How do you spot a culture of continuous improvement in a school? You’ll see it in lots of places: daily or weekly check-ins among teachers, periodic opportunities to analyze information together, regular principal office hours, professional learning that’s never “one-and-done,” ongoing conversations about hiring, budget, and school goals, and more.
\nYou’ll also see it in the presence of students and families at the table when questions are discussed and decisions are made. At Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical High School in New York City, for example, students participate in teacher planning teams—which, according to teachers, was especially helpful for improving remote learning when their school building was closed because of COVID.
\nIn schools with an improvement mindset, educators relentlessly fine-tune their school design to ensure equity, expand opportunity, and improve outcomes for all students. Experts in improvement science at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recommend three steps:
\nThe bottom line is this: a culture of improvement doesn’t happen automatically. It’s designed into a school by many people, starting with the school leader. Will you invest in data systems and technology that deliver actionable information? Build time for learning and reflection into the master schedule? Intentionally hire staff who bring a learner mindset to everything they do? Align your work around both the key elements of your model and your goals for students and graduates? These are design decisions to make now, which can set the stage for a school that’s resilient, adaptable, and ready for the future.
\n","bgColor":"white","showShape":null,"showButton":null,"buttonLabel":null,"buttonPDF":null},{"fieldGroupName":"DesignPage_Designpagesmodules_ContentBlocks_ReadMoreLinks","eyebrow":null,"headline":"Dive Deep","bgColor":"white","addIcon":null,"items":[{"image":{"alt":"students looking at plants","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/inabox/static/3a28a808d80946efc046f029c6eeebd7/db189/Networks_Fact3_DiveDeep__02.png","srcSet":"/inabox/static/3a28a808d80946efc046f029c6eeebd7/f054e/Networks_Fact3_DiveDeep__02.png 750w,\n/inabox/static/3a28a808d80946efc046f029c6eeebd7/db189/Networks_Fact3_DiveDeep__02.png 900w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[{"srcSet":"/inabox/static/3a28a808d80946efc046f029c6eeebd7/4f03f/Networks_Fact3_DiveDeep__02.webp 750w,\n/inabox/static/3a28a808d80946efc046f029c6eeebd7/3987a/Networks_Fact3_DiveDeep__02.webp 900w","type":"image/webp","sizes":"100vw"}]},"width":1,"height":1}}}},"buttonText":"Read","text":"The U.S. Department of Education describes how schools can solve problems using a step-by-step process for continuous improvement. ","title":"A Primer for Continuous Improvement ","link":"https://www.edc.org/sites/default/files/uploads/primer_for_continuous_improvement.pdf ","excludefromresources":null},{"image":{"alt":"student smiling","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/inabox/static/fd25e3e5a7f22610785b04e0da3a2eb9/db189/Networks_Fact1_DiveDeep__01.png","srcSet":"/inabox/static/fd25e3e5a7f22610785b04e0da3a2eb9/f054e/Networks_Fact1_DiveDeep__01.png 750w,\n/inabox/static/fd25e3e5a7f22610785b04e0da3a2eb9/db189/Networks_Fact1_DiveDeep__01.png 900w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[{"srcSet":"/inabox/static/fd25e3e5a7f22610785b04e0da3a2eb9/4f03f/Networks_Fact1_DiveDeep__01.webp 750w,\n/inabox/static/fd25e3e5a7f22610785b04e0da3a2eb9/3987a/Networks_Fact1_DiveDeep__01.webp 900w","type":"image/webp","sizes":"100vw"}]},"width":1,"height":1}}}},"buttonText":"Read","text":"Explore this framework from the Building Equitable Learning Environments (BELE) network for ideas on how multiple measures can help transform a school.","title":"A Framework for Equity","link":"https://belenetwork.org/wp-content/plugins/pdfjs-viewer-shortcode/pdfjs/web/viewer.php?file=/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-BELE-Framework.pdf&dButton=true&pButton=true&oButton=false&sButton=#zoom=auto&pagemode=none","excludefromresources":null},{"image":{"alt":"student sitting looking forward","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/inabox/static/fc709a51a8ba1540e8b68e12ad091e70/db189/TeachingLearning_Synthesize_DiveDeep__05.png","srcSet":"/inabox/static/fc709a51a8ba1540e8b68e12ad091e70/f054e/TeachingLearning_Synthesize_DiveDeep__05.png 750w,\n/inabox/static/fc709a51a8ba1540e8b68e12ad091e70/db189/TeachingLearning_Synthesize_DiveDeep__05.png 900w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[{"srcSet":"/inabox/static/fc709a51a8ba1540e8b68e12ad091e70/4f03f/TeachingLearning_Synthesize_DiveDeep__05.webp 750w,\n/inabox/static/fc709a51a8ba1540e8b68e12ad091e70/3987a/TeachingLearning_Synthesize_DiveDeep__05.webp 900w","type":"image/webp","sizes":"100vw"}]},"width":1,"height":1}}}},"buttonText":"Read","text":"This report from New Visions for Public Schools describes how effective teams analyze data from a school design perspective to improve outcomes. ","title":"Data and Design in Balance ","link":"https://b.3cdn.net/nvps/402f817d17923353c2_xzm6vwx46.pdf","excludefromresources":null},{"image":{"alt":"student smiling","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/inabox/static/d1be61a94bcec5c7fba4c9c86e79bc5b/db189/StudentAgency_Fact2_DiveDeep__01.png","srcSet":"/inabox/static/d1be61a94bcec5c7fba4c9c86e79bc5b/f054e/StudentAgency_Fact2_DiveDeep__01.png 750w,\n/inabox/static/d1be61a94bcec5c7fba4c9c86e79bc5b/db189/StudentAgency_Fact2_DiveDeep__01.png 900w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[{"srcSet":"/inabox/static/d1be61a94bcec5c7fba4c9c86e79bc5b/4f03f/StudentAgency_Fact2_DiveDeep__01.webp 750w,\n/inabox/static/d1be61a94bcec5c7fba4c9c86e79bc5b/3987a/StudentAgency_Fact2_DiveDeep__01.webp 900w","type":"image/webp","sizes":"100vw"}]},"width":1,"height":1}}}},"buttonText":"Read","text":"DataWise, a project at Harvard Graduate School of Education, offers a step-by-step guide to help schools get the most out of data. ","title":"Eight Steps to Becoming Datawise","link":"http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov15/vol73/num03/Eight-Steps-to-Becoming-Data-Wise.aspx","excludefromresources":null}]},{"fieldGroupName":"DesignPage_Designpagesmodules_ContentBlocks_ActivityBlock","text":"What processes and routines will you need to build into your school for collecting, reflecting, sharing, and acting on data?
\nAs a group, read this KQED article on how schools can plan and implement continuous improvement. Think about what such an approach might look like given your school’s unique design.
\nAs a team, discuss the following questions:
\n