Superintendent PAC Meeting Afternoon Session

Data Inquiry Workshop for District Leadership Teams: Determining Root Cause and Theory of Action

Facilitated by:  Ed O’Connor, Ph.D. and Lynee Tourdot, Ph.D.

Senior Director of the Data and Systems Review Center of Excellence

January 3, 2019 12:30 – 3:30 (Following the PAC Meeting) CESA 2 Room 111

Description:  This ½ day workshop will provide district leadership teams with an opportunity to learn to apply a detailed routine for conducting a “root cause analysis” with support from the facilitators.  A deliberate root cause analysis is a critical step for developing an effective improvement plan, but this step is frequently skipped in the improvement process resulting in improvement plans that do not change student outcomes. This session will take the team through a series of exercises that will help the team to generate a focused and prioritized target for a school improvement plan that will address a pre-defined “gap” in system outcomes.  

Who should attend:   This workshop is intended for leadership teams at the building or district level that are responsible for developing and supporting school improvement plans that target improvements in instructional practices, and systems supports for improving student achievement and/or social-emotional learning.  Teams should include at least one administrator, teacher representatives and other student services staff that serve on local building or district leadership teams.

Pre-requisites:  The team should have defined a specific student outcome for improvement.  This improvement target should identify the academic or behavioral gap that will be the focus of the school improvement plan.  Specific data that illustrates the improvement target should be summarized as this will be the starting point of the root cause discussion.  Each team member should have access to WISEdash secure with “Economic Indicator Analyst” level permission.

Objectives:  Participants in this session will gain support to:

• Clarify current status and vision regarding improvement targets Identify contributing “root causes”
• Prioritize root causes
• Establish and articulate a “Theory of Action” that will guide improvement planning
• Plan next steps

Agenda

• 12:30 Introductions, Overview, Objectives and Grounding Principles
• 1:00 Hypothesis Generation and Fishbone Activity
• 2:00 Prioritizing Hypotheses of Practice Activity (Arrows In/Arrows Out)
• 2:45 Theory of Action Statement
• 3:15 Next Steps

Cancellation Policy: Registered participants will receive a refund if they cancel prior to 3 working days before an event, minus any material costs that have already been incurred. Cancellations must either be made on MyQuickReg or by emailing cancel@cesa2.org. Because of our commitment to the presenter and the food vendor, participants who cancel less than 3 working days prior to the event or who do not attend the event, will be billed the full fee. CESA 2 reserves the right to cancel any event. Registered participants will be notified via phone and email if a cancellation occurs and will receive a full refund. 

Inclement Weather Policy: Every effort will be made to hold an event. CESA 2 will notify participants via email as soon as possible if an event has been cancelled due to weather conditions.

Disclaimer: CESA 2 will do its best to accommodate general dietary requests; if your dietary need is very specific or severe, you may want to bring your own lunch to ensure your comfort and health. CESA 2 does not assume liability for adverse reactions to food consumed or items one may come into contact with while eating at a CESA 2 event. If you have a dietary need or food allergy, please go into your MyQuickReg profile and update the special accommodations section. Notice of a special dietary need must be made 2 weeks in advance of the event.

By registering for an event with CESA 2, participants agree to grant to CESA 2 and its authorized representatives permission to record digital photos and/or video, of their participation. Participants further agree that any or all of the material photographed may be used, in any form, as part of any future publications, brochure, or other printed materials used to promote CESA 2, and further that such use shall be without payment of fees, royalties, special credit or other compensation. If you do not wish to have your photo or image used, please contact us at info@cesa2.org.

In-Person Events: Restrictions on our in-person events due to COVID-19 have been lifted. We will be responsive to what's happening within our communities, and guidelines from the CDC and local health agencies for future offerings and will update guidelines when necessary.