Creating A Culture Of High Expectations Dr. Garland Thomas-McDavid Founder and Principal, Johnson College Prep Campus

Page 2 Session Objectives Participants will likely be reminded of things they already know and have learned before— repetition is a beautiful thing. Participants will be exposed to fundamentals shared across all Noble Campuses. Participants will be able to distinguish/understand levers controlled by campus principals that drive cultures of high expectations at all campuses. Participants will interrupt the presenter as needed with questions or insights so that I can take water breaks—watch for the winks.

Page 3 Here to There

Page 4 High Expectations “The actual proves the possible.”

Page 5 “The Noble Network of Charter Schools has an exceptional track record of helping low income and minority students attain significantly higher achievement and graduation rates. Further replication will benefit additional students and strengthen the Chicago Public School System.” 2010 Charter School Program Grant, US Department of Education

Page 6 A Proven Solution Noble is the largest and highest performing network of non- selective public high schools in Chicago. Founded in high school campuses in Chicago (one middle school) Noble is a non-selective network serving 9,000 students, fourteen campuses. 89% low-income, 98% minority Growing to serve > 10% of Chicago’s high school students

Page 7 Consistently High Performance Nine of the top ten open enrollment public high schools in the city of Chicago are Noble high schools for the second year in a row, according to ACT scores published by Chicago Public Schools. 100 percent of Noble students were accepted to college last year. Noble graduates collectively earned more than $100 million in scholarship support. A culture of academic rigor and high expectations for personal discipline have created an atmosphere of success and possibility at Noble public high schools.

Page 8 A System that Works Focus on human capital Autonomy with accountability Strong culture Data-driven decision making Performance-based compensation Noble was founded on many of the same entrepreneurial principles that drive successful business.

Page 9 Changing Lives Noble is making college a reality for students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds at rates that far exceed both national and district averages. Source: National Low Income - US Department of Education Condition of Education, 2012; CPS - Office of College and Career Preparation, Class of 2011; Noble Class of National Clearinghouse, and internal tracking 4 Year College MatriculationNobleCPS All79%39% African American85%40% Male76%35% Female91%45% Latino77%30% Male74%27% Female79%33%

Page 10 VISION: Where are we going? Johnson College Prep will provide a comprehensive educational experience that effectively prepares scholars for success in college and in life. +EXPLO RE +PLAN+ACT SUCCES S MISSION: How will we get there? The Noble Way Scholarship DisciplineHonor “Failure is a word I do not accept.” -John H. Johnson

Page 11 Johnson College Prep Opened in 2010, Noble’s 10 th campus Named for John & Eunice Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company Supported by a consortium of African American business leaders Englewood Neighborhood, Chicago 98% African-American, 92% “low-income” 19.5 First ACT (2013)

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Page 13 Autonomy Accountability “He leads by empowering great people to be successful…” -Penny Pritzker (on Noble’s Founder and CEO, Michael Milkie)

Page 14 The Fundamentals Common Denominators Strong leadership The Noble way College via competitive academic performance (rigor) Commitment to execute consistent with network expectations Clearly defined expected outputs (data driven decision making) Principal Inputs Hiring Staffing structures Onboarding Performance management Accountability (salary & bonus structures) Professional development (continuous reflection and improvement)

Page 15 Prioritizing “Getting the right people on the bus.”

Page 16 My Tools Tools/Styles/Approaches differ according to principal—all work

Page 17 More Tools… August Retreat & PD Interim Assessments & Network PD Staff Meetings Report Card Pick Ups Network Audits Learning Walks Friday PD  PLC style at JCP

Page 18 Key Takeaways Noble principals are given a large amount of autonomy. Much of it is used to recruit successful professionals who will enjoy similar levels of autonomy in their work. Network shares a common commitment to excellence (no shortcuts, no excuses), and we remain humble and in search of ways to improve our work through internal and external expertise.

Page 19 Questions/Discu ssion gthomas- gthomas (text msgs preferred)