Annual Report Overviews

Annual Overview

MSI has helped teachers be learners, helped people take responsibility for learning, ... MSI has been a significant force. (superintendent)

That is my vision. When I first got there (first year here) I believed in professionalism of the teacher and try to get them to make decisions. At first the faculty thought I was not being a leader. Now it has been turned around - because they are making decisions. I am surprised that it has happened that fast. (principal)

This report is provided as a progress summary for the Mesa Systemic Initiative’s third year as a local systemic change project. For a full report, please refer to the two evaluations published by Lesley College Professional Evaluation and Research Group in October 1998 and January 1999.

Data and observations in this narrative have been taken extensively from the PERG reports and pre-reports, as well as from MSI’s on-going data base developed by Saguaro Software. For clarification, please note that summary information has been reported by MPS school year (July 1, 1997 - June 30, 1998).

I think there is more dialogue - people getting together to share good ideas. I think people have become less isolated than in the past. (principal)

The number of teachers who are involved in making decisions about the school has gone up. (teacher)

Empowerment of teachers through the creation of professional communities at the school level, continues to be a fundamental structure of the MSI. In its third year, this effort showed significant indicators of success. Development of site plans by school teams, evidenced greater learning of effective models for teacher enhancement. Less one-shot efforts and fewer scatter-shot targets were attempted. Greater use of vehicles that provide a sustained focus were structured into schools plans in year three. Fewer site goals were set, but more support was built into each design to reach those goals.

Teachers share lessons and talk about lessons, talk to each other, they have a positive attitude, they work hard, and are comfortable with that. Teachers are open for revision; open to trying new things. (junior high science teacher)

There is more evidence that the schools are becoming aware of their underlying knowledge base and teachers have valued opportunities to work with each other as colleagues. They are also "learning" to take responsibility for their own professional development and better using that time.

Being an MSI Synergy Teacher has given me leadership, taught me the skills of leadership. [Before my experience as an MSI synergy teacher, I] had not had that ability at all. (junior high science synergy teacher)

One of the real pluses to synergy team is the people who happen to have become part of it were very non-leadership oriented and this has brought about a slow metamorphosis... [For one of the math synergy teachers it has been a ] very, very positive influence – MSI experience has bolstered confidence so he feels respected and has something to offer and is a much more visible member of faculty. (principal)

Central in the development of the school learning community has been the building of a leadership base at each site. This has been an extension of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (C-BAM) around which the developmental model was designed. In school year 97-98, 280 teachers held site-based leadership positions:

• 44 elementary technology liaisons
• 53 elementary district technology liaisons
• 48 elementary math mentors
• 97 elementary science liaisons
• 18 elementary science synergy teachers
• 12 junior high technology synergy teachers
• 12 junior high mathematics synergy teachers
• 12 junior high science synergy teachers

These teacher leaders provided a wide range of assistance at their site, including:

The overall leadership base and resources that the principal has to carry out the task of leadership at each site were also expanded.

I have become a valued voice to my principal, he listens to me about Science stuff. [As a result,] math and science teachers have more access to computers. (junior high science synergy teacher)

Principals Roundtables
Inservice specifically designed for principal instructional leadership was extended and expanded in 1997-98.

• Three all day Principals’ Roundtables were held in collaboration with the Arizona Science Center in which 33 principals, assistant principals or principal interns participated.
• MSI funded 21 Mesa principals to attend the Principals’ Institute on National Science Education Standards at National Science Teachers Association regional and national conferences.
• Secondary principals also participated in training through the Assistant Superintendent’s office in "systems thinking" and other Senge models of organizational change.

The round tables have been really helpful in helping principals understand what they should be looking for in science in the classroom - they are so burdened they have not taken time to see what is going on - they have spoken with assistant supers about, " we need this kind of support so we can establish site incentive goals around science goals and objectives, we need ways to get teachers in face to face dialogue with each other, we need recommendations for how to communicate with them regularly, to help them understand the picture better. (principal)

We are starting to see more emphasis from principals on "Do not forget science". I hear that, "This year I will focus on science and talk to my staff about it." This will be a catalyst for teachers. I credit this to the prominence of MSI and the site plans. There is money out there they can tie into and also the principal Roundtables... from my office I get many more calls from principals who ask technical questions that they did not previously, such as, "Tell me more about the content of this kit," or "Can my teachers substitute kit A for kit B?" or "Can you come in and talk to teachers about the content behind the science kits?" I never got those before. (Director of Science )

Participation included essentially every classroom teacher in the 60 enrolled elementary and junior high schools. A wide range of professional development designs were available to both the individual teacher and the school organization. An overview of these enhancements is described in Appendix A of this report.

