Potential Slide Bank for
Academic Seminar
For August 2014 Presentation
Freshmen Success: Building a Solid
Foundation for Success
Rationale and Research
Current Supports Targeting Freshmen?
• What is in place explicitly for freshman in your
school?
• Is this aligned with the school-wide climate
components/ (expectations,
acknowledgements, consequences, etc.)?
• Please share
Why Freshmen?
• A research study in the Chicago Public Schools found that
students who fell behind in credit accumulation during their 9th
grade year had a 22% graduation rate, as compared to an 81%
graduation rate for students who were “on track” in 9th grade
(Allensworth & Easton, 2005).
• The most powerful predictors of whether a student will
complete high school include course performance and
attendance during the first year of high school (Allensworth &
Easton, 2007).
• In fact, according to Jerald (2006), low attendance during the
first 30 days of the freshman year is a stronger indicator that a
student will drop out than any 8th grade predictor, including test
scores, other indicators of academic achievement, and age.
Freshmen Success: Universal Support
Systems
•
Curriculum
•
Engagement-focused
Content
•
Acquisition and
Application
•
Peer Navigator Support
Embedded into school
structure and culture
•
Preventative MTSS
•
Freshmen-wide
Leadership Team
•
Data-based Decision
Making
Freshmen Success Curriculum
•
•
•
•
•
•
12 lessons
Approximately 45 minutes
Delivered by Teacher & Peer Navigators
Lessons w/ Exit Tickets
Check-Ins
Front-loaded in year
FS Curriculum
Domain
Behavioral Engagement
(academic enablers and
school rules)
Curriculum Units and Learning Objectives
Getting Work Done
Use a planner or similar device
Prioritize tasks and develop plans to accomplish them
Develop a study plan for test preparation
Demonstrate test taking strategies for various test types
Getting Along
State schoolwide expectations
Demonstrate classroom expectations and routines
Demonstrate classroom participation strategies
Cognitive Engagement
(motivation, work tasks,
self-regulation)
Getting to Graduation
Identify a direction for the future – career goal, school relevance
Know graduation is attainable
Identify what graduation requirements are and where to locate
Identify if on track and how to get/stay on track for graduation
Develop an action plan to improve current academic status
Emotional Engagement
(school belonging,
connection to and
support by peers and
teachers)
Getting Connected
Identify school resources/supports: academic and social
Identify how and when to ask for help
Identify extracurricular opportunities in school and community that align with interest
areas and describe how to get involved
Identify and practice how to get teachers on your side
Freshmen Success Systems
• Leadership
– Expectations
– Communication
– Data
– Consequence
• Acknowledgement
• Discipline
FS: Leadership System
• Freshmen Leadership Team
– Separate team or subteam of SW Leadership Team
– Regular meetings
– Use Data for Decision Making
– Focus in on Freshmen-wide efforts – a scaffolded
approach to SWPBIS
FS: Communication Systems
The single biggest problem in
communication is the illusion that it has
taken place.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
 Agreements and dialogue among all
Freshmen Teachers
Utilize similar systems as SW efforts
FS: Data Systems
• Attention to Behavior AND Academics
• Complicated by need to integrate multiple
data sources
Why Freshmen?
• A research study in the Chicago Public Schools found that
students who fell behind in credit accumulation during their 9th
grade year had a 22% graduation rate, as compared to an 81%
graduation rate for students who were “on track” in 9th grade
(Allensworth & Easton, 2005).
• The most powerful predictors of whether a student will
complete high school include course performance and
attendance during the first year of high school (Allensworth &
Easton, 2007).
• In fact, according to Jerald (2006), low attendance during the
first 30 days of the freshman year is a stronger indicator that a
student will drop out than any 8th grade predictor, including test
scores, other indicators of academic achievement, and age.
