Conference Sessions
Strands
Thursday, February 7
Session A 10:00 AM–12:00 PM
Session B 1:15 AM–3:15 PM
Friday, February 8
Session C 9:30–10:45 AM
Session CD 9:30 AM–12:15 PM
Session D 11:00 AM–12:15 PM
Session E 2:15–3:30 PM
Saturday, February 9
Session F 9:30–10:45 AM
Session FG 9:30 AM–12:00 PM
Session G 11:00 AM–12:00 PM
New Sessions for 2008
B3
Featured School: Affecting Sustainable
and Positive School Transformation:
A Literacy Example
Kevin Perks, Literacy Coordinator, Noble High
School, ME
National research organizations have recently called for high schools to transform themselves into more effective communities of learning. A lot of this work is propelled by students’ poor literacy performance. This session addresses these and other concerns by describing a framework for implementing positive and sustainable change. Participants will learn about and use this framework to propel change in their own setting.
Strands: NEW!
B4
Featured School: A Guide to Re-
Engineering a Traditional High School—
The Real Story
Angela Julien, Principal, Tucson USD, AZ
This session will interweave the story of the transformation of a highly diverse, very traditional comprehensive high school into SLCs with hands-on, interactive materials and strategies for beginning or strengthening a change process that emphasizes interpersonal skills, intellectual pursuits, and involvement in the community.We will work together to create a blueprint for change for each school and use each other’s stories to bring life and detail to the plans.
Strands: NEW!
C1
Professional Learning Communities:
Under Construction
Cindy Douglas, Director/Instructor, Prof.
Development, Grossmont Union HS, Grossmont
Union HSD, CA
This workshop provides an overview of the foundational components of PLCs, as well as discussing the incredible impact they have on students when implemented effectively. The workshop will also look at the journey one large high school district has taken to change their culture and structure to a PLC. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of why this structure is a winning foundation for both teachers and students.
Strands: Collaboration, NEW!
C2
SSP: Funding for New Advanced HS
Programs
Barbara Weiss, Education Program Consultant,
High School Initiatives/Career Education Office,
California Dept. of Ed., CA; Pam Carter,
Principal; Sara Leibman, SSP Coordinator,
Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley USD, CA
Specialized Secondary Program grants provide comprehensive high schools with start-up funds to design and implement new advanced programs. This funding often touches the forgotten average students who drift through school with no purpose. Hear about exciting programs currently being funded, and learn how to tap into this grant opportunity.
Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
C8
Multiple Pathways to Success: Preparing
Students for College and Career
Arlene LaPlante, Director, ConnectEd: The
California Center for College & Career, CA;
Glen Hillegas, Principal, Construction Tech
Academy, Kearny High Educational Complex,
San Diego USD, CA
All students deserve a high school education that actively engages them and prepares them for both career opportunities and post-secondary education or training options—not one or the other. From this session, you will: (1) understand how a multiple pathways approach prepares students for both college and career by blending rigor and relevance, (2) view model programs, and (3) receive tools for implementation at your school or district.
CD3
Supporting Equitable SLCs
Johnna Timmes, Program Advisor; Erin
McGary-Hamilton, Senior Program Advisor,
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, OR
How do schools make their SLCs accessible and rigorous for all students? What supports are necessary for both students and teachers? Teams will review existing SLCs, learn instructional strategies to reach & engage all students, and plan for increasing equity throughout campus.
Strands:Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
CD4
Interdisciplinary SLC Program Design
Katie Whitney Luers, Senior Program Advisor,
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory,
OR
This workshop engages SLC teams in program design that aligns SLC theme and high academic standards. Teams develop a clear idea of what they want their students to know and do as a result of intensive learning in their SLC and consider ways for students to demonstrate mastery of these interdisciplinary proficiencies. Participants leave with an action plan for collaborating on coherent curriculum.
