OH NO, You Can’t Go! Improving Graduation Rates through

1. OH NO, You Can’t Go! Improving Graduation Rates through Regional Career and Technical Education Centers

2. A presentation from • New Hampshire Department of Education, Career Development Bureau and Office of High School Redesign. • Susan Randall & Virginia Irwin with support from Paul K. Leather

3. First Off, Resource Materials! • New Hampshire’s Vision for Redesign: Moving From High Schools to Learning Communities • Senate Bill 18: Raising the Compulsory Age of Public Education in NH from 16 to 18 • CPPOSs • Individualized Learning Plan Model • Student Passports

4. OUTLINE • Follow the Child Initiative • High School Redesign • Minimum Standards • Local Board Policies • Personalization for All • Extended Learning Opportunities • Competency Assessment and High School Credits • Alternative Education

5. Follow The Child Commissioner Lyonel Tracy’s initiative to follow the • personal, • social, • physical and • academic needs of each NH student, pre-K through high school graduation.

6. High School Redesign: The following broad frameworks and initiatives are on-going to address students at risk of dropping out as a larger strategy to make NH High Schools more effective in addressing 21st Century learning needs: • New Hampshire’s Vision for Redesign: Moving from High Schools to Learning Communities • Apex II

7. Statewide Literacy Plan & Statewide Numeracy Plan • Extended Learning Opportunities • Time flexibility • School Improvement Efforts

8. Underlying Principles of New Hampshire’s Vision of HS Redesign • Follow The Child, which is really about the moral imperative to address each child’s needs in a personalized way, keeping good and accurate data regarding their progress • Students as Active Learners • Choices and Flexibility for Where and When Learning occurs

9. Underlying Principles of New Hampshire’s Vision of HS Redesign cont. • Personalization • High Standards • Engagement & Active Learning • Empowered Educators

10. The Process • Before we get into the heart of the presentation, let us show you how we are addressing the many issues associated with increasing the minimum age for compulsory education: • http://www.metacafe.com/watch/66347/cat_herding/

11. NH’s Minimum Standards for School Approval The Standards include a number of innovative and forward-thinking changes that support a competency-based and personalized high school – learning community system including: • greater flexibility in developing a school calendar based on hours, rather than days, • harnessing of local resources, encouraging schools to forge beyond current resources to partner with their wider community for the benefit of students,

12. Minimum Standards cont. • distance learning and the use of technology in learning • personalized learning and personalized learning strategies to address the learning styles, strengths, interests, and needs of each student, based on local policy, and • extended learning opportunities for credit towards graduation upon demonstration of competency acquired, • transition from Carnegie unit-based grading to credit based on competency demonstration by the 2008-2009 school year.

13. How the demand for skills has changedEconomy-wide measures of routine and non-routine task input (US) Mean task input as percentiles of the 1960 task distribution (Levy and Murnane)

14. Deciding What to Assess • Looking back at what students were expected to have learned • Or • Looking ahead to how well they can extrapolate from what they have learned and apply their knowledge and skills in novel settings • For PISA, the OECD countries choose the latter

15. Rigor/Relevance and Personalization High Rigor/Relevance (College/Industry-normed performance expectations) College Economics Class Internship ~ Governor’s Office legislative affairs—(credit tied to competency attainment) Low Personalization (class structure, little differentiation) High Personalization (individualized planning and student centered learning) Job/internship local store—no connection to class expectation Credit Recovery after school or Summer school class Low Rigor/Relevance (HS general ed classes)

16. Pyramid of Service Based on Need, (DuFour & DuFour) Out of District Placement Out-of-School Programs: Adult High School, GED Prep., Off site Programs, etc. In-School Programs for kids at risk: Literacy Programs, dropout prevention, Special Education, etc. Improving education for all kids: HS Redesign, APEX II, Raising the compulsory age of education, etc.

17. Extended Learning Opportunities • A voluntary section of the State School Approval Rules • Allows students to earn credit towards graduation outside of traditional classrooms • Requires Qualified Educator Oversight • Underpins the language of SB 18

18. Reading, ‘Riting, & ‘Rithmatic! • Statewide Literacy Plan • toolkit on adolescent literacy strategies to support school districts to focus on literacy across the academic disciplines. • Statewide Numeracy Plan • to be developed this year in a process parallel to the Literacy Plan completed last year.

19. Time Flexibility • The school approval rules also contain a requirement that all high school courses be measured by the mastery of course level competencies as a means to earn credit towards graduation. This rule will allow schools and students to be more flexible with time regarding the completion of these courses.

20. Time Flexibility cont. • This, in turn, will allow for the use of after school, out of school, and summer school programs and credit recovery efforts to support credit attainment for struggling students.

