Pathway Design Plan
A Template for Creating a Linked Learning Pathway
Pathway Name: Health Sciences
School: Medicine and Community Health Academy
District: Detroit Public Schools
m
t
College &
Career Ready
Student
This guide is a pathway and school resource.
1.1 Who’s on your pathway design team? (Include name, title, and organization)
The team is comprised of the following stakeholders: MCH staff: Michele Parker (Principal), Robert
Donoghue (Counselor) and teachers; Jenna Tucker, Matthew Kautz, Jumoke Kayode, Andrea Ewasek,
Alise Zirilli, consultant Mary Kovari, and LL coach, Shug Brandell. Pathway partners are represented
on the Champions Council which was originally convened by United Way of Southeast Michigan
(UWSEMI) and those members include: Annette Grays, Director, UWSEMI; Rodney Cole Sr., DTE;
Anika Corbett, Children’s Hospital of Michigan DMCH; Lynn Burdell, Don Bosco Community Center;
Tamre Davis, Blue Cross Blue Shield; Dr. John Seeley, MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.
In order to reach out to all local resources, we are in the process of identifying key individuals from
local two and four year colleges, technical schools, and community health non-profits regarding
preparation/requirements for their certificate programs or jobs with the intent of recruiting them to serve
on our Advisory Board/Champions Council. Specifically, we are seeking out Henry Ford Community
College (HFCC) and Wayne County Community College (WCCC) for dual-enrollment and concurrentenrollment for furthering the pursuit of technical certifications and/or college credits. We do not have
any students dually enrolled at HFCC.
What role will each person play?
Roles will vary depending on various tasks but generally, Coach Shug Brandell, Consultant and Project
Leader Mary Kovari, and Principal Michelle Parker will facilitate. The leadership team
is meeting biweekly but in the future will meet weekly to design, implement, and assess various aspects
of the academic and social curriculum. The team will engage stakeholders by convening the Champions
Council monthly to seek their input and feedback regarding the goals and outcomes of the initiative.
Specific roles are:
 Donoghue- Career Shadowing/Internship Oversight Work-based Learning Experiences, and
Technical Program (Career Certification, Health-Science/Careers Pathway Courses, DualEnrollment), college readiness
 Ewasek- Recorder/archivist, Technical Program (Career Certification, Health-Science/Careers
Pathway Courses, Dual-Enrollment), and science representative
 Hawkins- Student support, academic interventions, math representative
 Zirilli- Advisory Curriculum and Technical Programs
 Tucker- Science representative, Academic curriculum and integrated disciplinary approach
 Kautz- ELA, academic interventions, Academic curriculum and Integrated Disciplinary
Approach
The Champions Council is the group of pathway partners that have been a part of the school’s advisory
team since its inception more than four years ago. The Council was convened by Annette Grays of the
United Way of SE Michigan. We are continuing to work with nonprofit Healthcare partners and expand
the membership of Advisory Board/Champions Council to develop procedures for job shadowing,
internships, and career opportunities upon graduation.
Up to this point in time, the role of Champions Council members has been to provide a number of
services for the students ranging from tutoring, mentoring, job shadowing, health fair conferences,
internships, to summer work experiences. They also provide information regarding the health careers.
2
With MCH entering the NAF Year of Planning, the role of Champions Council will be re-examined as
we establish the Advisory Board as defined by NAF. The inter-relationship and interdependence of
these two structures of support in relationship to the Design Team will be developed this year.
1.2 What is your pathway’s vision and mission? How will the experience for students be different
as a result?
OUR MISSION STATEMENTThe staff at Medicine and Community Health Academy (MCH) is committed to creating a community
of inquisitive learners who graduate ready for college and work.
To reach this goal, Medicine and Community Health Academy will ensure for each student:
 A four-year curriculum aligned with the field of Health Sciences, supported by inquiry based
learning
 A variety of interdisciplinary projects to promote health and fitness consistent with our school's
theme
 A friendly, respectful and collaborative environment
 A system of classroom guidance, individual student planning, responsive services, and support
 An extended network of field related partners who will expose the students to real world health
care situations
OUR SHARED VISION
We hold ourselves accountable for ensuring that our graduates:
 Meet the State of Michigan Graduation Requirements in four years
 Achieve a 17 or higher on the ACT college Entrance Exam
 Complete a health related internship with a grade of "B" or better, evaluated by their site
supervisor
Vision Statement
Medicine and Community Health Academy establishes connections with the community, family,
and, most important, the student. Our school has an established advisory program that pairs students
with a staff advisor, who assists the student in the school regarding class work, personal behavior, and
exploring post-secondary options. Medicine and Community Health Academy aims to serve students a
college-aligned, rigorous curriculum that prepares students for college and Medicine and Community
Health career pathways. Through our students’ matriculation, they delve into inquiry based learning,
including, hands-on labs in Science classrooms, analysis of real world data in Math courses, extensive
research projects in the English classroom, and legal case studies in the Social Studies classroom.
