Small Schools: It’s About the Kids

“Academic Equity is About

All Kids”

Presentation By Patricia Martin, Asst. VP

The College Board

National Office for School Counselor Advocacy

Small Schools Northwest/Lewis & Clark College in Partnership with Portland Public Schools-02/12/05

Advancing the Academic Agenda for All Students

.

. . .With deliberate, calculated, intentional, planned efforts to change the status quo.

Plans Driven by Equity Principle

Education that starts with the goal of access, support and success of all students regardless of

•who they are• the color of their skin•where they live •the amount of money their parents make•the amount of political power their parents can bring to bear

Needs for 21st Century Economy and Citizenship

High Degree of Literacy

1. Reading/ELA

2. Mathematics

Life Long Learning/Retraining

1. Multiple Careers Changes

2. Post Secondary College and/or Career Training

Lesson #1

“If you do what you’ve always done,

You’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

Small Schools: It’s About the Kids . . .

But, It’s Also About US!

Small Schools Northwest/Lewis & Clark College in Partnership with Portland Public Schools

“Each one of us has the right and responsibility to assess the roads that lie ahead and those roads of

which we have traveled.

And if the future road looms ominous and unpromising and the roads back uninviting,

then we need to gather our resolve and carrying only the necessary baggage,

step off that road to a new direction.” 

Wouldn’t Take Nothing From My Journey Now” -- Maya Angelou

Lesson #2 Change is our Reality . . .

And change favors people who Are well prepared Are willing to learn and implement “New Ways”

of doing business Understand the “Big Picture” Make a way out of “No Way” Contribute to the “Primary Goals” of the

organization

Patricia Martin, Asst. VP/MSROThe College Board

What happens

when EducationReform changesthe school game?

Lesson #3Become a Reflective Practitioner . . .

1. Continuously examine your personal attitudes and beliefs—they drive behavior

2. Address gaps in personal beliefs & school expectations

3. Stretch your limits--challenges to comfort zones, skills, knowledge

4. Be Accountable

5. Know when to hold, know when to fold

6. Do the right thing, not things right

School principals/administrators/ instructional leaders

charged with improving student achievement as a primary goal

must galvanize the energies of all the players involved in the educational setting toward this focused common goal

maximize the use of all resources—human and $’s

Organizations advance when . . .

a clear, widely understood vision creates tension between the real

and ideal,

pushing people to work together to reduce the gap.

Robert Fritz

If you don’t know where you’re going . . .

you probably won’t get there

• no plan needed • any road will take you there• there is no “there” there• the destination is fuzzy • accountability—nailing Jello to the wall

Lesson #4

Goal Statements

  Goal 1: Set high expectations for all (students, parents, staff, & community)Goal 2: Improve performance of all studentsGoal 3: Close the gap between better and poorer performing students

OVERARCHING DRIVERS FOR SMALL SCHOOLS

                 

2. Increasing the Number of Students Who Go To College    Goal: To increase the number of students in Hamilton County Public Schools who enter college after graduation and do so without the need of academic remediation.           

Goal: To increase the number of students in Small Schools/Small Learning

Communities who enter college after graduation, and do so without the need of

academic remediation.  

How Expectations Differ: Plans After High School

Source: Metropolitan Life, Survey of the American Teacher 2000: Are We Preparing Students for the 21st Century?, September 2000.

0

80

perc

en

t

Students Parents Teachers

(Secondary School)

4-year college

Work full-time

Most High School Grads Go On To Postsecondary Within Two Years

Entered 2 Year Colleges 22%

Entered 4 Year Colleges 43%

Other Postsecondary 7%

Total 72%

Source: NELS: 88, Second (1992) and Third (1994) Follow up; in, USDOE, NCES, Condition of Education 1997, Supplemental Table 9-1

College Freshmen Not Returning for Sophomore Year

4-year Colleges 26%

2-year Colleges 45%

Source: Tom Mortensen, Postsecondary Opportunity, No. 89, November 1999

AP and College Success

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

No APOne APTwo+ AP

Chance of those going to college who finish and receive a Bachelor’s degree

85% of those taking AP continue education beyond high school

AP courses related more to degree completion than mere entry into college

Answers in the Tool Box, 1998, US Department of Education

Different Educational Experiences of Students Grades 9 or Higher

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Ever Retained a Grade Ever in Gifted andTalented Program

African AmericanLatinoWhite

Source: US Department of Labor, BLS, NLSY, Employment Experience and Other Characteristics of Youths, April 30, 1999.

