Preparing High School Students for a meaningful

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Preparing High School Students for a meaningful
Satisfying college lifeThe Morfosis Model of ACS
Athens
Thirty-Eighth National Assembly of the American
Association of University Administrators

• Stefanos Gialamas, Ph.D
• President, ACS Athens
• Peggy Pelonis, LMFT, Ed.D (C)
• Director of Student Affairs

Arlington, Virginia - November 5-7, 2009
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Retention

• Our preliminary findings indicate that retention
  is a bi-product of successful high school student
  preparation for a meaningful and satisfying
  college life

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Change in education

• Challenging to prepare students for at least four
  different careers
• Opportunity for collaboration between secondary
  and higher education institutions

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Educators should be asking

• How and what will we teach students in
  preparation for a rapidly changing society?
• How will they learn to make decisions about
  situations unknown and unpredictable?
• What skills will be necessary for young people to
  be successful in their careers and in their life?

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Research on Resiliency

• An environment which offers social support such
  as feelings of belonging and connectedness,
  impacts achievement significantly.
• Nicoll (2009)

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Support and opportunities

• providing protective environmental factors
  (support and opportunities) predicts positive
  outcomes in 50-80 of at-risk youth populations
• (Werner Smith, 2001).

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Transcending Boundaries

• Moreover, the positive impacts of a protective
  environment transcend ethnic, gender, cultural,
  social class, and geographical boundaries
• Eccels Gootman, 2002 Werner Smith, 1992

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Schools are required to assume leadership

• In creating a culture of continuous critical and
  innovative thinking
• In understanding that opportunities for learning
  come from many sources multiple perspectives,
  personal experiences, social, cultural
  experiences, community service
• In providing opportunities for individual
  learning and life-long growth
• In having a vision so strong that meaningful
  change can be embraced

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Morfosis Holistic, Meaningful and Harmonious
Education

• Holistic Combines all aspects of learning
• Meaningful Learning is connected to what is
  important and relevant in students lives, and is
  based on strong principles and values
• Harmonious All dimensions of teaching and
  learning cohere mission, beliefs, principles,
  values and practices.

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ACS Athens Mission

• ACS Athens is a student-centered international
  school, embracing American educational
  philosophy, principles and values. Through
  excellence in teaching and diverse educational
  experiences, ACS Athens challenges all students
  to realize their unique potential academically,
  intellectually, socially and ethically -- to
  thrive as responsible global citizens.

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ACS Athens Aims

• 100 of ACS Athens students have a successful and
  meaningful college experience
• 100 of ACS Athens students are positive,
  contributing members of the community

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Understanding the educational spectrum

• Secondary Educational environment
• Teachers must understand the corresponding
  college freshman curriculum
• Determine skills students need to develop and
  eventually transfer to college
• Leaders must provide opportunity for teachers to
  understand the higher education curriculum and
  culture

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Understanding the educational spectrum

• Higher education faculty must understand
• the tail end of the secondary curriculum
• The idiosyncrasies of the new learner
• How teaching and learning occurs at the secondary
  level.

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Secondary and Higher education leaders

• Must understand
• The strengths and weaknesses of the corresponding
  environments
• The academic demands
• Individual student needs
• Faculty-student interactions
• The systems and procedures of the corresponding
  environments
• The type of support necessary

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Develop Reciprocal Relationships

• Partnerships (i.e. joint programs)
• Collaborations (utilization of resources)
• Exploring College Life programs
• College Student Teaching programs
• Counseling internship programs
• Sabbaticals (both ways)

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Bridging must take place at all levels

• Elementary
• Middle
• High School
• Beyond..

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A K-12 Process

• Elementary- Foundations
• Technology in JK and K (i.e. Smartboards)
• Wellness Center -Coping skills via role playing,
  problem solving
• Owl system- buddies to help newcomers acclimate
• Activities for team building and cooperation

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Middle School

• Strong curriculum
• Enhancing sense of security and of belonging at a
  time of personal change
• Considering physical, intellectual emotional
  well being
• Building skills necessary to succeed in 9th
  10th grade.
• i.e. Tech- Virtual Science Fair

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Academy

• 9th cultivate and enhance sense of belonging
• 10th design best program per student
• 11th Meet conditions for college via SAT
  prep, Portfolios (PAAM) etc.
• 12th Prepare for Optimal Match
• Courses on Blackboard so Tech is naturally
  integrated.

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Institute of Critical and Creative Thinking

• Established in 2006
• Committed to innovation and creativity by
  expanding learning opportunities for ACS Athens
  students, staff and community
• Partnerships with universities
• University level courses for students and
  teachers
• Arts programs
• IB Diploma/College Prep Academy
• On line and hybrid courses.
• Adult education programs

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Beyond Placement

• Follow up to see university success
• Successful students reinforce the Optimal Match
  approach
• Each time cycle is completed process is enhanced
• Action research with ACS Athens 2006 graduates
  who will be graduating from USA universities in
  June 2010
• Most successful college student is the one who is
  happy with the areas of their studies and with
  the institution

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ACS Athens college success action research

• Students who participated in any bridging
  program addressed the following
• How well they performed in courses related to the
  relevant program
• How well students performed overall academically.
• How many students proceeded to graduate school?
• Their subjective evaluation of the bridging
  experience
• How well did students adapt to their new
  environment emotionally
• To what degree to they find the college
  experience satisfactory

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Thank You!
Thirty-Eighth National Assembly of the American
Association of University Administrators

• Stefanos Gialamas, Ph.D
• President, ACS Athens
• Peggy Pelonis, LMFT, Ed.D (C)
• Director of Student Affairs

Arlington, Virginia - November 5-7, 2009