Recently, Connecticut school superintendents advanced a package of 134 recommendations to replace the state's current school system with a “learner-centered” education program. The program would begin at age ...]]>

It may be known as the "Land of Steady Habits," but Connecticut's new habit in education in this new year looks like steady change.

Recently, Connecticut school superintendents advanced a package of 134 recommendations to replace the state's current school system with a “learner-centered” education program. The program would begin at age 3; offer parents a menu of options, including charter schools and magnet schools; and provide assessments when an individual child is ready to be tested, rather than having all children tested at the same time.

One of the report's sponsors is the Quincy, Mass.-based Nelle Mae Education Foundation, which has made student-centered learning its strategic focus.

The package from the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents would also consolidate some of the state’s 165 school districts, some of which consist of only one school.

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Separately, the Connecticut Education Association released A View from the Classroom. The report from Connecticut’s largest teachers union calls for ensuring that children arrive in kindergarten ready to learn to transforming chronically low-performing schools, enhancing parent and community involvement in schools evaluating all teachers should every year based on multiple factors, not only students' scores on standardized tests.

Maine’s Skowhegan ...]]>

Maine has been focusing on the importance of postsecondary training. As the Maine Department of Education’s Pre-K-16 Task Force noted: “To guarantee a more promising future for Maine youth and to ensure economic vitality in our state, we need to dramatically increase the number of citizens with either an associate or a baccalaureate degree.”

Maine’s Skowhegan Area High School (SAHS) and Somerset Career and Technical Center (SCTC) have partnered in a Multiple Pathways initiative (funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation) to increase students’ high school completion rate and to increase enrollment in postsecondary education of their graduates. Integral to these goals is ensuring that all students graduate with skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education, careers and civic engagement. According to the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, these skills include literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, communications, collaboration and creativity.

Though a major goal for the project is to increase the high school graduation rate, the Multiple Pathways vision applies to students from a cross-section of achievement levels. Through engaging, in-depth learning, the project seeks to advance all students' attitudes and skills.

Implementing multiple pathways

Drawing from Multiple Pathways frameworks, in 2009, SAHS and SCTS began planning the campuswide initiative. SAHS is a regional high school serving six communities and led by a principal. SCTC is located on the SAHS campus but is a distinct school serving juniors and seniors from SAHS and four other high schools. It is led by a director.

A major part of this Multiple Pathways initiative is to move toward more cooperation between SCTC and SAHS. In this way, students’ perceptions of the relevance of their academic subjects could increase, through connections made to career/technical subjects. Also, pathways might be created for students to fulfill part or all of an academic class’s requirements through participation in a career/technical class, as long as required academic standards are achieved.

Some students attend SAHS classes, focused on academic objectives, as well as SCTC classes, focused on career and technical skills. If a high school teacher has a student who doesn’t understanding a math concept, for example, a carpentry instructor might be able to show the student how the math relates to carpentry or architecture.

Goals also include incorporating more learning activities that capture students’ interest, while maintaining academic rigor, ensuring students gain 21^st Century Skills, and increasing connections with community, business and higher education partners.

The first step in this partnership was a Multiple Pathways workshop in summer 2009. Faculty from both schools identified possible Multiple Pathways projects. During the 2009-10 planning year, educators from SAHS and SCTC visited Searsport High School to see its program incorporating students’ interests and standards-based learning.

In June 2010, a Multiple Pathways Administrative Liaison was hired to help communicate about Multiple Pathways. Two summer workshops were held to discuss how to achieve a more integrated SCTC/SAHS campus. Faculty and staff created a draft campus mission statement that was edited later that summer at a third, smaller meeting of faculty and staff. This mission was later adopted by the faculty and staff in fall 2010.

In September, faculty who attended the summer workshops, related goals and activities planned at the workshops, to the rest of the faculty, and launched a monthly Multiple Pathways newsletter emphasizing learning experiences faculty provide for students.

