The Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) has been receiving a tremendous amount of positive press primarily due to the gains in student performance and the community-wide embracing of BCPS CEO Andres Alonso. We commend Dr. Alonso for his vision, strategy and engagement of the community – teachers, principals, students, families, and program providers—to bring about much needed improvement in public schools.
An article in Education Week states that BCPS graduation rates are modestly rising, out-of-school suspensions have plummeted, and, for the first time in decades, enrollment in Baltimore public schools is going up. This is exactly the picture Higher Achievement was impressed by when it decided to have Baltimore as its first replication site outside of Washington, DC.
Higher Achievement, a rigorous, year-round academic enrichment program for hardworking, motivated middle school students conducted an 18-month due diligence and advance work process that started by looking at 23 cities that showed promise, vision and structure for school improvement. Higher Achievement wanted to be in school districts that were also working hard to improve student performance and close the achievement gap. From the beginning, Baltimore was at the top of that list.
Another impressive strategy that Mr. Alonso implemented is giving more budget authority to principals. When principals have the power to make decisions around resource allocation and align it with their academic mission and goals, positive things happen. Teachers get more support, families get more engaged, and students learn and achieve. These strategies have been piloted, tested, and proven effective in many school districts across the country. The alignment of vision, authority, resources and public will always win the game.
Because of these structural changes and academic gains, the Baltimore community needs to invest more in building more supports for teaching and learning. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores across the country indicate impressive gains made at the 4th grade level but insignificant ones at 8th, which tells us that middle school is where we need to focus. Even Mr. Alonso pointed to the fact that he needs to focus at the 6th and 9th grade levels to prevent drop out and departure problems. Addressing this goes beyond the hands of educators. Programs like Higher Achievement can help maintain momentum and continued progress through the middle school and help prepare students face the rigors of high quality high schools and , in Baltimore’s case, the transformation schools.
As an out-of-school time program, Higher Achievement can be a connector between educators, families and other community-based programs to create that cohesive advocate for student achievement. We align our curriculum with the state academic standards, we base our performance and outcomes on grades and standardized test scores, and we create a cadre of "scholars" who are not only performing well academically, but also are conscious of what is happening in their community and how they, as its young citizens, can contribute to its continuous development and improvement. We all have a stake in the community’s future.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Higher Achievement Supports Request for Increased Funds to OST Programs
As part of a coalition for afterschool policy convened by the Afterschool Alliance, Higher Achievement signed onto a letter to President Barack Obama asking for his support for an increase of $250 million in funding for out-of-school time programs through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program in the FY 2011 budget.
Please see the letter below:
Dear President Obama,
As organizations representing millions of individuals committed to advancing opportunities for our nation’s young people, we thank you for your support and appreciation of the critical role that before-school, afterschool and summer learning programs play in keeping children safe, inspiring learning and helping working families. We are writing to request your support for an increase of $250 million in funding for these programs through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program in the FY 2011 budget.
Students across America depend on 21st Century Community Learning Centers for high-quality, safe afterschool learning activities critical to their success in school and in life. Working families rely on this program to provide children with the academic, social and professional skills they need, delivered in a safe and familiar environment. Through hands-on activities like robotics, gardening, music, cooking and art, students in many 21st Century Community Learning Centers are supplementing what they learn in science, math and other subjects during the school day. Students who regularly attend quality afterschool programs have better grades and behavior in school, better peer relations and emotional adjustment, and lower incidences of drug-use, violence and pregnancy.
The current funding level for the 21st Century Community Learning Center program allows just over 1 million children to participate, while research shows well over ten times that number have no safe, supervised place to go when the school day ends. While parents from all socio-economic backgrounds contribute 76% of the funding for afterschool programs, federal grants only provide 11% of afterschool program budgets. An increase of $250 million in 21st Century Community Learning Center funding would be an important down payment toward the full $2.5 billion funding of the program and would result in an additional quarter of a million children having access to quality afterschool programs.
