DOCUMENT RESUME UD 030 590 ED 386 523 1993-94 Annual Jefferson County Public Schools. TITLE Foundation. Report to the Edna McConnell Clark Louisville, Ky. Jefferson County Public Schools, INSTITUTION York, N.Y. Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, New SPONS AGENCY PUB DATE [94] boxes may 35p.; Photographs and text in highlighted NOTE not copy well. Evaluative/Feasibility (142) Reports PUB TYPE MFOI/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Academic Achievement; *Disadvantaged Youth; DESCRIPTORS *Educational Change; Educational Planning; Junior High Expectation; Grants; Intermediate Grades; Program Schools; *Middle Schools; Participation; Evaluation; *Program Implementation; Staff Teaching Development; Standards; State Legislation; Methods; *Urban Schools *Jefferson County Edna McConnell Clark Foundation; IDENTIFIERS Education Public Schools KY; Kentucky; Kentucky Reform Act 1990; Reform Efforts ABSTRACT in In 1988, the Jefferson County Public Schools, from the Louisville (Kentucky), received an initial planning grant Clark Program for Student Achievement of the Edna McConnell content, high Foundation to focus on three "highs" in education--high three expectations, and high support. The school district chose their middle schools to participate in this reform project due to schools extended this large populations of disadvantaged youth. These high energy and "high" concept to include high involvement and staff and adopted the High-Five logo as a visible reminder to legislature enacted students. During the grant period, the Kentucky staff of the project the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). The aligned with the KERA schools found that their reform efforts closely in meeting the objectives, and this alignment gave them an advantage goals and the KERA KERA expectations. Progress toward the High-Five three schools mandates is detailed. Evaluation of the efforts at the and the need for has demonstrated the importance of staff development practical and real life more programs and activities that focus on instructional experiences for students and teachers. A number of goals. strategies and processes were found to support project ideals Increasing numbers of teachers are becoming devoted to program achievements. and goals. Two graphs and 25 tables il.,ustrate program (SLD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Jefferson County Public Schools HIG115 4ffi ;1- 1,4 AINI rt,tt." U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS Mee oi Educational Resealch and Improvement MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES NFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) liavoc 9/This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization Originating a Minor cnanges have been made to qnprove reproduction quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions slated in this document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" official OERI position or policy wooly itC27.-- 141101 ANN- 4, aar COPY AVAIL,Cia! Table 61 Contents olind,mon ;Ind .Nk (-1( )111k11 Chi 1C.11c_.4yn ..... 111 (.611 111',I( )1) 1 Ih Pil)rt j Plonnin<4 tnd H.99.3,9 IJiiU lowilenicnt..16( )11 . 3 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Jefferson County l'uNit Sdiools 1993-94 Annual Report to the Edna !Act:mm..11 Clark Found.Thon ioward K. Stephen \V. lardin. Daeschner. Director. Superintendent, Cktrk Projects. Jefferson County .lefterson County Public Schools Public Schools 1 INN Nlary Grace Cheryl George Jaeger, (lemons. De Marsh. Principal Building Principal Coordinator --3" e.:411- o444.r. t?""9111Mr, owongussa-T Western Middle School Southern Middle School Iroquois Middle School 2201 Vest Main Street 530 Bellevue Avenue 5650 Southern Parkway IA misvillc, Kentucky 10212 Louis ilk% Kentucky ,t021.t misvi I Ie. 1\e11tt«.1:v i02.1=1 (io2) r"O (Cu 18-S-83.6 (C(12) 48'1-8331 lark Inundation diersun County PUNK NI, I100, lTh 91 Annual Itcport to Ilk. Illna ( 4 Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and the Jefferson County Public Schools know what we Found ( I() VOU UI over se,en have \ o dltlrences ei tW about things ..11C:R.- is no quick-fix. \Ve started into talk tbak we gel book 1 .years. are lo the and tl)en re.aM loT a class io gel his thing looking for :1 program to put more a lot to write School' hoquo4Midtife school high Brown, everything. There.s into place to) c WI! --Keign a hunch of different programs. ... It*s change!" -One of the higgest changes I noticed :tround this school is that more people present at conferences, and more people write and gain funding through grants. There are Outside organizations who seek us out be- cause they want to be involved in what is happening.- 11111026...__ -I realized that it wasn't the kids who had to change. hut me." -I think we have come a long way gettin:..2,- to) the root of the problem. which was ifl our attitude.** 5 2 11.1krson (mum Public Sditiols 1993 01 Annual Ruport to the I.dna McConnell Clark Foundation 1111I Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and the Jefferson County Public Schools six years of training, restructuring, During the first two years of the project, the en- and planning. made possible through tire school community dedicated a great deal of the Edna McConnell Clark Founda- collective time and energy to establishing a cli- tion, teachers and students at Iroquois, South- mate for change in the three schools and to con- ern. and Western middle schools in Louisville. vince the staff that they could, in fact, make a Kentucky. often speak these words in classes, positive difference in the lives of urban middle meetings. and discussion groups. These quotes school youth. The focus of the staff develop- and other similar quotes throughout the report ment concentrated on the project "highs," espe- represent how the perceptions and attitudes of cially high expectations and high content, .and the staff and students have changed since 1988. teachers participated in staff development, train- ing sessions, and retreats that supported these In 1988. the Jefferson County Public Schools in "highs." Louisville, Kentucky, received an initial planning grant of S10,000 from the Program for Student Achievement of the Edna McConnell Clark Foun- dation in New York City to focus on the three -highs"high content, high expectations, and high support. The District chose Iroquois, South- ern, and Western middle schools to participate in this reform program due to their large popu- lations of disadvantaged youth. During the planning year. the three