Our Mission… To assure high levels of learning for all students!

Never in our nation’s history have the demands on our educational system been greater or the consequences of failure as severe. Beyond the high-stakes school accountability requirements mandated by state and federal laws, the difference between success and failure in school is, quite literally, life and death for our students.

Today, a child who graduates from school with a mastery of essential skills and knowledge is prepared to compete in the global marketplace, with numerous paths of opportunity available to lead a successful life. Yet, for students who fail in our educational system, the reality is that there are virtually no paths of opportunity.

The likely pathway for student who struggle in school is an adult life of poverty, incarceration, and/or dependence on society’s welfare systems.

-- Dropouts on average earn about $12,000 per year, nearly 50 percent less than those who have a high school diploma percent less likely to have a job that offers a pension plan or health insurance -- They are more likely to experience health problems --Rouse/Muenning, 2005: Poverty…

According to a US government report, The State of Literacy in America, over 90 million US adults, nearly one out of two, are functionally illiterate or near illiterate, without the minimum skills required in a modern society. Larry Roberts, Illiteracy on the Rise in America Poverty…

44 million cannot read a newspaper or fill out a job application. Another 50 million more cannot read or comprehend above the eighth grade level. Larry Roberts, Illiteracy on the Rise in America Poverty…

Poverty… 43 percent of people with the lowest literacy skills live below the government's official poverty line Larry Roberts, Illiteracy on the Rise in America

Incarceration Russia and the U.S. are now the world leaders in incarceration, with imprisonment rates 6 to10 times that of most industrialized nations.

Incarceration Across the United States, 82% of prison inmates are dropouts Ysseldyke, Algozzine, & Thurlow

Incarceration According to the report, Literacy Behind Prison Walls, 70 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate or read below a fourth-grade level.

Incarceration 85% of juvenile offenders have reading problems.

Incarceration Youth in Correctional Facilities Average age: 15 Average Reading Level: 4th Grade (30% below this level)

Incarceration and Special Education The incidence of learning disabilities among the general population based on U.S. Dept. of Education and local service providers is around 5%. This is in sharp contrast with the number of LD students in the criminal justice system, estimated to be as high as 50%. Bell, 1990:

Incarceration and Special Education Only 57% of youth with disabilities graduated from high school in the school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education (2002)

Social Costs 75% of those claiming welfare are functionally illiterate.

Social Costs One study conducted by a University of California, Berkeley economist found that a 10 percent increase in the graduation rate would likely reduce the murder and assault arrest rates by about 20 percent Moretti, 2005:

Social Costs The same study found that increasing the high school completion rate by just one percent for men ages would save the United States up to $1.4 billion per year in reduced costs from crime. Moretti, 2005:

With such high stakes, educators today are like tightrope walkers without a safety net, responsible for meeting the needs of every child with little room for error.

Our Mission… To assure high levels of learning for all students!

What do we mean by “high” levels of learning?

Is a high school diploma enough for our current students to be competitive in the global marketplace?

“The high school diploma has become the ticket to nowhere.” James Waller, Face to Face: The Changing State of Racism Across America

Education and Lifelong Earning: High School Drop Out: $608,000 High School Graduate: $802,000 Some College: $922,890 Associate Degree: $1,062,130 Bachelors Degree: $1,420,850 Masters Degree: $2,142,440 Doctorate: $3,012,300 James Waller, Face to Face: The Changing State of Racism Across America

2006 College Graduates US: 1.3 Million India: 3.1 Million China: 3.3 Million

What do we mean by “high” levels of learning? “High School + Plus”

If our mission is high levels of learning for all students, the question is: Is it possible?

“There are simple, proven, affordable structures that exist right now and could have a dramatic, widespread impact on schools and achievement—in virtually any school. An astonishing level of agreement has emerged on this point” --Mike Schmoker, 2004

Schools Do Make a Difference Effective Schools Research of Ron Edmonds, Larry Lezotte, Wilbur Brookover, Michael Rutter, and others concluded that: All Children Can Learn Schools control the factors to assure that students master the core of the curriculum

Schools Do Make a Difference An analysis of research conducted over a thirty-five year period demonstrates that schools that are highly effective produce results that almost entirely overcome the effects of student backgrounds Robert Marzano, What Works in Schools, 2003