SGA Conference University Club of Chicago November 3, 2011 Dr. Elizabeth Molina Morgan bettym@americaspromise.org

1. SGA Conference University Club of Chicago November 3, 2011 Dr. Elizabeth Molina Morgan bettym@americaspromise.org

2. America’s Promise Alliance The nation’s largest partnership organization dedicated to improving the lives of young people

3. 5 Promises + How They Change Lives • Caring adults • Safe places • A healthy start • Effective education • Opportunities to help others When children have these Promises, the odds of success are heavily in their favor GROUNDED IN THE FIVE PROMISES

4. State of our Children The State of Our Schools • One in four public school children drop out of high school. 1.3 million a year, 3,000 every school day. • For minority students, it’s closer to 50%. • Of those who do graduate, only about one-third are ready for college and the 21st century workforce. “Education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success; it is a prerequisite.” PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA 4

5. Children in the Budget: The Dropout Factory High Schools • Only 1,640 high schools (12%) account for nearly halfof all dropouts and almost 60%of minority dropouts.

6. Fenger High School (2009 Statistics) • Chicago Public Schools Graduation Rate: 70.2% • Graduation Rate: 65% • Mobility: 46% • Attendance: 65% • Truancy: 61% • Dropout rate: 36% • Enrolled in college or post secondary education: 38% Source: SGA Youth & Family Services Promise Neighborhood Application

7. Our Lowest-Performing Schools

8. Children in the Budget: Grad Nation On March 1, 2010, President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Gen. Colin Powell and Alliance Chair Alma Powell to launch the Grad Nation campaign. 12

9. Mobilizing A Grad Nation Becoming a Grad Nation • Our Goals • 90 percent graduation rate nationwide by 2020, with no school graduating less than 80 percent of its students • Regain America’s standing as first in the world in college completion. Our focus is to ensure that young people graduate high school ready for college and the 21st century workforce. • Our Strategy • Focus on the neighborhoods surrounding the lowest-performing high schools and their feeder elementary and middle schools. • “Every child counts and every child deserves a chance to succeed.” • MARC MORIAL • National Urban League

10. Grad Nation Theory of Action If we focus on mobilizing communities to bring the needed supports to students who will attend the lowest-performing high schools, while aggressively supporting education reform, then we can help end the dropout crisis and transform the lives of our most vulnerable children.

11. The Education Landscape A number of local, national, and international trends, facts, and circumstances are changing the landscape for teaching and learning in America’s public schools

12. Three Major Forces According to Irwin Kirsch, Head of Research for the Educational Testing Service, three forces are changing our nation’s future: • Inadequate literacy and numeracy skills among large segments of our students and adult population • An ongoing shift in the demographic profile of our population, powered by the highest immigration rates in nearly a century • The continuing evolution of the economy and the nation’s job structure, requiring higher levels of skills from an increasing proportion of workers

13. Declining Literacy Skills Distribution of Literacy Scores Found in the National Adult Literacy Survey (1992) 70 million adults In levels 1/2 Less Proficient More Proficient

14. Declining Literacy Skills Average literacy scores are expected to decline between 1992 and 2030, with an increase in the amount of inequality. USA Adult Literacy Skills 1992-2030 70 million increase to 119 million in 2030 Less Proficient More Proficient

15. The U.S. Performance • Reading scores have remained mostly flat since the release of A Nation at Risk report in 1983 • The U.S. is not among the world’s leaders in any area of educational achievement • High School Graduation rates peaked at 77% in 1969 and have remained in the low 70% range since 1995 Source: Dr. Irwin Kirsch, ETS

16. The Job Market • Jobs associated with college-level skills and education accounted for two-thirds of the job growth between 1984 and 2010 • Only 3% of future 21st century jobs will be available to unskilled employees, and jobs requiring high levels of education and skills are projected to account for almost half of the job growth over the next decade • Business leaders report difficulty in finding enough qualified employees in skilled areas Source: Dr. Irwin Kirsch, ETS

17. According to the Education Trust, 2010:Of Every 100 Kindergartners: Graduate from high school or get a GED Complete at least some college Obtain at least a Bachelor’s degree • 94 White • 88 African American • 68 Latino • 67 White • 51 African American • 36 Latino • 37 White • 20 African American • 12 Latino

18. TWO STARTLING FACTS: • Immigration is projected to account for more than half of our population growth between 2005 and 2015 • 44% of births to women under 30 are out of wedlock. The majority of these births take place among women with either no high school diploma or no postsecondary education Source: Dr. Irwin Kirsch, ETS

