commonwealth of virginia honor states grant sponsored by the national governors association and

1

Commonwealth of VirginiaCommonwealth of Virginia

Honor States GrantHonor States Grantsponsored by the National Governors Association andsponsored by the National Governors Association and

funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundationfunded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

CCSSO Education Leaders ConferenceCCSSO Education Leaders ConferenceSt. Louis, MOSt. Louis, MO

September 12-14, 2007September 12-14, 2007

Dr. Linda WallingerDr. Linda WallingerJim FirebaughJim Firebaugh

Tabitha GrossmanTabitha Grossman

2

Education for a LifetimeEducation for a Lifetime

Education agenda of Mark Warner, Governor of Virginia from 2002-2006– Educational funding commitment– High quality child care– Renewed commitment to student

accountability– Improved teacher recruitment and retention– Senior year reform– And other initiatives

3

Senior Year ReformSenior Year Reform Early College Scholars

– Eligible high school seniors can complete their high school diploma and concurrently earn a semester’s worth of transferable credits (15 credit hours) that can be used towards a college degree.

Path to Industry Certification– Students who are not college bound are encouraged to

continue working towards high school graduation while pursuing technical training for a selected industry credential.

Project Graduation– Students who have already earned the required standard

credits to graduate receive additional assistance to help them earn the required verified credits towards graduation.

4

2004 and 2007: Watershed Years 2004 and 2007: Watershed Years for Graduation in Virginiafor Graduation in Virginia

2004 – Graduation year of first cohort of 9th graders required to earn:– 22 standard credits– 2 English & 4 student-selected verified

credits 2007 – Graduation year of first cohort of

9th graders required to earn:– 22 standard credits– 2 English, 1 math, 1 science, 1 history, and

1 student-selected verified credits

5

Graduation RatesGraduation RatesMembership and Graduation Data for School Years 2000-2001 to 2005-2006

School Year

Standard Diploma

Advanced

Studies Diploma

Diplomas for Students

with Disabilities

General Achieve-

ment Diploma

Total Diploma

Graduates

Graduates as % of 12th

Grade Membership

Graduates as % of Ninth Grade Membership 4 Years Earlier

2000-2001

28,616 36,055

1,357

66,028 94.0% 74.7%

2001-2002

32,558 31,991

1,940

66,490 94.3% 74.0%

2002-2003 35,551

34,525

2,302

72,378 95.4% 76.4%

2003-2004

33,707 34,238

4,055 1

72,001 94.2% 73.4%

2004-2005

32,988 36,370

4,290 15

73,664 94.5% 73.5%

2005-2006

32,440 37,998

4,406 34

74,878 94.9% 73.8%

6

Graduation and Dropout RatesGraduation and Dropout Rates

State averages conceal the “real” graduation rates– 64 of 132 school divisions (48.5%) have a

cohort graduation rate of less than the state average of 73.8% in 2005-2006

– 5 divisions have a cohort graduation rate of less than 50%

If 95% of the senior class is graduating, but that’s only 74% of the same cohort of students four years earlier, what is happening to the rest of the students?

7

NGA’s Focus on High School NGA’s Focus on High School RedesignRedesign

Governor Warner chaired the NGA in 2004-2005– Initiative: High School Redesign

Honor States Grant Program– Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates

FoundationVirginia’s Grant

– Focused on 9th grade retention as one solution to higher graduation rates and lower dropout rates

8

NGA Honor States Grant ProgramNGA Honor States Grant Program

• Virginia was one of 10 states selected for the Phase 1 NGA grant program.

