Infusing Literacy Across the Curriculum: A Key to Raising Student Achievement Sue Szachowicz Senior Fellow, ICLE Principal Brockton High

Infusing Literacy Across the Curriculum: A Key to Raising

Student Achievement

Sue SzachowiczSenior Fellow, ICLE

PrincipalBrockton High

Agenda for the session

WHO we are and what we faced HOW we did this:

1. Empowering a Team

2. Focusing on Literacy3. Implementing with Fidelity

4. Monitoring Like Crazy Results: Changing the Culture For What It’s Worth: Leadership advice

2

Transforming a Culture

through Literacy

A.K.A. - It’s COOL to

be smart at Brockton

High!!!

As we say in Boxer Country,we are WICKED AWESOME!!!

Our Turn Around Story… We did it our way!

Our “School of Champions”

Brockton High SchoolBrockton, Massachusetts

(For the entire PBS piece:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/uncategorized/brockton-high-proves-that-big-schools-can-be-good-schools/6959/


• Comprehensive 9 – 12• Enrollment: 4,181• Poverty Level: 75%• Minority population: 73%• 50 different languages • 50% speak another language in the home• Approximately 12% in Transitional Bilingual Ed.• Approximately 11% receive Special Education Services

Who are We???Our Demographics

57% Black - includes African American, Cape Verdean, Haitian, Jamaican, and others

26% White 14% Hispanic 2.5% Asian .5% Native

American

Meet our Students

Mass. implemented a high stakes test (MCAS) Three-quarters of our students would not be earning a

diploma Culture of low expectations – “Students have a right

to fail” Negative image in our city, in the state Yet we were living in DENIAL!!!! Who is responsible???? We had silos (My kids, your

kids, not OUR kids) Success by chance – depended on who your

teacher was – are you lucky???

\The Problem: (actually we had many…)

State Mandates…We faced:

MCAS 1998

Failure

ELA – 44%(Sped – 78%)

MATH – 75%(Sped – 98%)

MCAS 1998Advanced+Proficient

ELA – 22%

MATH – 7%

MCAS??? So you think

it’s easy???

Remember, they MUST pass to graduate – NO exceptions!

Burial at Thebes from Sophocles’ Antigone Shakespearean Sonnet # 73 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel

Garcia Marquez (3 page excerpt) Making Humus by Composting by Liz Ball Proof (four page play excerpt by

David Auburn)

ELA MCAS SELECTIONS:(and remember, they are sophomores!)

12

In the formula, h and t are defined as follows:• t = the time, in seconds, that has elapsed since the rocket was launched• h = the height, in feet, of the rocket above the ground at time t

Use the formula to answer the following questions.a. What was the height, in feet, of the rocket 1 second after it

was launched? Show your work.b. What was the height, in feet, of the rocket 6 seconds after it

was launched? Show your work.c. The value of h was 0 when the rocket hit the ground. How

many seconds after the rocket was launched did it hit the ground? Show your work.

d. How many seconds after the rocket was launched was the height of the rocket 160 feet? Show your work.

SAMPLE MCAS MATH QUESTION: Jason launched a model rocket from the ground. The formula below can be used to determine the height of the rocket above the ground at any time during the rocket’s flight.

h = 16t(7 – t)

For the red gene, the allele for the presence of red pigment (R) is dominant and the allele for the absence of red pigment (r) is recessive. Likewise, for the black gene, the allele for the presence of black pigment (B) is dominant and the allele for the absence of black pigment (b) is recessive.

a. Draw the Punnett square for the cross of a snake that is homozygous dominant for the red color with a snake that is heterozygous for the red color. What percentage of the offspring is expected to have red pigment in their skin?

b. Draw the Punnett square for the cross of two snakes that are heterozygous for the black color. What percentage of the offspring are expected to have black pigment in their skin?

c. The parent snakes in part (b) that are heterozygous for black color are both homozygous recessive for the red gene. Each parent has genotype rr for the red gene. Based on this information, what percentage of their offspring are expected to lack both the red and black pigments in their skin? Explain your reasoning.