Beliefs Drive Behavior Beliefs about Race/SES; Access to Rigor; Support

for Success; Access to Information on Post Secondary Options; Personal Ability to Make Change in Status Quo

I. Important Issues A. All Students Can Achieve High Standards

B. System Change, not Fix Student to Cope with System

C. EquityII. Ways of Working

A. LeadershipB. AdvocacyC. Collaboration

III. Results/AccountabilityA. Measurable OutcomesB. Systemic/School Wide ImpactC. Equitable Distribution of ProgressD. Use of Technology

IV. Other

Big Issues to Consider

1. Needs of 21st Century Students

2. Needs for 21st Century Economy & Citizenship

3. Gaps in What is & What Should Be

4. Definition of School/Teacher Success

5. Definition of Student Success

6. Equity in Rapidly Changing Demographics

7. Personal Attitudes & Beliefs

8. Gaps in Personal Beliefs and School Expectations

Big Issues to Consider

9. Challenges to Comfort Zones, Skills, Knowledge

10. Technological Implications

11. Definition of Success for School

Counselor

12. Value-added in Metrics & Numbers

Big Issues to Consider

There Are Always More Questions Than There Are Ansers

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”

Lesson #5

You HaveTo Get More Tools in Your Toolbox

The diversity, quantity and quality of the tools in the box determine the scope and depth of instructional practices

The ability to utilize the tools effectively results in increased student performance

The acquisition of new tools is a life-long process

Creating Successful Small Schools is Hard Work

It means leading, collaborating, teaming to . . . Identify inequities Use data as a tool Create an urgency for change Facilitate solution-finding Scaffold academic success for all students Make system change happen

Lesson #6

THE PLAN

Success by Design . . .

“Student Academic Success by Design”

Intentional Deliberate! Planned! Premeditated! Calculated! Data Driven!

Using Data

•To challenge existing policies &

practices

•To serve as a catalyst for

focused action

•To create a sense of urgency

“In God We Trust . . . Everybody else bring data!”

Quote from a school leader

Students In Vocational Courses Do Not Develop Strong Reading Skills

Fewer than 4.0Vocational

Credits

4.0 to 7.9Vocational

Credits

8.0 or moreVocational

Credits

269.4

280

299.3

260

300

Av

era

ge

NA

EP

Re

ad

ing

Sc

ore

Fewer than 4.0Vocational Credits

4.0 to 7.9Vocational Credits8.0 or moreVocational Credits

Source: US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Vocational Course-Taking and Achievement: An Analysis of HighSchool Transcripts and 1990 NAEP Assessment Scores (p. 20) Washington, DC: US Department of Education, May 1995.

Algebra Placement Practice in One Southern California School District

51%

16%

100%83%

42%

11%

88%

50%

0%

100%

Top Quartile CTBS Second Quartile CTBS

African American Asian Latino White

New York City 9th Graders Passing Regents Science

4496

2227 2209

4087

9433

3499

8794

5878

1500

10500

AfricanAmerican

Asian Latino White

1994 1995

Source: New York City Chancellor’s Office; Annual Report on the Mathematics and Science Initiative in the High Schools, 1995.

SCHOOL CRITICAL DATA ELEMENTS

I. Course Taking Patterns II. Course Pass/Fail Rates III. Promotion/Retention Rates IV.  Attendance Rates       V. Discipline/Suspension Rates VI.  Special Education Placement Rates VII. Gifted And Talented Program Enrollment VIII. College going Rates IX.   Standardized Test Scores X.    SAT/ACT Participation and Results

SCHOOL CRITICAL DATA ELEMENTS

XI. State Mandated Assessments XII.   Reading/Writing/Math Results (State

Standardized Test, NAEP, Stanford 9, CTBS etc.)

XIII.  Graduation Rates XIV.  Dropout Rates XV.   Definitive Exit Plans for 12th Grader

What’s It Going To Take to Make A Small School Better Than Our Existing Regular School Models?

☞ Working Together Differently1. Teaming 2. Collaboration

☞ Well Thought Out Plan with rigor for all☞ Smart Use of Resources☞ Relentless Laser Focus on Results/Data☞ Distributed Leadership☞ Courage to Challenge and Change the Status Quo

If It’s About the Kids . . . We Have No Choice

Come to the edge.”“We can't. We're afraid.”

“Come to the edge.”“We can't. We will fall!”

“Come to the edge.”And they came.

And (s)he pushed them.And they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918)

• Do I really believe it is about ALL Kids?• Does my behavior parallel my beliefs?• Do I have the courage to ask the hard questions and find solutions?• If not me, WHO?

Big Questions???

The National Office for School Counselor Advocacy1233 20th Street NW

Washington, DC 20036pmartin@collegeboard.org

202-741-4714

Presentation by:Pat Martin, Asst. Vice President,The College Board

Data slides: See College Board.org and Education Trust.org