20th Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference Leading Change to Make Rigor, Relevance and Relationships a Reality Wednesday, July 12 - Saturday, July 15, 2006 Orlando World Center Marriott Orlando, Florida

Conference Objectives

Leading change for improving student achievement and high school completion rates is the purpose of the 20th Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference.

Conference Objectives

1. getting agreement among faculty on the deep level of understanding needed to make an A or a B in academic and career/technical classrooms and on the necessity for students to redo work until it meets grade-level standards;
    

2. motivating students to work hard to do grade level work and beyond;
    
3. helping diverse student populations develop good study and learning habits to become successful learners; and
    
4. Implementing learning strategies that work with non-English speaking learners.

2. Leading change by raising achievement and getting more students to graduate from high school. District leaders, school administrators and teachers describe how they have led in

1. providing students with successful recovery opportunities to pass failed courses and to pass high-stakes exams;
    
2. getting middle grades and high school faculties to examine the root cause for declining high school completion rates and to take action to improve the rates;
    
3. getting more students ready for challenging high school studies in grade nine and for successfully completing grade nine with significant gains in achievement; and
    
4. assisting all students at the end of each grade level to have a stated goal and a plan to complete high school and post-high school studies.
    

1. finding common planning time aimed at 1) developing standards-driven instructional plans; 2) planning integrated assignments, units and projects across academic and career/technical courses; and 3) agreeing on what constitutes Basic-, Proficient- and Advanced-level student work, assessments and scoring guides; 
2. educating parents and students on the level of effort required for high school and postsecondary success;
    
3. creating study groups to analyze data, technical assistance reports and special publications aimed at developing and implementing school and classroom improvement plans; and
    
4. providing teachers access to quality staff development aligned to school improvement plans to help teachers learn how to 1) develop effective instructional plans for students from diverse backgrounds; 2) use merging technology tools effectively to promote higher-level learning; and 3) engage students with research-based instructional strategies, Socratic seminars, cooperative learning, project-based learning, real-world problem-solving simulations, conflict analysis, analysis of primary sources and current events, determining cause and effect, high-level questioning techniques and assessments that require constructed responses.

4. Leading change by providing at least 10 percent more students access to a rigorous and relevant academic core and an academic or career/technical concentration that prepares them for further learning and work. District leaders, school administrators and teachers describe how they have led in

ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS by

1. having at least 10 percent more students annually in grades six through 12 complete a sequence of English/language arts courses requiring them to read at least eight books a year, complete short writing assignments weekly and write a major research paper annually;
    
2. establishing a schoolwide literacy campaign that emphasizes reading and writing across the curriculum by having all groups of students read the equivalent of 25 books a year, write short assignments weekly and complete a major research paper in all classes annually; and
    
3. creating a humanities concentration by providing access to Advanced Placement classes at school and through Web-based courses.

MATHEMATICS by

4. getting at least 10 percent more students to complete four years of mathematics at the Algebra I level and higher each year;  
5. getting at least 10 percent more students through Algebra I by the end of grade eight and having them perform at least at the Basic level;
    
6. establishing a schoolwide campaign that emphasizes numeracy across the curriculum;  
7. using research-based instructional strategies to advance mathematics achievement; and  
8. creating a mathematics and science concentration and working toward having at least 20 percent of students complete it annually.

SCIENCE by

9. having all students leave grade eight performing at least at the Basic level in science; 
10. getting at least 10 percent more students annually to complete at least three college preparatory, laboratory-based science courses or four such courses if the school is on a block schedule;
     
11. aligning the curriculum, teacher assignments, student work, classroom assessments and end-of-course exams to science standards;  
12. using research-based instructional strategies to advance science achievement; and 
13. supporting high school and middle grades teachers with the laboratory equipment, technology and facilities needed to teach science as an inquiry-based learning experience. 

SOCIAL STUDIES by

14. aligning the curriculum with state/national content standards and developing pacing guides, course syllabi, assessments and scoring guides for each course; and 
15. supporting a schoolwide literacy and numeracy campaign.

5. Leading change by providing students access to high-quality career/technical studies that add relevance to academic studies and increase high school completion rates and readiness for postsecondary studies and good jobs. District leaders, school administrators and teachers describe how they have led in

1. engaging students in exploratory studies in the middle grades with a mathematics, science and literacy focus;
    
2. aligning course syllabi, teacher assignments, evaluation of student work and classroom assessments to academic and industry standards; 
3. offering postsecondary credit in career/technical courses to high school students who meet placement standards for postsecondary studies;
    
4. supporting career/technical teachers with the mathematics, reading and science content knowledge and instructional skills needed to have students effectively read and use mathematics to complete major assignments;
    
5. building students’ relationships with persons from their chosen career fields through mentoring, job shadowing, internships, entrepreneurships and/or work-based learning; and
    
6. providing students access to quality career/technical studies through career/technical centers, postsecondary institutions, dual enrollment, Web-based courses, career academies, etc.

1. helping each eighth-grader develop a six-year plan approved by parents when the student enters the ninth grade and review the plan each year to make adjustments as needed;  
2. instituting instructional strategies to address absenteeism, unacceptable behavior and lack of motivation; 
3. having teachers work with the same student advisees during the middle grades and high school years; and
    
4. creating a guidance and advisement curriculum that advisers teach to advisees on a regular schedule.

1. aligning the middle grades language arts, reading, mathematics and science curriculums to the standards needed to do challenging high school work;
    
2. providing special catch-up instruction aligned to readiness indicators for doing college-preparatory English/language arts and Algebra I — a ninth-grade academy, double-dosing in grade nine, a summer bridge program, etc. — in late middle grades and early high school;
    
3. providing ongoing systems of extra help and time — support classes, tutoring, computer-assisted instruction, Web-based instruction, resource classes, etc. — that enable students to meet course standards, pass high-stakes exams and stay on course to graduate with their peer group;
    
4. developing a special initiative to graduate 100 percent of the students who make it to the senior year; and
    
5. using the senior year to 1) teach specially designed English and mathematics courses that prepare students for further study without the need for remedial courses; 2) help students not planning to attend college to pursue career/technical study in a high-demand field of their choosing and to make progress toward earning employer or postsecondary certification; and 3) give students a jump-start on college.

1. supporting a climate of continuous improvement where teachers and leaders work together, use data to diagnose deficiencies in school and classroom practices, and develop and implement plans to address the deficiencies;
    
2. establishing clear, measurable mission statements leading to improved instruction and higher student achievement;
    
3. supporting teachers with resources, training, clear expectations, walk-through observations, immediate feedback and improved working conditions; and
    
4. establishing working teams of parents, educators and students to ensure learning success.

For more information, please contact SummerStaffDev@sreb.org.