Facilitating Communities of Practice

I led the group in a discussion about what they believed was the root cause of low reading scores in grades TK/Kindergarten. The diverse responses from the team allowed us to create a fish diagram and chart each potential root cause of the issue. I utilized a fishbone diagram with the team to name our problem of practice. According to the agenda item during our planning meeting minutes, we reviewed the fishbone diagram and discussed which root cause impacted our equity issue most. In this discussion process, the fishbone diagram was a helpful tool that led us to a rich dialogue around our potential problem of practice.

Additionally, the fishbone diagram captured multiple root causes. I centered the group on focusing on one potential root cause. I intentionally drew the team members into a conversation that would identify one problem of practice. I utilized the Reciprocal Learning Partnership Framework (Orange, 2019). The process of asking the team to determine what they believe is the equity issue and why they see it that way brought the group to a consensus on our problem of practice. We became intentional on now finding evidence-based strategies for the problem. As stated in our planning meeting agenda and meeting notes, we spent time researching our problem of practice and finding best practices that would support students on our school site. I elevated the expertise of team members during this process to ensure that our strategies were aligned with our problem of practice. Ms. D shared personal stories of students' families who are chronically absent. This qualitative data allowed us to focus more on what strategies families need to remedy chronic absenteeism, as evidenced in the agenda meeting notes. Once we agreed on our evidence-based strategy, we discussed how data would be collected. We set aside time to discuss how we would progress monitor and who would be responsible for collecting data.

Lastly, in utilizing the RLP framework and fishbone diagram, I moved the team in a direction that made it possible to succeed. Attendance results showed that one kinder class declined by .10%, one kinder class went up 2%, and one kinder class went up 5 %. The results indicate we successfully used the evidence-based strategy pulled from the Attendance Playbook. The team celebrated the success of improved attendance and acknowledged parents’ engagement in the workshop. Most importantly, the shift in how we looked at and discussed the data influenced the process of addressing the problem of practice. Utilizing the Smart Solutions for Reducing Chronic Absenteeism by Phyllis Jordan (July 2019) in the future could benefit the entire school population.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

My first strength is successfully facilitating a conversation utilizing the Reciprocal Learning Partnership framework. I displayed this by engaging the community of practice in a rich discussion where they participated equally throughout this process. I found it helpful to note team members’ thoughts during the meeting. I often affirmed their ideas by bringing them to the group’s attention during our conversations. This allowed me to validate each group member and show them that I actively listen when they speak, as evident in my video. My second strength is the team brief check-ins conducted at the beginning of every meeting, as evident in the agenda, meeting notes, and video. This process elevated the humanity in our conferences and reinforced our sense of community. Lastly, providing the team with the fishbone diagram helped us to name the root causes of the equity issue and eventually led us to the problem of practice. As I reflect on areas for growth, I realize that I need to gain collaborative organization and teach my team members how to use analysis tools in our community of practice.] The conversations remained centered and intentional because of the fishbone diagram. 

I wanted the team to remain problem-specific and user-centered (Bryk, et al., 2017). Networked Improvement Community teams ask, 1. What specifically are we trying to accomplish? 2. What change might we introduce and why? 3. How will we know that a change is an improvement? (Bryk, et al., 2017). In our time together, we successfully answered the questions of a productive NIC utilizing the RLP framework. The evidence-based strategy was pulled from the Attendance Playbook - Smart Solutions for Reducing Chronic Absenteeism by Phyllis Jordan (July 2019). Attendance results showed that one kinder class declined by .10%, one kinder class went up 2%, and one kinder class went up 5 %. The results indicate that we successfully used the evidence-based strategy, and future use of it could benefit other grades. The team reported that 12 parents attended the parent workshop, which was a great turnout. Parents were engaged and needed to be heard. Parents shared similar experiences about the impact of COVID-19 and the reason for their child’s absence. The team insisted on using this evidence-based strategy during the school year, particularly during the flu season.  The Hygiene lessons were fun and interactive. Students shared COVID-19 experiences. Teachers did report that students improved their handwashing during the school day. The flyers that were sent out about COVID-19 and hygiene did help. It brought awareness to families and was a helpful tool in getting parents to engage in the workshop. Overall, the initial implementation results indicate positive gains in improving attendance. The stakeholders have reacted positively, and our initial data shows a decreased absenteeism