Transcript Slide 1

Introduce myself and ASEI. Where it came from?
SK:
What
it says?
What some of the implications are for school and district leaders? test
Abbott Secondary
Education Initiative
Education Law Center
Information/Discussion Session
December 13, 2005
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Abbott Secondary Initiative
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Grew out of Abbott X decision, June 03
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Court-ordered review of reform plans for
Middle/High Schools
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ELC/NJ DOE formed workgroup to develop
recommendations
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Abbott Secondary Education Initiative is result
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Secondary issues
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Graduation rates
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Achievement gaps
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College preparation & readiness
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Previous implementation efforts
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Graduation rates
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NJ has the highest HS graduation
rate in the nation
NJ has one of the highest graduation
rates for students of color
But this success is not evenly distributed
across NJ communities
Source: Center for Education Policy, Harvard Civil Rights Project
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Abbott Graduation rates
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Abbott graduation rates are about 50%. Over
90% elsewhere in NJ.
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40-50% of Abbott grads now use SRA.
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In 2002, 9500 students graduated by SRA.
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NJ to phase out SRA over 4-6 yrs.
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Graduation rates
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Urgency of issue for districts, state,
communities, economy, NCLB, etc.
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Graduation rates vs. test scores as focus of
school improvement
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Raises broader issues
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Requires more fundamental changes
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Achievement gaps
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About 70% of Abbott students
pass HSPA in LA, 45% in Math
NJ averages are about 90% LA, 80% Math
38% of whites over 25 have college degree.
21% Blacks, 16% Hispanics.
20% gap between college graduation rates of
Black/Hispanic students and whites/Asians.
Source: ELC Indicators Reports, NJ Commission on Higher Education
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Recent secondary
reform efforts in NJ
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Standards and tests
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WSR developers
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Increased “rigor” (eg. American diploma
project)
Abbott Secondary Education Initiative
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Before getting into specifics of ASEI, wanted to mentioned the national context which also played a significant role in shaping
workgroup’s discussions and continues to do so as implementation phase begins.
National Context
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Increasing national focus on HS reform
Professional and Policy reports
(“Breaking Ranks II,” Gov. HS Summit,
Gates Foundation & others)
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NCLB mandates and sanctions
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Opportunity and challenge for NJ
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The growing consensus on “best practices” in secondary reform really has two basic sides. Higher academic expectations and
demands and a set of reforms to bridge the gap between these expectations and the level of preparation of students entering high
school. Lots of complicated issues, but acknowledgement of these two related areas is the basis some common ground between
those promoting higher standards and more rigorous tests, and those who see personalization and small as shorthands for the
supports needed to bridge gap between where students were and where they were expected to go.
National Consensus on HS reform
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Increased academic “rigor”
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Higher standards, harder, high-stakes tests
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College level work for all students
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Smaller, personalized school environments
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More professional collaboration (eg. teams,
planning time, prof. dev.)
Choice, curriculum themes, and inclusion
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National Overview
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Approx. 17,300 high schools in the US.
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70% of HS students attend schools with over
1,000 students. Nearly 50 percent attend
schools with over 1,500 students.
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In a typical high-poverty, urban US school,
about half of incoming ninth-graders read
at a sixth- or seventh-grade level.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
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National context
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Hispanic and Black students are more
likely than white students to attend
 large schools
 schools with higher student-teacher
ratios
 Schools w/high concentrations of
poverty
Source: Pew Hispanic Center Report
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Growing research base of support for small school success. Like money, small
size is being established as a necessary, if insufficient, element of secondary
reform.
Claims for Small Schools
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Students in smaller schools:
 post higher test scores
 pass more courses and accumulate credits
 graduate and go on to higher levels of
education
Small schools help close achievement gaps
between students in different socioeconomic
and ethnic groups.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
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Claims for Small Schools
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Students in smaller schools have better
attendance and lower dropout rates
In NYC, dropout rates for schools under 600
students are half those for schools over 2,000
In Chicago, small schools have dropout rates
one-third lower than big schools.
Smaller schools have lower rates of violence
and vandalism & more positive school climate.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
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Reasons for small
school success
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More personalized, supportive
environment for students
More collaborative, team-based
environment for staff
More school-based control over major
decisions about resources, staffing, and
use of time
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Concerns about small schools
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Selectivity of student population
Need to include more students & staff
Facilities and resource issues
Ability to sustain sports programs,
extra-curricular activities, diversity of
course choices, etc.
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District review of all courses with teacher participation by 2008 to define content
and level of courses that carry graduation credit.
Abbott Secondary
Education Initiative
Major elements….
