Format: Presentation

This presentation was delivered by NYKids Director Kristen C. Wilcox at the 2024 Summer Conference held by the Rural Schools Association of New York State. The presentation, entitled “Promising Practices from New York’s Positive Outlier Rural Schools: A Report from NYKids” outlines findings from our latest study of emergent and persistent positive outlier schools.

In this presentation entitled “Backbone Organizations for Improvement Research and Continuous Improvement Utilization: Opportunities and Challenges from New York State” NYKids Director and Associate Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership, Kristen C. Wilcox details the continuous improvement efforts made by NYKids and our partners across New York State.

Dr. Aaron Leo presented research from NYKids’ latest study of Adaptation and Innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic at the American Anthropological Association’s annual conference held in Toronto, Canada in November, 2023. The paper, co-written with Dr. Kristen C. Wilcox was entitled “Educators’ stress and emotional labor during the COVID-19 pandemic” and drew on data gathered among 88 educators across New York State. Dr. Leo delivered the paper alongside other researchers on a panel focusing on teacher and student agency during the pandemic.

This presentation, entitled “Advancing Educational Equity Research, Policy, and Practice,” was delivered by NYKids Director Kristen C. Wilcox and longtime collaborator Hal A. Lawson at the Educational Leaders without Borders conference held in Athens, Greece in April, 2023. The presentation discusses the importance of equity-focused research and recounts over two decades of NYKids scholarship.

NYKids Assistant Director Aaron Leo and Director Kristen C. Wilcox attended participated in a roundtable at the 2023 AERA Annual Conference held in April, 2023. The presentation was titled “Family Engagement during the Pandemic: Challenges and Opportunities” and drew on data from NYKids’ latest study of pandemic-related adaptations among six schools throughout New York State.

In this presentation, Maria I. Khan and Kristen C. Wilcox discuss findings from an research conducted at an urban, diverse elementary school with high rates of poverty. The presentation “Remote Schooling during the COVID-10 Pandemic: A Case Study of Impacts on Children in a High Poverty, High Diversity School” was presented at the Comparative and International Education Society’s Annual Conference.

NYKids team members Kristen C. Wilcox and Maria I. Khan presented findings from an ongoing research study at the Comparative and International Education Society. The presentation, entitled “Improving Educational Equity through Research-Practice Partnerships & University-School Collaborations in the Post-Pandemic Era,” explores the research-practice partnership between NYKids, Chatham Central School District, and Tech Valley High School. This work is also being conducted with the support of the American Institutes for Research.

In this conference brief Sarah Zuckerman and Kristen Wilcox describe paradigm shifts which they feel are needed with regard to how and what we prioritize when attempting to improve schools, as well as how those engaging in school improvement work are supported.

At the 2022 American Educational Research Association’s Annual Conference, NYKids Graduate Assistant Jessie Tobin presents findings from our College and Career Readiness Study related to peer relationships. The presentation, entitled “Fostering positive peer relationships: a qualitative study of two secondary schools,” explores ways in which educators and students at positive outlier schools fostered positive relationships among peers.

The NYKids paper entitled “A Rural Research-Practice Partnership’s Adaptations during the COVID-19 Pandemic” was delivered as part of the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference in 2022. It outlines how improvement science principles were used to support Fort Plain Jr.Sr. High School’s planning and improvement efforts as they tackled pandemic-related disruptions

This slide deck is taken from a presentation at the 2022 Carnegie Summit by Dr. Kristen C. Wilcox and Dr. Tammy Ellis-Robinson. The presentation entitled, “Decolonizing Pedagogy: Engaging in Disciplined Inquiry in Higher Education” explores efforts of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Task Force at UAlbany’s School of Education.

This presentation was delivered by Dr. Wilcox to the University Council for Educational Administration Annual Conference Paper. It discusses the roles of school leaders during the pandemic and school closures over the last 18 months and draws on data from the ongoing NYKids study of the differential impacts of COVID-19 on schools across New York State.

In this presentation sponsored by Questar III-BOCES, Dr. Kristen Wilcox facilitates a discussion on how to prepare school leaders for the upcoming school year. Particular attention is given to the importance of communication between leaders and teachers.

