Forward Motion
In Gilroy, Calif., educators have learned a common process for improvement planning. The rest is up to schools.
When Dawn O’Connor returned to her job as a science teacher here last fall after five years away to raise her children, she found a very different school district. Unlike in the past, teachers were visiting one another’s classrooms. They were meeting regularly to examine student performance.
“Before, when we got our scores at the beginning of the year from the year before, we said, ‘Oh well, we didn’t get the scores that we wanted,’ ” recalls O’Connor, who teaches at Ascencion Solorsano Middle School. She adds, “Other than my regular [job] evaluation, I can’t remember anyone being in my room.”
The change wasn’t by accident. Leaders of the 10,000-student Gilroy Unified School District sought to create a collaborative environment in which teachers make corrections throughout the year. Meeting in “data teams,” teachers compare notes and plan...
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