Linda Schlosser, Ph.D. lschlosser@sjfc.edu St. John Fisher College Rochester, NY Presentation for the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD
A Vertical Team. . . . . . is middle school and high school educators who teach in the same academic area. It may include administrators, department chairs, or curriculum specialists. . . .designs curricular change, decides on instructional strategies, and creates support structures that make high achievement by all students a reality.
Warm Up: A Critical Question Imagine that it is the last day of 8 th grade. What are your greatest academic concerns about the students you are sending on? Take 3 minutes and idenitfy 3 concerns.
National Perspectives: Middle and High School Teachers’ Top 10 Concerns about Students Exiting 8 th Grade � Willingness to solve � Ability/desire to ask problems ‐ independence questions � Reading comprehension � Organization � Attitude toward reading � Study skills � Essay writing � Persistence � Vocabulary development � Motivation/Understanding what it takes to achieve 4
Can Vertical Teams help? � “A student’s middle � (2009) Balfanz, R. Putting Middle Grade Students on the school experience Graduation Path : A policy strongly impacts the odds and Practice Brief of graduating from high school.” (2010, Kirst, M.) Gaining What differentiates high Ground in the Middle grades: performing schools from low Why Some Schools Do Better performing schools is a than Others shared district culture and instructional programs designed to prepare all students for rigorous high school education
What do students think? Voices from the Middle PDK and NASSP surveyed 1,814 seventh and eighth graders in March of 2007. 6
Access YES : 93 % of 7 th and 8 th graders surveyed said there is “no chance” they will drop out of high school and not graduate. BUT : 83 % of 7 th and 8 th graders surveyed know little or nothing about the classes they need to take to graduate from high school 7
Reality Nearly 500,000 students do drop out annually. (Bureau of Labor Statistics ) High school graduation rate has remained flat over the last decade at about 72%. (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research) 8
Aspirations YES : 92 % of 7 th and 8 th graders surveyed said it is likely they will attend college. BUT : 68 % of those who say they will attend college, also say they have little or no information about what they need to do in high school to prepare themselves for college. 9
What do middle school students know about courses required to graduate from high school? To prepare for college? 10
Reality Nationally, the percentage of students who left high school with the skills and qualifications necessary to attend college rose from 25% in 1991 to 34% in 2002. (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research) Approximately 40% of recent high school graduates reported key gaps in their preparation for college or work. (Levine, 2007) 11
9th Graders Chance for College by Age 19 The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, 2009. 12
The Long and Short of it . . . Middle School students have high goals and aspirations, but limited or unrealistic ideas about what they need to do to succeed in high school and prepare for college. Can Vertical Teams help students experience more success?
What are Vertical Teams? Teachers from multiple grade levels, including a high school and its feeder middle schools, work together to develop a continuum of knowledge and skills that build from one grade to the next. � Are subject ‐ specific � Develop and implement vertically aligned programs � Focus on embedding skills and dispositions that lead to academic success for all students � Are not vehicles used to promote tracking . 18
VT Goals � Increase achievement for all students � Improve communication between grade levels and schools � Foster inclusion
Typical VT Activities � Discuss state standards, benchmarks, and curriculum frameworks as they pertain to practice � Share teacher expectations at each grade level � Identify successful teaching strategies � Identify student misconceptions � Design assessments � Plan for all learners—the strugglers, the successful, and all those in ‐ between
Vertical Teams Content- Organizational Leadership specific Strategies strategies Classroom strategies
Leadership and Organization 1. Ask questions about student performance…. � Course enrollment patterns � Standardized testing results � District-based/school-based testing results � Student motivation and disposition 22
Leadership and Organization 2. Plan and implement strategies for improvement… � Target specific areas and set grade-level goals � Establish short- and long-term plans of action � Gather data � Report back 23
Case Study: Global History and English Vertical Teams focus on grade 9 Students are experiencing various transition problems as they enter high school, especially in Global Studies and English. � Poor attendance or academic performance � High rates of discipline infractions � Failure on state tests � At the end of 9 th grade many not on track to graduate � Low sense of belongingness Upstate, NY
Action Plan Build in transition from MS to 1. HS by creating Small Learning Communities in 9 th Grade Hold weekly team meetings to 2. focus on ELA/Global progress Develop and train student 3. mentors
Data 3 rd year of the plan implemented for 9 th grade � Teachers believe students more connected � Increase in numbers of 2013 Cohort (current 10th grade) on track to graduate with 5.5+ Credits 241/266 or 90.6% Collecting data on Global Exam ARHS GOAL – 98% passing 10 th grade Global 2012 Cohort ‐ 226 ON TRACK – 83.4%
Mentors for Freshman
Content ‐ Specific Classroom Strategies Case Study: Using Vertical Teams to Enhance Vocabulary and Achievement in Urban Schools Missouri
District Snapshot � 7500 students K ‐ 12 � 72% African American, 22% Caucasian, 3% Hispanic, 3% Other � 69% Free and Reduced Lunch � High dropout rate/low attendance rate � Poor achievement on standardized tests � Nearly 50% of incoming 9 th graders read below grade level.
9 th Graders’ Perceptions of High School � 98% of our incoming freshmen were not going to go to college or “didn’t need it” � Careers included Professional basketball player, rap star, movie star, singer, and “entrepreneur” � Disconnect between perception of high school (parties, easy classes) and reality. � None of our incoming freshmen expect to drop out before their senior year. (At this point we have 67 members of the sophomore class who are not on track to graduate and 32 whose whereabouts we cannot ascertain.
Our Goal � Improve our students’ chances of performing well on high stakes tests such as state assessments, ACT, SAT, and AP exams in all core subject areas. � By doing the above, make our district more competitive in keeping our best and brightest students.
Timeline For Change � Organized vertical teams in core subjects and trained over 60 teachers from grades 5 ‐ 12. � Vertical Teams began critical examination curriculum. � Focus became use of subject area terminology. � Met monthly to begin instituting changes in vocabulary taught and how it was introduced. � Piloted new vocabulary lists among select English and Math teachers. � Revision of math and English curriculum began.
Where We Stand Since we are in our 3 rd year of VTs, and we don’t have all elements in place, HOWEVER— � Positive student response on exit interviews about college preparedness has increased by 17%. � A record number of students took the AP exam last year—over 100 of our juniors and seniors opted to take at least one exam. � Pacing guides utilizing state and national standards have been introduced in all core curriculum areas. � Reading Program leading from middle to high school has been adopted.
Other Ideas
Classroom Strategies Working with a Dialectical Notebook: Note Taking Frame Text Response In this column, record In this column, record important information your thoughts about or or ideas as they appear in reactions to any of the the text. material in the Text column. Vertical Team Strategy: Various forms of this strategy are used by AP Vertical Teams, The College Board, and by Transitional Vertical Teams 35
SOAPSTone Who Is the S peaker? What Is the O ccasion? Who Is the A udience? What Is the P urpose? What Is the S ubject? What Is the Tone ? AP Vertical Team Strategy, The College Board 36
From An English VT in Texas…. Connecting books and skills � 6th grade ‐ The Cay ‐ Skills: vocabulary, close reading, making inferences � 7th grade ‐ Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry ‐ Skills: imagery, personification, close reading and symbolism � 8th grade ‐ The Diary of Anne Frank ‐ Skills: close reading, pt. of view, characterization � 9th grade ‐ A Tale of Two Cities ‐ Skills: close reading, allusion and tone 37
From VTs in California � “We’re working on writing skills, trying to build them into grade level curriculum in a planned way so that we use the same terms to teach students to write. What we say in 7 th grade is the same term or strategy we build on in 9 th grade.” 38
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