Effective Practice Incentive Community Pilot
An MCS-New Leaders Partnership

PROGRAM GOALS

The Effective Practice Incentive Community aims to identify and share effective classroom and school-wide practices that are contributing to achievement gains in order to strengthen practice and performance across Memphis City Schools. In its first year, the Effective Practice Incentive Community Pilot will help us learn how best to identify, document and share practices and build on the program in subsequent years.

School Selection for Pilot

• First Year Fresh Start are not eligible, as they already participate in other award programs.
• Striving Schools will not be eligible beginning in the 08-09 school year, as they will then be awarded through the Striving Schools Initiative.
• Schools must serve at least 50% students who qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch to be eligible for the pilot.
• Schools are selected based on 1-year gains in all tested subject areas and tested grade - this year's awardees were identified based on gains made between the 2005-2006 and the 2006-2007 school years.
• The basis of analysis is Tennessee state standardized test data - TCAP and Tateway.
• A school-level vote will occur in each award-nominated school. Eighty percent (80%) of eligible voting educators (Classroom Teachers, PDSCCs, Educational Assistants) must vote affirmatively in order to participate in the pilot initiative and to receive awards. An affirmative vote indicates that schools and their faculty agree to open their doors and classrooms to share their effective practices.

Sharing of Practice

• Rich, dynamic cases will be developed and made available to all Memphis City Schools educators.(1)
• Gold-Gain Schools will be spotlighted in case studies that include a robust set of supporting materials that help deepen viewers' understanding of the practice such as:
  • Examples of practice including written narratives describing a particular practice and videos showing schools, educators and students engaged in a practice,
  • Reflections on practice including interviews with educators discussing their effective practices,
  • Artifacts and Tools used as a part of a practice such as lesson plans, student work samples, materials developed by the school faculty and professional development tools.
• A robust web-based platform will house multi-media and text-based cases described above, and provide users with access to a community of educators committed to driving academic gains for their students.
• Silver-Gain Schools will share their practice through local professional development opportunities and through a summary of their practice on the Effective Practice web-based platform.

Pilot Program Awards

• Up to 8 Gold-Gain Schools will be awarded based on the level of gains achieved.
• Up to 10 Silver-Gain Schools will be awarded based on the level of gains achieved.
• Spotlight Principal Awards: $15,000/Gold-Gain Schools; $10,000/Silver-Gain Schools.
• Spotlight Assistant Principal Awards: $10,000/Gold-Gain Schools; $7,5000/Silver-Gain Schools.
• Instructional Staff Awards: $1,000 at Gold-Gain and Silver-Gain Schools.
• Spotlight Educators awards: Begin next school year, 2008-2009.

1. To view a sample case based on Bell Multicultural High School (and produced during a pilot of the Effective Practice Incentive Community in Washington, DC), click on this link: http://nlns.vpg.com/cases_pilot/demo/

• Identification of Spotlight Practitioners next school year will be based on student achievement, with other qualitative measures being considered. MCS, New Jeaders and the MEA will work together to develop these criteria in the coming months.

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