Furthermore, MCH requires four years of science that is foundational to the medicinal and community
health field. Our school works to unify the student’s learning with interdisciplinary lessons and projects,
so students actively learn. This culminates in students connecting with one of our many local partners to
serve an internship in the Medicine and Community health pathway.
Our long-term goal for student success includes students who are professional both in look and
demeanor, many wearing hospital scrubs and laboratory coats, moving pointedly with textbooks and
electronic devices that serve as bridges to knowledge. These students would be attending classes on
topics such as “Osteopathic Biology” which is taught in tandem with a “Scientific Research Writing”
class. Some students would be seen leaving the building to get on a bus to spend their afternoon
shadowing or interning at Detroit Medical Center Children’s Hospital. However, many of those same
students may return later, to participate in dual-enrollment class, either on campus or off, pertaining to
the medical and community health fields. Whether it is nursing, practicing medicine, working as a
3
pharmacist, or any other medical field position, these courses will provide students the experience
necessary to be competitive applicants for college programs as well as jobs. Students will use an
Educational Development Plan to continue pursuit of their chosen medical field. Upon graduation,
students will be aided in enrolling in post-secondary education and tracked to monitor career progress
longitudinally. MCH graduates will be enrolled in 2 and 4 year Higher Education Institutions. Many will
have jobs in health-career related fields.
Our vision and purpose is compelling and the pathway experiences for students will be different in the
following ways:

The most prevalent factor in drop-out rates for students is lack of school involvement. Many
students do not feel a personal or career connection to their class load.

Having a clearly designed and visible system of pathways to success helps our students receive
immediate feedback and rewards that they can relate to their personal goals. For example, having a class
that students know is the first part in a series of courses that could lead to a certification in a medical
field will motivate them to see clear long-term and short-term objectives.

When students know they are participating in a lab for a procedure that they saw demonstrated at
the local veterinary clinic, there is no assumption of ambiguity. The lesson and its academic and
technical components combine to exhibit real-world skills that have value.

Project Healthy Schools is another partnership with University of Michigan School of Public
Health, which will help address the issue of obesity in the school and the community. Students will be
designing a project to work in his/her own community engaging that student in learning all the academic
skills necessary to succeed in a meaningful, real-world project.
1.3
What is your pathway theme and how was it chosen? What type of students will it attract?
How will the theme link to the students’ lives and interests? What business and college partners
are possible?
The Medicine and Community Health Academy theme reflects the original school design plan regarding
the offering of a traditional high school academic plan enhanced by a focus on Medicine and Mental
Health curriculum and partnerships. Furthermore, college and career ready students from this pathway
will find ample opportunities in the strong career prospects pertaining to healthcare and related job
sectors.
MCH will continue to attract both neighborhood and out-of-area students interested in Healthcare
related career pathways. Motivated, career-driven, students interested in the helping professions will
find great reward in both our traditional and non-traditional learning opportunities.
Student's lives and interests will be strongly reflected in the Medical and Mental Health Pathways
through bridging interest, values, and aptitude surveys that will help drive student motivation and choice
towards elected courses and pathways opportunities. All students will have a personalized Educational
Development Plan. This plan will include information from student academic data, as well as personal
reflection, career readiness, and college exploration. The EDP drives research and refinement of students
post-secondary choices as they navigate both school and field-based learning opportunities.
To support authentic and pragmatic student learning, career exploration, including interviews, jobshadowing, and internships will be a large part of the MCH student experience. Accordingly, relevant
business and college partners will reflect the Medicine and Mental Health focus of our pathway design.
4
The MCH Champions Council is comprised of many like-minded partners including Blue Cross Blue
Shield, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Don Bosco Community Center, MSU College of Osteopathic
Medicine, Wayne County Community College, and other professional organizations further detailed in
the section identifying the MCH Advisory Committee.
The pathway theme for Medicine and Community Health Academy is implied in its name, but is
comprehensive enough to include careers that not only support the Health Care field but also includes
scientific research, information management, policy and advocacy roles, and Fitness/Wellness careers.
It connects to stakeholder groups by: student interest, staff experience and expertise,
community/business support, and future employment potential. Students will complete an interest
survey to identify their aptitudes and attitudes related to the various opportunities in the pathway. Staff
experience and expertise will be explored and documented through a review of their vitae and personal
interviews. Community/business support has already been assessed in many ways through the
Champions Council but the ConnectEd and NAF guidelines and tools for engaging industry sector
support will be incorporated. We also plan to pursue Project Lead the Way to introduce more technical
and hands on coursework for the students. Future employment potential in the Health related field has
been well documented in recent years nationally as well as locally and affirmed by the current partners.
The process to provide opportunities for students to learn about the many career possibilities and also to
provide them time to select an area to focus on in more depth will begin in the 9th grade Seminar with
the ConnectEd Career Explorations unit. The Educational Development Plan helps students track
specific career research and survey data that will help them set goals which they will revisit several
times over the course of each year. Students will track personal goals and progress towards exploring a
variety of career and post-secondary options while narrowing their focus as they progress up through the
grades. A few strands for 11th and 12th grade, such as medical, public health, biomedical research will
be offered so that students may pick one, and teachers will have aligned courses and curriculum to fit the
strands. Elective options will provide for students to choose from a variety of courses relating to health
career fields and specializations such as research, health, and medical engineering as they enter into the
upper grade levels. Out-of-class learning experiences, such as internships and job shadowing, will be
selected to align with student choices.