We’ve seen a greater number of staff go and observe math, science and technology [and then] share among themselves. (principal)

In keeping with the systemic nature of the project, support was provided to participants through a number of vehicles:

• Leadership development
• School site plans
• District-based inservice
• Site-based inservice
• Special Presenters
• Arizona State University

We have more active committees that collaborate in different decision making areas. (elementary teacher)

The number of teachers who are involved in making decisions about the school has gone up. (elementary teacher)

To ensure development of the teacher leadership base in 97-98 that will sustain the grant structure after the funding ceases, a variety of activities were implemented on a regular basis. These included:

• Monthly professional development meetings for all teacher leader groups where teachers discussed pedagogy, curriculum content, adult learning, and standards.
• MSI funds supporting individual professional development goals for teacher leaders, including state and national conferences in science and math.
• Coordination of MSI teacher enhancement with other district professional development departments, facilitated by MSI, ensuring a consistent approach and philosophy aligned with national standards.
• Creation of a resource guide to non-traditional strategies for professional development reflective of current best practices.
• Time and guidance for teacher leaders to develop workshops in different areas including assessment, inquiry, discrete mathematics and effective use of technology.

[My learning community is made up of] science teachers within science building, and to a lesser extent, the teachers at other buildings, we pick up ideas from them at synergy meetings and district meetings. (junior high science synergy teacher)

In our math department we collaborate all the time and share ideas. We have a resource center, and we’re always sharing. We ask each other, "what are you doing, how did this work", and then we use some of the money that we have in our plan to get together in study groups, all algebra teachers get together, discuss our strategies. We meet as a math department and discuss how things are going in general, then break into the subject areas, then discuss, what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and this type of thing. (junior high math synergy teacher)

"In order to create a learning community, we must replace teacher isolation with collaboration that is systematically embedded into the daily life of the school," said Dr. Richard Dufour in "Overcoming Barriers to a Learning Community." Developing plans and then supporting those plans through the resources of the MSI is just such a strategy. It recognizes that the range of needs and levels of organizational change vary greatly in a district of 70,000 students. Assisting each school with identifying local site-based needs has been a step in the site planning process. A culture for change could then be more accurately matched to the readiness of the individual school.

Site plans, developed by the school leadership teams and approved by the MSI, were funded for up to $4,000 per site. Most of these budgets were combined with other resources such as Title I, Goals 2000, or Career Ladder moneys, to extend a comprehensive plan for mathematics and science improvement.

In that time (3 years) there have been a lot of opportunities to meet with other teachers, especially in other schools. I think that’s that hardest aspect of teaching in a big district, you can’t meet with other teachers. MSI has allowed us to do that, we are meeting, sharing strategies, MSI is responsible for our meetings. There’s a lot of power for teachers when they’re given the opportunity to meet like that. (junior high science synergy teacher)

On all levels, all Junior High teachers get together more. I see Math teachers from other schools, share ideas at the meetings, share ideas that we get there with our staff as well, it’s opened up communication throughout the district amongst the math teachers. (junior high math synergy teacher)

District inservice classes in mathematics, science and technology were provided in collaboration with other professional development departments to serve a range of topics and populations:

• Teachers New to Teaching
• Teachers New to Mesa
• Teacher New to Grade Level
• Adapting new materials to Mesa curriculum and National Standards
• Discrete Mathematics
• Assessment strategies
• Technology for science and mathematics

The more we can meet on a regular basis (career ladder etc.) the more we can help principals at the sites see how MSI can be a smooth part of integrating what they are doing. It will help them see it as not one more thing to do. We are so darned big – that is part of the fragmentation that occurs. Trying to handle Career Ladder, or the special courses, instructional strategies, is mind boggling - and one thing Bob and MSI have done very well is to bring the different pieces together and show how we work together. (administrator)

A sample of 1997-98 district-based professional development included:

