TALENT DEVELOPMENT SECONDARYA program of the Johns Hopkins University School of Education

ANNUAL REPORT2015 – 2016

MISSION

Talent Development Secondary provides evidence-based models, tools and services to the most challenged secondary schools serving the most vulnerable students in the country.

VISION

Talent Development Secondary envisions a nation in which our most vulnerable students have access to an education that:

• develops their unique strengths and talents;

• builds their academic and socio-emotional competencies;

• engages them in relevant and exciting learning opportunities;

• supports them so they can succeed; and

• prepares them for post-secondary education and the 21st-century world of work.

CORE VALUES

The best decisions are made closest to the situation.Regular reflective practices help align actions with intentions.

Collaboration adds value, insight, and promotes growth. Always default to what is best for students.Sustained effort over time leads to success.

We value the development and growth of our own staff.

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LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ..................................................................... 3

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................. 4

2015 – 2016 SCHOOLS .......................................................................................................... 5

HIGHLIGHTS ................................................................................................................................ 6

SCHOOL ACCOMPLISHMENTS ............................................................................................... 8

DIPLOMAS NOW AND THE MDRC STUDY ...........................................................................10

PROGRESS TOWARDS ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS .......................................................... 11

LOOKING AHEAD ..................................................................................................................... 12

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Overview Middle School students (Guam) 2. South Dade High School honors Principal Perez (Miami, FL) 3. Booker T. Washington High School mural (Miami, FL) 4. As a reward for good attendance, students at Linden-McKinley High School were treated to a pancake breakfast (Columbus, OH) 5. Martin Van Buren High School student is a recipient of the New Visions Glasses program (New York, NY) 6. Student of the Month at Jefferson High School (Los Angeles, CA) 7. Teacher Appreciation Day at Woodrow Wilson High School (Philadelphia, PA) 8. Washington State Governor visits Aki Kurose Middle School (Seattle, WA) 9. Report Card Conferences at Newtown High School (New York, NY)

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LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Greetings Friends, Partners, and Colleagues:

As I reflect upon the last year of operations, I am most inspired by the truly compelling results we have achieved

at many of our nation’s most challenged schools. This report captures these results quite effectively. Despite the

many obstacles TDS faces in trying to provide services to the most challenged schools in the country, we know that

all students can achieve at high levels given the right supports and opportunities. When we combine proven whole-

school reform frameworks with integrated student supports (whether through our Diplomas Now partnership or other

resources in the school or the broader community), we can make powerful differences in the behavior, the structures,

the climate, the instruction and yes, the outcomes at our most underserved schools serving our most vulnerable

learners.

While I am very encouraged with our own work, I am equally inspired by the progress the country has made on

raising its national graduation rate from 75% a short ten years ago to 83.2% this past year. I am also aware and

very proud of the leadership role we at Talent Development Secondary have played in this rising tide. We started

with 2,000 schools ten years ago that had promoting power of less than 60%, and now we have less than half that

number remaining, which comprises tremendous progress and a true national success story. However, what we know

about these remaining 1,000 is that poverty is even more concentrated within these schools, as are English Language

Learners, Special Education Students, and students that are as much as 3 – 4 years behind grade level by the time

they reach 9th grade. For this reason, we at Talent Development Secondary must redouble our efforts to reach a

critical mass of these remaining high schools and their feeder middles by meeting the schools where they are, offering

products and services they can use and afford, while continuing to generate the impact that you will see in this report.

We have some compelling opportunities before us, as well as additional resources made possible by the

reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary School Act, now known as the Every Student Succeeds Act. Our deep

understanding and leverage of those resources, as well as the partnership of many of our critical stakeholders, will

be needed to ensure that we convert these opportunities for the schools and students that need us most.

Thank you for your interest in, support of, and advocacy for Talent Development Secondary. With your help, I look

forward to another year of great progress.

