Equity and Excellence for School Improvement

I haven't heard Doug Reeves speak in a while and so I dedicated 30 minutes today to listen in on a webinar that he was having. He is a researcher who writes and talks about sustained reform and success over time in documented schools and systems across the country. I was so glad to hear him reiterate the impact of long term enduring practices and internal ownership to impact student achievement.

As we approach SAIL 4.0 in June, I am even more certain that our alignment to this school improvement framework is helping our school successes. We have 5 schools in our system who have seen significant student achievement gains over the past 4 years and many more who have set the stage to achieve key results with their focused hard work!

Collective efficacy continues to lead the race as the number one predictor and number one effect size correlating with student achievement. Collective teacher efficacy is the collective belief of teachers in their ability to positively affect students.

So if you asked everyone in your school, what causes student achievement? What would everyone say in making this huge list?
What can we control? What can we influence? And what do we have no control over?

Believe in yourself. Believe in one another. Own the work. Own the rewards.