Innovation Division for Educational Achievement

idivision
Los Angeles Unified School District
Innovation Division for Educational Achievement

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has outlined five guiding principles aimed at improving student achievement, in support of the Los Angeles Board of Education’s reform vision and the school district’s mission statement. Principle 3 establishes innovation as a core element of LAUSD’s transformation plan by calling on district officials to:

Improve the use of internally and externally derived innovations in order to drive a substantial and sustainable organizational change

In order to realize this goal, the Superintendent has created the Innovation Division for Educational Achievement of the Los Angeles Unified School District as a separate office, reporting directly to the Superintendent of Schools. The Division will enter into memoranda of understandings (MOUs) with four to six different “network providers” who will oversee clusters or families of schools.

Innovation schools will tightly couple an increased accountability for high achievement with the authority and resources required to successfully reach such objectives.

Participation in IDivision will grant each network provider at least five important autonomies including: 1) increased choice in determining a standards-based curriculum that includes a tight alignment of professional development, formative and summative assessments, and teaching strategies; 2) increased flexibility in hiring school personnel; 3) increased decision-making over school budgets; 4) ability to determine school day, schedule, calendar, and enrichment programming; 5) ability to independently contract with some external service providers. Networks may want to create internal, independent metrics of evaluation but also must comply with a standard set of metrics established by IDIVISION. Moreover, all networks must submit evidence to IDivision of a plan to align teaching, professional development, and assessments around a common, standards-based curriculum. All employees of the IDIVISION schools will be employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District. All IDIVISION schools must adhere to the regulations contained in the California State Education Code.

Theories of Action

IDIVISION is based on several theories of action contained in the literature on school reform, child development, and management theory. Such theories include:

Civic Capacity
At its core, IDIVISION believes that schools can improve when they engage the civic capacity of a given community. The theory that school reform works best when it martials the political, economic, human, and physical capital of civic institutions has been articulated most prominently by Clarence Stone, Jeff Henig, and Bryan Jones in their 2001 study of eleven urban school districts. The authors argue that:

It is essential for all important actors in an urban community to join together in a shared vision of what is wrong in the schools and how to fix it, and to pursue that vision strongly and systematically over a long time. That can only happen, however, if those same actors develop the ability and willingness to set aside narrow aims and opportunistic behavior in favor of pursuing the collective good.[i]

Because external partners bring civic capacity and engagement to the process of schooling, all IDIVISION projects must contain a partnership with an external network provider who will commit to a sustained, engaged role in running and evaluating schools. These external network providers must be anchored in the community, have the capacity to build and hold the community’s trust, and serve as a conduit for the necessary dialogue, facilitation, research and learning processes required for change. The networks will bring together parents, students, teachers, local organizations, local elected representatives, and all other interested and invested members of the community in order to create strategic school reform.

We expect networks to make the process as inclusive as possible, inviting not only teachers and parents of students currently attending the schools, but parents of alumni, alumni, interested community members, students, etc. The school transformation plan will, under the guidance of the network partner, incorporate all of the voices and interests of the diverse group of community members.

Eligible networks may include educational, government, community, academic, non-profit, or cultural institutions. Networks will apply for five-year performance contracts with IDIVISION. Contracts will be closely monitored and will contain provisions for termination at any time during those five years.

Families of Schools
IDIVISION strongly believes that the educational experiences of pre-kindergarten through adult education need to be more explicitly linked. Compelling research suggests that pre-kindergarten educational programs have powerful effects on long-term educational, economic, and health outcomes in adulthood.[ii] Moreover, many achievement gaps begin before students formally enter school.[iii]

In traditional school systems, preschool, elementary, secondary, and adult/alternative educators have few opportunities to interact and collaborate, leading to bifurcation and isolation of each age group. As a result, difficult transition periods (between 5th and 6th grade, for example) are too often overlooked.

