Implementing the Plan
In this phase, you’ll take action to improve equity in student performance. After staff gain a common understanding of the plan, it’s time to implement your strategies. Implementation includes multiple components, including monitoring, evaluation, and celebration of successes. The final step is to use evaluation results to reassess the entire plan and adjust it as needed.
Guiding Questions
As you implement the plan, you will address each of these questions.
- Does our implementation provide for periodic gathering of evidence related to student improvement, diversity, and equity?
- Are we using the evidence to revise and strengthen the plan as appropriate?
Resources for implementing the plan?
See the Resource section of this guide for a variety of information and tools that might help you implement your plan. The following resources will be most useful to you during in this phase.
- Assessments
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Leadership
- Organizations Providing Assistance and Materials
- Professional Development
- Research and Theory
- Videos and Films
Step 1: Help all Staff Develop an Understanding of the Goals and Strategies
It is important to ensure all staff members are “on board” and are ready, willing, and able to do their part in implementing the plan. Staff members need to have a clear understanding of the purpose of targeted changes and the resources that will be used. You might consider holding a staff learning session, a kick-off meeting, or other event to signal the start of implementation.
Step 2: Implement the Plan!
Step 3: Monitor the Implementation
To determine how well the action plan is being implemented, you should ask several questions:
- Are the interventions being implemented in a timely manner?
- Does evidence show that our progress is on course to achieve our desired results?
- Are adjustments to the plan made, as needed, to assure better implementation?
In order to answer these questions, you will need to monitor implementation through formative evaluation. This involves a check or series of checks to monitor two critical areas:
- Implementation of each action within the action plan.
- Assessment and/or perception data used to pinpoint what is working and areas that are not progressing.
Data collection should be ongoing, throughout implementation of the plan. Don’t wait until the end of the year. You should check such elements as the targeted population, interventions, timeframe, actions, responsibilities, monitoring, and resources. Use the data that you collect to make any necessary adjustments to the plan.
Step 4: Determine Effectiveness of the interventions
During this step, you’ll take a summative look at whether or not you have achieved your goal(s). This information will help you determine to what extent interventions have contributed to greater equity in student performance.
Collection and analysis of critical data requires a systematic approach to determining the results of the change efforts and using the results as a new baseline for continuous improvement in student performance, equity, and diversity. Tasks in the evaluation include:
- Compare the baseline and post-intervention data results.
- Display data in graphic format and concise narrative descriptions.
- Share results with all stakeholders and document key lessons.
Step 5: Recognize Progress and Celebrate Successes
The purpose of evaluating the implementation results is to identify successes as well as areas for improvement. Successes should be celebrated so that all stakeholders recognize progress and see the positive results of their actions. This will increase awareness and understanding of effective strategies and provide encouragement and support for staff and student accomplishments.
Step 6: Reassess and Plan Again
As you apply the Continuous Improvement Process to provide an equitable education for students of different socio-economic status, gender, race, ethnicity, language, culture, and abilities, it is critical that you reassess your progress and plan again for new goals.
Addressing equity and diversity in student performance can only be assured by continuous planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of results. Setting new goals, based on performance, is the key to achieving continuous improvement.