What's New at CASN

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Workshops

June 23-25, 2008
From Structure to Instruction: Sharing Best Practices and Lessons Learned in SLC's and Small Schools
Sponsored by Northwest Regional Educational Laboratories (NWREL)
http://www.nwrel.org/events/see/113

This SLC conference is designed to provide teachers, administrators and district staff with tools and strategies to strengthen their SLC practice. The conference is designed and delivered by experienced SLC practitioners as they reach out to other grantees to support their implementation.

Contact:
Suzanne Hay
503-275-9634
hays@nwrel.org

Venue:
University of Nevada-Las Vegas - Student Union
4505 S. Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, Nevada 89154

July 8 - 11, 2008
National Academy Foundation (NAF) 2008 Institute for Staff Development
www.naf.org

The National Academy Foundation's 2008 Institute for Staff Development is a professional development and support conference with intensive peer training, industry presentations, and networking opportunities for Academy Directors, teachers, support staff, Advisory Board members, administrators, guidance counselors and business partners.

Hotel:
Orlando World Center Marriott
8701 World Center Drive
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 239-4200

July 9-12, 2008
22nd Annual High Schools That Work Staff Development Conference
www.sreb.org

The purpose of the 22nd Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference is to inform state, district, school and teacher leaders about practices in high schools and middle grades schools that will increase high school completion rates and postsecondary and workplace success of students.

Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center
Nashville, Tennessee

Contact:
SummerStaffDev@sreb.org

Reports

• Can Combining Academic and Career-Technical Education Improve High School Outcomes in California?
  One strategy for improving high school outcomes involves combining college-preparatory coursework with career-technical education (CTE) in the high school curriculum. The aim is to make high school more meaningful and motivating for more students, to increase graduation rates, and to prepare graduates for a range of postsecondary options. Preparation for college and career can be combined in various ways. Some high school students manage to complete the academic coursework required for college along with a career-technical sequence. Another approach is to enhance the academic content of CTE classes. A third approach is through “career academies” within comprehensive high schools that organize a multi-year curriculum around a career-related theme, with students at each grade level taking a set of core academic classes together, along with a technical class related to the career theme. This paper reviews the evidence on effects of these approaches for students. Despite the challenges of implementation and the incompleteness of the evidence that these strategies produce the desired effects, the necessity of reconciling universal college aspirations with the realities of labor markets implies that programs combining academic and career-technical curriculum will—and should—continue to develop.
• A Profile of The California Partnership Academies 2004-2005
  PowerPoint Presentation - A Profile of The California Partnership Academies 2004-2005
  Prepared by ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career and The Career Academy Support Network at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with the California Department of Education.

Resources

• College Tools for Schools
  A brand new website for high schools interested in increasing college going among their students. Based on a three-year pilot project involving the UC Office of the President, the Center for Educational Partnerships at UC Berkeley, and the Career Academy Support Network at Berkeley, this new site offers a host of tools to show high schools how to develop a college-going culture, increase a-g course offerings and enrollments, help students plan their schedule to meet UC/CSU entrance requirements, and strengthen their SLCs and/or Career Academies.
• Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways Preparing California's Youth for College, Career, and Civic Responsibilty Combining Academic and Career-Technical Courses to Make College an Option for More Students:Evidence and Challenges
• Alliance for Education Academy Toolkit This toolkit has instructions, worksheets, and advice that can help you start and run an active, effective advisory group. The information comes from the Alliance for Education’s six years of helping create and maintain advisory groups in Seattle’s public high schools. Download PDF
• Scheduling Guide for Small Learning Communities/ Career Academies Developing a schedule for a high school is not easy. Students have to decide what courses to take: which ones they need to graduate, to qualify for college, and to meet their interests. Someone has to put all this into a "master schedule" for the high school that determines who teaches and takes what courses when and where each day. Small Learning Communities/ Career Academies add to these difficulties, with their need for cohort student scheduling and common teacher planning time. This guide offers the collected advice of experts from around the country, providing an annual calendar of who needs to do what when, and best practices that can help to address many of the problems. Download PDF
  
• Reforming High Schools: The Role for Career Academies The concerns about America’s high schools are escalating as a number of recent reports reveal that large numbers of our nation’s youth are not being prepared for college and careers, or are dropping out altogether. This paper explores how career academies can be used as a strategy for transforming the traditional, comprehensive high school in ways that support all students’ learning to high standards. Download PDF.
  
• Career Academy Support Networks provides an overview of the various types of support organizations for career academies, and provides substantial information on the larger and more comprehensive ones. Download PDF.
  

Accolades

• Our congratulations to the many new districts that received Small Learning Community grants to develop or expand their SLCs and/or Academies. Please note that all of CASN's guides are available free at this website, in the various parts of the Resource section. We are also available to talk with you by phone (see Contacts), answer questions via e-mail (use the ask_casn feature), and provide professional development where needed.