IMPLEMENTING CAREER ACADEMIES SCHOOLWIDE

2001-2002 Developments,

Promising Practices

David Stern, Charles Dayton,

Robert Lenz, and Susan Tidyman

Prepared under contract to Johns Hopkins University
and the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,
U.S. Department of Education (ED-99-R-0024).
The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those
of the University of California, Johns Hopkins University, or the funding agency.

August 2002

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction

II. Ben Franklin High School, Philadelphia

III. Oak Grove High School, San Jose

IV. West High School, Columbus

V. South Grand Prairie High School, Texas

I. INTRODUCTION

This is the third in a series of papers about the use of the career academy model schoolwide in high schools. Since the mid-1990s a small but growing number of high schools and districts have been trying to improve student engagement and achievement by enrolling all students in career academies. These efforts have been inspired in part by strong evidence that career academies improve students' performance in school.

A paper we issued in August 2000, entitled "Issues in Schoolwide Application of Career Academies," identified a set of questions that arise when the academy model is generalized schoolwide, instead of serving only a small fraction of students in a larger high school as the model was originally designed to do. The questions were grouped under three major headings that correspond to the three key elements in the definition of a career academy:

A. Creating Small Learning Communities

B. Curriculum and Teaching to Prepare Students for College and Careers

C. Work-Based and Experiential Learning Tied to Classroom Studies

Our August 2001 sequel, entitled "Implementing Career Academies Schoolwide", described how four high schools that are working to become all academy high schools are dealing with these issues. They are:

Over the past year these sites continued their efforts to develop all SLC/ academy high schools, while coming together under the auspices of the Career Academy Support Network (CASN) to compare problems and progress. Last year's report detailed how their approaches vary, as each reaches toward its own vision of the future while facing unique contexts and problems. Rather than repeating the detailed descriptions of their approaches as described in last year's report, this 2002 report updates developments during the 2001-2002 school year, and then sketches examples of promising practices in each site that might be replicated elsewhere. Each subsequent chapter focuses on one of the sites and consists of three sections: 1) an overview that provides a general description of the high school and its approach; 2) 2001-2002 developments; and 3) promising practices.

The information on which this report is based came from a series of visits to each school over the past three years, seminars involving representatives from the four schools, school documents, and conversations with school staff members at conferences and by telephone and email. Each section has been reviewed by staff at the site for accuracy. These visits, seminars, and contacts are part of a process in which CASN is attempting to help the schools implement their plans.

This year there are two companion reports to this one. "Course Sequences for Career Academies" offers information about appropriate multi-year course sequences for academies in different career fields. While such sequences and course curricula exist for certain fields, such as the three industries on which the National Academy Foundation focuses (business/finance, travel & tourism, and information technology), for most fields such information has been lacking, beyond what individual academies have developed. Thus we undertook to examine appropriate sequences in eight such industries, gathering examples from several sources.

"Career Academy Support Networks" describes organizations that now provide technical support to career academies. These exist at the national, state, and regional level. There are also organizations that serve as an intermediary between academies and business communities in many locales, and that provide support in particular industries. While this support has been growing with the spread of career academies in recent years, nowhere has it been systematically summarized. Thus we undertook to bring together this information, describing examples in the above categories, and including one-page fact sheets on many such organizations.

II. BEN FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL, PHILADELPHIA

Overview

Located in the heart of the city of Philadelphia, Ben Franklin High School serves approximately 1500 students and offers a comprehensive curriculum in grades 9 to 12. All of Franklin's students receive free and reduced-price lunch. Ninety-five percent of the students attending Ben Franklin High School are African American; four percent are Latino and one percent is White. The average daily attendance at Franklin is 71 percent. Currently, the annual drop out rate is 30 percent.

Small Learning Communities (SLC) with a career theme have a long history at Ben Franklin High School. In 1990, Dr. Cassandra Jones, a teacher leader, with the support of The Philadelphia High School Academies, Inc., began The Academy for Fitness, Health Promotion and Sports Education. The Fitness Academy would become a model for future SLCs at Franklin and in the School District of Philadelphia. In 1993, with a new administration at the helm, Franklin divided the rest of the school into SLCs as an intervention to insure school safety and address school climate issues. In 1995, the new district superintendent, David Hornbeck, introduced a comprehensive school district reform and restructuring called Children Achieving. A key part of the Children Achieving agenda was to organize schools into small learning communities of 200 to 500 students. Beginning with 1995-96 school year, the District identified six high schools, six middle schools and six elementary schools to be the first group of campuses of small learning communities. Subsequently, all schools moved to this mode of operation. Franklin was part of the first cohort. The vision and mission of Children Achieving drove the school reform effort at Franklin for the next four years.

The Children Achieving agenda attempted to create a system with learning communities characterized by:

• children who are learning at high levels and graduates who succeed in work and post-secondary education;

• teachers who guide, coach and prompt students and feel engaged in a challenging intellectual endeavor in which they make important decisions and accept responsibility;

• technology that expands the classroom walls;

• teaching and assessment strategies that emphasize intellectual accomplishment.

Children Achieving envisioned schools characterized by:

• high expectations for all students;

• parents who are involved and active at every level;

• an emphasis on high quality, nurturing relationships;

• comprehensive support for the whole child;

• time for teacher collaboration and reflective practice.

As part of Children Achieving, Franklin reorganized the SLCs to increase the connections to careers and to have the focus of the SLCs match the vision of Children Achieving. Ben Franklin has six floors plus a basement. Consequently, Franklin formed six SLCs, each with a different career theme and at least one major industry partner. Each SLC is housed on a different floor. All SLCs have a coordinator who is given released time to oversee and support their program. The six SLCs at Ben Franklin from 1996-2001 were: Communities-In-Schools (CIS); The Academy for Fitness, Health Promotion And Sports Education (Fitness); Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Academy (HRT); Motivation And Finance Academy; Law & Public Service Academy (LPS); and Maritime Commerce & Trade Academy (MCT).

Under the school's current leadership, which began in 1998, the last four years have seen remodeling and improvements in the school building, an influx of technology, and a push to refine the SLC model in the face of poor student achievement, high staff turnover rate and under-funding. The school building was transformed from a dark and dangerous place to a well lit, fairly modern and, most importantly, safe school. Students and teachers have access to state-of-the-art technology in classrooms and computers labs. Like many urban schools, Franklin struggles to provide qualified teachers and high quality instruction for its students. The lack of qualified staff restricts its ability to provide some learning opportunities on-site for students. Consequently, many students must travel to other high schools, junior colleges and other institutions to take foreign language and other courses that are required or recommended for college. Turnover of staff also undermines professional development and team building in SLCs. In addition, Franklin has struggled to integrate the career themes into the curriculum and find most students workplace experiences. In the face of many challenges, Franklin has stayed the course with Small Learning Communities. While they continue to refine the original structure of their SLCs, the school leadership, staff and community remain committed to implementing SLCs schoolwide.

