UCLA A Graphic Overview Enhancing School Improvement: Addressing Barriers to Learning and Re-engaging Students

UCLA We just missed the school bus. \ Don’t worry. I heard the principal say \ no child will be left behind. /

UCLA About this Resource This is part of a set of 7 power point sessions. For each session, there are also a package of handouts (online in PDF) that cover the material. Many of these handouts provide additional details on a given topic.

UCLA Feel free to use the power point slides and the handouts as is or by adapting them to advance efforts to develop a comprehensive system of learning supports.

UCLA Session Topics I.Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? II. What is a System of Learning Supports? An intervention perspective III. What is a System of Learning Supports? An infrastructure perspective

UCLA Session Topics IV. What is a System of Learning Supports? A policy perspective V.What’s Involved in Getting from Here to There? VI. Engaging and Re-engaging Students with an Emphasis on Intrinsic Motivation VII. Concluding Comments

UCLA Session I Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement?

UCLA Topics Covered >Some Major Concerns >Lenses for viewing school improvement efforts >School improvement planning: What’s being done & what’s missing?

UCLA I. Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? Some Major Concerns

UCLA <><><><><><><><><> The current focus of school improvement policy and practice is too limited to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed at school. <><><><><><><><><>

UCLA The limited focus contributes to: –High Student Dropout Rates

UCLA The limited focus contributes to: –High Student Dropout Rates –High Teacher Dropout Rates

UCLA The limited focus contributes to: –High Student Dropout Rates –High Teacher Dropout Rates –Continuing Achievement Gap

UCLA The limited focus contributes to: –High Student Dropout Rates –High Teacher Dropout Rates –Continuing Achievement Gap –So Many Schools Designated as

UCLA The limited focus contributes to: –High Student Dropout Rates –High Teacher Dropout Rates –Continuing Achievement Gap –So Many Schools Designated as Low Performing

UCLA The limited focus contributes to: –High Student Dropout Rates –High Teacher Dropout Rates –Continuing Achievement Gap –So Many Schools Designated asLow Performing –High Stakes Testing Taking its Toll on Students

UCLA The limited focus contributes to: –High Student Dropout Rates –High Teacher Dropout Rates –Continuing Achievement Gap –So Many Schools Designated as –Low Performing –High Stakes Testing Taking its Toll on Students –Plateau Effect

UCLA Some of the data: The dropout rate for our nation remains unacceptably high. In 2006, the Education Trust reported that nearly 25 percent of the ninth grade population will not end up graduating from high school.

UCLA Some of the data: Students are not the only ones dropping out of school. We are losing teachers at a rate of almost 1,000 a day. As the Alliance for Excellence in Education noted in 2005, many are not retiring; they are just leaving the profession.

UCLA Some of the data: Student achievement in core academic subjects, as reported in 2007 by the National Center for Education Statistics, shows far too many students are performing poorly.

UCLA Some of the data: Take reading levels as an example. Despite reports of small recent gains, most American students, across grade levels, are reading at the most basic levels and “only about 30 percent of high school students read proficiently and more than a quarter read below grade level.”

UCLA Some of the data: Other relevant data form the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicate that >the primary home language of almost 11 million children is not English >10 percent of public school students in kindergarten through grade 12 had been retained (i.e., repeated a grade since starting school), >11 percent had been suspended and 2 percent had been expelled (i.e., permanently removed from school with no services)

UCLA Some of the data: The NCES joins others is stressing that research suggests that growing up in poverty can negatively impact children’s mental and behavioral development as well as their overall health, making it more difficult for them to learn.

UCLA Some of the data: While it is a widely held belief that education should be a great equalizer, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes that, in large portion, children living in poverty attend schools that, at best, have marginal performance records.

UCLA Data from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) clearly shows the plateau effect related to academic achievement.

Trend in NAEP reading average scores for 9-year-old students Trend in NAEP reading average scores for 13-year-old students The Nation’s Report Card – National Center for Education Statistics See key on next slide

The Nation’s Report Card – National Center for Education Statistics Trend in NAEP reading average scores for 17-year-old students Note: The long ‑ term trend assessment was updated in several ways in Outdated material was replaced, accommodations for students with disabilities (SD) and for English language learners (ELL) were allowed, and administration procedures were modified. A special bridge study was conducted in 2004 to evaluate the effects of these changes on the trend lines. The study involved administering both the original and revised formats of the assessments to determine how the revisions may have affected the results. Key Original Assessment Format Revised Assessment Format See note below * Significantly different (p <.05) from 2008.