In October, faculty met to share their projects aligned with Multiple Pathways goals—both projects newly devised and projects in which they had been involved before the grant. A public relations company, Encompass, was contracted to help get the word out to the larger community about SCTC’s programs and the Multiple Pathways initiative. A Multiple Pathways Advisory Board—consisting of students, faculty, parent, district administrators, school board members, business and community leaders, and statewide education leaders—met to discuss the progress of the initiative. Follow-up meetings were planned to identify community resources with which Multiple Pathways learning activities can connect.

In December 2010, a new staff position, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator, was created to work towards increasing the availability of engaging, personalized learning experiences for students, for which high school credits can be granted.

Multiple pathways projects

The number and variety of Multiple Pathways projects at SAHS/SCTC continues to grow. The current projects include the following:

Senior Tech Math Math teacher Jodi Abbott designed a class that incorporates students’ career interests into the curriculum. The second semester of the course will count as the equivalent of a Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) math class; if students pass it, they will receive three college math credits tuition-free.

Sustainable Gardening Students, faculty and staff visited Unity College’s student-run organic garden where they interacted with Unity College students, faculty and staff, asking questions and discussing garden plans. A garden site on our campus has been prepared for planting, which is scheduled for spring 2011. Students, faculty, administration, higher education staff, local farmers, community members, district staff and Town of Skowhegan staff are involved in the planning.

Technical Center Tours Tenth-graders at SAHS take tours of the SCTC programs and facilities.

Career Exploration Day A career exploration day, which in the past ninth-grade SCTC girls attended, is expanding to all SAHS ninth-grade girls. The careers presented will expand to include professional careers, in addition to the traditional trades that were presented in past years.

Inter-School Newspaper The high school student newspaper has expanded to an SAHS/SCTC campuswide student publication.

Robotics An SAHS physics teacher plans to involve his class in a robotics project that has been implemented solely by an SCTC Information Systems Technology instructor in the past.

Civil Rights Team The SAHS Civil Rights Team, which previously had only SAHS faculty assistance, now includes a SCTC staff member.

Identification of Curriculum Power Standards Each SAHS department has identified several curriculum standards that are essential to their subject area. In addition to other uses in students’ learning, this can facilitate collaborations between SAHS and SCTC classes.

WorkReady Several SAHS and SCTC faculty members attended a presentation about WorkReady, a program sponsored by the Maine Department of Education and the Somerset Workforce Development Team, which can be integrated into other curriculum to give students certification as possessing global skills employers seek.

Supporting the goals

Progress in the Multiple Pathways initiative depends on the organizational climate within SAHS and SCTC. Recent initiatives within Skowhegan Area High School support Multiple Pathways goals.

Professional Learning Groups Interdisciplinary professional learning groups are at SAHS. These groups, which give SAHS faculty opportunities to solve inevitable curriculum and classroom management challenges, provide forums to discuss best strategies for planning, implementing and assessing 21^st Century skills and academic content.

Student Advisories Planning at SAHS has begun for student advisories. These groups will help foster relationships and a feeling of belonging to help students achieve to their capacity, to feel engaged with their school experience, and to complete it.

Extended Learning Time Advisories might take place during an Extended Learning time—if not in 2011-12, perhaps in the following year. This time might be used for tutoring, promoting the Multiple Pathways goals of rigorous learning, literacy and numeracy. Extended Learning time also supports opportunities for enrichment and other personalized learning opportunities.

Faculty Leadership Student Advisories planning is led by faculty members. A new Principal’s Advisory group and a continuing Department Head group also provide faculty leadership. Faculty members led some of the Multiple Pathways planning groups at summer workshops and presented to the rest of the faculty. An organization infrastructure of faculty with constructive leadership abilities, which are developed with support and through experience, is essential for implementation and sustainability of major initiatives, including Multiple Pathways.

Rachel’s Challenge In response to a statewide directive for anti-bullying programs, the campus began participating in a program called Rachel’s Challenge in January. The increased climate of caring, safety for all, and community that the program could help develop would support Multiple Pathways goals. Since absenteeism and dropping-out are high among students who are marginalized and made to feel unsafe, improving school climate could bolster the number of students finishing school and being well prepared for next steps.