Developments in 2001-2002

Ben Franklin weathered a particularly challenging year in 2001-2002. The school sought to strengthen teaching and learning in the SLCs by adopting the Talent Development High School model from CRESPAR (Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk) at John Hopkins University (see Attachment 1). However, Franklin was given only half the funds this model usually requires. In addition, all of the work in Philadelphia schools went on under threat of a state takeover. Administrators, teachers and students spent the year wondering if their school would be part of the Edison Schools (a for-profit educational management organization) or someone else's plan. In the face of all of the turmoil, Franklin posted modest gains in student attendance, course pass rate and promotion for ninth graders. At the time of this report, test scores were not available.

State takeover

It has been a tumultuous school year for all of Philadelphia's schools. In December of 2001, the Pennsylvania legislature voted to take over the Philadelphia school system and the Governor named a five-member board of overseers for the system. The Governor recommended that the board spend $200 million in the next five years to hire Edison Schools, a publicly held company that manages a growing number of public schools in more than 20 states. Under the Governor's original proposal, the top 55 central administrators of the Philadelphia system – including the superintendent – would be removed and replaced by appointees of Edison's choosing. In addition, Edison, in collaboration with universities or community- based groups, would take direct control of as many as 60 failing schools in a system of 260.

Although the Governor wanted Edison to assume control of the system's central administration, he retreated in the face of opposition from many parents and students, as well as the teachers' union and other labor groups representing school employees. They questioned Edison's academic and financial record. As result of this protest, the scope of the takeover was significantly reduced.

In April 2002, a Pennsylvania state panel charged with improving the Philadelphia public school system voted to transfer control of 42 failing city schools to seven outside managers, including to Edison Schools (20 schools) and two universities. In addition to Edison, Temple University is assigned five schools and University of Pennsylvania becomes responsible for three schools; other for-profit companies chosen by the panel are Chancellor Beacon Academies Inc., Foundations Inc., Victory Schools Inc., and Universal Companies.

Since none of the organizations chosen to operate the 42 schools has any experience with high schools, secondary schools were left out of this year's plans. In anticipation of working with high schools next year, Victory Schools was assigned to "observe" Ben Franklin during the 2002-2003 school year. Regardless, the takeover and political battle took an emotional toll on the leadership and staff of Franklin during the last year. Many people feared losing their jobs and the takeover of their school by a private, for-profit company. This type of turmoil will no doubt continue, but hopefully on a reduced scale.

Ninth Grade Success Academy

With a reluctant staff of teachers forming the Ninth Grade Success Academy, Ben Franklin began implementing the Talent Development High School model in 2001-2002. The school reorganized itself physically to fully implement the model. The ninth graders and their teachers took over an entire floor of the building where all of their courses were held. The students and teachers were divided into two teams. Eventually, a third "team" was formed by the addition of the Starlight program that runs from 3 to 6PM every day for students who are deemed "troublemakers" or are significantly behind in their classes and in jeopardy of not passing. For the ninth grade the Talent Development model provides specialized curriculum and professional development for three courses: Strategic Reading, Freshman Seminar and Transition to Advanced Mathematics. In addition, the students are required to take English 1, Algebra 1, Science and Social Studies during their freshman year.

The school's leaders had some initial concerns about the Ninth Grade Success Academy, based primarily on behavior problems during passing periods and lunch breaks. However, the Ninth Grade Success Academy teachers who had originally been reluctant to take the assignment began to form a strong team and felt very successful. The ninth grade teachers reported that they felt students' attendance was better, the behavior in the classroom was improved and consequently students were learning more. The data confirm their views (see Tables 1 and 2 on page 11). According to the Ninth Grade Success Academy coordinator, advantages of keeping all ninth graders together outweighed the problems during lunch and break periods when student behavior was "wild, crazy and out of control." The ninth grade coordinator reported that staff believed older students had provided role models for behavior and "kept the ninth graders inline" during breaks and lunch when ninth graders were part of the SLCs. Although the ninth grade staff is enthusiastic about the possibilities for next year, other teachers remain concerned about continuing to have 400 ninth graders at lunch all at the same time.

According to the Principal, several aspects of the Talent Development Model worked well. The Strategic Reading Course, taught by a university professor in conjunction with a Saturday course, raised test scores for some students as much as six grade levels, and as much as four grade levels for many others. Consequently, the professor will be working with each of the SLC leaders and their teams to identify their most struggling readers based on test scores and implement the strategic reading program with in all the SLCs next year.

More evidence of success for the ninth grade program came form informal interviews with students, who reported that they felt well informed about their choices for SLC themes. The Assistant Principal concludes that the Freshman Success Seminar, career interest surveys and familiarity with the school all contributed to this positive result. The Ninth Grade Success Academy coordinator was very pleased with the results but is concerned that the lack of adequate funding (Talent Development recommends having at least three more people to do his job) jeopardizes the sustainability of the program.

Table 1: Ninth Grade Attendance by Quarter (percentages)

Table 2: Ninth Grade Course Passing Rates (percentages)

Consolidation of SLCs

With the introduction of the Ninth Grade Success Academy, Ben Franklin consolidated grades 10-12 into four SLCs: 1) Communities in Schools; 2) Motivation and Academy of Finance and Technology; 3) Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Academy; and 4) Academy for Fitness, Health Promotion and Sports Education. According to the Principal and Assistant Principal, due to the lack of adequate staffing and SLC leadership, next year, 2002-2003, Ben Franklin will dissolve Community in Schools. Many of the successful programs run through that SLC will continue but the students and teachers were asked to join one of the three remaining academies. According to the ninth grade coordinator, the addition of the Ninth Grade Success program and the consolidation of the SLCs have led to a stronger identification by the students and faculty with the school rather than their SLC. The school's leaders consider this a significant and desirable change.

Project Gear Up

Ben Franklin staff believed that most of their students' parents had not matriculated to college and many had not graduated form high school. Survey data confirmed their perceptions. Consequently, many of their students lack an academic culture at home. Furthermore, even parents who push their children academically often do not know how to access the post-secondary system. In order to close this gap, the Principal implemented Project Gear Up in the 2001-2002 school year. Through Project Gear Up parents can take facilitated college visits with their children (next year, they plan to visit historically black colleges), take evening or weekend seminars on how to access college information, and receive assistance in the application and financial aid process. Project Gear Up also offers parents opportunities to complete either their high school or college degree. Last year Franklin graduated 27 parents along with the senior class.

Promising Practices

"Pure" scheduling

One of the greatest challenges facing schools that implement career academies or other SLCs, whether schoolwide or not, is scheduling "pure" cohort groups of students and common planning time for teachers in the SLC. Franklin successfully meets this challenge primary because they are committed to the design and make it the first priority. Using a district software program called Pathfinder, Franklin schedules the students into cohort groups by allowing each SLC coordinator to roster his/her students. Franklin uses a 4X4 block schedule, which seems to make it easier to keep cohort groups together and provide common planning time for SLC teachers.

SLC Coordinator

Ben Franklin restructured the traditional roles and responsibilities for administrators, counselors and teacher leaders by creating a coordinator for each SLC who is empowered to handle the following responsibilities for their SLC, according to the school's Teacher Handbook:

• distribution of supplies;

• discipline;

• student attendance;

• work-based learning, internships and school to work programs;

• SLC meetings;

• classroom management.

