Linda Schlosser, Ph.D.lschlosser@sjfc.eduSt. John Fisher CollegeRochester, NY

Presentation for the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD

A Vertical Team. . .

. . . is middle  school and high school educators who teach in the same academic area. It may include  administrators, department chairs, or curriculum specialists. 

. . .designs curricular change, decides on instructional strategies, and creates support structures that make high achievement by all students a reality.

Warm Up: A Critical Question

Imagine that it is the last day of 8th grade. 

What are your greatest academic concerns about the students you are sending on?

Take 3 minutes and idenitfy 3 concerns.

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National Perspectives:  Middle and High School Teachers’ Top 10 Concerns about Students

Exiting 8th Grade

Willingness to solve problems‐independenceReading comprehensionAttitude toward readingEssay writingVocabulary development

Ability/desire to ask questionsOrganizationStudy skillsPersistenceMotivation/Understanding what it takes to achieve

Can Vertical Teams help?

“A student’s middle school experience strongly impacts the odds of graduating from high school.”

What  differentiates high performing schools from low performing schools is  a shared district culture and instructional programs designed to prepare all students for rigorous high school education

(2009) Balfanz, R. Putting Middle Grade Students on the Graduation Path : A policy and Practice Brief

(2010, Kirst, M.) Gaining Ground in the Middle grades: Why Some Schools Do Better than Others

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What do students think? Voices from the Middle

PDK and NASSP  surveyed 1,814 seventh and eighth graders in March of 2007.

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Access

YES:  93 % of 7th and 8th graders surveyed said there is “no chance” they will drop out of high school and not graduate.

BUT:  83 % of 7th and 8th graders surveyed know little or nothing about the classes they need to take to graduate from high school

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RealityNearly 500,000 students do drop out annually. (Bureau of Labor Statistics )

High school graduation rate has remained flat over the last decade at about 72%. (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research)

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AspirationsYES:  92 % of 7th and 8th graders surveyed said it is likely they will attend college.

BUT:  68 % of those who say they will attend college, also say they have little or no information about what they need to do in high school to prepare themselves for college.

What do middle school students know about courses required to graduate from high school?  To prepare for college?

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RealityNationally, the percentage of students who left high school with the skills and qualifications necessary to attend college rose from 25% in 1991 to 34% in 2002.(Manhattan Institute for Policy Research)

Approximately 40% of recent high school graduates reported key gaps in their preparation for college or work.(Levine, 2007)

9th Graders Chance for College by Age 19 

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The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, 2009. 

The Long and Short of it . . . Middle School students have high goals and aspirations, but limited or unrealistic ideas about what they need to do to succeed in high school and prepare for college.  

Can Vertical Teams help students experience more success?

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What are Vertical Teams?

Teachers from multiple grade levels, including a high school and its feeder middle schools, work together to develop a continuum of knowledge and skills that build from one grade to the next. 

Are subject‐ specific

Develop and implement vertically aligned programs

Focus on embedding skills and dispositions that lead to academic success for all students

Are not vehicles used to promote tracking.

VT GoalsIncrease  achievement for all studentsImprove communication between grade levels and schoolsFoster inclusion

Typical VT ActivitiesDiscuss state standards, benchmarks, and curriculum frameworks as they pertain to practiceShare teacher expectations at each grade levelIdentify successful teaching strategiesIdentify student misconceptionsDesign assessmentsPlan for all learners—the strugglers, the successful, and all those in‐between

Vertical Teams

Organizational Strategies

Content-specific

Classroom strategies

Leadership strategies

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Leadership and Organization

1. Ask questions about student performance….

Course enrollment patternsStandardized testing resultsDistrict-based/school-based testing resultsStudent motivation and disposition

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Leadership and Organization

2. Plan and implement strategies for improvement…

Target specific areas and set grade-level goals Establish short- and long-term plans of actionGather dataReport back

Case Study:  Global History and EnglishVertical Teams focus on grade 9

Students are experiencing various transition problems as they enter high school, especially in Global Studies and English.

Poor attendance or academic performanceHigh rates of discipline infractionsFailure on state testsAt the end of 9th grade many not on track to graduateLow sense of belongingness

Upstate, NY

Action Plan1. Build in transition from MS to 

HS by creating Small Learning Communities in 9th Grade

2. Hold weekly team meetings to focus on ELA/Global progress

3. Develop and train student mentors

Data3rd year of the plan implemented for 9th grade

Teachers believe students more connected

Increase in numbers of 2013 Cohort (current 10th grade) on track to graduate with  5.5+ Credits241/266    or   90.6%

Collecting data on  Global ExamARHS GOAL – 98% passing 10th grade Global2012 Cohort‐ 226 ON TRACK – 83.4%

Mentors for Freshman

Content‐Specific Classroom Strategies

Case Study:  Using Vertical Teams to Enhance Vocabulary and Achievement in Urban Schools

Missouri

District Snapshot7500 students K‐1272% African American, 22% Caucasian, 3% Hispanic, 3% Other69% Free and Reduced LunchHigh dropout rate/low attendance ratePoor achievement on standardized testsNearly 50% of incoming 9th graders read below grade level. 

