Sustainability Small Group Discussions

Agenda

Time / Activity
5:00-5:10
(10 min) / INTRODUCTIONS
Facilitators
  • Round-Robin Introductions: Share name, state, and SPDG role, Describe state initiative(s) and current implementation stage(s)

5:10-5:55
(45 min) / DISCUSSION
Facilitators
  • Facilitate group discussion using guiding questions for chosen topic (pages 1-3 of this handout)

5:55-6:00
(5 min) / GROUP DEBRIEF
Facilitator: Ask participants to share:
  1. What’s your biggest take-away?
  1. What are your next steps?

Discussion Topicwith Questions

Topic 1: Tools – Self-Assessment of Problem Solving Implementation (SAPSI-D) – District Level (Kathryn Cox)

  1. How do districts assess their readiness level and current capacity to implement an effective RtI/MTSS framework?
  2. How do districts in your state assess their level of RtI/MTSS implementation?
  3. What outcome variables are used to demonstrate implementation progress of RtI/MTSS efforts?
  4. How are tools and data used to track district implementation progress, prioritize needs, and develop action steps towards improvement efforts?
  5. What about this tool:
  6. is most helpful?
  7. is confusing?
  8. would you suggest be changed?

Topic 2: Tools – Scientific Research-Based Interventions (SRBI) Self-Assessment(Don Briere)

  1. How do schools/districts assess their readiness level and current capacity to implement an effective RTI/MTSS framework?
  2. How do schools/districts in your state assess their level of RTI/MTSS implementation?
  3. What outcome variables are used to demonstrate implementation progress of RTI/MTSS efforts?
  4. How are tools and data used to track school/district implementation progress, prioritize needs, and develop action steps towards improvement efforts?
  5. What about this tool:
  6. is most helpful?
  7. is confusing?
  8. would you suggest be changed?

Topic 3: Tools – District Capacity Assessment (Michelle Duda, Cammy Lehr)

  1. How does your project/initiative help the districts you work with to build their capacity (as defined by the DCA)?
  2. How could district capacity (or lack of) affect the sustainability of your initiative?
  3. How could you help administrators to understand the connection between district capacity and sustaining implementation of practices and programs?
  4. If you would not be using the DCA, which elements of it will you be focusing on when you set up systems to support your initiative?
  5. What do you see as most helpful about this tool?
  6. What is confusing about this tool?
  7. Any other changes you would like to see made to this tool?

Topic 4: Tools – Training Plan Template (Jennifer Coffey)

  1. How do you convey the main skills the training should be focused on to both the trainers and the participants?
  2. How do you assess whether the participants are able to use those skills as a result of the training?
  3. How could using best practices in training help to sustain a practice or program?
  4. What are some challenges you face in setting up a training system that uses best practices?
  5. How can you connect good training to sustainability for administrators and other decision makers?
  6. What do you see as most helpful about this tool?
  7. What is confusing about this tool?
  8. Any other changes you would like to see made to this tool?

Topic 5: Tools – Strategic Analysis of the Implementation Drivers [SISEP](Jeanna Mullins).

  1. What do you see as most helpful about the Strategic Analysis of the Implementation Drivers tool?
  2. At which level (state, district, school) will you begin the analysis process?
  3. How and with whom will you communicate the results of conducting this analysis?
  4. What would you hope to gain by strengthening your implementation drivers?
  5. What is confusing about the analysis tool?
  6. Any other changes you would like to see made to this tool?

Topic 6: Tools – Implementation Drivers: Infrastructure Analysis (Barbara Sims)

  1. How can a focus on Implementation Drivers impact the sustainability of a program?
  2. How can the use of this tool help to focus action planning?
  3. At which levels (district, school, etc.) do you see using this tool?
  4. What is confusing about this tool?
  5. What is most helpful about this tool?
  6. What changes would you like to see made to this tool?

Topic 7: Context – Addressing limited infrastructure and capacity across all levels of the system (Brenda Oas, Debrajean Scheibel)

  1. Consider your current level in scaling up your innovation.What are the key contextual factors/targets that you are addressing to set the stage for sustaining the innovation after your SPDG ends?
  2. What is the process for prioritizing among these factors/targets?What types of data are collected to substantiate or describe the priorities? Who will be involved in this process?
  3. What are the policy, infrastructure, and programmatic issues that will/are being considered as youaddress these priorities for sustainability?What is your timeline for putting a sustainability plan in place?
  4. What questions do you have for others in this group who are interested in contextual issues regarding sustainability?

Topic 8: Engagement – Building strong partnerships across departments, system levels (Amy Jenks)

  1. Are you communicating with your internal and external stakeholders about your initiative goals, successes, and challenges and vice versa? If yes, what approaches do you use to facilitate sharing?
  2. What activities do you share with your external and internal partners that lead to bigger opportunities and leveraging resources (e.g., personnel, reporting, evaluation, operational)?
  3. How do you support and connect with your stakeholders’ work on common issues? How do they support and connect with your work on common issues?
  4. What communication or collaborative tools are you using to facilitate open communication?

Topic 9: Culture – Creating a Leadership and Organizational Culture to foster Sustainability (Audrey Desjarlais)

Leadership Capacity Development

  1. How does your state/organization build leadership capacity?
  2. Does your state/organization support and communicate growth and advancement for staff at all levels?
  3. Are professional growth plans developed and reviewed on an on-going basis?
  4. Do those in current leadership positions identify and mentor successors?
  5. Is coaching offered to those in leadership positions?
  6. What barriers (elephants in the room) inhibit strengthening your organization’s leadership capacity?
  7. Have you developed strategies to overcome these barriers?

Organizational Adaptability

  1. What formal and informal structures has your state department/organization put in place to capture learning and individual reflection?
  2. When people fail when taking a risk, stepping out their comfort zones, how are they treated – are they marginalized or are they treated as fonts of wisdom (2009, Heifetz, et al)?

Topic 10: Open-Ended – Sustainability Conversation(David Merves, Mary Steady)

  • Questions generated by the group

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