College Board EXCELerator Schools Site Visit Preparation

Agenda Welcome and introductions Review EXCELerator Schools Program Roles and Responsibilities Review site visit agenda Discuss possible questions and answers Prepare your school for the site visit Ask questions, share expertise

Congratulations!

EXCELerator Schools Review: EXCELerator Schools Values High standards and high expectations for all students Clear understanding of what students should learn Vertical Teams process reinforces student learning alignment Teacher training in critical thinking for content areas Diagnostic assessments to inform instruction

Characteristics of EXCELerator Schools Rigorous academic programs Extensive, ongoing professional development Extensive use of data College planning and preparation Developmental supports

Rigorous Academic Programs All students will take PSAT in 9 th -11 th grades Schools will use AP Potential Schools will implement SpringBoard Schools will expand enrollment in AP Courses and Examinations

Extensive Professional Development Encourage students to engage in challenging courses Introduce students to postsecondary education options Build relationships between students, families, counselors, teachers, colleges, universities, and communities Local, regional, national training institutes; faculty retreat during first summer Entire school community will complete an integrated training sequence Commitment to increasing number of teachers who are prepared to teach AP courses Establishment of AP Vertical Teams Professional development opportunities for superintendents, district staff, principals, teachers, and counselors

Data as a Tool for School Improvement Planning 5 types of data to be collected and analyzed by school leaders: Student demographic data Diagnostic assessment data Student assessment data from standardized tests Perceptions data School Program data

College Planning and Preparation CollegeEd SAT Readiness Program Professional Development for Counselors MyRoad

Developmental Support for All Students AVID Smaller learning communities Commitment on part of schools to create conditions in the school that are developmentally responsive

Roles and Responsibilities The College Board will be responsible for: Overall management of the program Implementation of its programs and services Development of customized professional development Appointing a Project Coach Provide overall-all site-based leadership Ensure teacher participation in professional development Lead collaboration among teachers to ensure vertically- aligned instructional strategies Provide guidance and support on new instructional strategies Conducting research and evaluation of project

Roles and Responsibilities The district and school will be responsible for: Establishing a Project Management Oversight Committee (PMOC) at the district and school levels Establishing clear focus and expectations Establishing instructional leadership Implementing with FIDELITY the College Board programs and services Implementing AVID with fidelity Securing support from the business community Adoption of schedules for teachers that support collaborative planning Meaningful, continuous assessment of student learning

Site Visit Agenda Thursday, November 30 and Friday, December 1 College Board team will meet with district leadership and the principal and key groups in each of the four schools

Site Visit Agenda 2 ½ to 3 hours at each school 45 minute meeting with Principal EXCELerator team will split and interview 4 school groups separately: Assistant Principals, Guidance Staff, Department Chairs, and Leadership Team

Questions and Answers How did you choose your PMOC? The PMOC is composed of administrative staff, guidance staff, department chairs, AP teachers, and other school leadership staff Because 1 st period is the most convenient period for the PMOC to meet, it is composed of all staff who have 1 st period planning

How are you going to establish a school culture based on high expectations ? With the help of the PMOC, we will create a shared vision of teaching and learning that builds on our current commitment to our students Our school culture is already based on high expectations so it’s not necessary for us to make changes or improvements in that area

As a school leader, how will you establish effective collaboration among your administrative staff, teachers, parents, and students? With the help of the PMOC, I will establish regular project planning and feedback sessions, using available data, to include staff, teachers, parents, and students at times that are convenient for all parties so that all stakeholders are involved in improving and enhancing the school culture My APC is in charge of the PMOC and will make sure that project collaboration occurs on a regular basis. The APC will keep me informed of project progress

Explain your commitment to implementing the College Board programs and services with fidelity. We are excited about adding the College Board programs and services to those we currently offer, as they will enhance our commitment to providing challenging content and skills to our students. For example, use of AP Potential will allow us to make adjustments to student schedules so that all students are enrolled in appropriately challenging classes. We are excited about adding the College Board programs and services to those we currently offer, as they will enhance our commitment to providing challenging content and skills to our students. However, because we do our Fall scheduling for our students in early Spring, AP Potential is not useful to us since PSAT scores come in after we have already scheduled our students.

How will you implement AVID at your school? We will collaborate with our feeder middle schools to establish an AVID program that is based on the AVID essentials, and we will make whatever adjustments are necessary to follow the AVID model. We will establish an AVID program with our feeder middle schools, and will strive to include AVID in our master schedule so that many eligible students can take part in the program on a rotating basis, as that is the model that works best for our school.

How will you secure support from the business community for sustaining the program beyond the grant? Our business partners are excited about the EXCELerator Schools program and are eager to assist us in sustaining it after the grant is over. (Something specific is even better) We are a poor school and do not have many business partners, so I have no idea how we will sustain the program after the grant is over.

Are you committed to adopting schedules for teachers that allow for collaborative planning and training? We are excited about scheduling collaborative planning and training time for our teachers. We will make changes to the master schedule as necessary to meet this goal. We are excited about scheduling collaborative planning and training time for our teachers. However, next year’s master schedule is already completed so we won’t be able to accomplish this goal for two years.

Describe how you will use meaningful, continuous assessment of student learning to identify student needs. In addition to the district and state assessments available to us now, we believe that the added assessments that the College Board can provide for us, and training in utilizing the assessments, will help us improve instruction and challenge our students to an even greater degree. We currently make use of all district and state assessments available to us, and we use those assessments to inform instruction. These assessments are time consuming so we cannot afford to take additional time from instruction to give your extra assessments.

Do you feel your school is doing all it can to include all capable students, especially minority and underrepresented students, in challenging courses? While we use all available sources of information to correctly schedule students into challenging courses, we know we are missing some capable students, especially minorities. We are committed to improving in this area and we welcome the College Board’s process of continuous improvement that will transform us into a college-going culture. We currently use all tools available to us to correctly schedule students into challenging courses. We are confident that we place all students who are really capable of going to college into the appropriate classes.

Prepare your school for the site visit Share this information with administrative staff, guidance counselors, department heads Form leadership team, share information with them Make sure that “newbies” on staff are thoroughly prepared (especially counselors) Make sure that you (the principal) are perceived as a strong leader Make sure that all staff understands that this site visit is NOT the opportunity to air grievances or complaints – no “Negative Nellys” allowed Be positive at all times; your school is great, but with the help of the College Board you can be even better

Questions? Ask questions Share thoughts and expertise