In this presentation, Dr. Kristen Wilcox outlines some of the findings from NYKids’ study “Discovering Differential Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Educator Workforce in New York State.” As shown in this study, educators who work at schools with higher numbers of economically disadvantaged students demonstrated higher levels of stress and workplace dissatisfaction measured through both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching hosts a summit every year that convenes representative from grant funding organizations, policymakers, researchers and professional practitioners among others in efforts to “learn to get better at getting better”. This year NYKids in partnership with Fort Plain Junior Senior High School, share how we have worked to translate research into practical improvements for navigating the pandemic. Carnegie’s virtual summit provides participants opportunities to learn about improvement science from Carnegie staff as well as learn from other improvers about how they have pursued their improvement work in all levels of education and from the U.S. and around the world. In this week’s blog we share some key highlights from NYKids’ Carnegie Summit presentation available on-demand from April 23rd-April 28th for those who might still have time to participate. This presentation may be of particular interest to those interested in improvement science. This blog offers links to our powerpoint and upcoming workshops and intensive direct support opportunities NYKids will be offering in the coming weeks to assist school and district leaders and their improvement teams navigate their fall reopening planning.

Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development, this presentation explores the multiple factors which influence rural youth’s aspirations. This case study draws on data gathered at Crown Point Central School over the course of several years.

This presentation given at the 2021 AERA Conference discusses how district and school leaders in positive outlier schools frame priorities and challenges they face.

Dr. Kristen C. Wilcox delivered this presentation at this year’s New York State School Boards Association annual conference. The topic is on how Rural Research-Practice Partnerships can assist educators in improving school outcomes.

How do high school principals use data to make decisions? Dr. Lisa Cala Ruud explored this question in her recent dissertation study based on the NYKids College and Career Readiness Phase 1 Study. Drawing on interviews, surveys, and document reviews, Cala Ruud focused on three secondary schools with above-predicted graduation rates in her analysis. Cala Ruud shows how these principals creatively use data to address increasingly complex challenges in their schools.

In an accompanying video (available at: https://ny-kids.org/nykids-carnegie-summit-2020-virtual-poster-presentation-2/), Dr. Kristen Wilcox, NYKids Director of Research and Development, shares this NYKids presentation for a 2020 Carnegie Virtual Summit invited poster session, “Catalysts for Improving Diverse Student High School Graduation Rates in Positive Outlier Schools”. The presentation was shared during the 2020 Carnegie Virtual Summit on April 1 – 3, 2020 as part of an asynchronous poster session under the strand, “Improving Capacity”.

Workshop participants learned how they can model the work of Improvement Science (IS) and engage others in using IS strategies and tools for continuous improvement.

This presentation explores the relationship between teacher and student agency at odds-beating secondary schools. We find that teachers, when offered opportunities to act as agents, tend to offer similar opportunities to their students similarly. This research further suggests that affordances for teachers to assert agency can mitigate the constraining effects of state accountability system compliance-oriented practices.

This presentation provides insight into how Improvement Science can guide school improvement by helping schools and districts to “see the system” when developing goals, plans, and processes to effect changes to improve student outcomes. An overview of NYKids COMPASS is shown as a process for using improvement science to guide school teams for continuous improvement, along with a case example of how COMPASS was applied within a research to practice partnership and information about NYKids resources designed to support school improvement work.

In 2017-18, research teams investigated 10 high schools regarding the preparation of critical needs students for college and career. Three of these schools were typically-performing (with graduation rates as predicted for the student population served) and the remainder were odds-beating schools (with graduation rates above predicted for the student population served). The cross-case report featured in this presentation describes the four themes observed across all odds-beating secondary schools as illustrated through four case studies.

Drawing from lessons learned in other sectors, educators are increasingly looking for ways to address longstanding outcome disparities for children and youth growing up in poverty and from diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. When seeking to improve student outcomes, the Six Principles of Improvement Science can guide educators to develop strategies for continuous improvement. The NYKids’ COMPASS-AIM process melds the principles of improvement science with research on odds-beating schools to help schools and districts tackle complex problems effecting student success.

Involvement of families in their children’s education has been linked to numerous positive indicators such as homework completion, student motivation, and academic achievement. However, many schools conceive of involvement in narrow, individualistic terms and struggle to families in meaningful ways which are culturally-relevant, community-derived, and sensitive to power imbalances. Drawing on in-depth case studies from seven odds-beating schools, this paper provides examples of authentic family engagement which foster empowerment and utilize community resources to build trust between schools and families. The findings presented here provide a partial template for schools seeking to improve relationships with parents.

