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Delve into successful schools shaping students for citizenship and higher education, irrespective of demographics. Explore key traits and insights from University Park Campus School, Granger High, Imperial High, and Elmont Memorial. Discover how small schools foster connection and quality instruction for all students. Learn about the transformational practices driving student achievement. For more revelations, explore educational publications available at Harvard Education Press and Amazon.
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“What can big districts learn from small schools?” Karin Chenoweth Education Writers Association seminar November 8, 2009
My working definition: A school that helps all its students learn what they need to graduate from high school ready for citizenship and credit-bearing college courses or high-quality employment.
Quite a few high schools appear to be successful by that definition • But they tend to be quite affluent and mostly white and Asian. It is hard to know what value those schools are adding past what the students bring with them. • Which is why I think it is most interesting to look at schools that succeed at that goal with student populations that are usually considered “challenging.”
University Park Campus SchoolWorcester, Massachusetts230 Students, grades 7-12 • African American 12% • Latino 35% • Asian 19% • White 34% • Low Income 70%
Grade 10 English Language ArtsMassachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Source: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/
Grade 10 English Language ArtsMassachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Source: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/
Grade 10 MathMassachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Source: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/
Granger HighGranger, Washington324 students, Grades 9-12 Latino 83% American Indian 7% White 10% Low Income 83% Source: Washington State Report Card
Graduation Rates Before 2001: “Less than 50 percent” --according to former principal, Richard Esparza (data not reported by state) 2008: “90 percent” --according to former principal, Richard Esparza (data not yet reported by state, but 2007 was reported as 88%)
Source: Washington State Report Card. Broken line indicates when new cut score was put in place.
Imperial High SchoolImperial, CaliforniaAbout 800 students, Grades 9-12 Latino 70% White 27% Low Income 31%
Graduation at Imperial • Graduation rate 98.7 • County graduation rate 86.8 • State graduation 80.2
Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior HighElmont, New York1,945 Students in grades 7-12 African American 77% Low-Income 27% New York Department of Education
Elmont Graduation Rates, 2007 New York Department of Education
Source: New York State Education Department. New York State Report Card: http://emsc.nysed.gov/irts/reportcard/
Source: New York State Education Department. New York State Report Card: http://emsc.nysed.gov/irts/reportcard/
Improvement and High Performance at Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High New York Department of Education
First and foremost, the educators in these buildings believe that all their students can meet meaningful standards, and they act on that belief.
Richard Esparza, principal,Granger High School, Granger, Washington
In other words, in these schools, the educators believe that all students must learn and it is up to the adults in schools to figure out how to teach them.
That has implications for every decision made by school leaders: • Which classes are offered and taught • How classes are scheduled • How schools ensure that every student feels known and cared about • Who is hired to teach • Who is assigned to teach which classes • How teachers are supervised
Almost all of it has to do with improving instruction—and that includes ensuring that all students feel known and cared about. That sense of connection is what small schools are supposed to be better at providing, but Elmont does a great job at it despite its size.
So when you are reporting on the latest fad of school organization or school policy, I would urge you to: Focus on whether it has anything to do with improving instruction. If it doesn’t, it is probably a waste of time.
To read more about University Park Campus School, Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School, and Granger High School (Shameless plug alert), buy It’s Being Done at: Harvard Education Press (www.hepg.org) or at Amazon.com
To read more about Imperial High School (ANOTHER shameless plug), Buy HOW It’s Being Done at: Harvard Education Press (www.hepg.org) or at Amazon.com
Students in Grades 6 through 12 support higher standards (even if it means summer school) Note: students were in grades 6 to 12 Public Agenda, Reality Check 2006: Issue No. 2: How Black and Hispanic Families Rate Their Schools Percentage of students who think it is a good idea for school districts to require students to meet higher academic standards or go to summer school to catch up
But teachers don’t agree. In a recent survey, • When read the statement, “We should expect all students to meet high academic standards and provide extra support to struggling students to help them meet those standards,” ONLY 32 percent of teachers agreed. • When read the statement, “We should have a separate track to allow students who are not college bound to get a diploma without meeting standards,” 59 percent of the teachers agreed. • On the Front Lines of Schools: Perspectives of Teachers and Principals on the High School Dropout Problem, Civic Enterprises, p. 22. 2009.
Which may explain how a colleague of mine recently saw this assignment in a Michigan high school: Supply and Demand Project Stundents will create a writing project using the following formats: Pen Pal letter, short story, play, poem, e-mail, song/rap, phone conversation, etc… Students must show an understaning of the economic terms for unit 2 by using an actual product (good or service) to explain the terms. In the story the following terms must be used: Supply Demand Law of supply Law of demand Shortage Surplus Profit Equalibrium price
So principals must look for that 32 percent of teachers who think that students can meet standards if given support and are willing to provide that support. Elmont calls this looking for the “Elmont Heart.”
“Content knowledge is most important. If the person doesn’t know the material, the kids know that.”—Lisa Tabarez, principal, Imperial High School, Imperial California California State Department of Education.
Many core classes, particularly in high-poverty and high-minority secondary schools, are taught by out-of-field teachers High Poverty Low Poverty High Minority Low Minority Note: Data are for secondary-level core academic classes (Math, Science, Social Studies, English) across United States. High-poverty ≥75% of students eligible for free/reduced price lunch. Low-poverty school ≤15% of students eligible. High-minority ≥ 75% students non-white. Low-minority ≤ 10% students non-white. The Education Trust, Core Problems: Out-of-Field Teaching Persists in Key Academic Courses and High-Poverty Schools, (2008)
And in many schools, teachers are simply expected to know what to do rather than helped to become better.