High School Redesign in Action is an opportunity to share success stories, exchange innovative solutions, connect with colleagues, and build momentum for secondary school innovation. Participants will be able to choose from eighteen presentations featuring a range of high-impact strategies that have successfully raised student aspirations, achievement and outcomes in secondary schools across New England.
The presenting schools were selected not only for their exemplary work, but also for their extraordinary commitment to a goal we all believe in: making sure every student has a chance to succeed, to live a fulfilled and meaningful life, and to make a positive contribution to the world in which they live.
We hope to see you there!
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Conference Evaluation
School Presentations
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| CT | |
| Title | When I Grow Up: Designing High-Impact Postsecondary Planning Programs |
| Description | To prepare all students for postsecondary success in the 21st century, Conard High School’s college and career readiness program provides personalized, student-centered learning opportunities that incorporate student interests, aspirations, and goals. Presenters will use multimedia to illustrate a wide range of interactive, real-world activities and outside-of-the-box strategies that have helped our school strengthen student transitions and increase postsecondary attainment, including exemplars of community partnerships and how they are utilized to enrich school-based and off-site learning experiences. Participants will also learn how parents, teachers, and district leaders at all levels promote a college-going and career-confident culture; how our school’s systemic accountability, support, and intervention program was implemented for all students while retaining a focus on underrepresented student subgroups; and how research-based models and resources were used to engage students and parents in early and ongoing exposure to college and career experiences that have a direct correlation to academic preparation. |
| Session | Thursday, March 22 | 3:45 pm + Friday, March 23 | 12:45 pm |
| School(s) | Conard High School, West Hartford, Connecticut |
| Presenters | Julio Duarte (assistant principal), Courtney Heuitson (school counselor), Marylou Shand (school counselor), Cindy Vranich (teacher) |
| Website | www.whps.org/school/conard | Contact | Julio Duarte | julio_duarte@whps.org |
| CT | |
| Title | One School, Many Students: Creating Multiple Pathways to Success |
| Description | For schools with increasingly diverse student populations, finding the right educational program that will meet the needs of all learners can be an ongoing challenge. Faced with increasing demands to reduce dropout rates and prepare all students for postsecondary success, E.O. Smith High School is expanding its educational programming options and stretching traditional expectations of what a comprehensive high school can or should be. After becoming a Positive Behavioral Intervention Support school in 2006, our school has been working to create multiple pathways to success for all students. In this presentation, participants will learn about our school’s dynamic programs and gain insight into the thought process that helped our faculty engage students in new ways and address factors that contribute to social and academic failure. Whether you are looking to design a dropout-prevention program, a Big Picture learning environment, an 18-21 program for developmentally disabled students, or in-school interventions, this presentation will provide an overview of our strategies and a road-tested formula for their development, implementation, and evaluation. |
| Session | Thursday, March 22 | 3:45 pm + Friday, March 23 | 10:45 am |
| School(s) | E.O. Smith High School, Storrs, Connecticut |
| Presenters | Lou DeLoreto (principal), Christine Lee (director, STARR program), Brad Martin (director, Depot Campus-Big Picture School), Karen Paruolo (social studies department chair, professional development committee co-chair), Sarah Smith (teacher, professional development committee co-chair) |
| Website | www.eosmith.org | Presentation | EO_Smith_Presentation.pdf |
| Contact | Lou DeLoreto | ldeloreto@eosmith.org |
| CT | |
| Title | The Comprehensive High School Redefined: Developing a 21st Century Curriculum in Concert with the Common Core |