SAMPLE MCAS BIOLOGY QUESTION:

Corn snakes show variety in their skin color pattern. While the complete genetics of corn snake color are complex, the most common colors on normal corn snakes—red and black—are each coded by one gene.

Can you believe this???

But even worse… We faced a flawed belief system:

“Students have a

right to fail.”Former BHS Principal

Success at Brockton High then ???

That’s where we were…

Here’s a preview of where we are now… Then, at the end some WICKED AWESOME

stuff!…


ELA – 22 %

MATH – 7 %


ELA – 83.3%

MATH –70.3 %

THEN NOW

THEN NOW

MCAS 1998

Failure

ELA – 44%

MATH – 75%

MCAS 2012

Failure

ELA – 1.9%

MATH – 8.7%

It’s cool and fun to be smart

Honor Roll Statistics

1998

859 STUDENTS

(4400 students)

19%

2012

1561 STUDENTS

( (4100 students)

38%

Turnaround at Brockton High

BROCKTON - Brockton High School has every excuse for failure, serving a city plagued by crime, poverty, housing foreclosures, and homelessness.Almost two-thirds of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, and 14 percent are learning to speak English. More than two-thirds are African-American or Latino - groups that have lagged behind their peers across the state on standardized tests.But Brockton High, by far the state’s largest public high school with 4,200 students, has found a success in recent years that has eluded many of the state’s urban schools: MCAS scores are soaring, earning the school state recognition as a symbol of urban hope.

Principal Susan Szachowicz, shown chatting at lunch with Yiriam Lopez, is in many ways the school’s biggest cheerleader. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) By James Vaznis Globe Staff / October 12, 2009

Emphasis on literacy brings big MCAS improvement

http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=James+Vaznis&camp=localsearch:on:byline:art

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/



Brockton and ICLE philosophy Rigor Relevance RelationshipsALL students-and ALL means ALL!!!

So, that’s who we are… What did we do?

Literacy for ALL – NO exceptions!!!

Schoolwide Literacy Skills (we all do it THIS way!)

Schoolwide rubrics for assessment

Review of student work

RIGOR and RELEVANCEOur Literacy Initiative reflects BOTH

The content provides the CONTEXT for teaching the Literacy Skills

The electives engage the students and provide the real life application

So, what did we do??? Our turnaround: 4 Steps

1. Empowered a Team

2. Focused on Literacy – Literacy for ALL, no exceptions- all means all

3. Implemented with fidelity and according to a plan

4. Monitored like crazy!

Restructuring Committee – our “think tank” Every department represented with a

mix of teachers and administrators Balance of new teachers and

veterans, new voices and voices of experience

Challenge for Change funding

Step ONE: Empowering a Leadership Team

We looked at the data And, our first plan:

Let’s figure out the test

The result of that:

The Great Shakespearean Fiasco

Questions about our instructional practices

WHAT are we teaching? HOW are we teaching it? HOW do we know our

students are learning it?

WHAT can we control, what can’t we control?

WHAT resources do we have that we can use more effectively?

And our most important question: Is this the BEST we can be?

Questions about making change

I

We asked what should we be teaching???

After our Shakespearean disaster, a better approach:

Our solution:LITERACY!!!

And it helped us become one of the 100 Best!

INSERT VIDEO from America’s Promise 100 Best

1. Empowered a team

2. Focused on Literacy for ALL, NO exceptions



Brockton High’s turnaround FOUR STEPS:

The “WHAT”:

LITERACY for ALL:

Reading, Writing,

Speaking, Reasoning

Step TWO: Focused on Literacy for ALL

34

How did we determine our focus?Literacy Skills Drafted:

