Welcome to Webinar 4

1. Virginia Foundation for Educational Leadership Virginia Department of Education Webinar Series2012 Welcome to Webinar 4

2. Virginia Foundation of Educational Leadership (VFEL) Webinar Faculty: Dr. Roger E. Jones Dr. Carol C. Robinson

3. An Opportunity to explore Eight Elements of Successful High Schools • (http://www.centerii.org/handbook/Resources/Appendix_High_school_improvement.pdf) • Rigorous Curriculum and Instruction • Assessment and Accountability • Teacher Effectiveness and Professional Growth • Student and Family Supports • Stakeholder Engagement • Leadership Development • Organization and Structure • Sustainability

4. Do Not Overwhelm Your Staff • Help them see the “big picture” and interrelations of the elements • Every school has its own DNA • Assess the elements in your school as foundation for developing a plan

5. Today’s Agenda 1. Welcome 2. Research regarding Element 4 Student and Family Supports 3. Reflection/Next Steps

6. Objectives • Participants will be able to incorporate programs to increase student and family engagement into the tiered intervention system • Participants will be able to utilize data to determine need and to implement evidence-based tiered prevention and intervention approaches

7. Student and Family Supports (Element 4) • Programs that engage and support family members are provided • Transition programs are in place that support students as they transition in and out of high school • A positive school climate which includes school safety and respect is fostered

9. Graduation Completion Index (GCI) Would your Graduation and Completion Index improve if your students were supported by the Student Assistance Programming (SAP) process?

10. Research says… • Students involved in SAP: • Increased their attendance by 70 percent • Improved their promotion or graduation rates by 68 percent • Decreased their discipline problems by 60 percent (Fertman, Helper, Tarasevich, 2003, Retrospective Analysis of the Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program Outcome Data: Implications for Practice and Research- unpublished)

11. How can you do this at your school? • Implement a SAP team • And no, you do not need to make a new team to do this – modify an existing team and its role!

12. School-based infrastructure of proven practices that brings help to students, families, schools and communities An integrated system of supports, including prevention, early intervention and services that address barriers to student learning, success and graduationPromotes healthy school climate and student development SAP PROCESS

13. SAP PROCESS SAP teams focus on an approach to services that recognizes: • The importance of family, school and community • Seeks to promote the full potential of every child and youth by addressing their physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural and social needs 

14. SAP WORKS WITH MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS

15. Benefits of SAP Teams • Promote faculty identification of at risk student in advance of Early Warning System data • Capture more detailed information from faculty than reflected in an Early Warning System • Address barriers to learning and living • Coordinate school and community resources • Help students achieve and graduate by fostering resiliency and reducing risk factors • Encourage effective teaming • Improve school climate

17. Getting Started: A Team Approach • Ideally, SAP Teams exist at division and school levels • Large and small school teams at the school level are both effective • The team has objectives at each tiered level • Team members have different, yet complementary roles • School meetings are held regularly to review cases • Mutual support helps school team members handle the stress of referrals and case management

18. Data – What to use and how to use it Immediately Available • Attendance • Discipline, Crime and Violence • SOL results and benchmarks • Graduation and Completion Index List • By Sub-groups

19. Data – What to use and how to use it Future • Climate Surveys – Student, Parents, Staff, Community Stakeholders* • Student Survey types • Youth Risk/Protective factors* • Asset Development* • Focus Groups • Interviews *Survey Websites: Safe and Supportive Schools - http://safesupportiveschools.ed.gov/index.php?id=133 Pride Surveys – International Survey Associates Website - http://www.pridesurveys.com/ Asset Development Website - http://www.search-institute.org/developmental-assets

20. The Early Identification Process • Assistance for a student may start with a referral from within the school, from data that flags the student or from a community stakeholder • Train faculty to watch and listen for the signs of student problems and how to refer to the SAP Team • A student’s teachers may consult with the SAP Team • The SAP Team works with students and their parents • The importance of confidentiality never changes

21. Examples of Established SAPs in Virginia • Newport News Public Schools • http://sbo.nn.k12.va.us/youthdevelopment/student_assistance.html • Prince William County Public Schools • http://pwcs.studentservices.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=163939 • Pulaski County Public Schools • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZT3Eu1CD_c • Roanoke County Public Schools • http://www.rcs.k12.va.us/SAP/default.shtml • Student Assistance Programming: Creating Positive Conditions For Learning, VDOE Publication Pending

22. Community Stakeholders efforts Parent efforts Department efforts Administrative organizational efforts Efforts in student and family supports that are NOT based on student needs will NOT raise your graduation rate. Feeder school efforts Central Office efforts

23. Summary • Students benefit from programs designed by schools that provide smooth transitions, foster safe and respectful school climates, and encourage and support family participation.

24. Next Steps • What are your defined practices for student and family supports and are they effective? • Students • Staff • Parents • Community Stakeholders • What process do you use to coordinate K-12 efforts to support student assistance programming?

25. Resources for Element 4 • Daniel L. Duke: The Challenges of School District Leadership • Mike Fullan: All Systems Go • Carol Dweck: Mind Set: The New Psychology of Success • Mike Schmoker: Focus: Elevating the Essentials To Radically Improve Student Learning • Douglas Reeves & Elle Allison: Renewal Coaching: Sustainable Change for Individuals and Organizations • Reeves and Austin: Personal Coaching • Megan Tschannen-Moran: Trust Matters and Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time • John Kotter: Leading Change: Why Transformative Efforts Fail

26. Resources for Element 4 • National Registry of Effective Practices and Programs: http://nrepp.samhsa.gov • Hamilton Fish Institute: http://gwired.gwu.edu/hamfish/Programs/ • IES What Works Clearinghouse- Drop-Out Prevention: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/advancedss.aspx • National Dropout Prevention Center: http://www.dropoutprevention.org/home • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs: http://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/ • Promising Networks on Children, Families and Communities: http://www.promisingpractices.org/programs_outcome.asp

27. Resources for Element 4 • National High School Center http://www.betterhighschools.org • National School Climate Center: http://www.schoolclimate.org/about/ • Find Youth Info: http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/index.shtml • Safe and Supportive Schools: Engagement, Safety, and Environment: http://safesupportiveschools.ed.gov/index.php?id=01 • Americas Promise: http://www.americaspromise.org/Our-Work/Grad-Nation/Building-a-Grad-Nation.aspx • Center for Innovation and Improvement: http://www.centerii.org • National Center For School Engagement: http://www.schoolengagement.org/ • Center For Mental Health In Schools: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/

28. The ultimate goal in school improvement is for the people attached to the school to drive its continuous improvement for the sake of their own children and students. Dr. Sam Redding