In order to accomplish the tasks above, the SLC coordinator is released from teaching two periods (they teach only one class) and is given an office on the SLC floor.

Unfortunately, in practice these roles have not been as fruitful as hoped. Although discipline is listed as one bullet, SLC coordinators report that discipline issues take up 80 to 90 percent of their time each day. In order to address this concern, the school will employ a "Behavior Intervention Specialist" (also known as a Dean of Discipline) to keep the halls clear, deal with major issues, run detention and deal with students who are late to school. In addition, the high rate of teacher turnover means that many teachers are just learning to teach, let alone coordinate an SLC. The SLC coordinator role shows great promise if these issues can be addressed.

Ninth Grade Success Academy

The addition of the Ninth Grade Success Academy has proved to be a promising practice: Attendance and pass rates are up; ninth grade teachers are more satisfied; and students report that they are making informed choices about SLCs.

Commitment to the Model

Ben Franklin continues to make progress in meeting the needs of its students. The school leadership, faculty, students and parents seem to be committed to the school wide implementation of SLCs with career themes. Consequently, the conversations at Ben Franklin are not about whether to stay the course —— they are about how to do it better.

Attachment 1

About Talent Development High School

The TDHS Model...

What is the Talent Development High School?

THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HIGH SCHOOL WITH CAREER ACADEMIES is a comprehensive reform model for large high schools that face serious problems with student attendance, discipline, achievement scores, and dropout rates. The model consists of specific changes in school organization and management to establish a strong, positive school climate for learning; curricular and instructional innovations to transition all students into advanced high school work in English and mathematics; parent and community involvement activities to encourage college awareness; and professional development systems to support the implementation of the recommended reforms.

The Talent Development High School with Career Academies was initiated in 1994 through a partnership of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk (CRESPAR) and Patterson High School in Baltimore and has now expanded to high schools in 11 states across the country. Providing more curricular and organizational structure than other high school reform models, CRESPAR strives to balance commitment to the implementation of its core components with a reliance on school-based teachers and administrators to own and adapt the Talent Development model to meet the needs of their school. The model is recognized in the list of designs cited in the federal Obey-Porter Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration legislation.

Key Components of the TDHS Model:

• Building A Ninth Grade Academy

• Student Team Literature

• Talent Development Writing

• Literacy Lab (Grade 9)

• Reading And Writing In Your Career (Grade 10)

• Talent Development Writing

• Strategic Reading (Grade 9)

• Freshman Seminar (Grade 9)

• Cooperative Learning

• Using The Extended Class Period

• Transition To Advanced Mathematics

• Whole-School Reform Strategies

• Planning & Implementing Career Academies

• Scheduling & Managing Career Academies

• Leadership & Administration

• Attendance & Discipline

• Twilight School

• Parent & Community Involvement

Source: CRESPAR Website

III. OAK GROVE HIGH SCHOOL, SAN JOSE, San Jose

Overview

Located on the south side of San Jose, within Silicon Valley, Oak Grove High School is a comprehensive grade 9-12 high school that houses approximately 2,700 students. Occupying 43 acres on a well-maintained campus, it is one of ten comprehensive high schools in the East Side Union High School District. Approximately 8 percent of students here are African-American, 1 percent American Indian, 25 percent Asian American, 5 percent Filipino/Pacific Islander, 29 percent European-American, and 32 percent Hispanic. Approximately 18 percent of students are classified as Limited English Proficient; students here speak 19 primary languages. Thirty percent participate in the free/reduced price lunch program. The school operates on a seven period day.

The overall average attendance at Oak Grove in October 2001 was 96.5 percent. Thirty-eight percent of seniors took the SAT exam during the 1999-2000 school year, with an average score of 989 (479 verbal, 510 math). Ninety-two percent of seniors completed high school during the 2000-2001 school year; 41 percent qualified for enrollment in the state universities and colleges; 19 percent actually enrolled in such colleges; 47 percent attended a community college. Its California API index ranking from the spring 2001 testing was 636 (on a scale from 200-1,000).

Concern about the high rate of student failure at Oak Grove High School reached a head during the 1995-96 school year, when the staff here decided something must change. They participated in a series of staff meetings to explore options that spring, and a retreat that summer in Palm Springs. A team from the UCLA School of Management helped to coordinate this retreat, led by Dr. Jim Henderson, a former high school principal. The result was a decision to restructure Oak Grove into a series of small learning communities, to be called "Interest Paths" (IPs). Each would have a theme, and all would have a set of clear outcome expectations as reflected in a rubric.

The 1996-97 school year became a planning year, a time when the details of the vision could be spelled out. Oak Grove already had the seeds of this new vision in place in the form of two academies: a National Academy Foundation (NAF) Academy of Travel and Tourism, and an Air force Junior ROTC. To these were added six new themes: engineering, environmental science, information technology, performing arts and communications, public service, and sports medicine, health & fitness. The idea was that each would attract a cadre of teachers who would work together with a group of students interested in the field. A seventh theme was added in 1998-99 in the form of another NAF Academy, in Business/ Finance. This brought to nine the Interest Paths around which the high school became structured.

At the same time it was decided to reform the administrative structure of the high school. Rather than a traditional principal and some number of assistant principals, the staff decided to have three Directors who would share responsibility. While there was no strict division of labor among these Directors, their primary responsibilities tended to fall into the categories of curriculum and instruction, facilities, and community relations. These Directors in turn worked closely with an "Instructional Leadership Team" (ILT) comprised of the 16 department chairs, the nine interest path lead teachers, and representatives from the teachers' union. In addition, each Director oversaw three of the Interest Paths. This structure remains in place in 2002.

While there was fairly broad support for these changes, it was not universal. Certain subjects fit less well into the interest paths than others, such as math, since a student's level is so much determined individually, making integration with other subjects difficult. Certain Interest Path leads had a clearer vision of the changes they wanted to make than others, and a more supportive group of teachers with whom to work. Staff turnover was another impediment, as new teachers each year had to be oriented to the plans. In the past three years all three of the Directors have either been reassigned or have retired, further contributing to turnover. Much of the funding gained in the past few years was also temporary and is now largely gone. In short, progress toward the vision has been incomplete and buffeted by various crosscurrents and head winds.

Developments in 2001-2002

It had become clear by the end of the 2000-2001 school year that there was mixed feeling among the staff at Oak Grove about the desirability of continuing the schoolwide SLC approach. A subset of teachers in certain subjects, such as special education and math, had never particularly liked this approach. A subset of students and their parents, particularly those interested in competitive colleges, had never liked the career aspects of some of the Interest Paths (IPs). Cohort scheduling had always been difficult to achieve. Some of the IPs had trouble recruiting enough students to constitute a critical mass. Some lacked strong leadership and support from effective Steering Committees. While a core of teachers and administrators remained enthusiastic about schoolwide SLCs, and several IPs remained strong, momentum for the schoolwide approach was slipping.

This sentiment grew during the 2001-2002 school year. The cohort scheduling of IPs was particularly problematic this year. Even the students who viewed themselves as in an IP were not consistently scheduled into its classes, and for those lacking such identification, the structure was simply lost. This was extremely frustrating to teachers, for whom the lack of definable cohorts made the SLC idea meaningless. While the strongest IPs soldiered on, in some cases adapting the curriculum as best they could, the general effect on the high school's SLC structure was damaging.

