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During his fifth State of the Union address, President Obama outlined his vision for his second term. Under the theme of economic recovery, the President proposed a range of initiatives, spanning from fiscal relief to energy independence. Central to this list was a renewed commitment to education reform with an emphasis on pre-K expansion, college affordability, career and technical education reform, and the establishment of a new effort to reform America’s high schools modeled after the Administration’s Race to the Top initiative.

KnowledgeWorks supports the creation of a Race to the Top for America’s high schools. Despite significant improvements in graduation rates in recent years, the number of graduating students who place into remedial coursework in postsecondary education is at a record high with 51.7 percent of community college students and 19.9 percent of students enrolled in four year institutions assigned to remediation.  The problem repeats itself in our workforce where more than 3.5 million jobs remain unfilled despite 18 million Americans looking for work. According to estimates from the Chamber of Commerce, the United States will have up to seven million unfilled jobs by the end of the decade, many of which will fall in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

As a social enterprise with more than a decade of experience in high school reform, KnowledgeWorks knows what a successful high school looks like. High School Race to the Top: 10 Essential Elements for High School Reform and College and Career Ready Success combines knowledge from our recent educational futures publication, Forecast 3.0, Recombinant Education: Regenerating the Learning Ecosystem,and the experience of our subsidiary organizations who serve on the front lines of high school reform to recommend 10 Essential Elements for a High School Race to the Top competition. Together, these elements represent a new vision for education that puts students at the center, empowering them to take charge of their high school, college, and career success.

In addition to the 10 Essential Elements, our report includes the following resources:

• Policy recommendations for each element including complete legislative specifications for a High School Race to the Top program.
• A competitive preference priority for districts that apply in consortia to scale impactful reform strategies.
• A summary chart of the 10 essential elements that maps each element to insights from KnowledgeWorks’ forecast.

Professor Tony Cioffi got involved with City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology in 2008 when he participated in the designing of their scope and sequence for engineering courses. One of his goals in helping craft the early college high school’s engineering classes was to give them a “real world feel,” he said. “We wanted the students to see how math and science could be used in real world applications.”

Thus far, the classes have been a success. Cioffi is continually impressed by the quality of student work and classroom engagement.

Read more on the NYCAN blog about Cioffi’s work with City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology and learn what he considers his “success” from his engineering courses.

In a new publication Byron McCauley makes the case for Early College High Schools:

“Years of data show that Early College High School students have graduated from high school at a rate of more than 90 percent, consistently outperformed their peers who did not attend an early college high school, and earned associate and bachelor’s degrees at historic rates. The concept of a high school student — possibly an English Language Learner and certainly economically disadvantaged — entering the ninth grade and being able to take college courses successfully may seem unbelievable. Yet, with the right supports, these young students are succeeding in college and beyond, at unprecedented rates.”

Download a free copy of this important and timely (it is, after all, Early College HIgh School week) publication from the KnowledgeWorks’ Resource Room.

“Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge, to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy.”

-          President Barack Obama, 2013 State of the Union Address

As I said in my earlier post, An Introduction to the 10 Essential Elements for High School Race to the Top, a High School Race to the Top competition must challenge the current education system by empowering education stakeholders to break through traditional barriers to learning.  In order to achieve the success President Obama spoke about in his State of the Union Address, KnowledgeWorks believes a new high school competition must include the following 10 Essential Elements along with an emphasis on STEM as the President outlined in his speech.

1. Rigor & Connectedness: Learners will demonstrate mastery of core knowledge and essential skills through performance-based assessments and digital portfolios that represent each learner’s unique potential to the world.
2. Teaching and Learning: Educators working in a variety of roles will collaborate with one another and use community and global resources to facilitate engaged learning that ignites students’ intrinsic motivation and builds students’ core knowledge and essential skills.
3. Partnerships: The learning system will support the development of public-private partnerships and harness social innovations that can expand the array of resources, organizational formats for “school,” and opportunities available to all students.
4. Student Voice: Self-directed learners will navigate diverse resources and opportunities from an expanded learning ecosystem.
5. Personalization: Learning agents will cultivate their own entrepreneurial skills in using public and private resources to develop customized learning pathways for all students.
6. Pace: Learners will draw upon their intrinsic motivation to take responsibility for evaluating available learning opportunities and for co-designing their unique learning pathways with learning agents.
7. Time: Learners will seek out and work with mentors, peer learning groups, and digital and human learning agents to navigate the array of choices offered by the learning ecosystem.
8. Assessment: Learners will use personal performance feedback from multiple digital data streams and dashboards to inform their own learning and development.
9. Technology: Learners will engage with a wide variety of learning tools, resources, and learning formats to acquire and apply core knowledge and essential skills such as collaboration, initiative, creativity, critical thinking, and perseverance.
10. Data Systems: Learning systems will develop interoperability across programs, services, data-scapes, and learning platforms and will ensure that everyone in the learning ecosystem has access to, and the capacity to use, the data needed to make effective decisions about learners.

