Planning for College and Career Readinessby Joe Garza, Superintendent, School District of New Berlin The term ‘College and Career Ready’ (CCR) means different things to different people. Without a shared understanding of what CCR means, we struggle to prioritize our work in alignment with that goal and/or to find meaningful measures that allow us to see the progress of our collective efforts. In an effort to create alignment between WHAT we are doing and WHY we are doing it, the School District of New Berlin chartered a College and Career Readiness Initiative to reframe the long term plans for the District in alignment with our “Vision of the Graduate”. In the School District of New Berlin, nearly 100% of our students will graduate with a high school diploma. Both of our high schools have been named the “Most Challenging” by the Washington Post and among the “Top 5 in the State of WI” by US News and World Report. 83% aspire to complete a baccalaureate degree. An additional 8% will aspire to complete a technical associate’s degree. Given the importance of completing a post-secondary education credential in today’s economy, our college going culture is clearly something we celebrate. However, as we took a deeper dive into the shared beliefs regarding College and Career Readiness, we realized we weren’t yet doing enough to ensure that all students were effectively positioned to navigate the worlds of higher education and employment which are both equally important to their future success in the projected economy. We reevaluated our stakeholder map, which had traditionally been internally focused. We engaged representatives from the environments our students will be transitioning to after high school to determine if our offerings were in fact aligned to their expectations. Suffice it to say, we learned a lot. We reviewed some sobering statistics regarding the post-secondary completion rates across the State of WI, the impact of demography on the projected workforce, the statewide concerns regarding the ‘skills gap’ (which also means different things to different people), the un/underemployment rates of young adults, and the trend to shift post-secondary education costs to students and their families. These statistics should concern all educators as we share a collective commitment to prepare students for future success. These statistics will impact all of us as increasing student debt and un/underemployment rates will certainly impact the State economy. We can’t solve the problem, but we can be part of the solution. Over the past 3 years, we have defined the “student experience” in the School District of New Berlin to include:
One of the perceived barriers to this work is the State’s accountability system. The current education system may appear to value performance on standardized testing above all else. Mastery of content is the easiest to measure and all organizations strive to do well on those things they are measured by. But we all know that performance on tests is not the most important indictor of future success. Consequently, we measure dispositions for success K-12 and report those to our students and their families. We define “college level work” more broadly than AP. We measure student engagement in learning activities that support our Vision of the Graduate. And we support those students who would be better served transitioning into adult apprenticeships. Another perceived barrier is funding. Every change comes with a cost and most costs need to be absorbed by operating budgets that are already allocated to other things. It is easy to say it is a matter of prioritization but much harder to make decisions to stop doing some things in order to take a new direction. This takes strong leadership. That is where you come in! Perhaps the greatest barrier to change is ‘initiative overload’. Staff is already pulled in many directions. Adding anything new can cause a tipping point that impacts district/building culture. It takes ongoing communication, guidance, and support to ensure that all staff understand how the different pieces fit together in support of your collective goals. Many local/county/regional/state efforts are so siloed it is hard to know if they are making a difference. We need to strive towards the development of shared objectives and shared accountability to increase the collective impact of all of our efforts for the benefit of our students and the environments we are preparing them for each and every day. You don’t have to have all of the answers to ensure that your efforts are aligned to the expectations for your students after they graduate. To identify gaps, start with a shared understanding of what a CCR graduate looks like in your community and ask your stakeholders for help to identify what you don’t already know. Laura Schmidt serves as my Strategic Advisor and has been helping me with this work in the School District of New Berlin. She will be presenting at the AWSA/WASDA Quality Educator Convention in June on my behalf. If you are interested in more details, check out session #306 Planning for College and Career Readiness and/or contact her at [email protected]. Back to Homepage |