High schools that effectively serve culturally and ethnically diverse students are a national priority. This mixed methods case study examines the design and practices of high schools called “odds-beaters” because they have above-average graduation rates for ethnically, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse students. Sample high schools are characterized in part by educators’ incorporation of positive youth development (PYD) priorities. Expressed in the ways educators talk, PYD practices are a school improvement resource, facilitating students’ engagement, agency, and identity development.

This presentation identifies the school practices and polices found in elementary and middle schools whose students exceeded performance expectations on the 2012-13 New York State assessments, which were the first aligned with the Common Core Standards.

This presentation identifies the school practices and polices found in elementary and middle schools whose students exceeded performance expectations on the 2012-13 New York State assessments, which were the first aligned with the Common Core Standards.

2010 Lessons from Higher-Performing Middle Schools - Putting Research Findings into School Improvement Practice

School improvement practices for middle schools. The presentation offers best practice research findings – where they came from and how the research was conducted. Additionally, it provides other free resources to inform continuous school improvement efforts in the future.

2008 Middle School and High School Results

School improvement practices for middle and high schools. Trusting and respectful relationships found to be key as well as social/emotional wellbeing, team work, evidence-based decision making, and shared vision of mission and goals.

2008 Capacity Building In Higher-Performing Middle Schools

School improvement practices for middle schools. Findings include: (1) culture supports a vision of high achievement; (2) climate of respect helps enact vision; (3) structure reinforce collaboratively supported; and (4) leadership encourages teacher initiative taking.

Literacy practices among “odds-beating” middle schools implementing the Common Core. The presentation explores the ways that teachers’ literacy instruction practices, in the context of attempting to align to the Common Core Learning Standards, show evidence of attention to developing high literacy.

School improvement practices to support youth experiencing poverty. The presentation explores how teacher describe their experiences implementing the Common Core State Standards, with Annual Professional Performance Review system, and supports for their adjustments to the Common Core, Annual Professional Performance, and Data-Driven Instruction innovations.

The presentation describes the association between trust and communication during policy innovation and implementation.

The primary purpose for the proposed research was to identify the school practices and policies found in elementary and middle schools whose students exceeded performance expectations on New York State Common Core assessments (as well as those that were used prior to Common Core).

This research identifies the school practices and policies found in odds-beating elementary and middle schools whose students exceeded performance expectations on New York State assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards.

The ELL population in New York State has grown over 20% in the last year, and ELLs now make up over 8% of the New York State student population. Odds-beating schools have systems in place to carefully monitor the progress of their ELLs, connected to systems of interventions for students who need more support. State English Language Arts and Math assessment data and language proficiency assessment data do not tell the whole story: formative and benchmark assessment are more informative. Systematic reporting and communication/dissemination of multiple measures of student performance allows educators and families to meet the needs of all students.

The English Language Learner (ELL) population in New York State has grown over 20% in the last year, and English Language Learners make up over 8% of the New York State student population. Four elements found to be key to serving ELL population: (1) culture & climate; (2) instruction; (3) leadership and capacity; and (4) communications and collaborations.

The English Language Learner population in New York State has grown over 20%, and English Language Learners make up over 8% of the New York State student population. Four components are important to educating the ELL population including: (1) climate and culture; (2) instruction; (3) leadership & capacity; and (4) communication and collaboration.

The study identifies the school practices and policies found in elementary and middle schools whose students exceeded performance expectations on the 2012-13 New York State assessments. This presentation considers how educators approach data-driven instruction, the types of data used and for what purposes, and practices or processes to support data-driven instruction.

This presentation describes the COMPASS process: (1) COMPare practices to higher performers; (2) Assess priorities; (3) Select potential levers to improve; (4) Set SMART goals. And then AIM process: (1) Action planning; (2) Implementation; and (3) Monitoring progress.

This presentation presents findings that in high schools with higher than expected graduation rates, educators are looking beyond graduation to students’ post-secondary needs, and meeting those needs with clear goals, strong relationships, individual attention, and flexibility.

This presentation presents findings that in high schools with higher than expected graduation rates, educators are looking beyond graduation to students’ post-secondary needs, and meeting those needs with clear goals, strong relationships, individual attention, and flexibility.

