Transforming Schools for Bright Futures

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Transforming Schools for Bright Futures

• Lessons Learned from Two Communities Work to
  Save Kids by Transforming Their High Schools
• Al Rogers, Ed. D., Great Schools Workshop
• November, 2006
• Kent County Councils Secondary Headteachers
  Conference

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Optimists CreedI promise to be so strong that
nothing can disturb my peace of mind.I promise
to speak about health, happiness and prosperity
to every person I meet.I promise to make all my
friends feel that there is something special
within them.I promise to look at the sunny side
of everything and make my optimism come true.I
promise to think only of the best, to work only
for the best and expect only the best.I promise
to be just as enthusiastic about the success of
others as I am about my own.I promise to forget
the mistakes of the past and press on to the
greater achievements of the future.I promise to
wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give
every living creature I meet a smile.I promise
to give so much time to the improvement of myself
that I have no time to criticize others.I
promise to be too large for worry, too noble for
anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to
permit the presence of trouble. Adapted from
Optimist InternationalAnd Father Keith B. Kinney
ElementarySacramento, CA
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A note about perspective

• Al Rogers
• Sacramento City Schools
• Californias Junior College and State College
  System
• University of the Pacific
• Teacher
• Principal
• Central Office
• Superintendent
• Great Schools Workshop

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Big Questions

• What must our students know and be able to do?
• What kinds of schools do we need?
• What do we have today? Whats working? What must
  change?
• Whats the best way to achieve and sustain the
  changes we need?

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Big Picture

• Americas historical dialog What should kids
  know and be able to do?
• Latin Grammar School (1635 - 1780)
• Academy Movement (1751 - 1875)
• Public High School (1821 - 1890)
• Comprehensive Public High School (1891 - Present
  day)

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Economics, My Teacher, and Me

• Each of the major shifts in education have always
  accompanied major shifts in socio-economic
  dynamics in the nation if not the world- this
  explains a lot of the drama

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Urban Education in Sacramento

• 1999 - Urban Setting Ethnic and Socioeconomic
  Diversity
• 5 comprehensive high schools ranging from 1500
  3000 students
• 13,000 students system-wide 600 teachers
• 27 Asian, 23 Caucasian, 24 Hispanic, 21
  African American
• 23 English Language Learners

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A Crisis in Our Own Backyard

• Crisis
• Less than 1/3 able to attend college
• Majority are not proficient in English language
  arts and math
• Average 9th grader in the District obtained more
  than three Ds and Fs during the first two
  semesters of high school
• Poor attendance and violence was common

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The Road to Change Starts witha Communitys
Vision

• Blue Ribbon Committee (1999 2000)
• 2000 Report
• Carnegie Corporation of New York Planning Grant
• Making the Case for Change
• Community Engagement

• Common Vision
• Graduate ready for work, university-level study,
  and citizenship

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Roadmap to Transformation

• Reform research and best practices
• New York Julia Richman Education Complex
• Boston Pilot Schools
• Philadelphia Superintendent David Hornbeck
• New York Chicago Small Schools

• Small learning environments, big results
• Engine of our transformation
• Relevance in a small setting
• Higher attendance
• Fewer discipline problems
• Increased GPA
• Less likely to drop out

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Partners in the Work Part of the Transformation

• Partners in the fight
• Linking Education and Economic Development (LEED)
• Carnegie Corporation of NY
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Facilities Bond
• Federal SLC Grants
• Charter School Planning and Implementation Grants

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Portfolio of Opportunity

• Equity and Excellence
• One vision
• Schools have to adapt to the unique needs of the
  communities served

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E-21 Students First

• 7 Essential Principles
• Small, caring and personalized learning
  communities
• Student-centered system
• Student pathways to the work of career, college,
  and citizenship
• Rigorous, relevant, student-driven teaching and
  learning
• Culture of continuous learning
• Collective responsibility
• School-home-community alliances

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Two Paths to Big Success

• Small Learning Communities (SLCs)
• 6 Comprehensive high schools
• 36 Themed SLCs
• Small Schools
• 5 free-standing, small, charter high schools
• 1 free-standing, small high school (non-charter)
• 2 alternative, small high schools (non-charter)
• 5 small schools-within-a-school (independent
  charter)

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Structures of Change

• Operations Team
• School Design Team
• Community Based Organization/Advocacy
• Principals Learning Network
• Small Schools Network
• Teacher Leaders Network
• Instructional Cadre
• Youth Congress
• Parent/Community Liaison

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Major Lessons Learned in Sacramento

• Process
• Start with the vision for a high school graduate
  that everyone must own make the case for change
• No incremental change
• Cannot live in two worlds
• Transformation, not Reform
• Everyone has to own this

• On-going community engagement
• Over-communicate if possible remind people of
  the ends sought refer to the map as you traverse
  the chasm of fear.

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Results in Stockton SUSDs Strategic Approach
for Sustainable Results

• There are at least three strategies to permanent
  transformation
• Small Learning Communities
• Professional Development Teacher Competencies
• Community Support Network
• Alignment with existing transformative
  initiatives
• Adoption of proven models as part of the
  portfolio
• New high schools new results beginning
  September, 2007

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Results in Stockton Initial Steps

• Alignment
• Why Change?
• What is our vision of a High School graduate?
• (What should a graduate of SUSD know and be able
  to do?)

