Supporting At-Risk H.S. Students

1. Assessments that Matter: Supporting At-Risk H.S. Students Academy of Strategic Learning Boston Day and Evening Academy Champion Charter Public Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School Dr. Michael Nakkula, HGSE Project for School Innovation NOTE: Some pictures of people in the original presentation were removed For the posting to the ESE web page

2. Project for School Innovation PSI cultivates a grassroots network for public school educators to share their successes and drive school change.

3. Programming BOOKS AND VIDEOS SUPPORT FOR INNOVATIVE PRINCIPALS (SNIP) MODEL SCHOOL STUDY GROUP (MSSG) SUPPORT FOR INNOVATIVE CLASSROOMS (SNIC) PEER COACHING

4. Publications

5. Brockton Champion Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School Amesbury Academy of Strategic Learning Boston Day & Evening Academy

6. School Backgrounds

7. The Educational Pipeline is Leaking For every TEN students who start high school… SEVENwill graduate from high school on-time FOUR will go straight to college TWO will complete an AA or BA degree within six years Source: National Center for Higher Education management Systems

8. Measuring Success Devise appropriate, viable and vetted systems to prove that our schools are an academic success and can be used as models on a larger scale

9. Project Objectives • Develop Student Questionnaire that will gauge individual progress and efficacy of programs on students’ lives • Use data to help allocate resources where needed most • Collect data and analyze for broader use and impact

10. Sample Student Questionnaire • Think about the next year of your life. List any hopes, plans, or goals you have for the coming year. For this question and all that follow, please list as many answers as you can. STEP 1 List  STEP 2 Rank • I am confident I will graduate from this school. 1 2 3 4 5 • List the things someone needs to do to get into college. • List the biggest problems you faced in your life recently or are facing now. • What do you think makes a good job? • In what ways has this school been most helpful to you? • I am sure I can succeed in school, now and in the future.

11. Data - Results • - Students are highly focused on graduating from high school and moving on to some form of postsecondary education or advanced training; educational advancement beyond high school • Students view themselves as achieving most of their goals and making a good deal of progress both personally and academically • Students feel supported in their educational goals for the first time in their lives, or at least for the first time in a long time

12. Common Challenges & Strategies • Student Engagement (Culture, Curriculum, Commitment) • Teacher Hiring & Retention (Professional Development) • External Partners (District, Community, Other)

13. Action that Matters – Student Engagement (Culture, Curriculum, Commitment) Teacher Hiring & Retention (Professional Development) External Partners (District, Community, Other) • CHALLENGE • SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY • NEXT STEPS - ACTION

14. Participant Generated lists from 10/20/08 • Challenges: No Funding / High Need Motivation • Strategies: Target Students most in need / at-risk Leverage Service Learning Financial Validation for Internal Program Benefits Tie curriculum to vocational Flexible Schedule Combine Subjects / Compress Time Create “Community” Groups for 4 yrs.

15. Participant Generated lists from 10/20/08 • Next Steps: Try to integrate work experience with academics • Assessment: How do we know? What do we want to know better? - “Level” System - Global / Pathway perspective to success (whole picture from grade–to-grade) - Crime is down - When we receive gratitude within district for successfully working with students - Suspension rate is lower

16. Assessments that Matter: Supporting At-Risk H.S. Students Academy of Strategic Learning Boston Day and Evening Academy Champion Charter Public Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School Dr. Michael Nakkula, HGSE Project for School Innovation www.psinnovation.org