Throughout the week, I will be holding up, via Twitter, real-world examples of schools and educators working on the ground to implement these innovative ideas.

This Thursday, we will be releasing the full policy paper; High School Race to the Top: 10 Essential Elements for High School Reform and College and Career Ready Success that dives deeper into the elements listed above and provides recommended legislative language for policymakers creating the High School Race to the Top proposal.

“Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge, to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy.”

-          President Barack Obama, 2013 State of the Union Address

As I said in my earlier post, An Introduction to the 10 Essential Elements for High School Race to the Top, a High School Race to the Top competition must challenge the current education system by empowering education stakeholders to break through traditional barriers to learning.  In order to achieve the success President Obama spoke about in his State of the Union Address, KnowledgeWorks believes a new high school competition must include the following 10 Essential Elements along with an emphasis on STEM as the President outlined in his speech.

1. Rigor & Connectedness: Learners will demonstrate mastery of core knowledge and essential skills through performance-based assessments and digital portfolios that represent each learner’s unique potential to the world.
2. Teaching and Learning: Educators working in a variety of roles will collaborate with one another and use community and global resources to facilitate engaged learning that ignites students’ intrinsic motivation and builds students’ core knowledge and essential skills.
3. Partnerships: The learning system will support the development of public-private partnerships and harness social innovations that can expand the array of resources, organizational formats for “school,” and opportunities available to all students.
4. Student Voice: Self-directed learners will navigate diverse resources and opportunities from an expanded learning ecosystem.
5. Personalization: Learning agents will cultivate their own entrepreneurial skills in using public and private resources to develop customized learning pathways for all students.
6. Pace: Learners will draw upon their intrinsic motivation to take responsibility for evaluating available learning opportunities and for co-designing their unique learning pathways with learning agents.
7. Time: Learners will seek out and work with mentors, peer learning groups, and digital and human learning agents to navigate the array of choices offered by the learning ecosystem.
8. Assessment: Learners will use personal performance feedback from multiple digital data streams and dashboards to inform their own learning and development.
9. Technology: Learners will engage with a wide variety of learning tools, resources, and learning formats to acquire and apply core knowledge and essential skills such as collaboration, initiative, creativity, critical thinking, and perseverance.
10. Data Systems: Learning systems will develop interoperability across programs, services, data-scapes, and learning platforms and will ensure that everyone in the learning ecosystem has access to, and the capacity to use, the data needed to make effective decisions about learners.

Throughout the week, I will be holding up, via Twitter, real-world examples of schools and educators working on the ground to implement these innovative ideas.

This Thursday, we will be releasing the full policy paper; High School Race to the Top: 10 Essential Elements for High School Reform and College and Career Ready Success that dives deeper into the elements listed above and provides recommended legislative language for policymakers creating the High School Race to the Top proposal.

Although Will Ehrenfeld, Community Coordinator and Intern Teacher at Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) was shocked to hear his school mentioned in President Obama’s State of the Union address, it’s not hard for him to point to the factors that make his school a success.

P-TECH, which is part of the Smart Scholars early college high school program, is built on a successful partnership between City Tech, IBM and The City University of New York (CUNY). Each student is assigned a mentor from IBM and their schoolwork is tied to real-world work, which can help make the end goal of college and career more tangible. There are wrap-around services in place to help support students. And students are able to start taking college classes while still in high school.

“Our experience so far is that this model – the sequence and combination of opportunities – has great potential to change generations in our communities, giving an under-served population real access to middle class careers,” said Ehrenfeld. “In only 18 months since we opened, I’ve seen tremendous growth in our students and staff, as well as our partners at City Tech and IBM. While our results can only be described as preliminary, I am encouraged that we’re doing something right by the progress of our students: 10th graders’ PSAT mean exceeds the state average, and 74 of our 227 students are currently taking college courses.”