1.4 What are your pathway-level college and career ready learning outcomes?
MCH Graduate Profile
Attributes
Think critically and employ
effective problem solving
strategies
Collaborate effectively with
diverse groups and
demonstrated cultural
awareness
Apply technical skills when
managing information and
utilizing digital media
Student Learning Health Care Pathway Outcomes
Choose a topic to research and design innovative solutions for the
health challenges of the 21st century. Findings will be presented in
a research report/exhibition Use the scientific method to design
experiments based in real practices and report out findings in a
professional format.
Gain consensus for the resolution of differing opinions and positions
when it relates to ethical issues especially concerning issues with
HIPAA
Build collaborative relationships with a diverse group of colleagues
and customers. Collaborate with peers in a respectful and
professional manner both in the classroom & during internships.
Employ current and emerging technology in several different
settings, when necessary including proficient use of Word
Powerpoint and Excel. Present findings using technology in a
professional manner.
5
Communicate effectively when
listening, speaking and writing
Show creativity & support
innovation
Provide competent leadership
and self-management with
strong organizational skills
Demonstrate adaptability,
responsibility, & ethical
behavior in fulfilling adult roles
Participate in the global world
of civics, work and ongoing
education
Present a portfolio of their EDP and evidence of college and career
readiness regarding their chosen field. Identify career possibilities
and presents career research paper/presentation at Student Led
Conference.
Exhibit the appropriate behaviors and conforms to the conventions
of their chosen field. Comprehend verbal, written, and visual
information and instructions; listen effectively; observe non-verbal
communication.
Use interdisciplinary investigative methods, develop articulate, wellreasoned, persuasive arguments in support of public policy options
or positions in current issues in healthcare.
Exhibit the appropriate behaviors and conforms to the conventions
of their chosen field. Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in
work.
Exhibit the appropriate behaviors and conforms to the conventions
of their chosen field. Take initiative and is able to work
independently as needed; look for the means to solve problems
actively; seek out new knowledge and skills relating to health-care
advancements; continually monitor his/her own learning needs;
learn from his/her mistakes; and seek information about related
career options and postsecondary training.
Exhibit the appropriate behaviors and conforms to the conventions
of their chosen field. Manage time effectively; is punctual; take
responsibility; prioritize tasks; bring tasks and projects to
completion.
Build collaborative relationships with a diverse group of colleagues
and customers. Negotiate and manage conflicts and learn from and
work collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures,
races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles and viewpoints.
1.5 Provide a list of your business and community Advisory Committee.
Pathway partners are represented on the Champions Council/Advisory Committee which was
originally convened by United Way of Southeast Michigan (UWSEMI) and those members include:
Annette Grays, Director, UWSEMI; Rodney Cole Sr., DTE; Anika Corbett, Children’s Hospital of
Michigan DMCH; Lynn Burdell, Don Bosco Community Center; Tamre Davis, Blue Cross Blue
Shield; Dr. John Seeley, MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. These local community members
who work in health care/public health/ etc. will be in an advisory role and play two functions:
provide models for students and engage the school more deeply with the community it serves.
Partners
DTE
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Children’s Hospital of
Michigan
MSU/COM
Junior Achievement
Don Bosco
Boys/Girls Club
What is the service?
COM summer experience
Health Care Conference, Career
Day
Instructional Materials, Health Care
Conference
Summer experience
Materials for economics class,
various field trips, male mentors
Mentoring, Health and fitness day
Health and Fitness Day
Who gets the service?
Selected students
All students (attending the
conference)
All students (attending the
conference)
Selected students
Male students, 10th grade students
9th grade female and male students,
All students
6
WCCC
Project Healthy Schools
UM
United Way
Women of Tomorrow
Teach 4 Detroit
Catholic Social Services
MSU Osteopathic
Medicine
Dual enrollment
Support for science & wellness
class
Kaplan ACT Prep, Inside-Out
Literacy
Mentoring
Help with science & ACT Prep
Reading help
Students who commit to the program
1 class of 11th graders
9th & 11th graders
Selected girls from all grades
High & Low performing students
Students selected from RIT scores
Step 2. Structures and Schedules
2.1 Please include your Program of Study using Program of Study Worksheet
(See attached)
2.2 What is your communications plan to students and parents?
Describe how you will recruit students initially and ongoing.
Recruitment of students will occur through mass mailers/flyers, enrollment fairs and middle school visits
by staff and students. The Cody campus and MCH offer open enrollment as a neighborhood school and
promote through the school website and district website, working with alternative schools as well as
community partners to promote MCH through the distribution of flyers. A group of our current students
will be assembled to lead recruitment events and to brainstorm effective methods of recruitment
including use of social media. We will identify and solicit organizations in the community, such as
church youth groups, counseling centers, health clinics, etc. that could provide info about MCH. MCH
students doing community health projects in neighborhoods will also serve as ambassadors for the
school. Events at the school will include middle school students and their families.
