Getting At-Risk Students Off to a Good Start in Grade Nine

Getting At-Risk Students Off to a Good Start in Grade Nine Redesigning the Ninth-Grade Experience Reduce Failure, Improve Achievement and Increase High School Graduation Rates http://www.sreb.org/publications/2008/08V06_9th-grade_redesign.pdf Gene Bottoms Senior Vice President gene.bottoms@sreb.org

How to Identify At-Risk Students • Look for those incoming ninth-grade students who: • have poor attendance • experienced repeated disciplinary problems • did not meet standards on the eighth-grade state assessment • failed one or more courses in grade eight (or failed the entire grade) • have repeated one or more grades Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Does your school need to redesign the ninth grade? • Survey Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Why are we concerned with reducing failure rates in the ninth grade? • The failure rate in grade nine remains higher than the rate in any other grade level. • Students who are unprepared for high school and fail in the ninth grade are far less likely to graduate. • Nationally, at least 25 percent of students fail to complete high school. • Forty-five percent of dropouts reported that they entered high school unprepared for rigorous studies. • Each high school dropout costs a state between $3,000 and $5,000 per year. • After age 25, dropouts lose $10,000 each year in income. Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

What students need to be inspired to make the effort to succeed: • Goals developed through exploring career and educational options • A sense of their own value from the relationships developed with adults at their school through the teacher-adviser program • Clearly defined standards for quality work and adequate support to achieve these standards • An understanding of the relevance of curricular content and skills to their future Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Goals for a Redesigned Ninth-Grade Experience • By the end of grade nine, students should: • complete college-preparatory English and Algebra I • declare a goal beyond high school that they can visualize and commit to achieve • establish a connection with an adult who will assist and support them throughout high school • develop effective study, relationship and time management skills and other habits of success • develop an understanding that, through smart effort, they can improve their achievement Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Components of an Effective Ninth-Grade Redesign • Work with middle grades schools to orient students to high school life. • Provide a summer bridge program for students. • Establish a ninth-grade academy in which at-risk students take double periods of English and mathematics. • Enroll students in career exploratory courses. • Participate in a teacher-adviser program to help students receive extra help and set career and educational goals. Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Early Orientation and Preparation in the Middle Grades • What would an effective orientation and preparation in the middle grades look like? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Early Orientation and Preparation in the Middle Grades • Familiarize students with high school expectations. • Align the middle grades core academic curriculum, classroom assignments and assessments to high school readiness standards. • Send regular messages to and meet with parents and students. • Correct misinformation and alleviate students’ fear of high school. Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Summer Bridge Program • What are the characteristics of an effective summer bridge program? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Summer Bridge Program • Addresses specific academic deficits particularly in language arts, reading and mathematics • Assists students in acquiring coping, study, relationship and time management skills • Introduces students to the important role of high school in achieving their goals • Career exploration • Four to six weeks in length • Taught by the best 8th- and 9th-grade teachers • Uses an out-of-box approach to instruction Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

The Grady Approach • Attitudes Toward Learning (ATL) • Week-long summer program • Reviews English and math academic skills • Strengthens study skills • Provides team-building activities Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

The POLYTECH Approach • Four-week summer program • Help students meet standards for college-preparatory English and Algebra I • Integrated instructional approach • CT teachers teach math with a hands-on, real-world approach Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Ninth-Grade Academy • What makes an effective ninth-grade academy? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Ninth-Grade Academy • Small learning communities • Quality teachers • Low student-to-teacher ratio • No higher than in other grade levels • Make best teachers team leaders • Strong leadership • Common time to plan interdisciplinary activities, project and themes Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

English Catch-Up Course • What would an effective reading/English catch-up course look like? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

English Catch-Up Course • Multi-day units designed around essential standards and literacy strategies • High-interest and grade-level reading content • Opportunities to apply communication skills • Intentional teaching of the reading, writing and study strategies students can use to succeed in all classes • Use of technology and software applications Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Mathematics Catch-Up Course • What would an effective mathematics catch-up course look like? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Mathematics Catch-Up Course • Multi-day standards-based units designed around essential knowledge and skills • Opportunities to apply algebra and pre-algebra skills to solve real-world problems • Opportunities for group learning • Use of technology • Varied classroom assignments Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

The Parkview Approach • Enrolled 144 of 299 ninth-grade students in the math catch-up course in fall and Algebra I in spring. • Algebra I failure rate decreased by 25 percent • Percentage of white students above Proficient on Algebra I EOCT increased by 7 points and increased by 30 points for black students. • Achievement gap on Algebra I between white and black students decreased from 26 points to 4 points Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Career Exploratory Course • Why enroll students in a career exploratory course in grade nine? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Career Exploratory Course • What would a ninth-grade exploratory course that is designed to advance reading and mathematics achievement look like? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Career Exploratory Course • Utilizes technology • Blends rigorous academics in reading, writing, mathematics and science with career content • Requires students to apply academic learning to authentic projects typical of the career field • Develops the skills that employers desire of new employees • Provides opportunities to participate in job shadowing, tour local businesses and interview leaders in the career field Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Schedule • What would a ninth-grade schedule aimed at catching up at-risk students and getting more students to meet grade-level standards look like? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Schedule Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Guidance, Advisement and Support • Why is it important to connect each student to an adult adviser? • What would an adviser do? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Guidance, Advisement and Support • First line of defense against the disengagement that leads to dropping out • Advise 12-15 students and meet with them weekly to help them adjust to the demands of high school • Call parents when students are absent • Involve and train parents in supporting their children’s education • Ensure students’ work is meeting course standards • Connect students to extra help Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Guidance, Advisement and Support • Why is it important to adopt a grading policy in which success is the only option? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Guidance, Advisement and Support • Failure does not motivate at-risk students. • If you fail the ninth grade, your chances of finishing high school are nominal. • Passing students who do not meet standards does little to help them. Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Guidance, Advisement and Support • What conditions are necessary for a no-failure option? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Guidance, Advisement and Support • Implementation of a credit recovery program • A student who fails a course may use online or regular instruction during a study period or an elective period before or after school time or on Saturdays to pass the course. • Extra help and extra time built into the schedule • Teachers agree on what grade-level assignments and work looks like Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Guidance, Advisement and Support • Implementation of and support for a no-zero policy • Give students an “I” (incomplete) instead of a D, F or zero • Sends the message that all work is important and must be completed at a certain standard • Teachers believe that success, not failure, motivates Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Getting Started:Actions to Take Now • How do you get started in achieving greater success in grade nine with at-risk students? Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Getting Started:Actions to Take Now • Convene middle grades and high school leaders. • Develop policies and methods to track ninth-grade failure rates and student achievement. • Set target improvement goals. • Send teams of teachers to professional development. • Provide resources to modernize career/technical labs. Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Getting Started:Actions to Take Now • Establish a block schedule. • Create incentives for teachers to teach ninth-grade courses. • Encourage school and teacher leaders to visit schools implementing an effective redesign. • Urge teacher teams to meet. • Train teachers to serve as teacher-advisers. Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start

Getting At-Risk Students Off to a Good Start in Grade Nine