REINVENTING 9TH GRADE Academics Through Personalization

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REINVENTING 9TH GRADEAcademics Through
Personalization

• Dr. Gary M. Fields
• garyfieldssap_at_msn.com
• International Center for Leadership in Education

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EMPOWERMENT PROCESS from observer to owner

• Owner
• Leader
• Partner
• Participant
• Observer

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CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH PERFORMING HIGH SCHOOLS

• Focus on Student Interests and Needs Getting
  to Small
• Culture of High Expectations for ALL
• Relationships at All Levels Personalization
• Curriculum and Instruction Rigor and Relevance
• Use of data

• Leadership
• Professional Development
• 12th Grade
• 9th Grade
• _________________
• Civility Character
• Quality Support
• Unity of Purpose

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9th Grade Success

• The Foundation for High School Greatness
• Possibly the Most Critical of the Connected
  Pieces
• Not a New Issue
• Why More Critical Today?
• Why? What? How?

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KEY CONCEPTS

• Begin with the End in Mind
• Put First Things First
• Find Your Voice and Inspire Others to Find Theirs

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UNITY OF PURPOSE -CONGRUENCE

• Mission - why do we exist?
• Vision where are we headed?
• Core Values/Beliefs how will we ALL behave?
  
• Goals short-term successes

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Possible 9th Grade Mission

• With time and support, all 9th graders WILL learn
  as demonstrated by state and local assessments,
  and when they do not, we will consistently apply
  our agreed upon pyramid of academic interventions.

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BASIC 9TH GRADE MISSION

• All 9th graders willacademically graduate to
  the 10th grade

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Possible 9th Grade GoalsMeasurable

• Academically graduate ALL to 10th grade
• Attendance
• Behavioral referrals and suspensions
• Grade point average
• Extracurricular participation
• Testing success
• Personal Learning Plan for all (PLP)

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UNITY OF PURPOSE -CONGRUENCE

• Mission - why do we exist?
• Vision where are we headed?
• Core Values/Beliefs how will we ALL behave?
  
• Goals short-term successes

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Core Values/Beliefs How will we as
adults behave?

• Model what we expect from students
• Teach with passion, empathy and a sense of humor
• Daily, teach engaging lessons that are rigorous
  and relevant
• Consistently enforce all school rules and
  regulations
• Follow an agreed upon pyramid of academic
  interventions when students are not learning

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THE 4 RS Rigor, Relevance,
Relationships, Reflection

• Relationships (Personalization) possibly the
  most important.
• Children do not care how much you know until they
  know how much you care.
• Rules without relationships may lead to
  rebellion.
• Students also need to understand the relevance of
  the rules.

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Spend less time trying to be interesting and more
time being interested.

• Jim Collins
• Author of Good to Great

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PERSONALIZATION

• A learning process whereby adults serve as
  coaches/mentors to assist students to
• Develop and update a Personal Learning Plan in
  which they have ownership
• Take responsibility for their own learning
• Assess their own talents and aspirations
• Work cooperatively with others on meaningful
  tasks
• Demonstrate their learning against rigorous and
  relevant standards using a variety of media
• Frequently reflect upon their progress and
  maintain a record of experiences
• All for the purpose of preparing students for
  further education, a career and citizenship after
  high school

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Rigor/RelevanceFramework
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Knowledge Taxonomy

• 1. Awareness
• 2. Comprehension
• 3. Application
• 4. Analysis
• 5. Synthesis
• 6. Evaluation

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Application Model

• 1. Knowledge in one discipline
• 2. Application within discipline
• 3. Application across disciplines
• 4. Application to real-world predictable
  situations
• 5. Application to real-world unpredictable
  situations

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Rigor/Relevance Framework
Knowledge
Application
1
2
3
4
5
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Levels
Blooms
C D A B
6
5
4
3
2
1 2 3 4 5
1
Application
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Rigor/Relevance Framework
Teacher/Student Roles
KNOWLEDGE
D
C
Student Think
Student Think Work
B
A
Teacher Work
Student Work
A P P L I C A T I O N
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Guiding Principles
Responsibility Contemplation Initiative Perseveran
ce Optimism Courage
Respect Compassion Adaptability Honesty Trustworth
iness Loyalty
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CORE CHARACTER TRAITS/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Trust
• Respect
• Responsibility
• New Technology High School
• 24 replication sites

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Pyramid of Academic Intervention
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YOUR CHALLENGE

• To provide the leadership for your high school to
  make the extraordinary commitment to 9th grade
  success

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Do you have the will?Do you have the
passion?How do you create ownership?Do you
have a plan?What resources are needed?
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WHAT ARE WE ALL ABOUT?To prepare our high
school graduates for a quality life after high
schoolgtfurther educationgta careergtcitizenship

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EMPOWERMENT PROCESS from observer to owner

• Owner
• Leader
• Partner
• Participant
• Observer

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OWNERSHIP EMPOWERMENT
PROCESS

• ________ READY AND PASSIONATE
• ________ OBSERVERS-CAN BE
• INFLUENCED
• ________ NO WAY-WAIT IT OUT
• RENTERS OR HOMELESS

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9th Grade MantraWHATEVER IT
TAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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116 PLANNING QUESTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN
MAKING AN EXTRAORDINARY COMMITMENT TO 9TH GRADE
SUCCESS
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RUBRIC

• Absent (or not applicable to your situation)
• Initiated
• Completed (in place, in operation)
• Habit (part of how we do business)

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REINVENTING 9TH GRADEAcademics Through
Personalization

• Dr. Gary M. Fields
• garyfieldssap_at_msn.com
• International Center for Leadership in Education

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MODELS

• Caprock High School Amarillo, Texas
• Becky Harrison, Principal
• Boca Ciega High School, Pinellas County,
• Florida
• John Leanes, Principal
• Stuart High School, Falls Church, Virginia
• Dr. Mel Riddile, Principal