Next steps

Work has begun to implement a framework that helps students complete high school and be willing and able to participate in postsecondary education and citizenship. There are many areas that need to be addressed.

One such area is SCTC/SAHS collaboration. While there are several examples of high school and technical center teachers working together, they are still the exception rather than the norm. Courses at SCTC center on project learning, and SCTC instructors have in-depth expertise in implementing it. Deeper collaborations between the two wings of campus could bring SAHS faculty who desire to begin or deepen project learning, additional project learning strategies. Increased collaborations and teaming between SCTC and SAHS faculty could create pathways for students to fulfill part or all of an academic class’s requirements through participation in a career and technical class. Collaborations with high school faculty would allow SCTC faculty to be aware of SAHS academic objectives so they can reinforce them.

More collaboration would allow faculty in the two wings to discuss challenges and remedies for students they share. Collegial conversations would allow discussion of academic strengths and deficits that become apparent in the process of students’ project learning in SCTC classes and 21^st Century skills strengths and deficits that have been observed in either SAHS or SCTC classes. A curriculum alliance model that integrates academic and career curriculum, was presented as a goal to faculty who attended Multiple Pathways summer workshops. An adaptation of this model might be a promising way to further the goals of the initiative.

Students’ personalized/extended learning opportunities will be the special focus in 2011-12. Further community resources will be identified and made available not only for personalized learning but as a resource for classroom teachers.

Tapping into faculty wisdom and know-how is essential, and continued efforts and supports for this should continue. In addition, SCTC and SAHS educators have attended conferences, workshops, and meetings in Maine and New Hampshire, and visited programs to learn about best practices. This professional development needs to continue.

Multiple Pathways is an encompassing approach that potentially affects, and is affected by, everything that the high school and center do. As such, further development of the initiative requires further thinking of how best to meet the needs of all learners. Through the identification of school and community resources, connections to students’ interests, and the commitment to the importance of this team approach, Multiple Pathways at Somerset Career and Technical Center and Skowhegan Area High School could have a substantial effect on the lives of students.

Lee Anna Stirling teaches graduate education leadership and curriculum courses and was a teacher, administrator and instructional coach in schools. In 2010-11 she served as Multiple Pathways Administrative Liaison at Skowhegan Area High School/Somerset Career and Technical Center.

Note: A version of this article, entitled Multiple Pathways: Post-Secondary Education, Career and Citizenship Readiness for All Students, appeared in the Journal of Maine Education, Meeting the Needs of All Learners (2011), 8. Maine ASCD.

Multiple Pathways Frameworks

In their book, Beyond Tracking: Multiple Pathways to College, Career, and Civic Participation (Harvard University Press, 2008), Jeannie Oakes of the Ford Foundation, and Marisa Saunders of the University of California, Los Angeles, emphasize that schools should not track students as “vocational” or “academic.” They claim that rigorous learning refers to rigor in higher-order thinking skills, application of knowledge, and depth of academic knowledge. They caution against using exit exams that exclude adequate evaluation of these abilities. Academics and preparation for careers would both be within theme-based programs. Themes could be, for example, health, law, information technology, environment, social justice or performing arts. Within each theme-based program there is a college preparatory academic core, a career/technical core including academic and real world standards and field-based learning opportunities.

In the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, suggested that by the end of 10th grade students should take demanding tests of core subjects and the skills workplaces require of employees such as creativity, leadership and team work. If students pass the exams, they can go to community college at that point (one pathway), or continue in high school with rigorous courses such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate (a second pathway).

Robert Schwartz, academic dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, offers that states should design exit assessments of reading, math and writing that include American Diploma Project (ADP) benchmarks, which are based on entry-level expectations of higher education and high-level employers. The test might include extensive writing, multi-step math solutions, assessment of clear reasoning and problem-solving, creativity, leadership and team skills.