Scheduling was the worst problem for SLCs, but other chronic problems continued as well. Among these was the fact that some IPs consistently failed to generate enough interest to draw a critical mass of students. Even in more popular IPs, at higher levels some elective courses failed to fill up. For budget reasons, the high school could simply not afford many small classes. One solution to these problems discussed during the year was to form groupings of the Interest Paths into three clusters. This would provide semi-pure classes and maintain at least some sense of community, while easing the above problems.

As part of this discussion the idea arose that it would be possible to have part of the school return to a traditional structure. Since some teachers had always opposed IPs, it was felt that it might make the atmosphere more harmonious for teachers and students to be able to choose whether to participate. This would also allow options to make it easier to meet certain of the University of California entrance requirements. There seemed to be a positive response from both those supporting and opposing IPs to offering a traditional option.

To provide full staff input, it was decided to conduct a survey of teachers, which took place in February 2002. The question was whether, and to what degree, each teacher wanted to be part of an IP the following year. The results were as follows:

Broken out by the three proposed clusters of IPs, the following numbers of teachers signed up to remain involved:

Of the 30 teachers who voted to return to a traditional structure, many had never fit well into the IP structure in the first place. About a quarter were from special education, others taught English Language Development, and most of the rest were from the math and science departments. In addition, a number of teachers had been involved in more than one IP, fragmenting their attention and loyalty, and many of those who wanted to be in an IP but not involved in all the extra activities came from this group.

What was left out of this survey was the student vote. The way this "vote" takes place is by the number of new entering students each year who sign up for each IP. While these votes were not yet fully counted as of this writing, those registered to date suggest a substantial drop-off in student enrollments in the IPs for the 2002-2003 school year. About two-thirds of incoming freshmen appear to be choosing the "regular" option rather than an IP. While several of the strong IPs will continue (e.g., Travel & Tourism and JROTC, which are magnets for the district), and others may do so at least for enrolled upper classmen, the future of schoolwide IPs is clearly in doubt.

Other factors may affect this. In each of the past two years, one of the high school's three Directors left and was replaced. This year the third one retired at the end of the 2001-2002 year. While the two Directors who joined the staff the past two years are supportive of the SLC structure, the views of the new one will have an effect, as will the fact that none of the original Directors are still involved. Space has also been an issue. One campus building was renovated last year, and over the summer two career academies were placed there, displacing some teachers from long occupied classrooms. This created some hard feelings, even though it contributed to the identity of those academies.

An additional problem is funding. Most of the funding that has been secured over the years to support the IPs has now expired. The sole remaining outside support comes from the two academies with state funding (Travel & Tourism and Business/Finance). The high school applied last year for an Eisenhower grant, to support professional development, but was turned down. This year it applied for a federal SLC grant and was turned down. Further, the district has been forced to make cuts in the face of budget deficits. Several positions at Oak Grove have been cut for next year, among them a counselor and special projects coordinator.

Another factor affecting interest in the SLC structure is district and state emphasis on other initiatives. State standards and related testing are the center of focus in California as elsewhere. Teachers are attending workshops this summer to learn how to align their curriculum to standards and make better use of student data to inform instruction. Where curricular integration and contextual learning can support these initiatives they will be pursued, but as a means to those ends rather than ends in themselves.

Despite all these obstacles, a core of IP leaders remain committed to the SLC approach. Late this spring the Directors called a meeting of the nine IP leads to sample their interest in continuing their IPs. All nine wanted to continue if the scheduling could be worked out for next year. Subsequently these IP leads have worked with the department chairs to accomplish this goal, and substantial improvement for next year is planned. The strong IPs remain strong, especially those framed as career academies. The lead of one of these is supervising 100 internships this summer. They have strong, involved advisory boards, which help with placing students in internships and making curricular recommendations related to their industries' needs. These academies have also merged their students into common upper level classes when necessary. Their physical proximity eases this process.

The future of IPs at Oak Grove is cloudy. If this summer's professional development goes well and improved scheduling rekindles enthusiasm for IPs, much of the SLC structure may remain in place. Yet the trend away from a schoolwide approach to SLCs seems evident. Even the strong IPs are not particular proponents of the schoolwide approach. Rather, they want to make their own IPs exemplary. After six years of trial and error, Oak Grove appears to be abandoning the idea of applying SLCs schoolwide.

Promising Practices

Although it seems to be backing away from schoolwide SLCs/academies, Oak Grove has provided some effective models for possible use elsewhere.

The several strong career academies. The core of career academies here continue to be four exemplary programs. These include the Academies of Travel & Tourism, Business/ Finance, and Information Technology, and the JROTC Academy. The first two have California Partnership Academy grants, which have clearly helped. The first three are associated with the National Academy Foundation, which provides useful curriculum and professional development support. All have good Steering Committees and employer support. Even without a schoolwide approach these academies offer useful and popular alternatives for students.

The management structure. Oak Grove continues to have a democratic management structure, which has generally been supportive of the SLC/academy approach. This begins with the three Directors, rather than a traditional principal. It involves the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT), comprised of the 16 department chairs, the nine Interest Path lead teachers, and representatives from the teachers' union. In addition, each Director oversees three of the interest paths. Both this shared decision making and clustering of IPs offer useful models for application elsewhere.

The Interest Path Handbook. This was developed by the high school's Special Projects Director to help guide new students and their parents in their IP selection. It begins with an overview of the high school's graduation requirements and course selections, by department. For each IP, it then gives a list of required, recommended, and integrated courses, followed by a description of special programs and activities. These vary in length based on the variety of such features, with substantially more for the stronger IPs. It is a useful document not only for parents and students but also for anyone interested in learning about the SLC structure and options at Oak Grove.

District support. This offers a mixed picture, especially with the funding cutbacks of recent years. Yet, aside from budget shortfalls, at the policy level the district has been consistently supportive of SLCs in general and career academies in particular. It has seen the success these have had in boosting student motivation and reducing dropouts at several high schools, particularly among minority and at-risk students. It continues to plan its new high school around a schoolwide SLC approach similar to the one at Oak Grove. It received a SLC planning grant from the U.S. Department of Education this summer. This recognition of the value of SLCs/ academies at the district level is helpful to the efforts at any given high school.

IV. WEST HIGH SCHOOL, COLUMBUS, OHIO

Overview

West High School in Columbus, Ohio, is located in an older, predominantly white, blue collar, lower income community. Many families have lived in the area for two or three generations, but there is also a transient population with nearly one third of the students moving each year. The school has approximately 1200 students and a teaching staff of 72. Most students are from the neighborhood, but since Columbus Public School has open enrollment about 200 come on buses from elsewhere in the city. The school is 33 percent African American and 60 percent white with a small Somalian, Asian, and Hispanic population. Many students do not speak English, and there are 130 Special Needs students.

The effort to become an all-academy high school began in 1998 through a Workforce Development Initiative begun by the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, supported by the National Center for Education and the Economy (NCEE). Local businesses identified employability skills in the workforce as the number one issue in the community. Graduates of Columbus schools were not prepared for either college or careers, and the dropout rate was high. At that time, for example, the dropout rate at West was about 45 percent across four years. Forty percent of ninth graders did not complete the senior year.