Thank you again for your commitment to our nation’s children and your leadership in striving to give our students the best possible education and learning opportunities. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding the 21st Century Community Learning Center program.
Please see the letter below:
Dear President Obama,
As organizations representing millions of individuals committed to advancing opportunities for our nation’s young people, we thank you for your support and appreciation of the critical role that before-school, afterschool and summer learning programs play in keeping children safe, inspiring learning and helping working families. We are writing to request your support for an increase of $250 million in funding for these programs through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program in the FY 2011 budget.
Students across America depend on 21st Century Community Learning Centers for high-quality, safe afterschool learning activities critical to their success in school and in life. Working families rely on this program to provide children with the academic, social and professional skills they need, delivered in a safe and familiar environment. Through hands-on activities like robotics, gardening, music, cooking and art, students in many 21st Century Community Learning Centers are supplementing what they learn in science, math and other subjects during the school day. Students who regularly attend quality afterschool programs have better grades and behavior in school, better peer relations and emotional adjustment, and lower incidences of drug-use, violence and pregnancy.
The current funding level for the 21st Century Community Learning Center program allows just over 1 million children to participate, while research shows well over ten times that number have no safe, supervised place to go when the school day ends. While parents from all socio-economic backgrounds contribute 76% of the funding for afterschool programs, federal grants only provide 11% of afterschool program budgets. An increase of $250 million in 21st Century Community Learning Center funding would be an important down payment toward the full $2.5 billion funding of the program and would result in an additional quarter of a million children having access to quality afterschool programs.
Thank you again for your commitment to our nation’s children and your leadership in striving to give our students the best possible education and learning opportunities. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding the 21st Century Community Learning Center program.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Higher Achievement Signs on in Support of the ASPIRE Act
Through its relationship with the Afterschool Alliance, Higher Achievement signed a letter of thanks to Senator Blanche Lincoln, who introduced the After-School Partnerships Improve Results in Education Act (APSIRE) Act. The ASPIRE Act will provide a greater focus on afterschool programs for middle and high school students to improve academic achievement, lower dropout rates, and help develop our future workforce. The bill authorizes a two-pronged grant program for national and local afterschool programs that target older youth who are struggling in school, come from low-income families, or attend schools in a rural area.
Please read the letter below:
To the Honorable Blanche L. Lincoln
On behalf of the millions of children and families served by afterschool programs across the country, we are writing to thank you for introducing the After-School Partnerships Improve Results in Education Act (ASPIRE Act.) The undersigned organizations strongly support this important legislation that provides targeted investments for afterschool programs serving older youth – programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and support working families. Your longstanding support for our goal of making quality, affordable afterschool programs available to all the children and youth that need them is commendable.
Afterschool programs provide myriad benefits to all who participate, but the majority of programs are geared toward younger children. According to the 2009 report America After 3 PM, xx million children in the U.S. are in afterschool programs. But just x percent of students in grades 9-12 participate in afterschool programs. The report also found that there are xx million high school students who would participate if programs were available.
In spite of the autonomy that typically comes with age, teens still need guidance and adult supervision to help keep them safe, in school and on the path to success in life. While the rate of juvenile crime triples between 3 PM and 6 PM, older youth who participate in quality afterschool programs geared towards them avoid those pitfalls and are given a boost both academically and developmentally.
Programs for middle and high school students are designed to attract, engage and meet the varied needs of more autonomous older youth. Programs for older youth often include elements to overcome barriers that often keep this age group away, including the need to work, family responsibilities and disinterest. Quality afterschool programs aimed at this age group include relevant and hand-on learning opportunities that are grounded in the real world, such as part-time work, internships or apprenticeships. This type of real-world learning helps keep students engaged in school and provides them with marketable skills for their future in the workforce.