9th Graders’ Perceptions of High School98% of our incoming freshmen were not going to go to college or “didn’t need it”Careers included Professional basketball player, rap star, movie star, singer, and “entrepreneur”Disconnect between perception of high school (parties, easy classes) and reality.None of our incoming freshmen expect to drop out before their senior year. (At this point we have 67 members of the sophomore class who are not on track to graduate and 32 whose whereabouts we cannot ascertain.

Our GoalImprove our students’ chances of performing well on high stakes tests such as state assessments, ACT, SAT, and AP exams in all core subject areas.By doing the above, make our district more competitive in keeping our best and brightest students.

Timeline For ChangeOrganized vertical teams in core subjects and trained over 60 teachers from grades 5‐12.Vertical Teams began critical examination curriculum. Focus became use of subject area terminology.Met monthly to begin instituting changes in vocabulary taught and how it was introduced.Piloted new vocabulary lists among select English and Math teachers.Revision of math and English curriculum began.

Where We StandSince we are in our 3rd year of VTs, and we don’t have all elements in place, HOWEVER—Positive student response on exit interviews about college preparedness has increased by 17%.A record number of students took the AP exam last year—over 100 of our juniors and seniors opted to take at least one exam.Pacing guides utilizing state and national standards have been introduced in all core curriculum areas.Reading Program leading from middle to high school has been adopted.

Other Ideas

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Classroom StrategiesWorking with a Dialectical Notebook: Note Taking Frame

Text

In this column, record important information or ideas as they appear in the text. 

Vertical Team Strategy:  Various forms of this strategy are used by AP Vertical Teams, The College Board,  and by Transitional  Vertical Teams

Response

In this column, record your thoughts about or reactions to any of the material in the Textcolumn. 

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SOAPSToneWho Is the Speaker? What Is the Occasion?

Who Is the Audience?

What Is the Purpose?

What Is the Subject?

What Is the Tone?AP Vertical Team Strategy, The College Board

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From An English VT in Texas….Connecting books and skills

6th grade ‐ The Cay ‐ Skills:  vocabulary, close reading, making inferences

7th grade ‐ Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry ‐ Skills:  imagery, personification, close reading and symbolism

8th grade ‐ The Diary of Anne Frank ‐ Skills:  close reading, pt. of view, characterization

9th grade ‐ A Tale of Two Cities ‐ Skills:  close reading, allusion and tone

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From VTs in California“We’re working on writing skills, trying to build them into grade level curriculum in a planned way so that we use the same terms to teach students to write.  What we say in 7th grade is the same term or strategy we build on in 9th grade.” 

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Vertical Teams in Progress. . .“We’ve been working on delineating skills at each grade level

and we are starting to see progress with the students entering 9th and 10th grades this year.” (Middle School Social Studies teacher)

“We started by asking: ‘What do we teach that our kids can’t do?’ We actually backed into vertical teams.”(High School English teacher)

“The biggest plus for us is the regular meetings with middle school teachers. We are taking concepts and mapping out how they are developed, the strategies we use to teach them.”(High School Science Teacher)

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Vertical Teams:  Perceived Impact in English

Area Teachers Department Heads

Principals

Changes in rigor of English college-level curriculum

More rigorous Slightly more More rigorous

Changes in rigor in English curriculum as a whole

No change Slightly more More rigorous

Changes in access of students to AP courses

More access More access More access

Changes in student preparation for AP

More prepared

More prepared

More prepared

Changes in performance of students on AP exams

Slightly better Slightly better Slightly better

Excerpted from The College Board (Sept., 2002). Research Notes.

NASSP:  Breaking Ranks in the MiddleStrategies for Leading Middle Level Reform (2006)

• Establish the essential learnings that students must master to successfully make the transition to high school, and align curriculum and teaching strategies to realize that goal.

Cornerstone Strategy#1

• Provide planning time for teachers to align curriculum across grades and schools and to map efforts that address the academic, developmental, social, and personal needs of students, especially at critical transition periods.

Cornerstone Strategy #3

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If vertical teams were in place, how would they improve student outcomes

in your district?

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Find out More about Vertical TeamsEmail me at Lschlosser@sjfc.eduhttp://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/preap/publications/index.htmlhttp://www.acpta.org/verticalteams.htm

Texashttp://title3.sde.state.ok.us/ap/VTinfo.htm

Oklahoma http://www.bsu.edu/web/academy/aspire/vteams.htm

Indianahttp://www.pvusd.net/Departments/EPC_College_Prep/Vertical_Teams/index.htmlhttp://www.palomar.edu/gearup/gear/VT/vt1.htm

Californiahttp://www.greece.k12.ny.us/arh/library/highschoolclasses/Links/O'keefe/Website/Vertical%20Teams/Vertical_Teams_Home.htm

New York