Strands:Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
CD7
Collaborative Evaluation: A Key to
Sustaining Your SLCs
Rose Owens-West, Sr. Project Director; Ralph
Baker & Gerald Wolfe,WestEd, CA
Collaborative evaluation features teamwork and inquiry—perfect processes for evaluating the effectiveness of your SLC implementation. This session will provide a framework for continuous data gathering, sharing of findings, and planning for improvement. It is designed for teachers and administrators who have limited background in evaluation. Participants will engage in learning evaluation strategies they can use immediately. They will receive user-friendly supportive materials and addresses for useful web resources.
Strands:Functional Accountability NEW!
CD10
Advisory Programs: Personalization and
Achievement for Every Student
Deb Christenson, Curriculum Coordinator;
Jeanne Fauci, Director,Wildwood Outreach
Center, CA
Advisory programs create a personalized middle and high school environment that enhances students’ academic achievement and social/emotional growth. In this interactive presentation, participants will learn from nationally known experts the key components to creating a successful advisory program. Discover how to implement or expand an advisory program at your school that will support your school’s mission and goals and enhance the learning experience for every student.
Strands: Personalization, NEW!
CD11
Mindfully Resolving Conflicts: Facilitation
for Diversity Issues
Rainbow Markell, Director/Diversity Trainer,
Stir Fry Seminars & Counseling, CA
Explore what it takes to develop authentic and meaningful relationships, even in conflict, using role-play, training vignettes, and discussion, and addressing the issues such as racism and cultural differences. This workshop also teaches skills to train others in group process, conflict facilitation, and a variety of cross-cultural communication techniques. This workshop benefits teachers, teacher educators, administrators, counselors, and student leaders. “The Art of Mindful Facilitation” provided as a handout.
Strands: Personalization, NEW!
D2
Schools Like Ours: Creating Specialized
Secondary Schools of Mathematics,
Science, and Technology
Martin Shapiro, Ed.D., Educational
Consultant, Past President, CAT Prog. Coord.,
National Consortium for Specialized Schools of
Math., Science & Tech., FL; Pete Oberg, SLC
Coordinator, Center for Advanced Technologies,
Lakewood High School, FL
This session provides a road map for the creation of specialized schools to meet the need for leaders in mathematics, science, and technology. Through presentation and discussion, participants will discover the possibilities for developing specialized schools in their unique setting. Discussion will be organized around a context for change, getting started, the organization of your school, and sustainability of specialized schools.
Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
D8
Everything You Wanted to Know about
4 x 4 Block Scheduling, But Thought It
Was Too Risky to Ask
Albert Castillo, Director, Secondary School
Services, LAUSD Local District 6, CA; Jesus
Angulo, Principal; Patrick Moretta, Principal,
South Gate High School, Los Angeles USD, CA
How can restructuring school schedules support changes in classroom practice? In this workshop, participants will examine how block scheduling can offer more in-depth learning, fewer students per teacher, and more varied teaching approaches, and can be a catalyst for enduring change. Two high school principals will share a unique process they used to take advantage of the reform’s benefits. A question-and-answer period will follow the session.
E1
Curriculum Collaboration: The Key that
Turns the Education Engine
Tami Strege, LA Coordinator; Christine Lord,
Science Coordinator; Cory Shinkle, Math
Coordinator, Glendale Union HSD, AZ
This presentation will highlight the collaborative structure of one district that focuses on teachers, building administrators, and district office personnel to ensure student success on both local and state outcomes and assessments. Attendees will participate in activities designed to allow them to analyze their current structures’ strengths and identify areas where collaboration could improve. Participants will leave the session with a plan to increase collaboration in their own school systems.
Strands: Collaboration, NEW!
E2
Law Enforcement Academy or Bust
Jim Wiswell, Lead Counselor, La Puente High
School, Hacienda La Puente USD, CA
Come hear a remarkable story of the evolution of the Law Enforcement Academy, the second largest academy at La Puente High School.We will give you the tools to start your very own Law Enforcement Academy. The presentation will include a PowerPoint that will glue you to your seat, pair sharing, and handouts. A list of exciting books will also be presented so you understand the foundation of our learning.
