CAT: building capacity for success.

The bottom line for public schools in Riverside County is increased student achievement, particularly in core academic subjects. Riverside County's Office of Education is committed to improving student achievement -- student by student, school by school -- in the county's lowest-performing schools.

Through RCOE's County Achievement Teams, content and leadership experts are helping these low-performing schools move toward excellence. We believe that this model program can help push student learning to higher levels throughout the state. The California Department of Education agreed, sponsoring a two-day statewide training this past March that was presented by RCOE. The training focused on replicating the CAT model to help ailing schools in the state's 58 counties. Thirteen county offices attended.

The giant shift in the field of education regarding how success is measured (by SAT-9/STAR); cutting-edge, research-based knowledge about what can be done to increase student learning and significant changes in student populations require a new model for continuing guided assistance and accountability.

What is CAT?

The CAT process is a district-funded review and assistance program for low-performing schools. The county office audit team focuses on curriculum, instruction and assessment. Through classroom observations, interviews and development of a data-driven school profile, the team analyzes the:

* integration of school plans (WASC, PQR, Digital High School, etc.);

* integration of student programs and services, including programs for students who need catch-up interventions;

* performance of students overall and student subgroups;

* areas of the tested curriculum on which students do not achieve;

* use of assessment data to guide curriculum and instruction;

* curricular and instructional alignment with state standards and testing;

* leadership/management practices that focus on student achievement; and

* professional development that supports standards-based leadership, assessment, curriculum and instruction.

The CAT process uses three vehicles to move a school forward: a Principals Institute, Phase I and Phase II services.

What do we promise to do? The Principals Institute

The principal of a CAT school wants to know where he's headed. The Principals Institute is the map we give principals and, if they wish, their leadership teams. The one-day institute begins with the data profile of what our schools look like in Riverside County, particularly the principals' schools. This is the reality check.

Though the demographics of these schools may differ slightly, their numbers are actually not unlike the high-poverty, high-performing schools we read about in other counties and states. We share what those schools look like -- their common characteristics that are replicable in this county, in these schools -- then lead into an explanation of the reasons for CAT teams, the process and the principal's role.

The new principals hear from a panel of veteran CAT principals about what to expect in the way of process and results. The principal and CAT team sign a list of "we do" and "they do" commitments.

The critical factor throughout this process is the realization that the principal has to commit time and willingness to the success equation. Without time, without the enabling leadership, CAT is merely a litter box activity.

At the end of the institute, it is our hope that the CAT principals will attend the periodic network meetings -- three to four a year -- to experience the power of a learning team. The intent is to build professional learning communities within their own schools. The guide for the networking meetings is Defour and Eaker's book, "Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement."

What do we do? Phase I

The Principals Institute allows the CAT team and school to begin the journey down the same track. The ultimate destination is improved student learning and achievement. Along the way, however, we know there will be derailments from disbelief, fear of change or lack of enabling strategies. Unless we provide data on the reason for even beginning the journey, staffs are unwilling to risk change regardless of the leader's intent.

Ultimately, in order to address student individual and specific group needs, the school needs information. In Phase I, the assessment coordinator prepares a comprehensive school profile. Through charts and graphs, the profile presents the basic, program, demographic and performance data.

Since Riverside County is one of the largest geographic counties in the state -- 7,300 square miles -- the county fields three regional teams, each with a minimum of four individuals: a lead, and coordinators of assessment, reading and math. Specialists for English language learners, special education and others are added as appropriate for the specific school.

Using their expertise, the team gathers additional information on the school through classroom observations and interviews that focus on five major areas:

1. Academic achievement as a school-wide focus.

2. Clear alignment of curriculum, instruction and assessment.

3. Emphasis on meaningful student engagement and options for struggling learners.

4. Emphasis on student writing and work analysis.

5. Development of a professional learning community.

Information from the classroom visits and personal interviews is confirmed through a teacher survey on standards implementation. This survey is used later in Phase II to indicate school progress. Student writing samples are also collected.

This raw data is analyzed by the team to determine school-wide trends that help or hinder student learning. The results are delivered in the report of findings, observations and recommendations that is presented to the staff at large.

The report forms the basis for what we call "improvement modules." Comprehensive action plans are often too broad and complicated, and often neglected. The research-based improvement module provides a doable "to-do" list for staff in two areas: math and reading/language arts. The items are clearly indicated by the school profile data, staff and parent interviews and classroom observations.

The improvement module also makes it clear what professional development and/or assistance is needed to deliver increased student achievement. Improvement module outcomes are always measured in student -- not teacher or staff -- terms.

Once the first improvement module is defined by the leadership team or staff, Phase I is complete. At this juncture, the school and district can decide to move ahead alone or to enlist the services of the CAT team for Phase II.