• Shared ownership amongst stakeholders
  Feasibility Studies
• Students
• Teachers
• Parents
• Administrators
• Community

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Results in Stockton Organize for Success

• Stakeholder groups have organized into structures
  that allow for coordinated responses to these
  dilemmas and to literally create and disseminate
  new learning about how to more effectively
  support SUSD high school student achievement.
• Design Team
• Strategic Implementation Teams
• Teacher Leaders Network
• Youth Congress
• Advisory Team
• Communications
• Others

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Results in Stockton Collective Inquiry,
Learning, Planning, and Action

• Inquiry, learn, plan, act
• Teaching and Learning
• Staffing
• Facilities
• Scheduling
• Governance
• Budget
• Relationships/Personalization

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Results in Stockton SUSD has been busy

• Three 2-day study tours with innovative high
  schools in Sacramento
• Two Site discussion and learning forums
• Six District Design Team sessions
• Five School Design Team sessions
• Four Executive Operation Team sessions
• Eleven Focus group interviews
• Eight Youth Congress/Site Senate sessions
• One Parent/Community meeting
• 1 Community Based Organization presentation

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Results in Stockton Learning is about asking
questions and making connections

• 394 teacher contacts
• 44 administrator contacts
• 173 student contacts
• 11 parents
• 18 central office staff or administrators
• 85 parent/community members

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Making the case for change (some of whats been
learned)

• Adults have low opinions and belief systems about
  their students.
• Adults have developed complacency in the face of
  profound student needs.
• Adults are disconnected from the students they
  serve.
• Teachers distrust central office practices and
  belief systems.

• Students perceive small, specialized district
  programs as being far better than the regular
  programs.
• Adults blame students culture and home
  environment for failures at school rather than
  utilizing culture-based practices as resources
  for success.
• There is a marked absence of community voice and
  presence in the high schools

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Key Design Components of a SUSD Small Learning
Community (SLC) for Grades 7 - 12

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How can SUSD High Schools be structured?
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How SUSD High Schools Can Work

• 300 - 400 students per SLC
• 8 courses per student per year 32 for high
  school
• 4 courses at a time
• ILP A-G

• 1001 student to teacher ratio
• Common Planning Time
• Common Preparatory Time
• Teacher Leaders Admin Resources Functional SLC

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What must we know and be able to do? (3 Rs 3 Cs)

• Rigor
• Relevance
• Relationships

• Culture
• Conditions
• Competencies

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Stocktons learning while moving forward
Competencies, Leadership, and Structures for
Results

• Teacher Training Institutes Core Instructional
  Competencies
• Leadership Performance Coaching
• Learning Networks
• BOE and Cabinet Leadership Development

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Competencies, Leadership, and Structures for
Results

• Teacher Training Institutes Core Instructional
  Competencies
• Instructional Planning
• Pre-Teaching
• Teaching
• Assessment
• Re-Teaching

• Repertoire of Instructional Skills
• Professional Teacher Collaboration for Enhanced
  Instructional Practice and Student Learning

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Consistent Challenges for both Communities

• Common vision collective ownership
• CBAs
• District office practices
• Funding for learning
• Communication
• Structure versus instruction
• Gap in results we need and skills we possess

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Big Ideas, Expanded Questions and Conversation

• What are kids supposed to know and be able to do?
• How will we assess whether theyve learned as we
  planned?
• What will we do when they dont learn as we
  expected?

• The World is Flat
• Lifetime Employability
• 21st Century Learning
• 21st Century Leadership
• 21st Century Democracy

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Unanswered Questions and Elephants in the room

• Reform or Hospice?
• Which comes first, the structures or the
  instruction?
• What should students know and be able to do? Who
  decides?

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Promising Pathways

• In addition to
• Mobilizing the surrounding community for change
• creating small, caring learning environments for
  students

• Focus and invest in the teachers.
• content mastery
• repertoire of instructional skills
• core curriculum competencies
• train and support teacher-teams capacities for
  professional collaboration and study of
  instruction
• Continually re-build the schools structure
  around the teachers learning and evolving
  practice.

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Good Resources

• Ayers, W., Klonsky, M., Lyon, G. (Eds.).
  (2000). A simple justice The challenge of small
  schools. New York Teachers College Press.
• Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). The right to learn A
  blueprint for creating schools that work. San
  Francisco Jossey-Bass.

• Raywid, M. A., Schmerler, G. (2003). Not so
  easy going The policy environments of small
  urban schools and schools-with-schools
• Schorr, J. (2002). Hard lessons The promise of
  an inner city charter school. New York
  Ballantine Books.

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Additional Resources

• Small Schools Workshop http//www.smallschoolswor
  kshop.com
• Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
  http//www.nwrel.org/index.html
• Bob Pearlman http//www.bobpearlman.org/
• Fagbayi, Mutiu Performance Fact [phone]

• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  http//www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/
• Stanford Universitys School Redesign Network
  http//schoolredesign.net/srn/index.php

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Questions?

• Contact Al Rogers at the Great Schools Workshop
• 1521 Corporate Way, Suite 200
• Sacramento, CA 95831
• [phone] (office)
• arogers_at_greatschoolsworkshop.com
• www.greatschoolsworkshop.com