| Description | In July 2010, Connecticut adopted the Common Core State Standards. At that time, the Consolidated School District of New Britain, an urban district of 10,000 students in central Connecticut, decided to embark upon a systemic curriculum-development initiative aligned to the Common Core. At New Britain High School, this ambitious project has not only led to the creation of meaningful, rigorous curricula that will challenge 21st century learners, but it has also reshaped and revitalized our professional teaching culture. Participants will learn how our school found creative ways to schedule time for content-based Instructional Data Team meetings each week (to develop and manage curricula); how to demystify the process of connecting subject-area content to the Common Core; how student work demonstrating mastery of learning standards can be embedded in electronic portfolios; and how organizational strategies, developed by school leaders, can aid the process of curriculum revision as the nation moves toward next-generation assessment systems aligned to the Common Core. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 9:15 am |
| School(s) | New Britain High School, New Britain, Connecticut |
| Presenters | Michael Foran (principal), David Messina (division chairperson, social studies), Sondra Sanford (department chairperson, career technology education), Heather Verdi (division chairperson, social studies) |
| Website | www.csdnb.org | Presentation | new_britain_presentation.pdf |
| Contact | Heather Verdi | verdih@csdnb.org |
| ME | |
| Title | You Can Get There from Here: Using Data, PLCs, and Teacher Leadership to Drive School Improvement |
| Description | In March 2010, Deer Isle-Stonington High School—a small island secondary school—was named one of the state’s ten “persistently low-achieving schools,” despite the fact that bold transformation work was already underway. Over the past two years, a persistent belief in the power of teacher leadership and professional learning communities, coupled with a unwavering focus on data-driven improvement, has helped our school implement an ambitious, comprehensive transformation plan that is beginning to produce measurable results. This presentation will discuss strategies for developing critical data metrics (beyond state test scores), creating effective goals for professional learning communities, and building the capacity of teachers-leaders. Participants will leave with a detailed understanding of our school’s promising model for using data, PLCs, and teacher leadership to drive school improvement. |
| Session | Thursday, March 22 | 3:45 pm + Friday, March 23 | 9:15 am |
| School(s) | Deer Isle-Stonington High School, Deer Isle, Maine |
| Presenters | Marion Austin (teacher), Judith Hotchkiss (teacher), Seth Laplant (teacher), Todd West (principal) |
| Website | www.dishs.org | Presentation | DIS_Presentation.pdf |
| Contact | Todd West | toddwest@dishs.org |
| ME | |
| Title | Proficiency for All: Using Standards-Based Reporting, Senior Capstones, and Student-Centered Learning to Achieve Your Goals |
| Description | Hall-Dale Middle/High School is working to become a true student-centered learning environment. While its transition to standards-based reporting has been underway for years, the work of integrating authentic, student-centered learning began more recently in earnest. Measurement topics and learning targets for all classes have been developed, and student progress is being tracked through Educate. Students are given both voice and choice in their studies, and the school is working to incorporate more flexible learning pathways. Senior capstones are now a graduation requirement for all students, and an intensive, two-semester course helps students complete a multifaceted project that is driven by their interests and passions. The school’s ultimate goal: a performance-based diploma. Participants will leave with a strong understanding of what student-centered learning environment looks like in practice, the successes and challenges experienced by Hall-Dale, and a strong understanding of the school’s intensive capstone experience. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 10:45 am + 12:45 pm |
| School(s) | Hall-Dale Middle/High School, Farmingdale, Maine |
| Presenters | Kendra Guiou (teacher), Steve Lavoie (principal), Jen Sculli (teacher), Nora Segovia-Reed (teacher), Matt Shea (teacher) |
| Website | www.kidsrsu.org | Presentation | HDHS_Proficiency_for_All.pdf |
| Contact | Steve Lavoie | slavoie@kidsrsu.org |
| ME | |
| Title | Getting Off on the Right Foot: Launching Freshmen Success |
| Description | The Freshman Teaming Program at Westbrook High School is purposefully designed to encourage student aspirations, promote interdisciplinary learning opportunities, and support the implementation of RTI and performance-based assessment. Benefits of the teaming program include measurable academic growth from eighth grade to ninth grade; documented quarterly academic progress resulting from RTI strategies; reduction in ninth-grade core-course failures; and a nearly 100% successful completion rate for rigorous exit performance criteria. During this session, participants will learn about the program, its impact on student learning, and how some of its key features and attributes might be incorporated into their schools. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 9:15 am |
