Small Schools Project

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Small Schools Project
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The Process Begins

• In 2003, Superintendent Paul Vallas announced
  that West and Kensington High Schools would get
  new buildings.
• Students from the Philadelphia Student Union
  (PSU) and Youth United for Change (YUC) decided
  to use this opportunity to dramatically improve
  their schools education.

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Failed Academic Achievement

• Comprehensive High Schools are failing. Less
  than 50 of 9th graders graduate four years
  later.
• 2007 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment
  (PSSA) scores
• 11.8 of West students were proficient in
  reading,
• 6.1 in math.
• 21.7 of Kensington CAPA students were
  proficient in
• reading, 8.4 in math.
• Only 41 of West 9th graders who started in 2003
  graduated on time.
• At Kensington CAPA has a graduation rate of 65.

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PSU students hold press conference to address
concerns at West.
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Students Research Affective High Schools

• They visit schools in New York, Chicago,
  Oakland, and Providence.

YUC students with Sen. Shirley Kitchen visiting
South Bronx High School
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Urban Academy in New York
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The Met in Providence
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Students Engage the Community in Designing the
School

• Students learn about Concordia, a group that
  specializes in community engagement in school
  design.

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Concordia Facilitated a Seven Month Community
Engagement Process

• More than 150 students, parents, teachers, and
  community members participated.
• Recommendations were created for the school site,
  physical design, and educational program.
• Sustainability Circles were to help ensure that
  recommendations became realities.

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Recommendations
Community Plan March, 2006
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Recommendation 1 Create Small Schools

• Divide the school into four small schools on a
  shared campus or in a shared building.
• These schools remain as neighborhood schools and
  serve the same student population.

1 shared building or campus with 4 small schools
with 300 students each
Big school with 1200 students
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Why Small Schools?

• Small schools create a community atmosphere
  where staff know every student and no student
  slips through the cracks.

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Why Small Schools?

• According to the US Dept. of Education small
  schools are safer and saner than large schools.

Large School vs. Small
School (1000 or more students)
(400 or fewer students) Violent Crime
vs. Physical Fights Attacks
vs. Weapons
vs. Incidents
825
394
1000
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Why Small Schools?

• In New York City

Graduation Rates 20 higher in small schools

• Nationwide

Academic Achievement among low-income
students and students of color improved.
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In 2002, South Bronx High School was split into 3
Small Schools.
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South Bronx
/ 0)1 2 2 0
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South Bronx High School
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Recommendation 2 Create Shared Educational
Vision and Plan

• Small schools alone will not improve education.
  They need a shared educational vision and plan.
• Hire principals a year early for planning.
• During planning year, the principal should lead a
  team of teachers, parents, and students to create
  schools vision, curriculum, schedule, budget,
  and staffing plan.

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Recommendation 3 Create a Rigorous and
Engaging Curriculum

• Low expectations are a primary reason for student
  failure.
• Students need a learning process that is
  challenging, engaging, and relevant and will
  prepare them for college and work.
• Students need a curriculum that is rigorous and
  engaging with project-based learning and
  internships.

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Recommendation 4Involve Parents and Community

• Students, parents, and community members need
  voice in school decisions.
• Create a site council with students, parents,
  teachers, and community members to hire
  principals, approve budgets, and monitor the
  school.
• Train parents to advocate for their children.

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Recommendation 5Give Schools Flexibility over
Curriculum, Staffing, and Budget

• Schools should have flexibility to
• create relevant and engaging curricula.
• hire staff that are dedicated to their mission
  and students.
• control their own budgets.

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Recommendation 6Create Community Centered
Schools

• The school should
• be open after hours for recreational and
  educational programs.
• take advantage of community resources.
• create organizing projects for students that
  address community concerns.

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Arent Small Learning Communities as Good as
Small Schools?

• Creating small schools requires redesign from the
  ground up including redefining school culture
  and engaging the greater school community in
  creating a school vision. Breaking schools into
  SLCs does not involve this kind of fundamental
  redesign.
• Small schools can control their own budget,
  staffing, schedule, and curriculum. SLCs do not
  have control over these elements severely
  limiting their ability to create an effective
  instructional team.
• A multi year study of the US Department of
  Education found there were no significant trends
  in academic achievement, as measured by either
  scores on statewide assessments or college
  entrance exams.

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Dont Small Schools Cost Too Much?

• Small schools do not have to cost more. Research
  shows that when small schools are given budget
  flexibility, their costs can be equal to or less
  than large schools.
• One study of 25 highly effective small schools
  found that 20 spent an average of 17 less than
  other schools in their districts while
  outperforming them academically in a variety of
  ways.
• Research shows that small schools with higher per
  pupil costs actually cost less per graduate
  because of their higher graduation rates.
• Creating three small schools on a shared campus
  provides some of the economies of scale of a big
  school.

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West Status

• West recently opened academies with 4 recommended
  themes and received a grant to support the
  development of the academies.
• We are working with District leaders to have the
  academies become small schools when the new
  building opens in 2011.

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Kensington Status

• Kensington was split into small schools in 2005,
  but no educational planning was done before the
  schools were split.
• We are working to provide educational planning
  now.
• We are working to ensure that a fourth school
  focused on social justice opens when Kensington
  CAPA moves into its new school.

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Small Schools Policy

• We are also working with School District staff
  to create a policy to pilot West, Kensington and
  Olney for community driven conversion of high
  schools.
• The policy would ensure that the schools have
  educational planning and flexibility over their
  staffing, budget, and curriculum.