Partnering with Charter Schools: Career Pathways

Trust and Beyond

Amy Blumberg James, MPAMatthew Wunder, Ed.D.

January 28, 2015

AGENDA

• Introduce Amy

• Background on charter schools in California

• Career Pathways Trust

• Introduce Matthew Wunder, Ed.D

• Case Study: Da Vinci Charter Schools

• How Charter Schools and WIBs can work together

• Questions and Answers

Amy Blumberg James

• Director, Legislative Affairs for CA Charter Schools Association

• Legislative Advocate for CA Workforce Association for 2 1/2 years

• 16 years experience in Public Policy arena

• MPA, University of Southern CA, BA from UC Santa Barbara

Charter Schools: Basic Facts

• CA was 2nd in nation to pass charter schools law: Charter Schools Act of 1992

• Currently 1184 charter schools in CA serving 548,000 students

• 10% of public school population

• 87 new charter schools opened in 2014-5 school year, 33 in Los Angeles region

Charter Schools

• Public Schools of Choice

• Serve ALL students

• Open Enrollment via lottery

• Managed by local educators, parents, community leaders

• Make decisions based on the best interest of their students and faculty

• Encourage parent involvement and participation

Charter Public Schools vs. Traditional Public Schools

• More flexibility for teachers, innovation in the classroom

• Accountable for student achievement but greater flexibility

• Charters are founded by community leaders, teachers, parents

• Must submit a charter school petition to local school board for approval, show strong academic and financial plan

Basic Facts continued

• Charters are granted for 5 years, charters must renew petition, show that students are successful or school will be closed

• Specific mission –focus on college preparation, Arts, STEM, closing the African American achievement gap

Where are charter schools in CA?

• Los Angeles - 31.95%

• Bay Area – 20.73%

• Sacramento – 9.09%

• San Diego – 10.37%

Academic Performance & Demand

• Some of top performing high schools in CA are charter schools

• Academic Achievement is higher for students with similar demographics in charters vs. traditional public schools

• 91,000 students on waiting lists across the state • More schools and seats needed to fill demand

CCSA

• Founded in 2003

• Vision: Increasing student learning by growing the # of families choosing high quality charter schools so that no child is denied the right to a great education

• Mission: A million students attending charter public schools by 2022 with charter public schools outperforming non- charter public schools on every measure

CCSA’s role

• Advocacy organization

• Builds the policy environment needed to grow as quickly as possible the # of student attending quality public schools

Who cares? How does this relate to workforce development?

• Shared mission of youth/student success in college and in life

• Preparation for 21st Century economy, innovations in the classroom

• Charter schools have longer school years, increased school hours to ensure academic achievement

• Partnership opportunities – Charter schools are LEAs

Career Pathways Trust

• Funding for development of (K–14) career pathways programs connect businesses, (K–12) schools, community colleges together to better prepare students for the 21st century workplace

• $250 million in 2014-15 and 2015-16

• Application process nearly complete/Planning for next year

• Consortium grant due January 9

• Implementation grant due February 6

Matthew Wunder, Ed.D.

• CEO, founder of Da Vinci Charter Schools

• 25 years of experience as a teacher, counselor, principal

• Teaches at Loyola Marymount University, serves on various boards

• Interested in preparing students for college completion, 21st century jobs, leveraging resources to provide better outcomes for kids

Who We Are

Da Vinci Communications

Da Vinci Design

Da Vinci Science

Da Vinci Innovation Academy (K-8)

Career-Focused Pathways

Blending college preparedness and real-world readiness aligned to workforce needs

Da Vinci ScienceEngineering

Da Vinci DesignArchitectureGraphic Design

Da Vinci CommunicationsComputer ScienceMedia Communications

Da Vinci Signature Programs & Practices

Small School Culture Real-World, Project-Based Learning aligned

with the needs of future employers A focus on 21st century skills Industry & Higher Education Partnerships Early College / Dual Enrollment Work Experience Program Habits of Heart & Mind

4-Year Course Sequence – Da Vinci Schools

9th Grade

English 9CompositionPhysicsMathForeign LanguagePathwaysSeminar 1Seminar 2

10th Grade

English 10World HistoryChemistryMathForeign LanguagePathwaysSeminar 1Seminar 2 11th Grade

English 11US HistoryBiologyMathForeign LanguagePathwaysSeminar 1Seminar 2

12th Grade

English 12Government/EconomicsAnatomy/Psychology or Advanced PhysicsMathPathwaysSeminar 1Seminar 2

Demographics & Results

Total enrollment = 1,448 students from 82 zip codes 98% completed UC/CSU admissions requirements (Class of 2014) 84% accepted to 4-year universities (Class of 2014) Acceptances to every UC, CSU, and MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale,

Dartmouth, and many other private and public institutions

How do we define success in education?

