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Earlier this year, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Michael G. Contompasis announced the 10 schools that will become "Superintendent's Schools" in the 2007-08 school year under a new initiative negotiated as part of the Boston Teachers Union contract. These schools will gain greater autonomy, with freedom from many district and union regulations, in order to carry out ambitious school improvement plans.
Under the new contract, the superintendent may select up to 20 schools (up to 10 in the first year and five more in each of the following two years) that are at greatest risk of state intervention unless they make significant improvement in student performance. The schools themselves will devise improvement plans to meet the specific needs of their students and will form a Superintendent's Schools network to share effective practices.
"This $10 million program is at the heart of our contract proposal, and it is a substantial and innovative initiative to raise achievement in a group of schools in need of dramatic improvement," says Contompasis. "We look forward to working with these schools to transform them through bold new approaches."
Among the features of Superintendent's Schools:
- An extended school day, including an extra hour of instruction every day.
- 75 percent of all teacher vacancies will be filled at the sole discretion of the principal.
- A full-time Family & Community Outreach Coordinator.
- Salary incentives of up to 5 percent to attract and retain outstanding teachers.
- 20 hours of additional professional development.
- Reduction of maximum class size by two students in regular education.
Teachers currently working at a Superintendent's School who opt not to participate in the new program may request a transfer to another Boston Public School.
"I want to stress that the designation as a Superintendent's School is not punitive," Contompasis says. "Rather, it is an opportunity to be bold, to enact many of the promising reforms that have shown progress elsewhere. Being a Superintendent's School is not a mark of shame, but a designation that holds great promise because its only goal is to improve the achievement and engagement of our students."
For more information on Boston Public Schools and the Superintendent's Schools, contact Chris Horan at choran@boston.k12.ma.us.
Coaches in the Classroom:
Bridgeport's Instructional Coaching Project
 In Bridgeport Public Schools, coaching is vital not only on the ball fields, but also in the classrooms.
With Bridgeport's diverse student population — 90 percent is minority and 95 percent qualifies for free and reduced-price lunch — the district is continually striving to improve performance and narrow achievement gaps, particularly in mathematics.
To that end, Bridgeport has implemented a district-wide coaching approach to provide its 1,400 teachers with a formal model.
The Bridgeport Instructional Coaching (BIC) project, developed and implemented by Ricardo Rosa, the district's director of mathematics, is designed to increase teacher effectiveness and reduce achievement gaps in mathematics by leveraging hometown know-how and applying it in a coaching model.
"Over the last 10 years, utilizing instructional coaching has become a great alternative to the traditional professional development teachers regularly receive," Rosa says. "When done well, instructional coaching is a powerful tool not just for our district, but for all districts."
The overarching goal of the project is to support the district's math skills improvement initiatives by increasing school-based leadership capacity. Using a cohort of teacher-leaders who serve as coaches at each school, the project takes a three-pronged approach: 1) a teaching academy, 2) instructional coaching implementation, and 3) an accountability plan.
Train: Teaching Leadership Academy
The national research-based Teaching Leadership Academy model integrates theory and practice by delivering knowledge from the faculty of local colleges and from within the district itself directly to instructional coaches. During the academic year, each math coach attends a two-day academy every month. On the first day of the academy, mathematics content and pedagogy is presented by faculty from the University of Bridgeport, consultants from Wesleyan University's Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science and members of the Bridgeport Public Schools mathematics department. Content is introduced through interactive seminars that are integrated with discussions on how to accommodate the learning needs of Bridgeport's students.
The second day focuses on building skills capacity and providing tools for implementing coaching, making data-driven decisions, delivering effective professional development, facilitating and maintaining study groups, and conducting action research and planning.
During the 2006-07 school year, the district provided each math coach with 100 hours of training through the Teaching Leadership Academy.
Implement: Instructional Coaching Implementation Model
 The second prong of the approach is the Instructional Coaching Implementation Model, which provides 25 full-time math coaches to work in the classrooms and help teachers improve their math lessons. Their specific roles include collaborative planning, demonstration lesson co-teaching and observation, debriefing, and self-reflection by both the teacher and the coach. Math coaches are responsible for providing professional development to teachers, assisting with new program implementation, utilizing and managing available resources, and serving as mentors while building professional relationships with teachers.
"By being in a school on a consistent basis, we are able to develop relationships with the teachers and students that make the support we give more effective," says Elena Mayorga, one of the coaches. Her colleague, Robert Listori, agrees. "While most elementary teachers are charged with instructing in all subject areas, we can provide teachers with the most current practices in mathematics instruction."
The coaching model is implemented in flexible nine-week coaching cycles during which a coach works with five teachers for three hours each week. The coach leads ongoing school-based learning groups in order to regularly examine teacher practices and student work.
"When teachers have difficulty implementing what they've learned through professional development," says Rosa, "they now have the support and assistance of the coaches."
Accountability: The Plan
The third prong of the approach is the Accountability Plan, which includes observations by the district's mathematics director and curriculum specialists, along with college instructors. The plan helps both coaches and supervisors monitor how they spend their time, with whom and on which coaching model components. It helps determine the extent to which coaches adhere to the implementation of the main components of the Bridgeport Coaching Model, and helps the college instructors determine if the "big" mathematical ideas presented are actually reaching students.
