According to a report just issued by the Center for Public Education, "school districts should make every effort to help students receive a high school diploma even if it takes longer than four years."
According to the report, late graduates who receive their diploma in more than four years were compared to three other groups: on-time graduates, students who earn a GED and dropouts. As expected on-time graduates had the best outcomes in every aspect of life - not just academic, but work, civic life and even health - but late graduates were a close second ahead of GED and dropouts.
Eight-five percent of late graduates were employed compared to 77% of those who received GEDs and 81% of the dropouts. Late grads were also more likely to be employed full-time and possess a job with full benefits.
The report recommends schools offer a curriculum that adequately prepares middle level students for high school courses, identify struggling students and provide intervention programs as well as providing additional support for low-achieving students in high school.
Fortunately, our middle level students are taught by the same teachers who instruct high school students and these teachers are able to provide a sequential progression which helps students build the skills and abilities needed in high school courses while they are middle level students. This year the District implemented a policy whereby junior high or middle level courses are transcripted and students who do not make adequate progress in the 7th and 8th grade do not automatically move on to the next higher grade. It is certainly important that middle level students be prepared, but we feel it is even more important that elementary students are prepared adequately in the fundamental skills which lead to success in school. Our belief in early success led us to become one of the early school districts in Idaho to adopt the Response to Intervention model.
Genesee School has used the Response to Intervention (RtI) model to provide needed support for struggling students at any grade level. RtI has had a major impact on our school by using a data-based decision-making process. Rather than assume the student has a problem, RtI requires that we look at the instruction, the curriculum and the environment in addition to the student. Parents play an integral part in the decision-making process and students are closely monitored during the intervention to insure it is working as anticipated. We believe that the changes we have adopted as we have implemented RtI have had a major impact on student achievement in our school.
Due to our small size, it is difficult for students to "fall between the cracks" and we have few dropouts. I believe a student has to work harder to fail than to succeed in Genesee. Our teachers go the extra mile to help students by coming in early or staying after school, as needed. This is not to say that the student is not ultimately responsible for his or her own education, but that support is available for those who seek it out.
Showing posts with label curriculum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curriculum. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Recess and test scores
A recent study published by the journal Pediatrics showed that children who took a recess of more than 15 minutes per day had better classroom behavior than those who did not. The study looked at 11,000 children ages 8 and 9 and found this daily break from structured learning was just as essential to a child's education as the math, science and reading lessons they received in the classroom.
This is an important study which comes at a time when many schools across the country have eliminated recess or cut physical education so that there would be more time to teach all the reading, writing and arithmetic needed to pass standardized tests. Fortunately, most experts will agree that recess is an integral part of maintaining focus in the classroom.
In the elementary grades, our students have morning and afternoon recess plus an additional recess after lunch. GSD Policy 310.15 - Physical Activity and Physical Education specifically states that all grade 1-6 students will be offered 40-60 minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors, during which the school should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity.
According to the Pediatrics study, 30 percent of the group studied was not being given any type of recess throughout the day, which has become more common. In some districts, physical education and recess hours have been downsized to meet increased pressure to raise students' scores on standardized testing.
There is some evidence to suggest that physical activity can have a positive impact on standardized assessment results. There is no question we need to improve student achievement but we need to be careful to look at the whole child when making decisions about the efficient use of time at school.
This is an important study which comes at a time when many schools across the country have eliminated recess or cut physical education so that there would be more time to teach all the reading, writing and arithmetic needed to pass standardized tests. Fortunately, most experts will agree that recess is an integral part of maintaining focus in the classroom.
In the elementary grades, our students have morning and afternoon recess plus an additional recess after lunch. GSD Policy 310.15 - Physical Activity and Physical Education specifically states that all grade 1-6 students will be offered 40-60 minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors, during which the school should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity.
According to the Pediatrics study, 30 percent of the group studied was not being given any type of recess throughout the day, which has become more common. In some districts, physical education and recess hours have been downsized to meet increased pressure to raise students' scores on standardized testing.
There is some evidence to suggest that physical activity can have a positive impact on standardized assessment results. There is no question we need to improve student achievement but we need to be careful to look at the whole child when making decisions about the efficient use of time at school.