| School(s) | Westbrook High School, Westbrook, Maine |
| Presenters | Tim Eisenhart (teacher), Brian Flynn (ninth-grade team leader, teacher), Jessica White (teacher) |
| Website | www.westbrookschools.org | Presentation | Westbrook_Presentation.pdf |
| Contact | Brian Flynn | flynnb@westbrookschools.org |
| NH | |
| Title | The Roadmap to Success: Competencies in the Classroom |
| Description | Eleven years ago, the competency system at Campbell High School was the first to be implemented in the state of New Hampshire. When the competency system was adopted, it helped the school create new learning opportunities and multiple pathways for all learners. Competencies allow for the curriculum to be broken down into distinct parts that more accurately gauge what students know and are able to do upon graduation. And competencies also help students prepare for success in the 21st century by fostering behaviors, attitudes, and higher-order thinking skills that are not only necessary, but expected, in today’s increasing globalized world. During this session, participants will learn what a competency is, how it impacts student learning and achievement, and how clearly defined learning expectations can help teachers better prepare students to excel in every area of life. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 9:15 am |
| School(s) | Campbell High School, Litchfield, New Hampshire |
| Presenters | Justin Ballou (teacher), Shawn Flynn (mathematics department curriculum facilitator), Linda Frost (science department curriculum facilitator), Robert Manseau (principal), Laurie Rothhaus (assistant principal) |
| Website | www.campbellhs.org | Presentation | Campbell_Presentation.pdf |
| Contact | Robert Manseau | rmanseau@litchfieldsd.org |
| NH | |
| Title | Keeping the “Person” in Personalization |
| Description | The concept of creating a personalized learning experience for every student is not new, and great teachers have been doing it for centuries. However, research on high-performing schools has revealed strategies and structures that, if purposefully chosen and systemically implemented, can enhance personalization and dramatically improve student engagement, knowledge acquisition, and educational outcomes. Due to its small size (150 students across grades 8-12), Great Bay eLearning Charter School is a supportive, close-knit community—still, we don’t leave individual attention to chance. In this breakout session, presenters will share the many strategies that Great Bay uses to enable and encourage personalization, while also inviting participants to share what they are doing in their schools and classrooms. Participants will leave with broader understanding of personalized education and a variety of concrete practices they can bring back to their schools. |
| Session | Thursday, March 22 | 3:45 pm + Friday, March 23 | 9:15 am |
| School(s) | Great Bay eLearning High School, Exeter, New Hampshire |
| Presenters | Eric Feldborg (dean of students), Lisa Hammond (teacher) |
| Website | www.gbecs.org | Presentation | GBeCS_Personalization_Presentation.pdf |
| Contact | Eric Feldborg | efeldborg@gbecs.org |
| NH | |
| Title | Own It! Moving from Teacher-Centered Instruction to Student-Centered Learning |
| Description | Q: How does a school create a student-centered learning environment? A: By closing the student-accountability gap and moving away from teacher-centered instruction and toward greater student ownership. Staff from Pittsfield Middle High School will describe how our school used its advisory program to increase student voice and ownership over the educational process, and how common planning time was used to support and align grade-level advisories. Participants will leave with a comprehensive overview of a high-impact advisory program, including how student-led conferences work, how personal learning plans can be set up, and how to make common planning time successful. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 10:45 am + 12:45 pm |
| School(s) | Pittsfield Middle High School, Pittsfield, New Hampshire |
| Presenters | Jessica Bickford (teacher), Ronda Fernald (teacher), Mary Ann Hatab (library specialist), Shawnda Hopkins (teacher), Jenny Keller (teacher), Susan McTague (teacher), William Mitchell (teacher) |
| Website | www.pittsfield-nh.com/pmhs | Contact | Bob Bickford | bbickford@pittsfield.k12.nh.us |
| RI | |
| Title | Transformation in Action: Lessons Learned from Central Falls High School |
