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NATIONAL NETWORK
OF CONSTITUENT ORGANIZATIONS E-NEWSLETTER
December 28, 2006
In our recent discussions about rigor and increasing graduation requirements, providing academic supports to students to help them meet more rigorous standards has come up as a frequent challenge. State policymakers and national organizations are grappling with this issue as they work to support high school reform efforts. This newsletter provides a number of resources and publications about academic interventions. These resources are intended to provide you with information of interest to you at the national level and to your state affiliates and other stakeholders. We are in the process of developing ideas for new tools and resources and need your suggestions.
CONTENTS
NETWORK
RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
HONOR STATE UPDATES
NETWORK
RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
National High School Alliance Resources
Resource Guide for Action: Transforming High School for All Youth
Access expertise, strategies, tools, indicators protocols, and research in the newly launched Resource Guide for Action: Transforming High School for All Youth. The Resource Guide for Action is designed to help policymakers and practitioners take action around the six core principles of A Call to Action: Transforming High School for All Youth. The Call to Action is the HS Alliance’s framework of principles and recommended strategies to guide leaders at all levels in transforming the traditional, comprehensive high school so that all youth are ready for college, careers, and active civic participation.
HS Alliance Resource Guide
National High School Alliance Indicators Protocols
This publication includes five site visit protocols developed by the National High School Alliance, including A Call to Action: Indicators Protocol; Active, Powerful and Knowledgeable Communities; Personalization and Social Supports; Professional Learning Communities; and Relevant and Connected Learning. These protocols are designed to be tools and guides to facilitate a school/program site visit.
HS Alliance Indicators Protocols
NNCO
Web Site
The NNCO web site includes information about each of the Network
organizations, resources and publications developed by Network organizations,
and materials developed by the National High School Alliance. Check the web site
frequently for updates and publications from the HS Alliance and the Network
organizations!
NNCO Web site
National
Initiative Checklist
This checklist arrays Honor States' involvement in several national
high school reform initiatives. It was developed in response to requests from
Network members who sought information about the major initiatives in which states are currently involved.
National
Initiative Checklist
Find
Your Newly Elected Education Officials
This web site contains links to
information about key education officials, their terms of office, and the
results of the recent elections.
View
Web page
Network
Member Resources
Identifying Potential Dropouts: Key Lessons for Building an Early Warning Data System
This report, prepared for Achieve by Craig D. Jerald, provides policymakers with an overview of research about the dropout problem and the best strategies for building an early warning data system that can signal which students and schools are most in need of interventions.
Full Report
NGA Honor States Progress Reports
These reports summarize states’ progress in implementing their Honor States grants.
Progress Reports
Serving Older Youth Through a Comprehensive Out-of-School Time System
This publication from the American Youth Policy Forum highlights lessons learned by participants of the May 2006 AYPF field trip to Philadelphia, focusing on the city's comprehensive out-of-school time system.
Full Publication
Other Resources
New Report from the National Center on Education and the Economy, Tough Choices or Tough Times
The report, by the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, finds that the United States is competing with countries that do a better job of educating their work force and produce highly educated workers who are willing to work for lower wages than U.S. employees. The Commission calls for major changes in how the U.S. administers public education, including having states set curriculum and hire and train teachers, creating regional authorities to assess educational needs of growth industries, and developing new state tests that go beyond simply measuring knowledge.
Order the Full Report | Executive Summary
Addressing America's Dropout Challenge: State Efforts to Boost Graduation Rates Require Federal Support
This report from the Center for American Progress and Jobs for the Future proposes new legislation--the Graduation Promise Act of 2007--to establish a federal commitment to partner with states, districts, and schools to raise graduation rates.
Full Report
50-State Database on Education Officials
This ECS Database identifies elected and appointed state education officials, including chief state school officers, state board members, legislative committee chairs, and others.
Education Officials Database
HONOR STATE UPDATES
Recent Activity on Providing Academic Interventions/Accelerated Credit Options
(Excerpted from the NGA Phase One State Progress Report, September/October 2006)
DELAWARE
Delaware is increasing opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school. The state won a federal Advanced Placement Incentive Program grant of $867,000 to boost participation of low-income students in Advanced Placement courses and tests. The Postsecondary Success Subcommittee of the Delaware P-20 council is developing recommendations for dual enrollment policies and course audit processes. In addition, the state’s first International Baccalaureate high school program won approval earlier this year. To support student success in high school, five-year Individual Learning Plans that connect students to career pathways will be instituted for all incoming freshmen by September 2007. The state is currently piloting the online ILP program, including providing district and teacher ILP training and publicizing the ILPs to parents and students.
LOUISIANA
A strategy to prevent student dropout has coalesced around three projects. The first is a catch-up program currently being piloted in thirty schools across the state. These pilot schools are providing “double-dose” instruction in reading and math using accelerated curricula selected through an extensive external review process. Treatment and control groups of students in each school will enable collection of effectiveness data. The second project establishes a cadre of “lighthouse schools” that have met the challenges of high poverty/high minority student populations and can serve as viable models for other schools in the state. Funding is being provided for 10-12 promising high schools to undergo complete redesign in order to achieve lighthouse status. Finally, a new program to provide funding support for high schools to implement transition programs for ninth grade students will be unveiled at a Louisiana High School Summit on March 2, 2007. Together with the anticipated development of an early warning data system, Louisiana hopes to measurably improve its graduation rate.
MAINE
Adolescent literacy is a growing focus of the state’s grant activity. Work has begun on a Literacy Framework, to document key leverage strategies and cross cutting best practices at the classroom level. With leaders from the career/technical education field, the team is also identifying universal elements to better integrate the work. Dissemination of this document will occur through 45 literacy coaches and a spring professional development academy for teachers.
MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts is working to improve alternative education routes. Alternative Education/Safe and Supportive Schools is funded at $1,250,000 for FY 2007, an increase of $250,000. The Department of Education and five community colleges are developing proposals for the funding of early colleges. Graduate students at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government will produce a policy paper on dual enrollment to inform the State Department of Education’s dual enrollment policy recommendations.
MICHIGAN
Michigan worked with the NGA Center, College Board, City University of New York, Jobs for the Future, and others to develop a set of recommendations on AP & IB expansion, and dual enrollment. The State Board of Education approved these recommendations at its June meeting. MDE will issue an RFP for the development of early college programs.
RHODE ISLAND
The Governor is proposing a $700,000 investment in the next fiscal year to provide need-based scholarships for students to participate in dual enrollment opportunities and Advanced Placement courses in mathematics and science. The state will determine how to assure quality in these programs given the recommendations provided by Jobs for the Future.
VIRGINIA
Virginia continues its efforts to support its 30 Honor Schools, including awarding year two transition grants to the schools. Schools can use the grants to fund activities that support students making the transition from middle to high school. In addition, the state has disseminated information to Honor School principals alerting them about the availability of a second round of Advanced Placement training scholarships for teachers in their schools. As part of the state’s College Awareness Project, a new SAT and ACT tutorial is available online.
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
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