Preparing Classroom Instruction This Summer for Enhanced Success this Fall (Volume 3, Episode 11)

Improving Education Today: The Deep Dive

Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Blog from Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions. The Blog and Podcast focus on the importance of strategic summer planning to drive school improvement during the coming new school year. They begin by contrasting two low-performing middle schools in the same school district that approached their time during the summer in significantly different ways.

One middle school’s Leadership Team used the summer time to conduct in-depth analyses of their classroom instruction, teaching team effectiveness, and related services staff support. They developed action plans by the end of June, and began implementing these plans in July and August—before the new school year began.

The other middle school decided that staff needed “a break,” and they did not begin their improvement planning until the three days before the beginning of the new school year.

Angela and Davey outline seven research-proven core characteristics of effective classroom teachers, emphasizing areas like strong content knowledge, data utilization, and continuous professional growth. They then discuss the seven research-to-practice characteristics of effective teaching teams. And they finish by detailing the seven characteristics of effective instructional/intervention support staff—stressing collaboration, evidence-based practices, and a systems perspective.

The Podcast concludes with a "Call to Action," asserting that the summer months offer a "unique and invaluable opportunity" for "reflective analysis, strategic planning, and skill development." The ultimate choice outlined for educational leaders is "between preparation versus procrastination, between systematic improvement versus wishful thinking, between investing in summer planning versus accepting the status quo."