In order to increase the level of communication among educators of children of all ages, IDIVISION will focus on “families” of schools. We define a family of schools as a set of institutions that includes partners from preschool programs, elementary schools, secondary schools, career/vocational institutions, and adult education programs. All IDIVISION networks must incorporate a plan to involve preschool through adult educational programs within the first five years of operation. Involvement in a family of schools may be an informal link between traditional LAUSD schools, charter schools, or other educational entities such as universities, or may be a formal link that specifically includes the school in the partnership agreement.

Empowered Leadership
A key theory of action underlying IDIVISION is that important decisions on teaching and learning should be made by those who are as close as possible to the students. IDIVISION schools will focus on an empowered building leadership making important policy decisions, with tight alignment between authority, autonomy, and accountability. IDIVISION principals and network leaders will have increased autonomy over decisions related to budgets, hiring/staff, scheduling, and school programming.

Equity
Successful school reform must be able to demonstrate significant results with the same populations of students that attend traditional district schools. IDIVISION networks will educate all children in compliance with existing state and federal laws. IDIVISION will carefully monitor the networks’ compliance with equity provisions and requirements.

Replication for System-wide Change
The overall mission of IDIVISION is to experiment with a streamlined method of governing, managing, and teaching children within a large urban school network. Our success will not only be measured by how well students in IDIVISION schools achieve, but also how networks disseminate their innovative practices in a way that can be replicated in the larger school district. IDIVISION will benchmark and replicate those practices that prove particularly successful in improving student outcomes.

IDIVISION Leadership
IDIVISION will take a new approach in assembling its management team. Successful educators will serve as the core of the management team. Professionals from other relevant fields such as business, non-profit management, government, etc. will join the core group of educators in order to create a healthy synthesis of skill sets and perspectives.

Individuals within other LAUSD central divisions and Local District offices will be identified as supporting team members, with ongoing involvement in IDIVISION policies, procedures, and implementation. The collaboration between IDIVISION and District-wide staff will draw upon the deep expertise of existing LAUSD personnel and, at the same time, facilitate the introduction of successful practices into the LAUSD infrastructure through a highly-matrixed organizational structure.

An IDIVISION Advisory Board, comprised of no more than five individuals recognized for their outstanding work in educational, policy, community, business, and organizational innovation, will serve on a rotating basis to advise IDIVISION and the Superintendent. An additional adjunct advisory committee, comprised of a much broader spectrum of local, national, business, community and educational interests, will meet no more than twice a year to support IDIVISION in outreach, communication, successful practices, and individual expertise.

Increased Accountability

All of the innovations described above are hollow promises without an unrelenting focus on student outcomes. All IDIVISION networks and schools will be granted five-year performance contracts that will include multiple measures of career and college success. The IDIVISION will conduct frequent, formative assessments in every Innovation Division school in order to aid networks in their management. Student data will be based upon and integrated with LAUSD student data systems, but will be enhanced by specific progress metrics identified by each IDIVISION school and their supporting network.

Networks that do not meet their goals will initially receive specific interventions and support to address shortfalls, but will lose their performance contract and their schools will be returned to district management if interventions are not successful in recovering performance objectives.

Timeframe

Planning Year I: 2007-2008
In the first year, no more than 4 to 6 networks will be invited to participate in IDIVISION. After a formal invitation has been granted, networks must submit evidence of the following:
· A committed network provider who will commit to sign an MOU for a 5 year partnership;
· An intent to include a Family of Schools articulation in the development of the schools strategic plan;
· Approval of 60% of the full teaching staff at each school in the Family;
· Approval of 50% of all parents attending a designated meeting at each school in the Family;
· Commitment of support by a significant number of community members, as evidenced by active Neighborhood Council Support (where applicable) and/or support from a minimum of 5 community-based entities such (as but not limited to non-profit organizations, businesses, community organizations, etc.);
· Commitment of support by non-teaching personnel at each school in the Family;
· Student voice will be included in the planning process;
· A commitment to work towards a strategic plan for each school during the planning year. The strategic plan will identify school goals, progress indicators and accountability measures, how curriculum, teaching and assessments are aligned, resource allocations, professional development, and governance mechanisms.

