The Power of Small Learning Communities

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The Power of Small Learning Communities

• John Deasy, Ph.D.
• Superintendent of Schools

Designing High Schools for the Next Generation
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WARNING!

• Do not try this at home!
• Some of the material you are about to view may be
  objectionable to most American High School
  audiences
• This is about public acts of professional courage

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SMMUSD MISSION and VISION

• Extraordinary Achievement for ALL, While
  Simultaneously Closing the Achievement Gap.
• This is not about redesign, it is about
  conversions!

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Model for Data-driven Continuous Improvement

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• 3650 Students
• 55 non-white
• 109 different primary languages spoken
• 40 students of poverty
• The intersection of privilege and poverty
• Two schools phenomena

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About SAMOHI

• Located in Santa Monica, CA
• City of 99,000
• 33 Acre campus
• 150 Faculty
• 75 Staff
• 6 Administrators
• Long and revered history

• Full range of Special Education services
• Internationally recognized music and athletic
  programs
• High-Flyer by California standards

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Major themes of the work

• Administration
• Board
• Community
• Parents
• Students
• Faculty

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Compelling the Community

• Speaking the brutal facts through qualitative and
  quantitative data
• Singularity of mission
• Student achievement
• Equity
• Student centered NOT adult centered work
• Debunking the myth of excellence
• (this is not the movie version
• of SAMOHI)

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Every DATA tells a story

• Graduation rates
• Attendance rates
• Persistence rates
• Access rates
• State and National assessment results
• California High School Exit Exam rates
• Discipline indicators
• Culture descriptions
• The human story and big picture

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SAT-9 Data Summary

• On average, African-American and Hispanic
  students performed about 10 NCE scale points
  lower than the school average, while Asian and
  White students scored about 10 NCE points higher
  than the school average. In percentile terms,
  this difference is equivalent to the difference
  between the 35th and 65th national percentile
  ranks.

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SAT 9 Data Summary

• On average, African-American and Hispanic
  students in the classes of 1999 and 2000 had
  lower scores in reading, mathematics, and
  language as they moved from 9th to 10th to11th
  grade. White students in the classes of 1999 and
  2000 also had lower scores, but the decline was
  not as great. Asian students scores declined
  slightly in reading and rose slightly in other
  subjects during this period.

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HiPlaces Data

• Teachers indicated that they meet an average of
  less than once a year in grade levels to monitor
  and coordinate student homework across subjects.
• Teachers reported that, on average, (1)
  curriculum coordination practices, and (2)
  coordination of student assignments, assessments,
  and feedback, took place between never and
  once a year.

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HiPlaces Data

• 41 of the students surveyed indicated that they
  had never felt like they could go to or talk to a
  teacher or other staff member at school about
  helping them in dealing with personal of family
  problems.
• About ¼ of students had not used a guidance
  counselor or social worker, or they were not
  available to students.

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Organizing Students and Faculty in Small Learning
Communities

• Overview of the work
• Obtaining support from the community, Board,
  parents, and students
• Staff development needed
• Changes in program of study, curriculum,
  instruction, and assessment
• Evaluating the progress and deliverables
• Next steps

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The Redesign Process

• Formation of team
• Imagining the ideal small school
• Designing realistic models
• Final debates
• Finalizing the plan
• Implementation, the move, and staying the course
• Nurturing

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Leadership Structures

• CEO
• House Principal
• Student Support Specialist
• Family and Community Support Specialists

• Freshmen Seminar Advisors
• Lead Teachers
• National Board Faculty
• Central Office Instructional Support Specialists

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Principles and Parameters of Samohis Redesign
Process

• Personalization
• Create settings where teachers and students can
  know each other well.
• Intellectual Mission
• Articulate a common intellectual mission for all
  students.
• Community Partnership
• Work closely with family and community.
• Professional Learning Community
• Construct a professional working community
  defined by enhanced collaboration.