• The grant was funded for two years.• Virginia received $1 million for each

of the two years.• Partners: The Governor’s Office,

SCHEV, VCCS, VDOE, and VASSP

9

Virginia’s Honor States Grant Virginia’s Honor States Grant ProgramProgram

Objectives:• Decrease ninth-grade retention (holdback) rates• Decrease overall dropout rates• Increase high school graduation rates• Increase the amount of rigorous coursework

selected by students• Increase Advanced Placement test taking rates• Increase preparedness for post-secondary

education• Increase college-going rates• Increase college graduation rates

10

Three Components• Policy Reform by Design • Colleagues for Success: Building High

School Leadership Capacity • Commonwealth of Access: Transition,

Readiness, and Access


11


Policy Reform by Design• Establish a P-16 Council• Conduct a research study on high-

performing high schools• Conduct a study on the academic

weaknesses of high school graduates• Convene a policy forum to present

findings of the P-16 Council

12


Colleagues for Success: Building High School Leadership Capacity • Implement an administrative coaching program• Provide scholarships for training for Advanced

Placement and dual enrollment teachers • Provide scholarships for teachers to be trained in

the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM)

13


Colleagues for Success: Building High School Leadership

Capacity (continued)

• Provide funds to include targeted schools in the Mathematics-Science Partnerships (MSP)

• Train selected mathematics and science teachers to assist students with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition

14


Commonwealth of Access: Transition, Readiness, and

Access • Expand state programs supporting

graduation and success in algebra• Conduct high school best practices and

transition symposium

• Provide high school transition grants

15


Commonwealth of Access: Transition, Readiness, and

Access (continued)

• Provide PSAT fee support and AP Potential

• Implement the College Awareness Project

16

Participants in Virginia’s Honor Participants in Virginia’s Honor States Grant ProgramStates Grant Program

• 30 schools invited to participate based on a comprehensive review of data for all high schools in Virginia• A higher than average retention rate (state

average was 12%)• Retention rates ranged from 61%-16%• Division and school graduation rate• Not more than two schools from a school

division• Each of the superintendent’s regions was

represented

17


Data Collection for Honor Schools

Grant

School Reported Data

Data Collected From EIMS,

Cooperating StateAgencies, &

Grant Partners

Qualitative DataCollection

Conducted by DOE

18


Data Reporting

Governor’s P-16Council and

Virginia Board of Education

Practitioners and School Divisions

National GovernorsAssociation and

Gates Foundation

19

Ninth Grade Retention Rates for Ninth Grade Retention Rates for VirginiaVirginia

Grade 5-year Promoted5-year Retained Retention Rate

01 511,835 21,065 3.95

02 518,277 12,637 2.38

03 527,098 9,041 1.69

04 537,827 6,816 1.25

05 544,866 5,952 1.08

06 538,864 22,772 4.05

07 531,167 30,455 5.42

08 521,160 30,766 5.57

09 524,681 78,404 13.00

10 482,720 37,568 7.22

11 436,128 24,336 5.29

12 399,347 27,835 6.52

ALL 6,073,970 307,647 4.82

ALL w/out 9th 5,549,289 229,243 3.97

9-12th 1,842,876 168,143 8.36

10-12th 1,318,195 89,739 6.37

8-12th 2,364,036 198,909 7.76

20

Honor Schools DataHonor Schools Data

Baseline Data:-The participating division dropout

rates ranged from 85.2 to 41.9.-The retention rates among the

Honor Schools ranged from 16%-61%. In that same year, the state average was 12%.

21

Preliminary ResultsPreliminary Results

First year of the grant:– Average retention rate of the 30 high

schools decreased by 8 percentage points (from 29% to 21%)

Range of Retention Rates: -23% - +29% Mode Retention Rate: 12% Median Retention Rate: 7% Mean Retention Rate: 8.3%

22

Preliminary ResultsPreliminary Results

First year of the grant:-The retention rates among the Honor Schools ranged from 5%-62%. In that same year, the state’s average was 11%.-Eight schools reduced their retention rates, one school stayed the same, and 21 schools improved their retention rate.

