Your Hand

Investments

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  Identify your strongest principals and encourage them to move to the 25% lowest performing schools

  A strong leader, who creates a culture of achievement, attracts high quality teaching and staff, and engages the community, is a critical success factor for turning around low performing schools. More flexibility in hiring, staffing, scheduling and instruction can attract strong principals.

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  Provide a week of professional development for principals on teacher evaluation, using available summer time at no additional cost

  Training principals on clear standards and effective evaluation helps them identify and leverage the strongest performers, while targeting support for struggling teachers.

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  Add a social services coordinator in 25% lowest performing schools

  Many districts are having success in improving school readiness and achievement for at risk students through coordinators that work with city, state and community organizations to provide wrap-around services and support.

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  Add Pre-K for 50% of Kindergarten students

  Since many districts do not receive funding to serve general education Pre-K students, it can be politically difficult to add during tough times. However, research strongly suggests that Pre-K is a highly effective long-term investment that improves school readiness and future success especially for at-risk students, making this a worthwhile choice.

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  Pay teachers for 60 additional minutes per week to be spent in collaborative planning

  Research shows that teaching effectiveness improves when teams of teachers and expert coaches can collaborate for 90+ minutes per week around ongoing student work and assessment data and use this information to continually adjust instruction.

  Many districts may be able to find this time at no cost by creating new schedules.

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  Reduce average English/Language Arts and math class size for grade 9 by 6 to support transition to high school

  Benefits from reducing class sizes have only been demonstrated in classes with fewer than 17 students in core academic subjects and in early/transitional grades. Rather than across the board class size reductions, consider transitional support to keep struggling students on track at a time when many are referred to costly special services.

  Even class size reductions of 1 or 2 are very costly and should be carefully weighed alongside other options for small group instruction and teaching quality improvement Consider alternative student grouping. Combining classes across grades or moving groups of students among teachers for different subjects can improve student learning even with a higher student-teacher ratio.

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  Adjust teacher schedules so that teachers who share course content or students have the same free periods

  Time for teachers to collaborate around instruction and student learning is an important driver of teaching quality and school improvement.

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  Provide double blocks of English/language arts and math for struggling students and students in transition grades

  Many districts place struggling students into extra sections of math or English/language arts. Scheduling this additional time into a double block with one teacher extends instructional time and reduces the total number of students for whom the teacher is responsible.

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  Introduce principal residency program to build leadership capacity

  Strong school leaders are a key component of high performing schools. Fellowship programs increase the pipeline for high-capacity principals.

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  Provide a 2% across the board teacher salary increase

  Across the board salary increases are often encouraged as a way to increase investment in instruction but they are almost always a less strategic choice.

  Raising teacher salaries to attract and keep strong contributors is critical but should be done in the context of a job and compensation redesign.

  WARNING: This is an expensive choice and will likely not yield desired improvements in teaching effectiveness.

  0.8% Why?
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  Offer $10K stipends to attract Master Teachers to the 25% lowest performing schools

  The lowest performing schools often have high percentages of inexperienced and low performing teachers. Stipends for additional responsibilities and opportunities to work with outstanding principals and colleagues can attract high performers that are essential to improved school performance.

  Stipends alone are likely not enough to attract the best teachers to the neediest schools. Consider redeploying your strongest principals to those schools, and providing additional support and leadership opportunities to teachers who move. Adjustment to teacher contracts may involve negotiating with the union.

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  Restructure the school day to provide 60 additional minutes of collaboration planning

  This will require creativity and in some cases changes to union contracts.

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  Increase funding to schools that are underfunded on a per pupil basis

  School sizes, class fill rates, and variations in teacher experience/salaries can cause large discrepancies in per pupil funding across schools, even when funding is adjusted based on student need.

  WARNING: Also consider: Reduce funding to schools that are overfunded on a per pupil basis.

  1.0% Why?
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  Invest to implement and build capacity for a teacher evaluation and data system (one time investment)

  A framework for defining high quality teaching, a consistent process for evaluating performance and contribution, easy access to a broad variety of data on individual teachers, and training of central office staff are critical for principals to accurately evaluate their staff and to support their development.

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  Provide one-time payment for course work to allow for cross-certification across multiple subjects and specialties for 10% of teachers

  Cross-certification allows more flexible and cost-effective allocation of teachers and provides subject content knowledge, key to better supporting students, especially special populations.

  Please note: This differs from the more typical approach which increases teacher salaries for the rest of their career based on course taken and not on whether they are using the new skills.

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Savings

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  Reduce special education administration and compliance spending at the central office 10% by using technology and by redesigning processes

  Districts devote significant resources to special education compliance and reporting, which often can be significantly reduced by reviewing roles, leveraging technology and streamlining processes.

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  Eliminate cost of living adjustments (COLA) and replace with market based adjustments when revenues allow

  Because districts negotiate COLAs based on predicted, not actual, economic realities, COLAs may be overstated, compounding at an inflated value and driving up compensation costs. These costs can be contained with adjustments based on actual cost of living increases.

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  Reduce the cost of employee benefits by 10%

  Employee benefits account for over 20% of total district expenditures. Replacing expensive and unusually generous one-size-fits-all packages with a menu of benefit options and increasing the employee level of contribution can yield significant savings.

  Adjustment to teacher contracts may involve negotiating with the union.

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  Make teacher layoff decisions based on performance instead of seniority

  Collective bargaining often requires layoffs of the most junior, lowest paid teachers first, resulting in the elimination of more teaching positions and sometimes high-potential individuals. Laying off based on teacher performance spreads the impact more evenly across the entire salary range.

