Essential Features
Eleven common essential features represent the practices and qualities congruent with effective schools, responsive intervention, and successful system-change efforts. Collectively, the tiered levels of support and the essential features are integrated to form the Missouri Integrated Model. The eleven essential features serve two functions: (a) to provide a structure for problem solving educational needs, and (b) to help school staff respond more effectively to the educational needs of all students.
The essential features facilitate work in three categories: (a) building and sustaining capacity, (b) maximizing resources, and (c) making informed decisions.
Shared vision and commitment.
Commitment to the shared vision is essential for success and requires effective leadership and collaboration throughout all levels (state, district, and building) and across key stakeholders.Leadership at state, district, & building levels.
Leadership at all levels is critical to school improvement. The definition of leadership roles across should be constructed with a collaborative vision for supporting school improvement.Collaborative environment.
A collaborative environment supports and encourages continuous discussion, sharing, reflection, and problem solving about and toward a common goal. A collaborative environment embraces collaboration as the expected process for making decisions.Ongoing professional development.
Professional development is ideal when it is research-based, ongoing, tailored to the needs of participants, integrated within school improvement planning, and focused on student improvement.Educator support through mentoring and coaching.
Mentoring and coaching are professional development tools used to teach and support educators during implementation of new techniques or strategies to ensure student improvement.Culturally responsive practices.
Practices that take into account all aspects of each student’s identities and backgrounds, including “the behaviors, actions, practices, attitudes, norms and values, communications (language), patterns, traits, etiquette, spirituality, concepts of health and healing, superstitions, and institutions of a racial, ethnic, religious, or social group” (Gay, 2000). These practices include instructional methods, instructional materials, and evaluation methods.Resource mapping.
Resource mapping is a collaborative process used to identify available resources in order to augment current services and avoid duplication of services, as well as to identify resources that are missing.Family and community involvement.
Responsive schools involve families and communities. Involvement of family and community members informs and reinforces school improvement efforts by helping to maximize resources and facilitate responses to student needs.Evidence-based practices.
Evidence-based practices are supported with empirical evidence of effectiveness using methods that are reproducible and appropriate for the studied environment and circumstances.Data-based decision-making.
Data-based decision-making involves using data from assessments and evaluations to drive decisions for educational practices and targeted interventions to improve student performance.Progress monitoring.
Progress monitoring is a scientifically based practice that is used to assess academic performance and evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. Progress monitoring should occur regularly and frequently.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education works with educators, legislators, agencies and citizens through its statewide school-improvement initiatives and regulatory functions to assure that all citizens have access to high-quality public education from early childhood to adult education.