Developing Futures : Design Principles of the Program

he Design Principles of Developing Futures  

Developing Futures includes strategies in six design principles: curriculum and instruction; professional development; constituency engagement; management capacity; GE leaders and volunteers; and evaluation. The GE Foundation believes that the sum of activities in these six areas will result in sustainable district-wide change and college readiness among all students.

Curriculum & Instruction

SPS is developing common, rigorous, standards-based math and science curricula for all students.

In math, one important goal will be to prepare all students to attain proficiency in Algebra I by the end of grade eight. Research shows that Algebra I coursework is a gatekeeper for high school and eventual college success, and students who do not successfully complete Algebra I have a higher rate of failure and dropout than other high school freshmen. SPS will delineate the steps needed to prepare students in grades K-7 and equip Algebra-proficient students to complete higher level coursework in high school. To read more about math in SPS, click here.

In science, inquiry-based instruction will form the basis of K-12 science instruction for all students, leading to a higher level of interest in the sciences. This will result in students taking increasing numbers of science courses in high school. Inquiry-based instruction is also consistent with CT state standards. To read more about science in SPS, click here.

Professional Development

The following initiatives will build the core professional development for all teachers to strengthen math and science instruction in SPS:

Professional learning communities through collaboration —SPS believes that time for teacher collaboration and planning, focused on student learning, is the key component of professional development. Evidence is emerging to show the links between professional learning communities (PLCs) and positive impacts on student achievement. Professional learning communities also support reflective practice, which is essential to develop trust among colleagues and break down barriers of competition. Over time, PLCs will be the primary, school-based professional delivery model for SPS. The Professional Development Steering Committee is a working group representing all schools that will set the standards for PLCs in SPS.

Content-intensive professional development for all teachers and voluntary summer math and science institutes— SPS will partner with content experts to provide essential math and science content knowledge and to develop voluntary content-intensive institutes in math and in science for SPS teachers and administrators.

Data-based decision making— All SPS educators will have ongoing opportunities to increase their expertise in using student data (assessments, student work) to incorporate the appropriate instruction, content and interventions needed to improve students’ math and science achievement and to plan professional development. Schools and Central office will build on the current Data Team model to review information collaboratively and develop a culture of accountability to each other and to students.

Coaching for math and science in every school —Coaching will increase teacher expertise through embedded professional development in pedagogy, data analysis techniques and content knowledge will result in improved student achievement in math and science. The salient features of site-based math and science coaching will include: teachers working with coach leaders to analyze and address the needs of individual students in classrooms; coaches modeling lessons and strategies in the classroom coaches providing critical feedback in a teacher’s own classroom; and teachers and coaches reflecting on what’s effective and opportunities for improvement.

Technology professional development— Technology professional development, based on results of a Spring 2006 technology survey of teachers and administrators, will include using technology to complement teaching strategies; using technology to assess student achievement; using technology to manage classroom records; and using data accessed from StarBase or the Research Office website (and eventually TetraData) to plan instruction. SPS will continue to focus on access to technology resources and providing needed materials and equipment.  

Constituency Engagement  

The SPS Superintendent, SEA leadership, SAU, Board of Education, community, university partners and business partners are committed to collaborative work to ensure the success of every student in our community. Efforts to engage all constituents are non-negotiable. SPS recognizes that it will take broad and comprehensive partnerships and innovative strategies to ensure success for all students.

Committees:

The Joint Committee of  is made up of equal administrator and SEA representation and is convened regularly to oversee and direct aspects and progress of the CBDP. 

The Best Practice Task Force is made up of approximately 50 teachers from all SPS schools. The Best Practice Task Force researches the best instructional practices in math and science and comprises a group of first communicators, who share information about the CBDP work to their colleagues. The Task Force reviews and analyzes data, professional development information and teacher feedback and makes informed recommendations about practice and program effectiveness. The focus of the 2006-2007 school year is Model Instruction in Math and Science.

The High School Reform Think Tank is a group of teachers, administrators, parents and students that discusses and makes high-level recommendations about high school issues related to math and science achievement and college readiness, and how reform would impact students, teachers, families and the community. 

The Community Business and University Partner Advisory will convene a group of local leaders in throughout the school year to advise SPS leaders through discussions about the skills and instruction needed to produce successful students in math and science, who will ultimately be successful college graduates ready to enter the workforce. The Advisory will brainstorm ways that community business and university resources can be leveraged to ensure college readiness among all SPS students. 

Management Capacity

By increasing management capacity, SPS intends to achieve several goals: improve service to stakeholders at Central office and schools; identify and implement strategies to improve information technology and processes in all areas of the SPS organization; increase capacity to survey stakeholders quickly and efficiently; create common time for teacher collaboration in every school; and develop leadership capacity and share high expectations for all students district-wide.  

GE Leaders and Volunteers

SPS will leverage both leadership and volunteer resources from GE business partners in a variety of ways. GE leaders will work with Superintendent to provide professional development in Net-Promoter Score (NPS) and Change Acceleration Process (CAP) training to address customer satisfaction. SPS will adapt NPS and CAP processes to become effective service providers for all constituents. NPS processes will help SPS staff at the building and Central office levels to improve service and create consistently positive “customer” experiences. GE volunteers will work primarily with school-based staff to provide services to students in existing and new programs.  

Evaluation

The vision for the SPS CBDP evaluation plan is to continuously collect data to gauge student outcomes, teacher professional development and system improvements on a regular basis to provide evidence of the expected impacts: increased college readiness and increased student achievement in math and science, exceeding state standards. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is evaluating the CBDP across districts for the GE Foundation and provides formative and summative feedback to SPS about implementation and outcome issues.

SPS will convene a group of national assessment and evaluation experts as members of the SPS Assessment Advisors. The Advisors will provide direction on creating rigorous common assessments in math and science, incorporating growth measures and value-added analysis of test scores and developing alternate assessments.

For more information about student data and testing, please visit the SPS Research Office Testing and Assessment page.