| Description | School districts throughout New England are facing a complex challenge: dramatically improving low-performing high schools. Join teachers, students, parents, and administrators from Central Falls High School as they share insights into the challenges and successes of a school that is tackling systemic transformation head on. Participants will learn about the three strategic goals that guide our school’s improvement work and how to create a culture of high achievement that reflects current research, successful practices, and the characteristics of high-performing schools that serve high-need students. This presentation will discuss strategies used to establish standards for excellence in teaching, provide teachers with formal and informal feedback and professional development, address low graduation and high drop-out rates, create personalized support systems for students, and improve school culture by successfully engaging and mobilizing parents and community members. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 10:45 am + 12:45 pm |
| School(s) | Central Falls High School, Central Falls, Rhode Island |
| Presenters | Maria Cristina Betancur (parent), Victor Capellan (deputy superintendent for transformation), Carolyn Ferris (guidance counselor), Marcela Garces (teacher), Joshua Laplante (principal), Elizabeth Ochs (ELO coordinator) |
| Website | www.cfschools.net | Contact | Victor F. Capellan | capellanv@cfschools.net |
| RI | |
| Title | Surviving and Remaining Sane…While Implementing RTI |
| Description | Using the Global Best Practices self-assessment process, with additional support from the New England Secondary School Consortium and the Rhode Island Department of Education, our schools work together to implement a Response to Intervention and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support system designed to help struggling students and make sure they not only stay in school, but graduate prepared. Our schools learned that implementing successful interventions cannot wait until ninth grade, and that it requires a strong partnership and ongoing collaboration between the middle school and the high school. Participants will learn how to identify potential issues, overcome challenges, and work with teachers and support staff—using only existing resources—to build an intervention system that will accelerate learning and prepare all students for postsecondary learning, work, and adult life. |
| Session | Thursday, March 22 | 3:45 pm |
| School(s) | Ponaganset Middle School | Ponaganset High School, North Scituate, Rhode Island |
| Presenters | Sandra Nolan (principal, PHS), Patricia Marcotte (principal, PMS) |
| Website | www.fg.k12.ri.us | Presentation | Ponaganset_Presentation.pdf |
| Contact |
Sandra Nolan | snolan@fg.k12.ri.us
Patricia Marcotte | pmarcotte@fg.k12.ri.us |
| RI | |
| Title | Balancing Act: Holding Ourselves Accountable While Helping Everyone Get There |
| Description | School leaders often struggle to find a successful balance between accountability and capacity building—yet achieving this balance is absolutely critical to improving teaching and learning. Rhode Island was recently awarded the federal Race to the Top grant, which presented our school with both new challenges and new opportunities. Using Race to the Top support, proficiency-based graduation requirements, and the new Common Core State Standards, Smithfield High School established clear student learning outcomes that are aligned with instructional strategies, assessments, and professional development. Participants will learn about Smithfield’s school-wide action plan (“Plan on a Page”), the professional development our school provided to the faculty, and powerful strategies for increasing student achievement in ways that balance both accountability and capacity building. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 9:15 am + 10:45 am |
| School(s) | Smithfield High School, Smithfield, Rhode Island |
| Presenters | Daniel Kelley (principal), Alan Tenreiro (assistant principal), Renee Palazzo (assistant principal) |
| Website | www.shsri.org | Presentation | Smithfield_Presentation.pdf |
| Contact | Daniel Kelley | dkelley@smithfield-ps.org |
| VT | |
| Title | Making It Meaningful: Performance Assessment in Project-Based Learning |
