Farley Reeves

Principal

Reese Education Center

Frenship ISD

www.frenship.us

Rosita Williams

Assistant Principal

So You Call That Alternative?

School starts at 8am and students go to 1st period

A schedule has 4 or 5 periods or 7 or 8 periods pending on campus

The bell rings to start class and dismiss class

Students go to the next class like clockwork

Each day during the same time slot we have the same class - English…math…science…social studies…electives

Students carry backpacks, textbooks and follow the same routine each day

Teachers follow a calendar driven curriculum CSCOPE/TEKS Resource System (day 1 scope and sequence, day 2 scope and sequence, etc…)

Ask yourself what this sounds like?

If it …

• Looks like a traditional school

• Acts like a traditional school

• Functions like a traditional school

What does that sound like?

It’s probably a traditional school!

Does this work for all students? Or do you have some that just don’t fit the bill for whatever reason?

So how do you get students that struggle to be successful in a traditional setting to be successful if the only change you have for them is location?

So what could be done to make this place different?

In 2008-09 Reese Education Center

At Risk, 93.3% Economically Disadvantaged,

55.8%

PRS, 17.3%0

20

40

60

80

100

12097

58

18

Served 104 students in its School of Choice program

2008-09 50 Graduates

12% Recommended Plan0

10

20

30

40

50

60

50

44

6

Total Grad-uatesMinimumRecommended

Not a problem for an Alternative Rating however the districts remained accounatable!

29 Staff

19 Teachers and a STR of 5.3

5 Aides

Not bad as an educator except:

• They were discouraged

• They were exhausted

• They were frustrated

• Not to mention how costly it was for the district

Staff

The Campus Needs Assessment

•Who are we serving?

•How are we serving them?

•Are we meeting the needs of those we are serving?

•Are we meeting the needs of the district?

•Are we maximizing the use of our facilities?

•What additional cost is there in meeting these needs?

•What are the limitations for a campus of choice?

We asked some basic questions…

Who we are serving?

DisciplineProblems

TeenParentsAt RiskCriminal

HistoryOn

ProbationEmancipatedHomelessAttendance

Problems

AcademicallyChallenged

7 period schedule

Issued text books

Assigned seating

Direct instruction with text, worksheets, and some moodle developed deliveries

Occasional one to one assistance when needed

In many ways we were serving them much the same as they were being served at the high school with the exception of a different location and a smaller student to teacher ratio

How are we serving them?

•The students were disengaged•Their behavior was less than desirable•Attendance was generally poor•They had little trust, especially with adult educators•They were struggling academically with direct classroom instruction with a teacher, now they were expected to be independent learners from a text and with worksheets on their own

Are we meeting the needs of those we are serving?

•The students struggled to be successful in the “traditional setting” and it was generally not happening now?•Many students were only buying time until they could drop out!•Students were not motivated for school and did not see the purpose in doing it any longer! •No goals or ambition for the future•School is just not right for them.•They had given up like the people that had given up on them!

Are we meeting the needs of those we are serving?

Uhhh…NO!

Attendance rates – 84%

TAKS Testing performances – Exit Level

• Reading – 77%

• Math – 33%

• Social Studies – 75%

• Science – 55%

District accountability

• # of Minimum Plan graduates coming from the alternative campus

• Only 12% of students were graduating as college ready

Were we meeting the needs of the district?

Personnel study district wide

Over staffed for the results we were getting

Prepare to do more with less!• STR of 5:1 not cost effective for the results the campus was getting

Are we meeting the needs of the district?

Are we maximizing the use of our facilities?

11 Tech Labs

Science Lab

Traditional Space

Cost of change

Staffing impact

Teacher buy-in to a new way of thinking

What additional cost are involved in meeting these needs?

Approaches for alternative education

NCLB and the requirements for instructors and guidelines provided for alternative education

The purpose is to expedite progress toward performing at grade level and high school completion.

Scheduling options, courses offered, graduation, counseling, GED, computer based instruction, etc….