LITERACY CHART: WRITING

to take notes to explain one’s thinking to argue a thesis and support one’s thinking to compare and contrast to write an open response to describe an experiment, report one’s findings, and report one’s conclusion to generate a response to what one has read, viewed, or heard to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences to develop an expository essay with a formal structure

c Brockton High School, 2002

WRITING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

LITERACY CHART: READING

for content ( both literal and inferential ) to apply pre-reading, during reading and post-reading strategies to all

reading assignments, including determining purpose and pre-learning vocabulary

to research a topic to gather information to comprehend an argument to determine the main idea of a passage to understand a concept and construct meaning to expand one’s experiences c Brockton High School, 2002

READING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE




WRITING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

LITERACY CHART: SPEAKING

to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences to interpret a passage orally to debate an issue to participate in class discussion or a public forum to make an oral presentation to one’s class, one’s peers, one’s community to present one’s portfolio to respond to what one has read, viewed, or heard to communicate in a manner that allows one to be both heard and

understood c Brockton High School, 2002

SPEAKING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

LITERACY CHART: REASONING

to create, interpret and explain a table, chart or graph to compute, interpret and explain numbers to read, break down, and solve a word problem to interpret and present statistics that support an argument or hypothesis to identify a pattern, explain a pattern, and/or make a prediction based on a

pattern to detect the fallacy in an argument or a proof to explain the logic of an argument or solution to use analogies and/or evidence to support one’s thinking to explain and/or interpret relationships of space and time c Brockton High School, 2002

REASONING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

I

The PROCESS of involving everyone was critical to our success. We did not have buy-in, but we did have our

faculty engaged in the process.

ALWAYS REMEMBER

ENGAGING THE FACULTY:

Interdisciplinary discussion groups on the drafts using 3 guiding questions:

1. In each of the four areas of Reading, Writing, Speaking and Reasoning, have we included what is required for students to be successful in your class/your content area? (What did we miss???)

2. Is the skill stated clearly so that all teachers and students can understand it?

3. Is the skill applicable to ALL content areas?

“Lessons Learned the Hard Way” Tip:

Put all your negative folks together in a group so they

don’t spread their toxic fumes.





READING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE




WRITING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE




SPEAKING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE




REASONING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

We had cool looking charts on the walls… SO WHAT…

The KEY to our implementation is HOW we trained teachers to teach these Literacy skills to our students.

So now what…

41

“The single most influential component of an effective school is the individual teachers within the school.” Robert Marzano

“…the single greatest determinant of learning is not socioeconomic factors or funding levels. It is instruction.”

Results Now by Mike Schmoker

It’s All About Instruction

42

It’s about teaching, stupid…

Says Mike Schmoker in Results Now

Faculty Meetings becameLiteracy WorkshopsKEY = Adult Learning

Teachers teaching teachers – GOOD stuff!

Step THREE: Implemented with fidelity and a plan

We started with writing! Writing is

thinking

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS




WRITING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

Don’t think for a moment that everyone was happy…

BUT, if we waited for buy-in, we’d still be waiting.

SO, what did we do?? Meet Sharon and Penny

BUT….

INSERT PBS NEED TO KNOW VIDEO ON PENNY AND SHARON


1. Empowered a team

2. Focused on Literacy – Literacy for ALL, NO exceptions




1. Targets the Literacy Skill2. Smaller subgroup drafts training

script, brings draft to the full committee, revisions made

3. Roll out to faculty – step one: Interdisciplinary group training

4. Follow up in depts – how to implement in content area

Restructuring Committee process:

Our First Training: Open ResponseOPEN RESPONSE STEPS TO FOLLOW

1. READ QUESTION CAREFULLY. 2. CIRCLE OR UNDERLINE KEY WORDS. 3. RESTATE QUESTION AS THESIS (LEAVE BLANKS) 4. READ PASSAGE CAREFULLY. 5. TAKE NOTES THAT RESPOND TO THE QUESTION. BRAINSTORM & MAP OUT YOUR ANSWER. 6. COMPLETE YOUR THESIS. 7. WRITE YOUR RESPONSE CAREFULLY, USING YOUR MAP AS A GUIDE. 8. STATEGICALLY REPEAT KEY WORDS FROM THESIS IN YOUR BODY AND IN YOUR END SENTENCE. 9. PARAGRAPH YOUR RESPONSE. 10. REREAD AND EDIT YOUR RESPONSE.