| Description | When students tackle complex learning projects that require them to apply knowledge, solve challenging problems, and connect learning to real-world issues and contexts, performance-based assessments can demonstrate understanding to both evaluators and community audiences. Cabot School has initiated a project-based teaching and learning model in grades 7–12 that allows multiage groups to investigate problems through expert research, Socratic seminars, hands-on discovery, the arts, and community connections. Summative assessment is accomplished through individual or small-group demonstrations of learning—in many cases, community events—that use rubrics provided to students at the beginning of the project. Participants will view still and video footage of several performance assessments in action and learn how Cabot’s teaching teams and students have developed performance assessments that are supported by standards-based essential questions and rigorous learning opportunities. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 9:15 am + 10:45 am |
| School(s) | Cabot School, Cabot, Vermont |
| Presenters | Brian Boyes (teacher), Julia Hewitt (teacher), Jennifer Lindert (teacher), Dave Schilling (teacher), Karen Stewart (principal), Peter Stratman (teacher), and Students |
| Website | www.cabotarts.org | Contact | Karen Stewart | kstewart@cabotschool.org |
| VT | |
| Title | School-Based Academies: Personalizing Learning through Multiple Pathways |
| Description | As part of its transformation process, Essex High School made a commitment to supporting students, personalizing learning, and developing multiple pathways—all within a comprehensive high school model. One strategy was the creation of “academies” for students interested in either the arts or the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In 2013, our Academy of Visual and Performing Arts will enter its third year and our STEM Academy will enroll its first students. Working within the existing governance structure, Essex created integrated “schools within a school” to support student interests and aspirations through strategies such as seminars, capstone projects, master-teacher workshops, and career internships—all of which still allow students to maintain a sense of belonging in the larger school community. Essex educators will share their stories, successes, and struggles, and participants will learn about the leverage points we used to advance our work and the barriers our school overcame to develop and sustain our academies. |
| Session | Thursday, March 22 | 3:45 pm |
| School(s) | Essex High School, Essex, Vermont |
| Presenters | Kim Audette (STEM director), Julian Bradshaw (AVPA director), Amy Cole (curriculum director), Rob Reardon (principal) |
| Website | www.ccsuvt.org | Contact | Amy Cole | acole@ccsuvt.org |
| VT | |
| Title | One Student at a Time: Making Proficiency-Based Graduation Work |
| Description | At Big Picture South Burlington, we created a set of proficiency-based graduation requirements that use power standards and performance assessments to personalize instruction and make sure all students acquire the essential knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Today, every student graduates based solely on the competencies they can demonstrate. At our unique “school within a school,” students pursue an individualized curriculum that is built around their interests and aspirations, and that incorporate internships, college-level courses, independent projects, workshops, travel, and service-learning trips. Our proficiency-based graduation requirements ensure that our school provides a coherent educational continuum that maintains consistent learning expectations across the diverse learning experiences and pathways we offer. In this session, participants will not only learn about how we developed our standards and requirements, but they will leave with a roadmap for putting a proficiency-based graduation system into practice in their school. |
| Session | Friday, March 23 | 10:45 am + 12:45 pm |
| School(s) | South Burlington High School, South Burlington, Vermont |
| Presenters | Jason Cushner (program coordinator), Jim Shields (advisor), and Big Picture Students |
| Website | www.bigpicturesb.net |
| Material | so_burlington_combined_materials.pdf | Presentation | BigPicNESSC.pdf |
| Contact | Jason Cushner | jason.cushner@bigpicturesb.net |
NESSC PLENARY SESSIONS
FOCUSING OUR WORK: PROFICIENCY-BASED GRADUATION, PERSONALIZED LEARNING PATHWAYS, AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ACTION
To advance its mission, the NESSC is focusing on three critical leverage points that have the potential to reshape our education systems from state and local policy to school practice to the public’s understanding and perception of what a high school education can and should entail. While our states have made significant progress toward proficiency-based graduation decisions, flexible and personalized learning pathways, and new learner-centered accountability models, our work has really just begun. During this opening session, participants will have an opportunity to unpack each of these strategies, determine the implications for their improvement work, and consider the most important next steps for their districts, schools, and communities.
