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January 19-22, 2012
New York City, N.Y.
The Center for School Improvement Leadership Institute is the AFT's premier large-scale professional development and technical assistance effort to help school improvement teams with their work. Teams attend this four-day national institute. In some cases, AFT will host this professional development program onsite for large teams of educators in locals or states.
For more information, e-mail aftcsi@aft.org.
The Institute is organized around five interactive sessions focused on the work of improving schools including:
Skills and structures for effective communication
Institute participants focus on the necessary skills and structures for effective communication to accomplish meaningful reform. In this session, participants:
- Complete a personal profile to discover and reflect on their own communication strengths.
- Learn to appreciate and value the communication style of others.
- Practice using the skills they acquire to become more flexible communicators.
- Examine and refine communication structures within their school/district/local community.
- Apply communication skills to foster effective, productive teamwork.
Team building: Getting the job done
Institute participants develop skills for conducting productive meetings. In this session, participants:
- Practice effective agenda building.
- Use meeting roles to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.
- Streamline meetings by using appropriate tools for analysis and decision making.
- Apply these strategies to establish a balance between attention to task and respect for relationships.
Data analysis for comprehensive educational planning
Institute participants learn about the relationship of data collection and analysis to the planning process. In this session, participants:
- Examine key components of comprehensive planning.
- Use strategies and techniques to develop an effective school improvement plan.
- Analyze data and interpret findings to make informed decisions.
- Reflect on current local planning processes while considering options for reform.
Professional development to support student achievement
Institute participants discuss research-based practices in professional development that produce results that promote student achievement. In this session, participants:
- Identify and examine attributes of effective professional development.
- Assess current professional development practices in their school and district.
- Design professional development practices and structures that support student achievement.
Teacher development and evaluation: A catalyst for school improvement
Institute participants focus on the process of designing and implementing a comprehensive teacher development and evaluation system that can enhance teaching quality, resulting in improved schools and higher student achievement. In this session, participants:
- Examine the five components of the AFT's continuous improvement model for teacher development and evaluation.
- Apply the model in assessing their district's current evaluation system.
- Review guidelines for designing and implementing a new teacher development and evaluation system.
- Use frameworks for organizational change that will support their team's continuing collaborative work.
Action planning
Throughout the Institute, teams reflect and engage in action planning together. Each day ends with team time. The Institute provides teams with a structure for this process, asking focused questions for assessment and planning in the areas of:
- Curriculum and instruction.
- Student support services.
- Community and family involvement.
- Professional development.
- School culture and climate.
Sessions are highly interactive and present practical strategies that teams can use directly in the work of improving schools for students. Each session ends with team meetings guided by focused questions to help teams reflect and respond on how they will bring what they have learned back to their colleagues. Teams leave with the tools to complete a sequential action plan in each of these areas. Overall, teams learn to:
- Develop and follow an agenda.
- Use meeting roles to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.
- Establish analytic and decision-making processes.
- Rely on active participation of all team members.
- Focus on tasks and also build respectful relationships.
The Institute was developed and is delivered in collaboration with the UFT Teacher Center in New York City. The UFT Teacher Center supports high standards for students by promoting the professional growth of teachers and other educators; it is staffed by veteran educators with many years of experience providing high-quality professional development.
The Center for School Improvement Leadership Institute On-Site for Locals
In some instances, where a large team or teams within a district or local want to attend the Institute, AFT, with UFT Teacher Center partners, can bring the Institute onsite to locals. Part of the goal of such work includes building capacity within districts to share the information in the Institute. In a few committed districts, AFT and UFT Teacher Center staff members have worked to train trainers within districts to deliver the Institute. Listen to Toledo talk about the on-site Institute.
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