Changes in ELA Results Year One of School Wide Open Response

Changes in Math Results Year One of School Wide Open Response

Follow up the Interdisciplinary Training.

Next step – HOW to bring this into the classroom

Lessons developed Implemented according to a

calendar

So then what…

We didn’t leave it to chance. (Success by design, not by

chance!)

The implementation was according to a specific

timeline…

Step THREE: Implemented with fidelity and a plan

55

As a follow up to this activity, I am requiring Department Heads to collect from each teacher at least one student sample from each of the teachers’ classes. The student samples should include:

Student NameTeacher NameDateCourse Name and LevelPeriodA copy of the reading selection and questionEvidence of the student’s active readingAll pre-writing work that the student has done, e.g. websA copy of the written open response The new scoring rubric and completed assessment

After you have collected the samples from each teacher and have had the opportunity to review them for quality and completeness, please send them to me in a department folder with a checklist of your teachers. Again, please be sure that your teachers clearly label their student samples.

The Open Response calendar of implementation is as follows:

Nov 2-6: Social Science, Social Sci Biling.Nov 30-Dec 4: Wellness, JROTC Dec 14-18: Science, Science BilingualJan 11-15: Business, Tech, & Career Ed.Jan 25-29: Math, Math BilingualFeb 22-26: Foreign Lang, Special EdMar. 7-11: English, ESL, GuidanceMar 20-24 Family &Cons. Sci, ProjGradsApr 5-9: Music, Art

From Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin

The factor that seems to explain the most about great performance is something the researchers call deliberate practice… Deliberate practice is hard. It hurts. But it works. More of it equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance.

How did we incorporate these Literacy Skills in every discipline?Emily Dickinson is a poet who often wrote about her own emotional struggles. In two poems “Heart, We Will Forget Him” and “Knows How to Forget” she writes about how difficult it is to forget. Please read the two poems and the brief biography and answer the following three questions:1. What were some of experiences in her life that

influenced her writing?2. What do the two poems have in common?3. How are the two poems different?Please use one quote from the poems or biography in

each paragraph.

How did we incorporate these Literacy Skills in every discipline?

Even in our discipline policies and procedures we

incorporate our Literacy Initiative… remember,

WRITING IS THINKING!

Please inform the parents and students that I am a retired police officer and African American, and I am raising young teenage boys. Two of my boys are African American and the other is Black and Latino. As a parent and a former law enforcement officer and Gubernatorial appointed official in the criminal justice arena, I get it and I sympathize and empathize with what is happening to our young boys.For all of you that think it is nice to walk with your pants below your butt, read the following explanation:

This trend was born in the United States’ jails where prisoners who were willing to have sex with other prisoners needed to invent a signal that would go unnoticed by the prison guards so they wouldn't suffer consequences. So by partially showing their butt, they showed that they were available to be penetrated by other inmates. So, since the "pants exposing a man's backside" practice originated in prison, I wonder, do the young men who emulate the inmates know that along with signaling to other men that their hindquarters is "open for entertaining", also know that they are displaying that they desire the life of a subjugation?

Sagging Pants Issue

Excerpt from reading/ writing assignment

Our Classroom Incident form requires students to write when they come into the office

1. Empowered a team

2. Focused on Literacy – Literacy for ALL, NO exceptions


4. Monitored like crazy!(what gets monitored is what gets done!)


What gets monitored is what gets done!

Monitoring the work of the students AND

Monitoring the implementation by the faculty

Monitoring both the student work and the implementation

How do we know the students are learning it?

What gets monitored is what gets done!

Implementation set by calendar Admin team present in

classrooms observing the literacy lesson

Follow up walkthroughs Frequent feedback provided

Monitoring the implementation

Implemented a review protocol:• What was the grading criteria?• Were the standards high enough (what is good enough?)• In what ways does this work meet or fail to meet the set

standard?• What do the student responses indicate about the

effectiveness of the assignment?• How might the assignment be improved?• Did you find evidence of growth over time?• What did you notice about consistency across classes,

departments? Other “what do you notice” observations?