Charles Hiteshew

Chief Executive Officer

Talent Development Secondary

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FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

SCHOOL DISTRICT FUNDERSAustin Independent School DistrictBoston Public Schools Columbus City SchoolsDenver Public SchoolsDetroit Public SchoolsEducation Achievement Authority of Michigan Guam Department of EducationHempstead Public Schools Los Angeles Unified School DistrictNew York City Department of Education Seattle Public SchoolsTulsa Public Schools

FOUNDATION AND CORPORATE FUNDERSAnonymous DonorCharles and Lynn Schusterman FoundationCharles Stewart Mott FoundationColumbus Foundation Edna McConnell Clark FoundationFund for Shared InsightGeorge Kaiser Family FoundationIngram White Castle FoundationLaura and John Arnold FoundationMiami Children’s TrustOak FoundationSkillman FoundationWilliam Penn FoundationWilliam R. Kenan Jr. Charitable TrustPepsiCo

16%

84%

14%

35%

51%

REVENUE SOURCES

Contracts with School Districts and States (51%)

Foundations (35%)

Corporations (14%)

EXPENSES

Programs (84%)

Management, General and Administrative (16%)

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2015 - 2016 SCHOOLS

Talent Development Secondary: All schools on the list are working with Talent Development Secondary (TDS). The schools with a + are implementing only Early Warning Systems and not the full TDS four pillar model.

Diplomas Now: Diplomas Now is a partnership between TDS, City Year and Communities In Schools. Schools in this category are implementing the TDS model, as well as enjoying additional benefits through collaborative efforts with City Year and Communities In Schools. Schools listed as “original i3 schools” are among the 30 schools involved in the Investing In Innovation grant and subsequent randomized control study being conducted by MDRC.

Eastside Memorial HS, Austin, TXEugene Field ES, Tulsa, OK +

Kendall-Whitier ES, Tulsa, OK +

Rogers MS/HS, Tulsa, OK +

Sequoyah ES, Tulsa, OK +

Manual HS, Denver, COHempstead HS, NYC, NYFannie Lou Hamer MS, NYC, NYHolcombe L. Rucker School of

Community Research HS, NYC, NYMartin Van Buren HS, NYC, NYGarfield HS, Seattle, WA

East Detroit HS, East Detroit, MIPershing HS, Pershing, MIBalsz ES, Phoenix, AZ +

Camelback HS, Phoenix, AZ +

Central HS, Phoenix, AZ +

Dunbar ES, Phoenix, AZ +

Griffith ES, Phoenix, AZ +

Kenilworth ES, Phoenix, AZ +

Osborne MS, Phoenix, AZ +

Portland HS, Portland, MEGeorge Washington HS, GuamOceanview MS, GuamSouthern HS, Guam

TALENT DEVELOPMENT SECONDARY ONLY SCHOOLS

Original i3 SchoolsBooker T. Washington HS, Miami, FLJohn Hope HS, Chicago, ILBroadmoor MS, East Baton Rouge, LACapitol MS, East Baton Rouge, LAClinton MS, Los Angeles, CAManual Arts HS, Los Angeles, CAThe English HS, Boston, MAMcCormack MS, Boston, MALinden McKinley STEM MS/HS,

Columbus, OHMifflin HS, Columbus, OHClippert MS, Detroit MINoble MS, Detroit MIHomestead HS, Miami, FLDimner Beeber MS, Philadelphia, PAMiami Carroll HS, Miami, FL

Jefferson HS, Los Angeles, CAGeorgia Jones MS, Miami, FLJohn Ericsson MS 126, New York City, NYNewtown HS, New York City, NYGrover Washington MS, Philadelphia, PAE.W. Rhodes MS, Philadelphia, PAWoodrow Wilson MS, Philadelphia, PALuther Burbank HS, San Antonio, TXRhodes MS, San Antonio, TXCardozo HS, Washington DCCardozo MS, Washington DC

Diplomas Now Schools not part of i3David T. Denny MS, Seattle, WAAki Kurose MS, Seattle, WAClinton MS, Tulsa, OKWebster HS, Tulsa, OKSouth MS/HS, Columbus, OHDetroit Collegiate Prep HS, Detroit, MI

TALENT DEVELOPMENT SECONDARY

DIPLOMAS NOW SCHOOLS

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HIGHLIGHTS

TDS STRATEGIC PLAN

Talent Development Secondary partnered with The Bridgespan Group to create a strategic plan that would support completing the federal Investing In Innovation (i3) grant for Diplomas Now and position TDS to maintain a presence in key targeted cities. This strategic plan runs through the 2018 fiscal year. The planning process and the implementation of TDS’ Strategic Plan has been generously supported by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and includes:

Establishing local operating teams in priority communities TDS is working to establish an on-going presence in key priority markets across the United States in order to better meet the needs of schools and students.

