Rethinking Resources for Student Success
New Paradigms for High-Performing Schools: Choices and Trade-offsTennessee McIntyre ClassMay 11, 2012
Education Resource Strategies 2Tennessee School Design Class
Source: ERS
High-performing schools shift the industrial age school paradigm in 4 ways
From teachers as widgets
To teaching teams with combined expertise and
differentiated responsibilities and rewards
From small one-size-fits-all class size models
To targeted individual attention to match
student need
From standard time blocks for all students and
subjects
To varied time matching student and teacher
needs
From school employees as sole provider To Making Every Minute Count
Education Resource Strategies 3Tennessee School Design Class
Source: ERS
High-performing schools are about team, not just individual performance
Collaborative planning
time
Formative assessment
s
School-based expert support
Deliberate assignments to teaching team
Each school’s specific
curricular,faculty, and
student needs
Education Resource Strategies 4Tennessee School Design Class
Compensation cost adjusted to District A areaSource: ERS District Aspen District Analysis FY 2009
Most districts spend little to reward increased teacher responsibility and contribution
Base
Education
Longevity
Responsibility & Results
Benefits
Rochester Northeast District A $-
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000
$80,000
$90,000
51% 42%
3% 7%
20%
27%2%
0% 25%
24%
Total Dollars per Teacher
$ p
er
tea
ch
er
District ABalanced work-force
District BSenior work-force
$78,232
$88,052
Education Resource Strategies 5Tennessee School Design Class
Hiring staff to fit school needs in terms of expertise, philosophy and schedule
Organizing teachers to grades and subjects—matching expert teachers to high need areas
Creating teacher teams that balance experience, training, and expertise to build internal capacity
Using all human resources flexibly and creatively to improve student achievement
Source: ERS
High-performing schools maximize human resources through hiring and assignment
Education Resource Strategies 6Tennessee School Design Class
Source: ERS Analysis
How does the mix of teachers’ experience and training match against the hiring needs of the school?
What type of teacher should the school hire?
Education Resource Strategies 7Tennessee School Design Class
Hiring staff to fit school needs in terms of expertise, philosophy and schedule
Organizing teachers to grades and subjects—matching expert teachers to high need areas
Creating teacher teams that balance experience, training, and expertise to build internal capacity
Using all human resources in school flexibly and creatively to improve student achievement
Source: ERS
High-performing schools maximize human resources within their buildings
Education Resource Strategies 8Tennessee School Design Class
ELA MATH
Grades% Proficient
& aboveLevel of Teacher
expertise % Proficient & above in math
Level of Teacher expertise
9 40% Low 44% Medium
10 46% Medium 42% Low
11 59% High 56% Medium
12 63% High 60% High
Source: ERS Analysis
Where are the high need areas in the school?
How should expert teachers be matched to high-need areas?
Education Resource Strategies 9Tennessee School Design Class
Hiring staff to fit school needs in terms of expertise, philosophy and schedule
Organizing teachers to grades and subjects—matching expert teachers to high need areas
Creating teacher teams that balance experience, training, and expertise to build internal capacity
Using all human resources in school flexibly and creatively to improve student achievement
Source: ERS
High-performing schools maximize human resources within their buildings
Education Resource Strategies 10Tennessee School Design Class
Grade level
TeacherYrs.
ExperienceLevel of
implementationEvaluation rating
1
A 2 Low Satisfactory
B 23 Medium Satisfactory
C 1 Low Unsatisfactory
2
D 8 High Satisfactory
E 4 High Satisfactory
F 13 High Satisfactory
3
G 25 Medium Satisfactory
H 32 Low Unsatisfactory
I 1 Low Not yet rated
Source: ERS
Which team of teachers has the greatest capacity?
How should teachers be teamed to build internal capacity?
Education Resource Strategies 11Tennessee School Design Class
Hiring staff to fit school needs in terms of expertise, philosophy and schedule
Organizing teachers to grades and subjects—matching expert teachers to high need areas
Creating teacher teams that balance experience, training, and expertise to build internal capacity
Using all human resources in school flexibly and creatively to improve student achievement
Source: ERS
High-performing schools maximize human resources within their buildings
Education Resource Strategies 12Tennessee School Design Class
Source: ERS
High-performing schools shift the industrial age school paradigm in 4 ways
From teachers as widgets
To teaching teams with combined expertise and
differentiated responsibilities and rewards
From small one-size-fits-all class size models
To targeted individual attention to match
student need
From standard time blocks for all students and
subjects
To varied time matching student and teacher
needs
From school employees as sole provider To Making Every Minute Count
Education Resource Strategies 13Tennessee School Design Class
Grades K-2 Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12
21 22 22 222225
2831
In this District Class Sizes are Far from Max-imum
and do not Vary by GradeAverage class size Contract max
Source: Elementary Grades Homeroom file Oct 2009; Includes elementary schools and K-8 schools (grades K0-5); excludes classes that are special ed 60%+, ELL 60%+; includes Advanced Work classes; excludes schools with Two-Way bilingual program; excludes classes with “mixed” grade (mainly due to teacher data NA). ERS Analysis.