The ASPIRE Act will provide a greater focus on afterschool programs for middle and high school students to improve academic achievement, lower dropout rates, and help develop our future workforce. As you know, the bill authorizes a two-pronged grant program for national and local afterschool programs that target older youth who are struggling in school, come from low-income families, or attend schools in a rural area.
Our groups are proud to endorse this legislation. Afterschool programs offer an effective and affordable way of overcoming obstacles confronting older youth, helping them realize their full potential. We look forward to working with you in the future to translate our common vision of high quality afterschool opportunities for all into a reality.
Sincerely,
Afterschool Alliance
After-School All-Stars
Citizen Schools
Higher Achievement
National Collaboration for Youth
National PTA
Save the Children
The After School Corporation (TASC)
YMCA of the USA
Please read the letter below:
To the Honorable Blanche L. Lincoln
On behalf of the millions of children and families served by afterschool programs across the country, we are writing to thank you for introducing the After-School Partnerships Improve Results in Education Act (ASPIRE Act.) The undersigned organizations strongly support this important legislation that provides targeted investments for afterschool programs serving older youth – programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and support working families. Your longstanding support for our goal of making quality, affordable afterschool programs available to all the children and youth that need them is commendable.
Afterschool programs provide myriad benefits to all who participate, but the majority of programs are geared toward younger children. According to the 2009 report America After 3 PM, xx million children in the U.S. are in afterschool programs. But just x percent of students in grades 9-12 participate in afterschool programs. The report also found that there are xx million high school students who would participate if programs were available.
In spite of the autonomy that typically comes with age, teens still need guidance and adult supervision to help keep them safe, in school and on the path to success in life. While the rate of juvenile crime triples between 3 PM and 6 PM, older youth who participate in quality afterschool programs geared towards them avoid those pitfalls and are given a boost both academically and developmentally.
Programs for middle and high school students are designed to attract, engage and meet the varied needs of more autonomous older youth. Programs for older youth often include elements to overcome barriers that often keep this age group away, including the need to work, family responsibilities and disinterest. Quality afterschool programs aimed at this age group include relevant and hand-on learning opportunities that are grounded in the real world, such as part-time work, internships or apprenticeships. This type of real-world learning helps keep students engaged in school and provides them with marketable skills for their future in the workforce.
The ASPIRE Act will provide a greater focus on afterschool programs for middle and high school students to improve academic achievement, lower dropout rates, and help develop our future workforce. As you know, the bill authorizes a two-pronged grant program for national and local afterschool programs that target older youth who are struggling in school, come from low-income families, or attend schools in a rural area.
Our groups are proud to endorse this legislation. Afterschool programs offer an effective and affordable way of overcoming obstacles confronting older youth, helping them realize their full potential. We look forward to working with you in the future to translate our common vision of high quality afterschool opportunities for all into a reality.
Sincerely,
Afterschool Alliance
After-School All-Stars
Citizen Schools
Higher Achievement
National Collaboration for Youth
National PTA
Save the Children
The After School Corporation (TASC)
YMCA of the USA
Friday, October 23, 2009
Afterschool Alliance Releases New Study on the Need for Afterschool Programs
The Afterschool Alliance has released findings from its 2009 America After 3pm study, with updated data on the supply and demand for afterschool programs. The study highlights the need for continued development of high-quality extended learning opportunities, especially for middle school children.
• Nationally, 30% of middle school children are unsupervised after school.
• Of the 8.4 million children who do participate in programs, only 18% of them are middle school age.
• Of those not currently in programs, 36% of middle school students would participate in an afterschool program if one were available to them.
• Nine out of ten parents surveyed agree that there should be some type of organized activity or place for children and teens to go after school every day that provides opportunities to learn.
• The top barriers to program enrollment for minority students are program cost and transportation.
Read the New York Times editorial about the report, calling for President Obama and Secretary Duncan to increase spending for high-quality afterschool programs.
• Nationally, 30% of middle school children are unsupervised after school.
• Of the 8.4 million children who do participate in programs, only 18% of them are middle school age.
