What Works in Schools

In 2003, Robert Marzano published a book entitled, "What Works in Schools". For those interested in the research on effective school practices, this book is an excellent synthesis of approximately 35 years of research in the field of education. In the first section of this book, Dr. Marzano describes five "macro" level factors that a school (or district) should use to focus their improvement efforts.

The first of these factors is the development of a guaranteed and viable school curriculum. He defines a guaranteed and viable curriculum as one that provides every student with the opportunity to learn the essential content within the instructional time available. As a school district we have worked hard to make sure our curriculum guides identify the most important instructional objectives. We have also attempted to reduce the number of objectives so that teachers can teach for depth instead of breadth. Currently our teachers and administrators are hard at work revising these new guides. They will be finalized for board adoption by June.

The second factor identified is challenging goals and effective feedback. Marzano describes this as establishing challenging goals for students and monitoring these goals so that meaningful feedback can be provided. We are currently hard at work developing a series of assessments in math, science, social studies, language arts, physical education and world languages that our teachers will administer three times during the year. The goal for these assessments is to assess student competence in the identified essential curriculum content. These assessments will be finalized this summer. In addition, I am developing a database that teachers will be able to use for establishing specific goals for their classes and students. Anyone who is an expert in Microsoft Access 2003, please contact me. While I am doing my best to learn how to use this program, I could certainly use some technical assistance.

The third factor identified by Marzano is parent and community involvement. This factor has to do with the extent to which parents and the community at large are both supportive and involved in the schools. However, he is clear that not all types of parental or community involvement are beneficial. Speaking of parental involvement, he states "It is clear that parental involvement in such areas as criticism of the school or visits to the school to complain are likely to generate negative effectiveness at the school level."

Three features define effective parental and community involvement: communication, participation, and governance. Based on his research, he recommends three action steps for improving in these areas. The first is to establish vehicles for communication between schools and parents and the community. In our school district, we use our website, district and school newsletters, superintendent's chats, parent/teacher conferences, this blog, and the marquee in the front of each school building. To improve in this area, we intend to switch over to Powerschool. Not only is this less costly than Edline, it is more user friendly. It is also being used by the other districts in our region. Once it is up and going, we will be able to share more data with the high school and the other districts in the Delaware Valley Region. We will be making this conversion this summer.

The second action step recommended is the establishment of multiple ways for parents and community members to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the school. A major focus for us next year will be strengthening our volunteer program. I am currently at work developing a recruiting, orientation and training program that I hope will strengthen our efforts in this area.

The third action step recommended is the establishment of governance vehicles that allow for the involvement of parents and community members. To increase parent and community member input on school decisions, next year I intend to establish a district advisory committee. This committee will meet once a month. The purpose of this committee will be for me to receive input on major decisions. I am also working with each of our administrators to establish a similar structure in each school.

A major strength of our district relates to the fourth factor. This factor is a safe and orderly school environment. If teachers and students do not feel safe, they will not have the psychological energy required for teaching and learning. While we have seen an increase in incidents of bullying and harassment, overall our schools are a safe place. Even so, we are not satisfied. This year LDW established and implemented a code of conduct for student behavior. In grades K-5, our guidance counselors are teaching the Second Step Curriculum. This curriculum is designed to teach pro social skills. Every staff member in our district was required to take a 2hour on-line course that addressed identifying and dealing effectively with student related bullying and harassment.

The final factor is collegial, professional behavior among staff members. Collegiality is demonstrated by teachers who are supportive of one another. Teachers demonstrating a high degree of collegiality openly enjoy professional interactions, and are respectful and courteous of each other's needs. By having teaming in every grade level in our school district, we have created the structure for collegiality to emerge. Every teacher in the school district has regularly scheduled planning time with their colleagues in either their grade or department. This is in addition to their daily individual preparation period. We intend to enhance our teaming next year by doing work with understanding. personality types and their impact on communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving and decision-making.

A major aspect of professionalism is professional development. As a school district we have taken the professional development of our staff very seriously. In the past three years every staff member has received one full day of training on both classroom assessment and basic learning principles and two full days of training on cooperative learning. This is in addition to the many other professional development experiences we have offered both during and after school. The next step in our sequence of professional development activities will be differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all learners.

Lastly, we are working to incorporate structures that provide our staff members with input into the decisions that impact upon their work. Each school has developed and is currently implementing a site-based decision making team. At the district level we have curriculum committees and an observation/evaluation committee. Recently I have started a staff liaison committee to provide a forum for the positive resolution of any staff concerns.

I am proud of what our school district has accomplished. We are working hard every day to continuously improve the quality of instruction the children of Alexandria Township receive.