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Design Element

• Personalization
• Create settings where teachers and students can
  know each other well.
•         550 students per small school
•         heterogeneously grouped small schools
  with a Lower Division and an Upper Division
•         transition program for 9th graders
•         rite of passage from Lower Division to
  Upper division
•         identified group of teachers dedicated to
  serving 9th and 10th grade students (Lower
  Division)
•         tutorial / intervention available to all
  9th and 10th grade students
•         four-year advisory an opportunity for
  teachers and students to develop positive,
  supportive relationships
•         two advisers, a Small School Principal,
  and a Teacher-Leader

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Design Elements

• Intellectual Mission
• Articulate a common intellectual mission for all
  students.
•         Common core curricular program included
  in all small schools, including English, Math,
  Science, History, and World Languages,
  complemented by an elective program
•         accelerated options are offered in all
  9th and 10th grade classes
•         high-level courses, including AP options
•         integration across disciplines
•         Senior Project with demonstration of
  mastery
•         Junior Research paper
•         passports allow students access to
  singletons that exist at other small schools

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Design Elements

• Community Partnership
• Work closely with family and community
•         family / parent involvement
•         community-based learning experiences
•         service learning component
•         connection with community resources
•         internship experiences available to Upper
  Division students

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Design Principles

• Professional Learning Community
• Construct a professional working community
  defined by enhanced collaboration.
•         opportunities for collaboration
•         flexible scheduling
•         interdisciplinary opportunities

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Essential Features of Samohis Small Schools

• Structure
• 550 students and 25 teachers
• Instructional Program
• Honors and AP classes in each small school
• Passports allow access to classes outside of the
  small school
• Elective Program
• Access to all electives
• Collaborative Time
• Extra-curricular/Co-curricular
• Access to all athletic programs and club
  activities
• Academic Support
• Offered in each small school.

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Timeline of Activities

• Planning Year
• The Committee and The Coach
• Implementation Year
• The move, the schedule, and the program
• Graduation alignment (A-G requirements)
• Culture change
• Belief change

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Tracking Results

• Bold Goals
• Quantitative
• Qualitative
• Access
• Gap

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Bold Goals

• All students will achieve proficiency on the
  California Standards by 2008.
• The percent of Proficient/Advanced students will
  increase 8 percentage points schoolwide and 16
  percentage points for subgroups in 2003-2004.

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Bold Goals

• 85 of students will meet district benchmarks in
  literacy and mathematics.
• 80 of English Learners will meet district
  benchmarks in ELD.
• 85 of 10th grade students will pass the CAHSEE.
• High School GPAs below 2.0 will decrease 10. AP
  and UC/CSU a-g will increase 10.

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CAHSEE Results
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College Opportunity Ratio Grad Rate
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College Opportunity RatioUnderrepresented A-G
Rate
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Attendance - High School
95
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Suspensions - High School
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Participation in Advanced Placement, 2001-2004
(Number of Students Enrolled)
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Percentage of Students Scoring 3, 4 or 5 on
Advanced Placement Testing, 2001-2004 SAMOHI
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Bold Goal All students will achieve proficiency
on the California Standards by 2008 2003 CST
Results
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Bold Goal All students will achieve proficiency
on the California Standards by 2008 2001 CST
Results English/Language Arts High School
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100 percent of students will demonstrate
proficiency in ELA. Ethnic Performance Levels
2001.
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Bold Goal All students will achieve proficiency
on the California Standards by 2008 2001 CST
Results by Subgroups
ELL
Special Education
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Next Steps

• Professional Development
• Instructional Capacity, Leadership Capacity,
  Public Practice, and Deep personalization
• Standards-based instruction and authentic
  assessment
• Coaching
• Monitor, monitor, monitor
• Support, support, support

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Standards-based Assessment Framework

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Structured Use of Data Within School Systems

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Summarize

• We do know what we dont know
• This is not about radical change moving to the
  state of the art and practice
• Ask the students
• Expect the adults
• Write about the work