SaginawCounty school districts implement High Schools That Work Program to increase student achievement

Editor’s note: Dr. Gene Bottoms, founding director of High Schools That Work, will be presenting at the MASA Fall Conference on Wednesday, September 24.

When some schools failed to meet adequate yearly progress requirements, Saginaw County superintendents made the decision in 2007 to implement the High Schools That Work (HSTW)/Making Middle Grades Work (MMGW) school improvement model to increase student achievement.

Nineteen secondary schools in Saginaw County joined over 1,200 high schools and 300 middle schools in a 32 state network implementing the HSTW/MMGW Goals and Key Practices for improving student achievement.

High Schools That Work is an effort-based school improvement initiative founded on the conviction that most students can master rigorous academic and career/technical studies if school leaders and teachers create an environment that motivates students to make the effort to succeed. HSTW is the nation’s first large-scale effort to engage state, district and school leaders in partnerships with teachers, students, parents and the community to raise student achievement in high school and the middle grades.

It is based on the simple belief that most students become “smarter” through effort and hard work. When schools in Saginaw implemented academic student support interventions in the 2007-2008 school year, they experienced a significant reduction in student failure and a sharpened focus on increased student effort to meet the challenges presented by the new rigorous Michigan Merit Curriculum.

As part of the HSTW/MMGW initiative, Saginaw County teachers and administrators participated in six days of leadership training, six days of literacy training, four days of math training, and a three day training on Restructuring the Ninth Grade Experience To Achieve Success. Participating schools are supported by veteran Michigan educator Gary Bredahl who serves as the coach for the project.

All schools receive four official coaching visits from Bredahl in addition to informal visits and professional support on specific issues. Technical Assistance Visits (TAV) occurred at five schools this year. A TAV is a three-day, team led on-site school visit. The visit includes interviews, classroom observations, review of school data and an exit report of findings. Later a complete written report of the visit is sent to the school that summarizes the findings and recommends actions the school can take to implement the design and improve student achievement.

The mission of HSTW is to create a culture of high expectation and continuous improvement in high school and the middle grades. Twelve additional Saginaw County middle level schools are beginning the Making Middle Grades Work program this fall. The HSTW goals are:

• Increase to 85 percent the percentages of high school students who meet the HSTW reading, mathematics and science performance goals on a National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)-referenced exam.
• Increase the percentages of all high school students who perform at the proficient level to at least 50 Percent in reading, mathematics and science, as measured by the NAEP-referenced HSTW Assessment.
• Increase to 85 percent the percentages of high school graduates who complete college-preparatory course in mathematics, science, English/language arts and social studies and a concentration in an academic area, a career/technical area of a blend of the two.
• Increase to 90 percent the percentages of high school students who enter grade nine and complete high school four years later.
• Advance state and local policies and leadership initiatives that sustain a continuous school improvement effort.
• Have all students leave high school with postsecondary credit or having met standards for postsecondary studies to avoid remedial courses.
• Work in the middle grades to increase annually the percentages of students entering high school prepared to succeed in college-preparatory courses.

Dr. Gene Bottoms, Senior Vice President of the Southern Regional Education Board, has spent his entire career in education as a teacher, principal, counselor, state department of education administrator, and leader of the nation’s largest organization for vocational education professionals. As Executive Director of the 50,000 member American Vocational Association from 1977 to 1985, he played a major role in assisting in the development of federal vocational education legislation, establishing, as a national priority, the strengthening of the academic foundation of vocational students.

He is frequently called on as a consultant to U.S. Congressional committees, the U.S. Department of Education, state legislatures, state departments of education, teacher education programs and school districts for his keen insights regarding policies and practices that will improve education and student achievement.

Dr. Bottoms will be presenting at the MASA Fall Conference on Wednesday, September 24. Saginaw County schools have found that High Schools That Work/Making Middle Grades Work Key Practices are effective in improving student achievement when deeply implemented.