What do we do? Phase II

"We like to think of the CAT program as the example of ultimate collaboration between our county office and districts in Riverside County," said Dave Long, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools. "Most schools continue with us for Phase II, forming a partnership with the CAT teams in which both the school and the team are held equally accountable for increasing student achievement. At this point, the team walks side by side with school leadership and staff to affect a rise in student achievement (as measured by SAT-9/STAR)."

Phase II is where the steel wheels meet the track. The train has left the station and we all know where we are supposed to be going, but how do we get there? The CAT team agrees to do the following with and for the school site:

* Update the current school profile with the latest information.

* Monitor the school's progress toward its improvement module goals and objectives once a month, including classroom revisits, readministration of the teacher survey and further analysis of student work.

* Write regular journal entries from the CAT lead to the principal and district office on activities and progress.

* Present research on high-performing schools.

* Provide baseline staff development and follow-up in the backwards design process.

* Offer field trips or video visits to model classrooms or model practice sites.

* Broker and/or provide services and resources to assist with achievement of the improvement module.

* Provide a computerized year-end analysis of CAT team time and service to the school relative to increases in student achievement on state tests.

Each service is tied both to the improvement module and to the five areas mentioned in Phase I. CAT schools receive discounts and advanced registration for regular county office services when those services match and would further move staff toward the improvement module targets.

In turn, the CAT school agrees to:

* communicate and/or meet monthly with the CAT team;

* hold regular staff and grade-level, department or vertical team meetings in which the improvement module is an item on each agenda and minutes are recorded on a CAT template for action;

* select and release key staff who will lead improvement module efforts; and

* attend CAT networking meetings.

"We have such enthusiasm and momentum as we work on our improvement module," said Principal Teresa Sexauer. "The grade-level leaders came to me to ask that I not change any of them this year. They feel they are on a roll gathering data and don't want to stop. At the last staff meeting, the grade-level leaders shared their data with the whole staff, showing their growth from January to June. We have a structured tool we can use; the grade levels have sold it to each other, collected the data and are eagerly watching the growth."

The model for Phase II services to CAT sites is a circle that begins with staff development or input; it then moves to implementation in the classroom, collection and analysis of student work and further staff development or input until the cycle repeats itself and the improvement module goals and objectives are moving strongly ahead. Every Phase II action on the improvement module requires a reflection, student work analysis and/or document of proof. In this process, the team itself is data-driven.

In the 1999 inaugural year of CAT, 14 schools participated in Phase I. In the second year, seven new schools became Phase I schools, and 19 schools moved to Phase II. Eighty-five percent of Phase I schools made a median API growth of 77 points in one year, compared to the state median growth of 46 points. Average 1999-2000 API point gains for all CAT elementary schools were 59 points for elementary schools, compared to 43 for the county and 46 for the state.

In the Perris Elementary School District, where CAT involvement has been substantial, last year's SAT-9 scores showed an increase of 65 percent in reading and 78 percent in mathematics. Average growth in the API for the district (where five of their six schools were CAT schools) was double that of all elementary schools statewide.

What makes CAT unique?

* CAT is a targeted improvement module, not a comprehensive action plan. We are tackling doable chunks, with immediacy as the guiding principle.

* CAT is an ongoing collaborative effort, not a stand-alone crisis intervention program. This is not a Band-Aid program. This is a process for building staff capacity. The focus is on changing the school into a standards-based school on the premise that each person is responsible for the individual student.

* CAT is an accountability approach, not just an advisory approach. The CAT team meets regularly to assess school achievement and monitor its own progress. Student scores on state standardized tests, though not the only measure of success, are used as one measure of CAT viability.

* CAT is a resource-rich investment in a school's potential for change. The Riverside County Office of Education is dedicated to providing resources to CAT schools that are funneled toward a specific target for improvement.

No quick fixes

"Through collaboration with the CAT team," said Assistant Superintendent David Marshall, "we have seen improvement in the academic achievement of our students and improved quality of teaching and learning in our classrooms. An additional big plus is that RCOE's County Achievement Team provides ongoing support to our schools' staff."

We aren't in schools for the quick fix. We are in schools to engender a commitment to improvement, encourage new ways of thinking, provide resources, monitor progress and celebrate success.

When the CAT team finishes its work at a school, we hope to leave every teacher with a set of questions they answer daily:

What am I teaching?

Why am I teaching it this way?

How do I know students are learning?

What can I do to help students who aren't?

If we have done this, we have built a system for improvement -- student by student, classroom by classroom, school by school -- within Riverside County.

VIEW FROM A CAT PRINCIPAL

"At first," said Principal Billie Reeves, "I felt we weren't doing anything right. Then we started to refocus on long- and short-term goals. We identified the differences between goals and objectives. We began to focus on everyday activities and what we framework says about reading and math. We discussed what we had, what was working, and what was needed. One of the things we concentrated on was agreeing on homework assignments and that homework should provide students practice on the same skills as they had been instructed in during the day. The conversations of staff became centered around academics."

Jane Moore is regional director for Riverside County Office of Education.