• Teachers New to Teaching (TNT) were provided an introduction to the NCTM standards, reflection of the first year math teacher, and assessment strategies. (TNT is a 18 hour district based program for all new instructors.)
• Elementary Summer Science Institute — 150 elementary teachers participated in this four day workshop designed around the content areas in science taught at each grade level.
• JHS Summer Science Institute — 36 junior high science teachers participated in this nine-day workshop which included specific units on topics such as electricity, performance-based assessments, astronomy and introduction to new probe-ware. Teachers collaborated and shared lessons, labs and activities for the new JHS curriculum. This collaboration resulted in the production of an extensive resource manual for each grade level.
• New JHS Science teacher’s group —new JHS science teachers participated in this year-long study group which focused on the scientific method and how to teach it to students.
• Elementary "Journey" program for new teachers and teachers new to grade level — over 70 elementary teachers participated in this year-long program which focused on science kit training specific to each grade level. Participants kept a journal of their experiences and were provided with continuing feedback from elementary science resource teachers.
• Image Processing for Teachers Workshop (Level II) — Fifteen teachers finished up the Training for Trainers through the Center for Image Processing. This week long training certified our teachers to teach Image Processing in our district.
• Vernier Probe Training through Vernier — The use of probes in the science classroom — junior high technology synergy team and other science teachers.
• Microworlds — Workshop on software to support the application of discrete mathematics concepts.

An expanded list can be viewed in Appendix A.

The relief team has enabled us to work together more closely in planning our lessons. (elementary teacher)

Relief teachers have been a phenomenal motivator. The teachers don’t have to plan lessons and can have two hour inservices during the day – and they have been anxious to use that time. "Okay we have these CD - I don’t have time to look at them after school - lets see how they adapt to science curriculum and grade level. With the relief teachers, it is the whole grade level and they are refreshed and the work that comes out has been phenomenal. They have been very excited – this unit is done and we can see how technology fits into curriculum. (technology specialists)

In response to the difficulty of obtaining substitute teachers and in the general desire to minimize disruption to the classroom caused by a mid-week professional development schedule, a model called special presenters (earlier entitled relief teachers) was created in the project’s first year. This special presenter option continued to grow in hours and impact on participating schools in 1997-98. 1241 elementary classrooms were served by the 23 special presenters. 33 out of 48 elementary schools utilized the program providing students with high interest instructional modules in science, mathematics and technology. Teachers could then participate in two and one half hours of focused on-site professional development. A complete summary of special presenters can be found in Appendix B.

ASU continues to be a strong collaborative partner, providing assistance at both the school and district level. During the past year, ASU staff assisted with instruction at MSI science and mathematics summer academies, provided help to individually designed school efforts and engaged Mesa teachers extensively in ASU’s Arizona Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (ACEPT) and Long Term Ecological Research Project (LTER).

Three sections of classes were conducted at ASU funded by MSI, designed specifically for MPS goals and teachers:

• Patterns in Nature — fall 97- taught by Prof. Jim Mayer, this course stressed content instruction by focusing on various patterns found in the natural and physical sciences. Offered to both elementary and JHS teachers.
• Topics in Physical Science — spring 98 — Offered to JHS science teachers, this course, taught by Dr. Susan Wyckoff, incorporated technology in lesson plans concerning physical science topics.
• Science as Inquiry — spring 98 — Taught by Prof. Tony Lawson, this course was offered to elementary teachers. It introduced teachers to the concept of the Learning Cycle, which was then applied to the science kits as taught in Mesa Public Schools.

• Tucson Unified School District - Assisted Don Horsley develop pre-assessment information regarding teacher knowledge/skill level in science and technology.
• Arizona Technology Conference - Assisted organization of this event attended by nearly 1,000 people throughout the state. Workshops on utilizing technology in the classroom were presented by MPS classroom teachers over a two day period.
• Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry — A total of four elementary principals and seven elementary classroom teachers were funded to go to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. This intensive five or six day course teaches participants the adventure of doing inquiry-based science explorations. As a result of this training, one school (Mendoza Elementary) is turning to inquiry-based learning strategies not only in science, but in other subject areas as well.

• MSI Web Page - http://www.mesa.k12.az.us/~msi
• Development of Probability Unit for Special Presenters
• Workshop on Effective Use of Two Computers in the Classroom - workshop addresses management, integration, math/science and collaboration. Approximately 1,000 teachers have taken this 2.5 hour workshop.
• Co-wrote the manual for Module IV through the Instructional Technology Department - Utilizing the Internet in the Classroom.
• MSI Bulletin Board — utilizing the district’s cc:mail, a bulletin board was set up for principals to access information about the MSI/professional development/learning communities. All MSI forms can be accessed through the bulletin board.
• Development and production of resource manuals for SC07, SC08 and SC09 by secondary science teachers — these curriculum resource manuals were written by participants in the JHS Summer Science Institute, and were distributed to all JHS science teachers in the fall of 98. These resource books continue to be added to during each of the monthly "Science Seminars" which began in the fall of ‘98.
• Thinking and Learning with Larry Lowery – This video series produced in cooperation with Dr. Lowery focuses on current brain research and its implications for science instruction. Filmed locally with and for Mesa teachers, the series is now distributed nationally through Lawrence Hall of Science.