Diplomas Now
Keeping Every Student on the Path to High School
Graduation, College Readiness and Adult Success
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Investing in Innovation (i3) winner
Diplomas Now: Comprehensive Approach
to School Improvement
Organizational Supports
Instructional Supports
• Inter-disciplinary and subject focused
common planning time
• Bi-weekly EWI meetings
• On-site school transformation facilitator
• Double dose math & English
• Extra help labs
• Common college preparatory or high
school readiness curricula
Teacher Team
Professional Development
Supports
Shared
Cohort of
students
• Job-embedded coaching - Math and
English instructional coaches
• Professional learning community
• Professional development linked to
grade/subject specific instructional
practice
Data Supports
• Easy access to student data on the
Early Warning Indicators
• Benchmarks tied to national and state
standards
• On-site facilitator to leverage EWI
data
Student Supports
Multi Tiered Response to Intervention Model
• 10 to 15 City Year AmeriCorps members: whole
school and targeted academic and socioemotional supports
• Communities In Schools on-site coordinator:
case managed supports for highest need students
Interventions to address early
warning indicators of
• Attendance
• Behavior
• Course Performance
• Whole school attendance,
positive behavior, collegegoing culture
• Strengthening student
resiliency
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Diplomas Now provides the range and intensity of supports
required in the nation’s most challenged secondary schools
• Whole School Reform
• City Year Corps Members
• Case Management
Core Function
Whole School
DN High School
or Middle School
• Early Warning System
• On-site coordination
Supporting all students
to graduation and
college readiness
Means and Methods
• Structure, instruction teacher support and student support
• Track the Early Warning Indicators (Attendance, Behavior, Course
Performance)
• Scheduling, staffing and budget supports
Targeted Supports
• Young adult AmeriCorps members to ”nag and nurture” students to
success
• 8-15 full-time, full-day City Year Corps members serving as nearpeer role models to mentor, tutor, provide behavior and attendance
coaching and extended day learning
Intensive Supports
• School-based professional Site Coordinator
• Targets the highest need students with intensive case management
and referral to outside agencies where needed.
• Brokered services through CIS partners
School Lead
• Provision of English and math coaches at each DN school
• Monthly implementation review with Diplomas Now team
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Diplomas NowInvesting in Innovation Fund Winner
1,700 Applicants
49 Grantees
• $30M federal grant + $6M match through generous support of the
PepsiCo foundation
Investing in
Innovation (i3)
• 60 schools in 10+ districts reaching 57,000 students
• Conduct randomized experimental study validating the impact of
the model, and focusing on the conditions necessary to:
 Achieve 80% grad rates in high schools
 Reduce by 66% the number of students entering high school
below grade level
District Partners
Chicago Public Schools, Detroit Public Schools, Los Angeles Unified School District, Miami-Dade Public Schools, Louisiana Recovery
School District, School District of Philadelphia, New York City Department of Education, District of Columbia Public Schools,
Seattle Public Schools, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, Northeast Independent School District (TX), Richland County School
District One (SC), Southwest Independent School District (TX) , San Antonio Independent School District (TX), Whitehall City
School District (OH)
“Cutting-edge ideas
that will produce the
next generation for
reform.”
- Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan
Other Partners
State Departments of Education of Louisiana, South Carolina and New York, Union Park High Schools, Deloitte Consulting,
School Loop, Pearson PreVent, the City of Philadelphia.
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Diplomas Now Partnership Model
Diplomas Now partners with schools to align school organization, human capital,
professional development, curriculum enhancement and an early warning system to
meet the needs of all students, increasing the effectiveness and capacity of schools to
bolster student achievement and school success.
School Organization
•
Teacher teaming with common planning time for
teacher teams to discuss EWI data and
interventions
•
Strong whole school elements including:
– School-wide climate and attendance
initiatives
Early Warning Indicator and
Tiered Intervention
•
On-Site Talent Development School
Transformation Facilitator for EWI data
and intervention management and analysis,
teacher team facilitation, and intervention
integration and support
•
City Year team of 8 -18 corps members to
provide school-wide and targeted
interventions
•
CIS On-site coordinator to provide case
management and integrated student
supports
– HS Readiness Curriculum
– Extra-help courses
– Instructional Coaches/Job-Embedded
Professional Development
– Extended Learning Time/School Day
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Talent Development Secondary
Four Pillars & Core Components
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Talent Development High School
Curriculum and Instruction
Freshman
Sophomore
Strategic
Reading
ALFA LAB
Reading and
Writing in Your
Career
College Prep
Reading and
Writing
Transition to
Advanced
Mathematics
Geometry
Foundations
Algebra II
Foundations
Freshman
Seminar
Career Academy
Blended
Mathematics
Career Academy
Blended
Mathematics
Junior
Senior
Career Academy
Blended
Mathematics
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Talent Development Middle School
Curriculum and Instruction
Social
Studies
Climate &
Character
(district
program)
FOSS & STC
science
support
Hakim’s
History of US
High Five As
& Bs Climate
Program
TD
Writing
Program
Transition
Math &
Algebra
Hakim’s
Story of
Science
District
program
support
Mastering the
Middle Grades
curriculum
Savvy
Readers’
Lab
Math
Acceleration
Lab
ELA
Student
Team
Literature
Math
Everyday
Math
Science
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Early Warning Indicator Meetings
Goal: To coordinate and create interventions for students who are exhibiting early
warning indicators and to closely monitor their progress so that students are successful.
