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+ Raising Expectations: Building a Culture of Excellence in Urban Schools TAH PresentationDecember 2009 James Liou (Boston Public Schools) Heather Voke (Georgetown University) Matthew Kostecka (DC Public Schools) Slide 2 + What does it take to build a culture of excellence and achievement in an urban school? Slide 3 + What is a Culture of Excellence? Students are engaged in their learning Students are invested in their learning both in and out of the classroom Teachers, administrators, support staff and parents hold common expectations Students are held to high standards academically Classes and lessons are goal-oriented, purpose- driven, and rigorously measured Slide 4 + Obstacles to Creating a Culture of Excellence in Low-Performing Urban Schools Students in Low-Performing & Urban Schools often lack: Academic Identity Models for academic success and personal connection to its benefits Exposure to high expectations Many students do not see the personal value or larger context of why academic excellence matters Slide 5 + Part I: Action and Identity Oriented Curricula Raising Expectations: Building a Culture of Excellence in Urban Schools James Liou TeacherBoston Public Schools Slide 6 + What is an Action and Identity- oriented curriculum? Academic-intensive class that connects disciplinary study, a participatory action research process and a focus on building a students academic and social identity. Not just learning, but learning by doing as core premise Slide 7 + Presentation Focus: Senior Capstone Class at the Boston Community Leadership Academy. The Campaign for Civics curriculum project (Hyde Square Task Force and Boston Public Schools partnership) Slide 8 + Student Quote I learned that PAR research is extremely important for the youth. Especially if the youth [are] the ones that are getting involved and getting the facts. If you can find something that a person is truly passionate about, there is no limit as to what that person is able to do in order to quench their taste for knowledge. I never thought I would be capable of writing something longer than 8 pages. I learned that all it takes is passion and genuine respect for what you are trying to research. The part of having your hard work written down for everyone to read is just a bonus that comes with the newly acquired knowledge and perspective --Vanessa Rivera Slide 9 + An Action and Identity-Oriented Curriculum Contextualized: Academic capstone experience, local/social history, own neighborhoods and lives. Buy-in: School staff, administration, parents, community-partnersand students Goal-focused orientation: Significant and useful academic product, building youth-voice and efficacy. Slide 10 + The Boston Public Schools and BCLA 135 schools (of which 21 are pilot schools) SY 10 enrollment ~56,000 students Winner of 2006 Broad Prize for Urban Education Student Demographics: 39% Hispanic 37% Black 13% White 9% Asian 74% Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch Academic college prep curriculum with emphasis on community and leadership Winner of 2009 School on the Move Prize Student Demographics: 56% Black 33% Hispanic 7% White 4% Asian Slide 11 + The BCLA Senior Capstone Class Key Components/Products: Required year-long senior course Content: History case-studies, identity and city study, participatory action research 40 page paper, internship, presentations Key End Goals: Accomplishment, identity and action. Slide 12 + Successes and Challenges Successes alignment to school mission academic readiness for college authentic assessment model model for other student-engagement course development. Challenges: sustainabilityresources, staffing building partnerships Slide 13 + Senior Capstone Celebration 08 Slide 14 + Take Away Messages and Next Steps Now what? Identify lead team Researching existing curriculum models Retrofit / Adjustment for local school context Backwards design to get there 3 Ps: Pilot, Publicize, and Pursue Slide 15 + Slide 16 + Some Resources of Interest: BCLA Capstone website and viewbook: www.bcla.digication.com www.bcla.digication.com What Kids Can Do website: www.wkcd.orgwww.wkcd.org Research for Action website: http://www.researchforaction.org http://www.researchforaction.org Additional information about me and action- oriented coursework: http://jamesliou.com/http://jamesliou.com/