Early Warning
Indicators
On-Track Indicators
On-Track
At-Risk for
Off Track
Off-Track
Highly OffTrack
Extremely
Off-Track
Course
Performance
in
Core
Subjects
GPA
Credits
State
Tests
Meeting all
graduation
requirements
Cs or better in
all areas
2.5 or more
Meeting credit
graduation
requirement for
grad plan year
Lacking 1
graduation
requirement
2.0 to 2.49
Behind
1 Credits
Lacking 2
graduation
requirements
Failing 1-3
classes
Less than 2.0
Behind 3
credits
Lacking 2 or
more
graduation
requirements
Currently
failing 3 or
more classes
Meeting no
graduation
requirements
2-3 Years
Behind
Less than or
equal to 1.5
Behind 4 or
more credits
Less than or
equal to 1.0
Not meeting
Not passed 10th
cohort
grade State
graduation plan Tests or retakes
No concordant
scores
Attendance
Level 3 or
above or
concordant
scores within
the same school
year
Level 2 on
State Tests
4% or less
absences per
quarter or
semester
Not passed
both sections of
10th grade State
Tests
or retakes
No concordant
scores
Not passed 10th
grade State
Tests
or retakes
No concordant
scores
10% absences
per quarter or
semester
5% or more
absences per
quarter or
semester
15% or more
absences per
quarter or
semester
20% or more
absences per
quarter or
semester
Office
Discipline
Referrals
Additional
Factors
3 or less Level Disengagement
I and/or minor No extra
referrals
curricular
involvement
Substance Abuse
High Mobility
4 or less Level
I and/or minor Mental health
issues
referrals
Level II ODRs Free/Reduced
lunch
per semester
Foster/group
5 or more
Level I and/or home
Level II ODRs Transient/Homele
per semester
ss
Parent
unemployment
Student
5 or more
employment
Level II ODRs Changes in
for fighting/
behavior/
profanity/
appearance
disruption per
More recent
semester
traumatic event
Missed guidance
Established
appointments
pattern of
No show for
severe
yearbook picture
behavior
Level II & III
ODRs
Grade System
1
Graduation Req
2
Pers Resources
3
Credits Math/LA
4
Acad Resource
5
Extracurricular
6
Off Track
7
9th Credits
8
Teacher Credits
9
10
Task ID
Task Breakdown
11
Priority Levels
12
13
Test Strategies
14
Study Plan
Curriculum Knowledge Test
FS Curriculum Knowledge Test: Percent Correct by Item
100%
80%
60%
Fall 2012
Winter 2013
40%
Spring 2013
20%
0%
Academic Seminar Curriculum:
Defined, example, data
Academic Seminar
• Tier 2 Support
– Class
•
•
•
•
45 minutes
Meets every day
5 -7 minute entry task to orient student to tasks / skills
10-15 minutes of explicit instruction and practice in
organizational skills
• 25-30 minutes in homework completion- applying
organizational skills
– Curriculum (www.PBIS.org search HS-BEP)
– More complex than CICO
– Additional “layer” of T2
– Addresses work avoidance
Academic Seminar
• Class functions as:
– Extension of & Intensified Universal Tier :
• Expectations
• Acknowledgements
• Addition of Organization Skill Set
– Explicit instruction
– Frequent practice opportunities
– Explicit, frequent acknowledgement for
demonstration of organization skills
Conceptual Framework
• Kansas University Learning Strategies
– Teaching organizational skills to students with learning
disabilities results in significant gains in grades
without re-teaching or supplementing content skills.
• Best practices in teaching tell us to:
– Increasing scaffolding
– Increase opportunities to practice correctly
– Increase reinforcement of skill fluency
• PBIS tells us to:
– Create systems of support to maximize efficiency and
effectiveness
Adolescent Brain Development
Massive Rewiring
• The brain consolidates learning by pruning
away gray matter and strengthening other
connections by wrapping them with white
matter
• The period of pruning is as important for brain
development as is the period of growth
Source: Adolescent Brains are Works in Progress. Frontline
Pre-Frontal Cortex—The “CEO”
PFC of adolescent is about 80%
developed compared to adults
The Amygdala—
Emotional Control Center
Adolescent brains rely heavily on this
part of brain to interpret events and
information!
Cerebellum—
Coordination of Mind & Body
It is possible to be physically
AND mentally clumsy during
development
“Use It or Lose It”
"If a teen is doing music or sports or academics,
those are the cells and connections that will be
hardwired. If they're lying on the couch or
playing video games or MTV, those are the cells
and connections that are going to survive."
Dr. Jay Giedd
National Institute of Mental Health
Bethesda, Md.
Effects of Stress on the Adolescent
Brain
• 2010 survey by the American Psychological Association
– 43% of 13- to -14year-olds felt stressed every day.