23

Honor Schools’ Participation and Honor Schools’ Participation and Retention RatesRetention Rates

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Baseline Year I

StrongModerateWeak

24

Data Points Considered for Data Points Considered for Statewide TrackingStatewide Tracking

3rd and 8th grade students’ performance on various assessments

High school students rigorous course taking patterns

High school retention rates High school graduation rates by

subgroups

25

Data Points Being Tracked Data Points Being Tracked StatewideStatewide

8th grade students’ performance on various assessments

High school students’ rigorous course taking patterns

Proxy indicators to determine college and workforce readiness

Graduation rates Retention rates State assessment results

26

Data Points Selected by the Data Points Selected by the Honor SchoolsHonor Schools

• Schools are also tracking their own data points congruent with the various strategies being implemented

• Attendance rates (tardiness and daily attendance)• Suspension rates (long-term, short-term, and in-

school suspension)• Improvement in reading program assessments• Improvements in study habits• Academic achievement in core subject areas• An increase in the number of students attending

after-school tutoring, Saturday academies, and other remediation opportunities offered by the school

27

What do the transition programs What do the transition programs look like?look like?

Tremendous variety, but there are some common elements

28


• Organization • Summer bridge and multi-day orientation

programs• Physical separation from upper classmen

(separate buildings, hallways, areas of the building, exclusively ninth grade classes, lunches, and activities, “house-style”)

• School counselors assigned to only freshmen• Administrators assigned to only freshmen• Teachers planning together and collaborating on

lesson plans, designing assessments, and identifying problems

• Using date to drive instruction, practice, and strategic direction

29


• Extra help• Student advisories• Opportunities for remediation in extended day

programs• Mentoring programs (with teachers and peers)• Opportunities to “catch-up” (after-school programs,

Saturday academies)• Double blocking English and mathematics classes• Offering summer camps in reading and Algebra I for

rising freshmen (ARI)• Not accepting failure as an option (giving students

“incompletes”)

30


• Incentives• To increase daily attendance• To improve student behavior• For student achievement• To attend extended learning

opportunities

31


• Special classes and instruction• Early intervention • Classes for credit for ninth grade students

(organizational skills, social skills, and career exploration)

• Veteran master teachers to teach ninth grade students

• Smaller class sizes for courses for ninth grade students

• Smaller learning communities• Intensive work in the area of literacy

32


• Communication• Giving teachers time to collaborate with

each other• Regular contact with parents (for

achievement as well as challenges)• Parent meetings

33


What do the principals say worked best in terms of improving student outcomes?

34


• Teaming teachers and giving them time to collaborate

• “The common planning time has helped us a great deal with student conduct and attendance. Attendance has significantly improved. Referrals for serious infractions has been reduced by half.”

35


• Mentoring programs and investing time in building relationships with students

• “Our students compete for spots in the mentoring program. Upperclassmen mentor our ninth graders and then ninth graders want to be mentors when they are juniors. There are so many kids who want to be mentors, I am on the phone explaining to parents why their kid wasn’t selected to be a mentor.”

36


• Creating an academy separate from upper classmen

• “The other students in my building want to know why they don’t have their own place for classes.”

• “They have taken ownership of their space. Parents always know where to find their kids.”

• “It makes them more focused.”

37


• Focusing funding

• “If you use your money wisely in your building, you will get results.”

• Using data

• “This is a piece we did a good job with. Our ninth grade teachers tailored a personal education plan for each student using data. We then personalized tutoring for each student.”

• “Our failure rate has decreased substantially because of the way we use our data.”

38


What did principals and their faculties learn from their participation in the

grant?

39

• The importance of looking data and uncovering the problem

• “We learned we had a problem with our ninth graders. I didn’t even know what my ninth grade retention rate was until we were invited to participate in this grant. Now I ask every high school principal I meet: do you know your ninth grade retention rate?”


40


• The value of looking closely at the data to identify challenges and adjust instructional delivery

• “It really exposed the disproportionate scores and performance of ninth graders and opened the eyes of central office staff-it got the attention of our superintendent.”

41

• How to use the data from their feeder middle schools differently

• “We looked at how they did in the 8th grade and hand scheduled students based on what the data indicated they needed. We used to let a computer do that.”

• “We used 8th grade data to target remediation to the kids that needed it.”

• “There is some difficulty in getting meaningful data from the middle school. There is a disconnect with the middle school data and placement. We have to work on that.”


42


• The importance of using data to build a case for funding and additional assistance

• “We looked at our data to identify what we needed to do and now we use the data we have collected to gain support for what we started here. Our superintendent believes in what we started here and he has committed to continue to fund our program after the grant ends. Not just at our school, but every high school in the division.”