Five project teams recruited by the Chamber met for two years to plan the career academies, organized around employment opportunities in customer service, manufacturing, construction, logistics, and information technology. These teams examined national, state, and district standards and developed a plan for student learning with academic and technical requirements in a sequence that included high school requirements and college courses. The plan for the career academies included college preparatory math, science, social studies, technology, and language arts with a focus on a career path.

While the Chamber, the district, and local community partners were developing plans for high school academies in Columbus Public Schools, Steve Oldham came to West as a new principal. At that time there were several "pull out" programs serving a small number of students. Mr. Oldham closed those programs, and he and the staff committed themselves to whole school reform with innovative programs for all students. West and the district investigated High Schools That Work from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) as a method of school reform. SREB criteria are often cited as the source of school reform efforts at West; the school is part of the High Schools That Work network. A team of teachers and administrators also visited Talent Development schools in Baltimore and attended a related conference of the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At-Risk (CRESPAR) at Johns Hopkins University. CRESPAR's Talent Development is a model that places all grade 10-12 students in career academies while instituting a ninth grade program called The Success Academy.

In 1999, using information and ideas from their visits, West staff developed a strategic plan for reform and improvement. The resulting plan was a blend of the best ideas and practices they observed. All personnel were informed that changes would be taking place, and these changes were carefully described and discussed in a series of faculty meetings. Nearly everyone participated in writing the district required "100 Day Plan" that led to the first academies. All faculty were encouraged to critique the plan. The Principal also involved the Columbus Education Association in the planning process and gained support through the teachers' union faculty representative, who is the lead teacher in the Health and Human Services Academy. From the beginning the Principal encouraged those who were not interested in or supportive of the changes to seek employment elsewhere. Teachers were given three years to decide whether to join or leave. As some teachers left and new staff was needed, individuals hired were those who understood and liked being part of a school with block scheduling, moving toward school wide academies. Thirty-nine new teachers have been recruited and hired since 1999.

That same year a group of ninth graders selected randomly was enrolled in a Freshman Success Academy as a pilot. Teachers were encouraged to volunteer. Through grant funds some ninth grade teachers were given additional released time and a tutoring program for struggling students was established after school. A common planning period was provided for the four lead teachers, and efforts were made to accommodate planning time for others with class coverage, stipends, and after school meetings. Teachers who were not provided common planning time were compensated at an hourly rate to meet after school once a week.

An Acceleration Academy was established to serve those ninth grade students who are not ready to succeed in the Freshman Success Academy. These are students who fail two or more areas on the state proficiency test, have excessive absences, fail two or more academic courses, and read two or more years below grade level. Students attend school from 2 to 5:45PM daily and can earn 2.5 credits. Funds for the instructors are provided by the district. During the first year 56 students enrolled; 24 were able to join the ninth grade program after the first semester.

In 2000 the tenth grade academies were added, and the school adopted a four by four schedule. The eleventh grade was included in 2001. When school opens in the fall of 2002 all West students, grades ninth through twelve, will be enrolled in an academy of their choice. In addition to the ninth grade academies, four academies are in place at West: Information Technology, Business, Health and Human Services, and Arts and Communication.

The Academy initiative appears to have improved student achievement, attendance and motivation. In 2000 a 17 percent increase -- compared to 1999 baseline data -- was reported for ninth grade students earning the required credits for grade level promotion. In 2001 the increase for grade level promotion was 19.5 percent above the 1999 baseline data. Attendance improved from 80 percent in 1998-1999, to 83 percent in 1999-2000, and 88 percent in 2000-2001. Out of school suspensions decreased 12 percent from 857 in 1998-1999 to 750 in 2000-2001.

Developments in 2001-2002

West continued to implement career academies during the 2001-2002 school year. Students were required to complete a college preparatory program of student with a career endorsement. West adopted the High Schools That Work recommended curriculum and followed suggestions for improving instruction from the HSTW technical assistance visit in the spring of 2001. Also in 2001, West earned the Superintendent's Award: "Closing the Achievement Gap." Work-based learning experiences were expanded through mentors provided by the Chamber. Administrators and staff worked together to plan for the final phase of wall-to-wall academies at West High School.

Students preparing for both college and careers

All West students are now required to complete the HSTW recommended college preparatory program that includes three years of math, science, social studies, and foreign language with four years of English. A year of technology and a year and a year of Health/Physical Education are also required. Progress reports are issued every three weeks with opportunities for extra time or assistance. Teachers are focusing on the Ohio State Standards and standards-based curriculum developed by Columbus teachers. The district provides ongoing professional development.

Students can earn college credit through the Kenyon Academic Partnership English course, a dual credit program through Kenyon College. As part of the effort to increase student achievement, Advanced Placement Government will be offered to seniors in 2002-2003; Advanced Placement Chemistry will be offered in 2003-2004.

A plan for structured work-based learning is in place. All ninth graders are required to enroll in a Career Connections course. This semester course is designed to introduce ninth grade students to a wide variety of careers and includes core competencies. Students develop a career plan. In tenth grade thirty hours of community service is required. This service may include volunteering at hospitals, churches, community organizations or social agencies. Students may also complete the thirty hours by participating in a classroom or school activity that provides assistance to community organizations. During the eleventh and/or twelfth grade students complete sixty hours of an internship in their chosen career field. This internship is a supervised educational experience, not a work experience. In addition to the Chamber, other community groups work with the district internship coordinator to provide the placements.

Ninth grade students are randomly assigned to separate cohorts in the Ninth Grade Success Academy and take all classes together as cohorts. Class size is set at 25 as recommended by HSTW. Teachers have a common conference period every day, and the lead teachers provide agendas for weekly scheduled and structured meetings. The district funds the Summer Bridge program for eighth graders who have low math and reading skills to help them prepare for the Ninth Grade Success Academy. During the summer of 2002, students attended school in the morning and had a paid internship in local businesses in the afternoon. The incentive to be paid helped maintain good attendance and motivation for this group. The Acceleration Academy, which meets after school, serves those students unable to succeed in the Success Academy. During the 2001-2002 school year approximately 70 students participated in the Acceleration Academy; 54 were able to rejoin their class either at the first grading period or at the semester.

As the school planned for full implementation of academies in the fall of 2002, teachers to be added to one of the four academies "self selected." The lead teachers met with Mr. Byrne, the acting Principal, and discussed staffing issues and needs. The lead teachers talked personally with each teacher and assignments were made. Two or three staff will be reassigned in the fall based on enrollment. Three teachers left the school because they could not support the school wide academy approach.

The school's four administrators each assume responsibility for one of the four academies. They attend academy meetings and work with the lead teacher to solve problems, schedule, and meet curriculum needs. West also has three counselors. One is assigned to the Ninth Grade Success Academy; the others each work with the teachers and students in two academies. During the 2002-2003 school year the counselors will focus on group counseling through the academy cohorts.