– 59% of 15 to 17year-olds felt daily stress
• The negative impact of stress hormones on the brain
could not come at a worse time.
– Stress overloads the prefrontal cortex
– Stress makes it harder to regulate emotions and thoughts
– Stress is happening when teens are struggling to gain the
self-control and regulation they need to stay on track
(Romero and McEwen, 2006).
Implications for Practice
• Adolescents need MORE support around
Executive Functioning Skills and Social-Emotional
Skill development:
–
–
–
–
Decision Making
Planning
Persisting
Understanding how behavior impacts others
• Cause/Effect
• Long Term Effects
• Supports need to be developmentally appropriate
Frontline video on Brain Development
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sh
ows/teenbrain/view/
• Inside the Teenage Brain
Organization Skill Set
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Student Guided Supports
Goal Setting
Tracking Progress • Utility across content areas
• Immediate access to classroom reinforcers
Planner
Notebook
Graduation Plan
Test Taking
Study Skills
How Are Schools Doing This?
•
•
•
•
•
Freshman Seminar
Junior / Senior Transition Course
Revamped Study Hall
Elective
In conjunction with CICO:
– To address work avoidance
Academic Engagement Data, Participants and Peers
School Successes
School Demographics
# students
per term
%
successful
each term
%
“Repeaters”
% requiring
additional
supports
School
Total
Enrollment
Archibald
800
80-90
75%
25%
6-10%
Ingenuity
800
80-90
60%
30%
6-10%
World *
200
12-15
95%
30%
N/A
Canter **
1,300
90-110
90%
25%
3-5%
Academic Seminar
Percentages represent average over the past 4 years.
* World High School is an international baccalaureate school.
** Exceptionally good at in-classroom differentiation of content
Adolescent Brain
Combining Academic and Social
Supports
• Alone, the Academic Seminar class targets
academic difficulties. Students receive explicit
instruction in organizational and selfmanagement strategies, and assisted homework
completion to help increase their academic
success. Adding the behavior report card, a
Check-In Check-Out cycle, to the Academic
Seminar class provides social supports for
students who are also experiencing behavioral
difficulties. Both the Academic Seminar Class and
Check-In Check-Out cycle together constitute the
HS-BEP.
Focus of Intervention while honoring
Contextual Fit
• The features outlined serve as a framework for
implementation. Teachers should feel free to create
learning activities around the critical features of the
curriculum outlined in the lesson plans. Behavior
Support Teams and or teachers may find the need to
make modest modifications to fit school contexts or
student needs. Regardless of modifications the focus
of the intervention is to decrease the difficulty of
academic task by providing explicit instruction in
organizational skills and homework completion while
increasing self-management skills and contingent
reinforcement from teachers through use of the HSBEP Card.
Graphic representing Implementation
Steps
• As much as possible the scope and sequence of the specific
academic skills should be organized to mirror the academic
demands of the general school (such as exams, projects,
etc.) so the skills learned in Academic Seminar can be
applied to general content assignments. The HS-BEP
curriculum focuses on the following academic activities:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Planner use and maintenance
Notebook organization
Goal setting for academic and social behaviors
Tracking progress
Test taking
Study strategies
Creation of a Graduation Plan
Steps to Implementing Academic Seminar
Purpose of Academic Seminar
• To provide a daily check in, class by class checks,
and check out with teachers
• To provide organizational, social and academic
prompts
• To establish regular communication with
families of students participating in HS-BEP
• To build organizational skills
• To provide assistance for homework completion
Steps to Implementing Academic Seminar
Identification of student participants
• Summer school programs
• Request for assistance nomination
• Student who is failing classes due to missing
or incomplete work
• 2-3 Office Discipline Referrals
Student Selection Process for HS-BEP
Teachers request assistance for students who:
• Engage in problem behavior, but no “crisis” behaviors:
– Occasionally skips class
– Talking during teacher instruction
– Failure to complete homework, class work, class projects
• Appear to benefit from increased structure
• Lack organizational skills:
– Notebook, backpack is disorganized.
– Student often misplaces or can’t find assignments
• Have academic skills appropriate for course
• Are achieving below a “C“ in core classes
• Student responds positively to at least one adult in the school.