How many students are needed to support your pathway? How many students will you enroll per
grade level? What grade-levels will be included? What grade-level will you begin your
implementation.
The school was designed four years ago to serve 400-500 students in grades 9-12 scaling up with 100125 students in each grade level. The students graduated in 2013 with a substantial increase in
graduation rate and MME/ACT scores over the average for Detroit Public Schools. The plan is to fully
implement the Linked Learning approach of integrated curriculum, project based learning, and work
based projects in the 2013-2014 school year across the content areas at least in grade nine with partial
implementation in grades 10-11. Full implementation across all grade levels will occur in the 2014-2015
school year. The program of study shows a four year program as we intend to scale it up over the next
four years or sooner as we build capacity of the staff and partners.
What district supports will be necessary? Who will do what?
We will utilize the Linked Learning Detroit liaison, and we will also need to collaborate on student
information systems and data.
2.3 Describe how your pathway will use flexible scheduling to accommodate student-centered
instructional strategies that may require longer blocks of instructional time (e.g., projects, field
trips, inquiry-based learning, labs, etc.)
7
The students will be assigned to grade level teams that will have autonomy to organize the school
day/week to integrate projects, field trips, inquiry-based learning, resource speakers, etc. into the
instructional time. The flexible scheduling also includes advisory and grade level meetings, ACT test
prep, etc. Teachers have a common planning time with the grade level they teach the majority of and
meet with that team weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays. With our block schedule, we have extended
class periods which generally accommodate for labs, field trips etc. Although some teachers may teach
two grade levels, we have been able to arrange our schedules to meet with those with whom we need to.
The cohort model in our school is somewhat limiting to the flexible scheduling and therefore, we
propose to alter this model.
How will the Program of Study influence the Master Schedule? How will the master schedule need
to be different to support your pathway? Who needs to be included in the master schedule
development to ensure cohort scheduling and common planning time for teachers?
Scheduling time will allow for core classes and student choice for career pathway electives.
Students in each grade level will be scheduled based on pathway interests, and common elective periods
will allow students expanded choice of pathway courses. The master schedule development will include
the administration, Linked Learning Team, and the teaching staff. The master schedule does allow for a
common planning time for grade level teams.
2.5 What additional staffing is needed to fully implement your pathway?
Current staff will enhance their credentials to offer further certifications and career specific courses for
students. We will look to our community partners to define which certifications are desired by
institutions of higher learning as well as health care institutions. Dual enrollment staffing will also help
to meet needs for college level courses and career specific courses such as sports medicine. We are
building relationships with community partners to scope out their interest and capacity to implement
dual enrollment programs at our school with staff from local 2 and 4-year colleges.
Step 3: Community of Practice, Performance-based Assessments and Curriculum
3.1 Describe the commitment to building a collaborative, results-oriented culture in your
Pathway?
The initial design for MCH was to be a small, autonomous school committed to self-governance by a
team of dedicated educators who would be collaborative and data-driven in making decisions to improve
teaching and learning so as to increase student achievement and graduation rates. Collaborative
planning time is integrated into the week’s schedule so that various teams such as content, grade level,
or other work groups can meet and work as professional learning communities or Communities of
Practice to improve school-wide and classroom practices and procedures. At one of our early staff
meetings at the beginning of the school year the agenda will include introducing the Communities of
Practice document, which we will use to assess ourselves as a school. We will schedule quarterly staff
meetings to assess ourselves as a CoP. For new staff members, our smaller group meetings can be used
to initiate them into the CoP assessment process.
How will your team come together as a Community of Practice, even if the schedule doesn’t
provide the time?
Fortunately, the schedule is structured to provide time each week for substantive conversations and datadriven discussions to examine instructional and other practices. The staff also seeks out additional
opportunities to gather after school to compare insights on students and over the summer to work
together on developing curriculum, unit plans, and multi-disciplinary projects.
3.2 Please attach a map of the student learning outcomes to the Program of Study using the
Worksheet Pathway Outcomes Vertical Articulation: Backwards Planning (See attached.)
8
3.3 What rubric have you chosen to measure your Pathway Student Learning Outcomes?
Several rubrics will be reviewed for consideration including: Linked Learning Pathways Performance
Assessment Common Rubrics: Effective Communication; LL Behaviors for Learning & Teaching
(BLT’s) Continuum; CTE standards and rubrics for Biomedical and Health Sciences, College and
Career Readiness Framework Indicators & Measures, and NAF rubrics. During the next few years we
will be having in depth conversations about our student outcomes and will conduct professional
development on creating performance assessments to measure student growth. We will continue to have
in-depth conversations about each of our student outcomes around the essential question: how can we
measure student progress and mastery of this outcome? This will lead to consideration of performance
assessments and be aided by professional development about creating performance assessments.
