The Big Picture

1. A Change Initiative for At-Risk Programming Ankeny Community School District Presented By Tascha Brown The Big Picture

2. “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” John Dewey

3. Needs Assessment (Breaking Ranks II report) • Key Indicators: • High dropout rates • Widening achievement gaps • Disengaged students • Lack of academic Rigor except for a few students • Graduates underprepared for post-secondary education/training

4. High Dropout Rates • National Statistics • 72% graduation rate • 3 out of 10 students fail to earn a diploma in 4 years • 1.2 million drop outs every year • 6,400 students drop out every day in the U.S.

5. Widening Achievement Gaps • In 2000, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 64.1 percent of all Hispanic 18- through 24-year-olds had completed secondary schooling. This compares with 91.8 percent of White, 83.7 percent of Black, and 94.6 percent of Asian young adults.

6. Widening Achievement Gaps • “Closing the gap between minority and white students,…would contribute an estimated $500 billion to the gross domestic product each year.” (Dufour & Marzano 2011)

7. Disengaged Students • The tendency for students to drop out is also associated with their school experiences. According to the U.S. Department of Education, students drop out of school for the following reasons: Dislike of school; low academic achievement; retention at grade level; a sense that teachers and administrators do not care about students; and inability to feel comfortable in a large, depersonalized school setting (1999).

8. Lack of academic rigor except for a few students • Results on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) revealed that the U.S. ranked 25 out of 30 in math, 21st in science,15th in reading, and 24th in problem solving ((National Governors Association et al., 2008)

9. Lack of academic rigor except for a few students • Since 1990, more graduates from each racial/ethnic group completed at least a standard curriculum. The percentage of White and Asian/Pacific Islander graduates who completed a rigorous curriculum level increased more than the percentage of Black or Hispanic graduates completing a rigorous curriculum. (NAEP’s 2009 High School Transcript Study Results)

10. Graduates underprepared for post-secondary education/training • “The Unites States has the second highest college dropout rate amount twenty- seven countries (National Governors Association et al., 2008) • “More than one-third of American High School graduates who enter college are required to take remedial courses at a cost of over $2billion annually.” (Strong American Schools, 2008).

11. What Is Our Current Status? • Case studies (prior and current students) • Student interviews/ questionnaires • Program review (special programming to include: special education, AELP, at-risk)

12. Ankeny High School Dropout Case Study #1 • Limited data (reporting methods were questionable) • 54 students counted as having dropped out in the last five years (2007-2011) • 28 of the 54 had IEP’s (52%) • Currently efforts are being made to find these students to get an update of adult diploma or GED completion and current status of education, job, or military service.

13. Ankeny High School Dropout Case Study #1 • Significant amount of 12th grade transfers in to district: • Raises concern for mobility of students • These students spoke to higher levels of expectations and rigor in student questionnaire and little support in their transition • These students are now sent directly to Neveln or DMACC with no plan or support for post-secondary education or training

14. Ankeny High School Dropout Case Study #2 • 2012-2013 students currently enrolled at Neveln off-site credit recovery program • 54 students enrolled, 20 students are attending on a regular basis (3 days or more days per week) • 1 has graduated, 4 have dropped enrollment, 12 have IEP, 1 student with a 504 • 36 are students who are either a 5th, 6th, or 7th year senior • 42 had reports of excessive absences (78%) • 38 had reports of behavior issues from insubordination to substance abuse (70%)

15. Ankeny High School Dropout Case Study #2 • ITED/ITBS scores range from well below proficient to high proficiency, sever 80/90th percentile. • There appears to be little correlation between assessment data and performance in school. • About 12 students could have been identified as AELP (advanced education learning program) • There were a significant number of students who had a reasonable amount of credits earned but had cumulative GPA totals > 1.75 • Raises 2 points of interest • 1. How much are students learning? • What effects are current grading practices having on students (negative correlation)?

16. Ankeny High School Dropout Case Study #2 • Both case studies revealed the amount of students who had indicators of mental health challenges, behavioral challenges, and family/home challenges. • There are currently no mental health services in district at this time neither is there a social worker or community resource liaison at the high school at this time. (positions have been moved to elementary) • Large number of kids experienced the current framework of pyramid of interventions before dropping out or attending Neveln

17. Continued Findings • Areas in need of continuous inquiry: • When were students first identified as at-risk? • What interventions were provided for these students? • What qualifiers are represented according to the state matrix for at-risk identification? (ie: connectivity, failure of 2 or more classes, Non-proficiency on IA assessment, absenteeism) • How many students completed an adult diploma? GED?

