Leadership for Postsecondary Success. Jared R. Lancer, Ed.D.

What is the value of public education??In California, the 4-year graduation rate was 83.6%, but what does this mean when less than half of graduates met minimum entrance requirements to the University of California and the California State University (California Department of Education, 2022, https://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest.)? What can be said for meeting requirements when as many as 60% of college freshmen are placed in remedial courses (Thompson, Maggie, J. Morales, S. Sargrad and L. Jimenez, 2016)? ?This problem isn’t new as illustrated by the Nation’s Report Card. Not more than fifty percent of any student population is able to read proficiently upon high school graduation (U.S. Department of Education, NAEP, 1992–2019 Reading Assessments https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/nation/achievement/?grade=12).

Rigorous standards isn’t the answer. Developing deeper knowledge regarding the purpose of public education, curriculum development and pedagogy is in order.

Observations from school leaders: Maintaining performance in high performing high schools

Understanding the observations made by high performing high school leaders provides critical insight in an effort to address the literacy crisis. It is important to understand for instance what is challenging about maintaining high performance based on the observations made by high performing high school leaders. One challenge with maintaining high performance is the ability to create and maintain shared teacher leadership. Continuous engagement requires facilitating structures, protocols and routines as well as creating professional opportunities.?

Another challenge is creating a culture that never assumes mastery. This means continuously improving foundational models and supporting routines aligned with the purpose and philosophy of the schools. Significant time is devoted to professional development, taking apart for instance how core values are used in subject matter rubrics. Purpose and philosophy guides curriculum and pedagogy in all classrooms.?Everyone is invested in shared understandings about how students are cared for and treated.?Students “spend less time trying to figure out adults.” Weekly collaboration facilitates team ownership of decisions regarding struggling students. School teams solve problems and frame the curriculum. Leadership is spread throughout the community creating stability and continuity.

Observations from school leaders: Keeping students engaged in subject matter in high performing high schools

Keeping students engaged in subject matter is the focus in high performing high schools.?Most students think traditional school is boring. But these particular schools value students as thinkers.?School is a place of meaning in these settings. The opinions of students really matters.?Learning is real for students.?Students are treated with respect. “We treat students as intellectuals.”

Every student feels comfortable, safe and supported, valued and respected.?Structures ensure that each student is known really well over four years.?Every student builds meaningful relationships with peers and staff.

The curriculum in these high performing high schools is framed around interesting and engaging topics guided by inquiry and themes. Units are designed over several months. Students construct arguments and use evidence with consideration for multiple sources. The structure of the curriculum and pedagogy facilitates inquiry and fosters powerful, meaningful and relevant learning to students’ everyday lives.?Students take on big questions. They look at historical relevance, connecting the past with present conditions in order to predict the future. Students frame arguments from sources, write papers and engage in debate around real issues.?Students study environmental justice and the impact of pollution on local rivers.?Students consider implications for policy. Students engage in urban planning to improve the quality of life in the community.

Students develop a depth of understanding regarding important issues and they develop competence. Students are not talked at and told why something is important. Learning is meaningful, challenging and creates student investment in these particular high schools.?

Staff engage in making continuous adjustments to curriculum learning experiences. All courses are planned with continuity and consistency that teach specific skills and competencies located in professions and occupations that exist within the local community.

Conclusion

There are high schools that maintain performance which serve as excellent examples to study. Alumni from these particular schools return with pride regarding how their high schools prepared them for college. In these schools, each subject is taught really well and students develop strong writing skills because traditional textbooks and multiple choice tests are not utilized. Students return saying they have no issues writing papers in college because they wrote more during their high school experience.

Thus, in an effort to address the literacy crisis, an important strategy is to study high performing schools. Also essential is to know the impact of high schools in the United States. Beyond the 4-year cohort graduation rate, it is also important to know whether graduates from high school are prepared for college and not in need of remediation in math or English. Further, it is important to understand the sources used to support these claims. The extent to which communities are devastated by homelessness, illiteracy and poverty is significantly dependent upon the effectiveness of our nation’s public schools to prepare all students for postsecondary success.

References

Data from the California Department of Education, retrieved from https://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest on (August 1, 2022)

Thompson, Maggie, J. Morales, S. Sargrad and L. Jimenez (Sept. 28, 2016) Remedial Education. Center for American Progress https://www.americanprogress.org/article/remedial-education/

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1992–2019 Reading Assessments

Jared R. Lancer ? Copyright 2022