The Core to College Northeast
Florida Educational Taskforce:
Faculty Collaboration
Driving Innovation
Presenters:
Melanie Brown, Ph.D., SJR State VP for Academic Affairs
Meghan Deputy, SJR State Director of Continuing & Community Education
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Welcome!
 Introductions
 Melanie Brown, Ph.D., SJR State VP for Academic Affairs
 Meghan Deputy, SJR State Director of Community Ed
 Other Taskforce Members
 Presentation Overview
 Brief Overview of the Common Core
 Why Does Postsecondary Care about the Common Core?
 Description of Taskforce Project & Other Articulation Efforts
 Next Steps
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Melanie Brown, Ph.D.
 Vice President for Academic Affairs, SJR State College
 The Common Core…What Is It???
 Why Does Postsecondary Care about the Common Core?
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
The Common Core….What is It?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zmHX0n35Mg
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Understanding the Common Core
•The Common Core is all about skills.
•Provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students
are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what
they need to do to help them.
•Designed to be robust and relevant to the real world,
reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people
need for success in college and careers.
•With American students fully prepared for the future, our
communities will be best positioned to compete successfully
in the global economy.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
How are CCSS different?
English Language Arts
 Vertical alignment -Standards establish a “staircase”
of increasing complexity in what students must be
able to read.
 Standards require the progressive development of
reading comprehension so students gain more from
what they read as they progress through the grades.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
How are CCSS different?
English Language Arts
 Focus on what students read
 Informational text accounts for 80% of what students will
read in postsecondary institutions and careers.
 Emphasis on reading informational text across curriculum
 Expected to closely read multiple texts, analyze texts, and
use evidence to support claims
 Write to sources
 Research skills taught throughout the standards.
 Study multiple topics and solve problems with short and
extended projects
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
How are CCSS different?
Mathematics
 The Importance of Focus in Mathematics
 Mathematical Practices

Habits of Mind
 Principle Focus

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Research-based Standards
Procedural Skills and Conceptual Mastery
Arithmetic Fluency in Early Grades
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
How are CCSS different?
Mathematics
 Standards stress skills and conceptual understanding.
 Deep mastery and greater command of material.
 K-5 - Strong foundation for algebra is built with number and
operations.
 Middle - Hands-on learning in geometry, algebra and
probability and statistics.
 High school – Use of mathematics with structure and
coherence. Ability to apply mathematics in other
disciplines and worldwide. Emphasis on modeling.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Key Advances of the CCSS
MATHEMATICS
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ARTS/LITERACY
Focus, coherence and clarity:
emphasis on key topics at each
grade level and coherent
progression across grades
Balance of literature and
informational texts; focus on text
complexity
Procedural fluency and
understanding of concepts and skills
Emphasis on argument, informative/
explanatory writing, and research
Promote rigor through
mathematical proficiencies that
foster reasoning and understanding
across discipline
Speaking and listening skills
High school standards organized by
conceptual categories
Literacy standards for history,
science and technical subjects
ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
What Happens After They Graduate From High School?
2008-09
The 2009-10 Academic Year
93,726 (61%) Students
Enrolled in a Florida
Postsecondary Institution*
152,546
High School
Diploma
Recipients
Florida Colleges
62,362
(67%)
State Universities
27,456
(29%)
Independent
Universities
4,801
(5%)
PK-12 Adult Programs
2,739
(3%)
Source: PK-20 Education Data Warehouse. * Does not include students who enrolled in postsecondary education out of state, historically 4-5% of high school
graduates. Note: percentages use the 93,726 as the denominator and will add up to more than 100% because students may enroll in more than one sector.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Readiness Realities
Florida:
 176,286 students were enrolled in developmental
education courses in The Florida College System in 20102011. http://www.fldoe.org/cc/facts_glance.asp
 57.7% of all First Time in College (FTIC) students required
remediation in math (2009-2010)
 37.6% required remediation in reading (2009-2010)
 32.7% required remediation in writing (2009-2010)
http://www.fldoe.org/cc/OSAS/Evaluations/pdf/Zoom2011-04.pdf
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
FL College System FTIC Mathematics Readiness,
by Age (2009‐10)
48.9%
http://www.fldoe.org/cc/OSAS/Evaluations/pdf/Zoom2011-04.pdf
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
FL College System FTIC Reading Readiness, by Age
(2009‐10)
http://www.fldoe.org/cc/OSAS/Evaluations/pdf/Zoom2011-04.pdf
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
