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In High Schools
Nonprofits can do good things for kids, but if they’re not paying attention to what kids are doing in school, they’re not helping them graduate.
That was one of several admonitions delivered Thursday at a forum aimed at helping CPS and its external partners boost Chicago’s graduation rate, which ranges from an appalling 38 percent for African-American boys to 71 percent for white girls.
“There are a lot of really good programs out there,” said Elaine Allensworth, a co-director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research. “But if the people who work with kids don’t know how they are doing in class, they’re working blind.”
More than race, poverty or even test scores, students’ course grades are the best predictor of whether they will graduate, not only from high school but also from college, Consortium studies have found. And the best predictor of grades is attendance.
So, to be most effective, nonprofits should help get students to class and get them to do the work, Allensworth said.
She also shared some preliminary results of ongoing research into why student performance falls in 9th grade. So far, the data don’t support common explanations—such as, students aren’t prepared, teachers aren’t providing enough support and large schools being intimidating. Instead, students report less monitoring--which results in more class cutting and tardiness, which then impacts grades.
As one student told researchers: “[In 8th grade] you walk around in groups. You still walk in a line. [In high school] you just walk. … It’s your choice to go to lunch or English or all those classes.”
High schools also offer more opportunities for students to get into trouble, the Consortium is finding.
The forum, entitled the Graduation Pathways Summit, was one of 155 being held across the country under the auspices of the America's Promise Alliance, a national nonprofit founded by Gen. Colin Powell and his wife, Alma.
Allensworth presented a power point with compelling data on the factors affecting high school graduation.
In response to these and other data, CPS revised its drop-out prevention efforts in 2008.
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MailNo school in Chicago's distressed communities is an island. Unfortunately, the collaborative spirit suffers under miscommunication, lack of transparency, and accountability in the chasm between non-profit organizations and schools. Holistic community change begins with strengthening these relationships and working toward a common goal: ensuring students in low income communities receive an education to compete globally.
However, the biggest obstacle we face is that seldom do schools use us as a resource. Although we reach out to all our participants' teachers, rarely does a teacher let us know when a student could use extra support. Furthermore, when we see on a report card that a student is struggling in a class, leading us to reach out to that teacher to see how we can help, rarely do we get a response.
Clearly, teachers are very busy and don't have the time to regularly correspond with all their students out-of-school time programs. However, schools and out-of-school time programs need to find ways to efficiently and effectively collaborate, in order to best support our youth.
It is telling how bankrupt the CPS Top administration has been in terms of developing local capacity in each school, especially in the areas of high poverty and high needs schools. CPS keeps the neediest schools from getting the necessary elements to improve.
Some schools have staff with plenty of experience and wisdom but don't have the face to face time to meet to develop strong instructional teams.
This the reality we find Chicago Public Schools, the professionals who work in the same place, don't have meaningful time to meet. Mr. Huberman, "Mr. Manager', are you going to do your job and give teachers the necessary time to meet during the day/week as deemed necessary for building professional capacity in the 2002 CPS educational plan.
http://edplan.cps.k12.il.us
I find your comment terribly ignorant and rude. Teachers LIKE to see students fail? I don't know where you've found these teachers, but every teacher I know (even the not-so-great ones) will spend time to ensure a student passes.
Your short sightedness tells me that you couldn't even begin to understand how much time, effort, and energy I put into working with struggling students to ensure their understanding and success.
I'm not sure where you work, soto, so I can't speak to conditions in your school, but between your excoriation of the profession and that of the Rev. James Meeks (to paraphrase, "CTU is the worst gang in Chicago"), please tell me why any rational human being who is capable of being an educator would choose to go into the teaching profession at this pivotal moment in the history of public education in the US? Who are the worthwhile and capable individuals who would willingly step into this climate of distrust?
Crapping on teachers and a blanket condemnation of teachers' unions is not the answer and, believe me, I have concerns with the union and the lazy teachers it might protect. The problem with demonizing teachers and unions is that it takes the heat off of the real centers of influence: politicians and parents. Let's tell it like it is, soto, whoever you are and whatever your real agenda might be.
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