Conference Sessions
Strands
Friday, February 20
Session A 9:30 AM–10:45 AM
Session AB 9:30 AM–12:15 PM
Session B 11:00 AM–12:15 PM
Session C 2:15 PM–3:30 PM
Saturday, February 21
Session D 9:30–10:45 AM
Session DE 9:30 AM–12:00 PM
Session E 11:00 AM–12:00 PM
College and Career Education
A2
Incorporating AVID and AVID Strategies into Smaller Learning Communities
Julie Elliott, AVID CA Director, AVID Center, CA; Arlene LaPlante, Director, ConnectEd Network of Schools, CA
Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is a college preparation program for students in grades 4 through 12 who are in the academic middle. With AVID support, rigor in course work, and individual determination, 96% of students enrolled in the AVID core elective program go to college. 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 organization models, and how to provide AVID support within the parameters of participants' individual school designs.
Strand: College and Career Education
B2
The Marriage of Two Cultures
Dale Ward, Senior Vice President, Greater Santa Ana Business Alliance; Fred Gomeztrejo, Principal; Jeff Rozema, SLC Coordinator, Valley High School, Santa Ana Unified School District, CA
In the spring of 2006, the Santa Ana Unified School District and the Greater Santa Ana Business Alliance entered into an agreement to create a program of studies related to the top six industry sectors that have seen the greatest decline in skilled workers. They selected Santa Ana Valley High School as the location to institute this partnership. Over the past two years, the relationship between business and education has taken on many faces. With the help of $4.1 million dollars of grant money, the High School Inc. Academies at Valley High School will be entering a new phase in our ongoing marriage of two cultures. Join us as we discuss the honeymoon, the challenges, and the future of our relationship as we attempt to prepare our students for the challenges of the 21st-century workplace and post-secondary education.
Strand: College and Career Education
B3
Multiple Pathways to Success: Preparing Students for College and Career
Arlene LaPlante, Director, ConnectEd Network of Schools, 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.
Strand: College and Career Education
C2
Performance Assessment in the Age of High-Stakes Testing
Allison Allbee, Performance Assessment Coordinator, June Jordan School for Equity, San Francisco Unified School District, CA; Rachel Vigil, Program Associate, Small Schools for Equity, San Francisco Unified School District, CA
Have you begun to dread the spring testing season? June Jordan School for Equity has a performance assessment system that is designed to ensure real, public accountability for student achievement. With a focus on college prep and social justice, we work to build the skills necessary for college success while arming students with the tools to empower them to achieve their dreams for themselves and their communities. Using scaffolding, inquiry, essential questions, and culturally relevant material, we guide students through the process of developing papers on each of the following anchor tasks: Literacy Analysis, Scientific Research, Mathematical Application, and Original Research. Students then must present and defend a paper and a post-graduation plan to a graduation committee before they are allowed to graduate. Committees include teachers, students, family, and community members. Lessons from the presenters and committees are then integrated into curriculum for the following year.
Participants in this workshop will have an opportunity to investigate our classroom practices of inquiry, scaffolding, and culturally relevant material, and get practical advice on how to implement their own alternative assessment process. Using sociometry exercises, videos of student presentations, and student work, we will delve into the questions: Why do we as educators need assessment systems? What makes an assessment system useful? How does student work inform our practice? We will cover the need for multiple forms of assessment, present an introduction to how performance assessment looks at JJSE, and provide participants with a pallet of instructional strategies to survey.
The goal is for participants new to alternative assessment to leave with an invigorating sense of the potential of performance assessment and with practical steps for implementing an alternative assessment program at their school. For people who are already working with alternative assessments, this will be an opportunity to reflect on their own practice, dialogue about specific complications or questions that have arisen in implementation, and expand the strategies used in their classrooms or schools.
Strand: College and Career Education, NEW SESSION
D2
The Bridge Program
Chris Piercy, FOS Mentor/Chair, Serrano High School, Snowline Joint Unified School District, CA
If enrolling every graduate in a post-secondary program is your goal, this is the program for you. Learn how to collaborate with a local community college to make this goal a reality. This is a complete program that takes the student from lessons and activities to the actual enrollment process with applications, financial aid, and placement testing at the high school site. Participants in this workshop will receive a step-by-step plan for implementation.
Strand: College and Career Education
D3
Building Critical Mass for Sustainable Reform
Kris Olsen, Principal; Jill Long, SLC Project Director; Tony Vicnair, Director of Curriculum, McMinnville High School, McMinnville School District, OR
McMinnville High School is in its fifth year of SLC reform, characterized by strong freshman teams, highly articulated career pathways and academies, extensive College Credit Now offerings, and impressive business and post-secondary partnerships. In this session, participants will learn about and explore specific elements within the three domains of sustainable reform-culture, structure, and instruction-and come away with a plan of action, articulating future objectives and activities for each domain.
Strand: College and Career Education
E3
Dual High School/College Credit Program
Jill Long, SLC Project Director; Kris Olsen, Principal; Tony Vicnair, Director of Curriculum, McMinnville High School, McMinnville School District, OR
Students who graduate high school having already acquired a college transcript are more likely to enroll and persist in post-secondary education. Over the last five years, McMinnville High School has collaborated with post-secondary partners to offer an extensive dual credit program. Last year, we offered 55 dual credit classes. Students earned over 3,200 college credits, resulting in a savings to families in excess of $160,000. In this session, participants will learn how to develop and grow a dual credit program that is integrated with other reform initiatives such as smaller learning communities and career pathways.
Strand: College and Career Education, NEW SESSION