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Introduce myself and ASEI. Where it came from? What it says? What some of the implications are for school and district leaders? test. SK:. Abbott Secondary Education Initiative. Education Law Center Information/Discussion Session December 13, 2005. Abbott Secondary Initiative. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Abbott Secondary Education Initiative
Introduce myself and ASEI. Where it came from?
What it says?
What some of the implications are for school and district leaders? test
Introduce myself and ASEI. Where it came from?
What it says?
What some of the implications are for school and district leaders? test
SK:SK:
Education Law CenterInformation/Discussion SessionDecember 13, 2005
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Abbott Secondary Initiative
Grew out of Abbott X decision, June 03
Court-ordered review of reform plans for
Middle/High Schools
ELC/NJ DOE formed workgroup to develop
recommendations
Abbott Secondary Education Initiative is
result
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Secondary issues
Graduation rates
Achievement gaps
College preparation & readiness
Previous implementation efforts
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Graduation rates
NJ has the highest HS graduation rate in the nation
NJ has one of the highest graduation rates for students of color
But this success is not evenly distributed across NJ communities
Source: Center for Education Policy, Harvard Civil Rights Project
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Abbott Graduation rates
Abbott graduation rates are about 50%.
Over 90% elsewhere in NJ.
40-50% of Abbott grads now use SRA.
In 2002, 9500 students graduated by
SRA.
NJ to phase out SRA over 4-6 yrs.
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Graduation rates
Urgency of issue for districts, state,
communities, economy, NCLB, etc.
Graduation rates vs. test scores as
focus of school improvement
Raises broader issues
Requires more fundamental changes
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Achievement gaps
About 70% of Abbott students pass HSPA in LA, 45% in Math
NJ averages are about 90% LA, 80% Math 38% of whites over 25 have college degree.
21% Blacks, 16% Hispanics. 20% gap between college graduation rates
of Black/Hispanic students and whites/Asians.
Source: ELC Indicators Reports, NJ Commission on Higher Education
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Recent secondary reform efforts in NJ
Standards and tests WSR developers Increased “rigor” (eg. American
diploma project) Abbott Secondary Education
Initiative
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National Context
Increasing national focus on HS reform
Professional and Policy reports (“Breaking Ranks II,” Gov. HS Summit, Gates Foundation & others)
NCLB mandates and sanctions Opportunity and challenge for NJ
Before getting into specifics of ASEI, wanted to mentioned the national context which also played a significant role in shaping workgroup’s discussions and continues to do so as implementation phase begins.
Before getting into specifics of ASEI, wanted to mentioned the national context which also played a significant role in shaping workgroup’s discussions and continues to do so as implementation phase begins.
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National Consensus on HS reform
Increased academic “rigor” Higher standards, harder, high-stakes tests College level work for all students Smaller, personalized school environments More professional collaboration (eg. teams,
planning time, prof. dev.) Choice, curriculum themes, and inclusion
The growing consensus on “best practices” in secondary reform really has two basic sides. Higher academic expectations and demands and a set of reforms to bridge the gap between these expectations and the level of preparation of students entering high school. Lots of complicated issues, but acknowledgement of these two related areas is the basis some common ground between those promoting higher standards and more rigorous tests, and those who see personalization and small as shorthands for the supports needed to bridge gap between where students were and where they were expected to go.
The growing consensus on “best practices” in secondary reform really has two basic sides. Higher academic expectations and demands and a set of reforms to bridge the gap between these expectations and the level of preparation of students entering high school. Lots of complicated issues, but acknowledgement of these two related areas is the basis some common ground between those promoting higher standards and more rigorous tests, and those who see personalization and small as shorthands for the supports needed to bridge gap between where students were and where they were expected to go.
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National Overview
Approx. 17,300 high schools in the US.
70% of HS students attend schools with
over 1,000 students. Nearly 50 percent
attend schools with over 1,500 students.
In a typical high-poverty, urban US school,
about half of incoming ninth-graders read
at a sixth- or seventh-grade level.Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
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National context
Hispanic and Black students are more likely than white students to attend large schools schools with higher student-teacher
ratios Schools w/high concentrations of
povertySource: Pew Hispanic Center Report
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Claims for Small Schools Students in smaller schools:
post higher test scores pass more courses and accumulate
credits graduate and go on to higher levels of
education Small schools help close achievement gaps
between students in different socioeconomic and ethnic groups.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
Growing research base of support for small school success. Like money, small size is being established as a necessary, if insufficient, element of secondary reform.
Growing research base of support for small school success. Like money, small size is being established as a necessary, if insufficient, element of secondary reform.
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Claims for Small Schools Students in smaller schools have better
attendance and lower dropout rates In NYC, dropout rates for schools under 600
students are half those for schools over 2,000
In Chicago, small schools have dropout rates one-third lower than big schools.
Smaller schools have lower rates of violence and vandalism & more positive school climate.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
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Reasons for small school success
More personalized, supportive environment for students
More collaborative, team-based environment for staff
More school-based control over major decisions about resources, staffing, and use of time
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Concerns about small schools
Selectivity of student population Need to include more students &
staff Facilities and resource issues Ability to sustain sports programs,
extra-curricular activities, diversity of course choices, etc.
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Abbott Secondary Education Initiative
Major elements…. Small, personalized learning
environments for all students, 6-12 Improved instruction for
college/careers Family advocacy system
District review of all courses with teacher participation by 2008 to define content and level of courses that carry graduation credit.
District review of all courses with teacher participation by 2008 to define content and level of courses that carry graduation credit.
