What

1
Whats In It For Me? The Inside Scoop at
Framingham High School
2
Goals of the program

1. Familiarize students with FHS
2. Improve MCAS skills and strategies in Math and
   English Language Arts
3. Encourage students to recognize that college is
   a possible option.

3
Program Specs

• Who Rising 9th grade students
• What 20-day program
• When June 30 July 25th
• 945 am -130 pm
• Where Air-conditioned classrooms with
  computers available
• How Students were bused

4
Program Components

• Student directed project
• Summer reading
• MCAS ELA strategies
• MCAS math strategies
• Problem solving
• College exploration

5
Schedule

• 945-1115 FHS College Project (w/
  Circle/Snack Break)
• 1115-1200 Math
• 1200-1230 Lunch
• 1245-130 English
• (15 minute bubble for lunch clean up, walking,
  bathroom break, etc.)

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Students Served

• 50 students
• Average daily attendance 41
• Four middle schools
• 55 free/reduced lunch
• 44 with NI or W on Math MCAS
• 18 with NI or W on ELA MCAS
• Several LEP/FLEP students
• Several students on IEPs

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Recruitment

• 21st Century staff did recruitment in middle
  schools
• McKinney-Vento coordinator identified students
• Teachers also recruited students
• Target group was identified from MCAS scores

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Getting to Know Framingham HSThe Idiots Guide
to FHS

• Building discovery / navigation
• Field research through maps, scavenger hunts,
  interviews
• Small group/team time
• Student driven design
• - student writing,
• - photographs,
• - autobiographies,
• - maps,
• - interviews,
• - drawings

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College Project

• College vocabulary activities
• College Passport
• High school requirements
• Research local colleges
• Brain storm dream schools
• Begin thinking about considerations such as
  location, size, extra curricular activities,
  funding, majors available
• Field trips

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College Field Trips

• Spent each Friday at a college
• Tour, info session, brown-bag lunch
• - UMass Boston
• Large, public, urban, commuter
• - Mount Ida
• Small, private, suburban campus
• - Framingham State
• Local, mid-size, in backyard

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ELA Time

• Prepared students for academic rigor in high
  school
• Students explored, read, discussed analyzed a
  book from summer reading list
• - The program provided books and audiotapes
• - Prepared a graphic organizer which helped them
  with the Summer Reading Assessment
• - The English class also focused discussion on
  applicable strands for MCAS

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Math Time

• Strengthened their problem-solving and reasoning
  skills with specific focus on MCAS strategies
• Mini-lessons in
• basic algebra
• ratios and proportions
• linear equations
• statistics
• data display
• number sense
• spatial reasoning including perimeter, area, and
  volume.

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Staff for program

• One program coordinator (HS English)
• One HS English teacher
• One HS Math teacher
• Two MS Math teachers (one with Sped
  Certification)
• Two MS English teachers (one with ELL
  Certification)
• Training day before start of program
  curriculum design, project based learning and
  cultural competency awareness.

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Recruitment and Logistics

• Three mailings were used
• 1. Recruitment letter (with translations)
• 2. Confirmation letter / medical forms, media
  release
• 3. Busing Information (transportation logistics)
• Parental Communication calls, emails
• (Utilized trilingual staff)
• Buildings and Grounds Transportation
• Attendance Student scheduling conflicts
• Lunch (free lunch)

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Plus Factors

• Second year
• Enrollment up 1/3 change in tone of initial
  letter, reputation, and tied into the 21st
  Century Program)
• Space computer space, air conditioning, and
  full access to building
• Timing of day
• Experienced Staff Support from Admin.
  (logistically, student needs, transportation)
• Excellent Organization (task list, supply list,
  curriculum plans, college field trip plans,
  enrollment information, coordinate
  transportation)

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Student Feedback in September

• I got to review my math, which helped a lot.
• I got a book to read.
• Im more familiar with the school.
• Helped my reading skills.
• I feel like I learned the same things but it was
  fun.

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Staff Anecdotes

• Co-teaching was extremely valuable. One teacher
  was able to deliver a lesson while the other was
  able to keep students on track and provide extra
  attention.
• I think the thing that surprised me the most was
  the excitement that the students felt about the
  program.

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continued

• One student told his Mom that the book was cool
  and that he wanted to read another like it.
• A couple of students were reluctant to even
  think about college because of the financial
  impediment and other personal reasons. After we
  visited colleges and talked so much about it,
  they both started to consider college as a much
  more real future for themselves.

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Benefits and Successes

• Increased familiarity and comfort with FHS
  building, people, systems and resources
• Students began academic year with new
  relationships (teachers and peers)
• Students refreshed strategies and skills needed
  for MCAS read summer reading book and prepared
  for essay
• Gained college awareness and exposure through
  brainstorming, project work, and field trips.

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Challenges and Suggestions

• Attendance
• Transportation (cover 25 sq miles)
• Incentives
• Future MCAS (science, history)
• Social/emotional issues (use of administrative
  staff at FHS or add a social worker to the
  program?)

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Questions and Feedback

• Materials
• Completed Student Binder
• Idiots Guide to FHS
• College Passport
• College Vocabulary
• FHS Project Rubric, Model P.O.A

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Thank YouHeather Conroyhconroy_at_framingham.k12.
ma.us Esta Montanoemontano_at_framingham.k12.ma.us
Dawn Mendelsohndmendels_at_framingham.k12.ma.us