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Southeast Polk moves from learning to implementation in school improvement task forces
Summary
District leaders told the board that teacher-led task forces established last year will focus on implementing evidence-based practices in year two; teacher leaders will remain on the same task forces for three years and year three will evaluate impact.
At the meeting, Dr. Latham briefed the board on year two of the district’s School Improvement Process (SIP) task force work and said the emphasis will shift from learning to implementation.
Dr. Latham said the district organized teacher leadership groups around four core goal areas: early literacy; academic core (English language arts, math and science); college and career readiness; and climate and culture (including attendance). More than 90 teacher leaders participated in task forces during year one, the presentation said.
Quoting a national consultant who worked with the district, Dr. Latham said the district has a strong teacher leadership structure and noted the consultant’s advice: "teachers are more influential to other teachers than administrators." That feedback helped shape the district’s approach to keep teacher leaders on the same task force for three years: year 1 learning, year 2 implementation and year 3 evaluation of impact.
Dr. Latham said task force recommendations and the compiled task force report will be available for school teams to use in building action steps, and teacher leaders will serve as local supports for implementation in professional learning communities and classrooms. The presentation also cited recent capacity-building: the district added about 20 new model teachers to replace teachers who moved into other roles or retired.
Dr. Latham and Stephanie Laird will present the district’s teacher-leadership model at the School Administrators of Iowa conference, the presentation said. No formal board action was requested during the update; the item closed before the board moved to adjourn.
After the final item, a motion to adjourn was made and seconded; the transcript records the motion and that it was seconded but does not record a roll-call vote.