Developing a portfolio of supports TDS is working to develop a portfolio of evidence-based supports that include whole-school transformation and turnaround efforts as well as stand-alone components.

Strengthen organizational effectiveness TDS is working to develop the internal structures that can support a larger organization operating with local teams.

Increasing policy impact In addition to impact at schools and districts, TDS is working to increase impact on state and federal policy around improving low-graduation high schools and feeder middle schools and increasing the use of evidence-based approaches to improvement.

TDS SCHOOLS IN THE NEWS – SAMPLES

Can ‘early warning systems’ keep children from dropping out of school? The Washington Post, June 28, 2016

Diplomas Now i3 Project: Early Monitoring Protects At-Risk Students Education Week, June 21, 2016

Not Good Enough on Graduation. More can be done to increase graduation rates. U.S. News & World Report, May 9, 2016

The ‘Diplomas Now’ Way: Better Identify At-Risk Kids, Do Whatever It Takes to Get Them to Graduation Day The Seventy Four, March 16, 2016

Mia Williams Named Washington Middle School Principal of the Year 2016 Seattle Public Schools, March 18, 2016

David T Denny International School wins Math Growth Achievement Award 2nd year in a row Washington State Board of Education, April 25, 2016

At Clinton Middle School, a Diplomas Now turnaround from ‘insane asylum’ to ‘warm and supportive’ LA School Report, March 22, 2016

A Dozen DPS Schools Released from Michigan’s 2012 Priority Cohort Schools List (partner school Noble Elementary-Middle School removed) Detroit Public Schools, February 18, 2016

Pathways & Pipelines: Successful Transitions From Middle School to High School KCTS 9, PBS, January 29, 2016

Texas Education Agency Says AISD Exceeds All Targets of State Accountability System Overall Austin, August 7, 2015

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SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED IN A PARTNERSHIP WITH RESTORATIVE PRACTICES TO IMPROVE WHOLE-SCHOOL CLIMATE WITH A GRANT FROM ATLANTIC PHILANTHROPIES

42 SCHOOLS IN 14 STATES, D.C., AND GUAM

OF TDS SITES ARE DIPLOMAS NOW

PARTNERSHIP SITES

STUDENT OUTCOMESCOLLECTED

22 HIGH SCHOOLS

20 MIDDLE SCHOOLS

RAISED TO SUPPORT TDS PARTNER SCHOOLS

INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES IN 70% OF SCHOOLS

IMPLEMENTING THE TDS EARLY WARNING INDICATOR SYSTEM

STUDENTS HELPED BY MASTERING THE MIDDLE GRADES AND FRESHMAN

SEMINAR

STUDENTS IMPACTED BY THE RESTORATIVE PRACTICE STRATEGIES LEARNED BY FACULTY

ADDITIONAL 5,000 STUDENTS SUPPORTED THROUGH EARLY WARNING INDICATOR ONLY SCHOOLS

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TDS works with 42 sites in full implementation and an additional 11 Early Warning System sites. There has been tremendous progress in partner schools across the country from the great partnerships with school leadership, teachers, partner organizations, and students.

Impact on ABC outcomes: TDS works with all sites to increase the number of students who are on-track for high school graduation and postsecondary success through improvements in Attendance, Behavior, and Course Performance. TDS measures impact by how many students end the year on-track in the ABCs, how many students are identified that it is able to get back on-track, and how many students stay on-track throughout the year. It monitors impact at each school and across the TDS Network.

o Over 65% of students in TDS schools ended the year without any indicators in Attendance, Behavior or Course Performance

o The TDS Network had average recovery rates ranging from 37% to over 60% across the ABCs. (This is the percentage of students who are flagged as off-track during the year and end it on-track.)

o The TDS Network had average prevention rates over 87% across the ABCs. (This is the percentage of students who were able to stay on-track all year.)

Impact on other outcomes: TDS partner schools also see an increase in graduation/grade promotion, student achievement, and other student and school outcome measures.

IMPACT ON STATE ACCOUNTABILITY METRICS:

TDS partners with many schools who are working to move out of “Priority” or “improvement” status in the state or district accountability system. In just the past year:

East Baton Rouge, LA: Broadmoor and Capitol Middle Schools have been removed from the state’s “academically unacceptable” list.

Detroit, MI: Noble Elementary School has been removed from the state’s priority schools list because of significant student academic gains.

New York, NY: John Ericsson MS 126 has been removed from the state’s priority schools list because of significant student academic gains.

IMPACT ON PROMOTION AND GRADUATION RATES:

The ultimate measure of TDS’ success is that more students are graduating from high school prepared for postsecondary success. In the past year:

Chicago, IL: Gage Park High School (81%) and John Hope College Preparatory School (72%) showed continued increases in Freshman On-Track rates for the 4th year, a proven predictor of graduation rates.

Los Angeles, CA: For the 4th consecutive year, Manual Arts (77%) and Thomas Jefferson (76%) showed increases in their cohort graduation rate.

SCHOOL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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Tulsa, OK: Webster High School increased its graduation rate to 60% (an increase of over 7 percentage points).

Washington DC: Cardozo Education Campus increased its high school graduation rate to 60% (an increase of over 15 percentage points in the last 4 years).

IMPACT ON CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM:

TDS supports schools in increasing the number of students who are on-track in attendance, which increases the time that students spend in school and in class. In the past year:

Miami, FL: Booker T. Washington High School and Miami Carol City Senior High School recovered 22,658 and 48,168 instructional hours respectively through gains in attendance.

Seattle, WA: Aki Kurose Middle School and David T. Denny International Middle School increased the percentage of students missing fewer than 10 days by 18 points and 7 points respectively.

IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT TESTS:

TDS partner schools using a variety of assessments to measure student progress, growth, and achievement level. In the past year:

Boston, MA: The English High school increased students’ MCAS scores to reach 66 percent in math and 84 percent in English proficient or advanced (an increase of more than 20 percentage points in the last 4 years).

Columbus, OH: South High School (2/5), Linden-Mckinley STEM Academy (5/5), and Mifflin High School (4/5) again showed improvements in passing rates in the five Ohio Graduation tests.

New York, NY: In just one year, Martin Van Buren High School increased its Algebra 1 Common Core pass rate by 36 percentage points and increased the percentage of students deemed college- and career-ready by 30 percentage points.

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In 2010, through the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund, the U.S. Department of Education

selected several promising programs for expansion and further evaluation. One of the

selected programs, Diplomas Now, is a secondary school model focused on meeting the

holistic needs of all students in grades six through twelve. It is designed to be robust and

intense enough to transform, or turn around, high-poverty and high-needs middle grade

and high schools attended by many of the students who fall off the path to high school

graduation. Diplomas Now combines programming developed by each of the three

organizations that created it: Talent Development Secondary, City Year, and Communities In

Schools. Specifically:

Talent Development Secondary provides organizational, instructional, and

professional development reforms, including integrating an early warning indicator and a multi-tiered student support

system.

City Year places diverse teams of 10 or more young adults in schools to provide school-wide and targeted supports,

which include attendance and behavior monitoring and coaching, tutoring, mentoring, homework support, and

extended-day activities.

Communities In Schools provides school-wide prevention and climate support as well as case management and high-

intensity supports for the most challenged students, to address the underlying issues hindering their success.

Diplomas Now received one of 15 validation grants awarded as part of the first i3 competition and, in 2014, received an

additional i3 grant to extend the evaluation.

MDRC and ICF International are conducting an independent, experimental evaluation of the impact and implementation of

Diplomas Now. Sixty-two secondary schools in 11 school districts agreed to participate in this study between 2011 and 2013.

Thirty-two of these schools were randomly assigned to implement the Diplomas Now. Two prior evaluation reports focused on

the first two years of Diplomas Now implementation. The third report, released in June 2016, shares interim impact findings for

the first and second year impacts of a multi-year program:

The Diplomas Now model produced a positive and statistically significant impact on the percentage of students with

no early warning indicators — students with better than 85 percent attendance, fewer than three days suspended

or expelled, and passing grades in both English/language arts and math. Helping students maintain or reach these

thresholds is an explicit target of Diplomas Now school teams.

There were more promising impacts for middle schools than for high schools. In middle schools, Diplomas Now had a

positive, statistically significant impact on the percentage of sixth-graders with no early warning indicators.

Students at Diplomas Now schools reported participating in more academically focused after-school activities, and

more reported having a positive relationship with an adult at school who is not a teacher, than did their peers in the

comparison schools. Students in both groups of schools reported similar perceptions of school safety and climate, and

the Diplomas Now model did not have an effect on students’ self-perceptions or school behaviors.

SCALING UP: DIPLOMAS NOW AND THE MDRC STUDY

www.mdrc.org/project/diplomas-now

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Talent Development Secondary is committed to providing schools with evidence-based resources, models, and high-quality

support to implement these models.

In order to provide high-quality support and improve as an organization, TDS sets goals in four categories each fiscal year in

the context of its overall strategic plan goals and continuous improvement of services. The following details progress on key

TDS actions and activities this fiscal year.

SERVICE CAPACITY

At the end of the 2015 – 2016 school year, TDS was serving 42 full model schools (22 high schools and 20 middle schools)

and collecting data on outcomes for students at each of these schools, more than 33,000 students in all.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

TDS established local advisory boards that included business, education, and community leaders in Columbus, Miami, and Tulsa

during the 2015 – 2016 school year. We are excited to engage these partners in our ongoing work in each city to reach more

students and schools.

In partnership with Spitfire communications and support from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, TDS created a

communication platform and messaging approach to guide TDS growth.

TDS has continued to expand its support of the implementation of Early Warning Systems, including trainings and facilitation

support to schools not implementing the full TDS or Diplomas Now model. This includes four schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in

partnership with the Growing Together Collaborative; seven schools in Phoenix, AZ, as a part of the Destination Graduation

partnership with Valley of the Sun United Way; and over 30 schools in New Mexico. Some of these projects have been in

collaboration with the Everyone Graduates Center, the research arm of Talent Development Secondary at Johns Hopkins

University.

TDS co-director Dr. Robert Balfanz was a research advisor on the My Brothers Keeper Success Mentors initiative, which

kicked off in December 2015 and is challenging cities and school districts across the country to address chronic absenteeism.

Numerous Diplomas Now schools were able to attend the kick-off, which was hosted by the White House in Washington DC.

PROGRESS TOWARDS ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS

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For the 2016 – 2017 school year, Talent Development Secondary will continue to work towards the implementation of its strategic plan to better meet the needs of students, schools, and districts across the country. Areas of focus include:

SERVICE CAPACITY

Schools and Students Served TDS will maintain the total number of schools and students served and lay the groundwork for further expansion in each of the targeted markets in coming years.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Local Operations TDS will continue to recruit partners for advisory boards, local leadership teams, and new school partners as cities and regional areas transition to local TDS operations, with the goal of 5 local operating teams by the end of the year.

Communications TDS will work on a variety of strategies to broaden recognition, awareness, and understanding of the services it provides to schools and their impact on students.

Financial TDS will continue to improve financial forecasting and monitoring processes that allow national operations and local teams better decision-making ability.

PROGRAM QUALITY

Diplomas Now MDRC Report TDS will use the findings of the three MDRC reports on the impact of Diplomas Now to further improve its approach to implementation fidelity and ensure the biggest impact for all students and schools.

Implementation Impact TDS will continue to monitor and track the impact of its work on the ABCs. This will include network-wide goals, growth goals, and surveys to measure impact.

On-track: At least 75% of students will be on-track in each indicator (A, B, and C) On-track: At least 67% of all students will end the year with 0 Early Warning Indicators Prevention: At least 90% of students who are on-track will end the year on-track Recovery: At least 50% of the students who are off-track will end the year on-track

FINANCIAL

Funding Sources In addition to being a good steward of grant and contract funds, TDS is working to broaden the sources of revenue that sustain its programming including increasing individual, local, and public contributions to TDS’ work. This will establish a better balance between grant, foundation, and contract revenue sources.

LOOKING AHEAD

1. Partnership with Children partnership session (New York, NY) 2. Principals Institute members at DNSI 2016 (Orlando, FL) 3. Mifflin High School students (Columbus, OH) 4. Donuts and Diplomas: A series of community awareness events in Tulsa, OK 5. TDS staff at the White House for the My Brother’s Keeper Success Mentors launch 6. TDS staff visit Nueva Vista High School (New Mexico) 7. Report card conferences at Clinton Middle School (Tulsa, OK) 8. Early Warning Indicator teacher meetings at The English High School (Boston, MA)

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SECONDARYa program of Johns Hopkins University

School of Education

2701 N. Charles St.Suite 300

Baltimore, MD 21218410-516-8800 ∙ www.tdschools.org

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