• Of those not currently in programs, 36% of middle school students would participate in an afterschool program if one were available to them.
• Nine out of ten parents surveyed agree that there should be some type of organized activity or place for children and teens to go after school every day that provides opportunities to learn.
• The top barriers to program enrollment for minority students are program cost and transportation.
Read the New York Times editorial about the report, calling for President Obama and Secretary Duncan to increase spending for high-quality afterschool programs.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Higher Achievement Speaks Out on Core Standards
Recently, the DC State Board of Education (DCSBOE) held a joint public hearing with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to review the proposed common core college and career readiness standards. This state-led proposal aims to create the college and career readiness standards in English-language arts and mathematics to establish what students should know to succeed in college courses and in the workforce.
Higher Achievement’s Chief of Programs, Rachel Gwaltney, presented at this hearing. Her comments are below:
Good evening, and thank you for this opportunity to publicly comment on the proposed common core standards.
My name is Rachel Gwaltney and I am here in my capacity as Chief of Programs for Higher Achievement, a national non-profit organization providing rigorous, year-round academic supports to middle school students during out-of-school time. Currently Higher Achievement serves over 550 students, about 350 of those here in the District.
Higher Achievement supports the common core standards being developed for national implementation. No matter where students live or go to school, all children have the capacity to learn at high levels if given the right opportunities and supports. I’ll say it again: talent is everywhere, in every community, in every school and every home. What we need is a common goal of preparing all students to be ready for a range of college and career options. The common core standards will establish for all schools and academic support providers like Higher Achievement, the key skills that all students must attain to be college and career ready. By understanding a common set of standards, schools and programs can truly collaborate to meet the needs of learners at each grade level, in every community.
Common core standards are a critical tool in ensuring that academic support providers like Higher Achievement align their work with what happens during the school day. This alignment allows a natural and seamless extension of academic support beyond the school day, giving those students who do need more support, all of the resources necessary for them to achieve and succeed at the same level as their more resourced peers.
The value of core standards is not only in defining a discrete set of skills, but in supporting a national culture of high expectations for learning for all students. We know that students will rise or sink to the expectations set for them by adults. Only by closing the expectations gap with high quality standards for all children, can we ever hope to close the achievement gap. Achieving high quality and challenging standards gives each student the opportunity to make a choice about his or her future, whether it be college, a career, or another path, rather than having that choice taken away or imposed on him/her merely by circumstances of birth into a certain community. To fully realize the potential that these standards hold for our community, what will be needed still is an agreed-upon measure of whether students achieve those standards, and financial support to equitably implement those standards in every community.
Higher Achievement knows from over 3 decades of experience that a culture of high expectations and rigorous academic work, aligned with the work that students do in school does lead to success. Research shows that 8th grade achievement is the best predictor of college readiness; during the critical middle school years, Higher Achievement reverses the typical decline of grades, with scholars improving from an average GPA of about 2.5 in 5th grade, to an average of about 3.2 in 8th grade. (For more information, refer to ACT (2008). The Forgotten Middle: Ensuring that All Students are On Target for College and Career Readiness before High School. Iowa City, IA.)
In 07-08, 100% of DC Higher Achievement scholars improved their DC CAS scores by an average of 20%, especially remarkable gains for the most vulnerable, disadvantaged youth. Over the past 35 years and working closely with the district, principals, and classroom teachers, Higher Achievement has helped over 10,000 young people develop the skills behaviors, and attitudes they need to be college and career ready, sending them on to college preparatory high schools and then college. We are excited to continue as a partner to DCPS, OSSE, and the entire community to further develop this collaboration around the core common standards, and to generate these outcomes for every student in the District.
Thank you.
Higher Achievement’s Chief of Programs, Rachel Gwaltney, presented at this hearing. Her comments are below:
Good evening, and thank you for this opportunity to publicly comment on the proposed common core standards.