Challenges

Scheduling. As West becomes an all-academy high school, scheduling is difficult. In the spring of 2002, after all students and faculty had selected an academy, lead teachers and counselors developed a list of cohorts for each grade level. Scheduling was made slightly easier by having two sections of each class in each of the four academies. Mr. Byrne assumed the responsibility for scheduling using the district software, Student Information Systems. He also used the software program Excel and a magnetic board in the office displaying all courses and teachers. "The district software doesn't spot problems or conflicts," explained Byrne. "It just shows errors." Using Excel and the magnetic board, administrators tried different combinations, moved classes around, and when satisfied, entered the results into the district program for final student and teacher schedules.

Although the Ninth Grade Success Academy teachers have common planning time, scheduling this time for all upper grades has not been possible. In the tenth and eleventh grades students are scheduled in cohorts with a class size of 35. In these upper grade academies the academic instructors and the lead teacher have a common conference period, but during that period the technical teachers have classes. The lead teacher has the responsibility to work with the technical teachers to ensure they are part of the team and have the same information as all other team members. To accommodate the lack of daily common planning time, some teams will meet during lunch, some after school. Senior students are not scheduled as a cohort, although they do have some classes together.

Teaching and learning. Using time productively in the four-by-four block schedule and integrating learning experiences continue to be challenges for the West staff. Although in-service has been provided with strategies for teaching in the longer period of time, some staff find using the full block time wisely difficult. In many traditional academic classrooms the lecture method is in evidence; students still answer questions from the end of the chapter. Opportunities to do peer observations and explore different teaching strategies are limited.

Integrated curriculum and project-based learning are usually part of the career academy teaching and learning. A few integrated units have been developed and used in the West academies, but the current emphasis on assessment and test scores restricts time for planning joint units or projects. The common planning time is typically used to discuss individual student progress and curriculum alignment. Although academy staff hope to participate in project-based learning workshops to develop standards-based projects with a career focus, district staff development days are limited.

Promising Practices

Three components of the academy initiative at West High School would be helpful to those interested in establishing academies in their school or community: the policy and procedures for teachers and students to select an academy; the use of lead teachers as instructional leaders; and the role of the Chamber as an intermediary.

Choosing academies

A deliberate process was used to involve every teacher in planning for the change to an all-academy school. By building one grade level at a time over a four-year period, stakeholders had an opportunity to have input in the process and make deliberate choices for themselves. Teachers who were reluctant to be part of an academy had time to make a change; new staff was added. Teachers could also self-select and join an academy team with which they had an affinity. Giving the faculty full information, time for discussion, and a feeling that everyone was part of the decision making process over a four-year period eased the transition at West.

The West staff has also developed an excellent method for helping students choose an academy in which to spend their high school years; the staff has also devised a policy for dealing with students who decide to change academies. Basic to the academy selection is the required Career Connections course, which provides an overview of career options. Classroom speakers and field trips give ninth graders insights into the world outside school. Presentations from upper classmen in the four academies are also used to provide insight into the choices. One entire month in the spring of the ninth grade is focused on the important selection students are about to make. At the end of that month students and their parents or guardians are invited to an evening event with dinner during which they sign up for one of the four academies. Students line up outside the door before the event begins to ensure they have a place in the academy of their choice. Parents or guardians must sign a form supporting the student's choice, and staff contacts by phone those parents or guardians who do not attend the meeting. Most students are placed in their first choice; a few are enrolled in their second choice. Problems with placement are handled on a case by case basis by the lead teachers and counselors.

The strong educational and informational structure and the careful process for academy choice should ensure that students are placed in an academy that suits them. However, people do change their minds. Planning for this possibility, the West instructors developed a written policy for academy changes. Students can change from one academy to another only once — after tenth grade, at the beginning of the junior year. A student must submit a form signed by a parent or guardian and write a one-page essay stating the reason for the change and the benefits to the student. The student then meets with his or her lead teacher to discuss the reasons for the request, the academy to which he or she wishes to transfer, and related issues. Lead teachers communicate with one another, other academy staff, and parents/guardians to make sure all understand the reasons and the process. The lead teachers also keep records of change requests and reasons and use this for planning program improvement. In some cases a change is beneficial to all. During the spring of 2000 and fall of 2001 fifteen students requested changes, but only five actually followed through with the procedure and changed academies.

Lead teachers

Academy lead teachers at West are viewed as instructional leaders who can make decisions. They are responsible for planning, collaborating with their teams and the counselors, attending various committee meetings, and working closely with the administrator assigned to their academies. They communicate on a regular basis with the administrative staff to solve problems, plan program improvement, and coordinate with the other academies. The four lead teachers are also responsible for student recruitment, meeting with parents, and collecting student data. They often represent West at district meetings. They attend all Chamber sponsored steering committee meetings and help plan for speakers, field trips, and job shadowing. They work closely with Chamber representatives to assign mentors to academy juniors. They serve on the Interprofessional Communications Committee (ICC) which meets weekly to coordinate the work and role of the department chairpersons and the academy lead teachers.

Chamber of Commerce

One of the issues academies face is finding time to develop meaningful work-based experiences for students, mentors, and internships. The Columbus Chamber of Commerce takes on this responsibility and serves as an intermediary for the academies in Columbus by bringing together local community and post-secondary leaders to support the academy initiative. Although there has been some change in membership, the steering committees established by the Chamber in 1998 continue to meet and support individual academies. These committees are co-chaired by a district representative and a business partner; the Chamber is responsible for meeting agendas and maintaining contacts. The Business and Information Technology Steering Committees meet at West on a regular basis. During the summer weeklong teacher internships are provided. Also through the Chamber, a few local businesses have signed a job guarantee for students who complete all the requirements. Leading employers, government agencies, Franklin University, Ohio State University, and Columbus State Community College are working with the Chamber to ensure that students receive high quality education which prepares them for both employment and post-secondary options.

As the academies at West expand into the upper grades, the Chamber representatives work closely with the lead teachers to provide mentors and interns. A major focus of the Chamber during the past year has been working closely with the teaching staff to provide a successful mentor program for academy eleventh graders. Comprehensive handbooks for mentors and students were developed and a staff position in the Chamber was established to find and train local mentors. Every mentor attended a training session led by the Chamber and followed a recommended schedule of activities, which included an initial contact between the mentor and the student at the school site and a visit to the mentor's work place. The Workforce Development Director from the Chamber mentored a West student, and both enjoyed the experience. The mentor program will continue to be an important part of the Chamber's work.

The Chamber works through the district, but also directly with the schools. Chamber members toured West in 2002 and talked with academy students. Students gave Power Point presentations for the visitors explaining the different academies, their benefits, and career focus. West also hosted visitors from the U. S. Department of Labor and their state legislator for the Chamber.

An academy "celebration" for all academy teachers in Columbus is planned for August, 2002. This activity is jointly sponsored by the Chamber and the district. Academy teachers will share best practices and have the opportunity to network with other teachers from like disciplines. A representative from HSTW will participate, and the events will conclude with remarks from a speaker about academies nationally. The major focus of the day will be the symbolic signing of an agreement by the superintendent, the Director of the Chamber, and local businesses to continue to support the academy initiative. The celebration was conceived by the Chamber staff as a way to thank academy instructors for their extra effort and time in implementing successful career academies.

