of school districts andcharter management organizations are not readyto let go of the control to which they have becomeaccustomed.

Soon more policymakers willrecognize that assessing deeper learning requiresmore than standardized tests, including formativeassessments that teachers themselves develop,calibrate, and score. T

A host of organizational conditionsdetermine the degree to which teacher leaders areable to share their expertise at scale

we can look to what researchers haveobserved in other nations

America’s education policymakers have a long historyof ignoring the time and resources needed forteachers to sustain deeper learning for their students

core academic content, critical thinking andproblem solving, collaboration in teams, effective communication, self-directed learning,and academic mindset

Seeking both excellence and equity in publiceducation will require American school systemsto shift in dramatic ways

But deeper learning also requires rethinking howschools are organized and led as well as how (andhow much) our nation invests in students

Instruction designed around deeperlearning involves student voice and choice, incorporates feedback and revision,and typically culminates with a publicly presented product or performance

vocational associates

Behavior: Behavior is also a shared responsibility among the schools, parents and students

For the last decade, the WVDE has been working with LEAs and schools tofocus their attention on monitoring student success in the A-B-C’s (attendance, behavior andcourse credits) in an effort to identify high-risk students who need additional support to succeed

Awarding performance points in this progressive manner, coupled with a process ofmeaningfully differentiating school performance and identifying schools for comprehensive ortargeted supports (described below), is believed to provide local education agencies (LEAs) andschools incentive to continually propagate higher levels of student performance in ways previousaccountability systems used in the State have not

, it is expected that improvements beyond the near-term 2020 target of 90% will bemore hard-fought and incremental.

By this process the statewide long-term goal for ELA proficiency for the all student group isestablished as 73.8% by the end of the 2029-2030 school year

West Virginia has approached the process of setting long-term goals for academic achievementwith the idea that improved academic performance can be an important and essential stimulantfor the State’s economy

The Pre-K through grade 12 student population of West Virginia consists of slightly more than270,000 students and has been declining slightly for five years.

Using the State’s definition of languages other than English that are present to a significantextent, no additional academic assessments in other languages are currently needed, includingSpanish, which is recognized by the State as a language other than English present to asignificant extent in the State’s English Learner population.

Complementary Communication

superintendents have a political role but ratherhow they enact it (

superintendents to handle day-to-day managementresponsibilities (e.g., budgeting and personnel oversight, facilitymanagement, public relations)

school districts served as a way to prepare children toenter the workforce as well as to assimilate them into the Americanculture.

Historical antecedents contributed to school districts beingcentralized, hierarchical, and bureaucratic

The Finnish exampl

developing coherent, district-level management systems characterizedby effective teamwork and expanded communication networks

Data can be separated into three broad categories for analysisand interpretation: input, progress and outcome variables

student performance can be improved, it must be defined and measured

Using data wisely requires clarity of purpose, time and a desire to seek and understandimproved educational achievement. Ultimately, superintendents say that data have made theirjob easier because data help them determine whether the policies approved at the district levelare having the intended impact in the classroom

In a choice system like [Seattle’s], customersneed to know how schools are doing so they can makewise choices,” Benzel says

Data-driven school improvement requiresadministrators to challenge their own assump-tions.

district should begin data collection by defining what it wants to know.

perceptions data is very important for under-standing schools and the health of the district.

In data-driven districts, superintendents work side by side with other administrators, teachers,principals and parents to ensure all children achieve. Everyone strives toward common goals.Data provide quantifiable proof, taking the emotion and rancor out of what can be tough callsfor superintendents and school boards (e.g., dismantling a popular but ineffective program orclosing a school). Data also provide the substance for meaningful, ongoing dialogue within theeducational community

A trusting and collaborative relationship between the board and superintendent

clear that school boards in high-achieving districts holda high, shared vision about the capabilities of both students and staff—

a lack of parent interest in education; in fact, they were able to list only a few efforts to solicit com-munity involvement

In high-achieving districts, school boardmembers could provide specific examplesof how they connected and listened to thecommunity, and were able to identify con-crete ways they promoted this involvement

Poverty, lack of parental involvement and other factors were described as challenges to be over-come, not as excuses

. Effective school boards commit to a vision of high expectations for student achievement andquality instruction and define clear goals toward that vision

They are increasingly data savvy—identifying student needs and justifying decisions based on data.Eight Characteristics ofEffective School Boards

Thisdocument decried the mediocre conditionof education in American by substantiatingand addressing systemic educational fail-ure and adamantly advocated sweepingand immediate changes in educational

notes a shift of thought con-cerning learning, which is viewed as anactive process rather than an industrialmodel of acquiring knowledge and com-municating knowledge.

Thefunctional relationship between the schoolboard and the superintendent is a criticalconnection which stands at the apex of theorganizational pyramid in education

The differences were in the areas identi-fied as inconsistent actions of the boardwith district values, public disagreement,and the lack of discussion on values. Thesedifferences represented a disparity ingroup dynamics and communication

The results of this study indicatedthat data suggests that there was a differ-ence in Texas school board and superin-tendents’ perceptions regarding the schoolboard-superintendent working relationship.

relationship un-derscores the need to better understandhow each school board president and su-perintendent perceive the effectiveness oftheir operations and the need to developrelationships that will foster high achiev-ing schools

working relation-ship of the board of trustees and the super-intendent has been characterized as morecomplex and stressful due to educationalreform and high expectations