Center for Student Success Cheryl Livneh Jim Carlile

Reasons Graduate School of Education and CE/ED Began the Center for Student Success Develop a program that will assist PreK-12 school districts and individual schools in supporting efforts to address student success for ALL children and bridging the achievement gap. Focus directly on helping assure that every child succeeds in meeting rigorous standards for academic learning. Assist schools and educators to define the needs for their schools, develop plans for improving student learning, and monitor progress toward their improvement goals. Feedback from this work will also inform our other programs on how to better prepare educators. Provide opportunities for faculty and graduate student research to be linked with practitioners. Provide support services for school districts including curriculum renewal, leadership development, and mentoring.

Purpose of the Center Provide sustained assistance and support that helps build schools’ capacity around issues related to Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) Continuously review the research and practices that will promote student achievement and support school improvement Provide program evaluation services that will support student achievement and school improvement Collaborate in obtaining grants focused on raising student achievement and supporting school improvement Provide one place that school district personnel can contact for assistance with NCLB and other services

Underlying Assumptions Center will work from a strengths-based model building on the assets of schools. Center work will be grounded in solid research and the wisdom of practice. Center work will be based on the Mission and Guiding Principles of the Graduate School of Education. The Center is committed to long term results and sustained school change. People from outside of the district can be helpful in assessing needs, developing/selecting interventions, providing professional development, and monitoring school improvement. A productive consultative relationship lasts over time.

Administration of the Center The Dean of the GSE and the Director of CE/ED will serve as the executive committee for the Center. The Dean of the GSE and the Director of CE/ED will appoint the director. The Center will develop an advisory council consisting of members from ODE, a variety of school districts (e.g., large, small, urban, suburban, and rural), educational service district representatives, a faculty member from each department within the Graduate School of Education, a representative from the GSE Consortium and the Teacher Education Committee. Membership will be for a three-year term.

Contract Activity: Development of book in support of teaching Oregon’s Reading Standards Collaboration with Education Service District and CE/ED Press Math book to support Oregon’s math standards (in progress) with supporting professional development Developing a professional development process for mathematics

High School Principal development program for current high school vice-principals Difficulty in finding high school principal candidates Developed and taught course for aspiring administrators in area school district School Districts desire to “grow their own” Workshops on Scientific Literacy and Site Council development, Curriculum Integration, Differentiated Instruction, and Praxis test preparation. One shot activities Contract Activity:

Third Party Evaluator Beaverton SD, Small Learning Communities Grant Curriculum Renewal Appreciative Inquiry Workshop One-Day: November 7 th Four-Day: November 28 th -December 1 Building the Collaborative Workplace Session I: November 15 th Session II: November 16 th

What Have We Learned? Marketing strategies Individual contacts have been most valuable Visits with area superintendents prior to opening of school Keeping track of events in schools and districts that merit follow-up Alternative newspaper article, re: Portland’s financial situation Attendance at conferences, workshops, conventions, that allow for individual contact with possible clients Appreciative Inquiry/Constructive Dialogue in Central Oregon Oregon’s School Board’s Convention, Oregon School Administrators Achievement Gap and Small Schools Conference Careful attention to current research, NCLB regulations, and instructional strategies, OSBA clipping service AASA executive, Paul Houston presentation, references to Class Action by Richard Rothstein Less academic faculty and more field-based instruction Consumer Orientation

Program Development Need for pre-planned packages or program i.e. professional development for reading and math teachers, curriculum renewal process, Third Party Evaluations, and grant writing Develop a cadre of consultants for quick response i.e. grant writers, program evaluators, literacy specialists, ELL specialists, curriculum integration, etc. Drug/alcohol grant two weeks timeline/grant writer Program evaluation for charter schools for Portland Schools/two weeks Unusual Requests: Praxis Test Preparation