District Administration - October 2011 - (Page 80)

Early College High Schools 1. Collaborative group work allows students of all different skills to be supported and challenged by their peers. Working together helps students learn from each other. 2. Writing to learn allows students, including ELLs, to develop ideas and use critical thinking. They can reflect on what they are learning so they can refine the learning in order to apply it at higher cognitive levels. 3. Literacy groups, which are best compared to focused book clubs, help build comprehension and higher discourse among students across various texts in different disciplines. 4. Questioning from students and teachers fosters purposeful conversations and stimulates intellect. 5. Classroom discussion encourages students to develop thinking, listening and speaking skills. 6. Scaffolding helps students connect prior knowledge they learned to challenging new concepts. Meeting Workplace Needs Employers in the 25,000-student Las Cruces Public Schools region, in southern New Mexico close to the Mexico border, include the White Sands Missile Range, NASA facilities, other military bases, as well as “a lot of interesting science and tech-related industries,” says Tracey Bryan, president and CEO of The Bridge of Southern New Mexico, a nonprofit that is spearheading support of the ECHS model among a wide range of public and private sector interests. Through the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, employers expressed concerns that the region’s mostly minority population, with high dropout rates in the schools, was making it difficult for them to find qualified employees and “inhibiting their ability to grow their businesses,” Bryan says. It also was hurting efforts to attract new businesses, as employers wanted to know if there was “a ready labor pool.” If half of the student body is dropping out, they don’t want to hear about it, Bryan says. Business and education authorities in the region agreed that an ECHS was the answer, and they started up a program. In the fall of 2010, the Las Cruces district partnered with Dona Ana Community College, which housed the Arrowhead Park Early College High School. But in August, the Arrowhead school moved to a new $18 million campus on property donated by New Mexico State University. Joined by a new freshman class of 125 students, the 112 students who completed the inaugural year are now sophomores. In two years, the building will open its doors to students in grades 9-12. College by 2025 In his 2009 letter about his work at the foundation, Gates suggested a national goal “to ensure that 80 percent of our students graduate from high school fully ready to attend college by 2025.” He acknowledged that the goal “will probably be more difficult to achieve than anything else the foundation works on, because change comes so slowly and is so hard to measure.” Vargas says that the ECHS model is one way to achieve that goal. “Until you can show me that we have removed the academic, social and financial barriers that low-income students face between high school and into college,” he declares, “we need a pathway like this.” DA Alan Dessoff is a contributing writer to District Administration. Design Principles for Early College High School Creating an early College high sChool Can help overCoMe academic barriers for low-income, minority and at-risk students. Joel vargas, vice president of the high school through College, a national Jobs for the Future program, and lavonne sheffield, associate vice president for early College expansion at JFF, believe the program should be expanded across the nation because today’s pupils need to have the advanced skills, content knowledge and learning strategies to be successful in a rapidly changing job market. But the challenge to expanding it is ensuring consistent high-quality implementation and instruction. to address this, the north Carolina new schools project (nCnsp), a public-private partnership that works to develop innovative high schools in the state, relies on six key design principles for every early college school. Ready for college: nCnsp schools are characterized by the pervasive, transparent and consistent understanding that they exist for the purpose of preparing all students for college and work. to overcome the harmful consequences of tracking and sorting, they maintain a common set of high standards. Powerful teaching and learning: nCnsp schools are characterized by the presence of commonly held standards for high quality instructional practice. teachers design rigorous instruction that ensures the development of critical thinking, application and problem-solving skills often neglected in traditional settings. Personalization: staff in nCnsp schools understand that getting to interact with and knowing students well is an essential condition of helping them achieve academically. these high schools ensure that adults leverage their knowledge of students in order to improve student learning. Redefine professionalism: evident in nCnsp schools are the collaborative work orientation of staff, the shared responsibility for decision making, and the commitment to growing the capacity of staff and schools throughout the network. Leadership: staff in the north Carolina new schools projects work to develop a shared mission for their school and work actively as agents of change, sharing leadership for improved student outcomes in a culture of high expectations for every student. Purposeful design: nCnsp schools are designed to create the conditions that ensure the other five design principles. the organization of time and space and the allocation of resources ensure that these best practices become common practice. —Angela Pascopella 80 October 2011 District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - October 2011

District Administration - October 2011
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Transportation Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Building a Blended Learning Program
How Are Science Fairs Fairing?
A New Age for Algebra
Early College High Schools
Changing of the Guard in Florida
CIO News
How Much Computing Power Do You Need?
An Unconventional Approach to 1:1
New Books
Problem/ Solution
Research Center
Product Focus
New Products
Professional Opinion
Going Mobile
Online Edge

District Administration - October 2011