SLO SCRIPT #1 - INTRODUCTION

HI --
I'M LINDA BURGEE.
AS THE FORMER SUPERINTENDENT OF FREDERICK COUNTY SCHOOLS --
I KNOW IMPLEMENTING NEW EDUCATION INITIATIVES SEEMS DAUNTING.
OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS --
WEVE WORKED WITH SCHOOLS AND EDUCATORS ACROSS MARYLAND --
SIDE-BY-SIDE --
TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND TRAINING --
ON HOW TO USE S-L-O's FOR EVALUATIONS.
AND --
TO ENSURE THEY ARE A TOOL FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
FROM THIS WORK --
SEVERAL KEY MESSAGES STAND OUT.

- THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING MEASUREABLE GOALS IS NOT NEW.

TEACHERS AND SCHOOL LEADERS ALREADY MEET REGULARLY.
THEY ANALYZE DATA --
IDENTIFY AREAS OF GROWTH.
AND THEY STRATEGIZE TO MEET GROWTH TARGETS.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES FORMALIZE THIS PROCESS.

- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS THE MAJOR FOCUS.

S-L-O's SERVE DUAL PURPOSES. 
THEY'RE AN ACCOUNTABILITY TOOL.
BUT THEY HAVE A GREATER SIGNIFICANCE.
THEY FOCUS ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PRACTICES.
THAT RESULTS IN IMPROVED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
TARGETS MUST BE ATTAINABLE.
AND THEY MUST BE FAIR TO TEACHERS.
YET THEY MUST BE AMBITIOUS --
AMBITIOUS ENOUGH TO IMPROVE ACHIEVEMENT.

-- S-L-O's CONSIDER FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENT PERFORMANCE.

THEY ALLOW EDUCATORS TO CRAFT GOALS --
SPECIFIC TO STUDENT NEEDS --
AND TO THE NEEDS OF STUDENT SUBGROUPS.
S-L-O's PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY --
THEY ADJUST FOR DIFFERENCES IN STUDENT PERFORMANCE.
THE FLEXIBILITY EXTENDS FROM CLASS TO CLASS --
SCHOOL TO SCHOOL.

-- THERE IS A CLEAR CONNECTION TO THE CLASSROOM.

TEACHERS ARE EMPOWERED TO EXAMINE DATA AND OUTCOMES.
THEY MAKE MEANINGFUL DECISIONS.
WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO LEARN?
HOW CAN STUDENT LEARNING BE MEASURED?

-- COLLABORATION IS KEY.

THE S-L-O PROCESS IS REFLECTIVE.
IT SUPPORTS CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
IT PROMOTES COLLABORATION AMONG TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS -- 
AND --
AMONG PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES.
ACROSS THE COUNTRY --
TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS WHO USE S-L-O's SAY COLLABORATION IS CRITICAL.

TEACHERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO WORK IN GRADE-LEVEL OR CONTENT-AREA TEAMS --
AS THEY WRITE AND IMPLEMENT S-L-O's.

-- DON'T EXPECT PERFECTION RIGHT AWAY

AS WE WORK WITH S-L-O's --
THEIR QUALITY AND IMPACT WILL IMPROVE.
THEY ARE FAIR TO TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS.
ABOVE ALL --
THEY SUPPORT IMPROVED ACHIEVEMENT.

-- RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU.

EVERY SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS A TRAINED S-L-O TEAM.
THESE TEAMS SERVE AS RESOURCES FOR YOU.
THE MSDE WEBSITE CONTAINS MODELS AND TOOLS --
TEMPLATES AND POWERPOINTS --
AND MUCH MORE.
ALL SYSTEMS HAVE RECEIVED S-L-O MODULES.
THEY CAN BE CUSTOMIZED TO REFLECT LOCAL SCHOOL PRIORITIES. (SMILE)
THANK YOU.