Friday, March 13, 2009
"The future belongs to the nation who educates their children"
"The future belongs to the nation who educates their children." This quote from President Obama's speech earlier this week carries significant implications for the United States and the current state of our economy. The current economic crisis has touched nearly everyone in the country and has caused business and government alike to react to diminishing revenue streams. We may long for the "good old days" but, as many economists have suggested, the "good old days" may not have been as good as we think they were and they may not return.
But one thing is for sure. High quality education increases economic wealth through improved productivity. The challenge now is not to attempt to maintain the status-quo but to continue to move forward and provide an even more effective and robust education system even as revenue streams diminish. We need to identify the core of instruction. What skills and knowledge must our graduates possess in the 21st century to successfully compete with peers in India, Japan, China and Germany? How do we restructure education to accomplish this herculean task? How do we prepare students for a world with accelerating rates of change? The risks of not meeting this challenge are enormous for each student and for our state and country.
None of this is easy to accomplish. Fortunately, both public and private institutions have produced volumes of quality, replicable research to help point the way. Sometimes the research contradicts commonly held beliefs developed over time. After all, we all spent many years in school and we know "how it is done." If we are preparing students to work in factories we should utilize a factory model of education; bells, straight rows, similarity of tasks, movement from one unrelated task to another, student workers and boss teachers, etc. But, if we are in a post-industrial age then our education system needs to reflect this change. We need to insure that coming to school is not like visiting a history museum. While I would love to think that educational professionals are so powerful that we can change society, in fact, schools reflect society.
Schools also reflect their community. A community that demands and expects a vibrant, high-quality education system that changes to meet the needs of our students will produce successful graduates. Schools living with success made yesterday will graduate students who will find some career paths closed to them because of a lack of preparation. We are fortunate to live and work in Genesee, an education-minded community that has supported hiring the best staff, providing facilities that are safe and conducive to learning, and electing school trustees who put kids before personal agendas.
As we continue to restructure to meet future challenges your input and help will be needed. Thank you for your support of education.
But one thing is for sure. High quality education increases economic wealth through improved productivity. The challenge now is not to attempt to maintain the status-quo but to continue to move forward and provide an even more effective and robust education system even as revenue streams diminish. We need to identify the core of instruction. What skills and knowledge must our graduates possess in the 21st century to successfully compete with peers in India, Japan, China and Germany? How do we restructure education to accomplish this herculean task? How do we prepare students for a world with accelerating rates of change? The risks of not meeting this challenge are enormous for each student and for our state and country.
None of this is easy to accomplish. Fortunately, both public and private institutions have produced volumes of quality, replicable research to help point the way. Sometimes the research contradicts commonly held beliefs developed over time. After all, we all spent many years in school and we know "how it is done." If we are preparing students to work in factories we should utilize a factory model of education; bells, straight rows, similarity of tasks, movement from one unrelated task to another, student workers and boss teachers, etc. But, if we are in a post-industrial age then our education system needs to reflect this change. We need to insure that coming to school is not like visiting a history museum. While I would love to think that educational professionals are so powerful that we can change society, in fact, schools reflect society.
Schools also reflect their community. A community that demands and expects a vibrant, high-quality education system that changes to meet the needs of our students will produce successful graduates. Schools living with success made yesterday will graduate students who will find some career paths closed to them because of a lack of preparation. We are fortunate to live and work in Genesee, an education-minded community that has supported hiring the best staff, providing facilities that are safe and conducive to learning, and electing school trustees who put kids before personal agendas.
As we continue to restructure to meet future challenges your input and help will be needed. Thank you for your support of education.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Genesee Preschool
The Genesee School District preschool is a tuition-based preschool operated as a service to the community. What began as a grant-funded program in 1992 transitioned to its current format in 1994 following the completion of the grant.
Idaho does not fund regular education preschool programs. Interestingly, it is against the State Board of Education rules to use state funds for a regular education preschool and it is also against the rules to transport regular preschool children on yellow school buses. In spite of these issues, the community has supported our preschool. Meeting three afternoons each week, the preschool follows an approved early childhood education curriculum to prepare students to successfully enter kindergarten both academically and socially. The preschool is taught by a certified and highly qualified teacher - Mrs. Gehring.
