The Central Educational Center Newnan, GA

1
The Central Educational Center(Newnan, GA)

• 2004 Model Schools Conference
• Anthony Chow
• Florida State University
• School of Information Studies
• Department of Instructional Systems

2
The Challenge Fact or Fiction?

• The Eden Conspiracy
• A community wide partnership conspiring to
  educate students for accomplished citizenship
• Joes Challenge research this school based his
  vision
• Will his validated performance model work in
  public setting?
• We want to know
• Invited to visit summer 2001
• Impressed with congeniality and openness
• Expecting some suspicion, defensiveness
• Willingness to ask these questions, especially
  from 3rd party, says a lot
• Job of educational researcher
• Empiricism
• Skepticism
• Ultimately will not believe until verified
  through multiple points of data across time

3
Research Inside Out Approach

• Research Tenets
• System inputs inform system outputs (Quality in,
  quality out)
• Triangulation
• Story must be told by multiple stakeholders
• Valid, empirical data
• Longitudinal data
• Mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative)
• Emphasis on eData
• eData refers to straight pass through of data
  from users to the researcher, much of it analyzed
  automatically data begins and ends as electronic
  data
• Cost effectiveness and efficiency of skipping
  regular issues involved with paper based surveys.
• Leveraging existing IT to increase scope and ways
  of data collection
• Research Design
• Longitudinal over three years
• School first, performance second
• Faculty and student satisfaction
• Achievement of school outcomes
• Transfer of knowledge
• Traditional performance data

4
Results Inputs

• Possessed success factors
• Investment in teachers
• Legislative support
• Planning and Resources
• Leadership
• Frequent Evaluation
• Particularly impressed with leadership Focused
  on nurturing high functioning system emphasizing
• High expectations
• Teacher Autonomy
• Culture over Process and regulations
• High levels of teaching experience and education
  50 21 years experience, 45 masters or
  higher
• High levels of teacher and student engagement and
  motivation
• Organizational alignment goals, resources, and
  implementation
• OEM model Clear objectives along with resources
  and procedures necessary to attain them
• Numerous innovations
• Culture and organization (Leadership)
• Energetic, supportive and collaborative
• Non immersion, non competitive charter school

5
Results Outputs

• How can you know when you have arrived, if you
  do not know where you are going?
• CEC has stated accomplishments that set the
  course to attaining them
• Quality in, quality out success is a residual
  not an end in itself.
• Careful planning and quality assurance of inputs
  increase likelihood of quality output.
• Attainment of charter objectives
• 3 of the 4 have been clearly met
• Met or close to performance goals Writing,
  English, Math, and Social Studies
• Reduced drop out rate from 8 to 5 42 increase
  in high school completion rate
• 80 alumni (n14) attended post secondary or work
  within 90 days 100 in 120 days after graduation
• Local, economic center
• Brought technical college to Coweta County
• Generation of commerce Yamaha golf cart plant,
  75 million, is just one example
• Numerous reports of students starting their own
  businesses
• County wide impact
• Students report break down of barriers by going
  to same school
• CEC population has doubled from 700 to 1500
  students in past four years.
• Drop out rate reduction 3 45 students
  approximately
• Academic achievement
• .

6
GA High School Skills Test

• REFER TO TABLE
• Last year, CEC students exceeded the states
  average Graduation Test pass rate on four of
  five tests and exceed the countys average in
  three out of five tests.
• Results are even more impressive among CECs
  economically disadvantaged students, whose
  performance on last years graduation tests
  improved above the county average in the
  following percentages Writing (4), Language
  Arts (7), Math (15), Social Studies (18),
  and Science (19).Georgia skills test scores
  have increased across 4 of the 5 measures

7
SAT Scores

• REFER TO GRAPH
• SAT scores have increased significantly 33 points
  from 974 to 1007
• Exceeds GA average by 23 points
• Note Same in 2000 at 974, GA rose only 10
  points, CEC increased 33 points
• Note National average only grew by 7 points
• --------------------------------------------------
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• Other performance measures
• 80/80 rule met (skewing the bell curve)
• High teacher satisfaction 95
• High student satisfaction 85
• High parent satisfaction 90 Verified by
  several different studies

8
The Future Continuous Improvement, Replication

• Increase precision of data robust information
  system.
• Transfer of knowledge and skill? Anecdotal
  positive
• Sustainability
• Continuous improvement, heightened gap analysis
• Replication can it be done successfully?

9
Final Thoughts

• Redefining education?
• Goals and outcomes Tangible accomplishments
• Implementation partnerships and collaborations
• Outcomes Accomplishments, post secondary skills
  beyond intellectual model
• Systematic process committed community
  Success
• A CEC rather than the CEC each communitys
  central educational center must be unique, driven
  by local stakeholder needs.
• Statewide replication in GA is underway
• Soft skills emphasis Higher SAT scores?
• Could it be that excellent soft skills represent
  success habits with benefits that are
  multifaceted, inside and outside of school?
• Fact or Fiction? Success and continuous
  improvement
• No such thing as fact, only shades of maybe
• All available indicators suggest CEC has been
  successful to date although the story is still
  being written.