UCLA I. Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? Three Lenses for Viewing School Improvement Efforts

UCLA Lens #1 = All Students Range of Learners I = Motivationally ready and able II = Not very motivated/lacking prerequisite skills/ different rates & styles/minor vulnerabilities III = Avoidant/very deficient in current capabilities has a disability and/or major health problems

UCLA Not some -- ALL youngsters are to have an equal opportunity to succeed at school

UCLA Lens # 2 = Barriers to Learning Categories of Risk-Producing Conditions that Can be Barriers to Learning >Environmental Conditions >Family >School and Peers >Individual

UCLA Examples of Environmental Conditions extreme economic deprivation community disorganization, including high levels of mobility violence, drugs, etc. minority and/or immigrant status

UCLA Examples of Family Conditions chronic poverty conflict/disruptions/violence substance abuse models problem behavior abusive caretaking inadequate provision for quality child care

UCLA Examples of School & Peer Conditions poor quality school negative encounters with teachers negative encounters with peers inappropriate peer models

UCLA Examples of Individual Conditions medical problems low birth weight/neurodevelopmental delay psychophysiological problems difficult temperament & adjustment problems inadequate nutrition

UCLA Barriers to Learning and School Improvement Range of Learners I = Motivationally ready and able Not very motivated/ lacking prerequisite II = skills/ different rates & styles/ minor vulnerabilities III = Avoidant/ very deficient in capabilities

UCLA Barriers to Learning and School Improvement Range of Learners I = Motivationally ready and able Not very motivated/ lacking prerequisite II = skills/ different rates & styles/ minor vulnerabilities III = Avoidant/ very deficient in capabilities No barriers Instructional Component Classroom Teaching + Enrichment Activity Desired Outcomes (High Expectations & Accountability) ( H igh Standards)

UCLA Barriers to Learning and School Improvement Range of Learners I = Motivationally ready and able Not very motivated/ lacking prerequisite II = skills/ different rates & styles/ minor vulnerabilities III = Avoidant/ very deficient in capabilities No barriers Barriers* To Learning, Development, Teaching Instructional Component Classroom Teaching + Enrichment Activity Desired Outcomes (High Expectations & Accountability) ( H igh Standards)

UCLA Caution: Don’t misinterpret the term >Barriers to learning It encompasses much more than a deficit model of students.

UCLA And, it is part of a holistic approach that emphasizes the importance of >Protective Buffers (e.g., strengths, assets, resiliency, accommodations) & >Promoting Full Development

UCLA Lens # 3 = Engagement & Disengagement Source of Motivation Extrinsics Intrinsics Intrinsics/ Extrinsics Engagement Intervention Concerns Disengagement (psychological reactance)

UCLA Engaging & Re-engaging Students in Classroom Learning How are schools >maximizing Intrinsic Motivation? >minimizing Behavior Control Strategies?

UCLA Motivation, and especially Intrinsic Motivation are fundamental intervention considerations related to student (and staff) problems

UCLA I. Why is a System of Learning Supports Imperative for School Improvement? School Improvement Planning: What’s Being Done & What’s Missing?

UCLA With all the budget problems, We have to do everything on a shoestring. \ \ Are you saying you \ still have a shoestring? /

UCLA School Improvement Planning: What’s Missing?

UCLA School Improvement Planning Missing: A Comprehensive Focus on: –Addressing Barriers to Learning & Teaching –Re-engaging Disengaged Students in Classroom Learning

UCLA This becomes evident when we ask: What do schools currently do to (1) address barriers to learning and teaching and

UCLA This becomes evident when we ask: What do schools currently do to (1) address barriers to learning and teaching and (2) re-engage students in classroom instruction?

UCLA How is the district/school addressing barriers to learning? Talk about fragmented!!! Psychological Testing Violence & Crime Prevention Special Education After-School Programs HIV/Aids Prevention Pupil Services District Juvenile Court Services Community-Based Organizations Mental Health Services Social Services HIV/AIDS Services Child Protective Services Pregnancy Prevention Counseling Codes of Discipline Physical Education Health Education Clinic Health Services Nutrition Education School Lunch Program Drug Prevention Drug Services Smoking Cessation For Staff

UCLA What does this mean for the district and its schools?