Ehrenfeld has been working with P-TECH since its planning phases in 2010. He’s observed that each position at P-TECH is unique. “We are all asked to do more, think more, and take more initiative than other schools,” he said. “Principal Rashid Davis often talks about distributive leadership, and this is an under-appreciated necessity of the model: since we are breaking new ground, everyone has to be a leader. Each new component of the school must be built, so the workplace learning course, social-emotional programs, mentoring model … all of it demands innovation. This makes P-TECH an incredibly rewarding and challenging place to work.”

Under Rashid’s leadership, school staff are able to provide students with complete wrap-around services, which Ehrenfeld sees as an essential component to the school. “We need to give students the rigorous, standards-based curriculum that will prepare them for academic success; role models, both professional and academic, who can mentor them through challenging times; and a clear route from where they are to where they want to be – from poverty to the middle class,” said Ehrenfeld.

Staff at P-TECH also works to help connect classwork with students’ futures. When Ehrenfeld reflects on his own education, he recalls courses in the humanities being more engaging while science classes, which often took place in sterile labs, seemed irrelevant. “I learned later on that science can’t be engaging if it isn’t applied; the same goes for math,” he said. “By collaborating with IBM [employees] on hands-on projects (e.g. balloon rockets, a project to celebrate E-week in February 2012) and communicating regularly through an online mentoring platform, our students come to see the value of their education.”

Seeing the value of what’s happening at P-TECH goes well beyond the student experience. Although the glow may eventually fade from being mentioned in last year’s State of the City address by Mayor Bloomberg and in this year’s State of the Union address by President Obama, people will stay focused on P-TECH and its continued success. Right now the model is expanding into more schools in New York, Illinois and Idaho.

Ehrenfeld is humbled by the attention his school is getting but hopes recognition goes where it should. “The model itself gets a lot of attention, [but] all of the good coming from P-TECH is thanks to our amazing staff, students and community of supporters.”

To help spread the word about Early College High School Week, NYCAN shared an interview with Ashley Fernandez about her experience in the Roosevelt High School Smart Scholars Program. Ashley is an 11th grader and loved being able to take college courses on a college campus. “I feel like a real college student because I have a chance to be with real college students on a real college campus doing real college work,” she said.

Read more about Ashley and her experience in the Roosevelt High School Smart Scholars Program.

One of the interesting things about working in an operating foundation is the opportunity to observe and learn from the “on-the-ground” work of our subsidiaries. It’s one of the things that makes KnowledgeWorks unique in its field of endeavor and  it also provides gratifying evidence that what sounds good on paper can often translate to what works in practice.

As we celebrate Early College High School week our EDWorks subsidiary takes center stage. Its Fast Track early college high schools are changing what it means to be a college student. Supporting students least likely to attend college simply because of their circumstances, EDWorks creates possibilities where few (or none) existed. Recently EDWorks published two whitepapers on the topic of Early College High School:  A National College Completion Agenda and  Academic and Social Supports, Activities and Guidance to Accelerate ECHS Students in High School and College .

A National College Completion Agenda by Deborah Howard, EDWorks Chief Innovation Officer, speaks to a growing body of evidence linking economic, community and national prominence to college degree attainment and the momentum  behind a national “college completion” agenda, including a significant expansion of the numbers of low income, minority and underserved students who attain a postsecondary credential.

Both publications are available for free download from the EDWorks website. If you are thinking about bringing the improved outcomes early college high schools can offer to your community, these are great resources to start off with.

A veteran urban educator, author Tom Forbes was the founding principal for two early college high schools in Ohio. For the past year he has been coaching other schools and communities seeking to design and implement early college high schools in New York and elsewhere.

 

President Barack Obama outlined a broad vision for education reform in his fifth State of the Union address, including a commitment to create a new high school reform competition modeled after his signature education initiative – Race to the Top. This competition would encourage schools to partner with colleges and employers to ensure America’s high school graduates have the skills to succeed in an increasingly complex workplace. With college remediation rates at record highs and the high-tech skills gap widening, KnowledgeWorks believes the nation’s high schools could benefit significantly from this type of competition.

A High School Race to the Top competition must challenge the current education system by empowering education stakeholders to break through traditional barriers to learning. Educators in traditional public schools and public charter schools must feel empowered to design flexible learning environments that align with student interest and learning styles and cultivate the knowledge and skills that ensure a seamless transition from high school to college and career. In order to achieve this type of success, KnowledgeWorks believes a new high school competition must include 10 Essential Elements for high school reform. These elements are informed by KnowledgeWorks’ groundbreaking research on the future of learning as reflected in our third forecast, Recombinant Education: Regenerating the Learning Ecosystem (Forecast 3.0) and the experience of our subsidiary organizations who serve on the front lines of high school reform.

On Thursday, March 28, we will release a policy paper, High School Race to the Top: 10 Essential Elements for High School Reform and College and Career Ready Success that explains the concepts fundamental to high school reform as well as recommended legislative language to guide policymakers as they begin to shape the High School Race to the Top proposal.

If you just can’t wait for the official release, check back here on Wednesday for a sneak peek of the 10 elements. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter to learn about real-world examples of schools and educators working to implement these innovative ideas.

President Barack Obama outlined a broad vision for education reform in his fifth State of the Union address, including a commitment to create a new high school reform competition modeled after his signature education initiative – Race to the Top. This competition would encourage schools to partner with colleges and employers to ensure America’s high school graduates have the skills to succeed in an increasingly complex workplace. With college remediation rates at record highs and the high-tech skills gap widening, KnowledgeWorks believes the nation’s high schools could benefit significantly from this type of competition.

A High School Race to the Top competition must challenge the current education system by empowering education stakeholders to break through traditional barriers to learning. Educators in traditional public schools and public charter schools must feel empowered to design flexible learning environments that align with student interest and learning styles and cultivate the knowledge and skills that ensure a seamless transition from high school to college and career. In order to achieve this type of success, KnowledgeWorks believes a new high school competition must include 10 Essential Elements for high school reform. These elements are informed by KnowledgeWorks’ groundbreaking research on the future of learning as reflected in our third forecast, Recombinant Education: Regenerating the Learning Ecosystem (Forecast 3.0) and the experience of our subsidiary organizations who serve on the front lines of high school reform.

On Thursday, March 28, we will release a policy paper, High School Race to the Top: 10 Essential Elements for High School Reform and College and Career Ready Success that explains the concepts fundamental to high school reform as well as recommended legislative language to guide policymakers as they begin to shape the High School Race to the Top proposal.

If you just can’t wait for the official release, check back here on Wednesday for a sneak peek of the 10 elements. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter to learn about real-world examples of schools and educators working to implement these innovative ideas.

President Barack Obama outlined a broad vision for education reform in his fifth State of the Union address, including a commitment to create a new high school reform competition modeled after his signature education initiative – Race to the Top. This competition would encourage schools to partner with colleges and employers to ensure America’s high school graduates have the skills to succeed in an increasingly complex workplace. With college remediation rates at record highs and the high-tech skills gap widening, KnowledgeWorks believes the nation’s high schools could benefit significantly from this type of competition.

A High School Race to the Top competition must challenge the current education system by empowering education stakeholders to break through traditional barriers to learning. Educators in traditional public schools and public charter schools must feel empowered to design flexible learning environments that align with student interest and learning styles and cultivate the knowledge and skills that ensure a seamless transition from high school to college and career. In order to achieve this type of success, KnowledgeWorks believes a new high school competition must include 10 Essential Elements for high school reform. These elements are informed by KnowledgeWorks’ groundbreaking research on the future of learning as reflected in our third forecast, Recombinant Education: Regenerating the Learning Ecosystem (Forecast 3.0) and the experience of our subsidiary organizations who serve on the front lines of high school reform.

On Thursday, March 28, we will release a policy paper, High School Race to the Top: 10 Essential Elements for High School Reform and College and Career Ready Success that explains the concepts fundamental to high school reform as well as recommended legislative language to guide policymakers as they begin to shape the High School Race to the Top proposal.

If you just can’t wait for the official release, check back here on Wednesday for a sneak peek of the 10 elements. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter to learn about real-world examples of schools and educators working to implement these innovative ideas.

Jasmine is a senior at Adirondack Early College High School in New York. In addition to her high school courses, Jasmine participates in New Vision Health Careers, a program that gives students access to coursework in the healthcare field. Next year she will be attending Elmira College in Elmira, New York, where she plans on majoring in pre-med and has been awarded a scholarship.

Jasmine is just one of the students we are highlighting throughout Early College High School Week 2013. Students at Adirondack Early College High School can earn up to 24 hours of college credit while still in high school. The early college experience helps students like Jasmine get a jump start on college and also eases the transition from high school to college.

For Jasmine, attending early college high school has changed how she views her future. She initially wanted to go into nursing but later realized she wanted more of a challenge. Now her goal is to be a pediatrician. “Being around sick kids could be depressing, but knowing I can help them feel better is uplifting,” said Jasmine.

Jasmine credits Adirondack Early College High School and the work she has done in New Visions for preparing her for navigating the college application process and getting ready for the rigors of college.

In celebration of Early College High School Week, we are hosting an online event, The Power of Early College High School.” This digital panel discussion will be moderated by Roslyn Valentine, the founding principal of Lorain County Early College High School and an EDWorks Fast Track Technical Assistance Coach.

Event panelists will include Kenneth Brunner, the principal of Canton Early College High School, a ninth grader at Bell Academy at Reynoldsburg High School, and Terrance Truitt, an alumni of Canton Early College High School. This event is on Thursday, March 26, from 1:30 pm-2:30 pm EST.

There is limited availability, so be sure to register early.

Learn more and sign up for this event.

In a recent New York Times editorial entitled Sunday Dialogue: A Cure for ‘Senioritis’? Marc Bernstein discussed several options to promote greater rigor for high school seniors. Bernstein, a former superintendent and educational consultant, recommended that by the end of 10th grade students, parents and counselors should develop a plan to either have a traditional senior year or an alternative senior year. Mr. Bernstein stated “Far superior alternatives to the traditional 12th-grade year exist for many students: beginning full-time college earlier, taking selected college courses on the college or high school campus, working to pay for college, and participating in a volunteer, apprenticeship or service experience.”

I completely agree that the senior year must change dramatically. If our children are to be college and career ready, they can’t simply ‘take senior year off’. Senior year should be the stepping stone to for students to experience college and work in a safe and caring environment – not a weigh station where they simply hang out until after graduation.

Here are just a few examples of how students in EDWorks partner high schools are spending their senior (and sometimes junior) years.

• Early College High School experiences: Students in over 200 schools nationwide attend Early College High Schools and begin earning college credits in 9th grade and earn 30-60 college credits, up to an Associate’s Degree by the time they complete their 4-year high school experience. On average, students attending one of EDWorks’ nine Fast Track Early College High Schools in Ohio earn nearly 40 college credits. Graduates from Akron Early College High School and Lorain County Early College High School average over 60 credits in that same time period. These youth do not have to give up their high school experiences such as athletics, prom and other social activities because their high school and college experiences are fully integrated.
• Capstone Experiences: Capstone experiences combine high school and / or college level courses with real world experiences in partnership with industry professionals. Students oftentimes begin capstone with internship / mentorship hours and then develop inquiry based research projects to enhance their learning and provide a service to the professional. Recently the Columbus Dispatch ran an article highlighting the capstone experiences in Reynoldsburg City Schools.
• Students attending the Health Sciences & Human Services Academy (HS2) at Reynoldsburg High School and Metro Early College High School in Columbus, Ohio, can participate in the Bodies Program where they integrate high school, college and real world experiences in the medical field. Students begin by completing intensive studies using the Project Lead the Way Principles of Biological Sciences and Human Body Systems curricula combined with technical writing, art and college level biology. Then they participate in medical rotations with professionals in their field of choice and conduct actual research projects with their mentors.
• Students attending eSTEM Academy at Reynoldsburg High School choose one of three academy pathways once they complete their core high school curriculum. Within each pathway students complete a highly rigorous series of courses which combine high school and college credits with 60 hours of internship and a college level research project.
• Service to Others: Next year, New Hope Christian Academy in rural Circleville, Ohio, is opening a STEAM focused high school which will culminate with a Senior Mission. The school will open with 9th graders next fall and by the time those students are juniors they will be working closely with their early college partner, Ohio Christian University, to research, plan and implement a full scale mission trip. As part of their 11th grade social studies curriculum students will begin researching the needs of communities in the US and around the world. Students and their adult mentors from the University and community at large will plan the trip and complete the fundraising needed to do their work in the chosen community. During senior year, students will earn high school and likely college credit for their Mission work.