We will look further into creating a rubric this summer.
How will this rubric be used across your pathway?
The rubric will be the starting point for planning our four year pathway. All teachers will identify
assessment “products” for those indicators and/or domains integrated into their content area. The
Instructional Leadership Team will identify effective performance assessments by content area and seek
out professional development opportunities for teachers. The performance assessment will be fully
integrated within the curriculum and the instructional methods being used. This will also assist MCH to
support students in developing the skills needed on the future assessments related to the Common Core
Standards.
3.4 Describe the curriculum sequence and courses, including single- and multi-disciplinary
integrated projects you are planning.
The MCH staff worked this summer on developing the curriculum sequence and courses (Program of
Study) and the following Linked Learning units have been reviewed and will be integrated into the unit
plans for 2013-14. These projects are a temporary input until we can collaborate to create projects that
are more tailored for our purposes. Teachers will identify which student outcomes are primary in each
unit and develop an evaluation process based on these outcomes with student input. We will continue to
build on integration of the school theme across all subjects over the course of the next few years. Our
partners will continue to support us through their involvement with our students in school visits and
hospital experiences.
Grade level/Integrated
CurricularThemes (Several
choices are available)
9th/
Good Eats,
Career Pathway
Exploration
10th/
Waiting to
Inhale,
Second Opinion
11th
Second Opinion,
12th
Crime Scene
Investigation
You Make Me Sick,
Global Health
Summit
Step 4. Engaged Teaching and Learning
4.1
How will your pathway theme and outcomes be integrated into daily classroom instruction
in both academic and Career Technical Education (CTE) classes?
The core academic and technical classes will be introduced through classes designed with the assistance
of medically-certified volunteers. The volunteers will work with our students in class, in after school
tutoring. Further work of the volunteers will be developed as a part of the NAF design process. This is
a great example of using partners to deepen the curriculum and student experience. You might want to
describe in more detail what the volunteers will do – work with students, assist in planning, etc.
Textbooks will merely serve as stepping stones to the hands-on, client-centered experiences in medicine
and community health. Students will participate in a myriad of learning experiences designed to guide
them through the process of a variety of tasks, for example: performing an initial assessment of a
fractured bone and writing a treatment plan, working with mental health professionals to learn crisis
9
counseling skills, or perhaps a forum to discuss Government Regulations on the medical field. We
would also like our students to have exposure to and experience in labs with simulation mannequins,
which would also necessitate an instructor qualified to teach in such labs. Our students would also
benefit from a computer lab with simulation software for a variety of careers in the medical field.
How will academic and CTE teachers integrate their curriculum to include authentic projects and
assessments?
The MCH staff is committed to integrating authentic projects and assessments into their curriculum and
unit plans and is working diligently to adopt and/or adapt existing Linked Learning pathway units for
2013-14 school year described above in 3.4. Examples include presentations to peers and community on
health care topics. Community outreach includes working with local medical services. We will need to
address the sequence of work-based learning experiences and integrate into specific academic courses
once we have established the opportunities our partners can provide. They will be for all students in a
grade level initially but we hope to offer more choices in the future. The Leadership Team will take the
lead this school year to arrange connections and logistics but seek input and feedback from all staff
members and partners.
4.2
Describe how your pathway plans to strengthen instruction and assessment to engage and
motivate all students.
The student Educational Development Plan (EDP) will help students research and learn about career and
college choices. It will drive student scheduling choices, job shadowing and internship choices as well
as college visits and career exploration. The EDP will document student standardized test scores and
identify areas for improvement and self-reflection. Every student will have an EDP beginning in 20132014 within their advisory classes. All teachers will be involved, and the counselor (Donoghue) is
taking the lead for implementation of the EDPs. In the future this may be a computer based portfolio.
The students will be given the EDPs in their advisory classes and as they fill them out, they will be
setting academic goals for themselves. Their collective goals will help to drive advisory curriculum.
In order to increase motivation and achievement for our students, the first step will be the identification
of student interest and aptitude. While they may value such short-term rewards such as grades, they also
value the expectations we have set for them to lead them down the pathway toward longer, more
sustainable goals of career knowledge and practice which will afford them the opportunity to achieve
personal and professional goals.
To meet this end, implementation starts with the design of classes, programs, and support services that
meet students’ needs. By ascertaining our resources, it will help us plan for a program that has the
necessary components in place prior to launching. Classes and programs will be created which will
match state academic objectives along with the necessary career skills and experiences needed to assure
student success. Support services will consist of tutoring, which will focus on specific academic study
skills, organizational skills, reading strategies, and other student needs based on formal and informal
assessments. We will consider ways to have students focus on a field with many potential job
opportunities, and having classes that integrate the theme and skills. We would like to have professional
development from NAF/ConnectED to aid in implementation. Two aspects of student engagement that
we will consider are having students focused on the Health Services field with many potential job
opportunities, and having classes integrating the theme and skills is a primary means of student
engagement. Second, we will continue to engage in professional development regarding instructional
methods that are student directed and allow student choice based on their interests as a primary means of
engaging students.
