Transformed by Literacy High Standards, High Expectations, NO EXCUSES!!! Sue Szachowicz Senior Fellow, ICLE Principal (retired) Brockton High PHOTO
Feb 22, 2016
Transformed by LiteracyHigh Standards,
High Expectations, NO EXCUSES!!!
Sue SzachowiczSenior Fellow, ICLEPrincipal (retired)
Brockton High
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My Lesson Plan Why am I here? Our Brockton High story WHAT did we do?
FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS: LITERACY FOR ALLThe power of whole school literacy
Lessons Learned (if we can do this, ANYONE can!!!)
Wicked Awesome Results
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But please remember…Ours is a story of every school, every teacher,
every student.This IS NOT just about high school, NOT about urban, NOT about size of school.This IS NOT about any individual, any principal, any teacher… it is about us ALL.This IS about change.This IS about being the best you can be.
If we can do this, anyone can!!!3
The Brockton High Story:10 YEARS!!!
Sustaining a Decade of Continuous
Improvement
Boston
Brockton
Brockton, City of Champions
Massachusetts
Brockton High, School of Champions
School of Champions
• Comprehensive 9 – 12• Enrollment: 4,155• Poverty Level: 80.2%• Minority population: 78%• 39 different languages • 39.3% speak another language in the home• Approximately 17% LEP Services• Approximately 11% receive Special Educ. Services
Some info about Brockton High?
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60% Black - includes African American, Cape Verdean, Haitian, Jamaican, and others
22% White 12% Hispanic
2% Asian 2% Multirace 2% All Other
Who attends Brockton High?
Cape Verde Islands
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Countries of the 888 members of the Class of 2014
CanadaCameroonKenyaPeruPakistanSenegalEl SalvadorThailandBarbados
ChinaColumbiaFranceGuinea-BissauGuadeloupeGuyana
ItalyJamaicaLiberiaMexicoRussiaSomalia
United StatesCape VerdeHaitiPuerto RicoDominican RepublicNigeriaPortugalBrazil
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Mass. implemented a high stakes test (MCAS) Three-quarters of our students would not be earning a
diploma Culture of low expectations – “Students have a right to
fail” (former BHS Principal) Negative image in our city, in the state (nasty comments!) Yet we were living in DENIAL!!!! Who is responsible???? We had silos (My kids, your
kids, not OUR kids) Success by chance – depended on who your teacher was
– are you lucky???
WHAT we faced… Any of these sound familiar???
MCAS arrived, and here we were:
MCAS 1998Failure
ELA – 44%(Sped – 78%)
MATH – 75%(Sped – 98%)
MCAS 1998Advanced+Proficient
ELA – 22%
MATH – 7%
Remember, they MUST pass to graduate – NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
Just in case you were thinking MCAS is easy, take a look…
2013
2013
Readings from Previous Years Include:
Burial at Thebes from Sophocles’Antigone
Shakespearean Sonnet # 73 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (3 page excerpt) Making Humus by Composting by
Liz Ball Proof (4 page play excerpt by
David Auburn) The Trial (2 page excerpt by Franz
Kafka)
ELA MCAS 2013
2013
2013
Math MCAS 2013
Science MCAS (Biology) 2013
Pressure for accountability in education and closing the
achievement gaps among students will continue
to increase.
Accountability and the Achievement Gap:
That’s where we were…
Here’s a preview of where we are now… Then, at the end some WICKED AWESOME
stuff!…
MCAS 1998Advanced+Proficient
ELA – 22 %
MATH – 7 %
MCAS 2013Advanced+Proficient
ELA – 88% MATH –70%
THEN NOW
THEN NOWMCAS 1998
Failure ELA – 44%
MATH – 75%
MCAS 2013Failure
ELA – 1.8% MATH – 11%
It’s cool and fun to be smart
Honor Roll Statistics
1998859 STUDENTS
(4400 students)
19%
2013 1608 STUDENTS
( (4155 students)
39%
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How Did BHS go from this to a Model School???
Turnaround at Brockton High
BROCKTON - Brockton High School has every excuse for failure, serving a city plagued by crime, poverty, housing foreclosures, and homelessness.Almost two-thirds of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, and 14 percent are learning to speak English. More than two-thirds are African-American or Latino - groups that have lagged behind their peers across the state on standardized tests.But Brockton High, by far the state’s largest public high school with 4,200 students, has found a success in recent years that has eluded many of the state’s urban schools: MCAS scores are soaring, earning the school state recognition as a symbol of urban hope.
Principal Susan Szachowicz, shown chatting at lunch with Yiriam Lopez, is in many ways the school’s biggest cheerleader. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) By James Vaznis Globe Staff / October 12, 2009
Emphasis on literacy brings big MCAS improvement
GO
Boxers!!!
