New England Comprehensive Assistance Center (NECAC) at EDC, Inc. 55 Chapel Street Newton, MA 02158 Phone: 800-332-0226 Fax: (617) 969-7578 TDD: 617-964-5448 E-mail: CompCenter@edc.org URL: http://www.edc.org/NECAC/ We have done our best to make this site accessible. Please direct comments or questions about this site to Cyndi Plouff ©1999 Education Development Center, Inc.

The New England Schoolwide Network A major initiative of NECAC, the SWN was started six years ago to create a regional community of practice among schools that were developing and implementing exemplary Title 1 schoolwide programs with the goal of increasing the achievement of all students. With this in mind, the SWN is designed to: Build capacity at the state, district and school levels for comprehensive, systemic, and ongoing planning, implementing and sustaining of school reform efforts. Introduce and implement standards- and research- based curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices at the school and classroom level that support the needs of a school's specific student population. Create school cultures built on high expectations for students and adults, including parents, that are equitable, collaborative, affirming of diversity, caring, safe, and empowering. Assist schools in using data effectively to guide schoolwide reform and student-centered classroom instruction. Primary Client. The SWN is a collaboration among NECAC, SEAs, and LEAs. Members include high poverty schools in both urban and rural areas that are declared schoolwide schools or are developing schoolwide programs. Membership has also focused on schools that are in danger of being declared underperforming by their respective state department of education but in which the district and school have made a commitment to school improvement. Over the six years, 137 schools have participated, most for at least two years. Schools are fiscally supported by their state department of education for at least two years. Many schools continue beyond the two years with District Title 1 monies or other funding sources. Technical Assistance Strategies. The SWN is built on a series of professional development core activities that support and sustain changes in instructional practice through comprehensive and on-going whole-school improvement. Principal Leadership: A leadership institute and networking meetings develop leadership capacity by introducing and reinforcing new ideas in curriculum, instruction and assessment with targeted focus on language arts (including bilingual and ESL) and mathematics. The annual fall School Improvement Planning Institute: A three-day working conference for school teams, the Institute uses the Authentic Task Approach (Appendix III) to focus on academic improvement goals. Teams are provided with a facilitator and human, print, and electronic resources. Superintendents are invited to participate as reflective partners on the last day. Focus on Data: Capacity building workshops are offered on the analysis and display of multiple data sources and how to lead productive discussions about data. School-based consultations focus on "looking at student work" and the use of classroom data for diagnosing and benchmarking student progress. Professional Development Opportunities: Topical workshops and graduate credit courses, (face-to-face and online) are offered throughout the year. Examples include differentiated instruction in literacy and mathematics, teaching content to ELL students, student transiency, team building, and the process of change. Coaches: An external change coach (e.g., the district Title 1 director, NECAC staff, or outside consultant) receives guidance from NECAC and visits the school on a monthly basis to review the school's progress. School-Level Impact. NECAC is currently in the process of analyzing and preparing an impact study of the SWN. Because the SWN spans states and even within states, state tests have changed over the time frame of our work with schools, NECAC cannot aggregate data across schools. However, preliminary and anecdotal information has identified the following outcomes. Schools that have been members of the SWN for three or more years have made impressive progress in student achievement. For example, a four-year member school in Massachusetts has shown the following gains: 1) fourth grade scores in the statewide language arts assessment increased significantly, in some areas by as much as 25%. 2) 70 % of third graders (1998-99) scored medium or high on a citywide writing assessment, up from 31% in 1996-97. Science scores improved dramatically as a result of open response writing skills initiatives and implementation of a hands-on, inquiry-based curriculum. On a state-conducted CSRD evaluation, the school scored at "average to well above average" in 11 categories of "conditions conducive to reform." In 1999, an evaluation of schools that received the CSRD grant placed This school at "average to well above average: in all 11 categories of "conditions conducive to reform." See Appendix IV for a case study of this school. After two years in the SWN, a number of participating schools met their state-determined goals for improvement on the statewide assessment. Using the NECAC-developed Assessment Continuum of Schoolwide Improvement Outcomes, all schools in the SWN have shown sustained progress in many of the ten components of systemic school reform, in particular, those related to student performance. Two SWN schools have received Distinguished Title I School awards. What follow are a few quotations from individuals who have been involved in the SWN. A Rhode Island principal said that, [working with NECAC is the] "best thing our school has ever done." Another principal said that, "the Principals' Institute was wonderful, as everything always is." A state Title I Director said, "I am pushing six new schools to become core members of the SWN because we need to help high-poverty, low-achieving schools and I can't think of a better way to do it because your Congresses and your Network are such high quality." A principal in Massachusetts commented that, "I am most grateful for our association with your group as we learn many new things to assist us with our school reform efforts." A principal in New Hampshire, at the close of a Congress, said: I thought the Schoolwide Congress was wonderful. Each team member reported that the session attended was informative and worthwhile. In addition, everyone associated with the Comprehensive Center is so pleasant and helpful. They truly support our efforts in bringing about school reform. Thanks for all your efforts. District Level Impact. One intended outcome was to spread the practices of the SWN to other schools within districts. For this reason, all school teams must include a district-level member. As a result of this strategy, NECAC has examples of districts adopting SWN activities district-wide. For example, a district Title I director in Maine thanked NECAC because as a result of one of the district's schools being a member, and showing student gains as a result, the entire district-identified by the state as needing improvement-is now using the tools and systemic strategies learned through involvement in the SWN. This individual called the NECAC office recently to thank NECAC for providing the district with leadership through the SWN participation of a single school. Districts with schools participating in the SWN are now having staff trained by NECAC as facilitators in order to build in-house capacity. District Title 1 directors have used SWN-sponsored professional development opportunities to build capacity among other district personnel, such as literacy coaches. Learnings have been shared with other district schools through district level meetings. State Level Impact. In terms of scaling up statewide, the SWN has had a significant impact in three of the six states. In Rhode Island, NECAC helped the state establish its own SWN so that every school with a schoolwide program could participate. In New Hampshire, the SWN is used as an entry point for schools that decide to implement a schoolwide program. These schools are supported with grants to cover the teams' travel expenses to SWN activities for two years. In Massachusetts, the Office of School Improvement also provides grants, and selects schools to participate that are identified as low performing. Some schools in both states elect to use their own funds to continue membership beyond the two years, further evidence that while schools highly value their membership when they begin to see student achievement gains, many schools also feel a need for further support until the improvement process becomes institutionalized. The average membership in the SWN is three years so NECAC now has data on schools that are no longer members, continue to show student achievement gains, and have become mentors to SWN schools and to schools within their own districts. Publications. Publications have resulted from observed needs, and include Using Data to Improve Schools (Data Toolkit), Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation Tool (ELLCO), case studies of schools (Snapshots), Assessment Continuum of Schoolwide Improvement Outcomes, and A Guide to Early Literacy Programs. Publications in progress include a study of the SWN and a facilitator's guide based on the Authentic Task Approach. These publications make it possible for schools beyond the SWN to have access to high quality tools that can be used to guide their school improvement efforts.