These are just a few examples of the rich opportunities schools are beginning to offer their seniors which allow them to continue to grow and learn in new ways even after they have met the minimum high school graduation requirements. Students who participate in such experiences are better prepared for ‘life after high school’ because they know what college is like, what work is like and how to serve others.

To learn how your school can begin to re-think senior year feel free to contact me. I would love to hear how your high schools are providing all students with rich and rigorous opportunities to extend their learning.

Know | Trust | Empower | Care | Honor

Recently a school leader posted a question on LinkedIn asking how to boost morale with staff during challenging times. My immediate response was to share the K-TECH framework because it helps build the foundation for a safe and purposeful classroom for everyone– students and staff.  K-TECH is the acronym EDWorks’ uses for integrating characteristics of a safe and purposeful school environment into overall school improvement. K-TECH is aligned with major youth development initiatives including Josepshon Institute’s Six Pillars of Character and Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets. K-TECH was originally created by Ohio’s Center for Essential School Reform as part of its Framework for Building Safe and Serious Schools. While we often talk about K-TECH in reference to improving school climate for students, these same strategies can be applied to building relationships with and effectively motivating staff.

In this five part blog, EDWork’s Manager of Partnership Development and Technical Assistance Coach Michele Timmons shares ideas for implementing K-TECH as a strategy for building morale and creating a community of adult learners who can truly meet the needs of the children they serve.

Last month we highlighted K- Knowing Your Staff Better.

Today’s focus is T- Developing a Sense of Trust with and among Staff.

Developing a Sense of Trust With and Among Staff

Highly effective teams have an innate sense of trust in every team member. Your staff needs to trust the leader and each other. Honesty, fairness and reliability are key factors in developing this sense of trust. As the leader, you must first and foremost demonstrate these characteristics in every action, every day. Just as important, leaders must expect and require every staff member to demonstrate them too.

• Be Honest. We all make mistakes. When students make them, we insist they apologize.  When we make mistakes we should apologize too. Whether it is a huge error or a small mishap, if we apologize we let staff know they can trust that we “walk the walk.” Staff will more quickly develop a sense of trust if they feel the school’s leader is being honest. On the same note, develop a sense of honesty school wide where adults and students alike take responsibility for their actions and apologize when errors or misjudgments occur.
• Be Fair. Fair means everyone is expected to follow the same rules and exceptions to rules are consistent. There are times when exceptions to rules should occur because it is in the best interest of the staff member or students. Staff members understand this concept. The problem arises when staff perceives a certain type of person receives more leeway than others.
  • A major pet peeve of school staffs everywhere is that one person who sits in the back of the room grading papers during staff development because every principal for the last 10 years felt it was easier to just leave them alone than to expect them to engage.  If professional learning is the focus, then develop strategies to ensure everyone is engaged in the process.
  • Many school leaders also overuse their innovators. Leaders quickly realize who will say “yes” to additional work, projects and innovations. It is very easy to only rely on those individuals and never grow additional leaders. Last month we explored ‘knowing staff’ well. Part of being fair is sharing the wealth. Spend the time to learn more about your staff members as leaders and learners. Provide opportunities for others to take on leadership roles, even knowing it will take more of your time to help them build the skills they need to be good leaders.
• Be Reliable. When we make promises or set deadlines we need to keep them. Many schools have a history of leaders who just don’t follow through. As a result, staff members expect leaders to be unreliable and don’t feel obligated to follow through on their expectations. As leaders, when we make promises or set deadlines, follow through is critical. Don’t make promises you can’t or won’t keep. At the same time, school leaders are often at the mercy of systems beyond their control so many great ideas will never follow the anticipated timeline.  When this occurs, fall back on honesty. Explain clearly to staff and students the reason for the delay – and the steps you are taking to get the action back on track. When staff has deadlines, hold them accountable. Have personal conversations with staff members who don’t meet deadlines or fulfill promises. Let them know that as members of this team, everyone must be reliable.

Developing a sense of trust is a two way street. Leaders must earn trust by being honest, fair and reliable.  Leaders must instill trust by having high expectations that all staff members will be honest, fair and reliable – with each other and with students / families.

What strategies do you use to build a sense of trust within and among staff at your school?

Check back next month for Part Three of EDWorks’ five-part series on implementing K-TECH as a staff morale strategy. In the meantime, see Part 1, K- Knowing Your Staff Better.