Focused collegial conversations around examining student work

What Gets Monitored Is What Gets Done! Faculty: Assessment based on rubrics Department Heads: Collect, assess,

dialogue, and assist teacher Associate Principal: Collect, assess,

dialogue, make necessary adjustments

Listen to Prof. Ron Ferguson, Director, Achievement Gap Institute, Harvard

Step FOUR: Monitored like crazy!!!

INSERT PBS NEED TO KNOW VIDEO on Fergusonhttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/uncategorized/brockton-high-proves-that-big-schools-can-be-good-schools/6959/

7070





READING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

Reading Workshop on TOVANI’S

I Read It But I Don’t Get It and

Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?

The key: Teaching everyone HOW

Active Reading Strategies

1. Read the question.

2. a. Circle key direction verbs. For example – write, draw,

explain, compare, show, copy

b. Underline important information. Often there is information in a

question that is irrelevant to finding the answer.

3. In your own words, write what the

question is asking you to do.

4. Develop your plan/Answer the question.

INSERT SAMPLE STUDENT PAPER




SPEAKING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

MATH

Oral

Presentation

Rubric

ORAL PRESENTATION RUBRIC Presenter:______________________________ Evaluator:______________________________ Literacy in Speaking:

to make an oral presentation to one’s class to communicate in a manner that allows one to be both heard and understood to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences

SPEAKING SKILLS All elements

present Most elements present

Some elements present

No elements present

Delivery (Presenter doesn’t rush, shows enthusiasm, avoids likes, ums, kind ofs, you knows, etc. Uses complete sentences.)

4 3 2 1

Eye Contact (Presenter keeps head up, does not read, and speaks to whole audience.)

4 3 2 1

Posture (Presenter stands up straight, faces audience, and doesn’t fidget.)

4 3 2 1

Volume (Presenter can be easily heard by all. No gum, etc.

4 3 2 1

CONTENT All elements

present Most elements present

Some elements present

No elements present

Introduction Presentation begins with a clear focus/thesis.

4 3 2 1

Topic Development a. Presentation includes all elements previously determined by the teacher.

4

3

2

1

b. Presentation is clearly organized. (Material is logically sequenced, related to thesis, and not repetitive.)

4 3 2 1

c. Presentation shows full grasp and understanding of the material.

4 3 2 1

Conclusion a. Presentation highlights key ideas and concludes with a strong final statement.

4

3

2

1

b. Presenter fields questions easily.

4 3 2 1

TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS: 35 – 40 = A 29 – 34 = B 23 – 28 = C 17 – 22 = D 10 – 16 = F * Evaluator: Place comments beside each descriptor




REASONING

SOCIAL

SCIENCE

MATH

ELECTIVE

ENGLISH

SCIENCE

Key = Adult Learning – Teachers teaching teachers = SUCCESS!

Literacy Training for the faculty

BHS Literacy Workshop

April 28th 2011

Reading Visuals

78

Agenda• Opener – Think and Pair.• Reading Visuals presentation• Practice using Reading Visuals 5 step

process• Discussion and feedback• Closer – Think, Plan, Share

79

What We KnowThere are several types of

visuals used in all classes and on both the science and math MCAS exams.

Students often attempt to answer the questions without fully understanding the content of the visual.

80

Reading Visuals

The process of reading a visual begins with understanding and analyzing the given information BEFORE attempting to answer the questions or solve a problem.

81

Reading Visuals•

Introductory Information

• Title

• Key or Legend

• Labels and parenthetical information

• Correlations

82

5 Steps for Reading Visuals

1. Identify the type of visual2. Determine the topic of the visual3. Examine the given information from the

visual (including all introductory text)4. Develop predictions, deductions, inferences

or conclusions about the visual5. Analyze the questions and determine the

information needed from the visual

83

5 Steps for Reading Visuals

Practice Steps 1-4 using the math data below.