UCLA What does this mean for the district and its schools? Current Situation at All Levels in the Educational System with Respect to Student/Learning Supports –Marginalization

UCLA What does this mean for the district and its schools? Current Situation at All Levels in the Educational System with Respect to Student/Learning Supports –Marginalization –Fragmentation

UCLA What does this mean for the district and its schools? Current Situation at All Levels in the Educational System with Respect to Student/Learning Supports –Marginalization –Fragmentation –Poor Cost-Effectiveness (up to 25% of a school budget used in too limited and often redundant ways)

UCLA What does this mean for the district and its schools? Current Situation at All Levels in the Educational System with Respect to Student/Learning Supports –Marginalization –Fragmentation –Poor Cost-Effectiveness (up to 25% of a school budget used in too limited and often redundant ways) –Counterproductive Competition for Sparse Resources (among school support staff and with community- based professionals who link with schools)

UCLA What’s the community doing?

UCLA AGENCY REFORM Restructuring and Reforming Community Health and Human Services

UCLA The intent of current agency reform policy – >end fragmentation >enhance access to clientele The focus – >interagency collaboration >school-linked services, sometimes based (co-located) at a school

UCLA Problems – >doesn’t integrate with school’s efforts to address barriers to learning >limits the focus to current agency work As a result, current agency policy produces – >an additional form of fragmentation >counterproductive competition >greater marginalization

UCLA It is important to remember that Community Agency Reform is not the same thing as Strengthening Communities

UCLA The major intent of agency reform is to restructure services to reduce fragmentation.

UCLA The major intent of agency reform is to restructure services to reduce fragmentation. The emphasis is mainly on interagency collaboration.

UCLA The major intent of agency reform is to restructure services to reduce fragmentation. The emphasis is mainly on interagency collaboration. Schools have been included since they offer better access to agency clients. Thus, the concept of school linked services, and the idea of community agencies co-locating services on a school site.

UCLA Because the focus is on services, little attention is paid to »integrating community resources with existing school programs and services designed to address barriers to learning; »including a full range of community resources; »strengthening families and neighborhoods by improving economic status and enhancing other fundamental supports.

UCLA School Banks Police Day care Center Faith-based Institutions Higher Education Institutions Local Residents Businesses Restaurants Health & Social Services Agencies Community Based Orgs.; Civic Assn. Media Artist & Cultural Institutions Library Senior Citizens From Kretzmann & McKnight

UCLA To Recap: School improvement policy and planning have not addressed barriers to development, learning, and teaching as a primary and essential component of what must be done if schools are to minimize behavior problems, close the achievement gap, and reduce the rate of dropouts

UCLA To Recap: As a result, current efforts are marginalized, fragmented, often redundant and off track, and they have resulted in counterproductive competition for sparse resources

UCLA To Recap: The need is for a comprehensive system of learning supports that (1) addresses barriers to development, learning, and teaching & (2) (re-)engages students in classroom learning

UCLA Study Question What are the many external and internal barriers that interfere with students learning and teachers teaching and how does all this affect the school?

UCLA Study Question What is currently being done to address barriers to learning and teaching and what is keeping the work from being as effective as needed?

UCLA Study Question How would you change school improvement planning to ensure a comprehensive system of learning supports is developed to more effectively address barriers to development, learning, and teaching and also (re-)engage students in classroom learning?

UCLA Some Relevant References & Resources >School Improvement Planning: What's Missing? >Addressing What's Missing in School Improvement Planning >The School Leader's Guide to Student Learning Supports: New Directions for Addressing Barriers to Learning –

UCLA Next: We turn to four fundamental, interrelated concerns involved in moving forward to develop A Comprehensive System of Learning Supports

UCLA Four Fundamental and Interrelated Concerns Policy Revision Framing Interventions to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching into a Comprehensive System of Interventions Rethinking Organizational and Operational Infrastructure Developing Systemic Change Mechanisms for Effective Implementation, Sustainability, and Replication to Scale

UCLA In Session II, we begin with the concern for framing interventions to address barriers to learning and teaching as a comprehensive system of interventions