The District charges $125 per month for preschool tuition. Our attempt is to run this program at break-even. Currently we are not covering all the costs with tuition, but the benefits of having well-prepared students is an investment that benefits both the students and the District. It benefits the District by reducing future costs of remedial and/or special education. Numerous individuals have questioned why we cannot run this preschool entirely using grant funds. That is a excellent question. The answer is simply that grants are targeted at specific populations. The vast majority of preschool grants target low-income, minority students neither of which Genesee has in great numbers. Further, grants are generally intended to offer "seed" money to start programs with the entity eventually taking full fiscal responsibility.
Idaho does not fund regular education preschool programs. Interestingly, it is against the State Board of Education rules to use state funds for a regular education preschool and it is also against the rules to transport regular preschool children on yellow school buses. In spite of these issues, the community has supported our preschool. Meeting three afternoons each week, the preschool follows an approved early childhood education curriculum to prepare students to successfully enter kindergarten both academically and socially. The preschool is taught by a certified and highly qualified teacher - Mrs. Gehring.
The District charges $125 per month for preschool tuition. Our attempt is to run this program at break-even. Currently we are not covering all the costs with tuition, but the benefits of having well-prepared students is an investment that benefits both the students and the District. It benefits the District by reducing future costs of remedial and/or special education. Numerous individuals have questioned why we cannot run this preschool entirely using grant funds. That is a excellent question. The answer is simply that grants are targeted at specific populations. The vast majority of preschool grants target low-income, minority students neither of which Genesee has in great numbers. Further, grants are generally intended to offer "seed" money to start programs with the entity eventually taking full fiscal responsibility.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Why Pay for Activities?
During times of falling revenues, people often suggest eliminating extra-curricular activities to save money. Certainly it is reasonable to put everything on the table for discussion. And when cuts are necessary to balance the budget, school officials need to review all programs to insure that core educational goals can be achieved. So what conceivable educational values are there in extra-curricular activities? Why do schools expend taxpayer dollars to pay for programs like sports, music, drama, and other activities?
Extra-curricular programs are an integral part of the educational program. That is not to say that a specific program is necessarily integral, but that the benefits to be derived from participation in extra-curricular activities helps the school achieve its mission.
In my last post I touched on the importance of developing 21st century learning skills in order to successfully compete in a global economy. Many of these important skills are fostered in extra-curricular programs, such as developing leadership skills, working collaboratively in small groups, making appropriate health-related decisions, solving problems, working effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities, showing initiative, working appropriately and productively with others, meeting high standards and encouraging and guiding others.
It is not that these skills cannot be taught and fostered in traditional academic courses. They are. Extra-curricular activities provide a highly motivating environment to help students refine these skills. And, in the case of many extra-curricular programs, like music and athletics, students are performing these skills in a "real world" environment that puts additional pressure on them to strive for excellence; a quality that we certainly hope to foster in all of our students.
Does it work? Is the expense worth it? Yes. Research has demonstrated time and again, that students who participate in extra-curricular activities maintain higher grades in their academic coursework than do their peers who do not participate. Many accomplished individuals will point to the skills they learned in sports, FFA, BPA, music, drama, etc. as an integral part of their success.
Does society often get caught up in the competition and forget about the values that should be learned? Often yes, but let's not compare college and professionals with public school students. The goal of education-based activities is not to develop professional athletes and musicians, although if a student chooses to pursue such a goal we would not stand in his or her way, but to develop well-rounded, contributing members of our democracy.
Extra-curricular programs are an integral part of the educational program. That is not to say that a specific program is necessarily integral, but that the benefits to be derived from participation in extra-curricular activities helps the school achieve its mission.
In my last post I touched on the importance of developing 21st century learning skills in order to successfully compete in a global economy. Many of these important skills are fostered in extra-curricular programs, such as developing leadership skills, working collaboratively in small groups, making appropriate health-related decisions, solving problems, working effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities, showing initiative, working appropriately and productively with others, meeting high standards and encouraging and guiding others.
It is not that these skills cannot be taught and fostered in traditional academic courses. They are. Extra-curricular activities provide a highly motivating environment to help students refine these skills. And, in the case of many extra-curricular programs, like music and athletics, students are performing these skills in a "real world" environment that puts additional pressure on them to strive for excellence; a quality that we certainly hope to foster in all of our students.
