A Whole
Different
Approach
Hopkins researchers led
by sociologist James
McPartland have come up
with a model for turning
around the most troubled
urban high schools. In
places from Philadelphia
to Hawaii, the Talent
Development program is
getting results.
By Lavinia Edmunds
Illustration by Stuart
Bradford
Located in a deteriorating area of Philadelphia, Germantown High
School once fit the stereotype of the dangerous urban high school -out of control. The grand columned central building, built in 1915,
was gray and dirty. More than a few of the 1,300-plus students
passing through a metal detector in the entrance doorway were
detained for drugs or weapons. During class time, more students
loitered in the halls than in classrooms. Ninth-graders, who had failed
classes as many as four times, created disturbances for those few who
wanted to learn.
But perhaps most problematic, in this era of educational reform, when
state assessments can determine the fate of principals and treatment
from the district administration, more students were failing than
passing. The school couldn't hold onto a principal to try to effect
some change -- until Gloria Pelzer arrived in the fall of 2001. Pelzer
was familiar with the problems of troubled urban high schools,
having previously served as a "facilitator" or teacher coach at one of
the city's toughest high schools.
Pelzer knew that if she were to survive, and her students were to
prosper, she needed a major, comprehensive plan. There were a
number of high school reform packages out there to choose from, and
she took a close look at many of them. "Some might solve the
instructional problem, but what about my discipline problem? There
might be a new structure for the school, but how would that help my
ninth-graders who seemed most in danger of failing?" Pelzer asked at
the end of a recent school day. Dressed for action in a black business
suit and silver tennis shoes, she is petite, exuding energy and
determination.
Talent Development High Schools, a model under development over
the last decade by Johns Hopkins' Center for Social Organization of
Schools, emerged as her first choice. A comprehensive whole school
reform, it addresses problems ranging from large class sizes to ninthgrade reading lists and the need for study skills. And it provides onsite support in the form of coaches as well as curriculum. By spring
2001, with assurance from Pelzer that she would commit to leading
the school for more than the usual one-year term of her predecessors,
80 percent of the teachers at Germantown agreed to sign on.
The model is largely the brainchild of Johns Hopkins sociologist
James McPartland, PhD '68, an unassuming man with a long-standing
dedication to making public schools more responsive to
disadvantaged minorities. He has been tackling the problem of
inequity in education since he was a graduate student of famed
Hopkins sociologist James Coleman during the 1960s. McPartland
worked on the 1966 "Equality of Educational Opportunity" report.
Known as the Coleman Report, it was commissioned by the U.S.
Office of Education and surveyed 600,000 schoolchildren and
teachers nationwide. It is considered to be one of the most important
research studies of the 20th century in showing the unequal
educational opportunities offered in impoverished, mostly AfricanAmerican, neighborhoods.
In his research, McPartland scoured the literature, seeking to identify
elements of a model urban high school and to understand why
students drop out. He believed that school systems should provide the
step-up students in impoverished areas need to succeed. In 1994, he
started a team at Hopkins to invent new forms and practices for
troubled high schools. He recruited talented teachers from public
schools, as well as social scientists with imagination and skills who
could apply theory to practice in real schools. The first phase of the
project, which focused on school organization, was launched at
Patterson High School in Baltimore in 1994. As other schools
followed, instructional pieces were added. The Talent Development
High School model is now in place in more than 50 high schools
across the nation, from Hawaii to Louisiana. CSOS employs 25
people -- such as curriculum writers -- at Hopkins in Baltimore and
about 75 in the field as coaches and
coordinators.
Elements of Talent Development are
now widely used in high school reform
nationwide, says Bob Embry, president
of the Abell Foundation, a major funder
of education reform in Baltimore.
Embry notes that high school reform
has received short shrift, as the focus
has been on early education. Even now,
against the backdrop of the No Child
Left Behind Act initiated by President
George W. Bush, he says, high school
reform is "most difficult and has gained least support" compared to
the reforms sweeping through elementary and middle schools.
Says McPartland, "Often the [approaches] are to invest all your
resources in the early years so you can prevent failure. Schools are
going to continue to need help even if they have a good early
program. Even though the average [disadvantaged minority student]
is three or four years behind coming in, we think we can accelerate
these students' growth so that they can gain two years for every year
they are there. We are convinced that it's not too late in high school to
catch up."