For daily ideas on improving climate, culture and learning supports in your school, follow Michele Timmons on Twitter. You can also connect with EDWorks on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and through our website.

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The collaborative relationship between EDWorks’ coaches and staff at EDWorks New Start school Central Collegiate Academy represent a key piece of the interconnectedness that pushes the school forward.

EDWorks’ professional development has been an important ingredient in its success. At Central Collegiate Academy, as at EDWorks schools throughout the nation, coaches work side by side with educators, helping them implement innovative new strategies in order to help change the school’s learning culture.

Respect is also a major component in the success of changing the school culture. Principal Stephen McGhee, a former Detroit Educator of the Year and football coach, is one of the most respected men around.

“He really focused on excelling,” said one student. “He’s a very exceptional leader and motivator.” Other students chimed in, eager for me to understand just how important he is to them and their success. In addition to parents, friends and a few particular teachers, Mr. McGhee was named by students as one of their biggest cheerleaders.

Respect for this man, who balances a magnetic charisma with a firm resolution, is palpable throughout the hallways of Central Collegiate Academy. His personable demeanor, his intolerance for those who disrupt the progress of others and his unwaveringly high expectations bind everyone together.

The new culture and mentality emerging at Central Collegiate Academy is sustained through collaboration and respect for the EDWorks staff and Central Collegiate Academy administration; the determination of the staff, the students and the teachers; and the support of the community.

It’s important to the staff here that Central Collegiate Academy reaches out into the community, offering services within its walls that have the potential to directly benefit a wide variety of community members. They already have a number of great partnerships, including those with a health clinic, a credit union and the prosecutors’ office.

“I’ve never heard of any high school having partnerships inside the building, or a consortium like we have. So I think that’s what sets us apart from other high schools,” reflects Academic and College-Readiness Advisor Mr. Watson.

This post was written by Jamie Berg, former Communications Associate at KnowledgeWorks.

Back in 2006 when we started the work in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky on The Strive Partnership, we came to the realization this work was in great part an engineering challenge as much as anything else.  There were many moving parts and they all needed to be “corralled” in such a way that we could focus on what really gets results.  About that time, GE Aviation offered to provide us with some basic training in their systems engineering process known as Six Sigma.  It was very intimidating at first, but I quickly realized it was similar to the scientific method we all learned in fourth grade:  it was fundamentally about agreeing on what you wanted to accomplish, landing collectively on how to measure results, and constantly learning through cycles of improvement.

I came to this realization because we were fortunate to be introduced to one of their trainers who had the unique ability to make the seemingly mundane interesting.  He would use videos to help capture the concepts and get you out of your mental models about how to tackle complex problems.  We were at a break and started to think about a good analogy for the type of work we were undertaking.  One of the team came up with herding cats and we immediately Googled it.   Turned out there was a super bowl commercial that captured this perfectly.  We have since used it in many trainings as it seems to capture the heart of what the partnership and staff in particular face when taking on this work:

See video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8

I have been challenged many times on using this analogy for the work.  I can understand why.  There can be negative associations, as the context in which the analogy is used is not always flattering.  For example, on my worst days at home as a parent, I have felt like I may not be doing such a good job at “herding the cats” in the form of our two sets of twins.

Despite this, I have yet to come up with a better analogy and in the end it feels like it holds.  I would go so far to say that using this analogy in our work to achieve collective impact is not actually negative at all.  It is just the reality of what our system (or lack thereof) has produced.  Those of us working on education or any other social issues have perverse incentives to work in silos.  We are driven to compete with each other to get a grant or distinguish ourselves from others by highlighting our own strengths at the expense of others working on a common goal.  In short, the landscape of supports we have to achieve social impact is the direct result of the systems and incentives we have created.

I would love to hear from you.  What’s your take?  Is this “herding cats” analogy worth using?  Are there others that are better?

The idea of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as a key pedagogy for high quality teaching and learning has really been catching on throughout the US and around the world. One of the key tenets for STEM as pedagogy, or key instructional methods, is connecting with community / business partners to offer authentic and engaging problem based learning opportunities. As I travel throughout the US learning more about how schools are implementing STEM and engaging partners I hear amazing stories about businesses partnering with schools to offer terrific opportunities for student learning.

