2. Houston I.S.D
Purpose- “to strengthen the social and
economic foundation of Houston by
assuring its youth the highest-quality
elementary and secondary education
available anywhere”
Primary Goal- “to increase student
achievement”
http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=86b638b719130110VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD&vgnextchannel=2e2
3. Bonham Elementary
Title I campus that serves grade PK-
4th
Currently serves 870 students
Hispanics makeup 51% of the
student population and African
Americans 47%
94% of students on free or reduced
lunch
52% of students are LEP
92% of students labeled At-Risk
4. Bonham’s Mission
“We are a team of coaches:
empowering, inspiring, and
challenging our students to be
smarter and stronger, striving to
create an atmosphere where
excellence is the expectation, not
the exception.”
http://es.houstonisd.org/BonhamES/school%20Improvement%20Plan.htm
5. Bonham’s Vision
“We will be a transformational school that fosters
student and adult learning in our pursuit of
being an exemplary campus. Our vision
supports the PLC model, including the Three Big
Ideas and the Four Questions. We will make it
our duty to see that all children and adults
learn. We embrace the PLC model and the work
of Richard DuFour as we make our
transformation. We learn by doing, we take
action; it’s our culture in order to produce our
outcome, which is for all students to be
successful.”
http://es.houstonisd.org/BonhamES/school%20Improvement%20Plan.htm
6. Bonham’s Core Values
Learning is the shared responsibility of the
school, student, parent and community.
Our school values and respects diversity and
individual needs.
Successful learners, both students and adults,
work cooperatively, set goals, monitor progress,
and celebrate achievement as a team.
Students learn best when they are actively
engaged in meaningful and challenging work.
Effective educators engage in learning
communities that use research and best
practices that support the ongoing improvement
of teaching and student performance.
http://es.houstonisd.org/BonhamES/school%20Improvement%20Plan.htm
7. 3rd Grade Small Learning
Community (SLC)
6 teachers on the team
3 Bilingual classes
2 Gifted & Talented Classes
2 teachers on team are self-contained; 2
teachers teach math; and 2 teachers teach
language arts
2 teachers on team participated in pilot Readers’
Writers’ Workshop program
1 teacher was the campus Bilingual Teacher of
the Year in 2008 and another teacher was the
campus HAASBE Teacher of the Year
Years of experience range from 1- to 10-years
8. The 5 Dysfunctions are
Present on this Team
Absence of trust
Fear of conflict
Lack of commitment
Avoidance of accountability
Inattention to results
9. Where They Need to Be
Trusting each other
Engaging in conflict around ideas
Committing to decisions
Holding each other accountable
Focusing on collective results
10. Vision for the Team
The 3rd Grade SLC will become colleagues
that work towards a common goal of
student learning, collaborating among
themselves and the leadership team on
campus to ensure high levels of
engagement in the classroom. All
members of the team are stakeholders,
taking personal responsibility for every
student on the grade level reaching their
academic potential, and every team
member achieving professional growth .
11. How to Get Them There
Big Idea#1: Ensuring Students Learn
What do we want students to
know?
How will we know when each
student has learned it?
What will we do when students
don’t learn?
12. Big Idea #1
Curriculum
Math teachers will use Sharon
Wells, which provides a sequential
guide for every 6-weeks
Language Arts teachers will use
Kilgo’s Scope & Sequence to create
their instructional calendar for every
9-weeks; no specific curriculum is
used for language arts
Language Arts is taught through a
Workshop approach
13. Big Idea #1
At the beginning of the year, teachers will meet to discuss
the questions in Big Idea #1. This is a time when the
team discusses and comes to an agreement on…
What areas should be major teaching foci based on
previous year’s data; LA teachers create an instructional
calendar; Math teachers ensure weak areas are
addressed in their sequential sequence
What ways students can be assessed (format, types of
assessments) and in what intervals assessments will take
place in (bi-weekly, every 4- or 6-weeks)
A plan to assist struggling learners that includes
identifying those learners, how to provide the additional
time and support, and a plan to address students who
continue to struggle even after initial interventions.
The plan and instructional calendar should be given to the Instructional Dean or
Coordinator.
14. How to Get Them There
continued…
Big Idea#2: A Culture of Collaboration
Teachers will meet weekly for
Collaborative Corners
Friday Professional Development
will include a 50 minute planning
session for the following week
The Instructional Dean and/or
Coordinator is present and apart of
the meetings
15. Big Idea #2
Collaborative Corners
50 minute Meeting will focus on student and professional
learning
An agenda is created prior to the meeting by the Grade
Chair, Dean, and Instructional Coordinator; teachers have
the opportunity to email suggested topics that may need
to be included
Meetings will begin with a 3-5 minute team-builder or ice
breaker
Looking at student work will be apart of the meeting
weekly
Discussion about student learning for the week; What am
I doing in the classroom to meet the needs of my
students? What is/ is not working?
Every meeting will include a 15-20 minute mini-lesson of
an instructional strategy that teachers can use with their
students
16. Big Idea #2
Planning Meetings
Use of instructional calendar or sequential guide
Teachers discuss instructional strategies that
can be used
Teachers discuss what student work could be
produced
Teachers discuss possible workstation activities
How does this look on TAKS? (Question stems)
How can we assess what has been taught?
Create common assessment if needed.
17. How to Get Them There
continued…
Big Idea #3: Focus on Results
Use of common assessments
Friday Data Meetings during
professional development
18. Big Idea #3
Common Assessments
Created by the team to monitor
student learning
Given at the same time to every
student on the grade level
Used to guide instructional decisions
Evidence of progress
19. Big Idea #3
Data Meetings
Identify students’ strengths and weaknesses
Identify questions as full knowledge, distracter,
or guess
Discuss why students may have chosen wrong
answers to questions
Time of reflection and collaboration
Assess strategies used
Discuss next steps; move on, re-teach, small
group instruction?
Discuss curriculum; is a supplement needed for
a particular skill?
Adjust instructional calendar if needed
20. What Results are Expected
A focus on learning and not teaching
Higher achievement
Continuous improvements
“All students learn”
Best practices are the expectation and
not the exception
Positive teacher attitudes
Reduce teacher isolation
Increased commitment to vision, mission,
and goals
Shared responsibility of student success
21. Resources
DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & DuFour,
R. (2005). On common ground: The
power of professional learning
communities. Bloomington, IN:
Solution Tree.
Lencioni, Patrick. (2005).
Overcoming the five dysfunctions of
a team: A field guide for leaders,
managers, and facilitators. San
Francisco, CA: JB Publishers.