The first component of the Talent Development model (and one that
many schools start by taking alone, before implementing the rest of
the package) is to break the school up into an "academy" structure,
with a ninth grade "Success Academy" kept separate from upper
classes -- an opportunity to build cohesion and establish more
personalized relationships between students and their teachers and
administrators. The goal: Making sure students don't get lost in the
crowd. "The ninth grade is key," notes McPartland. A recent study by
CSOS researchers Robert Balfanz and Nettie Letgers revealed that
ninth- graders in non-selective, large urban high schools like
Germantown have as great a chance of eventually dropping out as
they do of graduating -- 50/50 odds. "Most kids come to high school
poorly prepared," says McPartland. "Many may be reading and doing
math four years behind grade level."
In Talent Development's ninth grade, schools implement a block
schedule aimed at quickly closing their skills gaps. Rather than
following a standard seven-period day of 45-minute classes, students
spend 90 minutes in each class. In the first semester, most students
(except the few at grade level) take a "double dose" (90 minutes each)
of math and English to focus on remedial work, in addition to
Freshman Seminar, which teaches basic organizational and study
skills, and an elective. During the second semester, they pick up the
standard ninth-grade English and algebra classes. The longer classes
give teachers time to delve into subjects in more depth, explains
McPartland, and to implement a greater variety of learning techniques
-- such as "cooperative learning," in which students divide into small
groups to study or solve problems together -- to better engage their
students.
Once they advance to the upper grades, students can choose from one
of several "career academies" -- "learning communities with a career
focus that enroll 250-350 students," McPartland explains. All students
receive college preparatory training and work-based learning
experiences. "The idea is to give kids some meaning and direction for
their career goals," he says.
A critical piece of the reform is teacher support. "You can't just wish
teachers to teach without building support systems," McPartland
emphasizes. Class coaches, trained at CSOS and assigned to be on
site at each school, "help teachers in all aspects" -- everything from
teaching a model class to fetching a light bulb for a malfunctioning
projector, he adds. Unlike the "master teachers" found in many public
schools, these coaches are meant to be teacher allies, pure and simple.
They don't formally evaluate teachers or report on their progress or
problems to administrators. That's something that Germantown
English teacher Erika Palmer says she appreciates, adding, "My
coach tells me what to improve and what is working."
The fully implemented program costs each school about $250,000 a
year (breaking down to $300 per student), which covers a team of onsite coaches, materials, and assistance from CSOS. Most schools
defray these costs using grants and federal money that has been
designated for "low-performing schools" through the U.S.
Department of Education.
McPartland contends that Talent Development prepares students for
success, rather than recycling the failure that has been following them
through middle school. "Often, school [systems] don't realize how far
behind their districts are. They say, 'Well, we want to give them high
standards right off the bat.'" Says McPartland, "We want to give them
the high standards too, but we are going to be successful at it."
Gloria Pelzer,
principal of
Philadelphia's
Germantown High,
says she's seen a
"drastic" postive
change in school
climate since
implementing the
Talent Development
model.
Principal Gloria Pelzer had
embraced Talent Development
as a solution to Germantown's
complex problems, and was
prepared to implement it in
spring 2002. Pelzer recalls that
some teachers were
apprehensive about moving out
of their rooms to accommodate
the ninth-grade "Success
Academy" because it had to be
physically separate from the
upper classes. Some also
worried about switching from
the short 50-minute "talk and
chalk" lecture mode, as Pelzer
puts it, to 90-minute periods.
Nevertheless, they worked together on committees to develop topics
of three academies for upperclassmen: Communication, Arts, and
Technology; Business, Health, and Sports; and Law and Aviation.
Now completing the second year of the program, the school greets
visitors with a green sign over the entrance that proclaims
Germantown as a Talent Development High School: "Success
Unfolding."
"You learn more," says ninth-grader Andre Fisher, of his block
schedule. Last fall, he and his classmates played catch-up to bring
their skills up to grade level. He took Strategic Reading, Transition to
Advanced Mathematics, and Freshman Seminar. All three courses
had been developed by curriculum specialists at CSOS. Now, during
the second semester of his freshman year, Andre is taking the
standard math class that used to frustrate most Germantown ninthgraders -- and he is gliding through.
He arrives at class with his 30-member "team" of classmates, which
will stick together all day and attend the same classes. There is an
easy camaraderie among them. Pelzer believes that the team approach
helps to build confidence among students and improve that
intangible, all-important school climate. But Andre isn't so sure. He
says he would like to mix with upperclassmen and others: "They got
us locked up here. I see the same people I went to middle school
with."