schools ex- tended the three "highs" of the Edna McCoonell Clark Foundati(m to include high involvement and high energy. As a visible reminder to staff, students, and community, the schools adopted the I ligh logo (high content, high exp ctations, high support, high involvement, and high en- ergy). Also, in this planning year a planning and implementation team composed of administra- tors and teachers from all three schools and the Central Office became overseers of the project. BEST COPY AVAILABLE 3 jeffe6in oultv hht- School% es.r nnuaI Repon to the Edna Maainnell Cluk Foundation Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and the Jefferson County Public Schools The staffs decided to restructure their schools by changing their administration, by redesign- ing the school day, and by reallocating teachers frim". planning time. Iroquois' and Western's former counselors and assistant principals became grade 4 Par administrators who now handle counseling mat- ters as well as discipline procedures. Through tudents needs are met this restructuring, the ot);, and the grade administrators, who work with a limited number of teacher teams in the school. are more effective in dealing with students. Each school restructured its teams to provide flexible scheduling and block scheduling, allotting more As the schools met success in high expectations, time for projects, collaborative planning, and the- the staffs recognized the need to focus their at- matic teaching. tention on high content, high involvement, and high energy. Teachers and staff chose programs During the period of the grant, the Kentucky and initiatives that stimulated student interest and Legislature enacted the Kentucky Education Re- encouraged students to remain in school. Exten- form Act (KERA). While studying the expecta- sive staff development involved teachers and staff tions of KERA, the teachers and staffs of Iroquois. in 35 different programs between the years of Southern, and Western found their restructuring 1989 and 1993, and each teacher received train- initiatives closely aligned with KERA, and this ing in at least three new learning strategies. These alignment actually gave them an advantage in programs included new strategies and classroom planning to meet the KERA expectations. activities as a focus for strengthening the con- Through the assistance of the Center for Early tent areas. As a result of such training and the Adolescence, the teachers formed FOKUS For implementation of these programs, a need de- Our KERA Understanding and Support) to ex- veloped for teacher support groups in each of plore the similarities of KERA outcomes with the the schools to help facilitate the implementation I lighc programs and strategies. of these programs and to lower the frustration level of trying new techniques and strategies in isolation. Teachers helped establish collegial groups, such as the Math Council and the Sci- enc,- Alliance, which not only serve as support groups hut as learning centers in the content areas. Jefferson Lounty Public Schools 1993-94 Annual Repoll to the Edna NhConnell Clark Foundation and Edna McConnell Clark Foundation Schools the Jefferson County Public and activi- The I figh' pn)grains provide resources for the staffs to receive training in new strategies Education Reform ties in order to reach the goals of the project as well as the goals of the Kentucky the effectiveness of the Act. The scliool staffs. with the guidance of the FOKI'S Committee, evaluated and the assessment strate- programs in relationship to the goals of KERA. the middle school vision, the six KERA gies used in KERA. The following chart indicates the relationship of the programs to gcmls. Goals High Programs with KERA Learning Primary interface of ..-. . Goal.5 : -Goall Goaf 6 Goal 4.- -Goal--3" Qoat-2 _ Thinking and Responsible Science, Social Communication Problem- Integration of Group Studies, Humanities, and Mathematics Solving Skills Membership Knowledge Practical Living Skills Self-Sufficiency Program Algebra Project Children's Express Cooperative Discipline Cooperative Learning EPIC FOKUS Foxfire . Homework HOTS Integrated Language Arts Invitation to Invention Job Shadowing Mathematics MDC YES/Service Learning Peer Tutoring _ PROMMISE Science _ Social Studies Socratic Seminars -*riling to Learn__ Youth Sevices Cen-ters BEST COPY AVAILABLE 8 lellermin county l'uNic School,. 1995-q1 Annual Repirt to the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation MINN Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and the Jefferson County Public Schools The school staffs also studied the programs in relation to the middle school vision of Jefferson County Public Schools. The following chart indicates how the programs help meet this vision. Primary Interface of High' Programs with Middle School Vision Action- Academic, Social, Oriented Alliances with Emotiqnal and Equitable Learning Post-Secondary Diversity and Educational Parents and Physical Community Processes Preparation Prograrh Common Values Opportunities Development Algebra Project Children's Express Cooperative Discipline Cooperative Learning EPIC FOKUS 1 Foxfire Homework I HOTS I Integrated Language Arts Invitation to Invention Job Shadowing I Mathematics L MDC YES/Servite Learning Peer Tutoring PROMMISE Science Social Studies . Socratic Seminars Writing to Learn Youth Services Centers 9 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Jefferson County l'uhlft Sdamls l99.1-9-) Annual ltel.on to the Edna McConnell Clark Found:rion Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and the Jefferson County Public Schools Another aspect studied by the school staffs was the effectiveness of these programs to the assess- ment strategies of KERA. The chart below indicates which programs contain strategies or activities that relate to writing portfolios, math portfolios, performance events, and pen-ended responses. Primary Interface of High' Programs with Assessment Strategies erformance Events Writing Portfolios Open-Ended Responses Mathematics Portfolio Program 's' P . Algebra Project Children's Express Cooperative Discipline Cooperative Learning EPIC FOKUS Foxfire Homework HOTS Integrated Language Arts Invitation to Invention Job Shadowing Mathematics MDC YES/Service Learning Peer Tutoring PROMMISE Science Social Studies Socratic Seminars _____ Writing to Learn Youth Services Centers BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1 0 Jefferson Coon ly Public Schools l993-91 Annual Reixin to the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation