Teacher's Guide for Getting Serious About the System

The Working Systemically approach is a multidimensional process for school improvement focused on key components of the system that must be in place to support student achievement. In order to ensure that the improvement is sustained for the long term, the Working Systemically approach targets multiple levels of the system. By simultaneously addressing the components and competencies at multiple levels, the approach results in systemwide improvement that increases achievement for all students. Four key findings drive this work: improving student achievement requires a district to concentrate its efforts on aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment to state standards; instead of trying to address every problem with a unique solution, work on the underlying issues that are impacting the system; focus - improvement plans on activities that are small enough to be manageable but large enough to make a difference in student achievement; and leaders at all levels of the system (including teacher leaders) need to support the selected focus of the improvement effort so that the resources of time, personnel, and energy are targeted on that focal point. In short, sites that focused their attention on alignment and approached their improvement work systemically were more likely to show gains in student achievement. This guide is printed in two separate volumes. One volume provides a brief overview of what it means to work systemically, offers a brief rationale for a systemic approach based on research, and outlines the five phases in the process. The primary audience for this book is district and school staff, including teachers, who will be engaged in the improvement efforts. A second volume provides district and school leadership teams with the tools and resources they need to lead the systemic work.