Does it work? Is the expense worth it? Yes. Research has demonstrated time and again, that students who participate in extra-curricular activities maintain higher grades in their academic coursework than do their peers who do not participate. Many accomplished individuals will point to the skills they learned in sports, FFA, BPA, music, drama, etc. as an integral part of their success.
Does society often get caught up in the competition and forget about the values that should be learned? Often yes, but let's not compare college and professionals with public school students. The goal of education-based activities is not to develop professional athletes and musicians, although if a student chooses to pursue such a goal we would not stand in his or her way, but to develop well-rounded, contributing members of our democracy.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Vision 21
Vision 21 is an exciting initiative being carried out by the secondary teaching staff to incorporate 21st century learning skills into the educational process in our school. In November 2007, the Board of Trustees had the opportunity to listen to a presentation from the New Technology High School Foundation at the annual school board convention in Coeur d'Alene. The trustees were motivated to bring a similar program into our district. Last spring, a group of eight local educators visited the New Technology High School in Napa, California and were given the opportunity to learn how NTHS has enhanced student learning and student responsibility.
The returning staff members were equally excited by the prospect of incorporating these changes into their practice and took the initiative to inform the other teachers and begin working on the integration of these ideas into the school culture and academic programs. You may know that we no longer use bells at school. Using synchronized clocks, students are responsible to be in class on time. Tardies can negatively effect a student's grade just as being late to work could impact future prospects for employment. Tardies have been greatly reduced.
The secondary students and staff have been divided into cross-grade groups and several events have been developed, some by staff and some by students, which help students to work cooperatively in groups, learn leadership skills and give back to their school and community.
One of the critical pieces of the NTHS curriculum is project-based learning (PBL). PBL is a method of instruction that utilizes students working in small groups with specific responsibilities for completing the work or activity. Generally a project will incorporate numerous skills over time, may be cross-curricular (i.e., language arts and history or math and language arts) and includes a public presentation at the conclusion. Students learn to lead, work cooperatively, develop individual responsibility for their learning, communicate their ideas to others and many other important 21st century skills. Several teachers have been working hard to integrate PBL into their classes. Next year, using federal Title II funding, the district will provide a professional development opportunity on using PBL in the classroom.
Another important tool used by NTHS is a student database software program which allows teachers to create grading systems that effectively assess student progress in these 21st century learning skills. Further, this software allows students, teachers and parents to access curriculum and assessment information and readily communicate electronically with one another. A committee has reviewed six software packages to replace our current student database software which will be obsolete at the end of this school year.
If you are not familiar with the 21st century learning skills, please see Genesee School District Policy 300.2 which can be accessed on our web site at: http://www.sd282.org/Policy/300.2.pdf.
The returning staff members were equally excited by the prospect of incorporating these changes into their practice and took the initiative to inform the other teachers and begin working on the integration of these ideas into the school culture and academic programs. You may know that we no longer use bells at school. Using synchronized clocks, students are responsible to be in class on time. Tardies can negatively effect a student's grade just as being late to work could impact future prospects for employment. Tardies have been greatly reduced.
The secondary students and staff have been divided into cross-grade groups and several events have been developed, some by staff and some by students, which help students to work cooperatively in groups, learn leadership skills and give back to their school and community.
One of the critical pieces of the NTHS curriculum is project-based learning (PBL). PBL is a method of instruction that utilizes students working in small groups with specific responsibilities for completing the work or activity. Generally a project will incorporate numerous skills over time, may be cross-curricular (i.e., language arts and history or math and language arts) and includes a public presentation at the conclusion. Students learn to lead, work cooperatively, develop individual responsibility for their learning, communicate their ideas to others and many other important 21st century skills. Several teachers have been working hard to integrate PBL into their classes. Next year, using federal Title II funding, the district will provide a professional development opportunity on using PBL in the classroom.
Another important tool used by NTHS is a student database software program which allows teachers to create grading systems that effectively assess student progress in these 21st century learning skills. Further, this software allows students, teachers and parents to access curriculum and assessment information and readily communicate electronically with one another. A committee has reviewed six software packages to replace our current student database software which will be obsolete at the end of this school year.
If you are not familiar with the 21st century learning skills, please see Genesee School District Policy 300.2 which can be accessed on our web site at: http://www.sd282.org/Policy/300.2.pdf.
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