Appendix A: Participating Districts Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Cohort 3 Amherst-Pelham Regional Arlington Ayer-Shirley Regional Beverly Bourne Canton Chelsea Dracut/Framingham* East Longmeadow Easthampton Greater Lawrence Vocational Tech Holyoke King Philip Regional Nantucket Newburyport Norwood Randolph Reading Tewksbury West Springfield Amesbury Bellingham Gill-Montage/Berlin-Boylston* Cohasset Dartmouth Foxborough Gloucester Grafton Leominster Lowell Malden Marshfield Mendon-Upton Regional Brookfield Sharon Sudbury Waltham Wayland Westfield Winthrop Bedford Billerica Dracut** Hamilton-Wenham Regional Lincoln Melrose Narragansett Regional Norfolk Andover Norwell Rockport Springfield Uxbridge Webster Wellesley Weymouth * Superintendent changed districts during the program ** Repeat district Cohort 4 Cohort 5 Assabet Valley Vocational Avon Braintree Brockton Dover-Sherborn Regional Falmouth Gill-Montague Regional** Hanover Holbrook Acton-Boxborough Regional Ayer-Shirley Regional** Belmont Central Berkshire Regional Collaborative for Educational Services*** Dedham Dighton-Rehoboth Regional Dudley-Charlton Regional Easton
Holyoke** Hopkinton Ipswich Leicester Marblehead Mashpee Monomoy Regional Monson Newburyport** Ralph Mahar Regional Randolph** Saugus Southern Berkshire Regional Wakefield Gardner Greenfield Groton-Dunstable Regional Harvard Hudson Lenox Pioneer Valley Collaborative*** Lynnfield Millbury Brookfield** Northboro-Southboro Regional Northbridge Oxford Randolph** Somerset South Hadley Southbridge Swampscott Wachusett Regional Ware West Springfield* Wilmington Wrentham ** Repeat district *** Collaborative participants are Executive Directors
Highest Impact (Assumes the characteristics of High Impact are in place) High Impact Limited Impact Little or No Impact Commitment Team members hold one another to high standards, focus on organizational needs and continuous learning and improvement, and drive the team’s performance. Decisions are made and their implications for work are clearly addressed and tracked. The team sees itself (and is seen) as united. Team members come to meetings prepared. They actively engage and focus on the agenda and tasks at hand. Questions and concerns are raised in meetings. Decisions are consistently supported once made. Team members usually come to meetings on time and prepared, but their active participation is inconsistent. Team members loosely identify with the team and demonstrate limited support for team decisions. Team members come to meetings late and unprepared. Meetings are meandering and unfocused. Accountability All team members hold one another accountable to the norms of the group, decisions made, and the team’s and overall organization’s success. Every meeting is assessed (process and content) and recommendations for improvement are solicited and implemented. Decisions are revisited only when there is a compelling reason. There are mechanisms in place to track implementation of decisions, review implementation data, and adapt work accordingly. There are mechanisms in place to assess meetings, but the information gathered is not used to drive improvement. Decisions are made, but they are not implemented or are revisited without good reason. There are no mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of team meetings (process or content). Decisions are either not made or made and not implemented. Superintendent Goals Report Rubric High Impact Moderate Impact Little or no Impact Strategic Alignment The goals include district improvement, student learning and professional practice goals. The goals do not include one of the following types: district improvement, student learning, professional practice. The include only one type of goal.
& Specificity Each goal is consistent with the district’s Strategy and demonstrates a deep understanding of the building blocks of instructional improvement. Most goals are consistent with the district’s Strategy and demonstrate an understanding of the building blocks of instructional improvement. Few goals are consistent with the district’s strategy and/or demonstrate understanding of the building blocks of instructional improvement. focus on outcomes rather than outputs. Most goals focus on outcomes rather than outputs. All or most goals focus on outputs rather than outcomes. Each goal, if met, is likely to have a positive impact on advancing the district’s Strategy. Most goals, if met, are likely to have a positive impact on advancing the district’s Strategy. Few goals, if met, are likely to have a positive impact on advancing the district’s Strategy. All goals are clearly written with enough specificity to determine whether or not they have been achieved. Most goals are clearly written with enough specificity to determine whether or not they have been achieved. Few, if any, goals are clearly written with enough specificity to determine whether or not they have been achieved. Action orientation, Timing & Realism For each goal, key actions with timelines and appropriate delegation are identified. For most goals, key actions with timelines and appropriate delegation are identified. Few goals include key actions with timelines. are a challenging yet realistic number of ambitious goals that can be implemented effectively in the time specified (generally 3-5) The goals are not challenging, realistic, and/or there are too many to implement effectively in the time specified. The goals are not challenging and there are too many to implement effectively in the time specified. The actions identify the steps essential to accomplishing the goal and are realistic given the timeframe specified. Key action are missing and/or those included are unrealistic given the timeframe specified. There are few, if any, action steps identified. Action steps reflect alignment of resources (time, money & people). Action reflect some evidence that resources are being aligned. are few, if any, action steps identified. High Impact Moderate Impact Little or no Impact Measurement, For each goal there are measures to assess progress (benchmarks) on the key actions (outputs) as well as progress on the key intended results (outcomes). Most goals have benchmarks for both outputs and outcomes Few, if any, goals have benchmarks for either outputs or outcomes.