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ASEI requires SLCs
SLCs for all Abbott HS/MS students by
fall 2008 (HS/300, MS/250)
Teacher teams with 2-3 hours of
common planning time per week. Stay
with students over multiple years.
Curriculum themes. Choice for
staff/students.
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ASEI supports improved instruction
Access to college prep for all Curriculum aligned with NJ standards Review of content in required courses Professional development to support
curriculum innovation and improved classroom practice
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ASEI requires family advocacy Each student/family will be matched with a
professional staff member in groups of 15-20 students/families per staff member
Advocates meet with assigned students weekly Meet face-to-face with each family at least twice/yr. Advocates receive professional support for this role,
including training in multicultural perspectives. Advocates assist in the preparation of an academic
plan for each student
Major change in some places. In elementary schools, everyone gets a reading group. In high schools every gets an advisory group. But also supports and time must be in place. In best settings, this becomes a freshman transition elective for 9th graders, a kind of combined academic tutorial, supervised study, support group and Homeroom. Many schools have in form, without content.
Major change in some places. In elementary schools, everyone gets a reading group. In high schools every gets an advisory group. But also supports and time must be in place. In best settings, this becomes a freshman transition elective for 9th graders, a kind of combined academic tutorial, supervised study, support group and Homeroom. Many schools have in form, without content.
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ASEI requires
Equitable distribution of student academic profiles and demographic characteristics across SLCs. (no tracking)
Equitable distribution of staff experience and demographic characteristics across SLCs
Facilities planning to support SLCs
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Secondary Regulations
“Small organizational structures may include small learning communities and/or small schools in free standing facilities or within larger facilities….
“Placement of teachers and students shall result in an equitable distribution of student academic achievement profiles, demographic characteristics and teacher experience, qualifications and racial/ethnic diversity…”
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ASEI challenge
Implement secondary initiative or “demonstrate that the goals are being achieved by alternative means.”
“I don't think there is a comprehensive city high school that works right now in New Jersey."
Gordon MacInnes, assist. com. of ed.
Nothing about this is easy. But the reasons for attempting it are inescapable. Too many kids are not graduating. Too many others are graduating without the skills they need to succeed. We are losing too many of our kids to the streets, the unemployment lines, and the prisons. These problems won’t go away with business as usual. Abbott is the best schooling funding decision in the country for poor urban schools and if we don’t do a better job of implementing it, we will lose it. And if we lose it, it will be a disaster for our kids, our public schools, our communities and our state.
But there’s a best case too. And that’s that the failure of existing practices to deliver the goods has to some exhausted the traditional bureuacracy that runs the schools and opened up space for change. And while some want to fill that space with vouchers and privatization, we also have a chance to fill it with our own visions of excellence and equity in public education. We can use Abbott to create the kind of schools we want to work in and send our own children to. Ultimately, if the secondary initiative is going to succeed, that’s what it will need to be about.
Nothing about this is easy. But the reasons for attempting it are inescapable. Too many kids are not graduating. Too many others are graduating without the skills they need to succeed. We are losing too many of our kids to the streets, the unemployment lines, and the prisons. These problems won’t go away with business as usual. Abbott is the best schooling funding decision in the country for poor urban schools and if we don’t do a better job of implementing it, we will lose it. And if we lose it, it will be a disaster for our kids, our public schools, our communities and our state.
But there’s a best case too. And that’s that the failure of existing practices to deliver the goods has to some exhausted the traditional bureuacracy that runs the schools and opened up space for change. And while some want to fill that space with vouchers and privatization, we also have a chance to fill it with our own visions of excellence and equity in public education. We can use Abbott to create the kind of schools we want to work in and send our own children to. Ultimately, if the secondary initiative is going to succeed, that’s what it will need to be about.
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ASEI Implementation Timeline Spring, 2005: ‘Phase I’ Districts selected Jersey City, Orange, Elizabeth, Bridgeton Fall. 2005: All districts form planning
cmtes. 2005-2008: NJ DOE provides professional
development to all districts. National consultants/ASEI team.
Fall 2008, all Abbott High Schools/Middle Schools implement initiative
ASEI team. Sept. 30 rolloutASEI team. Sept. 30 rollout
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Implementation efforts so far
Technical assistance providers NJ ASEI team and training Advisory Board Status of phase one districts Academic ‘rigor’ districts Network mtgs. for all Abbotts
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Supplemental efforts
Community Foundation of NJ support for
youth research/engagement projects
Site visits to model schools
ELC efforts
Need for networking/ across districts
and constituencies
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Current implementation issues
Status of planning committees Support for budget & facilities planning Need for rollout/constituency building Building technical assistance capacity Equity concerns Need for more coherence and higher
profile around secondary reform statewide.
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Issues for discussion
Questions and concerns? Who has a stake in seeing the reform
succeed? How do we reach/mobilize those groups? Connections to make? Audiences to
reach?
How to raise the political profile?
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Resources
Abbott Secondary Education Initiative
http://www.state.nj.us/njded/abbotts/sei/ Dr. Penelope Lattimore, Chief of Staff & Director of
the Secondary Education Initiatives
Phone: (609) 292-7451 Fax: (609) 292-4333
Dr. Sandra G. Strothers
Assistant Director, Secondary Education Initiatives
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Resources
Technical Assistance Providers
First Things First/IRRE
http://www.irre.org/ftf/
High Schools That Work
http://www.sreb.org/programs/hstw/hstwindex.
asp
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Resources