Andrea Applegate, who directs the academy efforts for the Chamber, affirmed, "The Career Academies are the ‘crown jewel' of the Chamber's Workforce Development System. We will continue to cultivate relationships with teachers in order to work closely with them in providing high quality education for our students."

V. SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE HIGH SCHOOL

Overview

"South Grand Prairie High School is a suburban high school in a community of approximately 100,000 people which is located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas," according to the school's 2001 brochure. South Grand Prairie (SGP) is one of two high schools in the Grand Prairie Independent School District; the other is Grand Prairie High School. The SGP brochure also reported a total enrollment of approximately 2530 students, a "majority minority" mix consisting of 46 percent white, 27 percent Hispanic, 19 percent African American, 7 percent Asian, and 1 percent American Indian or other. Fourteen percent receive free or reduced price lunches, and the same number are classified as economically disadvantaged. The professional staff of 150 have an average of more than 13 years teaching experience. SGP students compete successfully in both athletic and academic tournaments.

On 3/25/01 SGP's Principal made a presentation at the California Partnership Academies conference in Los Angeles, entitled "South Grand Prairie High School, a work in progress..." From notes and copies of overhead slides, the following account reconstructs that presentation.

SGP began its current "journey" in 1996 with a teacher-led retreat. Ten or twelve teacher leaders, now known as the Vision Team, and including the current Principal who was then an Assistant Principal, spent two days in a "war room" at a nearby hotel. The outgoing Principal at the time challenged the group to make a "good school" into a "great school." Although the top ten percent of students were doing fine, many in the "middle majority" were dropping out or just coasting through.

The Vision Team felt that the traditional high school structure was not serving students well. Lack of connection among academic departments, or between academic departments and career/technical education —— which was "not even allowed in the same building" —— made it difficult for many students to find motivation and direction. The Vision Team wanted to create smaller groups in which students would have a sense of belonging and teachers would be better able to monitor and support them. The team wanted to build a program around students' interests, to increase motivation and raise standards for student performance.

The Vision Team went on to create a five-year plan, covering 1997-98 through 2001-02. The major structural change envisioned by the plan was to group all students and teachers into five academies:

Through these five academies, SGP would attempt to accomplish a newly stated mission: "To create a learning environment that promotes high academic achievement, capitalizes on student career interests and aptitudes, and encourages student involvement in order to produce responsible and successful citizens."

In his 3/25/01 presentation, the Principal commented that it was "very important for us not to have a smart academy and a not-so-smart academy." SGP is "now preparing all students for college and careers." Although not all will go to college right away if at all, the school treats all students as college bound, and every academy offers that opportunity. Special education is also part of every academy.

In the first year of its five-year journey, 1997-98, SGP launched several major changes. Teachers filled out preference sheets indicating their first and second choices of academies, as well as any academy they absolutely did not want to join. The most drastic and irreversible step came next: teachers were physically relocated so that all those in the same academy could be together in the same part of the building. A committee of teachers was given the responsibility of deciding who would go where. The success of this teacher-led strategy was evident when 95 percent of the teachers voted in favor of the new spatial configuration. Still, the Principal recalled that the whole relocation process was "the hardest thing" —— "so hard that we rested after this."

Other steps taken in 1997-98 included the appointment of a full-time Academy Facilitator and the naming of academy leaders. Information forums were held for all stakeholders, and students were surveyed to determine their academy preferences.

The Keystone and Capstone classes also started that year. Keystone is an orientation class for freshmen that introduces them to the Principal and administrative staff, engages freshmen in exploring their career preferences, teaches study skills and time management, and encourages students to get involved in the various extra-curricular and service activities available at SGP. In Keystone, all freshmen draft a six-year plan for high school and beyond, which clarifies what they need to do in order to get where they want to go. The Principal credits Keystone with a dramatic reduction in discipline referrals among ninth graders. Capstone is a culminating high school experience for seniors that involves more detailed career investigation, resume writing, communications and interview skills, student portfolios, college applications, as well as job shadowing and internships for some students.

To facilitate these changes, a great deal of staff development took place in 1997-98. Experts were brought in to help with the change process, curriculum design, and other specific issues. A team went to a conference of the National Career Academy Coalition and were surprised, said the Principal: "We thought we had invented academies —— then we found out they'd been around for 29 years."

Along with the huge accomplishments of this first year, some problems surfaced that have still not been solved. One is the master schedule, which the Principal termed "in one word, a nightmare."

In the second year, 1998-99, staff development continued, including summer externships for some teachers to get first-hand experience in workplaces related to their academies. Teachers worked on integrating curriculum within academies. Efforts to build community awareness brought 300 parents to freshman parent night, and an Academy Advisory Board was formed. The school unveiled its own web site, and co-hosted the annual conference of the National Career Academy Coalition. Indicators of student performance showed improvements in test scores and attendance, fewer dropouts, and more students taking challenging courses and college-entrance exams.

Year three, 1999-2000, saw the creation of a College and Career Center, rollout of new academy-specific courses, adoption of a new math curriculum and a schoolwide approach to the teaching of writing. Professional development continued, including more summer externships. These efforts were rewarded by recognition as a mentor site by the High Schools That Work project, which links more than a thousand high schools in a campaign to raise student achievement by combining a challenging academic curriculum with career and technical education. Further recognition of the school's accomplishments came from the U.S. Department of Education, which in 1999 also honored SGP by naming it as one of only 13 New American High Schools chosen that year. Representative Martin Frost marked the occasion by entering a congratulatory statement into the Congressional Record (Vol. 145, No. 164, November 17, 1999).

These honors, and the evidence of improved student performance that warranted them, have helped to sustain enthusiasm for carrying out SGP's five-year vision. Several indicators of student performance at SGP have improved since the school organized itself into academies. According to the school's brochure, tenth grade scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills showed the following trends:

The Academy Facilitator in spring 2000 said this was like having "three straight winning seasons," though she was appropriately cautious about concluding that these results could all be attributed to the academies. The Chair of the English Department thought that the school's new structure had "helped us raise the bar" for student performance. This is reflected by another positive indicator in the school's brochure: the number of Advanced Placement examinations taken by SGP students grew from 38 in 1997 to 69 in 1998, 167 in 1999, and 231 in 2000. In 2001 the school offered 23 different AP classes, eight more than before starting the academies. And the Principal in his 3/25/01 presentation reported a 50 percent increase in students pursuing a Recommended or Distinguished Achievement plan, instead of the less-demanding Regular curriculum.

SGP has undertaken the task of transforming itself with very little additional outside funding. The High Schools That Work project did pay SGP $25,000 a year for three years to make itself available as a mentor site to other schools in that network. But the Principal commented in his 3/25/01 presentation that money is a major challenge; the district cut five teachers from the SGP payroll in 2000-01.

Looking to the future, the Principal concluded his 3/25/01 presentation by listing several remaining tasks envisioned in the five-year plan. These include creating an advisory board for each academy, expanding student internships, further upgrading career and technical programs, and involving more students in articulated arrangements for receiving college credit. He noted the following major challenges still to be overcome: master schedule, student internships, time for teachers to plan as teams, additional high level career and technical education programs, and academy identity (sense of belonging).

