"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." When attempting to transform a school system from needs improvement to HIGH PERFORMING, a single solution may "feed" the system temporarily without addressing the need for sustainability. At LoTi, we aren't interested in a single solution; we believe in "feeding for a lifetime".

Rather than searching for one initiative that promises turnkey success, we consider the factors that have yielded statistically significant outcomes and aid school systems in creating their own "recipe" for high performance. Most school systems have the key ingredients, but they often need to turn up the H.E.A.T. (Higher order thinking, Engaged learning, Authentic connections, Technology use) on student learning to maximize academic success. Research has shown that one factor is evident in success stories for schools implementing change—the WILL TO IMPLEMENT. 

The LoTi School Improvement Model highlights proven strategies to build a collaborative continuous improvement model. This plan gives you specific action steps to follow when determining (1) which reform actions can be implemented using only current staff, (2) which actions would be most effective when combined with high impact staff development, (3) which actions require the purchase of equipment, and (4) which actions necessitate an outside vendor to effectively support district efforts. These action steps represent your customized recipe for student academic success.

Since transforming a "School in Need of Improvement" requires addressing a wide variety of needs simultaneously, district leadership needs a proven system to achieve desired outcomes. The LoTi School Improvement Model has at its core a profound belief in improving student achievement through:

• Standards-aligned benchmarking that measures accurately what students need to be able to do to meet Common Core State Standard expectations and the skills necessary to be successful in a digital world.
• Specific and targeted interventions that integrate basic knowledge and skills through a real-world context that ensures a deeper understanding of the core content.
• Professional development that builds upon the current instructional paradigm of classroom teachers toward a focus on H.E.A.T. 
• (i.e., Higher order thinking, Engaged learning, Authentic connections, Technology use).
• Administrative professional learning that emphasizes the active role of building and district level leadership in the change process
• External monitoring of campus efforts in three domains: student academic progress, innovative teaching practices, and H.E.A.T.

Share this post