4.3 What agreements have your pathway teachers made to hold students to common and high
expectations?
10
Pathway teachers have committed to a common instructional framework, alignment to Common Core
standards, additional training and workshops, and using data in classroom. The common instructional
framework helps teachers create a commonality among classrooms by having the same base
instructional practices to mold students into critically reading, communicating effectively, writing to
better understand concepts, learning through modeling, and work productively in groups. The alignment
of curriculum to Common Core has helped move content away from specific content knowledge to
critical thinking skills necessary for jobs in the 21st century as well as providing hangers for which to
hang on content. Staff at MCH is consistently work after and outside of school to develop professionally
to improve instruction as well as presenting findings to other MCH staff to help develop everyone
professionally, even if they do not attend the training. Finally, MCH has made a transition to become
more data oriented, and, in recent months, has developed protocols for evaluating data and using it
immediately in classroom instruction.
Beyond these classroom protocols, the pathway teachers are working to develop an effective advisory
program that will hold students to higher ideas of accountability. Meeting students throughout the week
in smaller groups facilitates relationships that hold accountability.
In the coming years, we are working on building out cross-disciplinary projects that will help engage the
staff in a common ideology and practice of project-based learning. The evidence of this commitment
will be shown in the early steps in an 11th grade cross-curricular project evaluating the community
health of Detroit. In the years to come, the Science Fair will become one of the lynchpins of the school
in its importance in the school and staff to uphold the commonalities and high expectations MCH has for
its students.
4.4 How will work-based learning be provided for all pathway students, and how will it support the
pathway theme? How will you ensure all students have the experience? What role will the Advisory
Board Play?
Work-based learning experiences will be embedded into the school day as integrated into the multidisciplinary units for all pathway students. The Advisory Board (Champions Council) includes pathway
industry partners that will be fully engaged in ensuring the authenticity of these activities. 9th graders
will be working o work-based learning projects with a reflective end-piece on possible work options.
What is your sequence of experiences?
9th
Career Mapping (Career
exploration)
Health care conference
Project Lead the Way
OSHA and HIPAA
training
HOSA affiliation
10th
Job Shadowing (soft
skills – reading, writing,
interview) with clinical
hours
- Health care conference
- Project Lead the Way
- CPR certification
11th
Clinical hours (soft skills –
reading, writing, interview) a
health care field (such as
EMT/CNA)
- Health care conference
- Project Lead the Way
12th
Clinical hours (soft skills –
reading, writing, interview) in
a health care field (such as
EMT/CNA)
Health care conference
- Project Lead the Way
-Senior defense project
Fire Dept./Homeland
Security for CPR, First
Aid, Disaster drill training
Project Lead the Way will be an additional exposure to hands on science learning with a greater focus on
health and medicine in addition to their required science course work. Over the next two years staff will
engage with the Champions Council and other partners to explore other types of work based learning
programs and methods for assessment. We will also conduct electronic interviews of industry
professionals in 9th and 10th grade as one format for industry professionals to help students either in the
classroom or digitally on their assignments. Project Lead the Way is for all students. The plan so far is
the starting point for ideas of work-based learning and over the next two years staff will engage with the
11
Champions Council and others to explore other types of WBL activities. This exploration will also
include ways to evaluate the activities. A key aspect of a high quality WBL program is the development
of student outcomes for the WBL activities. In this way, the teacher and industry professional can both
be clear on the purpose of the activity and how it connects to together classroom work. Developing these
outcome-based activities is long-term work.
4.5
How will your pathway team look at student work and other forms of data to inform instruction?
The Linked Learning coach will support the professional development of the pathway team to use
Critical Friends protocols to examine student work and multiple sources of data to inform classroom and
school-wide practice that will support improved instruction. Time is already allocated during the school
weekly schedule for teams to meet and looking at student work and lesson design will be a cornerstone
of those meetings.
STEP 5: Embedding Student Supports and Personalization
5.1
Describe how your pathway will create an atmosphere where support and engagement occur
naturally as a result of the pathway design.
The school’s founding principles embraced the small school concept as a way to personalize the high
school experience for all students and to increase the emphasis on the 3 R’s of relationships, relevance,
and rigor. The MCH pathway will strengthen that atmosphere where getting to know the students’
needs and interests has been primary. All students are known well and all teachers take responsibility
for the success of all students, not just those assigned to them. The master schedule provides freshmen
with an extra semester each of English and math classes.
Advisory and the Educational Development Plan will work hand in hand to develop the educational
track students need to follow. Although there is limited flexibility for students in terms of selecting the
courses they will take, the EDP will establish for them the trajectory they need to be on with their course
work to attend the colleges they see themselves in. This will be further cemented by the reinforcement of
advisory mentoring as students find their way through high school. The EDP allows for student
engagement because it is a route they are making for themselves; their education is in their hands;
therefore, their lives are in their hands creating the necessary engagement to push themselves further. Of
course, in the instance where a student denies his/her abilities or refuses to challenge him/herself, the
advisor will be seen as the cog in the machine that will help the student find his or her way.
