OU's Center for Effective Schools

The University of Oklahoma Center for Effective Schools is hosting a dynamic workshop on Professional Learning Communities. In this PLC workshop presented by Keith Adams, participants will learn how high-performing, collaborative teams can work together to implement reflective practices "that raise student achievement."

Keith Adams earned his bachelor's degree in history from Bowie State University, a master's degree in teaching from Grand Canyon University and Educational Leadership Certification from Hood College. Currently he is the social studies department chair at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, MD and directs the district's PLS's. He also conducts workshops for educational groups on the benefits of Professional Learning Communities.

 

The presentation will be held on January 18, 2010 at the OCCE Forum in Norman, OK. Time: 9:00 am-3:00 pm with 1.5 hour lunch break.

Schools under contract with the Center can call 405.325.7080 to register teachers for this event.

OU CES works with Chemawa Indian School in Salem, OR and Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, OK to raise student achievement. OU CES provides on-site professional development based on the school's needs to the academic and residential staffs through the Effective Schools process.

OU CES also provides on-site college credit courses in collaboration with The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma for the Student Services Department, which includes the Home Living Staff and Education Technicians, in need of additional credit hours as outlined and required by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Center for Effective Schools will plan, develop, coordinate, and implement staff development through these courses.

OU CES provided monthly on-site professional development for the teachers and administrators of four identified alternative high schools within the Youth Connection Charter Schools (YCCS) organization. These schools included Ada S. McKinley, Sullivan House, CYCI, and Jane Addams. The trainings were a combination of collaborative group trainings at the YCCS administration offices as well as on-site trainings at the individual school sites.

OU CES also provided a school-wide needs assessments to determine critical areas of need in order to provide on-site professional development at individual school sites. In addition, OU CES analyzed all test data, reviewed records and reports, met with individual school principals, observed classroom instruction, and provided Effective Schools' trainings for school improvement teams and school administrators.

For the second consecutive year, Beggs Public Schools in Beggs, OK requested the services of the University of Oklahoma Center for Effective Schools to provide monthly on-site professional development for Project SMART - System to Motivate and Reward Teachers, a Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant through the United States Department of Education.

The TIF grant program is designed to support programs that develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems, based primarily on increases in student achievement in high-needs schools. This project includes Beggs Public Schools and its consortium of seven high-needs schools, including Morris, Oklmulgee, Dewar, Twin Hills, Henryetta, Schulter, and Wilson school districts.

Through this project the Center for Effective Schools provides scientifically research-based Effective Schools' professional development to raise student achievement. Best practices will be delivered through teacher institutes, Leadership trainings, workshops, and on-site visits.

Our center conducted the Oklahoma Statewide High School End-of-Instruction Institute onOctober 9, 2008 at the OCCE Forum on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman from 9:00 to 3:00. This institute was provided to teachers from small rural schools across Oklahoma to impact student achievement on the EOI assessments. Our center was able to deliver effective, best-practices strategies to these teachers at no cost.

The institute provided scientifically research-based professional development for high school teachers from small rural schools statewide to raise student achievement on high school End-of-Instruction assessments. We felt a great need to offer teachers in Oklahoma this opportunity in response to the implementation of Senate Bill 1792. This bill extended the End-of-Instruction (EOI) testing program to include additional content area assessments beginning with students entering the 9th grade in the 2008-2009 school year.

Oklahoma high school students are assessed in the core areas: Biology I, Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, English II, English III and U.S. History. Successful and effective teacher consultants in these content areas known for their exceptional test scores, leadership and professional development training presented at the institute. These consultants shared PASS aligned ideas, lessons, and strategies that have been successful best-practices in their own classrooms to raise student achievement and close the achievement gap.

This institute also included integration and differentiated instructional strategies. Research indicates integrated instructional units increase higher order thinking skills of students and increases the overall rigor of classroom instruction. One of our major goals was for teachers to learn to effectively integrate and collaborate. Our presenters were highly competent in assisting teachers in the development of lessons and strategies to address these issues.

For the second consecutive year, our center was awarded a Title II, Part A, Teacher Quality Grant by the Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education. The University of Oklahoma Center for Effective Schools College of Continuing Education OUTREACH and the College of Arts and Sciences collaborated with Rogers State University College of Liberal Arts, Cameron University College of Education, and mentor teachers to improve teacher quality. The CLASP Project consisted of a 2008 Summer Institute with a follow-up integrated lesson showcase, onsite visits throughout the 08-09 school year, and content area institutes to sustain core content knowledge and research-based teaching strategies.

Building upon the foundation established by last year's Teacher Quality Grant, forty-six participants were chosen from new schools. In addition, four mentor teachers sustained from last year's EQUAL project were selected. These teachers are distributed among 25 schools. The goal of the CLASP Project is to ensure that teachers have the subject-matter knowledge and teaching skills necessary to help all children achieve high academic standards, regardless of individual learning styles or needs.