84

Your Turn5 Steps for Reading Visuals

1. Identify the type of visual2. Determine the topic of the visual3. Examine the given information from the

visual (including all introductory text)4. Develop predictions, deductions, inferences

or conclusions about the visual5. Analyze the questions and determine the

information needed from the visual

85

86

Looking Ahead• The May 5th faculty meeting will be in department

and will focus on using the Reading Visuals Steps with content specific graphs, tables and diagrams

• Over the next few weeks we will all use visuals in classes to help students develop stronger reading and reasoning skills

• Our goal is to improve student achievement across the board and see gains in the science and math MCAS exam scores

87

CloserThink – Plan – Share

Identify a visual or type of visual you will use to teach students the Reading Visuals Steps.

Describe how the steps for reading visuals will help your students improve their reading and reasoning skills.

88

We have the power to improve student achievement!

Thank you

89

How do we ensure our message is consistent?

The ScriptSlide # Power Point Slide Script Time

1 As faculty enters the room, instruct them to sit in their color group and begin the Everybody Writes (EW). This is an individual opening activity that will not be discussed.

Find place 1 minEW – 2 minutes

OpenerAS YOU ENTER SIT AT THE TABLE WITH THE COLOR THAT

MATCHES YOUR STICKY NOTE

Everybody Writes:Make a prediction about the connections between Reading Visuals and Active Reading of directions, prompts or questions.

1

90

2 Today we are focusing on Reading Visuals and Active Reading strategies. Our objective is to combine the strategies to create a process that will help students: Reason to make predictions Explain and interpret relationships Apply pre-reading strategies Generate a written a response and Convey thinking through speaking

1 min

Reading Visuals and Active Reading Literacy Objectives

We will REASON to make predictionsand to explain and interpret relationships

We will READ to apply pre-reading strategies

We will WRITE to generate a response and SPEAK to convey our thinking

2

Slide # Power Point Slide Script Time

91

How did we incorporate these Literacy Skills in every discipline?

The Reasoning Skills Chart develops the higher level math skills.

Two examples of a Reading Visuals lesson from a Wellness class

Topic: Bullying

Key points in ELA and Content Area Literacy: Look at the Strands:

How does this fit with the Common Core?

Reading Writing Speaking/Listening Language

Look at the Anchor Standards under each Strand:-Key Ideas and Details-Craft and Structure-Integration of knowledge, and Ideas -Range of Reading, Level of Text Complexity

-Text Types-Production and Distribution of Writing-Research to Build and Present Knowledge-Range of Writing

- Comprehension and Collaboration- Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

- Conventions of Standard English- Knowledge of Language- Vocabulary Acquisition and UseWhat do our

students need to be able to do

based on these?

RE: The Common Core: Get to know the Anchor Standards. What skills/tasks do the students need to demonstrate?

Our questions:1. What are we doing well?2. What are we doing somewhat?3. Where are our gaps?

What should you do?Here’s what we’re doing:

RE: Next Generation AssessmentsLook at the samples that our out there. What

are the students being asked to do. Share them with the faculty.

Our questions:1. How do these reflect our Literacy Initiative?2. Are we prepared to teach these? 3. How do we build our instructional expertise on these types of assessments?

What should you do?Here’s what we’re doing:

Look at PARCC sample questions in ELA:

VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT!

Look at PARCC sample questions in math:

READING AND ANALYZING VISUALS!

As success grew, so did relationships

We can’t forget The Third “R”

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

Relationships

Honor Roll Assemblies – Celebrate and Laugh!

103103

104104

Class of 2012 – 90% heading to college!