My name is Rachel Gwaltney and I am here in my capacity as Chief of Programs for Higher Achievement, a national non-profit organization providing rigorous, year-round academic supports to middle school students during out-of-school time. Currently Higher Achievement serves over 550 students, about 350 of those here in the District.
Higher Achievement supports the common core standards being developed for national implementation. No matter where students live or go to school, all children have the capacity to learn at high levels if given the right opportunities and supports. I’ll say it again: talent is everywhere, in every community, in every school and every home. What we need is a common goal of preparing all students to be ready for a range of college and career options. The common core standards will establish for all schools and academic support providers like Higher Achievement, the key skills that all students must attain to be college and career ready. By understanding a common set of standards, schools and programs can truly collaborate to meet the needs of learners at each grade level, in every community.
Common core standards are a critical tool in ensuring that academic support providers like Higher Achievement align their work with what happens during the school day. This alignment allows a natural and seamless extension of academic support beyond the school day, giving those students who do need more support, all of the resources necessary for them to achieve and succeed at the same level as their more resourced peers.
The value of core standards is not only in defining a discrete set of skills, but in supporting a national culture of high expectations for learning for all students. We know that students will rise or sink to the expectations set for them by adults. Only by closing the expectations gap with high quality standards for all children, can we ever hope to close the achievement gap. Achieving high quality and challenging standards gives each student the opportunity to make a choice about his or her future, whether it be college, a career, or another path, rather than having that choice taken away or imposed on him/her merely by circumstances of birth into a certain community. To fully realize the potential that these standards hold for our community, what will be needed still is an agreed-upon measure of whether students achieve those standards, and financial support to equitably implement those standards in every community.
Higher Achievement knows from over 3 decades of experience that a culture of high expectations and rigorous academic work, aligned with the work that students do in school does lead to success. Research shows that 8th grade achievement is the best predictor of college readiness; during the critical middle school years, Higher Achievement reverses the typical decline of grades, with scholars improving from an average GPA of about 2.5 in 5th grade, to an average of about 3.2 in 8th grade. (For more information, refer to ACT (2008). The Forgotten Middle: Ensuring that All Students are On Target for College and Career Readiness before High School. Iowa City, IA.)
In 07-08, 100% of DC Higher Achievement scholars improved their DC CAS scores by an average of 20%, especially remarkable gains for the most vulnerable, disadvantaged youth. Over the past 35 years and working closely with the district, principals, and classroom teachers, Higher Achievement has helped over 10,000 young people develop the skills behaviors, and attitudes they need to be college and career ready, sending them on to college preparatory high schools and then college. We are excited to continue as a partner to DCPS, OSSE, and the entire community to further develop this collaboration around the core common standards, and to generate these outcomes for every student in the District.
Thank you.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Demonstrating Strength
Strength, as defined in dictionaries, refers to the extent of power or ability one possesses. In the Gallup context, it refers to the talents inherent in all of us and the capacity we have as creators and thinkers to use those talents to advance ourselves, our work, or cause.
In the work Higher Achievement does, however, I look at strength as the collective energy that results from our individual contributions to advance our mission. We are a strong organization. We set high goals for ourselves, our scholars, our families, and in turn, we turn our scholars into strong forces of change in their community. They succeed in school, at home, and, as we have witnessed thousand of times in the past thirty-two years, in life. Our scholars' successes are testament to our collective strength to change lives. We should all be proud of that fact.
Ultimately, strength comes from two concepts -- talent and results. If we are conscious of our talent -- our muscle fibers, our intellect, our capacities and competencies -- and use those talents to drive work that leads to clear, measurable results, we demonstrate real strength. And with that strength, we can lift entire communities.
Friday, October 16, 2009
"How to Develop Yourself as a Nonprofit Leader"
Check out the latest article from Bridgestar on "How to Develop Yourself as a Nonprofit Leader," including observations from Higher Achievement Program CEO Richard Tagle.
http://www.bridgestar.org/Library/DevelopYourselfNonprofitLeader.aspx
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