Finally, the National Youth Employment Coalition’s American Youth Policy Forum’s multiple-pathways model includes alternative placements for students not succeeding in schools. Both alternative schools and sending schools would include, among other curricula: GED preparation, community college programs, vocational skills programs, and high-quality afterschool programs

—Lee Anna Stirling

Presenters and panelists at the New England ...]]>

NEBHE will bring together hundreds of New England higher education, government and business leaders on Monday, Nov. 7, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to discuss the role of higher education in preparing the highly skilled workers that will drive innovation in the region.

Presenters and panelists at the New England Works conference will explore:

• What projections say about the gap between supply and demand in the New England labor market.
• The varied roles of different kinds of higher education institutions in preparing learners for a fast-changing 21st-century economy.
• Types of degrees the region's colleges and universities producing.
• How employers regard higher education in addressing labor force skills gaps.

Featured speakers include:

• U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
• Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D-Conn.)
• Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
• Carol Geary Schneider, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities
• Marlene B. Seltzer, President and CEO, Jobs for the Future
• Nicholas C. Donohue, President and CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation
• Eric Rosengren, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Early registration is now available.

Proficiency-Based Pathways allow students to progress toward their goals based on mastery ...]]>

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) awarded one-year grants to seven organizations, schools, and districts across New England as part of the foundation's effort to prepare all learners with the skills and knowledge needed for success in postsecondary education, work and life.

Proficiency-Based Pathways allow students to progress toward their goals based on mastery rather than a required number of hours spent in a classroom. The pathways represent a significant move towards learning opportunities that allow students to achieve proficiency at their own pace, according to the Quincy, Mass.-based foundation.

The organizations, schools and districts receiving Proficiency-Based Pathways grants are:
·         Big Picture Learning (Connecticut and Vermont locations)
·         Boston Day and Evening Academy (Boston, Mass.)
·         Third Sector New England in coordination with Diploma Plus (Massachusetts and Rhode Island locations)
·         Expeditionary Learning/Casco Bay High School (Casco Bay, Maine)
·         Maine School Administrative District 15 (Gray and New Gloucester, Maine)
·         National Center on Education and the Economy/CREC Schools (Windsor, Conn.)
·         Vergennes Union High School (Vergennes, Vt.)

Grant amounts range from $74,000 to $185,000.

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the grants are the cornerstone of NMEF’s Proficiency-Based Pathways project and are managed by the organization’s Research and Development department. The foundation will share what is learned with interested stakeholders in the education and philanthropic communities, where interest in these approaches has grown in recent years.

More than 300 Southeastern Massachusetts secondary and postsecondary faculty and administrators are expected to discuss the high school-to-college transition and building a better-aligned P-20 curriculum at a conference on “Pathways to College Readiness and College Success,” to be held Wednesday, April 13, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Indian Pond Country ...]]>

More than 300 Southeastern Massachusetts secondary and postsecondary faculty and administrators are expected to discuss the high school-to-college transition and building a better-aligned P-20 curriculum at a conference on “Pathways to College Readiness and College Success,” to be held Wednesday, April 13, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston, Mass.

Attendees at the free conference will learn about new policy trends affecting Massachusetts public education such as the Common Core, the PARCC assessment and the Vision Project from speakers including Allison Jones of Achieve, Massachusetts Higher Education Commissioner Richard Freeland and Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville.

A lunchtime panel will showcase “Ambitious Innovations and Experiments in Reform.” Closing sessions will bring the region’s K-12 and college and university faculty together for collegial conversations around curriculum alignment.

CONNECT is a partnership of the six public institutions of higher education in Southeastern Massachusetts: Bristol, Cape Cod and Massasoit community colleges; Bridgewater State University; Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The conference has been planned by CONNECT in partnership with the Southeastern Massachusetts Readiness Center, with sponsorship from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, The College Board and ACT.

For registration and a conference program, click here.

The Rennie Center released A New Era of Education Reform: Preparing All Students for Success in College, Career and Life which calls attention to the need for 21st century skills in today’s classrooms.

The report, funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, summarizes a survey of Massachusetts district and school leaders coupled with their opinions on ...]]>

The Rennie Center released A New Era of Education Reform: Preparing All Students for Success in College, Career and Life which calls attention to the need for 21^st century skills in today’s classrooms.