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Diplomas Now Results
Philadelphia, PA
Below are the results Diplomas Now was able to achieve in partnership with four high poverty schools
in Philadelphia during the 2010-11 school year. Aggregate results shown for Feltonville, Cooke and
Marshall middle schools and Overbrook high school.
Course
Diplomas
Now Results:Behavior
Continuing Progress
Attendance
Performance
# of Off-track students
in Attendance*
47%
decrease
200
40
0
78%
decrease
100
0
June 2010
June 2011
# of Students Failing
Math and English
Math
40
0
June 2010
*Off-track in attendance defined as students with below 80% attendance. ** Off-track in behavior defined as 3 or more negative behavior comments in a marking period.
June 2011
76%
decrease
80
# of Students
# of Students
80
# of Students
# of Off-track students
in Behavior**
English
65%
decrease
June 2010
June 2011
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National Evaluation: Overview
Key aspects of national i3 initiative
Identify some of the most promising school improvement initiatives
Provide support for them to scale up nationally
Research their effectiveness using the most rigorous
methodologies available
Document lessons learned about implementation during the
scale-up process
Publicize study results to influence national and state policy
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National Evaluation: Research Design
Study will compare student outcomes in schools that implement
DN to student outcomes in schools that do not.
Assignment to these groups is accomplished through randomization.
Eligible schools are assigned DN or Non-DN status via a lottery:
- DN schools implement the DN model
- Non-DN schools pursue any other school reform initiatives
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Diplomas Now Required Components
For both middle and high schools:
•All Diplomas Now core staffing elements (Talent Development school transformation facilitator, team of City Year corps
members, Communities In Schools on-site coordinator)
•Staffing model that supports interdisciplinary teacher teams with common planning time during the professional
day (both in interdisciplinary team and vertical subject-area professional learning communities)
•College preparatory/high school readiness (middle grades) evidence based core academic curricula in math,
language arts, science, and social studies
•Full-time, school-based ELA and Math coaches
•Evidence-based accelerated learning extra-help classes in math and English for all students who need them.
•School success courses - Freshmen Seminar (HS), Mastering Middle Grades (MS)
•School wide attendance, positive behavior and school climate and culture programs
•Extended day programs
•At least bi-weekly EWI Meetings attended by teacher teams, and DN partners / student support staff
•Appropriate access to student information systems to facilitate creation of Early Warning Indicator and
benchmark assessments reports
•Johns Hopkins School-Family-Community (NNPS) program
•Diplomas Now partners participation on school leadership team, sign off on school schedule , Diplomas Now
model is central to school improvement plan
•A monthly implementation review meeting with district leadership
For high schools only:
•4x4 block schedule (Four extended learning periods or four periods and one enrichment, elective period)
•Small learning communities with dedicated administrators and counselors (9th Grade Academy and 2 or more thematic
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academies for grades 10-12)
Talent Development
Organizational Reforms
Small Learning Communities
Teacher Teams
Early Warning Indicator Meetings
Common Planning Time
4x4 Block Schedule (high school)
Extend Time Literacy & Numeracy Courses
(middle school)
 Climate
 Twilight School (high school)
 Distributive Leadership






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Communities In Schools
.
ABC/Focus
List
Students
STUDENT OUTCOMES
The Communities In Schools
Model & Diplomas Now:
•
Provide annual school- and student-level
plans for delivery of prevention and
intervention services.
•
Utilize school-based case manager
concept to ensure appropriate delivery
of prevention and intervention services.
•
Broker services through CIS partners
Improved Attendance
Improved Behavior
Improved Academic /Course
Performance
Student
Supports
= Grade Promotion/Stay In
Schools/Graduation Rates
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City Year’s Whole School Whole Child model
Tiers of Impact
Whole School
Prevention
Classroom
Support
Targeted
Support
• School climate, attendance, positive
behavior and enrichment programs
• Family engagement
• Enable differentiated instruction
• Reinforced classroom learning
• For hundreds of students in school
• Academic and socio-emotional
Corps Member Assets
• Critical mass of people power
• Diverse “near peer” role models
and tutors
• Full-time and extended day
• Idealistic culture/energy
• Real-time response to need
Improved student Attendance, Behavior and Course Performance: English & Math
Improved on-time grade progression
Student mindset and skills for school achievement and civic participation
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Diplomas Now Partnership Process
District Partnership
Create Framework for Partnership
Align DN model to District Vision and Strategy for Turnaround Schools
Establish Initial Financial Framework (Costs, Revenue Streams)
Sign letter of intent for I3 study
• Awareness presentations and discussions around alignment of model to
school’s mission and vision
• Discussions with MDRC about the I3 study and lottery process
• Review of baseline data
• Follow-up conversations with school leadership and other critical
stakeholders (including school visits)
March
Awareness/Discovery for School Leadership
Commitment
• Final revisions and sign-off on budget
• Finalize letter of intent with school names
• MDRC conducts lottery
Initial Implementation Planning
•
•
•
•
Partner school staff awareness and joint planning
School schedule and staffing analysis
Curriculum alignment
Data collection and information gathering
April/
May
•
•
•
•
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EWI SPREADSHEET TRACKER
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