Most districts have opportunities to strategically raise class size…
Education Resource Strategies 14Tennessee School Design Class
ELA
Fore
ign
Lang
uage
Mat
h
Scienc
e
Social S
tudies
Art/M
usic
Compu
ter Lite
racy
PE/Hea
lth
Vocat
iona
l/Car
eer
-
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
26 26 26 27 27 26 26 28 24 24
26 24 25 25 24
19
29
22
G6-8 G9-12
Source: ERS
Average GenEd Class Sizes by Subject
Cla
ss S
ize
…and to target class sizes to priority subjects and students
Core Classes Noncore Classes
Education Resource Strategies 15Tennessee School Design Class
District S
District M
District E
District B
District A
District C
District P
District R
District G
29
25 22
26
18
22
29
20 22
17 14 13 14 14
16 16
12 15
General Education Class Size versus Student-Teacher Ratio
ERS Estimated Average General Ed Class Size Average Total Student-to-Teacher Ratio
Source: ERS Analysis
Districts have more teaching staff, but use those FTEs for specialist positions outside of the core classroom
Education Resource Strategies 16Tennessee School Design Class
Source: ERS
A cycle of isolation and specialization pulls students with additional needs out of regular education classrooms
Large, diverse classes
Overextended teachers
Remove “problem” student from
classroom
Administration to coordinate, monitor special services
Resources and responsibility move outside regular
classroom
CurrentStructure of SWD & ELL services
Provide additional support:- Social services- Pull-out instruction
Education Resource Strategies 17Tennessee School Design Class
General Ed ELL SWD Resource SWD Sub Sep$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$45,000
$11,725.7 $15,230.4$19,949.1
$42,567.2
District Spending by Student Type2009-2010
LEP
Note: Excluded are all district Alternative/Adult schools. Sources: SY10 October enrollment, district budget as of 10/09. Excludes students who did not report; ELL includes those currently in programs, excludes students who opted-out. ERS Analysis.
Moving students into rigidly defined programs diverts dollars from early intervention and targeted small groups for all students
Enrollment: 37.8K 6.6K 5.4K 5.5K
Weight: 1.0 1.2 1.7 3.5
PovertyIncrement
Education Resource Strategies 18Tennessee School Design Class
Source: ERS
High-performing schools shift the industrial age school paradigm in 4 ways
From teachers as widgets
To teaching teams with combined expertise and
differentiated responsibilities and rewards
From small one-size-fits-all class size models
To targeted individual attention to match
student need
From standard time blocks for all students and
subjects
To varied time matching student and teacher
needs
From school employees as sole provider To Making Every Minute Count
Education Resource Strategies 19Tennessee School Design Class
Chicago
LA
Seattle
Milwaukee
Rochester
Baltimore
Philadelphia
Leading Edge schools
963
1080
1110
1120
1125
1138
1160
1170
1180
1200
1210
1250
1250
1260
1276
1476
Student Hours per Year
Sources: District figures are from Time and Attention in Urban High Schools: Lessons for School Systems (Frank, 2010) and from ERS analyses for the Aspen CFO network. Leading Edge school figures are from Shields, R. A., and K. H. Miles. 2008. Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools. Watertown, MA: Education Resource Strategies. Charter school figures are from The Boston Foundation report (May 2010) “Out of the Debate and Into the Schools.” ERS Analysis.
Many districts have an opportunity to increase instructional time by increasing the school day National Avg. =
1170
Education Resource Strategies 20Tennessee School Design Class
Source: ERS Analysis of district course file
But there is huge opportunity to make better use of existing time…by reducing unassigned or non-instructional time
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
12TH GRADE STUDENTS: RANGE IN UNASSIGNED TIME(As % of Total School Day)
Average = 12%
1/3 of 12th graders have <6% of their school day unassigned
1/3 of 12th graders have 6-
17% of their school day unassigned
1/3 of 12th graders have
17-40% of their school day unassigned
Education Resource Strategies 21Tennessee School Design Class
Source: ERS Analysis
…by varying time by grade and subject
ES 7-9 10-120%
10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%PE
Electives
Foreign Language
Science
Social Studies
Math
ELA
TYPICAL DISTRICT PERCENT OF STUDENT TIME
BY GRADE & SUBJECT
Education Resource Strategies 22Tennessee School Design Class
STUDENT A STUDENT B
Proficiency at end of 8th grade
Below proficient Below proficient
Semester-long math classes in grades 9-10
• Algebra 1A• Algebra 1B• Technical Math 1• Geometry
• Introductory Math• Introductory Math• Introductory Math
Cumulative investment $1,362 $1,341
Average investment per distinct class $341 $1,341
Status in grade 11 On track/college ready Dropped out
Source: ERS analysis of district data
…by matching instruction to student needs so that course time isn’t wastedBecause student B repeated the same course, this district invested
400% more per distinct math class in Student B, AND achieved a significantly worse outcome
Education Resource Strategies 23Tennessee School Design Class23
By taking on tough choices, schools can move toward transformed practice
For the same cost, a typical 25,000-student urban district can:
ERS’ District Reallocation Modeler (DREAM)
Reduce class sizes grades 4-12 by 2
Pay the top contributing 15% of teachers 10K more
OR
Give all teachers annual step increase
Allow benefits spending to increase
by 10%OR
Provide half-day pre-K for 50% of
Kindergarden students
Add 60 minutes of school day in the
25% lowest performing schools
OR
Education Resource Strategies 24Tennessee School Design Class
Educational vision and design come first
“All money is green”
Find your friends
Not all budget decisions are democratic
“Just say no”
Source: ERS
Lessons Learned
We can do anything we want, Just not everything
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