Developments in 2001-2002

Major developments in 2001-2002 were the accumulation of new data showing further improvement in student performance; preparation for moving ninth graders into a separate building adjacent to the high school site; and continued efforts to solve the scheduling puzzle, expand work-based learning, and boost community outreach.

Continued improvement in measures of student performance

SGP's students produced additional evidence that the school's redesign efforts seem to be paying off. Perhaps most important from the viewpoint of policy makers, students scored substantial gains on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). According to "A Multi-Year History for SGPHS TAAS," attached, 2001 scores in reading and writing fell below their 2000 peaks. But the 2002 scores hit new peaks, rising from 89 to 96 in reading, 89.6 to 93 in math, and 85.9 to 93 in writing. These gains continued the generally rising trend since SGP began implementing its new design. The Academy Facilitator acknowledged, "We felt very proud."

Another indicator of increasing academic rigor at SGP is participation in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and tests. The number of AP courses offered at SGP grew to 24 in 2002, continuing an upward trend. Between 2001 and 2002 the number of students taking AP exams rose from 190 to 246, the number of exams taken grew from 340 to 425, and the number of students achieving a score (usually considered passing) or better on at least one exam increased from 88 to 142.

These improvements in academic performance at SGP do not appear to be coming as a result of pushing out low-performing students, as may happen in some other schools. To the contrary, the dropout rate fell from 1.6 to an even lower 1.2 percent. Attendance also improved slightly, from 95 to 95.4 percent. And the number of discipline referrals for tardiness and other offenses among freshmen —— who tend to have more discipline problems than older students —— declined slightly from 5,188 to 5,126. These are signs that the change in instructional strategy at SGP is having its intended effect of keeping students more motivated and engaged.

Planning for the new ninth grade campus

As part of the school district's facility use plan, ninth graders at SGP will be housed in a former middle school adjacent to the SGP campus, beginning in fall 2002. That raised the question whether ninth graders should still be part of the academies. The Principal explains the decision to group students in academies right from the start of ninth grade:

In keeping with that decision and philosophy, students will continue to be recruited for the academies while they are in eighth grade. According to the Principal, the intent is to promote awareness of SGP's academies even earlier:

The Keystone class will continue to be required in the first trimester of ninth grade, with students grouped by academy from the outset. Ensuring that enough ninth grade teachers are able and willing to teach Keystone has been one of the planning tasks.

Continuing challenges

Scheduling. In 2000 and 2001 there had been some discussion about whether students should be grouped in smaller "teams" within academies, so that each student would take all core academy classes with the same group of classmates. This would facilitate curricular integration by enabling teachers to coordinate lessons and assign projects for which students receive credit in more than one class. Despite these possible advantages, however, the decision this past year was not to make this a priority. Generally, students in most classes tend to be at the same grade level, and starting in fall 2002 all ninth graders will be in a separate building, so students already share their academy classes with many of the same classmates. For now, that is considered good enough.

Considerations of alternative scheduling arrangements have been hampered by technical difficulties. Like other schools that have grouped students into academies or small learning communities, SGP has been unable to obtain scheduling software that would enable them to quickly look at various hypothetical ways to structure the master schedule. On the day of our interview, the Academy Facilitator reported,

Compared to spreadsheets that allow people to look at results under a variety of assumptions, available software for master scheduling still seems very clunky.

Work-based learning and employer partnerships. Internships and other forms of work-based learning for students are usually considered an integral part of a career academy. Among other things, they validate and motivate students' academic studies by showing how these studies apply outside of school. Creating a continuum of work-based learning experiences for students has been part of the plan at SGP since the inception of academies. Although this part of the plan has not yet been fully implemented, the number of work-based learning opportunities for students has been steadily growing, especially for seniors. The Academy Facilitator described the degree of participation by seniors in three kinds of work-based learning. First, about half of the seniors take the Capstone class, where "they do email mentoring, they do one-day [job] shadowing experiences, they do portfolio building, they do interviews of [people in] different professional career areas, as well as postsecondary [education]. So they have several different opportunities to do anything from mentoring, to interviewing, to job shadowing, to field trips, to short experiences." Second, about a dozen seniors piloted a 12-week "internship class," where they spent half of every day out in the field for six to eight weeks. Third, various career and technical classes within the academies sponsor outside internships or co-operative education placements —— in child care, business, and industrial arts —— or school-based enterprises in marketing (the school store) and graphic arts, which altogether provide work-based learning for about a hundred students.

Further development of work-based learning will require building more partnerships with local employers. SGP's plan calls for creating a separate outside advisory group for each academy, but this has not yet been done.

Lack of time and resources have delayed the further implementation of these parts of SGP's plan. The Academy Facilitator has focused primarily on instructional improvement, and neither she nor anyone else has had time to build up the out-of-school components of the academies to the extent they would like. SGP has written proposals for grants to pay another coordinator who would concentrate on community outreach, public information, employer partnerships, and work-based learning.

Scarcity of time for teachers and administrators is another challenge at SGP, as at so many schools. Teachers devote a few days to staff development each summer, in exchange for being allowed to take off student-free days during the year when teachers would normally be expected to be in school. During the school year, teachers in each academy are scheduled for lunch at the same time, and they also have a scheduled meeting once a month during the school day. Academy Directors are given an extra student-free period each day, but for only one of the three trimesters each year. But this does not add up to enough time to handle the extra work that academies entail —— coordinating curriculum across classes, recruiting students, furnishing opportunities for learning beyond the classroom, and so on —— in addition to using the academy framework to incorporate new state curriculum standards and prepare for a new high school exit examination that will test students in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.

Promising Practices

Three aspects of SGP's work seem particularly worth singling out for other schools to emulate. First, a full-time Academy Facilitator has contributed greatly to the implementation of academies and their success in promoting student achievement. Second, SGP has adopted a number of practices that have created a sense of shared ownership of the school's plans among students and staff. Third, a particularly well laid-out booklet on academy pathways has helped everyone understand the array of possible course sequences the academies offer.

Academy Facilitator position

One of the keys to successful implementation of academies at SGP was creation of a full-time Academy Facilitator position. The person chosen for this position initially, and who continues to fill it, was a math teacher and a member of the original vision team that came up with the plan to transform SGP into an all-academy school. There was, and still is, no additional funding for her position, so her teaching load has been distributed among other teachers.

The Academy Facilitator job description is attached as an appendix. Main categories of responsibility are:

It's easy to see why this is a full-time job.

The list of duties does not explicitly include a set of tasks that, in fact, have taken a good deal of time —— namely, writing grant proposals and managing grant-funded activities. Management entails both overseeing grant-funded work and writing reports to funders.

Some of the Academy Facilitator's work is seasonal. At the start of the school year she works with new teachers to make sure they are off to a good start, blending with their academy teams and participating in academy projects.

In the first trimester she also oversees and supports the ninth grade Keystone classes. Major tasks in January and February include student recruitment, going out to the middle schools to conduct information fairs, and organizing a career week at SGP. Spring is time to start figuring out next year's master schedule. Summer is the main season for staff development, which the Principal calls

The Academy Facilitator adds,