21. School Improvement Efforts The DOE is providing a variety of supports to schools in need of improvement, using both federal, state, and private resources, that will assist schools to implement ideas and strategies discussed in the High School Vision document. For example:

22. Supports designed for schools and districts in corrective action • Response to Intervention (RTI) efforts and resources • Transition Community of Practice (Special Ed and VR) • A cadre of school improvement coaches in English Language Arts and Mathematics have been contracted to provide direct, on-site assistance. • CACES Competency Assessment Model - piloted with High Schools across the state. • Grant Application for pilot to support school districts in the use of Follow The Child Principles, ELOs, & Competency Assessment in alternative settings.

23. Senate Bill 18 • Compulsory Attendance raised from 16 to 18 • Exemptions: • Home Education • GED Certificate • Graduate

24. Private School • Waiver from Superintendent: • Alternative Learning Plan in place or • Excused from school due to physical or mental challenge, or • Due to mutual agreement between parent and school authorities

25. Alternative Learning Plans • Age appropriate academic rigor • May be made up of Extended Learning Opportunities • Developed by pupil, guidance counselor, principal, and parent • Approved by Superintendent • May be appealed to the Local and State Board of Education

26. GED Option • The New Hampshire Department of Education has been approved as a GED Option State. This designation allows high schools to provide GED instruction to students who are at least one grade level behind their entering high school class and have at least an 8th grade reading level. Students in these programs would not have to drop out of school in order to take the GED test.

27. $4.5 Million for Dropout Prevention * New Funding • Six Person State Dropout Prevention and Recovery Council oversees these monies • Districts were found to have a wide range of needs for at risk students. • Plan: To Create A REGIONAL, STATE-WIDE System of Dropout Prevention.

28. Adult Ed RFPTwenty-three Adult High School Grants have been approved. This includes three new sites that will be in Sanborn Regional, Kennett, and Lisbon High Schools. ($500,000) • Special Education Adult HS fundingMonies will be released based on numbers of students in Adult High Schools needing special services, based on dropouts who are/were coded Special Education. ($1.5 million)*

29. Expanded Tuition & Transportation fundingAmendments were made to Tuition and Transportation monies to expand the coverage of T&T to include not only Career & Technical Education programming, but also Adult High School and Alternative programs. Programs that would not be eligible for this funding are private and parochial schools. Students identified as at risk will now be able to attend Alternative Programs that allow for a variety of educational options that lead to graduation at regional centers, or at locations determined by the district. A guidance document on this expanded funding will be released shortly. ($900,000) *

30. Alternative Education Grants • Three sources of funds: • State Alternative - $2.1 million (through6/09)* • WIA Title II Youth $1.6 million annually • State Dropout Funds - $350,000 annually

31. Schools that received funding are using their money to: • Expand Alternative Education programs • Purchase Plato credit recovery system • Hire a District level dropout Prevention and Recovery Consultant • NH-JAG • Additional CTE courses • Expand coursework into afternoons and evenings • Hire a PBIS/RENEW facilitator • Expand theAdult Education Center • Hire a Social Worker/Outreach Counselor

32. Extended Learning Opportunities • A voluntary section of the State School Approval Rules • Allows students to earn credit towards graduation outside of traditional classrooms • Requires Qualified Educator Oversight • Underpins the language of SB 18

33. Longer Term Initiatives • Follow The Child Coordinator in every district • Amend Truancy Laws • State Diploma System • Work with DHHS and Corrections services to better support students at risk: • Drug/Alcohol Abuse • Community Mental Health Services • DCYS • Juvenile Justice Services including YDC

34. Recommended Changed in Statutes and State Rules • Strengthening Truancy law and rules • Currently being proposed as legislative study committee • Establish a State Diploma • Allow Foster Children to remain in school of residence through senior year • No wrong door policy with various DHHS programs and services

35. Getting to 0% • We project out over 5 years the overall impact, and believe that with the expansion of Adult High School, GED Options and expanded Alternative Education Programs that over time, we will see the dropout rate decline to 0%.....with CAVEATS

36. Continued funding of dropout programs. • More than one program may serve the same “at risk” student • Services need to be expanded to address the needs of younger students i.e. math, reading, alternative education and Career and Technical Education

37. Links • Extended Learning Opportunities • http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/adultlearning/SupportingStudentSuccessThroughExtendedLearningOpportunities.htm • New Hampshire’s Vision for High School Redesign • http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/adultlearning/Guidance/documents/NHDoE_Vision_ReportFINAL31207WebVersion.pdf • New Hampshire Minimum Standards • http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/laws/Ed306.htm • New Hampshire’s Literacy Plan • http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/curriculum/School Improvement/literacy_action_plan.pdf • Senate Bill 18 • http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2007/SB0018.html • Senate Bill 18/Follow The Child Implementation Plan • http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/adultlearning/SB18plan.pdf

38. Something to think about… • http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6165575734378530043 THANK YOU