Starting this past year at MCH, all 9th graders are taking a support Math and English class that focuses
on rudimentary skills to help students elevate from not being on grade level, or lacking the necessary
basic skills to do the larger projects. Furthermore, the majority of classrooms at MCH are equipped with
two teachers. These co-teachers work in tandem to push students that are beyond level further, bring the
middle to the top, and elevate the lower-performing students to greater success.
5.2 What academic interventions will be incorporated in daily practice and throughout your pathway?
What additional supports can be incorporated into your pathway or outside the school day?
All 9th gr. students take Algebra Lab and Writing Improvement. These courses are designed to address
remedial needs necessary for effective writing and basic math skills. The idea is almost every single
student comes in below grade level, therefore, we provide the assistance necessary to bring them up.
12
Credit Recovery is offered after school in Extended Day Credit Recovery (1-2 classes per semester at .5
credits per class). Summer School can be taken for 1-3 classes (.5 cr. per class, up to 1.5 total). E20:20
virtual learning allows students to do independent work to recover credits. It may be assigned during
extended day, summer school, or independently.
Additionally, we have intervening reading programs provided Catholic Social Services, Detroit Impact,
and others. These groups usually focus on one particular content area. They pull students out of their
strongest classes for remediation and help in their weakest classes in tutoring environment. C2 Pipeline
is an after-school program for students in need of tutoring and enrichment. Opportunities include
cooking, dance, health, and field trips to colleges.
Medicine and Community Health also tries to place two teachers in each room to provide a co-teaching
atmosphere to reduce the number of students per teacher and have certified and specialized assistance in
the classroom for students with disabilities because it is such a large portion of the population.
MAP data has been used for these interventions to determine the frequency and what particular
intervention each student needs. The MAP is given three times a year to gauge student growth in English
language usage, Reading, Science, and Mathematics. The MAP generates RIT scores that approximate
students’ Zone of Proximal Development in each subject area. Therefore, students are chosen for
support services based on what tier of the RIT score their scores fall under.
5.3 Describe how counseling and guidance, as well as career and college planning, will be provided to
your students. How will this support students’ college and careers goals?
Data collected comes primarily from classroom assessments and standardized tests. Teachers and
support staff also create their own classroom assessments (quizzes, projects, essays, and tests) to
evaluate student progress. Each teacher is required to design and implement 6-week assessments that
correlate with their Unit Plans to chart student growth and make decisions about what skills/benchmarks
need to be taught/re-taught, based on the assessment results. Lesson Plans and assessments are aligned
to the HSCEs and Common Core. The use of rubrics and portfolios will aid us in evaluating soft skills
for college and career readiness.
The students’ Educational Development Plans will be designed in conjunction with the student in
individual and classroom meetings their freshman years and will be facilitated by their counselor.
Students will have input into career and college choices as well as the design of academic and personal
strategies to continue exploring, modifying and expanding their future goals. This will include career
and college surveys and research as well as professional job shadowing and internship experiences,
culminating in an exit interview their senior year. The exit interview is a student led presentation to
their family, advisory teacher, a pathway representative. The exit interview seems to be an excellent
opportunity for students to demonstrate their self-knowledge of what they have learned, how they learn,
and personal strengths, weakness and goals. We will contact the Envision Schools in CA to see how
they have developed a sophisticated methodology for student presentations, which include these
dimensions. We will also review the ECCO curriculum for college and career readiness available on
Connect Ed Studios. This provides sequenced lessons in college exploration, development of soft skills,
personal interests, etc.
6.2
How will this data be used to inform practice?
In the development of our Linked Learning Pathway, we will constantly measure success using
statistical data-driven means. We use data to drive student instruction. Our School Improvement Team
and Testing Team maintain data as it relates to student achievement and the staff uses this data to create
13
personalized academic targets for students, classrooms, and grade levels. Identifying strengths and
weaknesses leads to targeting goals for improvement.
Collectively, identifying academic target areas allows for more specific, data-driven, themes to be taught
in classes. These goals are established by the grade and content level teams during their weekly
meetings. Once established, they are advertised both in classrooms and in common areas. Data Walls are
a main focus for helping students and stakeholders identify and understand common school-wide goals.
For staff, clearly identified academic targets can help drive the structure, course design, and pre- and
post- lesson assessments, of each classroom. All staff planning is required to be written and submitted
weekly for review by Administration. For students, the Educational Development Plan will individually
record scores and provide for specific goal-setting. The EDP will be monitored by the student’s Advisor,
the School Counselor, and the Leadership Team for assessment of progress.
Administratively, staff will be provided with professional development that can be selected specifically
to meet school and classroom goals. Additionally, staff will be trained to utilize the various ConnectEd
tools such as the Behaviors of Learning and Teaching, the Communities of Practice rubric and the
Quality of Criteria etc.