SESSION: Thursday, March 22 | 1:00 pm
PRESENTERS: Mark Kostin (NESSC Maine liaison and senior associate, Great Schools Partnership), David Ruff (executive director, Great Schools Partnership)
CONTACT: Mark Kostin| mkostin@greatschoolspartnership.org
MATERIALS: Presentation
STATE OF THE STATES: FROM VISION TO RESULTS
During this panel discussion, leaders from the U.S. Department of Education and the five NESSC state departments of education will share their visions for secondary education, and discuss the resources and initiatives of their departments that align with and support student-centered learning.
SESSION: Friday, March 23 | 8:15 am
PANELISTS: Barbara Beaudin (associate commissioner of education, Connecticut State Department of Education), Paul K. Leather (deputy commissioner of education, New Hampshire Department of Education), Sharon Lee (director of the Office of Multiple Pathways, Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education), Donald Siviski (superintendent of instruction, Maine Department of Education), Armando Vilaseca (commissioner of education, Vermont Department of Education), John White (deputy assistant secretary for rural outreach, U.S. Department of Education)
SESSION CONVENER: David Ruff | druff@greatschoolspartnership.org
MATERIALS: Presentation
NESSC PRESENTATIONS, FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2012
SELLING THE MISSION: PRACTICAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR SCHOOLS
School improvement can be hard work. But trying to communicate the rationale behind new ways of teaching or major organizational changes can make it seem even harder—particularly when sensible, proven, and even urgently needed changes are seen as extreme or risky to those outside the school walls. Parents, school boards, community leaders, and journalists are often the gatekeepers of successful reform, but they are rarely experts in education, teaching, or youth development. To sell them on the mission, school leaders need to become strong and persuasive communicators. This presentation will equip school leaders with practical guidance and techniques they can use to develop and deliver persuasive messaging to a variety of audiences. Participants will learn effective research-based framing techniques, how to control the narrative (rather than merely reacting after a crisis), and which tools can help advance your school’s educational mission while building a stronger and more supportive relationship with your community.
SESSION: Friday, March 23 | 12:45 pm
PRESENTERS: Stephen Abbott (director of communications, Great Schools Partnership)
CONTACT: Stephen Abbott | sabbott@greatschoolspartnership.org
PLANNING FOR ACTION
To reach the important student-learning goals we all want to achieve, close attention and careful thought need to be given to strategic planning for school improvement. And because no two schools or community contexts are alike, the most effective improvement plans are customized and grounded in a thorough assessment of capacity and readiness. During this session, participants will learn about NESSC tools designed to inform and support action planning, and about promising strategies that will help your school develop comprehensive, results-driven short- and long-term improvement plans.
SESSION: Friday, March 23 | 9:15 am
PRESENTERS: Thomas Alderman (interim director of secondary, CTE, and adult education, Vermont Department of Education), Alex MacPhail (senior associate, Great Schools Partnership)
CONTACT: Alex MacPhail | amacphail@greatschoolspartnership.org
MATERIALS:
A CONVERSATION ABOUT EDUCATOR EFFECTIVENESS: EMERGING POLICIES, BEST PRACTICES, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
One of the most significant and talked about education issues in recent months has been educator effectiveness, and schools across New England and the country have already begun to implement new evaluation models intended to address both individual and school effectiveness. During this session, participants will have an opportunity to learn about some of the early work in this area and engage in a conversation about preparing for and implementing practices designed—first and foremost—to support constructive principal and teacher development in schools looking to improve instruction and increase student aspirations, achievement, and attainment.
SESSION: Friday, March 23 | 10:45 am
PRESENTERS: Paul K. Leather (deputy commissioner of education, New Hampshire Department of Education), David Ruff (executive director, Great Schools Partnership)
CONTACT: David Ruff | druff@greatschoolspartnership.org
MATERIALS: Presentation