Administrators across the country search for the tool or model they can use to assist them in their school improvement efforts. AVID’s development of the Coaching and Certification Instrument (CCI) should end that search. The CCI provides a method of current practice assessment and goal setting which easily translates into a concrete plan for improving targeted areas.
Site Team
In order for the CCI to do what it is designed to do, the AVID Site Team needs to become familiar with the document. The Site Team Coordinator and Building Administrator need to be on the same page when it comes to how to use the CCI for school improvement. They need to work together to train the Site Team in using the CCI to assess the four Schoolwide Domains of the AVID College and Career Readiness System (ACRS).
Once the Site Team is familiar with the CCI, under the direction of the Site Team Coordinator and Building Administrator, they assist in completing the CCI assessment. Working together they will rate the school in all of the indicators applicable to their site. The assessment will lead to a rich discussion of current practice or status and what needs to be done to improve or maintain the practice.
With the assessment complete, the team is ready to look at the results through the school improvement lens. The CCI is divided into four Domains. Each Domain has a different number of indicators. During the assessment, the team rated the school in each of those indicators. They now need to go back through the CCI and identify the indicators where the school did not receive the desired score. For instance, in the Instruction Domain, if the school scored a 2 on the Writing Process indicator it would be one of the areas to look at for improvement. The team continues this process until each domain has been analyzed and areas needing improvement are identified.
Creation of the Site Team Plan and Building Goals
The Site Team 
completed the heavy lifting. It's now time to focus on the indicators needing improvement and arrange them from highest to lowest priority. Once again, this leads to a very rich and deliberate discussion as the Site Team starts narrowing things down to identify the most important issues. One part of the discussion is identifying those indicators that influence each other. If the team can identify the indicators that are connected, it makes the efforts for improvement more expansive and effective schoolwide!
After identifying the priority indicators, the team begins to create the AVID Site Plan using the AVID Site Goals Template. The work done upfront during the CCI assessment process makes the goal writing process less intimidating. The Site Goal Template is organized and aids the team in recording the appropriate indicators under the correct domain.
This is where the discussions during the assessment and selection process come to fruition. The Site Team identified indicators that are connected in the last step. They now need to write a goal addressing each of those areas. For example,
The students at [Insert School Name] will be exposed to several WICORⓇ strategies that will create a common language schoolwide. Strategies will include critical reading, interactive notebooks, collaborative study groups, and focused note-taking.
The goal and the action steps associated with it address the following indicators.
Leadership Domain Indicator(s):6
Culture Domain Indicator(s): 1
Systems Domain Indicator(s): 21
Instruction DomainIndicator(s): 3,9,14,15
Making the Site Plan the Building Goal
Every location does things a bit differently. Some buildings use their Site Team as their School Leadership or School Improvement Team (SLT/SIP). Others have two separate teams. If the teams are one and the same, then the next step is simple, as the team can adopt the Site Plan and associated goals as the building goals and School Improvement Plan.
If the two teams are separate, then the Site Team will need to present the Site Plan to the SLT. The two teams discuss the goals and the action steps involved in the plan and determine if both groups can support the same goals. This process is much easier if there are members of the Site Team that also sit on the SLT. It makes the process smooth. Either way, if the Site Team did their job by looking at the CCI through the school improvement lens, the plan will be adopted as the building goals and School Improvement Plan.
The partnership between the two teams lends itself to becoming a vehicle for professional development. A member of the AVID Site Team partners with a member of the SLT and conducts professional development within grade levels, content areas, or departments, depending on the structure of the building. Professional development is delivered based on the goals that originated during the CCI assessment.
Did the Needle Move?
Like anything, for a plan to be effective, it needs to be executed and then monitored. As the school year progresses, the Site Team may need to adjust the action steps. At the end of the year (or at the beginning of the next school year), the AVID Site Team and the SLT will have enough information to determine if the needle moved. Did the goals and plan improve efforts and outcomes schoolwide? If the Site Team doesn’t conduct the CCI assessment at the end of the school year, it must be done the following Fall. In other words, the Site Team starts the process over again. The CCI assessment will reveal if the needle moved and if it moved in the right direction. If desired improvements are not realized, then the team has work to do.
AVID Site Teams that use the CCI as a tool for school improvement will more quickly move the ACRS schoolwide and see improvements in the Leadership, Culture, Instruction, and Systems of their school. The Coaching and Certification Instrument gives administrators a roadmap to the destination they desire for their school.
Did you enjoy this article? Review AVID’s Site Leaders blog archive for more great content and advice from AVID Principals.