19. Immigration patterns have changed dramatically over the past 100 years. New immigrants to the U.S. are quite diverse with respect to their country of origin. 100% 80% Asia Central/SouthAmerica 60% Canada Proportions Europe Australia andNew Zealand 40% Africa 20% 0% 1820–1940 1951–60 1971–80 1991-96 Years

20. Improvement is a Necessity… Not an Option

21. The time for excuse-making has come to an end. Rod Paige Secretary of Education, 2002

22. Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education Race to the Top 2009

23. Definitions School Improvement (Reform) Continuous Improvement Transformation Turnaround Restart Closing

24. What Works: Nine Improvement Strategies In-depth, strategic planning Budgeted outcomes Data-driven decision making Leadership development A focus on high expectations Continuous monitoring of progress Support for individual students Awareness and professional development for all staff Involving parents, partners, and volunteers

25. In-Depth Strategic Planning Key Elements: • “If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter what road you take.” Lewis Carroll • Begin with the end in mind (Stephen Covey) • Specify instructional outcomes • Shared central values • What will success look like? • Collaborative focus on outcomes

26. “In our work, we have found that successful companies place a great deal of emphasis on values.” - Terry Deal and Allan Kennedy

27. Common Core Standards • Common Core State Standards are a good example of specifying instructional outcomes • The Standards “begin with the end in mind” • They provide shared academic values for the school system • They make it clear to students and parents what’s expected of them

28. Budgeted Outcomes Key Elements: • Strategic Budgeting: what gets resourced, gets done • Support for specific initiatives • Using resources to overcome challenges and create future innovations

29. A Few CPS Budget Facts (2010-11) • Maintain K-8 class size, but increase high school class size from average of 31 to 33 students • Cuts to bilingual education programs as a direct result of state budget reduction • Reduce funding for enrichment programs, transportation and tuition payments for charter and contract schools • Eliminate positions not supported by enrollment formulas • Implement cuts to CPS central office services • Delay capital plan and draw down on reserves Total CPS Budget: $6.4 Billion Source: CPS 2010-2011 Budget Report

30. Data-Driven Decision Making Key Elements: • Data warehousing • Use-friendly system enabling easy access by teachers and administrators • Access for parents to their own children’s performance record • Role of “specialist” teachers in reviewing and reporting on data • Decisions made based on “what the figures say to do”

32. Leadership Development Key Elements: • Everyone needs to be a leader • Develop teacher leadership skills, particularly • Managing vs. leading

33. Effective Leadership is the Key to SuccessFocus on “Leadership” at all levels of the organization

34. Jim Collins, Good to Great

35. Leaders vs. Managers “Managers do things right; leaders do right things.” --Peter Drucker, Leadership 101

36. A Focus on High Expectations Key Elements: • Focus on what really matters – Stephen Covey: “First Things First” • Create a “no excuses” culture for student achievement • Professional learning community • Policies promoting world-class standards • Curriculum revision and structured implementation • A focus on teaching effectiveness • Instructional leadership and supervision

37. Everything in the school district must be geared to supporting high academic and social standards

38. WCPS Code of Conduct WCPS Dress Code Anti-Bullying Policy/ Civility Initiative WCPS Academic Integrity Policy

39. Continuous Monitoring of Progress Key Elements: • Measure instructional outcomes on a frequent basis through regular assessment • Benchmarking System • Teacher self monitoring and adjustment • Close supervision of progress for individual students, groups of students, individual schools, groups of schools, and whole system

40. “We will subsequently argue that leading a school, a small business, or a Fortune 100 company is primarily about paying attention.” Tom Peters and Nancy Austin A Passion for Excellence

41. Item Analysis Provides an analysis of student performance by objective for a given benchmark

42. Support for Individual Students Key Elements: • Creation of school-based positions to support teaching and learning and to monitor the progress of struggling students • Teacher and student “coaches” • Use of specialized, research-based programs and initiatives that have been proven to help overcome learning challenges faced by students • Magnets and specialized programs with access for all students involving some form of choice

44. Freedom of choice to apply for special school programs • Offer a variety of quality programs to all students • Magnet schools with content focus • Academies • Schools within schools • Charter-like schools with community focus • K-12 alternative models • Partnerships with higher education • Partnerships with businesses that include training programs • Improve high school offerings • Create transportation systems to ensure equal access

49. Awareness and Professional Development for All Staff • Recruit, Reward, Develop, and Retain the best staff members • Develop Human “Capital” • Focus on awareness and development in the areas identified as challenges for the system • Change from the “inside/out” • Everyone in the right seat rowing in the same direction

50. Procedures and materials do not bring about change, people do. “95% of my assets drive out of the gate everyday and it’s my job to bring them back.” Jim Goodknight CEO, SAS Company “60 Minutes”