A team of consultants and other educational professionals will be visiting Lawrence public schools beginning Monday, looking for ways to help the district improve its teaching of reading and math.

The mandatory three-day visit will send 16 out-of-town experts into classrooms throughout the district, to take an up-close look before making recommendations that could change the way students learn, teachers teach and administrators lead for years to come.

“It’s like having guests come to your home who you don’t know,” said Rick Doll, superintendent of the Lawrence school district. “They will critique you, which always makes you apprehensive. But we’re very hopeful that they can give us some insights and some recommendations so that we can improve.”

The visit is part of the Kansas Learning Network, a program devised by the Kansas State Board of Education to help districts identify problem areas and devise solutions.

The program comes calling in Lawrence this year after the district fell short of rising standards for the number of students who scored proficient or better on the standardized tests during the past two years. The scores are used to gauge compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind program, and the district missed targets for students with disabilities.

Working ‘on improvement’

While 83 percent of the district’s overall student population scored proficient or better, those levels were achieved by only about two-thirds of students with disabilities.

That placed the district among 17 statewide to be considered “on improvement,” the description assigned to districts and schools that fall short of standards for two years in a row.

The visitors will be led by Ray Daniels, a former superintendent of the Kansas City, Kan., school, district now working as a consultant for Cross & Joftus, the state-hired firm that is administering the Kansas Learning Network for 17 Kansas districts and 32 schools.

Joining Daniels are three other consultants, plus seven administrators from other districts in Kansas and five experts from the Kansas State Board of Education — including the department’s commissioner, Diane DeBacker.

“It’s not often that a school district gets the opportunity to have educators and professional people come in and do an audit of your policies and processes and get feedback,” said Donna Davis, a team member who is assistant superintendent for student learning for the Hutchinson school district. “With people coming in, you know they’re going to find something, and you look forward to it.”

Grab a hall pass

Visitors will drop by all schools in the Lawrence district, popping into dozens of classrooms for anywhere from three to five minutes at a time to assess reading and math instruction in grades three through 12. The visitors will be split into smaller groups, and joined by administrators from the Lawrence district to help guide their way.

Members of the visiting team also will convene focus groups and conduct surveys, with all of the information-gathering methods designed to help them devise recommendations for improving instruction, leadership and support.

Focus groups will include civic leaders, students and parents, so that visitors can see the big picture before offering their thoughts about what that picture should look like.

“I’m thrilled that parents are being included in the process,” said Barb Heeb, who has two children attending schools in the district and will be part of a focus group. “I’m excited to see how Lawrence public schools will make improvements that will benefit all students.”

The team’s final report, due by Nov. 24, is to be used by district officials as the basis for a district-wide improvement plan, one expected to help guide the district’s decisions in the coming months and years in regard to reading and math instruction.