What are the limitations for a campus of choice?

The results of the CNA

Climate and Culture

Expectations!

We needed to improve the perception of Reese Education Center (get buy in from all players of the community)

Develop stronger partnerships with outside organizations

Adjust scheduling to better meet the needs of an “at risk” alternative student

Change the delivery method of instruction

Change the mentality of the staff

Improve student trust (relationships were non existent)

Redefine the roles and responsibilities of the staff

There is a multitude of options for a campus of choice

What we found out:

Perception

Partnerships

Relationships

Took advantage of and created opportunity

• Monthly District Administrators ILT meetings

• District wide professional development on site

• Organizational meetings on site.

• Campus Tours

• We Became the Face of Frenship ISD

Created an Accelerated graduation program for targeted students

• 2100 students walk through the halls of Frenship High School

• No way all 2100 students learn at the same pace and in the same style

• Target student populations before they become “At Risk”

• Application program allowing students struggling with the traditional environment to seek enrollment on their own for the purpose of early graduation

Improve the Perception

Partners In Educating Students

• Involve parents in educational process

• Improve student attendance

• Meet once each six weeks

• Quality programs provided by local business and industry leaders

Improve the Perception

Developed partnerships and utilized local resources and services

Change the method of delivery

Change the look of the schedule

Creative Scheduling

Created a team, including campus and district personnel, visited with 13 campuses statewide researching options, opportunities, and possibilities for instruction and scheduling in the alternative setting.

Team researched best practices of 7 different available options for instruction

Researched possible vendors, features, and personal interest of CBI delivery

Invited representatives from our top four options to our campus and incorporated

Faculty participation

Student participation

Staff sampled top three choices

Staff chose the product they felt best met the student needs

We looked at the impact on scheduling options, courses offered, graduation, counseling, GED, computer based instruction, etc….

Change the delivery method of delivery

Sought assistance from different departments within the district

• Special Ed, CATE, Comp Ed., etc…

Instructional Materials Allotment

Reduction of the human element

Negotiated longer term contract allowing for significant discounts and multiple licenses.

Purchased district license verse site license allowing for the high school to update their on-campus intermediate credit recovery program and summer school program.

Provided all inclusive curriculum offering every core course as required by the State of Texas

How do we fund the cost to meet these needs?

Created two academic teams

Created 4 instructional settings with student Office Spaces for each academic team

Students were provided personal Office Spaces with rotating Shift Managers (Teacher)

Implemented a “Flex Schedule” allowing student control of course focus during the instructional setting

Reduced the course load to 4 core courses and 1 elective offering at a time

• (Elective offerings included any non-core course)

• Implemented the “Snow Ball” scheduling effect

Rotating elective schedule creating Intervention/Advisory Schedule for teachers

Individual/group test prep opportunities

Work schedule type breaks

Scheduling overhaul

3 core courses each day, 4 times a week

ie: Room 301 on Monday has Social Studies, ELA, Math but no Science. On Tuesday no Math, Wednesday no ELA, and Thursday no Social Studies

4 office spaces

Alternating elective course time slot each of the four days allowing for advisory/intervention opportunities

The core teacher uses the elective time as Advisory/Intervention time with student

Student/Teacher relationships

Student/Administration relationships

No excuses!

Make it about them!

Focus on Student Relationships

Help the students and teachers to look ahead and control what’s in front of us.

