High School Reform

Norris School District

High School Reform and Rethinking the High School: Possible implications for Norris

As national reform efforts have rippled through pre-k-16 education, a specific focus is taking shape over the last several years: the high school. The lens of reform has zoomed in on the high school after being focused more directly at elementary schools five and ten years ago. Amidst all of the ideas for helping students attain higher levels of achievement than ever, some schools have demonstrated sustained excellence and garnered national attention. I believe Norris shares some of the characteristics of these schools, and that we can continue to learn from the example they have set.

Some of the most shining examples of successful high school include the federal No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon public high schools and schools that ACT has identified as those that “defy trends” by having more than half of their student population comprised of minority students yet over two thirds of all their students score at least 18 (well above average) or better on the ACT. The Blue Ribbon schools have at least 40% of their students from “disadvantaged” (i.e., poverty / language minority status) backgrounds and have shown dramatic improvement in student performance based on state assessment data. So these are schools that are dealing with a very challenging demographic, a population much different from ours, and have achieved excellence regardless. Consistent findings from these high schools indicate that high performing high schools share some very significant, key factors in their successful change efforts:

	They offer safe and welcoming environments for all their students. There is an “ethic of caring” that pervades the actions of teachers and staff.
	They set high standards for all students and offer a rigorous curriculum. ACT, NASSP, and the Gates Foundation have all advocated an increased emphasis on enhancing student enrollment in Advanced Placement courses and more intensive, rigorous academic experiences to prepare students for the challenges that they will confront at the postsecondary level. [Norris just added a dual credit AP course this fall in English. We are in the process of coordinating efforts with Southeast Community College to offer dual credit science courses beginning next fall.]
	These high schools relentlessly examine student achievement data to identify problem areas where specific instructional interventions are needed in order to improve performance. For instance, the Gates Foundation has profiled a network of Boston pilot high schools where a combination of improved assessment practices in reading comprehension and intensive faculty intervention strategies resulted in a 50% increase in the percent of students reading at grade level within one semester. This focus on data is something that is familiar to Norris teachers – we just spent October 16^th analyzing student achievement data as part of our school improvement cycle and working to identify student achievement goal targets.
	Because of their perpetual examination of data, these schools are able to offer timely interventions (they are able to offer help to students when they need it, not after they have been languishing in failure). [It is my belief that the best intervention structure Norris HS has in place now is the IAP (Individual Academic Period) time from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. daily. Students have done an excellent job of taking advantage of this time to get help from teachers – and teachers have done an excellent job of seeking out students to get additional instruction and support during this time.]

Do you have thoughts on what makes for an excellent American public high school? We’re always interested in knowing how we are doing and how we might do better to meet your student’s needs. Please drop me a line at john.skretta@norris160.org and we can continue the conversation!