A school improvement plan that actually improves education.
Too often, a rating arrives, a plan gets written, classroom results look the same. engage2learn starts underneath the rating, with a root-cause review and a needs assessment, then builds a short, measured systems plan with your leaders and coaches them as they run it.
The rating is the part you can see.
A school improvement plan written from the top of the iceberg changes the top of the iceberg. We look at what produces the result.
- The accountability rating
- State assessment scores
- Attendance and discipline
- How the school’s week is scheduled, and what gets protected
- How often leaders are in classrooms, and what feedback follows
- What teachers are coached on, and whether it matches the need
- How teams use data in PLCs, or don’t
- Whether the plan’s priorities reach each classroom
- What students, staff and families say about the school
Five rungs down, from the rating to Monday morning.
Scroll down the ladder: from the outcome you see to the skill behind it, and back up to how you’ll know it moved.
From the outcome to the skill behind it
- The outcome you see
A rating, and a plan that hasn’t changed classrooms.
The accountability rating arrives. A school improvement plan gets written, filed and reviewed. Monday morning looks the same.
- What the diagnosis looks at
Underneath the rating, before anything is planned.
A root-cause review through System Assessment & Design, and a needs assessment through the Data Triangle, where students, staff and families answer the same questions.
- The plan
A short systems plan, with measures attached.
A few systems the school will change, each with an owner and a way to see whether it moved.
- The coaching
Coaching for the leaders who run it.
Principals and assistant principals work with a coach on walkthroughs, feedback and the routines the plan depends on, through Leadership Skill Development.
- How you’ll know it moved
Early signs in weeks, not at the next rating.
Districts can begin seeing results in as little as six weeks, and progress is tracked in GroweLab as it happens.
engage2learn’s coaching carries ESSA Tier 2 / Tier 3 evidence.
Middle-grade gains on the record.
Efficacy studies by LXD Research & Consulting, an independent evaluator
- +27
- math score gains, grades 6–8
- +17
- reading score gains, grades 6–8
- +15
- points in reading scores, grade 6
From the closure list to off it.
Kirby Middle School, Wichita Falls
- BeforeThe school "faced closure after an F rating."
- The workWith engage2learn alongside them, "the district, principals, and teachers" turned the school around.
- After"Saving it from a state takeover and improving student outcomes in a matter of months."
Stronger school leaders, and gains to show for it.
School improvement runs through the people who lead the school. That is why the plan comes with coaching for them. Read the Dallas ISD story.
Through innovative coaching practices and strategic guidance, engage2learn has strengthened campus leadership capacity and contributed to measurable gains in overall student academic achievement.
Match your question to an offering.
Three offerings carry school improvement. Most schools start with the review.
- If you’re askingWhy is this school stuck, when we’ve tried so much? Start withSystem Assessment & Design
- If you’re askingWhat do students, staff and families think is going on? Start withThe Data Triangle
- If you’re askingCan our principals lead the turnaround? Start withLeadership Skill Development
- If you’re askingSomething that isn’t on this list. Start withAsk us. We’ll match the right engagement.
Diagnose, design and coach, for one school or many.
School improvement draws on three steps of the cycle: a needs assessment and root-cause review, a short systems plan, and coaching for the leaders who run it.
- You are here 01
Diagnose
A needs assessment through the Data Triangle, and a root-cause review of the school’s systems.
Assessments & Software - You are here 02
Design
A short, measured systems plan, with an owner for each change.
Planning & Design - You are here 03
Coach
Principals and assistant principals working with a coach on the routines the plan depends on.
Performance Improvement - 04
Connect to community
Leaders share what worked with peers across districts in the Network.
Network & Events
Questions leaders ask.
How is a root-cause review different from the school improvement plan we already have?
A root-cause review looks underneath the rating, at the systems, routines and skills producing it, before anything is planned. Many improvement plans list goals and activities; this starts by finding what is actually causing the result, so the plan changes those things.
We already have a needs assessment. Can we start from it?
Yes. A district can start at any step of the cycle. We start from the needs assessment and plan you already have, and add a diagnostic only where it would answer a question they leave open.
How quickly can a school see change?
Districts can begin seeing results in as little as six weeks. Progress is tracked in GroweLab as it happens, so leaders see early signs well before the next rating.
What does leadership coaching add?
Leadership coaching gives the people who run the plan a thinking partner as they run it. Principals and assistant principals work with a coach on walkthroughs, feedback and teacher-support routines inside their own schools, so the plan shows up in classrooms.
What evidence stands behind the coaching?
engage2learn’s coaching carries ESSA Tier 2 / Tier 3 evidence. In ESSA efficacy studies by LXD Research & Consulting, grades 6 to 8 showed +27 math and +17 reading score gains, and grade 6 reading scores rose 15 points.
Change what happens on Monday morning.
Tell us about the school, its rating and what has been tried, and we’ll show you where a root-cause review would start.
