Organization Name: National Center on Education and the Economy/America's Choice

Address: 555 13th St NW, Suite 500 West, Washington, DC 20004

Telephone: 202-783-3668

Fax: 202-783-3672

Web Site: www.ncee.org

Contact: Gretchen Cheney
Phone: same, ext. 102
E-mail: gcheney@ncee.org

Size (# staff, # sites):

Staff of about 150.  Headquarters in Washington, DC.  Regional offices in 8 sites around the country.

Mission/goal:

The National Center on Education and the Economy is a not-for-profit organization committed to standards-based reform of our education, employment and training systems.  America's Choice, as a subsidiary of NCEE, is dedicated to providing schools and school systems with the tools and technical assistance they need to ensure that all students graduate high school ready to enter college without the need for remediation.  We are best known for our work in comprehensive school reform through the America's Choice School Design.  We also have extensive experience in working with schools and school districts that have already embarked on or established key elements of comprehensive reform, but continue to struggle to achieve improvement in specific areas of their programs, or for specific groups of students, especially in the core areas of mathematics and literacy.

Overview of services of interest to career academies:

The America's Choice vision for the last two years of high school is one in which young people engage in a focused program of study as a way of engaging and motivating them.  Students are encouraged to pursue intellectually challenging courses focused on an area of interest.  They are treated like adults; their knowledge and opinions are valued; they are expected to perform well ñ in class, on assessments, and with their Capstone Project.  Choosing a focused Upper Division program marks the beginning of an important journey through high school and into college and the world of work.

There is no single America's Choice Upper Division model or design.  Rather, America's Choice accommodates several options, all of which create focused programs for students in the upper grades that expose them to work, training, and college while in high school.  America's Choice supports several well-known small learning community approaches and encourages their implementation by offering schools consulting and technical assistance.  The small learning community options might include:

• career academies built around a broad career theme
• houses focused on a curricular theme that go in-depth in certain subject areas
• early college programs that focus on providing students college coursework for credit before high school graduation

We offer options to schools recognizing that students have widely varying aspirations and interests and that schools need to tailor their programs accordingly.   

The America's Choice team is available to help schools incorporate the Upper Division vision into current programs or to assist those schools planning for new implementation starting in grade 11.  Schools will undoubtedly have varying needs ñ for example, ensuring that all students have access to rigorous coursework, bringing focus and purpose to academic content, personalizing the learning experience of students, creating an adult-like learning environment, or making connections to employers and post-secondary institutions.  We have a tool to help schools self-assess existing efforts and determine in what areas components could be strengthened.  And we offer professional development and materials to help schools no matter where they are on the planning and implementation continuum.

Regularly sponsored conferences/ institutes/ workshops (for whom, what, where, when, cost):

The National Center hosts an annual conference for schools and districts participating in the America's Choice School Design. The conference is held in the winter months in various locations year-to-year. The conference is geared towards teachers, principals and superintendents and is designed to address NCEE's latest curriculum work, instructional materials and strategies in standards-based reform, key leadership issues and more.

Available on-site services (for whom, what, where, cost):

Schools contracting with America's Choice to implement the high school design receive a mix of services including strong literacy and math curricula, engaging professional development for school leadership teams and faculty, and consulting and coaching assistance. We have designed a unique methodology that ìrolls outî over a five-year period to ensure deep understanding and to build leadership capacity at the school level.   Each of the following elements is addressed with the end goal of improving instruction and student achievement in mind:

Preparing principals and Leadership Teams to change their schools into results-focused, data-driven places

• Building professional, collaborative learning communities
• Restructuring large schools into smaller, more personalized learning communities
• Fostering standards-based instruction in every classroom, with an emphasis on literacy and mathematics and ìcatching upî students who have fallen behind
• Engaging parents and community members in the school

For more information on services, see our website ( www.ncee.org ) and contact the appropriate regional office.

Documents/ materials (for whom, what, cost):

America's Choice has a host of design tools, curriculum materials and professional development and training for teachers, coaches and administrators in elementary, middle and high schools (see the website at www.ncee.org .)  The following specifically address career academies:

America's Choice School Design: An Overview (High School): a summary document outlining the America's Choice high school design, including small learning communities and career academies

Support of Business-Driven Career Academies: a white paper describing NCEE's model of business-driven career academies.  

Small Learning Community and Career Academy: a handbook for high school administrators and teachers implementing the upper division of the America's Choice design.

For more information:

Please contact Gretchen Cheney at 202-783-3668 or via email: gcheney@ncee.org .