An approach to school improvement that makes the most
out of everyone’s efforts.
We have a history of sustainably increasing teacher and instructional leader effectiveness by equipping schools with the data necessary to make good instructional decisions, and by helping build educators’ capacity to put those decisions into action. Our comprehensive approach to school improvement addresses the complexity of the challenges involved in turning around or transforming persistently low-achieving schools, and aligns with many of the federal guidelines for School Improvement Grants.
Wireless Generation offers a suite of services designed to help you to develop a customized, comprehensive plan for your school:
Through our work with over 200,000 educators in all 50 states, Wireless Generation has provided services to hundreds of schools, with proven results.
Last year in one of the 10 largest urban districts, at-risk students in our tightly integrated early literacy turnaround program showed significant gains in key foundational skills in just five months.
Over the course of the 2007–2008 school year, we helped 15 of the lowest performing schools in Oklahoma close the early literacy performance gap with their higher-performing peers by 35%.
Learn more about our work in Oklahoma.
Learn more about our suite of services:
Needs Analysis and Instructional Program Identification
Needs analysis and instructional program identification involves analyzing school data, reviewing existing curricula and materials, and conducting interviews and observations to determine the effectiveness of the entire instructional program. Our approach includes:
-- Working with the school leadership team to align research-based curriculum and instruction to rigorous state and/or national standards and student needs
-- Continuously evaluating effectiveness of curriculum and instruction
-- Ensuring that teachers have the knowledge, tools, and resources for effective instructional program implementation
-- Identifying gaps in materials, resources, professional development and support, and making recommendations for filling gaps
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School Structure and Organizational Planning
A school’s structure and organization must support the objectives established by the leadership team in order to produce significant progress. We design and recommend daily schedules to ensure equal access, uninterrupted instructional time, and resource sharing. We:
-- Provide collaborative frameworks and processes for staff (such as the “cycle of continuous improvement”)
-- Offer assistance with designing programs and spaces to provide the best learning environment
-- Help build effective school communities – both virtual and live – to encourage sharing of best practices, knowledge, and resources
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Professional Learning Institute
A summer Professional Learning Institute ensures school staff acquires methods for goal-setting, team-building, planning, and curriculum mapping before the start of the school year. Sessions help:
-- Manage change by facilitating staff buy-in to school-wide objectives
-- Introduce new processes and tools as needed
-- Build a strong foundation for future collaborative professional learning
In addition, foundational professional development will be provided on content areas, instructional strategies, data analysis, and establishment of classroom culture. As necessary, sessions on assessment tools, new curricula, materials, and/or resources will be offered.
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Best-in-Class Assessment Tools
Valid, reliable assessment tools aligned to state and national standards and reports provide for a culture of continuous improvement by placing the focus of ongoing assessment on enabling real-time instructional decisions and measuring progress against clear goals.
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Instructional Tools and Processes
Instructional tools and processes increase student engagement and strengthen the student support system by leveraging data to develop individualized instruction that automatically adapts to each student's specific needs.
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School-Based, Job-Embedded, Customized Professional Development
School-based, job-embedded, customized professional development, based upon specific student and teacher needs, is provided to teachers and leaders throughout the year. We focus on curriculum concepts and skills, standards, analysis of formative assessment data, and instructional strategies, while building a collaborative planning environment.
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"Cycle of Continuous Improvement"
The ongoing "cycle of continuous improvement" is a collaborative approach focused on building capacity for analysis so teachers continuously evaluate and adjust their instructional practice to maximize student learning. Several times a year teachers and leaders evaluate overall effectiveness, determine gaps and supplement as necessary.
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Fidelity Monitoring
Fidelity monitoring provides an accountability framework, including processes and metrics for measuring implementation fidelity, monitoring student progress, and sending alerts to leadership when implementation exceeds or falls below desired goals. This framework prepares school leaders to observe classroom practice to determine how to support each teacher in increasing fidelity.
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Ongoing Leadership Coaching
Ongoing Leadership coaching provides principals with the support they need to enhance their instructional leadership capacity, such as determining curriculum effectiveness, increasing effectiveness of teacher observation, prioritization, time management, communication, and monitoring action plans and determining appropriate support.
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Ongoing Coaching for Teachers and Teacher Leaders
Ongoing coaching provides individual support based on each teacher's specific needs, resources and students. Information gathered during regular (non-evaluative) classroom observations informs individual and group interactions to model instructional strategies, provide targeted feedback, and reinforce new methods and content.
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Family and Community Capacity
Building family and community capacity is promoted by working with teachers and leadership to:
-- Better increase the involvement of families and the community in student learning through professional development around research-based strategies
-- Increase the offering of meaningful opportunities for family and community engagement
-- Enhance communication with community partners to focus on and understand student performance
-- Introduce parent/student data conferences, “family-friendly” parent letters, and free activities for extending learning into the home
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