International businesses such as Google, IBM and Toshiba are great partners for schools in their community and around the world. Unfortunately, partnerships with these giants in STEM innovation are simply out of reach for most schools, especially schools in rural communities. Many rural school and district leaders have shared their frustration that they just don’t have big businesses in their communities that can offer students hands on opportunities in STEM fields. Without partners, it is very hard to develop truly authentic learning experiences for students to grow in their passion and understanding for STEM.

Just yesterday I discovered an amazing, but often untapped resource in our rural communities – farmers! One of EDWorks’ partner schools is New Hope Christian Academy in Circleville, Ohio. New Hope is in the midst of developing Ohio’s first private, Christian STEAM Early College High School (opening Fall 2013) and is also transitioning its K-8 program to a STEAM approach. One of the partners New Hope brought to the table was a local farmer, My Wilson, who has children attending New Hope. Mr. Wilson operates Wilson Farms, a 3,800 acre farm in the community, and throughout the day he provided amazing insight into the role that science, technology, engineering and math play in the day to day operations of his farm.

Mr. Wilson shared with our team about how genetic research has changed the way he runs his farm and several of the challenges he faces in ensuring healthy crops. He also explained to us that his tractor actually drives itself in the field – he never touches the wheel! It drops seed within six inches of where it needs to be planted. Ryan simply makes the adjustment on his tractor computer and the tractor and planter follow the new parameters entered. He even showed us a terrific website for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that provides the most accurate data available related to weather patterns. Mr. Wilson demonstrated how he uses this website to help him make decisions regarding when to spray, plant and harvest.

Our design team members’ brains were whirling with idea for collaborations and partnerships with Wilson farms by the end of this conversation. Our team is already talking about how students might assist him in testing out cover crops to determine which ones will provide the best harvests at the lowest costs and how he might “guest teach” lessons on data analysis / probability using the NOAA weather website.

Are you interested in starting or expanding STEM initiatives in a rural community? If so, I highly recommend you begin by having some conversations with your local farmers. Their wealth of information is beyond belief.

Are you in a rural community and already partnering with your local farmers? I would love to hear more about your collaborations so we can share information with our rural partners!

If there’s anywhere that exemplifies EDWork’s motto to “Expect Success,” it is Central Collegiate Academy in Detroit.

Central Collegiate Academy is the oldest high school in the city, with a proud reputation. Nobel Laureate Melvin Calvin was a student here at the turn of the 20th century. Los Angeles billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad is a graduate, as is current San Diego Charger Antonio Gates. Today, Central Collegiate Academy still sits at the corner of Linwood and Tuxedo, but decades of economic neglect has taken its toll on the Detroit neighborhood, bereft of industry and dotted with shuttered houses.

Though boarded-up houses line the streets leading to the school, the sense of community found within its walls is astounding. There’s a genuine hope here, a determination felt by staff and students alike. Knowing that these students will also be shaped by their teachers and peers, I felt confident in the potential of their futures.

Their Journey to Central Collegiate Academy

Trust. Respect. Purpose. Community.

The combination of those four factors is what’s drawing educators to Detroit’s oldest high school. Many of these teachers have held multiple positions throughout the Detroit Public School system, in classrooms ranging from kindergarten to high school.

Regardless of their reasons for coming to Central Collegiate Academy, most people have the same first impression once they step inside: this is a beautiful building. With its 19th century architecture and modern touches, its sundrenched marble hallways and high ceilings, this looks like a place that students would be proud to call their school.

A Culture of High Expectations

It’s obvious that the staff here have high expectations for their students and for themselves. Teachers balance encouragement and accountability for each other. They don’t accept excuses from students who aren’t meeting requirements. There’s a constant push to aim higher.

It is obvious how desperately the staff want these students to succeed. The encouraging relationships, the differentiated learning opportunities, the ongoing partnerships within the community, the processes and programs aimed at helping students succeed. It’s all done out of a deep sense of compassion and dedication.

In order to support Central Collegiate Academy in its efforts to “Expect Success,” EDWorks’ coaches help teachers develop strategies to address opportunity areas after data is gathered on them. In this way, academic data is being used as a means to identify areas that should be strengthened as opposed to merely highlighting weaknesses or penalizing teachers. The end result is a process of continuous improvement that both drives the success of the school, and fosters the relationships between Central Collegiate Academy staff members and EDWorks coaches.

This post was written by Jamie Berg, former Communications Associate at KnowledgeWorks.