To monitor progress, on-going academic evaluation will take place through the use of staff meetings,
parent and student input, and Champions Council observation. Parents and students will be invited to
attend quarterly data dives, during which school curriculum will be displayed and explored to assess
how well data goals are being met. During the 3-year development plan for the implementation of linked
learning we will develop a system to have a representative group of students regularly meet to help the
leadership team evaluate overall development of MCH as a valuable component of our data analysis.
The MCH Student Residents will lead this process.
In conclusion, while data is collected throughout the school and used in various ways, further data
collection is necessary to determine factors involved in the pragmatic application of knowledge, postsecondary matriculation, and job attainment and sustainability.
6.3 How will you engage pathway teams, site leadership, and the pathway advisory committee in
reviewing data; revisiting the pathway vision, mission, and student learning outcomes; and updating the
action plan for continuous improvement within the pathway?
The Medicine and Community Health Academy Team will annually review the schoolwide program,
using data from: the State’s annual assessments including MME and MEAP to determine academic
achievement in the areas of Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies, performance
assessments developed by staff to align with Linked Learning pathway student outcomes, and student
work as collected and analyzed by staff. The School Improvement Team/Leadership Team will also
effectively analyze all pertinent school data collected using the Comprehensive Needs Assessment to
drive instruction, make needed changes, and hold all stake-holders accountable. All essential data
collected is disseminated using the following five guidelines:
1.
Analyze evaluation data and transform the data so that it is more useful in addressing evaluation
questions.
2.
Summarize the data in multiple ways in an easier and more user-friendly format that all stakeholders including Champions Council and the pathways Advisory Board members will be able to
interpret. This data includes trends over time, comparison between classes and grade levels,
relation to benchmarks, and comparison between classes and subgroups, all for the end purpose
to meet defined outcomes and accountability for all.
3.
Use the data to drive instruction by providing teachers and administrators with the ability to
make midcourse corrections and revisions, check the relationships between theory and
14
4.
5.
applications, determine the need for additional staff development or training, enhance student
culture and retention, and address unforeseen challenges.
Annually examine the long-term impact of the data in terms of specified goals, and revise
accordingly to address weaknesses and build upon strengths.
Communicate the results quarterly to all stake-holders including Champions Council and the
pathways Advisory Board members based on the needs of the audience. An informed stakeholder who is aware of all conditions, stipulations, and requirements will provide an effective
means to drive reform, change, and accountability for all.
Teachers meet during their weekly common preparation periods, weekly staff meetings, and professional
development opportunities to analyze data and plan strategies for instruction in the classroom.
Opportunities for students to be assigned to Academic Enrichment will be based on data gleaned from
these meetings. Quarterly report card grades are also determined, in part, by school-based assessments
which will include performance-based assessments aligned with the Linked Learning Pathway student
outcomes that will be developed this school year. Academic reports, including grades, identify students
to be assigned to Extended Day and Summer School Credit Recovery.
Assessment data are shared with students and parents via email, progress reports, parent reports from
standardized tests and school letters. Teachers share assessment data with other teachers in their
content/grade level area to compare and strategize teaching methods to improve student achievement.
Teachers, support staff, parents, community partners such as the Champions Council and Linked
Learning pathways Advisory Board, and administration are involved in data analysis to improve the
academic achievement of all students. Our partners and stakeholders share our vision of a medical and
community health initiative for preparing our students to be successful in college and beyond. We will
identify several of the activities described above to include the Champions Council and other leadership
groups at the school to be informed of and involved with learning the student outcomes, understanding
the linked learning approach, and carrying out thoughtful assessments of progress towards becoming a
school in which every student graduates college and career ready. Data-Dive meetings with all
stakeholders will occur quarterly during the school year.
The Action Plan will include objectives and strategies to: conduct regularly scheduled meetings with
community, parents, and relevant industry and business members regarding linked learning, the visions
for MCH, and how they can help; and to share a simple “dashboard” of data to share progress with the
public, such as results of a student interest survey, attendance and graduation rates, list of Work Based
Learning activities students are participating in, etc. Developing and sharing these objectives will be the
focus of outreach to staff and students and an important task for the Leadership Team for the next few
months.
The Leadership Team will disseminate surveys to stakeholders throughout the year to determine
the effectiveness of the plan and to evaluate any changes made to the plan. Monthly meetings with staff
to evaluate data will provide baseline data for the effectiveness of assessments and the Linked Learning
Implementation Plan. All stakeholders shall have a voice in the decision making process with regard to
the Plan. The decisions made will be ongoing and will be subject to change, depending on how effective
the plan is working and based on ongoing data evaluation.
6.4 The Pathway Teams will use the OPTIC (the Online Pathway Tool for Improvement and
Certification) to assess themselves against the Rubric, create action plans, and collect evidence for
continuous improvement and certification purposes.
The Leadership Team will assess itself monthly during the first year, beginning January 2014.
Assessment will follow the OPTIC goals. Additionally, the NAF Year of Planning pacing guide has
15
been in place since September 2013. Also, ConnectEd and Linked Learning goals will be identified and
tracked during this process. Baseline data collection will take place during the 2013-14 school year.
16