Math teacher Lorenzo Hayward, irrepressibly sunny, greets the class
wearing a purple polo shirt marked with the Talent Development logo
in white. The lone sign above the blackboard reads: "Today is a Great
Day to Learn Something New." He keeps an eye on everyone, gently
urging them on to the task at hand, a preview test of the Terra Nova,
Pennsylvania's state assessment to be given in two weeks. "You get
one minute to get your name on paper -- starting now!" he tells the
class.
Sometimes, maintaining a positive attitude in the face of students
with limited skills is difficult, Hayward admits, noting that his
students showed major skill gaps during the first semester. One
student, for example, did not understand the concept of borrowing.
When he explained this essential skill and she finally was able to
grasp it, she cried out of relief, Hayward says. He and other teachers
at Germantown say that success usually comes in small doses -- a
letter grade gain here, a new word learned there. One teacher related
the progress of one student this way: "He doesn't get the highest
grades, but his attendance is fantastic. He only earned a C this term,
but that's better than the D first semester. Now he's trying even
harder."
When teachers need help, they come to the Talent Development room
on the first floor, where the school's three CSOS-trained curriculum
coaches gather when they are not giving model classes or working
with teachers. These coaches are in constant contact with CSOS
curriculum writers -- expert teachers, recruited from the ranks of
urban schools, who are continually refining their courses based on
input from the field.
Alta Shaw is one such curriculum writer, who creates the text and
context for "Strategic Reading," the course that aims to bring students
up to grade level in reading. Burrowed in her office just across from
Hopkins' Homewood campus, she is passionate about coming up with
reading assignments that will capture the imaginations of students
who have fallen through the cracks.
One challenge is finding reading
material that appeals to ninth-grade
interests but is written at the average
reading grade level of the students,
fifth grade. Chicken Soup for the
Teenaged Soul is the hands-down
favorite, while classics on many ninthgrade reading lists (such as Richard
Wright's Native Son) are too advanced
to be included. Shaw has found one of the most popular required
reading books to be One More River to Cross, an anthology of
biographies of African-Americans -- including former
congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Malcolm X, and astronaut Ron
McNair -- that is written at the fourth-grade level. Teachers have told
her that outside of Florida, many students haven't heard of McNair.
So Shaw is adding details for discussion in a revised edition of the
curriculum, which she's currently working on. She flips through a
notebook tagged with pink Post-it notes -- reflecting comments and
feedback from teachers and students -- to show the changes being
incorporated. "I am really giving the teacher more context," Shaw
says. "It makes it easier to be creative and teach."
Moving from traditional high school lecturing in front of a class for
45 minutes to a longer, more interactive teaching style can be a
difficult transition for many teachers, Shaw has found. She and her
colleagues have prescribed the order of lessons for Strategic Reading
and broken activities down, beginning with 20 minutes of "reading
showcase" where the teacher reads aloud. Then comes 20 minutes of
a focus lesson, which is the more traditional teacher-delivered lesson;
30 minutes of student team literature, where students work in teams
of three or four to discuss the books; and 20 minutes of self-selected
reading.
"The biggest problem [in most classrooms] is too much lecturing,"
says CSOS English language arts coach Doug Elmer, who has been
assigned to Germantown High. "Research shows that the attention
span [of students] is 20 minutes." On this afternoon in April, Elmer
has been called upon by teacher Susan McCann to conduct a model
class on "Romeo and Juliet" for her ninth-graders, using a student
team approach. The students break down into groups of four. Elmer
has carefully placed at least one higher-achieving student in each
group. Once the teams are seated together in different parts of the
room, he builds up to the game "Shakespeare Jeopardy." "Quotable
Quotes for $100!" he calls out, as hands fly up in a rush to answer. At
times during the contest, students are yelling, on their feet, excited to
answer. They show command of the text and characters and
enthusiasm for the game but appear to be nearly out of control. At
first, McCann sits quietly on the sidelines, occasionally reprimanding
students for talking too loudly or out of turn. But as the game gains
momentum, she offers encouragement, and helps Elmer select
students to call upon for answers.
"It can look chaotic," says Elmer, after class. "But teams help the
average student who may not come to the fore during a traditional
class to participate. I've seen huge leaps in core skills. We've gained
momentum as the year has gone by."