Da Vinci students will graduate as collaborative, informed, resourceful and reflective individuals who are college-ready, career-prepared, and community-minded.

Our Vision

What We Value

Create a collaborative learning environment where students and adults feel safe, are known well, and feel valued

Empower students to be self-directed, think critically, and solve complex problems

Encourage students to do their best work and to know they can do hard things

Bring students to the real-world and the real-world to the classroom. Make learning relevant and engaging, but to also answer the question before it is asked: Why do I need to know this?

Students ought to learn in school what they need to know when they get out of school

Endeavor to help students discover their talents and passions, while developing the habit of grit and a growth mindset

3 million unfilled jobs across the country because applicants don't have the skills employers need (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics/NY Times)

41% of college graduates from the past two years are underemployed or unemployed (Source: Accenture)

Only 8.3 % of low-income students have earned a bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s (Source: KIPP College Completion Report)

47% of jobs in California are middle-skill, but only an estimated 38% of workers are trained for middle-skill jobs (Source: America's Edge report)

By 2025, California will have a workforce shortage of 1 million college graduates (Source: America's Edge report)

$35,200 per graduate in college-related debt (Source: CNN Money 2013)

23% of U.S. children are living in poverty (Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation)

The Education to Employment Crisis

Broken Pipeline to Good Jobs

“I could not see how college mapped to my future, so I dropped out and self-educated.”

—Scott Banister, highly successful student & entrepreneur

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

College

Career & Jobs

Our Partners & Supporters (partial list)

How We Partner With Industry

Guest speakers Project planning & support Curriculum development Pathways planning & design Professional partner visits Internships / Work Experience Job shadows Field trips Mentoring & coaching Co-teaching of seminars Professional development Volunteer support In-kind donations Direct funding

Partnerships + Collaborations

SpaceX

Karten Design Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX

DIRECTV

Northrop Grumman

CA Career Pathways Trust – Da Vinci Schools

Serving as a best practice demonstration site and hosting teacher professional development as part of the first round of CCPT funding, in partnership with LAUSD.

Submitting a grant application for round 2 of CCPT funding as the lead agency.

Lessons Learned

Submitting a CCPT grant isa huge undertaking

Process is not friendly toward smaller LEAs and charter schools that do not have the infrastructure and partnerships in place

Prescriptive, all-inclusive nature of CCPT grant does not foster innovative strategies, outside the box thinking. Rigid requirements of RFP could stifle creative approaches that achieve the same or better outcomes

DV College Program – A Dual Track Approach

Combining rigorous college academics with on-the-job workplace training

13th year of high school focused on two concurrent pathways:

(1) fulfillment of GE lower-division coursework leading to an IGETC transfer degree or AA/AS (2) career-preparation through structured workplace experiences

Higher Ed Partners: UCLA Extension, Antioch Univ. LA, El Camino College

Industry Partners: Belkin, Northrop, Wells Fargo, and more

Early College / Dual Enrollment Program

El Camino College 5 PLTW classes for dual credit 3 PLTW classes for elective credit Classes are co-taught by DV teachers

and industry professionals

Antioch University LA 10 classes for dual credit Classes taught by DV teachers as

adjunct professors

UCLA Extension – Starting Fall 2015 Classes delivered online with additional

support and PBL curriculum through DV

Da Vinci Schools - Strategic Initiatives

1. Disseminationo Campus Visits / Professional Development Workshopso PD Instituteo Online Resource Bank

2. College Completiono Early College courseworko DV College Program

3. Real World Learningo Work Experience Programo Industry/Business Internshipso Digital Badging

Partnership Opportunities

• Future CCPT grants

• Ongoing community efforts

• Legislation

• Network with like minded individuals at CCSA conference March 17 – 19 in Sacramento

• Credit recovery/High School Diploma/GED programs

Career Technical Education Grants

• $250 million Proposition 98 General Fund in next 3 years for incentive grants to school districts, county offices of education, charter schools

• Required 1 to 1 matching funds, long term commitment to ‑ ‑ ‑support CTE with a plan to continue the program after grant funds expire with LCFF allocations or other local funding resources

• Priority given to entities who apply in partnership with other districts or providers to offer regional programs

We love visitors!

Da Vinci Schools13500 Aviation Blvd.Hawthorne, CA 90250(310) 725-5800 mainmatt@davincischools.orgwww.davincischools.org

Thank You

Amy Blumberg ablumberg@calcharters.org (916) 215-3421 www.calcharters.org

Matthew Wundermatt@davincischools.org

(310) 725-5800 mainwww.davincischools.org