Steps to Implementing Academic
Seminar
Procedures for participating in the intervention
• Staff:
– Provide student with a brief, positive welcome
– provide rated feedback and positive comment at the
end of class.
• What the students do:
– Checks in and out with HS-BEP coordinator every
other day (if on CICO)
– Establishes specific academic or social goals
– Uses the card throughout the day as a prompt
– Solicits teacher rating at the end of each class period
Steps to Implementing Academic Seminar
Procedures for participating in the intervention
Families:
Prompts the student to share the HS-BEP card, provides
positive feedback, signs the card, reminds student to
return card to school. The parent does not use the card
to correct the student again, but simply uses the card as
a tool for starting a conversation about the school day.
Coordinator:
Orients student to intervention, manages HS-BEP card
data, checks in and out with each student every other
day, communicates with staff about student HS-BEP
card status.
Steps to Implementing Academic Seminar
• Procedures for training staff, students, family
– Staff training at the beginning of the year with
boosters in winter and spring.
– Student handbook provides a description of the
program
• Data system for monitoring student progress
– HS-BEP coordinator responsible for HS-BEP card
data entry (using SWIS-CICO), learning activity
grading. All data to be updated once every 48
hours.
Steps to Implementing Academic Seminar
• Decision making cycle
– Student progress monitoring
• HS-BEP coordinator enters and summarizes data for twice
monthly Behavior Support Team meetings.
• Guidelines for concern:
– Significant departure in HS-BEP card points, grades, Office
Discipline Referrals, or attendance.
– Fidelity and effectiveness of secondary level
intervention
• Behavior Support Team review overall student progress at
twice monthly meetings.
• Behavior Support Team completes fidelity check at least
twice per year, fall and spring.
EXAMPLE OF DAILY LESSON PLAN
Daily Entry Task
• The learning activities in Academic Seminar
focus on teaching students how to organize
and prioritize academic tasks. A Daily Entry
Task at the beginning of each Academic
Seminar class period orients the students’
academic efforts for the 45-minute class
period and helps them prioritize tasks for
work completion after school or the next day
Lesson Plan
HS-BEP CI/CO Card Use
• The HS-BEP card is an additional component deigned to increase the
structure and support of Academic Seminar. The HS-BEP card is for
students who are engaging in more intense “at risk” behaviors that result
in an office discipline referral (i.e. skipping class, repeated class
disruptions, repeated latenesses, etc). The HS-BEP card is a behavioral
report card that students use to remind them of their social behavioral
goals and provides a schedule for recruiting teacher feedback. Students
begin their day checking in with a positive, supportive adult. Throughout
the day they receive positive, written feedback from their classroom
teachers contingent on demonstration of school-wide expectations. The
HS-BEP card concurrently functions to remind teachers to “catch” students
engaging in positive behaviors and provide feedback acknowledging the
positive behavior. The HS-BEP card is embedded into the daily classroom
protocol of Academic Seminar. Depending on the level of students’ social
needs they can participate in Academic Seminar with or without the HSBEP card component.
HS-BEP Teacher Responsibilities
Teacher Selection
• May be a Special Education teacher, or content area
teacher, who students relate to
• Adult in the school who provides explicit, consistent
expectations, positive feedback, and relevant supports.
The HS-BEP teacher is directly responsible for:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Managing classroom behaviors
Delivering academic curriculum
Teaching students the Check-In Check Out cycle
Morning check-in/Afternoon check-out
Management of academic and social data
See HS-BEP Classroom Guidelines (page 34)
Administrative Support
• Administrative support is vital to the implementation of HS-BEP. An
administrator will need to:
– Allocate sufficient FTE, for both teaching and data management, to meet the
student need within the building,
– Determine which staff member(s) is qualified to teach the HS-BEP class,
– Facilitate reorganization of systems and processes within the school to allow
for ease of identification, progress monitoring, and data management.
•
• Administrative support can also be crucial in building staff support of the
HS-BEP. Above and beyond the administrative functions, visible, active
support of the HS-BEP should be evident by:
– Regularly scheduled HS-BEP team meeting times,
– Regular attendance of the HS-BEP team meetings,
– Approving, and or facilitating staff updates as part of staff meetings or schoolwide emails
•
Summarize steps for Glen