Vulcan Productions and EDC Launch Success at the Core

SEATTLE, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- During an event yesterday at the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) summer conference at the Sheraton Seattle, Vulcan Productions and Education Development Center (EDC) officially launched Success at the Core (www.successatthecore.com), a groundbreaking professional development toolkit to help middle school educators improve classroom instruction. The web-based toolkit, which was developed in Washington State and is currently available only to Washington educators, is free thanks to the generous support of investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen.  It includes seven modules for school leadership teams (covering topics important to instruction, such as using data effectively), 24 practical strategies for teachers to use in the classroom, and 47 documentary-quality videos – all filmed in Washington schools – that capture leadership teams and teachers in actual classroom and meeting situations showing how their efforts directly affect instruction.

"Five years ago, Paul [Allen] challenged the team at Vulcan to use media to make a difference in education," said Bonnie Benjamin-Phariss, the director of Vulcan's documentary productions. "I think we've answered that challenge with Success at the Core. We coupled the skills we know best – documentary film making and storytelling – with EDC's deep experience in fostering school improvement, and invaluable input from several well-respected Washington state educators, to create a toolkit that will have a positive impact on student learning."

The number of schools with leadership teams in Washington is growing, but many teams lack the tools and guidance to effectively promote quality instruction. "There is also a particular shortage of effective and scalable methodologies for middle schools," said Barbara Miller, a managing project director at EDC. "Success at the Core addresses that gap. It strengthens leadership teams' capacity to define quality instruction and advocate for it in their schools, while providing practical methods to implement quality instruction in the classroom."

Eleven middle schools and one school district tested Success at the Core during the 2009-2010 school year. An independent evaluation by Inverness Research determined that schools using the toolkit reported growth in leadership capacity, stronger instructional focus, increased student engagement, and improved professional culture.  

"Success at the Core provides high-quality professional development for middle school leadership teams," said Joellen Killion, the deputy executive director of NSDC. "As early advisors and collaborators to EDC on Success at the Core, we've found that the content, learning processes, and resources associated with the toolkit align with NSDC's standards for professional learning and engage educators in collaborative, school-based learning designed to improve leadership, teaching, and student learning."

"A principal is the clear choice to be a school's instructional leader, but responsibility for actually improving instruction is often shared with a leadership team," said Gary Kipp, the executive director of the Association of Washington School Principals, an adviser to EDC and Vulcan during the development of the Success at the Core.  "The materials and videos help principals – the folks I work with all the time - facilitate frank conversations about instruction and instructional improvement. It's different from any other professional development tool I've ever seen."  

Jeanne Harmon, the executive director of the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) and a member of Success at the Core's advisory board, said "Success at the Core will help strengthen the professional culture of schools; it will contribute to the creation of a strong and effective teaching force for Washington's students, which is absolutely central to CSTP's work."

Steven Cross, a teacher at Cedarcrest Middle School in the Maryville SD piloted the materials during the 2009-2010 school year. "Success at the Core has done an excellent job of capturing authentic, honest conversations – the videos sparked tremendous conversations about ways to inspire student learning," Cross said.

Every component of the toolkit – facilitator guides, classroom artifacts, activities, videos – is available for download and/or viewing online. Each leadership team module is two to three hours long and covers issues important to quality instruction, such as using data effectively, common formative assessments and aligning curriculum. The 24 teacher strategies highlight best practices in math, science and English language arts. The 47 videos were filmed in six Washington middle schools selected because of their diverse geographic location, school size and student population.

The Stuart Foundation, dedicated to investing in children and youth to create lifelong impact, recently awarded a grant of $275,000 to help roll out Success at the Core in Washington State.

SOURCE Vulcan Productions