Strands: Collaboration, NEW!
E3
Guiding Student Research: An SLC Cross-
Curricular, Integrated Approach to
Enhancing Student Inquiry
Martin Shapiro, Ed.D., Educational
Consultant, Past President, CAT Prog. Coord.,
National Consortium for Specialized Schools of
Math., Science & Tech., FL; Pete Oberg, SLC
Coordinator, Center for Advanced Technologies,
Lakewood High School, FL
This session is for every teacher who leads students to ask a question, to seek a new and novel solution to that question, and to communicate that discovery to the world. It is the intent of the presenters of this session to provide a roadmap that will lead to the development of research skills and enhance research opportunities for their students using a cross-curricular approach.
Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
E6
Professional Learning Communities: A Key
Strategy for Affecting Student Learning
and Achievement
Keith Greer, Principal, Casa Grande Union HS,
Casa Grande Union HSD, AZ
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) are an Conference sseessssiioonn EE ddaayy t 2wo 16 2:15–3:30 P.M. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2008 session E 17 effective, cost-efficient way for educators to learn what changes are necessary to improve their classroom practice. This presentation will review how a “low performing” large rural high school affected student achievement and staff interaction through a highly focused school-wide PLC.
Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
E7
Using Assessment to Increase Student
Achievement & Close the Achievement
Gap
Grant Chandler, Director, K–12 School Reform,
Kalamazoo Public Schools, MI
Find out how to incorporate an assessment program that teaches teachers how to measure student learning and motivates students to high levels of academic achievement. Teachers in Kalamazoo’s Freshman Academy frequently measure student performance compared to content standards and address deficiencies and mastery collectively on a daily basis. Participants will learn how the collection and use of this data allows student needs to be met before they slip through the cracks.
Strands: Functional Accountability
E8
Systematic Supports for High-Quality
Teaching and High Achievement in SLCs
Rose Owens-West, Sr. Project Director; Ralph
Baker & Gerald Wolfe,WestEd, CA
This session will guide the participants to think about systems for information, finance, personnel, communication, and technology and why these are important for supporting teaching and learning. Participants will engage in table discussions about their current systems and receive strategies on leading teamwork to improve their systems. They will also be provided background readings and resources to take with them.
Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
E9
Alternative Schedules to Support
Increased Student Achievement
Larry Tash, Director, Office of School Redesign,
Los Angeles USD, CA
This is a practical presentation with field-tested materials that will help you, your school, and your district to move toward new ways of using instructional time. Your active participation in this presentation will be a worthwhile learning experience.
E11
Imagine a School Where Nobody Fails:
Personalized Interventions for Struggling
At-risk Students
Jill Long, SLC Project Director, McMinnville
High School, McMinnville School District #40,
OR; Ken Jupp, Director, Kenn Jupp &
Associates, UK
The Listening Book is a guided process in which the teacher/SLC team and struggling student collaborate to personalize interventions and support, improve and sustain relationships, develop a network of peer support, and foster ownership of teaching and learning and the learning community. In addition to creating personalized interventions, the Listening Book process provides valuable feedback on how the school is performing and how it can improve. 2:15–3:30 P.M.
Strands: Personalization, NEW!
F6
Incorporating AVID and AVID Strategies
into SLCs
Julie Elliott, Associate CA Director, AVID
Center; Arlene LaPlante, Director, ConnectEd:
The California Center for College & Career, CA
AVID is a college preparation program for students in grades 4 through 12 who are in the academic middle.AVID strategies can also be used to support all students school wide, and there are several models for incorporating AVID into SLCs. This session will discuss AVID strategies and philosophy, various scheduling and organizational models, and how to provide AVID support within the parameters of participants’ individual school designs.
Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
FG2
Under the Umbrella, Making It Fit: Building
the Structures under SLCs
Corine Sayler, Assistant Principal, Syracuse
High School, Davis School District, UT
This presentation is intended for teachers, administrators, board members, and others interested in inclusion of various structures for student success under the umbrella of SLCs. Based on the experience of building SLC programs in both new and existing high schools, the presentation will provide information on designing SLCs to include PLCs with departmental leadership, advisories, protocols for student interventions, collaboration, common assessments, and building the leadership capacity of a school.
Strands: Collaboration, NEW!
FG10
Why Try? Innovative Interventions that
Provide Hope and Motivate Youth to
Overcome Poverty, Violence, and Failure
Christian Moore, Co-founder, Why Try
Organization, UT
This presentation provides tools to help youth answer, “Why try in life?” Christian Moore walks the audience through several methods to teach emotional intelligence and life skills such as anger management, problem solving, overcoming peer pressure, and keeping laws and rules. This workshop emphasizes a strength-based approach to helping youth overcome their challenges using multiple intelligence methods that emphasize the youths’ learning styles.
Strands: Personalization, NEW!
FG11
Role of Structures in Student Achievement
Mike Neubig, Co-founder, American Alliance
for Innovative Schools, Capture Educational
Consulting Services, OH
This presentation focuses on creating school day structures that provide flexible blocks of time for personalized programs, while maintaining the positive elements of the existing structures.We will demonstrate a research-based scheduling system that is proven to enhance the school environment and improve student achievement, specifically at the all-important ninth grade level. Participants will be asked to design schedules that they believe may be useful in their own teaching settings.
Strands: Personalization, NEW!
FG13
Featured School: Extreme Makeover—
School Edition
Lynda Schwartz, Principal, Nikki Siercks, SLC
Coordinator and a team from Monroe High,
Los Angeles USD, CA
If you just change the structure of a school, you have not created small learning communities. It’s like a cone with no ice cream. This session offers a highly successful model for converting large, comprehensive high schools into wall-to-wall small learning communities by changing both the structure and instruction. James Monroe High School Lead teachers will relate how they increased academic rigor by creating interdisciplinary curriculum, a 9th grade academy, and writing and project-based learning. In addition, the Monroe High school staff will also discuss how their efforts have resulted in a true distributed leadership model, as well as greater parental, business, and community involvement.
Strands: NEW!
G6
Reprogramming High Schools with
Programs of Study
Maureen Gevirtz, Ed.D., Project Director,
Grossmont/Cuyamaca College Auxiliary, CA
Programs of study are developed through collaboration across educational levels and with input from business and industry. They can be a key tool in high school reform. Attend this session to receive draft samples of programs of study in biotech, business finance,multimedia, merchandizing, manufacturing and processing, and public safety.
Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
G7
Tascosa High School Freshman Orientation
Debbie Thompson, Teacher; Susan Brown,
Teacher, Tascosa High School, Amarillo ISD,
TX
The transition from middle to high school can be a difficult and often frightening thing for both students and parents.We will use PowerPoint®, music, photographs, and personal testimony from those involved to give you an idea of how to plan, prepare, and present a freshman orientation for both students and parents that will ease their minds and help make the first year of high school a successful one.
Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning, NEW!
G8
Accountability that Works: How Effective
District Structures Enhance Teaching and
Learning
Tami Strege, LA Coordinator; Jennifer Johnson,
Assoc. Supt. Curriculum & Instruction,
Glendale Union HSD, AZ
The presentation will highlight the structure of one district that focuses on accountability from every stakeholder, from students to teachers to building administrators to district office personnel. Participants will engage in activities designed to allow them to analyze their current structures’ strengths and identify areas where accountability could improve. Participants will leave the session having designed a model for greater accountability for their schools or districts.
Strands: Functional Accountability, NEW!