• “Our scores were dropping because of the numbers of kids in the classes. We used data to make a case for reducing class size-it worked. We got more FTEs.”

43


Using Data at the School Level

To identify challenges To Gain Support To modify instruction

students stafffor the program andfor funding it and

sustaining it

before they arrive and after they arrive

school board

to re-teach when necessary

course placement and earlyintervention

teachers

communityproviding focused

remediation

staff development

44


• What makes freshmen different and how to approach helping them

• “These kids are truly making a transition and our teachers had to accept that transitions are difficult. They require extra attention and focused effort.”

45


• How to find and leverage the community resources available to help students with the many issues they have that are not necessarily school-related, but impact their school performance

• “We had to look outside our building to find every

resource available to help these kids. It is easy to say, it is the parents’ fault or it’s their home life, but the truth is, if we are educators dedicated to helping students be successful, it’s our responsibility, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is.”

46


• The value of a relationship with the feeder middle school(s) • “This forced us to do what we should have been

doing all along, working with our middle school.” • “Our program would have been much more

successful if we had been able to form a working relationship with our middle school.”

• “We say these kids are not ready for high school, but if we don’t tell the middle school how to make them ready, how can they help us help the kids?”

47


• Feeder middle school relationship continued

• “The middle school looked at our effort to form a partnership as a means to collect information to blame them for the students’ unpreparedness. It wasn’t that. We just wanted all the information so that we could help them in high school. We have to find some way to overcome their reluctance.”

• “We endeavored to work with our middle school and they bought into it. We traded assistant principals for two weeks and boy was that an eye-opener for us and for them. It was great!”

48


• The value of emphasizing literacy across the curriculum

• “We have a reading problem. It’s that simple. Just admitting that in my county was huge.”

• “Reading has become a strong point at our school. Our world history and earth science scores have gone up.”

• “80 percent of our kids improved their reading by two grade levels last year because we poured a lot of our resources into reading.”

49


• The value of remediation, re-teaching, and recovery

• “I can’t say remediation is mandatory in my division, but for my kids, at my school, it just is. We feed them, we call their parents, we make home visits, we send home letters and they come, but I am convinced that the effort is demonstrative of the fact that we care and they see that. We want them there and they benefit from coming.”

• “The thing that worked best? Unquestionably, tutoring.”

50


• The value of putting the best teachers in classrooms where ninth graders are taught

• “I enticed them with technology. It worked.”• “We showed them the data and built a bandwagon

and people wanted to be part of it.”• “You have to get your best teachers teaching double-

blocked classes.”• “Our strongest teachers are working with out most

needy students.”

51


• Changes in the school culture were necessary to make their program work

• “We are beginning to change the culture of our school to one that is student-centered, not adult-centered.”

• “We have a culture of expectancy at our school. We expect students to succeed, we expect teachers to have high expectations, we expect our students to graduate. This grant fit in nicely with our culture, however, this is a process, not an event.”

• “Change can occur through leadership.”• “The attitude here has shifted from if don’t pass, you

don’t pass to I’m not going to let you fail.”

52


After one year of the grant, 21 schools have improved their retention rates.

Most all of the Honor Schools will continue their ninth grade retention programs or will continue the most effective strategies of their ninth grade retention programs.

The Honor States Grant has elevated ninth grade retention to a statewide conversation.

Principals have learned small amounts of funding can be used to create positive changes in schools and more importantly, school culture.

53

For Additional InformationFor Additional Information

Dr. Linda WallingerAssistant Superintendent for Instruction(804) [email protected]

Mr. Jim Firebaugh, DirectorOffice of Middle and High School Instruction(804) [email protected]

Ms. Tabitha GrossmanHigh School Initiatives Specialist(804) [email protected]

commonwealth of virginia honor states grant sponsored by the national governors association and

Documents

high school graduation

school years

graduation ratesmembership

graduation data

cohort graduation rate

high school diploma

virginia2004 graduation

higher graduation rates