Er visit

E.R. VisitNo, not “emergency room” – it stands forEXTERNAL REVIEW(formerly QAR, or Quality Assurance Review)

E.R. Team•Lead Evaluator

▫Generally has served on multiple teams, and has experience in leadership roles in education

•E.R. Team▫Several volunteers▫Often a mix of

Teachers Administrators Individuals with other experience in education

▫We were a team of 7 (7 standards) May be smaller since there are now 5 standards

General Schedule• Day 1: (late afternoon)

▫ Team Orientation Roles/responsibilities Artifact distribution (if

they don’t already have them)

▫ School tour• Day 2: (morning –

evening)▫ Interviews▫ Classroom Visits▫ Work session/Artifact

review/Deliberations Already formulating the

report

• Day 3▫ Additional Classroom

Visits▫ Additional Interviews▫ Team meeting to discuss

need for further information

▫ Oral Exit Report finalization

▫ Principal’s Report By 2:35

▫ Oral Exit Report to staff By 3:00

“In your examinations; artifacts, evidence, interviews: You must TOUCH IT, SEE IT, or HEAR IT”“Our report will reflect our deliberations regarding the school’s SIP as it applies to the AdvancEd Standards.

WE ARE HERE TO SEE THAT THEY ARE DOING WHAT THEY SAY THEY DO.”

So what exactly will we be judged on?

AdvancED Standards for Quality Schools•Standard 1: Purpose and Direction

▫The school maintains and communicates a purpose and direction that commit to high expectations for learning as well as shared values and beliefs about teaching and learning.

•Standard 2: Governance and Leadership▫The school operates under governance and

leadership that promote and support student performance and school effectiveness.

•Standard 3: Teaching and Assessing for Learning▫The school’s curriculum, instructional

design, and assessment practices guide and ensure teacher effectiveness and student learning.

•Standard 4: Resources and Support Systems▫The school has resources and provides

services that support its purpose and direction to ensure success for all students.

AdvancED Standards for Quality Schools

AdvancED Standards for Quality Schools•Standard 5: Using Results for Continuous

Improvement▫The school implements a comprehensive

assessment system that generates a range of data about student learning and school effectiveness and uses the results to guide continuous improvement.

How will they judge us?

•Classroom Visits

•Interviews•Artifact Review

Classroom Visits – Where?

•Any learning space with students•Also may include:

▫Empty classrooms, with teachers on planning

▫Hallways▫Bathrooms▫Cafeteria▫Etc.

Classroom Visits• Wander into random

classrooms• Observe from the back of

the room▫ Observing processes and

practices of school, not evaluating individual teachers

• 5-10 minutes• View teaching and

learning in action• Corroborate information

from interviews and artifacts

What they are looking for

•How welcoming is the overall environment?

•Does the environment appear to support student learning?

•Do the teachers and students seem actively engaged in learning?

•Is student work honored and celebrated throughout the building?

•Do you see a variety of instructional methods being used?

What they are looking for, cont.•Do you see evidence of a variety of assessment

methods in use?•What evidence do you see of the school’s

improvement priorities being implemented in classrooms and throughout the school?

•What role do you see support personnel playing in the teaching and learning process?▫How are counselors, food service, media center,

custodial, administrative, and other support personnel engaged in the school’s improvement priorities?

Interviews with Stakeholders• School Leadership Team

▫ Administrators▫ Superintendant/District personnel▫ School Improvement team▫ School Board Members

• Teachers• Parents• Community Members• Students• Support Personnel

▫ Counselors▫ Custodians▫ Secretaries▫ Media Center▫ Cafeteria Workers

Interview process• Meet the E.R. team• Interviewees introduce

themselves• Q & A session

▫ Some sample questions▫ Some questions driven by SIP

and by observations/artifacts

• Listening for patterns, themes, trends that are consistent among stakeholders

Sample questions for teachers

•How does the school’s vision guide instruction?

•What does the data say about student performance and school effectiveness?

•How does the school leadership ensure equity of learning opportunities and support for innovation?

•What instructional methods do teachers regularly use?

Sample questions for teachers, cont.

• How do teachers actively engage students in their learning, provide students opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and skills to real world situations, and give students feedback on their performance?

• Are multiple assessments used to gauge student performance?

• What strategies are in place to listen to and communicate with parents and stakeholders?

• What professional development is provided to support teachers in implementing interventions?

Artifact Review•Executive Summary (ES)•Self Assessment•Artifacts (Evidence) for

each indicator▫Standard 1 – 3 indicators▫Standard 2 – 6 indicators▫Standard 3 – 12 indicators▫Standard 4 – 7 indicators▫Standard 5 – 5 indicators

Executive Summary• School describes in

narrative form the strengths and challenges

• Reflects on how the school provides teaching and learning on a day-to-day basis

• Picture of how the school views itself and the process of continuous improvement

• Includes:▫ Introduction▫ Student Performance▫ Challenges &

Opportunities▫ Conclusion

• Introduction▫ Mission statement▫ Community▫ Demographics

• Student Performance▫ Summarize performance▫ Goals▫ Variety of Assessments▫ Formative/summative

assessment▫ Support/intervention▫ Parent/community

involvement• Challenges/Opportunities• Conclusion

▫ What are you most proud of?

▫ Any other relevant info

Self-Assessment• School’s response to each of the 33

indicators▫ Narrative response▫ Evidence provided (Artifacts)

i.e. School perception survey, ACT/MME results, lesson plan, handbook, school website, etc.

▫ Rating Not evident Emerging Operational Highly functional

General Schedule (review)• Day 1: (late afternoon)

▫ Team Orientation Roles/responsibilities Artifact distribution (if

they don’t already have them)

▫ School tour• Day 2: (morning – evening)

▫ Interviews▫ Classroom Visits▫ Work session/Artifact

review/Deliberations Already formulating the

report

• Day 3▫ Additional Classroom Visits▫ Additional Interviews▫ Team meeting to discuss

need for further information▫ Oral Exit Report finalization▫ Principal’s Report

By 2:35▫ Oral Exit Report to staff

By 3:00• Formal report sent to the

state▫ They make the decision

about accreditation, not the ER team

Who needs to be involved???

•Self-Assessment•Artifact gathering•Stakeholder Surveys

•Awareness of the SIP

•Planning for our next cycle▫After the visit