Prepare

The district might reflect on the following questions regarding the continuous improvement team: To what extent do continuous improvement leadership and processes include and support the voices of all stakeholders? The team should represent key stakeholders' perspectives, possibly including the following:

• at least one key leader with the ability and authority to make executive-level decisions

• central office personnel

• building leadership

• instructional staff, including those from various grade levels/content areas and from both general and special education

• non-instructional staff

• various student subgroup populations

• various systems (curriculum/instruction/assessment, data, technology, finance, student support, human resources, transportation, facilities management, food service, etc.),

• educational and health components of the Whole Child (physical, social, and emotional health, nutrition, etc.),

• board member(s)

• parent, community and, where appropriate, student representatives.

It is important to note that having various perspectives represented does not necessarily mean having a different individual for each perspective. Particularly in smaller districts, individuals can represent more than one perspective. It may also not be practical to have all perspectives represented at every meeting; in that case, it is important to bring in the various perspectives at particularly relevant times. The MICIP platform allows all team members to stay up to date with the ongoing continuous improvement work.

It is important that members of the team have the necessary knowledge and skills as well as a commitment to continuous improvement. Ensuring that these expectations are established and communicated will significantly increase the chances that the continuous improvement process will be successful. The MICIP web site has resources to help with this and other topics of professional learning.

Team members will need to understand the following:

• The expectations and shared responsibilities of being a team member, including attending and actively participating in meetings, providing input based on the perspective(s) they represent, following through on assigned tasks, and communicating information as requested.

• The district vision, mission, and beliefs and how they impact the work of continuous improvement.

• The continuous improvement mindset, process, and platform, including the technical, financial, and legal requirements.

• Change processes and how they impact the continuous improvement process.

• Multiple sources and types of data and how data is used for decision-making.

• How decisions will be made and how those decisions will be communicated to both internal and external audiences.

While using a facilitator for the continuous improvement process is not required, there may be times when doing so is advantageous. There may be individuals on staff who could fill this role; there may also be value in bringing in someone from outside the district

A skilled facilitator brings the following:

• An ability to engage all participants in the discussion and surface a wide variety of thinking, insights and perspectives that might otherwise not be shared,

• Knowledge of a wide variety of facilitation processes and tools,

• Skill at asking difficult questions and challenging assumptions to surface the issues and help get to the root cause of challenges that need to be addressed,

• A neutral mindset with no preconceived notions as to the “right” or “wrong” answers or direction,

• An ability to gather the most salient points and produce meaningful summaries to create an action plan for moving forward, and

• The opportunity for all team members to participate equally.

You may be able to obtain such support from your regional intermediate school district (ISD) or educational service agency (ESA), or you could contract with a professional facilitator. If an outside facilitator is not used, it may be beneficial for an internal facilitator to have experienced professional learning in facilitation techniques such as that offered through Adaptive Schools or a similar training.

MICIP Facilitator Guide