September 28, 2010
Boxers in the NEW YORK
TIMES
High Expectations NO Excuses!!!
Transforming a Culture
through Literacy
A.K.A. - It’s COOL to
be smart at Brockton
High!!!
As we say in Boxer Country,we are WICKED AWESOME!!!
Our Turn Around Story… We did it our way!
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Brockton and ICLE philosophy Rigor Relevance RelationshipsALL students-and ALL means ALL!!!
So, that’s who we are… What did we do?
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So, what did we do??? Our turnaround: 4 Steps
1. Empowered a Team2. Focused on Literacy –
Literacy for ALL, no exceptions- all means all
3. Implemented with fidelity and according to a plan
4. Monitored like crazy!
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Restructuring Committee – our “think tank” Every department represented with a
mix of teachers and administrators Balance of new teachers and veterans,
new voices, and voices of experience
Challenge for Change funding (NOT grant $)
Step ONE: Empowering a Leadership Team
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We looked at the data And, our first plan:
Let’s figure out the testThe result of that:
The Great Shakespearean Fiasco
After our Shakespearean fiasco, a better approach:
Asked “What do our students need to be able to do to be successful on the MCAS, in their classes, and beyond BHS? (Read challenging passages, difficult nonfiction, write – a LOT, solve multistep problems, explain their thinking… etc.)
Examined our data: what did we need to focus on, what skills did we need to target for ALL
LITERACY – First, defined it, then trained ourselves how to teach these literacy skills to our students. It HAD to be about LITERACY!!!
The “WHAT”:LITERACY for ALL:
Step TWO: Focused on Literacy for ALL
Reading, Writing, Speaking, Reasoning
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How did we determine our focus?Literacy Skills Drafted:
LITERACY CHART: WRITING
to take notes to explain one’s thinking to argue a thesis and support one’s thinking to compare and contrast to write an open response to describe an experiment, report one’s findings, and report one’s conclusion to generate a response to what one has read, viewed, or heard to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences to develop an expository essay with a formal structure
c Brockton High School, 2002
WRITING
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
MATH
ELECTIVE
ENGLISH
SCIENCE
Engaging the faculty:After each discussion, back to Restructuring for revisions.
This process went back and forth to the faculty four or five times
that year.Review, discuss, revise, repeat!
LITERACY CHART: READING
for content ( both literal and inferential ) to apply pre-reading, during reading and post-reading strategies to all
reading assignments, including determining purpose and pre-learning vocabulary
to research a topic to gather information to comprehend an argument to determine the main idea of a passage to understand a concept and construct meaning to expand one’s experiences c Brockton High School, 2002
READING
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
MATH
ELECTIVE
ENGLISH
SCIENCE
LITERACY CHART: WRITING
to take notes to explain one’s thinking to argue a thesis and support one’s thinking to compare and contrast to write an open response to describe an experiment, report one’s findings, and report one’s conclusion to generate a response to what one has read, viewed, or heard to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences to develop an expository essay with a formal structure
c Brockton High School, 2002
WRITING
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
MATH
ELECTIVE
ENGLISH
SCIENCE
LITERACY CHART: SPEAKING
to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences to interpret a passage orally to debate an issue to participate in class discussion or a public forum to make an oral presentation to one’s class, one’s peers, one’s community to present one’s portfolio to respond to what one has read, viewed, or heard to communicate in a manner that allows one to be both heard and
understood c Brockton High School, 2002
SPEAKING
SOCIAL
SCIENCE MATH
ELECTIVE
ENGLISH
SCIENCE
LITERACY CHART: REASONING
to create, interpret and explain a table, chart or graph to compute, interpret and explain numbers to read, break down, and solve a word problem to interpret and present statistics that support an argument or hypothesis to identify a pattern, explain a pattern, and/or make a prediction based on a
pattern to detect the fallacy in an argument or a proof to explain the logic of an argument or solution to use analogies and/or evidence to support one’s thinking to explain and/or interpret relationships of space and time c Brockton High School, 2002
REASONING
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
MATH
ELECTIVE
ENGLISH
SCIENCE
We had cool looking charts on the walls… SO WHAT…
The KEY to our implementation is HOW we trained teachers to teach these Literacy skills to our students.
So now what…
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It’s about teaching, stupid…
Says Mike Schmoker in Results Now
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Faculty Meetings becameLiteracy WorkshopsKEY = Adult Learning
Teachers teaching teachers – GOOD stuff!
Step THREE: Implemented with fidelity and a plan
We started with writing! Writing is
thinking
FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS
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LITERACY CHART: WRITING
to take notes to explain one’s thinking to argue a thesis and support one’s thinking to compare and contrast to write an open response to describe an experiment, report one’s findings, and report one’s conclusion to generate a response to what one has read, viewed, or heard to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences to develop an expository essay with a formal structure
c Brockton High School, 2002
WRITING
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
MATH
ELECTIVE
ENGLISH
SCIENCE
Our First Training: Open ResponseOPEN RESPONSE STEPS TO FOLLOW
1. READ QUESTION CAREFULLY. 2. CIRCLE OR UNDERLINE KEY WORDS. 3. RESTATE QUESTION AS THESIS (LEAVE BLANKS) 4. READ PASSAGE CAREFULLY. 5. TAKE NOTES THAT RESPOND TO THE QUESTION. BRAINSTORM & MAP OUT YOUR ANSWER. 6. COMPLETE YOUR THESIS. 7. WRITE YOUR RESPONSE CAREFULLY, USING YOUR MAP AS A GUIDE. 8. STATEGICALLY REPEAT KEY WORDS FROM THESIS IN YOUR BODY AND IN YOUR END SENTENCE. 9. PARAGRAPH YOUR RESPONSE. 10. REREAD AND EDIT YOUR RESPONSE.
Now I will model the ten steps students will use when answering an open-response item. The following chart includes the training steps that the facilitator will use and an explanation of the work to be done by the participants.Let’s go through the ten steps using The Book of Ruth as our sample text.
5: Take notes that respond to the question. Brainstorm and map out your answer. Remind students that they should be doing ACTIVE reading. They should use strategies to develop their answer, such as taking notes, circling and underlining key words, and using brackets. Follow reading strategies developed in the workshops.
Here’s an example of explaining a step:
First step:Training – ALL facultyNext step – HOW to bring this
into the classroom Lessons developed Implemented according to a
calendar
So then what… Success by design!
We didn’t leave it to chance. (Success by design, not by
chance!)The implementation was
according to a specific timeline…
Step THREE: Implemented with fidelity and a plan
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As a follow up to this activity, I am requiring Department Heads to collect from each teacher at least one student sample from each of the teachers’ classes. The student samples should include:
Student NameTeacher NameDateCourse Name and LevelPeriodA copy of the reading selection and questionEvidence of the student’s active readingAll pre-writing work that the student has done, e.g. websA copy of the written open response The new scoring rubric and completed assessment
After you have collected the samples from each teacher and have had the opportunity to review them for quality and completeness, please send them to me in a department folder with a checklist of your teachers. Again, please be sure that your teachers clearly label their student samples.
The Open Response calendar of implementation is as follows:
Nov 2-6: Social Science, Social Sci Biling.Nov 30-Dec 4: Wellness, JROTC Dec 14-18: Science, Science BilingualJan 11-15: Business, Tech, & Career Ed.Jan 25-29: Math, Math BilingualFeb 22-26: Foreign Lang, Special EdMar. 7-11: English, ESL, GuidanceMar 20-24 Family &Cons. Sci, ProjGradsApr 5-9: Music, Art
What gets monitored is what gets done!
Monitoring the work of the students (rubrics and collection and review of the work)
Monitoring the implementation by the faculty (walkthroughs, evals)
Step FOUR: Monitored like crazy!!!
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How do we know the students are learning it?
What gets monitored is what gets done!
Implementation set by calendar Admin team present in
classrooms observing the literacy lesson
Follow up walkthroughs Frequent feedback provided
Monitoring the implementation
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Remember:It’s about the adults, not the
kids!We taught ourselves to teach
these literacy skills to the students.
And we will ALL do it THIS WAY!
From Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin
The factor that seems to explain the most about great performance is something the researchers call deliberate practice… Deliberate practice is hard. It hurts. But it works. More of it equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance.
Third Key TrendSo what does this look
like in the different subject areas???GOOD STUFF!!!
Emily Dickinson is a poet who often wrote about her own emotional struggles. In two poems “Heart, We Will Forget Him” and “Knows How to Forget” she writes about how difficult it is to forget. Please read the two poems and the brief biography and answer the following three questions:1. What were some of experiences in her life that
influenced her writing?2. What do the two poems have in common?3. How are the two poems different?Please use one quote from the poems or
biography in each paragraph.
Social Science /History Open Response
Explain how the article and the spiritual show John Brown’s commitment to the welfare of black people. Support your answer with relevant and specific information from the article and the spiritual.
ScienceOpen Response
AlgebraOpen Response
ChineseOpen Response
ArtOpen Response
Wellness/P.E.Open Response
There are ALWAYS critics…
The cookie-cutter comment
How did we incorporate these Literacy Skills in every discipline?
Even in our discipline policies and procedures we
incorporate our Literacy Initiative… remember,
WRITING IS THINKING!
Our Classroom Incident form requires students to write when they come into the office
Don’t think for a moment that everyone was happy…
BUT, if we waited for buy-in, we’d still be waiting.
SO, what did we do?? Meet Sharon and Penny
BUT….
INSERT PBS NEED TO KNOW VIDEO ON PENNY AND SHARON
To view the entire Need to Know segment on Brockton High, go to YouTube and search Need to Know Brockton High.
Here’s what gets the buy-in.
RESULTS!!!
BUY IN???….
Changes in ELA Results Year One of School Wide Open Response
Changes in Math Results Year One of School Wide Open Response
Active Reading Strategies
1. Read the question.
2. a. Circle key direction verbs. For example – write, draw,
explain, compare, show, copy
b. Underline important information. Often there is information in a
question that is irrelevant to finding the answer.
3. In your own words, write what the
question is asking you to do.
4. Develop your plan/Answer the question.
Changes in ELA Results Year One of School Wide Open Response
Added a Literacy
Workshop on Active Reading
Strategies:
200222142513
TEACHER LEADERSHIP
Some Schools Stand Out
Comparisons of Complacent HS and Brockton HS
Ronald F. Ferguson, PhDTripod Project for School Improvement (www.tripodproject.org) and
Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University (www.agi.harvard.edu)
Proportions of students scoring in each decile of the MCAS 8th grade ELA distribution
MCAS ELA gains 8th to 10th grade, compared to others from the same 8th grade decile
(School rank percentile/100)
Listen to what Dr. Ferguson says about us
Video from PBS Need to Know
“The main lesson was that student achievement rose when leadership teams focused thoughtfully and relentlessly on improving the quality of instruction.”
- Prof. Ron Ferguson, AGI Conference Report
• The Achievement Gap Initiative At Harvard UniversityToward Excellence with Equity
Conference Report by Ronald F. Ferguson, Faculty Director
Pedro Noguera
“Brockton High demonstrates that you don’t have to change
the student population to get results, you have
to change the conditions under which
they learn.”
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Our improvement over the past five years is perhaps even more impressive than the big jumps we had early on.
Wicked Awesome!
2008
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
78 79.5 8186.1
83.989.1
91.488.2
90.693.9
63.866.9 66.8
74 74.377.4
80.9 79.9 81.185.8
Brockton HS Proficiency Index Gains
ECPI MCPI
Composite Performance Index (CPI) measures progress towards the goal of narrowing proficiency gaps
If these results don’t convince you…
Just listen to the students… Meet Nephie and Tatiana
•Video from CBS Evening News
Recap: The 4 Steps in our Turnaround
1. Empowering a team 2. Focusing on literacy:
Literacy for ALL – NO exceptions3. Implementing with fidelity and
according to a plan4. Monitoring, monitoring, monitoring
The Result = Changing the Culture
• 8282
You can get some WICKED
AWESOME results!
And when you do those things
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Brockton High SchoolBrockton School District
Plymouth County 470 Forest Avenue
Brockton, Massachusetts(508)580-7633
AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS!!!
2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014
JOHN & ABIGAIL ADAMS BHS SCHOLARS 2014
293 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
33% of the class! Most ever!!!Most in Massachusetts!!!
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• 8585
Class of 2014 – over 90% went off to college!
College for ALL:Changing students’ beliefs:
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GO
Boxers!!!
September 28, 2010
Boxers in the NEW YORK
TIMES
High Expectations NO Excuses!!!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Advice… for whatever it’s worth. This is totally
NOT research based. It’s the “walk a mile in
my shoes” advice…
Leadership Lesson #1: FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS
Make Literacy your target.Literacy for ALL, no exceptions.Resist the “next new thing” – LITERACY, LITERACY, LITERACY
You are on the right track!!!
Leadership Lesson #2: It’s ALL about
instruction!!! (the adults)You want to improve your
school? It’s about instruction!!!The key to our success had
nothing to do with the kids. It was about adult learning.
Leadership Lesson #3: Implement with a plan
Implement with a plan. Success by design, not
by chance. ALL students deserve
the best!
Leadership Lesson #4: What gets monitored
is what gets done• Leave nothing to chance.• Direct observation of the
implementation.• Be visible, even coteach• Follow up with collection and review
of student work.
Leadership Lesson #5: NO EXCUSES!!!
No excuses…life isn’t fair. Use the challenges to your advantage.
Changing expectations is FREE!!!
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High Expectations, THEY believe!
Amarr: “It’s not us against
them.” Terrence: “No one here would let
me fail. I know, because I tried to.”
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Here’s what we know Making change takes
tenacity, not brilliance!
(If we can do it, ANYONE can!)
FINAL THOUGHT:If we can do this, anyone
can! In 1999 we were called a “Cesspool” in our local media. Now
we are called the “Jewel of the City.”
Check out more on the Brockton Story and
many of our scripts in our new book!!!
Proceeds go to Brockton High
Available at www.leadered.com
For more info:
Thank You!!!
Sue Szachowicz, Senior Fellow ICLE, Brockton High Principal (retired)
If we can do this, so can you!!!