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NATIONAL NETWORK OF
CONSTITUENT ORGANIZATIONS E-NEWSLETTER
August 24 , 2006
The August newsletter contains the following
sections:
NNCO BUSINESS AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NETWORK RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
STATE HIGHLIGHTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
NNCO
BUSINESS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
October Meeting
The October NNCO Meeting will be held on October 24, from 9:00-3:00 at IEL (4455 Connecticut Ave, Suite 310). The meeting will focus on state-specific challenges in implementing the NGA/Achieve Action Agenda and strategies for NNCO assistance. Please let us know if you are unable to make it as soon as possible.
NNCO
Conference Calls
Our September NNCO conference call will be held on September 18 at 1:30. The focus of the call will be state-specific challenges, in preparation for the October meeting. Call in information is as follows: 1-888-387-8686, room number: 4359063.
NETWORK RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
New NNCO Resources:
July Conference Call Featuring Former Superintendent Linda Murray
The July NNCO conference call featured a presentation from Linda Murray, former Superintendent of the San Jose Unified School District and current Superintendent in Residence at Education Trust – West, speaking about San Jose’s implementation of the A-G curriculum (California’s college preparatory curriculum) for all students district-wide. The conference call notes summarize the highlights of the presentation and discussion.
Conference Call Notes
Revised Paper for Review - Increasing Academic Rigor in High Schools: Network Perspectives
We have revised Increasing Academic Rigor in High Schools: Network Perspectives, based on feedback and discussion during the June NNCO meeting. This paper includes a brief summary of themes and policy trends on the issue of academic rigor in high schools and a scan and analysis of how each member of the Network is defining, framing, and engaging their constituents around rigor. Please review the new draft and let us know if you have final comments before further distribution.
Academic Rigor Paper Draft
Tool for Review - Defining Rigor in High Schools: Core Principles
We have developed a draft of a rigor framework based on discussions at the June NNCO meeting. The framework is intended to help you talk about the issue with your constituents, include key messages in your publications, and identify programs and policies that promote rigor at the state and district level. It has been a real challenge to simplify a complex set of ideas into a clear, useable framework. We need your input about how to improve the framework and make it more useful for you. Please contact Robin Chait at chaitr@iel.org or 202-822-8405 ext. 161, or Rob Muller at mullerr@iel.org to discuss any suggestions you have.
Academic Rigor Tool Draft
Communications Resource
Based on discussions at the June meeting, we have compiled a document that organizes resources by NGA/Achieve Action Agenda topic area. Included are concise reports that contain key messages that NNCOs might incorporate into publications or newsletters. Please let us know if this is a useful tool or how we might modify it to better meet your needs. Please also feel free to suggest resources for inclusion.
Full Resource
Network Member Resources:
Achieve's August Newsletter
Achieve's August Newsletter features a profile of the implementation of a college preparatory curriculum for all students in San Jose, highlighting strategies supported by former Superintendent Linda Murray. The newsletter also includes links to relevant articles and newly released reports.
Full Achieve Newsletter
Council of Chief State School Officers Supporting Secondary School Redesign Newsletter
The summer edition of CCSSO's quarterly newsletter on high school redesign includes the latest information on federal legislation and programs that pertain to high school reform, articles about secondary school redesign efforts and best practices across the states, and descriptions of recent and relevant resources and publications.
Full CCSSO Newsletter
Progress Report on States' Implementation of Graduation Counts
A year after fifty states signed the National Governors Association's Graduation Counts Compact, NGA has released Implementing Graduation Counts: State Progress to Date. The report states that in 2006, 13 states will report their graduation rates based on the Compact definition, and 39 states will do so by 2010.
Full NGA Progress Report
Other Relevant Resources:
High School Reform Crosswalk
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) has prepared a "crosswalk" of the recommendations issued by the leading high school reform papers published. This comparison is intended to facilitate the national discussion as it demonstrates areas of consensus for action. ACTE plans to update this document as other recommendations are issued and welcomes comments and additions. If you would like to read the ACTE recommendations further, please see the paper Reinventing the American High School for the 21st Century.
Full Crosswalk
ECS Summaries and Databases
ECS regularly issues useful compilations, summaries and comparisons of state policies on a wide variety of education topics. Summaries and databases related to high schools focus on state policies related to curriculum, graduation rates, graduation requirements, and postsecondary options.
Full ECS Database
STATE HIGHLIGHTS
Phase I Honor States: State Strategies for Increasing Access to a Rigorous Curriculum (Contributed by NGA)
Louisiana is launching an e-portal system to help students design a five-year plan towards graduation, beginning in eighth grade. In addition, the state is creating an early warning dropout system and piloting a catch-up curriculum for students who lack the credits to graduate.
Both Michigan and Virginia are taking steps to ensure that every high school offers college credit courses. Virginia now requires every middle school to offer Algebra I and every high school to offer at least three AP, IB or dual enrollment courses. Michigan’s short term goal is to increase student access to early college courses by 10 percent. They have proposed that every high school offer two college credit courses (AP/IB) by ’07 and four by ‘08-09.
To ensure students are thinking about and preparing for college, Maine helped all 10th graders take the PSAT test, while all 11th graders were administered the SAT.
Learning time has been identified as a critical variable in Massachusetts. In response, the state has provided funds for several districts, including Boston, to extend learning time by 30 percent (either over the course of a school day or school year).
Click here for additional information about the NGA Honor States.
UPCOMING EVENTS
NNCO Timeline of Events
Please review this timeline of upcoming NNCO member organizations' events. Events are color coded by organization and collaborations are indicated by two-color boxes. We hope the timeline will be a useful resource in planning upcoming events and activities and thinking about opportunities for coordination and collaboration with other NNCO members. Please send newly planned events to Sara Goldware at goldwares@iel.org.
If there are any resources you would like to share with the recipients of this newsletter, please send an e-mail to chaitr@iel.org.
National High
School Alliance
4455 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
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