The University of Oklahoma Center for Effective Schools, CCE, and the College of Arts and Sciences collaborated with Rogers State University College of Liberal Arts and Cameron University College of Education to improve teacher quality. The EQUAL (Effective QUality for All Learners) Project began with a one week Summer Institute held June 18- 22, 2007 in Kansas, Oklahoma at the Northeast Technology Center.

Math and science teachers from grades 3 through 8 received instruction in curriculum alignment, test disaggregation, benchmark assessments, integration, differentiated instruction, and research-based instructional strategies. The goal of the EQUAL Project was to ensure that teachers have the subject-matter knowledge and teaching skills necessary to help all children achieve high academic standards, regardless of individual learning styles or needs.

The project continued into the school year with on-site follow up visits, a teacher showcase, and an integration workshop to sustain core content knowledge and research-based teaching strategies. The teacher showcase was held on September 6, 2007 at the University of Oklahoma College of Continuing Education Forum. Participants in the EQUAL Project came together to present the integrated lesson plan they were developing that had been formulated at the Summer Institute.

Each participant had the opportunity to discuss the strength of the content standards covered by their lesson plan with Dr. Gordon Uno and Dr. Teri Murphy from the Arts and Sciences faculty of the University of Oklahoma. On October 12, 2007 participants gathered once again in Salina, Oklahoma at the elementary and middle schools to model their integrated lessons with students. Dr. Lynn Arnn, Cameron University, and Professor Peggy Dugan, Rogers State University, observed and gave valuable feedback to the teachers to strengthen the research-based instructional strategies used in their lesson plans.

Ten partner LEAs, serving 3,412 students and 30 teachers, were impacted. These teachers were distributed among 11 schools including: Briggs, Dahlonegah, Kenwood, Leach, Moseley, Peavine, Salina Elementary and Middle Schools, Shady Grove, Watts, and Woodall. Four counties were represented in LEA partnerships for the EQUAL Project: Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, and Mayes. A common thread among all partner schools was high poverty, low student academic achievement, and the need for quality professional development for teachers to extend content knowledge of PASS in reading, math, and science integrating research-based instructional strategies.

Stephen R. Reed, mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania requested the services of the University of Oklahoma Center for Effective Schools (OU CES) for the performance of an external educational evaluation conducted July 16th, 2007 through October 31, 2007. When the General Assembly passed the initial Education Empowerment Act (Act 16 0f 2000) in May 2000, it provided for Mayor Stephen R. Reed to assume control of the Harrisburg School District. The OU CES external evaluation team consisted of Susan Kidd-Center Director, Robbie Canada-Center Associate, Beth Wilson-Program Specialist II and Dr. Leon Crowley-Center Special Consultant.

The OU CES team traveled to Harrisburg the weeks of July 16, 2007 and September 17, 2007 for ten on-site days in order to develop a comprehensive performance report with action steps for raising student achievement. In July, the OU CES team gathered district data, met with the Mayor along with district administrators and summer school principals, interviewed past and present students, parent groups, and dozens of community members.

In September, the team returned to Harrisburg to observe instructional practices and methods at every school site, administered a comprehensive survey to all district teachers and administrators, and met individually with school administrators. The OU CES Performance Evaluation Team provided the completed comprehensive Performance Evaluation document to the Mayor of Harrisburg on the 31st of October.

Eleven teachers from across the state attended the 2nd Annual Teacher Institute hosted by the University of Oklahoma Center for Effective Schools. The institute was held in Washington D.C. from May 2-5, 2007. The teachers were chosen by application, referral, and superintendent recommendation. The teachers were required to identify a lesson that would integrate history with reading and writing aligned to the state's academic standards.

During their visit in D.C., they developed lessons at the Smithsonian Institutes. The teachers toured Washington D.C., met with U.S. Congressman Dan Boren and experienced history first hand to enhance their teaching. These lessons were shared and implemented at their schools.

In addition, these curriculum units were presented in a state-wide teacher forum at the University of Oklahoma. This institute was an all expense paid trip hosted by the Center for Effective Schools.

The University of Oklahoma Center for Effective Schools in collaboration with Western Heights Professional Development Committee kicked-off the first in a series of distinguished lecture presentations with "How to Achieve Maximum Success in the Classroom," by award winning author and presenter Harry K. Wong. Dr. Wong is well-known for his expertise in classroom management, effective teaching, student motivation and student achievement. 

Over 2.8 million copies of Dr. Wong's book, The First Days of School, have been sold to date. Dr. Wong encourages all teachers by telling them they have the fortune of renewing their own teaching techniques throughout their career. He has been called "Mr. Practicality" for his common-sense, research-based approach to managing a classroom for high-level student learning and achievement.

The presentation was held January 11, 2007 at Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City , Western Heights and OU Center for Effective Schools offered teachers and pre-service teachers statewide the opportunity to attend this exciting professional development presentation at no charge.