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Small, personalized learning
environments for all students, 6-12
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Improved instruction for college/careers
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Family advocacy system
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ASEI requires SLCs
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SLCs for all Abbott HS/MS students by fall
2008 (HS/300, MS/250)
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Teacher teams with 2-3 hours of common
planning time per week. Stay with students
over multiple years.
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Curriculum themes. Choice for staff/students.
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ASEI supports
improved instruction
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Access to college prep for all
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Curriculum aligned with NJ standards
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Review of content in required courses
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Professional development to support
curriculum innovation and improved
classroom practice
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Major change in some places. In elementary schools, everyone gets a reading
group. In high schools every gets an advisory group. But also supports and time
must be in place. In best settings, this becomes a freshman transition elective for
9th graders, a kind of combined academic tutorial, supervised study, support
group and Homeroom. Many schools have in form, without content.
ASEI requires family advocacy
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Each student/family will be matched with a
professional staff member in groups of 15-20
students/families per staff member
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Advocates meet with assigned students weekly
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Meet face-to-face with each family at least twice/yr.
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Advocates receive professional support for this role,
including training in multicultural perspectives.
Advocates assist in the preparation of an academic
plan for each student
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ASEI requires
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Equitable distribution of student academic
profiles and demographic characteristics
across SLCs. (no tracking)
Equitable distribution of staff experience and
demographic characteristics across SLCs
Facilities planning to support SLCs
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Secondary Regulations
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“Small organizational structures may include
small learning communities and/or small schools
in free standing facilities or within larger
facilities….
“Placement of teachers and students shall result
in an equitable distribution of student academic
achievement profiles, demographic
characteristics and teacher experience,
qualifications and racial/ethnic diversity…”
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Nothing about this is easy. But the reasons for attempting it are inescapable. Too many kids are not graduating. Too many
others are graduating without the skills they need to succeed. We are losing too many of our kids to the streets, the
unemployment lines, and the prisons. These problems won’t go away with business as usual. Abbott is the best schooling
funding decision in the country for poor urban schools and if we don’t do a better job of implementing it, we will lose it.
And if we lose it, it will be a disaster for our kids, our public schools, our communities and our state.
ASEI challenge
But there’s a best case too. And that’s that the failure of existing practices to deliver the goods has to some exhausted the
traditional bureuacracy that runs the schools and opened up space for change. And while some want to fill that space with
vouchers and privatization, we also have a chance to fill it with our own visions of excellence and equity in public
education. We can use Abbott to create the kind of schools we want to work in and send our own children to. Ultimately, if
the secondary initiative is going to succeed, that’s what it will need to be about.
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Implement secondary initiative or
“demonstrate that the goals are being
achieved by alternative means.”
“I don't think there is a comprehensive city
high school that works right now in New
Jersey."
Gordon MacInnes, assist. com. of ed.
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ASEI team. Sept. 30 rollout
ASEI Implementation Timeline
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Spring, 2005: ‘Phase I’ Districts selected
Jersey City, Orange, Elizabeth, Bridgeton
Fall. 2005: All districts form planning cmtes.
2005-2008: NJ DOE provides professional
development to all districts. National
consultants/ASEI team.
Fall 2008, all Abbott High Schools/Middle
Schools implement initiative
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Implementation efforts so far
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Technical assistance providers
NJ ASEI team and training
Advisory Board
Status of phase one districts
Academic ‘rigor’ districts
Network mtgs. for all Abbotts
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Supplemental efforts
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Community Foundation of NJ support for
youth research/engagement projects
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Site visits to model schools
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ELC efforts
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Need for networking/ across districts and
constituencies
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Current implementation issues
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Status of planning committees
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Support for budget & facilities planning
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Need for rollout/constituency building
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Building technical assistance capacity
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Equity concerns
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Need for more coherence and higher profile
around secondary reform statewide.
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Issues for discussion
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Questions and concerns?
Who has a stake in seeing the reform
succeed?
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How do we reach/mobilize those groups?
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Connections to make? Audiences to reach?
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How to raise the political profile?
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Resources
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Education Law Center
www.edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815
[email protected]
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Resources
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Abbott Secondary Education Initiative
http://www.state.nj.us/njded/abbotts/sei/
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Dr. Penelope Lattimore, Chief of Staff & Director of
the Secondary Education Initiatives
Phone: (609) 292-7451 Fax: (609) 292-4333
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Dr. Sandra G. Strothers
Assistant Director, Secondary Education Initiatives
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Resources
Technical Assistance Providers
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First Things First/IRRE
http://www.irre.org/ftf/
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High Schools That Work
http://www.sreb.org/programs/hstw/hstwindex.asp
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Resources
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