Discussion group for district leaders
This activity involves implementing one or more study and discussion groups for district leaders who would meet three or four times during the year to discuss important research on secondary school improvement. Our team will provide the relevant material to you along with suggested questions. On this page you will find the link to the discussion group materials along with other sources of research on secondary schools and student success which include newsletters, websites, journals and reports.
The purpose of the discussion groups is to give access to research to the participating districts, while providing some related discussion topics. Possible activities and uses of the materials may include discussing pieces of the reports at meetings, circulating key findings through your communication lists, or creating a newsletter for the district.
The following are suggestions for how you may want to organize the study group:
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The group should consist of 6 to 12 people who are district leaders or in other leadership roles with respect to secondary education. Participation in the group is voluntary.
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Three or four meetings should be set-up during the year.
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Materials should be distributed to members a week or so prior to the meeting.
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The Chair for the discussion sessions will review the agenda, report on any developments since the last meeting, review the questions, and facilitate the discussion.5. Groups may if they wish report and document conclusions about what was learned, questions and issues, and what actions were suggested as follow-up. These conclusions can be shared with the district.
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The team will set up three brief conference calls for the three districts participating in this activity throughout the year, so that we can share with each other learning about the activity and any actions that come out of the discussion group. Depending on your availability, the calls will be set up around the following dates: Wednesday, November 19th (Nov/early Dec), Wednesday, March 10th (Early March), Wednesday, May 12th (May). Bulletins will be sent out to all participating districts thereafter sharing learning from experiences implementing the research activities.
We plan to re-survey all participating districts next May to reassess the district research culture and probe potential impacts of the research activities. Over the next 8 months as you engage in the discussion groups throughout your district, the team is interested to learn how your district has used the materials and conclusions or actions that resulted from the meetings.
If you have any questions about the activity or suggestions please contact the team’s representative at smascarenhas@oise.utoronto.ca.
- Discussion Materials 1 (Available October end)
- Discussion Materials 2 (Available early December)
- Discussion Materials 3 (Available mid February)
- Discussion Materials 4 (Available March end)
- Link to Sources of Research on Student Success & Pathways