The report, funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, summarizes a survey of Massachusetts district and school leaders coupled with their opinions on the importance of 21^st century skills. These 21^st century skills include communication, technology literacy, collaboration and creativity.

More than three-quarters of the leaders agree that the integration of 21^st century skills into public school learning curricula is necessary, including in areas where students are lacking basic skills. The report suggests educators regularly incorporate 21st century skills into the teaching of core content, rather than as specialized add-ons.

The report also indicates that, despite widespread support for integration of 21^st century skills, school leaders feel a lack of state support for the initiative.

To further enrich understanding of how 21^st century skills can be integrated into the classroom, the Rennie Center also visited leaders and educators at 12 Massachusetts schools where 21^st century skills are considered a priority.

“In order to secure the long-term prosperity of the region, we must increase the overall number of learners who possess the skills and knowledge necessary for full participation in postsecondary education, work and life,” said Nellie Mae Education Foundation President and CEO Nicholas C. Donohue. “We hope that this report helps to move the conversation along so that educators can prepare all students with what they need to know and begin to measure those skills in ways that allow us to accurately gauge progress.”

More information and a copy of the report can be found on the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s website

The Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education is organizing the Prepare Maine Gubernatorial Forum. Sponsored by WABI-TV5, the televised forum will be held at Bangor High School on Wednesday, Oct 27, at 7 p.m. The forum will provide opportunity for candidates to share their platforms on education, workforce development and Maine’s economic future.

Prepare Maine looks ...]]>

The Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education is organizing the Prepare Maine Gubernatorial Forum. Sponsored by WABI-TV5, the televised forum will be held at Bangor High School on Wednesday, Oct 27, at 7 p.m. The forum will provide opportunity for candidates to share their platforms on education, workforce development and Maine’s economic future.

Prepare Maine looks to ensure that all young children have access to quality programs that advance their development, that all students are prepared for their future and that more Mainers obtain a college degree or occupational certificate.

Also on the committee is the Maine Youth Action Network (MYAN), an organization that empowers youth through community involvement. MYAN has been encouraging young adults to get involved in the debate by assisting in event planning, organizing “satellite sites” in their respective communities and creating questions for the debate through use of blogs, Twitter or surveys. The focus is to get more youth leaders actively involved in shaping of the policies that affect their communities and futures.

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation posted an RFQ to its website for a consultant/consulting team to help guide its Proficiency-Based Pathways project.

The project aims to:

Proficiency-based pathways would reform the educational process ...]]>

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation posted an RFQ to its website for a consultant/consulting team to help guide its Proficiency-Based Pathways project.

The project aims to:

• deepen the foundation’s understanding of the emerging sector of proficiency-based education systems; and
• support the development of quality proficiency-based pathways to high school graduation and beyond.

Proficiency-based pathways would reform the educational process so a student’s achievement is not measured by the hours spent in a classroom, but rather through demonstration of a mastery of skills and material. In a traditional classroom setting, student learning has become the variable, in which achievement is measured by hours spent inside a classroom and categorized by rigid grade-block levels.

In keeping with the foundation’s ongoing efforts to promote “student-centered” education, proficiency-based pathways put the student at the center of learning so education is customized to the student's needs and abilities. This competency-based system aims to ensure that the student moves on to new material with the knowledge of the old.

The RFQ and a PDF with more information have been posted to the foundation’s website.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Nellie Mae Education Foundation President Nick Donohue to discuss the foundation’s new direction. This new direction focuses on "student-centered" learning opportunities exploring different ways to engage students, different places students learn and different people students connect with to help them achieve skills and knowledge. ...]]>

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Nellie Mae Education Foundation President Nick Donohue to discuss the foundation’s new direction. This new direction focuses on "student-centered" learning opportunities exploring different ways to engage students, different places students learn and different people students connect with to help them achieve skills and knowledge. The Quincy, Mass.-based foundation is the largest charitable organization in New England that focuses exclusively on education. Donohue has been president and CEO of the foundation since late 2006.

Click here to listen to the interview.

Click here to read a full transcript of the interview.