Additionally, online assessments allow for timely and specific feedback and supplement state test data, all of which help determine coaching effectiveness. Student achievement is also a vital component of the Accountability Plan, which compares student achievement in classrooms with and without math coaches.
During the 2007-08 school year—the second year of the three-year initiative—the district plans to examine student achievement in classrooms with and without math coaches to determine the effectiveness of the program.
The project is funded on a year-to-year basis by a Mathematics and Science Partnership Grant awarded by the Connecticut State Department of Education's Division of Teaching, Learning and Assessment. Bridgeport is one of only six districts in Connecticut to receive this award. Grant funding is applied toward professional development costs, while math coaching salaries are funded by the district.
For more information about the Bridgeport Instructional Coaching Project, contact Ricardo Rosa at rrosa@bridgeportedu.net.
The Keys to Academic Success in Miami-Dade:
They're the Talk of the Town
 Miami-Dade County Public Schools is getting a healthy dose of tough talk, and it's paying off.
Since taking over as superintendent of the nation's fourth largest school district, Rudolph F. Crew has been talking tough about education in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). He's pulled together teachers and district administrators to have candid and intense conversations about how to improve student achievement. And he's engaged the community in the district's efforts to prepare every child for success in the 21st century.
The result of Crew's laser-focus on results and accountability has been phenomenal gains in student achievement. Over the past three years, test scores, particularly in math and writing, have risen dramatically. This growth in test scores, as well as the day-to-day academic achievement of students, is largely attributed to new and innovative district initiatives implemented under Crew's leadership.
The district credits its academic success to four critical components: 1) rigorous classroom instruction; 2) using data and district-wide collaboration to drive teaching and learning; 3) expanding the menu of professional development opportunities; and 4) the implementation of innovative educational reform initiatives that reshape the delivery of education in M-DCPS.
Rigorous Classroom Instruction
Through rigorous classroom instruction and a focus on academic enrichment, M-DCPS has proven that a large urban school district can achieve a common, high standard of academic performance. Instruction in the district targets four critical areas in a student's development: academic achievement, civic literacy, occupational preparedness and social adequacy.
M-DCPS recognizes that a focus solely on academic development does not adequately address other key areas critical to a child's success. As such, the district has made aiming beyond the requirements of state and national assessments a standard in delivering robust, meaningful instruction.
"Giving our students the world" is more than a slogan in Miami-Dade. It's a maxim by which the district carries out its mission. M-DCPS has taken great care to create learning conditions that are engaging, inviting and challenging for students.
Using Data and District-wide Collaboration to Drive Teaching and Learning
Under Crew's leadership, the use of data has become paramount to building instruction that fully supports the academic needs of students. Identifying learning patterns through student assessment results has played an important role in boosting student achievement.
Through implementation of a web portal called the Cognos Connection, M-DCPS principals have access to up-to-the-minute data about the academic progress of every student in their schools. Cognos allows principals to track not only students' classroom achievement, but also other contributing factors such as attendance. In this way, principals and teachers can work together to develop an appropriate plan of action to target and address the academic needs of a single student.
Professional Development
A critical goal of M-DCPS is to recruit, develop and retain high-performing, diverse and motivated faculty and staff. "Cultivating the capacity and skills of teachers and school leaders is at the heart of lifting the bar on education in our schools and transforming classroom instruction," says Crew.
Among the capacity and skills-building initiatives at M-DCPS are Mentoring and Induction for New Teachers (MINT) and the Superintendent's Urban Principals Initiative (SUPI). MINT was developed to support and retain new and early career teachers to ensure that students have access to highly qualified and accomplished instructors. Similarly, SUPI was designed to prepare qualified educators to take on leadership roles in high-need secondary public schools.
Through district initiatives such as these, as well as through succession planning and other ongoing professional development opportunities, M-DCPS has made expanding the instructional capacity of teachers and school administrators a high priority to achieve and maintain excellence in student achievement.
Educational Reform Initiatives
Technological advances and lowered trade barriers have created unprecedented globalization of markets, leading to intense competition within the U.S. economy and increasing demands for an internationally competent workforce. M-DCPS is addressing the need to better prepare students so that when they graduate they have a competitive edge.
Because Miami's goal is to prepare every child for success in the global economy of the 21st century, the district is raising the bar by providing extra support for its lowest performing schools, extending the school day and identifying students who are most in need of extra help.
The district's reform efforts have led to the development of career-themed school academies and expansion of the availability of gifted programs to all students, which allows students to receive both academic enrichment as well as access to courses that are relevant to their interests and future career goals.
A truly international city, Miami is also looking abroad for best practices in education. Its Education Council of International Cities (ECIC), proposed by Crew, will bring together chief education officers, national and international business researchers, business leaders and mayors of major urban cities from around the world to develop international achievement standards, best practices in professional development for teachers and innovative education practices.
For more information on these and other initiatives in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, contact Felipe Noguera at fnoguera@dadeschools.net.
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With underperforming schools across the country facing state intervention,