This qualitative multiple case study contributes to the growing body of translational research that
seeks to better understand what is needed to develop capacities for evidence-guided continuous
improvement in P-12 settings. The study investigated school leadership team participants’
perceptions of an intervention called COMPASS. COMPASS engages teams from different
schools and districts in activities to identify strengths, weaknesses, and priorities then engage in
an inquiry cycle of implementing action plans, gathering data and interpreting evidence in order
to reach targeted goals. Two-hundred and twenty-eight district and school leaders and
instructional staff from 36 school teams provided reflections on the intervention revealing the
majority reported increases in competence in all dimensions of evidence-guided decision
making, from priority and goal setting to identifying potential research-based levers to
improvement as well as increased capacities for school- and district-wide action planning and
progress monitoring. Observation field notes, documentary evidence, and interviews with school
leaders also indicate that the process fundamentally shifts educators’ focus on systemic changes
to achieve system-wide targeted goals. Implications for theory, future research, and
considerations for those interested in university/P-12 partnerships for continuous improvement
are discussed.

Presentation of the findings from a comparative study of New York State schools designed to investigate implementation of Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) as they relate to student performance outcomes on CCLS-aligned assessments.

Presentation of the findings from a comparative study of New York State schools designed to investigate implementation of Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) as they relate to student performance outcomes on CCLS-aligned assessments.

Presentation of the findings from a comparative study of New York State schools designed to investigate implementation of Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) as they relate to student performance outcomes on CCLS-aligned assessments.

Presentation of the findings from a comparative study of New York State schools designed to investigate implementation of Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) as they relate to student performance outcomes on CCLS-aligned assessments.

Presentation of the findings from a comparative study of New York State schools designed to investigate implementation of Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) as they relate to student performance outcomes on CCLS-aligned assessments.

This presentation presents findings on studies examining the practices of schools that do better than expected with high-poverty populations. Key findings include: (1) a vision of success that includes high poverty students achieving beyond predicted levels; (2) collaboration and shared responsibility; and (3) decision making based on a variety of evidence.

This presentation presents the findings of “beating the odds” schools. Selection of the schools is based on 3 years of NYS Assessment results. Researchers conduct two-day site visits, and analyze the data looking for differences in practice.

This presentation discusses the best practices of elementary schools that outperform others among populations of critical needs students, such as those living in poverty.

This presentation provides an overview of the ongoing NYKids project. The mission of the project is to inform, inspire and improve by providing research in support of school improvement efforts.

This presentation presents findings from the NYKids project on higher-performing secondary schools as measured by the school’s record of educating vulnerable young people such as those living in poverty. Across all levels- elementary, middle, high – higher-performing students come from schools with the capacity for continuous improvement. These schools do this through: (1) distributed leadership; (2) collaborative culture and practices; (3) evidence-based decision making; and (4) shared vision and goal setting.

This presentation describes the school improvement process and tools connected to the NYKids research studies.

This presentation describes the COMPASS process. The process involves harnessing the research generated through the NYKids project for the purpose of school improvement. Schools participate in COMPASS Institutes and utilize COMPASS tools. COMPASS stands for: (1) COMPare practices to higher performance; (20 Assess priorities; (3) Select potential levers to improve; and (4) Set Smart goals.

This presentation describes the best practices used by schools in working with critical needs students. These practices include: (1) close engagement with and understanding of young people with critical needs; (2) literacy-and technology-enriched instruction; and (3) fluid adaptation and deployment of resources.

2010 Collaborative Conversation Essential for Middle-Level Success

This presentation shares findings on collaborative conversations essential for middle-level success. The three essential components for trust include a climate of respect and trust, structures to support it, and an expectation of collaboration.

2010 Collaboration Does Make a Difference

This presentation shares research from NYKids on the importance of collaboration in middle school settings.

2009 What Makes Middle Schools Work - Five Keys to Success

This presentation discusses the best practice research findings from a study of middle schools. It also offers free resources to inform continuous school improvement efforts in the future.

2009 Redefining Evidence of Success - Best Practices in NY

This presentation offers best practices across higher performing schools (elementary, middle and high). Key findings include that higher performing schools embrace a variety of data and culture of continuous improvement.

2008 What Makes Middle School Work - A Report on Best Practices in NYS Middle Schools

This presentation discusses the best practice research findings from a study of middle schools. It also offers free resources to inform continuous school improvement efforts in the future.