Years II-IV: 2008-2010
Each year, between two to eight networks will be chosen from a competitive application process based on the criteria established above.

Year V: 2010-2011
External evaluation of IDIVISION


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the process for becoming an IDIVISION school?
1. The Superintendent will invite a limited number of potential network partners (representing a family of schools) to submit a letter of interest to participate in the division.
2. Each school determines through a 60% vote of the entire faculty, plus a 50% vote of parents present at a noticed meeting, if they wish to accept the Superintendent’s invitation.
3. The Superintendent will signify the acceptance of school into IDIVISION with a letter of intent that commits the school to the Division for a minimum term of five years, and a formal contract agreement with the network partner specifically outlining accountability measures, roles and responsibilities.
4. Upon receipt of a confirmed letter of intent, an Instructional Network developer will be assigned to a network from IDIVISION as the delegated authority from the Superintendent. From that point on, IDIVISION is directly accountable for the relationship.
5. In collaboration with the families of schools, the network partner, parents, community, and other identified stakeholders, IDIVISION would immediately begin a facilitated planning process. The goal of the planning period will be to create a strategic plan for each school and the entire network. In addition, IDIVISION will help networks identify those resources and critical benchmarks that will be needed for the planning year. School plans will vary from school to school.
6. School plans must include the process for identifying leadership and faculty for implementation in the following school year.


Who will be invited to participate?
1. In the summer of 2007, invitations will be sent to a limited number of school clusters that represent a diverse group of constituents, that have evidence of an existing external partnership (or have indicated interest in working with an external partnerships), and that are willing to work as a family of schools.
2. Beginning in the 2008-2009 school year, the process for entry into IDIVISION will be opened to larger group of applicants.

What does it mean to be an IDIVISION school?
1. IDIVISION schools report to IDIVISION, under the direct accountability of the Superintendent. Networks may opt to procure services from the existing local district structure as may be appropriate to their school plans, but they are otherwise not included in the LAUSD Local District structure.
2. IDIVISION schools will be granted increased autonomy over budgets, hiring, school governance, school programming, selection of personnel, and working conditions (such as calendar, length of day, etc.) through an election-to-work agreement developed at the school site.
3. Each IDIVISION school and network will determine a set of progress indicators for one planning year and four mobilization years. Internal and external quality review teams will conduct an in-depth assessment of each school/network’s progress at Year III. If a school is demonstrating 11/2/2007difficulty in meeting progress indicators, IDIVISION will target resources to help schools meet targets.
4. All personnel in IDIVISION schools will remain LAUSD union employees, with protected rights for salary, benefits, and seniority upon return to any traditional LAUSD school structure. Job descriptions, commitments, accountabilities, additional financial opportunities, etc. will be developed by each network during the planning year.
5. Existing teachers, administrators and classified personnel will apply to participate in IDIVISION schools. If an individual determines that the election-to-work agreements or the school plan, as developed by the school during the planning year, does not represent the professional working environment that s/he chooses, they will be provided a transfer opportunity within LAUSD.
6. As needed, IDIVISION will provide resources for each network to engage in planning and implementation work. Resources may include additional direct budget resources for items such as time during the day for teams to plan or research, and may include non-direct resources such as access to high quality consultants to support specific school needs. In the planning year, IDIVISION will devise the process by which it allocates resources to each network.

How will IDIVISION relate to the Local District structure?
1. The intent of IDIVISION is to identify, model, and replicate successful practices in representative LAUSD schools for the purpose of leading change in classroom instruction and operational support.

[i] Clarence N. Stone, Jeffrey R. Henig, Bryan D. Jones, and Carol Pierannunzi, Building Civic Capacity: The Politics of Engaging Public Schools, Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001.
[ii] Arthur Reynolds et al, “Effects of School-Based, Early Childhood Intervention on Adult Health and Well-Being,” Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Volume 161, No. 8, August, 2007.
[iii] Lyn Karoly and James Bigelow, “The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California,” Rand Corporation, 2005.