tws_use_time_to_prepare_students_for_college_and_career.pdf

7/30/2019 TWS_Use_Time_to_Prepare_Students_for_College_and_Career.pdf

1/7

6 Use Time to Prepare Studentsfor College and Career

Successful, Expanded-Time Schools

TIME WELL SPENT54


2/7

TIME WELL SPENT55

The economic value of a college educationhas been well documented: Recentstudies show that people between theages of 25-34 who have college degrees

earn between 74 and 79 percent more thantheir peers with only high school diplomas,and this difference in earning potential hasbeen growing steadily for decades.5 Yet, forlow-income students, college completion isstill too uncommon: Only 8.3 percent of low-

income students across the country completecollege by the time they are in their mid-20s.6Research also shows that low-income studentsface signicant barriers to college completionthat extend beyond academic preparation andinclude difculties navigating the applicationand admission process; poor preparation for theindependent and self-directed study required forcollege success; lack of clarity on the connectionbetween college and career pathways; and anabsence of important life-skills such as problem-solving, communication, and self-advocacy.High schools that are successful in preparinglow-income students for success in college andcareers must work to address these barriers, andmany nd the conventional school calendarinadequate for the types of programs andactivities they need to offer their students.

The high-performing, expanded-time highschools in our study use time beyond theconventional school calendar to prepare theirstudents for success in college and careers. Someschools, such as North Star Academy in Newark,New Jersey, add required classes like college

readiness, a multi-year course that familiarizesstudents with the college admissions processas well as the different types of colleges anduniversities they may choose to attend and theiradmission requirements. At KIPP Houston, inTexas, sophomores begin the college explorationprocess with a one-semester class that teachesthem about different career opportunitiesand their educational requirements. The KIPPcurriculum continues with year-long classes in

the junior and senior years that prepare studentsfor college entrance exams, support themthrough the college admissions process, andadvise them on the types of social and nancialchallenges they may encounter in college.

An expanded day at Kathlyn Joy GilliamCollegiate Academy in Dallas, Texas, allowsstudentsmany of whom will be the rst intheir families to attend collegeto earn up to 60free college credits and learn about the collegeexperience. Gilliam Collegiate Academy is oneof more than 200 Early College High Schoolsnationwide. These schools blend high school with

the rst two years of college by helping studentsdual enroll in college courses and earn up to anassociates degree upon high school completion.While not all Early College High Schools offer anexpanded school schedule, some, like GilliamCollegiate, nd additional time particularlyadvantageous for helping students to excel incollege-level coursework and preparing them tonavigate the academic and social challenges ofcollege. (See sidebar: Dual Enrollment at KathlynJoy Gilliam Collegiate Academy)

gMore Time for College and Career

Career explorationclasses

Job shadowing/internships with localbusinesses

Connecting withcommunityorganizations

College Readiness Career Readiness

TIME WELL SPENT 55

College-level

preparatory curriculum College visits and

speakers

Courses to preparestudents for college life

+


3/7

TIME WELL SPENT56

Several schools in this National Center on Time& Learning study focus heavily on introducingstudents to career pathways. Twice each year,students at Brooklyn Generation School, inNew York, trade in their traditional high schoolcurriculum to take a four-week long Intensivecourse in law, technology, business, nance,medicine, or other careers. The schools 200-dayschool year allows the school to provide theseIntensives without sacricing the amountof time dedicated to core academic subjects.Throughout the month-long courses, studentsare learning about specic careers: The idea isthat students are reading and writing, theyredoing research, and theyre working towardspresentations [in a specic eld]. The studentsmeet professionals in their workplace, they havepeople come in and speak to them about theircollege and career paths, explains JonathanSpear, the co-founder of Brooklyn GenerationSchool. (See sidebar: Intensives at BrooklynGeneration School)

Similarly, at An Achievable Dream High School,in Newport News, Virginia, all tenth- andeleventh-grade students are required to take SATprep courses, and tenth- eleventh- and twelfth-grade students participate in internships and jobshadowing opportunities. (See sidebar: CollegeReadiness and What It Takes at An AchievableDream High School) Our goal here is not merelyto get students to pass state tests, says LeeVreeland, the director of education and studentservices at Achievable Dream High School.

We want all of our students to be successful aftertheir time here, whether its in college or theworkplace.

High-performing, expanded-time schools not onlydevote time to help their students get into college;they thoughtfully and strategically plan the typesof opportunities and experiences from which theirstudents will most benet. Many of the schools

in our study partner with a variety of outsideorganizationssuch as colleges, businesses, andcommunity non-prots, for-prots, and groupsto provide opportunities that match studentinterests. These schools also build a culture thatcontinually communicates the importance ofgoing to college. Moreover, in recognition oftheir student populations, many of these schoolsdevote staff and resources toward supportingrst-generation college entrants.

Partner with colleges, businesses,and community organizations

High-performing, expanded-time high schools

nd partner organizations that can fulll thevarying interests and goals of their students.An Achievable Dream partners with threeuniversities located in various regions ofVirginiaOld Dominion, Norfolk State, andVirginia Techto expose students to a varietyof school sizes and specialties offered. Theschool also partners with diverse businessesin designing its work skills curriculum, called

What It Takes. Through What It Takes, studentslearn job skills, both in the classroom from


4/7

TIME WELL SPENT57

Partnerwithcolleges,business, andcommunityorganizations

Buildaschoolculturecommitted tocollegecompletion

Supportstudentswhowillbe frst-generationcollegestudents

corporate partners who volunteer their time, andalso outside the school, thanks to job shadowingand internship opportunities. Our studentsget exposed to a variety of different careerpossibilities from the people who are actuallyworking in those elds, while our partners getto interact with, and build relationships with,the great young men and women at our school,says Quentin Jackson, the assistant director ofstudent services and athletics at An Achievable

Dream. Similarly, Brooklyn Generation Schoolpartners with a number of colleges andbusinesses to provide its Intensives courses. Herea student taking a medical Intensive may havethe opportunity to hear a guest lecture from aNew York doctor, observe at a hospital, and thenparticipate in internships at university hospitals.

Having partners who understand what our kidsare interested in and can provide the experiencesthey may not be able to get in school makes ourschool special, says Jonathan Spear of BrooklynGeneration School.

Build a school culture committed

to college completionA school culture that encourages and expects allstudents to attend college is crucial for studentswho may be the rst in their families to attendcollege. Most schools in this study send therepeated message to students from the time they

begin school that college is both possible andthe critical next step in their lives.

At KIPP Houston, the eld house is decorated withnames of KIPP graduates alongside the pennantsof the colleges into which they enrolled. Bannersthroughout KIPP Houston High School also urgestudents to Climb the Mountain to college, andstudents earn certain freedoms throughout theyear meant to mimic those they will have once

they are in college. At YES Prep North Central,also located in Houston, the importance ofcollege is highlighted even before the rst day ofschool. During a summer orientation week, newstudents hear from upperclassmen about therigors of school and the expectations of becomingcollege-ready. Throughout the school year, YESPrep schedules a weekly 15-minute homeroomperiod to reinforce the college-bound culture.

Support students who will be frst-generationcollege students

Many of the students enrolled at high-performing,expanded-time schools will be the rst in their

families to attend college. In recognition of thediverse needs of many rst-generation collegestudents, a number of high schools have createdsupports for these students to pave the way tocollege. Schools implement programs that helpstudents navigate the college application andselection process and identify nancial aid.

Advisors meet with students and their families todiscuss college life near and far from home.At KIPP Houston, all seniors are required to takea year-long college guidance course that helpsthem choose colleges, write essays, and preparefor college life. The school also dedicates one

staff member to assist students and families inapplying to and selecting colleges. An AchievableDream provides a number of similar supports forits students. In addition to partnerships with threeVirginia universities, the school also brings incollege speakers, sends students to visit campuses,and helps families complete nancial aid forms.

KeystoSuccess

TIMEWELLSPENT 57


5/7

TIME WELL SPENT59

Dual Enrollment atKathlyn Joy GilliamCollegiate Academy /Dallas, TX

Kathlyn J. GilliamCollegiate Academy,located in Dallas,Texas, is an Early

College High School oneof more than 200 schoolsacross the nation thatprepares students forthe rigors of college bydual enrolling them incollege courses startingin the ninth grade andhelping them earn up toan associates degree upon

high school completion.Students attending theschool, most of whomwill be the rst in theirfamilies to attend college,are able to earn up to 60college credits tuition freeby the time they graduate.

Collegiate Academy has partnered with CedarValley College, a community college in southernDallas County, for its dual enrollment program.Because classes at Cedar Valley College are 90minutes long, Collegiate faculty designed theirclass schedules to accommodate the longerperiods and built in additional supports duringan extended school day to ensure that theirstudents were able to handle the challengingclass load. As Gayle Smith, the principal atCollegiate Academy explains, The expandedtime mostly allows for more support for thehigh school and college academicsIt allowsus to offer more college classes and for the dual

enrollment to work more effectively because thelonger blocks match up with the college classesStudents can attend college classes withoutmissing parts of high school class blocks, becausethey are all the same length.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, Cedar ValleyCollege professors come to Collegiate Academyand teach six, college-credit bearing coursesto the ninth- and tenth-grade students. OnTuesdays and Thursdays, eleventh and twelfthgraders travel to Cedar Valley Colleges campus,via bus, and attend college courses alongsidecollege students. While students in the ninthgrade start with a xed eight college credit-hourcurriculum, students in grades ten throughtwelve have more exibility to take a variety ofcollege courses.

Students at Collegiate Academy receive academicsupport throughout the week to keep themprogressing academically. The rst supportsystem takes place during the students lunchperiod, which ranges in length from 40 to 70minutes. During this long lunch period, teachersmeet with students whom they believe requireadditional help. Students, meanwhile, areencouraged to take advantage of this time toseek out help if they feel they need it. Collegiate

Academy also has an off-track after-schooltutoring program to ensure that no students fallbehind. Each grade level has a designated off-track tutoring day, and students who have misseda class or an assignment, or who are otherwiselagging, are required to attend an hour-longtutorial in order to fulll all of their requirementsand keep pace with the curriculum.

With high academic expectations, an expandedschedule, and built-in academic supports,Principal Smith hopes to instill a strong workethic in her students as they prepare for college.

We are trying to train themwhen you are

on campus at college, go to the library, gosomewhere and do your studying, and then youcan have the rest of your time to socialize andhave fun. But get your work done rst before yougo home.

Kathlyn J. Gilliam Collegiate AcademyPrincipal: Gayle Smith

School schedule: 8:00am4:00pm

Additional time compared tosurrounding district: 60 min/day

Student PopulationGrades served: 911Number of students: 300Qualify for free/reduced lunch: 81%

Students Scoring At or Above Procienton the Texas Assessment of Knowledgeand Skills Test in 2010(difference compared to surroundingdistrict)

ELA: 100% (+13%)

Math: 92% (+28%)

TIME WELL SPENT 59


6/7

Brooklyn Generationis revolutionizingthe school calendarfor both students

and adults. Withoutadding time to teacherswork schedules, theschool has expandedthe school year by fourweeks to include a totalof 200 eight-hour days.To lengthen the schoolyear, Brooklyn Generation,located in Brooklyn, New

York, hires additionalteachers and staggers theschedules of all facultymembers.

Throughout the longerschool year, students atBrooklyn Generationreceive a rigorousacademic educationalong with a unique

Intensives curriculum that exposes themto college and career opportunities. In 2004,Brooklyn Generations innovative model earnedthem the Echoing Green Emerging World SocialInnovations award, and the schools foundersare planning to expand their model elsewhere inthe country.

Over two separate four-week periods duringthe school year, each Brooklyn Generationstudent chooses two Intensives courses that

align the schools academic content to collegeand the workplace. Over these four weeks, thestudent day is focused only on the Intensivetheyve chosen, so that students can developtheir interests in a career eld and learn moreabout college at the same time. For instance,Michele Hill, the schools culinary arts Intensiveteacher, structures her ninth-grade coursearound a restaurant competition, includingcreating a business plan. The class is basedon the television show Restaurant Impossible,Hill describes. In just four weeks, she continues,

Theyre responsible for all components ofopening the business. They have to determinemarketing, advertising. Theyre responsiblefor developing a website, and theyre totallyresponsible for the types of dishes that theirrestaurant will serve. Theyre responsible forcreating journal entries and understandingnancial statements. Students in Hills classalso take eld trips to nearby colleges withculinary arts programs, and visit restaurants inManhattan to learn from industry practitionersin their workplace.

Students in each grade choose from differentsets of Intensives. Though each Intensiveincorporates a college and career focus, thoseoffered in ninth and tenth grade are more career-

oriented, while eleventh and twelfth gradeIntensives place greater emphasis on college.

The Intensives are designed and taught by agroup of teachers who instruct exclusively inthe Intensives program, spending the schoolyear teaching these classes to different groupsof students. Intensives teachers meet frequentlywith core academic teachers to align content,learn about the students they will teach, andidentify skills to reinforce during their Intensive.

The Intensive program, with its designatedteaching corps, has the added benet of

enabling substantial amounts of professionaldevelopment and planning time for coreacademic teachers. While students are in theirfour-week Intensives, core academic teachersare out of the building, enjoying a three-weekvacation, and then for one week participating inplanning sessions with other teachers in theirgrade level.

Intensives atBrooklyn Generation School /Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn Generation SchoolPrincipal: Terri Grey

School schedule: 9:00am3:50pm

Early release: 9:00am2:15pm (Wed.)

Additional time compared tosurrounding district: 20 days/year

Student PopulationGrades served: 912Number of students: 320Qualify for free/reduced lunch: 81%

Students Scoring At or AboveProfcient on the New York StateStandardized Test7(difference compared to surroundingdistrict)

ELA: 70% (+8%)

Math: 54% (+5%)

May & AprilCampus Life & Internships

Students visit and identify colleges they willapply to, and participate in internships andcommunity service projects

May & AprilCampus Life & InternshipsStudents visit campuses, identify colleges theywill apply to, and participate in internships andcommunity service projects

Dec. & MarchNonprot & Public Sector Experiences

Students adopt a cause and engage in real-life projectsto effect change (e.g. Doctors Without Borders,United Way, etc.)

Jan. & MayCampus Life & Internships

Students explore elds that interest them: Medicine andhealth, tech and engineering, media and journalism

Freshmen

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors

TIME WELL SPENT60


7/7

TIME WELL SPENT61 TIME WELL SPENT 61

tws_use_time_to_prepare_students_for_college_and_career.pdf

Documents