Tracking & Results The measures drive manageable collection of evidence that helps maintain focus and make mid-course adjustments. Collecting and presenting data for most measures will be manageable and helpful. The measures are likely to result in in an unmanageable and unhelpful data collection and presentation process. For each goal there is a clear statement of what will be different as a result of the action(s) described. For most goals there is a clear statement of what will be different as a result of the action(s) described. It is unclear for most goals what will be different. Implementation The Report documents substantial progress on all or all but one goal. The report documents progress on most The report documents progress on few goals. The report provides convincing supporting evidence of progress. The report provides convincing supporting evidence of progress for most goals. There is little or no supporting evidence for most goals. The report celebrates successes of students, teachers, principals and the district as a whole The report mentions the work of key stakeholders but without sufficient specificity to be credible and celebratory. The report makes little or no mention of the contributions of stakeholders to the district’s progress on goals. The report demonstrates on-going and forthright communication with the school committee about the district’s Strategy and the Superintendent’s goals. The report demonstrates some communication with the school committee about Strategy and goals. The report demonstrates little or no communication between the superintendent and school committee about the Strategy and goals. The report demonstrates active and involvement of the Leadership Team. The report demonstrates some involvement of the Leadership Team. The report demonstrates little or no involvement of the Leadership Team. The report reflects explicit and intentional development of the district’s professional culture. The report reflects efforts to strengthen the district’s professional culture. The report little or no mention of professional culture. NSIP Engagement Rubric High Impact Moderate Impact Little or no Impact
Content Days Regularly attends, arriving on time and remaining to the conclusion of the day. Misses a day and/or occasionally arrives late or leaves early. Frequently misses content institutes, arrives late and/or leaves early. Is well prepared, having completed readings, reflections, and assignments. Is generally prepared. Is not prepared. Resists the temptation to check email or make calls except at breaks or in an emergency. Periodically checks emails and/or makes/takes phone calls during session. Frequently checks emails and/or makes/takes phone calls during session. Is an active participant in small and large group discussions. Generally participates in discussions. Does not typically participate in discussions. Regularly demonstrates an appropriate balance between listening and speaking. Generally demonstrates an appropriate balance between listening and speaking. Frequently fails to demonstrate an appropriate balance between listening and speaking. Assumes facilitation responsibilities when asked or needed (self-initiates). Assumes facilitation responsibilities when but does not self-initiate. Does not typically assume facilitation responsibilities. Demonstrates willingness to share his/her own challenges, considers feedback thoughtfully, and gives feedback with candor and sensitivity. Somewhat guarded in sharing his/her own challenges, considers and offers some thoughtful feedback. Does not typically share his/her own challenges or offer thoughtful constructive feedback to colleagues. High Impact Moderate Impact Little or no Impact Work Products & Practice Completes the major NSIP work products in a thoughtful and timely manner, deviating from the general schedule only when local context requires them to do so. (Entry Plan, Report of Entry Findings, Strategy, 360-degree Leadership Skills Assessment, Leadership Team Rubric.) Completes the major NSIP work products, but not necessarily in a thoughtful or timely manner. Fails to complete one or more of the major NSIP work products.
Uses major NSIP tools appropriately in their district work. (e.g., Leadership Team Norms, Making Sense of the Work, RCA, SWOT, Brutally Honest Truths) some effort to use major NSIP tools in their district work. Makes little or no effort to use major NSIP tools in their district work. Coaching (Years 1 and 2) Shares responsibility for scheduling calls and coach visits to the district. Is generally responsive to scheduling initiated by his/her Scheduling is challenging. May miss planned coaching sessions. Is well prepared for the coach’s visits and calls, having completed agreed-upon tasks in advance. Is generally prepared for the coach’s visits and calls. Is not typically prepared for the coach’s visits and calls. Actively engages with the coach, demonstrating willingness to reflect on NSIP content and his/her own practice. Engages with the coach, but not strongly focused on NSIP content and his/her own practice. Does not effectively engage with the in relation to NSIP content and his/her own practice. Demonstrates strong interest in and acts on feedback. Generally demonstrates interest in and willingness to act on feedback. Demonstrates limited interest in and willingness to act on feedback. High Impact Moderate Impact Little or no Impact Network Meetings (Year 3) Regularly attends, arriving on time and remaining to the conclusion of the meeting. Misses a session and/or occasionally arrives late or leaves early. Frequently misses content institutes, arrives late and/or leaves early. Is well prepared, having completed readings, reflections, and problems of practice, as established. Is generally prepared. Is often not prepared. Resists the temptation to check email or make calls except at breaks or in an emergency. Periodically checks emails and/or phone calls during session. Frequently checks emails and/or makes/takes phone calls during session. Is an active participant in discussions. Generally participates in discussions. Does not typically participate in discussions.
Regularly demonstrates an appropriate balance between listening and speaking. Generally demonstrates an appropriate balance between listening and speaking. Frequently fails to demonstrate an appropriate balance between listening and speaking. Assumes facilitation responsibilities when asked or needed (self-initiates). Assumes facilitation responsibilities when asked, but does not self-initiate. Does not typically assume facilitation responsibilities. Demonstrates willingness to share his/her own challenges, considers feedback thoughtfully, and gives feedback with candor and sensitivity. Somewhat guarded in sharing his/her own challenges, considers and offers some thoughtful feedback. Does not typically share his/her own challenges or offer thoughtful constructive feedback to colleagues.