Size Does Matter andSmall IS Beautiful!

Presentation by: Kathleen A. Mullin, Director

Boston Public SchoolsOffice of High School Renewal

Fact:

American high schools operate in much the same way today as they did 50 years ago, leaving most of today's young people without the academic preparation they need to be successful in college, work and their communities.

Making the Case for Small Schools – The Facts The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to improving people's lives by sharing advances in health and learning with the global community.

The Education Pipeline Is Broken

For every ten students who start high school…

Seven will get a diploma (+1 will obtain a GED) Five will enroll in a postsecondary institution Fewer than three will complete a Bachelor’s degree within ten years

Gaps In Attainment Are Caused By Gaps In Attainment Are Caused By Failures at Critical PointsFailures at Critical Points

“If we asked all 8th graders to count off 1,2,3, it would illustrate that:

• 1/3 will drop out, • 1/3 will muddle through, • 1/3 will be ready for college, work and citizenship” -Art Jarvis, Superintendent, Enumclaw, WA

Why We Focus on High School

High schools are the least effective, most ignored, and hardest to improve

Toward Success at Scale (6.30.2003)Remarks by Tom Vander Ark, Executive Director, Education

Currently in large high schools:

• Nearly one in five seniors cannot identify the main idea in what they have read.

• Nearly two in five seniors haven't mastered the usage of fractions, percents and averages.

• American high school student achievement ranks in the lower half of the developed countries.

• American ninth graders study math taught to seventh graders abroad.

• Nearly half of high school graduates who go on to college require remedial courses.

Making the Case for Small Schools – The Facts The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to improving people's lives by sharing advances in health and learning with the global community.

The reasons why

• Anonymity

• Incoherence• Isolation• Low expectations• Intractable

Making the Case for Small Schools – The Facts The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to improving people's lives by sharing advances in health and learning with the global community.

Why Small? Tom VanderArk

• Decades of research have shown that high schools with fewer than 400 students (no more than 100 per grade level) provide the most benefits to students. – higher student attendance, motivation, graduation

rates, and college attendance; improved school climate and safety; greater parent and community involvement; and higher staff satisfaction.

• Small schools can operate effectively on the same per pupil allocation as large schools.

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/TransformingHighSchools/RelatedInfo/MakingCaseForSmallSchools.htm

Schools that help all students achieve exhibit a common set of characteristics:

• Staff and students are focused on a few important goals.

• Staff has high expectations for all students and a shared vision of good teaching.

• Staff has time to collaborate to improve instruction and meet shared challenges.

• Instruction and promotion are based on demonstrated learning.

• Every student has an advocate at school. • The school environment promotes respect and

responsibility. • Technology is used as an effective teaching and

learning tool.

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/TransformingHighSchools/RelatedInfo/MakingCaseForSmallSchools.htm

Great high schools come in many shapes and sizes.• Three common elements:

– expect every student to graduate ready for college or a family-wage job;

– engage all students in challenging coursework that is relevant to their lives and aspirations; and

– are likely to be small – educating no more than 100 students per grade so that they get personal attention in a safe, respectful environment.

• Three general categories: – traditional– theme-based– student-centered

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/TransformingHighSchools/ModelSchools/default.htm

Students in small schools

• feel less alienated and tend to be more actively engaged in school activities.

• are far less likely to experience physical danger, loss of property and the demoralizing effects of vandalism.

• had higher graduation rates and lower dropout rates than their peers in larger schools. (New York)

• had dropout rates one-third lower than students attending big schools. (Chicago)

Making the Case for Small Schools – The Facts The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to improving people's lives by sharing advances in health and learning with the global community.

Features of Promising Schools:RRigor, RRelevance, and RRelationships

• High standards and expectations

• A culture of personalization

• Small learning communities

• Evidence-based practices

• Strong community relationships and learning opportunities

Successful Small School

Smallness

AutonomyUnifyingVision

Three Conditions for Successful Small SchoolsNew England Small Schools Network

Important Conclusions About Small Schools• “Academic achievement in small schools is at least equal –

and often superior – to that of large schools…”

• Grouping instructional strategies associated with higher student performance are more often implemented in small schools…”

• Student attitudes are often more positive in small schools

• Small schools have a higher rate of parental involvement.

• Teacher attitudes toward their work and their administrators are more positive.

• Small schools are effective in combating the effects of poverty on student achievement and in narrowing the achievement gap.

Cotton, Kathleen. School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance. Portland, OR: NREL, 1997. 5Ibid

What 16-24 Yr Olds Want & Need from a Learning Environment

“Get to know me, I’m not what you think.”

“. . . Here they hook you up with what you’re interested in. I now know there are people out there doing things they want to do. I can do what I care about.”

What 16-24 Yr Olds Want & Need from a Learning Environment

“College was like a dream for me, now it’s a goal. A dream is something you usually can’t get. A goal is just a hop, skip and a jump away.”

What 16-24 Yr Olds Want & Need from a Learning Environment

“I work harder here because they hold me to a higher standard. But if I’m having a hard time, they try to find out why and help me figure it out.”

“Not only do we do academic and written work, but we have hands-on experiences in our field.”

Strengths/Accomplishments• More attention to low achievement and

achievement gaps in high school• Existence proofs of schools that help kids beat

the odds• New learning options for young people• Increasing teacher focus on reading/writing

across the curriculum• Conversion of large, unsafe high schools into

educational “multiplexes” of small schools

ChallengesChallenges

What Challenges Do You Envision?

• Structural

• Human Resource

• Political

• Symbolic

Structural Challenges• Schools going through transformation need substantial technical

assistance to build capacity. (Leadership, Middle Management, classroom )

• Identifying and developing interventions for over-age and other youth at risk of not graduating

• Existing BPS Policies• Facilities• Redesign of Central Support

• Customizing to meet student needs without tracking

• Building capacity at school and district level for continuous improvement• Getting balance of autonomy and accountability right• Sustaining innovation based on soft $$

Human Resource Challenges

• Continuing the scale-up of teaching and learning for all students

• Changes in workforce– Recruit highly qualified administrators and staff– Address the impact of retirements on staffing

• Design new and unique job descriptions to better match the goals of small schools and SLCs

Symbolic Challenges• Unions as partners

• Community engagement around new conceptualization of school

• Student voices are important

• Create new understanding that small schools and SLCs are not punitive measures.

• The stakeholders need to own the process for it to be successful. (Students, teachers, parents, community)

Political Challenges

• Union Contract• Building community support and demand for

high school renewal• Engaging more students in the reform effort• Aligning central office support and resources• Community and Family Engagement

• Simultaneous and complementary reform at school and district levels

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from the old ones.”

John Maynard Kynes