Our Work: School & Systems Improvement
Success in Sight
At McREL, we believe the best way to improve schools is to integrate the “science” of effective schooling with the “art” of leading continuous improvement and change. Our balanced approach to school and systems improvement is the result of four decades of research on effective schools combined with years of practical experience working to help education systems raise student performance.
Success in sight: A comprehensive
approach to school improvement
McREL's approach is not a one-size-fits-all model or lock-step program; rather, it is a way to help school leadership teams develop their own expertise in using data to guide decision making, implement research-based solutions, and create school cultures where everyone is committed to continuous improvement.
Targeting your needs and building on your strengths
Success in Sight doesn’t require that you cast aside your existing efforts in favor of ours. Instead, we help you analyze what is and isn’t working in your school and identify the root causes of your student performance challenges. By zeroing in on these root causes, we help you generate “quick wins,” which build momentum for more comprehensive improvement efforts.
Learn more about Success in Sight.
Our balanced approach is the result of McREL's four decades of research on effective schools combined with years of practical experience working to help education systems raise student performance.
Providing tailored training and assistance
After identifying your needs, we work with you to design and deliver a
tailored program of assistance. Whether it is professional development
for your entire staff or hands-on technical assistance with individuals
in your school, we help teachers use research-based practices in their
classrooms and get on the same page with improvement efforts. We also
work with your leadership team to help them understand how to share leadership
responsibilities and create school cultures that are committed to high
performance.
Support for district and statewide
systems improvement
For nearly a decade, McREL has been bringing together educators from across districts, regions, and states to provide them with large scale, intensive and practical professional development. Using a consortium strategy that we first developed while supporting Indiana’s TOPHAT initiative (where schools throughout the Hoosier state posted significant gains in student achievement), we help improve practice where it matters most: in the classroom.
But that’s just the beginning. We also help
school leaders align the rest of their education systems (e.g., curriculum
guidelines, leadership practices, and professional development programs)
to support needed improvements.
For example, when Missouri’s education agency decided it wanted to
move from rhetoric to action with closing achievement among student groups,
they came to McREL. We helped them develop and deliver a program of intensive
training and assistance to targeted schools.
Introductory Workshops
Success in Sight services often begin with one of the workshops below that introduce school leaders to key features of McREL’s approach.
The Power of Data
During this workshop, you’ll learn a tried-and true process
for using data to make informed decisions to guide your school improvement
efforts. We’ll show you how to collect and analyze four key types
of data, generate hypotheses, and translate your hypotheses into improvement
strategies.
Audience: Administrators, curriculum
developers, staff developers, school
improvement teams, teacher leaders, & grade-level or vertical teacher
team
Creating a “Fractal Experience”
“Fractals” are self-replicating patterns found
throughout nature in such things as snowflakes and ferns, in
which the whole is made up of smaller versions of itself. Similarly, “fractal
experiences” are
carefully designed school improvement efforts that contain the
same elements of larger reform efforts. These scaled-down experiences
help school teams master basic improvement processes and generate
immediate results that encourage them to take on ever-larger
challenges. This session will show you how to design, implement,
and monitor your own fractal experiences. It’s perfect
for
schools that have decided where to focus their efforts and are
about to begin taking action.
Audience: School leadership/improvement
teams, grade-level or vertical teacher teams