Shift Manager (teacher) is given 1.5 hours dedicated to Advisory/Intervention 4 times a week

Advisory Role

Provide and work with students individually with graduate portfolio

Shift Manager is assigned one group of students to advise (14 or less students)

Shift Manager is responsible for setting personal/academic goals with individual students

Shift Manager is responsible for monitoring individual student progress

Shift Manager is responsible for monitoring individual student attendance

Intervention Role

Shift Manager can pull individuals or groups and work one on one, or small groups to provide RTI in preparation for state assessments or course focus

Build Relationships and Trust

Academic Progress

43%

At-ten-

dance0%

Behavior1%Course Progress

10%

Goal Setting

8%

TAKS/EOC38%

2013-14 Advisory/Intervention Types2833 Interventions

ELA Exit TAKS Mathematics Exit TAKS

Social Studies Exit TAKS

Science Exit TAKS

0

10

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30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

All Students Exit Level TAKS

2013201220112010

11 Test 12 TestBiology '13 Bioloby '14

0

20

40

60

80

10055

100

End of Course Bi-ology - All Stu-

dents

US His-tory '14

33 Test0

102030405060708090

82End of Course US

HistoryAll Students

18 Test 17 TestAlgebra 1 '13 Algebra 1 '14

54

56

58

6056

59

End of Course Algebra 1 - All Students

14 Test 26 TestEnglish 1 Reading '13 English 1 '14

3535.5

3636.5

3737.5

38 36

38

End of Course English1 All Students

8 Test 34 TestEnglish 2 Reading '13 English 2 '14

0

20

40

60

80

100

90

50

End of Course English 2All students

Communication – Is a two way street

Open door policy to the administration

• Expectations - Student contract

• Attendance – 90% rule

• Credit Awards - 2 Credits each six weeks

Communities In Schools

Actions speak louder than words

• “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

• “Life happens!”

• “Don’t try to make WASP out of them!”

• “Sometimes life has something bigger happening than Algebra 2.”

• “It’s not the problems we face in life that determines who we become, It’s how we handle those problems that determines who we become!”

Building Relationships and Trust

Supportive Guidance Counseling

23%

Health and Human Services

15%

Parental and Family Involvement

7%

Career Awareness/Employment

10%

Enrichment37%

Educational Enhancement 8%

Communities In Schools 2013-14 2551 Individual Student Services Provided

Building Relationships and Trust

Building Relationships and Trust

On-site daycare is provided for young and expecting parents

240 minutes schedule options for Junior/Senior students required to work

Job placement assistance

Attendance assistance programs

No excuses!

Make it about them!

There are many reasons for one to have to attended an alternative school, rather it is that they were behind in school or maybe even wanted to be ahead of everyone else. The reason I came to this school was because the previous year had been rough on me and changed my life. I dropped out of school and ran away from home because I thought my parents had too many rules and that I was better educated on life than they were. I left and not even a week into my new life I realized that they weren’t all that stupid after all. I couldn’t get a job, couldn’t afford food, and I was jumping from house to house and finally I just gave up. I needed help…..

….I didn’t want to start two years behind schedule of my original graduation, so I asked to be sent to the alternative school so I could recover my credits. At first it was really hard, I didn’t really remember what I had learned months ago and it was a new faster paced environment than that that I was used to. As soon as I was able to get adapted to the new schedule I was on a roll…… I think what I gained from learning at an alternative school was that I was capable of doing many things that I didn’t know I was capable of doing….

Graduate testimonial

ADA Attendance Rate 89.14%

Provided 2833 student interventions sessions for reasons such as Academic Progress, Attendance, Behavior, Goal Setting, TAKS, and Graduation

Joined Community in Schools and provided 2914 different services to “At Risk” students. Services included Guidance and Counseling, Career Awareness, Parent and Family Involvement, Health and Human Services, Education Enhancement, Enrichment all in an effort to prevent student dropouts

Since implementation no less than 84% of a graduating class graduates on the Recommended Plan or Distinguished Plan

92% (47 students) of the graduating seniors for 2014 graduated on the Recommended High School Program• This is an increase for the number of Recommended Graduates from 12% in

2008-2009 to 84.96% of all students since program implementation in 2009-2010

The Results

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

0

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20

30

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60

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80

44

29

3 4 6 46

31

46

72

64

47

MinimumRecommended

Since implementation 84.97% of the students have graduated on the Recommended Plan

Teacher Feedback

Student Feedback

EOC impact on program

High expectations from all stake holders

Continuous Growth Model

It’s an alternative?