  Implementing this solution requires that administrators have evaluated teachers rigorously, accurately, and on time. This may require investing to support school leaders in doing this. (Note: estimate assumes base of 3% reduction in teaching force, so depending on your choices this may not match exactly)

  WARNING: If you plan to lay off teachers based on performance, also consider: “Invest to implement and build capacity for a teacher evaluation and data system”

  -0.4% Why?
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  Increase average Secondary class size in non-core/elective classes only by 4 (“non-core” subjects are subjects other than English/Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science and World Language)

  Benefits from reducing class sizes have only been demonstrated in classes with fewer than 17 students in core academic subjects and in early/transitional grades. Outside of those parameters, increasing class sizes, even by a few students, can free up significant resources without negatively impacting student outcomes.

  Increasing average class size across the district will likely require larger increases in some schools and classes than others, depending on the distribution of classes and class sizes.

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  Close/Consolidate under-enrolled schools to increase district utilization from 85% to 90%

  Districts with under-enrolled schools likely can free up significant resources by closing some schools and moving students to fill empty spaces in the remaining schools. This savings takes into account the money required to physically close a school.

  Educating parents and the community on the trade-offs between school closures and other investments and ensuring high quality schools in which to enroll displaced students can make the difficult politics of school closings easier.

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  Reduce extra spending on very small schools by 25% by changing staffing models and funding formulas

  Districts can reduce extra costs by enabling more flexibility to combine staff roles, use untraditional providers, and group students creatively. Districts can also support schools by providing example staffing and scheduling models.

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  Replace the top 5% most expensive high school classes with comparable on-line offerings

  Due to low enrollment, many high school electives and upper level advanced courses are expensive. On-line instruction can be a low-cost way of offering valued subjects, either as stand-alone classes or as supplements to larger, consolidated classes.

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  Partner with community groups to provide after school programs

  After school programs are often the first areas to go in times of severe budget pressure. Communities may be able to preserve part or all of their programs by partnering with community organizations that are funded through other channels.

  Before eliminating after-school programs consider their role in academically supporting and engaging at-risk students.

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  Reduce Central Office and non-school management and overhead by 10%

  Revisiting central office functions, restructuring work content and processes, automating clerical tasks, and taking advantage of electronic information and data systems can yield cost savings.

  Consider investing in data systems to streamline functions and access to information.

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  Reduce Facilities and Maintenance costs by 10%

  Outsourcing services, deferring maintenance expense, or consolidating purchasing contracts with other city departments or neighboring districts can reduce F&M costs.

  Deferring maintenance, while yielding short term savings, can result in higher costs later on.

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  Reduce funding to schools that are overfunded on a per pupil basis

  School sizes, class fill rates, and variations in teacher experience/salaries can cause large discrepancies in per pupil funding across schools, even when funding is adjusted based on student need. Consider shifting these dollars to in underfunded schools.

  WARNING: Also consider: Increase funding to schools that are underfunded on a per pupil basis.

  -1.0% Why?
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  Reduce school-based administrative and clerical staff by 10%

  Take advantage of technology and the restructuring and automation of clerical tasks to reduce administrative costs in schools.

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  Increase average Secondary School class size by 2

  Benefits from reducing class sizes have only been demonstrated in classes with fewer than 17 students in core academic subjects and early/transitional grades. Outside of those parameters, increasing class sizes, even by a few students, can free up resources without negatively impacting student outcomes.

  Increasing average class size across the district will likely result in larger increases in some schools and classes than others, depending on the distribution of current class sizes. School leaders need to carefully consider the composition of student needs in each class and how this matches teacher expertise. As class sizes rise, you may wish to invest in expert teachers for small group instruction for core subjects and certain student groups.

  WARNING: If you are choosing to free resources by raising class size, consider reinvesting some of those funds to: “Give $15K stipend to your top 10% contributing teachers for increased leadership and responsibility including serving as coaches.”

  -1.4% Why?
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  Partner with community groups to provide 50% of summer school programs

  Summer school is often one of the first areas to go in times of severe budget pressure. Districts may be able to preserve part or all of their programs by partnering with community organizations that are funded through other channels.

  Although outside of regular instruction, summer school helps struggling students reach the next level without referral to costly special services.

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  Reduce special education placements by 5% by addressing over-identification

  Some districts have classified significantly higher percentages of students as requiring special education services. Early intervention programs and alternative approaches to supporting struggling students in general education settings can reduce such inappropriate placements.

  WARNING: To reduce special education referral rates also consider: “Invest in a Response to Intervention (RTI) program” and “Provide one-time payment for course work to allow for cross-certification across multiple subjects and specialties for 10% of teachers”

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  Bring special education class sizes from 70% to 75% of target size as mandated in staffing ratios and Individual Education Plans (IEP)

  Special education class sizes that are lower than district targets and Individual Education Plan (IEP) requirements drive up costs and can result in funding inequity across schools without significantly improving student performance.

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  Remove one section of 4th and 5th grade in big schools and one section of either 4th or 5th grade in small schools, increasing 4th and 5th grade average class size by 4

  Benefits from reducing class sizes have been demonstrated only in classes with fewer than 17 students in early grades. Assuming 8 class sections across 4th and 5th grade, eliminating one or two sections, can free up resources without negatively impacting student outcomes.

  Eliminating one section per 4th and 5th grade may raise class size significantly. Instead consider rethinking student grouping. Combining classes across grades or moving groups of students among teachers during the day for different subjects can improve student learning even with a higher student-teacher ratio. As class sizes rise, you may wish to invest in expert teachers for small group instruction for core subjects and certain student groups.

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  Increase average Elementary special subject (music, art, Phys. Ed.) class size by 5

  You can redistribute resources to support instruction in critical core subjects by increasing elementary school special subject class size. You might accomplish this by combining three grade level classes into two sections of music, art and Phys. Ed.

  Increasing special subject class size by combining classes may require sharing special subject teachers across schools or using part-time special subject teachers.

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