18. Student Questionnaire • Students were asked: • What is the most important thing you have learned in school? • What would you change about school if you could? • If you could spend part of your school day in workplace internship, where would you choose to work? • If your learning were personalized, just for you, what would your school day look like? • Who help you with your educational planning? • Who provides you with the most support in school? • What challenges are you facing in completing high school successfully? • What are your future plans? Where is your passion centered? Please list the details below • Work- College- Military- Other-

19. Summary of Results • Students almost always owned their behaviors resulting in poor school performance. • Almost all students said little could be done to help them achieve higher. They were not self motivated or “didn’t try hard enough” or there were factors outside of school affecting their learning in school. • Almost all students felt as though they had teachers who were “good” teachers but they couldn’t help them. • Factors that impacted their learning in school included loss of a parent, substance abuse, falling behind in classes, mental health issues

20. Summary Continued • Almost all students said that having 8 periods a day was too much and shared feelings of being overwhelmed by school work. • Many students had high proficiency on ITEDs and almost all students stated feeling bored in school. • Almost all students have a desire to have a good job, military experience, or higher learning goals. But not a single student had a plan or consulted with an adult about their next steps.

21. Objective: • To provide an alternative educational pathway for Ankeny students whose needs are beyond the traditional school setting. • How does this fit in with ASCD vision? • Ankeny Community Schools is unified in its commitment, passion, and vision so every learner is prepared for a lifetime of personal success.

22. Meeting The Needs of All Learners Academic Systems Behavioral Systems Intensive individual interventions, high intensity, assessment based Intensive individual interventions, high intensity, assessment based Targeted group interventions, some students (at-risk), high efficiency, rapid response Targeted group interventions, some students (at-risk), high efficiency, rapid response Universal interventions, all settings, all students, preventative, proactive Universal interventions, all settings, all students, preventative, proactive

23. Another Approach

24. A Shift in Thinking • Delivery Model: • proven model/framework for engaging students in academic work focused on rigor, relevance, and relationships • Work borne out of the Breaking Ranks II report, Big Picture just did it first! • Individual Learning Plans • Pathways for the future

25. What Do We Change? • Instructional model • From diploma requirements completion to a pathway for the future • Advisors who work daily with a small group of students • Internships 2 days per week • Mentors who support students in their pathway • Academic work demonstrated through rigorous exhibitions

26. How We Change: R&R&R • Relationships: finding appropriate learning opportunities, appropriate internships, one advisor for four years, appeal to learning style, support emotional development in every student. • Rigor: personalized learning plan, assessment (authentic project work, real world standards, exhibitions-public, narratives, weekly meetings, advisory-work logs and learning goals • Relevance: interest exploration, connect to a mentor in the real world who works in desired field, bring the outside in, discover personal strengths and weaknesses, service learning

27. How Do We Evaluate? • Engaged, challenged, positive learners • “They are passionate about their learning, because they are learning what they are passionate about”—Met Advisor • Number of students completing the program • Proficiency of Standards (completion of learning goals and exhibitions) • Number of graduates • Post secondary pathway plan for each student • Contributing, productive members of our community who give back to their community

28. Implementation

29. What is a Big Picture School? • Founder is Dennis Littky (1995) • Small Learning Community (no bigger that 300 students • 3 foundation principles: • Learning must be based on interests and goals of each student • A student’s curriculum must be relevant to people and places that exist in the real world • A student’s abilities must be authentically measured by the quality of her or his work

30. What is a Big Picture School? • Five Learning Goals- • Empirical Reasoning- “How do I prove it?” • Quantitative Reasoning-”How do I measure or represent it?” • Communication- “How do I take in and express information?” • Social Reasoning- “What do other people have to say about this?” • Personal Qualities- “What do I bring to the process?”

31. What is a Big Picture School? • Ten Distinguishers • Learning in the Real World: LTI • One Student at a Time: Personalization • Authentic Assessment • School Organization • Advisory Structure • School Culture • Leaderhship • Parent/Family Support: Adult Support • School/College Partnership: College Prep and Support • Professional Development

32. Phase 1: Who Will We Serve? • Initial Focus on students at the top of the pyramid that serves as our visual for meeting the needs of all learners: • Students currently served at Neveln • Students not on track for graduation • Students with excessive absences • Students who have experienced repeated school failure • Students who have obstacles preventing them from being successful in school

33. Phase 2: Who Will We Serve? • Students who have experienced school failure • Students who reject traditional schooling • Students who need support in overcoming barriers to learning so they can be successful in life • Students who need another education pathway

34. Timeline

35. We Need a Green Light

36. Next Steps: Design and Development • Behind the Scenes: • Share vision, case study and introduce Big Picture model to Board of Education, administrators and teachers • Present Case Studies to key stakeholders • Program Review of At-Risk Programming in District • Up Front Implementation: • Teacher workshops to deepen understanding of principles and distinguishers • Site visits to Big Picture schools • Collaboration with Big Picture Network • Training and professional development for implementation • Concurrently Integrate practices in current Neveln program

37. “I believe we learn best when, we, not others, are deciding what we are going to learn, and when we are choosing people, materials and experiences from which we will be learning.” – John Holt