College for ALL:Changing students’ beliefs:

Boxer BuddiesA lasting friendship

We have built a lasting relationship which we will forever treasure in our

hearts

And the MOST unbelievable moment for four of our Brockton Boxer Buddies

But not just ANY Pledge of Allegiance…

These are our hands

RECAP: Our 4 Steps

1. Empowering a team 2. Focusing on literacy:

Literacy for ALL – NO exceptions3. Implementing with fidelity and

according to a plan4. Monitoring, monitoring, monitoring

The Result = Changing the Culture

When all 3 R’s come together

DOES IT WORK???Listen to what the students think of our Literacy Initiative… meet Fabieny DePina on PBS Need to Know

It’s ALL about literacy

INSERT VIDEO WITH FABIENY INSERT PBS NEED TOKNOW

VIDEOhttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/uncategorized/brockton-high-proves-that-big-schools-can-be-good-schools/6959/

TEACHER LEADERSHIP

Some Schools Stand Out

Comparisons of Complacent HS and Brockton HS

Ronald F. Ferguson, PhDTripod Project for School Improvement (www.tripodproject.org) and

Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University (www.agi.harvard.edu)

http://www.tripodproject.org/

http://www.agi.harvard.edu/

“The main lesson was that student achievement rose when leadership teams focused thoughtfully and relentlessly on improving the quality of instruction.”

- Prof. Ron Ferguson, AGI Conference Report

• The Achievement Gap Initiative At Harvard UniversityToward Excellence with Equity

Conference Report by Ronald F. Ferguson, Faculty Director

Proportions of students scoring in each decile of the MCAS 8th grade ELA distribution

MCAS ELA gains 8th to 10th grade, compared to others from the same 8th grade decile

(School rank percentile/100)

116116

Our improvement over the past five years is perhaps even more impressive than the big jumps we had early on.

Wicked Awesome!

49%

14%

1.9%

3%27% 19% 9% 3%

2007

MCAS % Comparison 2007-2012English Language Arts

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

ELA A+P ELA Fail

62

74 7874

9 5 5 4 1.9

78 83.3

5

MCAS % Comparison 2007-2012Math

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Math A+P Math Fail

5460 61 64 70.3

19 16 15 14 12 8.7

51

It’s not just about the numbers!!!

JOHN & ABIGAIL ADAMS BHS SCHOLARS 2013

260 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

31% of the class!

ICLE Model School 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004

NASSP/CSSR Secondary School

Showcase 2011, 2010 AIM Gould Award 2012 (Mass. businesses) U.S. Department of Education National

High School Summit Harvard Achievement Gap Initiative 2011,

2009 National School Change Award – 2006 Massachusetts Compass School

AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS!!!

Brockton High SchoolBrockton School District

Plymouth County 470 Forest Avenue

Brockton, Massachusetts(508)580-7633

2008, 2010,2012

AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS!!!

http://www.usnews.com/

GO

Boxers!!!

September 28, 2010

Boxers in the NEW YORK

TIMES

High Expectations NO Excuses!!!

LEVEL ONE!!!

Does all this Literacy stuff work? Just listen to the students

On CBS Evening News Tonight with Russ Mitchell

(pretty cool, huh???)

Meet Nephi and Tatiana, and listen to their comments about

our Literacy focus

INSERT CBS video Russ Mitchell – Reading, ‘Riting, Reform

Here’s what we know

Making change takes tenacity, not brilliance!

(If we can do it, ANYONE can!)

21st Annual

Model Schools Conference• Effective and efficient approaches to improving student achievement in times of

declining resources and increasing expectations • Focusing on instructional excellence as the key to the Common Core State

Standards, Next Generation Assessments, and Teacher Evaluations• Instructional approaches for special populations • Identifying and overcoming common barriers to dramatic school improvement

June 30 – July 3 | Washington, D.C.www.modelschoolsconference.com

Contact Information

Dr. Susan Szachowicz Senior Fellow,

International Center for Leadership in

EducationPrincipal (retired) Brockton High

[email protected]

Michael Thomas Interim Principal

Sharon WolderAssociate Principal for

Curriculum and Instruction

Brockton High School470 Forest Ave

Brockton, MA 02301

Documents

Infusing Literacy Across the Curriculum: A Key to Raising Student Achievement Sue Szachowicz Senior Fellow, ICLE Principal Brockton High