Building a Culture of Innovation

To strengthen the education system within the state of Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) established the Office of School and District Transformation led by Chief John Ferrell. According to Ferrell, the primary focus of this office is to provide “a proactive support system that helps struggling schools and districts meet their unique needs. Since every district is different, our approach is tailored to provide targeted assistance that drives student success.”

The establishment of the Office of School and District Transformation (OSDT) is a strong and positive move towards reaching the goal in the current State Board of Education’s strategic plan that all schools and districts are rated C or higher. The office, which is made up of school improvement, career and technical education and work force develop- ment, is centered not only on providing supports for schools and districts that need them but also ensuring that options are available for Mississippi’s graduates once they complete high school.

The pillars of OSDT’s support for struggling schools and districts focus on governance, leadership development, professional learning and instruction within schools. The on-going Transformational Leadership Learning Series is one of the strategies that the office is using to sup- port this effort. The professional learning series provides an opportunity of professional development for school districts actively seeking resources that will promote growth and innovation within their schools. The series is hosted in partnership by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and the Research and Curriculum Unit (RCU). The project leads for this are Dr. Sonja Robertson, executive director for school improvement at MDE; Dr. Myra Pannell, associate director of the RCU; and Crosby Miller, project manager for professional learning and school innovations at the RCU.

Opposite page: Collaboration between leaders is a key aspect of the Transformational Leadership Learning Series. Above: Each session builds off the previous one, which helps promote building relationships with and between leaders from across the state and allows for growth and reflection.

While professional learning opportunities with similar goals have been available in previous years, these sessions are unique in several ways. “A key strength of this program is its ongoing nature—it consists of four modules spread throughout the school year,” said Ferrell. “This structure allows participants to apply what they’ve learned in their districts, assess the impact and refine their approach through collaboration with colleagues.”

There are multiple resources used to guide sessions, including the Four Domains of Rapid School Improvement and the RCU’s Design Principles for Innovative Schools, which work in tandem to reach common goals. The four sessions are divided into the following sections:

Why?

During this session, participants are asked to answer questions that focus on why they became educators and why they are determined to ignite transformation within their schools or districts.

Who?

For the second session, they are asked to reflect on who they are bringing alongside them to enact change, how they communicate with them and how they are creating buy-in with these partners.

How?

This session focuses on the provision of tools to aid leaders in their transformation. During this session, participants are provided tangible resources they can replicate within their district that will lead to positive outcomes within their school system.

Do!

During the final training, they submit to Robertson an action plan that is aligned with the researched-based principles and domains that have been discussed. This will be their game-plan moving forward and will guide their decision-making as they transform their school.

When asked what makes these sessions so impactful, Miller referenced the reflective nature of the sessions, “At each session, participants are given time to reflect and process how what they are learning can be applied to their districts. This personalized approach ensures that each participant leaves with feasible steps they can take that will lead to positive outcomes in their school.” Everything they leave with is ready to be implemented into their school, and this

Design Principle

*Principle 1: Ready for College and Career

Principle 2: Require Powerful Teaching and Learning aspect has been a highlight of the positive feedback Panell and Miller have received from participants. Robertson added to this sentiment saying, “We wanted to avoid the perception that this was another obligation, but rather a value-added component that aligns with existing work within the school or district.”

The program’s design aligns with the Office of School and District Transformation’s commitment to supporting educators across the state. As Ferrell said, “Great schools thrive under innovative leadership, and we’re creating opportunities for educators to connect, learn and grow together. There’s no better resource for an educator than a fellow educator, and our training programs will continue to focus on building strong leadership at both the school and district levels. This training and future trainings from our office will continue to focus on supporting building-level administrators to grow and thrive as the instructional leaders of the schools.” This allows for change to come from the inside, which can drastically increase the rate of buy-in from educators and community partners.

During the sessions there have been

DESCRIPTION/INTRODUCTION

College and career readiness is an essential part of secondary education. Educators must prepare students for postsecondary success and allot time, support, institutional visits and resources to accomplish this goal. Educators must promote college and career opportunities at all applicable times.

*This principle also includes a rubric for Grades K-5.

Powerful teaching and learning are developed when the classroom and learning are student-centered. Students should be able to identify problems, synthesize information, use technology, assist other students and manage learning on their own without teacher direction. Students who take responsibility, and teachers who allow that to occur, often perform better in school.

Principle 3: Personalization

Principle 4: Redefine Professionalism

Principle 5: Leadership

Principle 6: Purposeful Design two exercises in particular that have built a sense of community within participants. The first exercise is known as the Dilemma Protocol where members were able to share a specific struggle within the district while other participants were given the chance to ‘thinktank’ and roundtable potential solutions. This presented an opportunity for districts to see that in some instances, their neighboring schools might be struggling with similar situations. At the second session, districts participated in the Success Analysis, where they shared a successful implementation of their mini-action plans they’ve created during each session. Through this activity, they were able to learn about the strategies their neighboring schools are implementing and seeing success with. Celebrating these successes together gave them an opportunity to see how growth can happen rapidly and through small, yet intentional steps. Ferrell remarks, “The opportunity to exchange insights, discuss successes and challenges, and receive real-time feedback from fellow educators across the state makes these trainings invaluable.”

School personalization is a powerful tool for connecting with students. Educators should use opportunities such as common planning, teacher-student grouping, scheduling, data and academic support classes to impact student success. Educators and staff should make efforts to be involved in the community and reach parents through well-run social media and school websites.

Professionalism is defined as the conduct or competence of an individual in a particular setting. Educators should aim to collaborate with their colleagues, share information, provide feedback to one another, engage with stakeholders in the community and reflect to improve professionalism. Educators must model this practice for students so that students can also become professionals.

Leaders have a duty to help support all individuals within schools to collaborate, develop, examine and empower one another to enhance the overall school environment. Leaders can use data and self-assessment to achieve leadership goals and provide solutions to problems.

Purposeful design is intended to build powerful relationships among staff and administration. Principals and staff should meet regularly to review decisions, budgets and collaboration with outside-of-school partners. Teams should use time wisely and be flexible to ensure the best interests of all involved, especially the students, are met.

The Design Principles for Innovative Schools was developed by the Research and Curriculum Unit and is one of the resources used to guide sessions and action plans.

Where districts often experience setbacks in growth is when administration and educators that are enacting change leave the district for varying reasons. Therefore, the goal put forth by these sessions is to put systems in place that build a culture of growth and innovation within the district that will withstand personnel turnover. That way leaders can pick up where their predecessors left off and development isn’t lost. Instead, there is a path laid out to continue the on-going work.

Reflecting on the effectiveness of the Transformational Leadership Learning Series, Pannell said, “We love the sustainability that comes with these sessions. It’s not a one-stop-shop or a checkbox to be marked off, it is growth for participants as individuals as well as members of their school communities, and it is built so that it will outlast them in years to come.”

Sessions were held regionally in Oxford, Flowood and Hattiesburg.