Discipline problems still surface as a major obstacle to achievement
at Germantown High. At the end of class, a student makes an
insensitive comment to a classmate who has arrived late. The tardy
student erupts in a spate of cursing. Elmer promptly escorts her out of
the room and addresses her in the hallway. The student, having
already been disciplined that morning for another rule violation, tells
Elmer that she was in a bad mood, and teasing from her classmate
further aggravated her. Elmer has her stay after class for five minutes;
she calms down a bit and leaves saying that she will try to participate
in the class next time.
"I've learned to never get in a power struggle with a student in front
of the class because you never win," Elmer says. He notes that
students growing up in high-poverty neighborhoods such as the one
surrounding Germantown must deal with a range of seemingly
intractable problems, including drugs, broken homes, and
incarcerated parents. Inevitably these problems can play out in the
classroom.
Students with the most severe behavioral and/or academic problems
are referred to "Twilight School," which runs three hours after regular
school hours. It offers intensive doses of remedial work, along with
discipline and counseling -- what Pelzer describes as "nagging and
nurturing." The goal is to keep these most at-risk kids from dropping
out. Ninth-graders who fail the first semester receive more
individualized instruction. They may attend school on Saturdays or
after hours to make up credits. Before repeaters were given additional
direction and support, says Pelzer, some had failed ninth grade as
many as four times. Many of these students were severely disruptive
in class, making it difficult for teachers to reach students who really
did want to learn. Now, says Pelzer, the students who are removed
from class have an increased motivation to work hard in order to get
back to regular school, and teachers have an easier time maintaining
order.
James McPartland
with students from
Baltimore's
Patterson High, the
first school to
implement portions
of the Talent
Development model,
in 1994.
There are early signs that
these methods have been
effective, at Germantown
and elsewhere. Among
ninth-graders at
Germantown, pass rates for
English have improved
from 47.2 percent before
Talent Development to
72.2 percent as of February
2003; for math, pass rates
have increased from 43.4
percent to 56.4 percent;
and in social studies from
43.3 to 58.6 percent, according to figures from the Philadelphia
Education Fund, a nonprofit education group that is closely tracking
progress at the five high schools using the model in Philadelphia.
Among these schools, one out of three ninth-graders showed two
years of gains. Officials at the fund emphasize that students are
passing more courses due to improved instruction, not to watered
down requirements.
And a recent independent evaluation by the Manpower
Demonstration Research Corporation cited "a consistent pattern of
improvements in math and English course completions and
promotion rates" in the first three schools that began working with
Talent Development.
Results like these are not lost on Philadelphia school officials, who
are currently working with the Philadelphia Education Fund and
CSOS to add two more ninth grade academies to city high schools.
The city's chief academic officer has selected two key ideas of Talent
Development -- curriculum coaches and ninth-grade academies -- to
be incorporated into the city's high school reform efforts for next
year, across the district.
"Talent Development is really significantly changing the opportunity
to learn for these students, particularly ninth-graders," notes Rochelle
Nichols Solomon, past senior program director at the Philadelphia
Education Fund. Solomon, active nationally in high school reform
movements, was recently hired to direct technical assistance for the
Carnegie Foundation's Academy for Educational Development. As
significantly, she says, "it's providing support for teachers. We talked
to faculty at these schools and they feel the environment is under
control."
For Pelzer, even as Germantown casts aside its negative image, the
job of principal remains more demanding than ever. In a typical 12hour day she deals with a range of challenges, from figuring out
strategies to increase scores on the state's new testing program to
disciplining a couple caught kissing in a school closet. But she is
encouraged by what she sees as a "drastic" positive change in school
climate, compared to the first day that she arrived. The teacher
retention problem that has plagued other urban high schools doesn't
seem to be appearing this year at Germantown, she says.
"Last year, teachers had a lot of complaints about the ninth grade.
This year they are not complaining. They're satisfied. They feel the
kids are cooperating and learning. In all areas, we are seeing
improvement."
Lavinia Edmunds, who is based in Baltimore, writes frequently on
issues pertaining to education.
Return to June 2003 Table of Contents
The Johns Hopkins Magazine | The Johns Hopkins University | 3003 North Charles Street |
Suite 100 | Baltimore, Maryland 21218 | Phone 410.516.7645 | Fax 410.516.5251