Presentation at the #2012waic Conference - Ghent, Belgium

1. The
Macon
Miracle:
Connecting
Strengths,
Reinventing
Education,
Helping
Children
Flourish
Presented
By:
Dr.
Romain
Dallemand,
Susanne
Griffin-­‐Ziebart,
Dr.
Judy
Godfrey,
Kathy
Becker,
and
Jim
Pulliam

2. Where
is
Macon/Bibb
County?

3. County
and
District
Demographics
• 155,000
people
in
the
County
(2010
Census)
• 43%
white
• 51%
African-­‐American
• 6%
Other
• Student
PopulaQon
• 21%
white
• 79%
African-­‐American
and
Other

4. The
Macon
Miracle:
Why
is
Transformation
Urgent?
• Approximately
25,000
students
• Rated
174th
out
of
179
Georgia
districts
• Has
10
of
the
78
lowest
performing
schools
• 51%
graduaQon
rate
• 9,441
students
suspended
–
48,000
days
of
missed
instrucQon
• 703
students
dropped
out
• 493
students
expelled

5. The
Macon
Miracle:
Why
is
Transformation
Urgent?
• 20,000
students
are
receiving
services
from
D.F.C.S.
• 632
students
are
documented
as
homeless
students
• 1,000
students
are
living
with
someone
who
is
not
a
biological
parent
• 1,111
students
have
at
least
one
parent
incarcerated
• 78%
of
students
receive
free
or
reduce
priced
lunch
•
1,100
students
arrested
from
August
2011
–
March
15,
2012

6. Why
Appreciative
Inquiry?
• Recognized
the
challenge
of
increasing
the
“probability”
of
“buy-­‐in”
• Recognized
the
need
to
include
more
than
the
“tradiQonal”
voices
in
the
creaQon
of
the
plan
• Wanted
to
ensure
that
employees
and
key
stakeholders
played
an
acQve
role
in
creaQng
the
plan

7. Why
Appreciative
Inquiry?
• Involves
everyone
in
the
process
• Creates
“space”
for
people
to
envision
possibiliQes
rather
than
barriers
• Develops
a
sense
of
unity
by
bringing
everyone
in
the
same
room
and
creaQng
a
shared
experience
• Ensures
equitable
access
to
informaQon

8. The
Macon
Miracle:
Bibb
County’s
Planning
Process
• Two
days
to
complete
what
was
typically
done
in
four
days
(i.e.,
Dream,
Discovery,
Design
and
DesQny)
• All
employees,
parents,
community
members,
business
partners
and
state
and
local
dignitaries
parQcipated
(i.e.,
approximately
4500
people)

9. The
Macon
Miracle:
Bibb
County’s
Planning
Process
• Dedicated
Qme
during
the
work
day
for
all
employees
to
parQcipate
• Held
at
the
Macon
Centreplex
Arena
• Co-­‐facilitated
by
the
Center
for
AppreciaQve
Inquiry
and
educators
from
Bibb
County

10. Opportunities
of
Facilitation
• Number
of
People
• Core
Team
Sign
Up
• Size
of
the
facility
Arena
• Equipment
Circles:
150
Monument
• SeaQng
Circles:
62
• Sound
Ballroom
A,
B
• PreparaQon
Time
Circles:
50
• Turn-­‐around
Qme
Ballroom
C,D,E
• PrinQng
Circles:
75
Exhibit
Hall
A
• TransportaQon
Circles:
75
• Food

11. Engaging
the
Core
Team
• Core
Team
ParQcipants
• Represented
all
employee
groups
• 60
members
• Core
Team
Involvement
• Champions
of
the
process
• Planned,
designed
the
process
• Selected
topics
for
interviews
• Facilitated
groups
in
the
interviews
• Assisted
with
data
collecQon
• Thoughts
of
Core
Team
Members

12. Data
Collection
Strategy
• SUMMIT
ONE
• PosiQve
Core
&
Headlines
captured
from
each
circle
group
• Strategic
Plan
Themes
Developed
• SUMMIT
TWO
• Employees
surveyed
to
idenQfy
energy
for
each
theme
• IniQaQves
for
each
Theme
emerged

13. What
Were
the
Summit
Outcomes?
• ParQcipants
in
the
Summits
created:
• 6
Focus
Areas
• 22
Goals
• Strategic
Plan
• District
Management
Plan
• Research-­‐based
iniQaQves
• InnovaQve
iniQaQves

14. Key
Initiatives
• Year-­‐round
school
• InstrucQon
in
Mandarin
Chinese
for
all
students
beginning
in
kindergarten
• System-­‐wide
porfolio
schools
of
choice

15. Key
Initiatives
• Proficiency
for
all
students
in
numeracy
and
literacy
by
third
grade
• Students
earn
up
to
30
college
credits
by
graduaQon
• Change
the
culture
of
schools
through
system-­‐wide,
strategic
professional
learning

16. Key
Initiatives
• Integrate
21st
Century
teaching
tools
in
the
classroom
and
in
the
home
• District
Welcome
Center
to
provide
informaQon
and
training
to
parents
• Gihed
instrucQon,
Advanced
Placement
classes,
and
Honors
classes
for
all
students

17. Key
Initiatives
• Students
iniQate
a
porfolio
they
will
conQnue
to
develop
through
high
school
• Dormitories
for
students
experiencing
unanQcipated
circumstances

18. Lessons
Learned
• Including
all
stakeholders
is
powerful
• Clear
expectaQons
and
training
and
supporQve
scripts
are
important
to
ensure
the
message
and
experience
is
consistent
• DedicaQng
4
full
days
to
the
process
would
have
been
valuable

19. Lessons
Learned
• The
Core
Team
plays
a
criQcal
role—selecQon
and
training
is
key
• IniQate
the
Strategic
Planning
process
AFTER
you
have
leaders
in
place
to
lead
the
work
• Using
exisQng
leaders
meant
that
“old”
mindsets
could
interfere
with
the
work

20. Lessons
Learned
• For
large
scale
summits,
develop
a
plan
that
ensures
everyone
hears
the
work
of
other
groups
• Be
prepared
to
address
the
fact
that
not
everyone
will
agree
with
everything
(yet)
• Be
prepared
to
address
the
fact
that
some
will
be
against
the
plan
for
various
reasons

21. Bibb
County’s
Successes
• The
process
and
the
inquiry
created
hope
and
enthusiasm
• The
effort
resulted
in
a
comprehensive,
research-­‐based
innovaQve
plan
that
was
approved
by
the
School
Board

22. Bibb
County’s
Successes
• The
inquiry
created
broad-­‐based
engagement
in
the
conversaQon
about
educaQon
• The
inquiry
engaged
individuals
not
previously
included
• The
inquiry
engendered
support

23. Bibb
County’s
Opportunities
• Engage
and
maintain
“buy-­‐in”
• Build
equity
so
all
students
excel—create
unified
support
• Change
the
culture
of
the
organizaQon
and
community
• Help
people
to
focus
their
energy
in
a
posiQve
way

24. Bibb
County’s
Next
Steps
• Strong
implementaQon
• CommunicaQon
• Building
understanding
of
strategies
• Build
understanding
of
each
individual’s
unique
role
• Impact
of
IniQaQves
on
students
and
staff
• Communicate
expected
outcomes
of
each
iniQaQve
• Build
understanding
of
requirements
from
students
and
parents

25. Bibb
County’s
Next
Steps
• Create
and
celebrate
quick
wins
• ConQnue
to
support
the
strong
guiding
coaliQon

26. Why
was
this
inquiry
so
powerful?

27. PresentaQon
brought
to
you
by: