NINTH GRADE COUNTS - US Department of Education

NINTH GRADE COUNTS

Using Summer Bridge Programs to Strengthen the High School Transition

3 A THREE-PART GUIDE

Systemic Transition Strategies English Language Learners Summer Bridge Programs

Ninth Grade Counts

Using Summer Bridge Programs to Strengthen the High School Transition

Stephen E. Abbott and Kenneth Templeton Great Schools Partnership Winter 2013

This publication was produced under the U.S. Department of Education Contract No. ED-ESE-1-C-0053. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education, and no official endorsement of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in this publication is intended or should be inferred.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Leslie Rennie-Hill, senior consultant with the Millennium Group International, for reviewing early drafts of this tool and providing recommendations for improvement. The content of this guide was also heavily informed by site visits to existing summer bridge programs and interviews with program directors. The authors would like to thank the following individuals for generously offering their time, insights, and expertise:

Hanif Fazal, director, Step Up Program, Portland Public Schools, Oregon Charlene Williams, principal, Roosevelt High School, Portland, Oregon Darlene Bruton, SLC project director, Prince George's County Public Schools, Maryland Shana Beckwith, SLC program manager, Suitland High School, Forestville, Maryland Lucille Pamela Daniels, SLC program manager, Crossland High School, Temple Hills, Maryland Louie Rocha, principal, Antioch High School, Antioch, California

INTRODUCTION

Why We Created this Guide

During the transition into high school, incoming ninth-grade students encounter a bewildering array of new emotions, faces, responsibilities, distractions, social situations, and intellectual challenges. And for those students who enter high school unprepared academically, emotionally, or socially, the stakes are incredibly high: for every full-year course that ninthgrade students fail, their chance of graduating in four years decreases by 30 percent. (Neild, 2009)

The guide includes three main components:

1 A self-assessment protocol and reading activity that will help schools engage in small- and large-group discussions about existing or proposed summer bridge programs.

2 Three brief profiles of real districts and schools with innovative summer bridge programs that are getting results.

Many schools and districts throughout the country are creating summer bridge programs to accelerate academic achievement, mitigate summer learning loss, and strengthen preparation for high school. While summer bridge programs have grown more common in recent years, they can vary widely in design and purpose from district to district or school to school.

3 A series of three "planning roadmaps" that will help schools identify best practices, leadership strategies, and action-plan priorities.

The three planning roadmaps (pages 5?10) are organized into the following subsections, each of which features a selection of best practices and recommendations:

For example, some programs only offer one- or two-day orientations to

high school, while others enroll students in a rigorous, multi-week academic program. Some districts specifically target students who are more likely to

DISTRICT + SCHOOL CONDITIONS Culture + Expectations

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struggle in high school, while others have open-enrollment policies and serve

Professional Development

students with diverse academic backgrounds. In many cases, districts fund

Partnerships + Resources

and operate summer bridge programs, but others may be funded by grants

Policies + Accountability

and or operated in partnership with community organizations. While summer bridge programs come in many forms, this guide is specifically concerned with programs that are intended to eliminate skill gaps, accelerate learning, and enhance preparation for students at greater risk of failing or dropping out during ninth grade.

PLANNING + ORIENTATION Data Collection + Analysis School Collaboration Student + Family Orientation Postsecondary Planning

How to Use the Guide

Ninth Grade Counts is a three-part guide designed to help districts and schools strengthen programs and practices for students entering ninth grade. Ninth Grade Counts: Using Summer Bridge Programs to Strengthen the High School Transition is the third installment of the guide, and it will equip school leaders, educators, guidance counselors, and community partners with insights and research-based strategies they can use to develop or improve a summer bridge program.

INSTRUCTION + INTERVENTION Academic Preparedness Student Engagement + Enrichment Social + Emotional Development

Instructions

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

STEP 1

1 The self-assessment and planning process outlined in Ninth Grade

Begin with the self-assessment activity, which is designed to help high school

Counts is not designed to evaluate school performance--it's simply

faculties or program staff engage in a focused discussion about their existing

a useful action-planning framework that can help make the

or proposed summer bridge experiences. The purpose of the activity is to

complexities of school improvement more manageable for school

stimulate thoughtful self-reflection and begin identifying areas in need of

leaders and educators.

attention, planning, or improvement.

2 The three columns in the self-assessment activity--Passive, Reactive,

STEP 2 In teams, review and discuss the selection of best practices listed on the planning roadmaps. Compare the strategies with an existing or proposed program in your district, and identify where practices or plans align or diverge. The accompanying profiles will help you to consider the strategies in context.

and Proactive--give schools general profiles of summer bridge programs at distinct stages of development. These descriptions are merely brief, representative illustrations, and schools will likely recognize elements of their program in all three approaches. Users should avoid attempts to perfectly match their program to a specific stage--the purpose of the activity is to encourage faculties to engage in the kind of frank, constructive, forward-looking discussions that

STEP 3 Review the column entitled What Leaders Can Do, a selection of

move them from where they are to where they want to be. 3 The three planning roadmaps give school leaders a logical structure

2

guidance and recommendations for school leaders who are designing

and process to follow when addressing critical aspects of ninth-

or administering a summer bridge program. This step is intended to get

grade transition--but they are not the only important features to

administrators, program directors, and teacher-leaders thinking about the

consider when developing an effective summer bridge program.

leadership and coordination strategies needed to successfully implement

Real schools are not neatly organized into clear-cut categories,

a summer bridge program that is intensively focused on academic

education research cannot take every factor into account, and new

acceleration and ninth-grade preparation.

programs rarely unfold according to a perfectly charted step-by-

step process. Districts and schools are complex, interdependent

STEP 4 Each of the planning roadmaps includes workspace for recording effective and ineffective strategies, which will help educators begin to

learning environments with unique qualities and characteristics, which means that no tool or process--no matter how well devised-- will be able to anticipate or address every need.

map out program needs and priorities. In the What's Working and What's Not Working columns, educators should record existing strategies and practices if the district or school already has a summer bridge program. If a program is still in the planning stages, record the conditions likely to support or hinder the development of a new summer bridge program.

4 Developing effective and appropriate programs for special-needs students, English language learners, and students with disabilities, as well as for their families, requires the kind of deep, specialized expertise that is beyond the scope of this guide. For this reason, the authors strongly encourage schools and faculties to investigate the

STEP 5 The Priorities + Next Steps column is where educators can record relevant

research on effective instruction, support, and interventions for their specific student populations.

action-plan priorities. Once your district or school has completed the process,

you should have a clear set of prioritized summer bridge strategies and action

steps that can be incorporated into a district or school action plan.

SELF-ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY

HIGH-IMPACT PRACTICES

While summer bridge programs reflect a wide variety of operational configurations, instructional philosophies, and learning goals, the most effective and high-impact programs--those designed to eliminate skill gaps, accelerate learning, and prepare all participating students for success in high school--share a few common characteristics identified by research:

1 Student-performance data are used to identify students who are at greater risk of failing, dropping out, or struggling emotionally, socially, and academically in high school, and identified students are proactively targeted for participation in the program.

2 Student data are provided to teachers before the program begins, and teachers personalize instruction and support to address identified learning gaps.

3 There is an intensive academic focus on the

3

foundational reading, writing, math, and academic skills that are critical to success in high school and in

all content areas.

4 Courses and learning experiences are taught by experienced, skilled, and qualified teachers--ideally, the same teachers who will instruct program students when they enter ninth grade.

5 The curriculum is based on clear learning goals and expectations that have been aligned with ninthgrade courses and learning standards.

6 Teachers, counselors, and advisors embed social and emotional development into all learning experiences, and they help students prepare for the challenges they are likely to encounter in ninth grade.

7 The curriculum also includes orientation activities for both students and families, assistance with study skills and organizational habits, and proactive postsecondary-planning guidance.

8 Educators and support specialists intentionally build relationships between students and adults-- specifically, between students and the teachers, counselors, advisors, and mentors who will instruct and support students in ninth grade.

Self-Assessment Protocol

The following protocol will help district and school teams engage in a self-reflective conversation about summer bridge programs and ninth-grade transition strategies, particularly for students who are at greater risk of struggling academically, failing, or dropping out of high school. The goal of the activity is to examine your district or school in terms of three different approaches to summer bridge programs: Passive, Reactive, and Proactive. When it comes to successful transitions, proactive strategies are essential--a district or high school that strategically plans and prepares can help all students successfully transition into ninth grade and graduate on time prepared for college, careers, and civic life. We strongly encourage school leaders to include students, families, and local cultural leaders in the self-assessment activity.

Purpose To identify strengths and weaknesses in existing or proposed summer bridge programs.

Structure Break up into groups of four and assign the roles of facilitator, recorder, and timekeeper.

Time Between 60?90 minutes.

Protocol [Adapted from the School Reform Initiative's Save the Last Word for ME protocol]

1 Individually, read the three descriptions--Passive, Reactive, and Proactive--on the following page. Keep in mind that these descriptions are merely concise, illustrative profiles that are based upon a synthesis of observations, research studies, and reports from schools. Your district or school may closely resemble one of the descriptions or it may reflect elements of all three. The goal is to provoke thoughtful, self-reflective discussions about how your school is addressing student success in ninth grade. While reading, participants should identify the specific features they believe accurately describe their school, district, or summer bridge program, and then select two or three passages they consider particularly important.

2 When the group is ready, a volunteer reads one passage that he or she has found to be the most significant. [NOTE: The volunteer should not reveal at this time why the passage is significant.]

3 After pausing briefly to reflect upon what has been said, the other three participants will have one minute to respond to the selected passage and express what the text made them think about and what questions it raised.

4 After the three have spoken, the first participant has three minutes to explain why he or she selected the passage.

5 The group conducts four rounds of seven minutes each. The same process is followed until all members have had a turn.

6 Participants share their opinions and thoughts about the district or school's general approach to ninth-grade student success, making sure to base their comments on concrete evidence, observations, and hard data as much as possible.

7 Each group makes a collective determination about where the district or school falls on the passive-reactive-proactive continuum and cites three specific supporting examples that came up during the session. One group member should be the recorder for this exercise. The group may use a flip chart or computer to record the examples.

8 The groups reconvene and share their results with the larger group.

9 The large-group facilitator collects the results and examples for future planning, making sure that all participants receive copies.

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