FL College System FTIC Writing Readiness, by Age
(2009‐10)
http://www.fldoe.org/cc/OSAS/Evaluations/pdf/Zoom2011-04.pdf
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Race to The Top Goals for Graduation Rate/College
Enrollment/College Credit Earned
100
59
34
9th Graders
Graduate from
High School in
2005
Go on to College
After High
School by 2007
in 2001-02
100
9th Graders
in 2011-12
85%
High
School
Grad
Rate
85
Graduate from
High School in
2015
74%
College
Going
Rate
63
Go on to College
After High
School by 2017
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
22
Earn at Least a
Year’s Worth of
College Credit
by 2009
44
Earn at Least a
Year’s Worth of
College Credit by
2019
Florida’s House Bill 1255
 2008: Senate Bill 1908
 Created opportunity for readiness testing of “interested”
11th graders and transitional coursework for “interested”
non-ready 12th graders
 2011: House Bill 1255
 Made completion of readiness testing and
transitional coursework mandatory for
both school districts and students
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Meghan Deputy
 Director of Continuing & Community Education
 Description of Taskforce Project & Other Articulation Efforts
 Next Steps
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Core to College Taskforce
 SJR State awarded in November 2012 a Florida College
System Foundation Grant to form the Core to College
Northeast Florida Educational Taskforce
 Taskforce Membership
 Two SJR State English, Reading, Math, Science, Career/Tech
Ed, and Teacher Education Faculty Members
 One English, Reading, Math, Science, and Career/Tech Ed
teacher from Clay, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties
 Administration and Executive Leadership of SJR State and
Clay, Putnam, and St. Johns County School Districts
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Core to College Taskforce
Project Goals:
1) Increase SJR State faculty knowledge of CCSS and PARCC;
2) Promote collaboration for standards and curricular
alignment between SJR State Faculty and secondary
education teachers in Clay, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties;
3) Increase college readiness of recent high school graduates
through enhanced curricular alignment; and
4) Strengthen connections between SJR State and Clay County
School District, Putnam County School District, and St. Johns
County School District.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Taskforce Membership Development
 Scheduled formal meetings with each Superintendent of
Schools between College President, Academic VP,
Director of Community Ed, & Dean of Teacher Ed
 Discussed Taskforce Itself but also….
 Articulation
 Dual Enrollment
 Community Outreach Efforts
 Partnership Opportunities
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Organizational Conference Call
 Goal was to get the conversation started….but this was
not as easy as it sounds!
 Required each district to have identified teachers to
participate
 Discussed method for participating online, goals of each
face-to-face session, etc.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
First Taskforce Meeting
 Full-day event at SJR State’s Conference Center
 President Pickens set the stage on the importance of this
collaboration as it relates to serving our students
 Cassandra Brown did an overview of CCSS and PARCC
 Faculty spent the majority of the day in subject area K20
work groups with faculty
representing all three districts
and SJR State.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
First Taskforce Meeting
Survey Feedback:
What were important discoveries you made today?
 “The new Common Core Standards are more in line with
college preparedness.”
 “Everyone is frustrated about changes.”
 “High school and college faculty are eager to collaborate
in this effort.”
 “The concerns between postsecondary and K12 are
actually similar.”
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Online Collaboration
 Weekly online assignments in Blackboard
 Discussion of the CCSS generated by prompts relating to
videos from the Teaching Channel and articles
 Online checkpoint assignments as the faculty work
collaboratively in their subject-area groups to complete
their “Deliverable” analyzing the local alignment between
CCSS and post-secondary and make recommendations for
future work.
 Results of collaboration to be presented by faculty at final
culminating roundtable.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Online Collaboration
SJR State College Instructor’s Post in Blackboard:
The content differences between the high school and college courses are
not the major factor affecting student success, in college, in my opinion. I
have had a few students say "I don't know why I am struggling. I did well
in science in high school." When I talk to them, I find out they are not
used to being held responsible for their own learning. For example, they
may be given points just for doing a particular lab exercise. Here, we quiz
them to assess what they actually learned from the exercise. Or in high
school, they have a lot of points of homework and in-class activities, but in
college the test average is 80-90- or even 100% of their grade. Some
students tell me they are used to just being able to "read over their notes
a few times" to do well on a test in high school. But here, that is not the
case. They don't know how to study with "active learning"
methods. They may know how to memorize snippets, but many are not
able to study for understanding.
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Online Collaboration
K12 Teacher’s Post in Blackboard:
I will speak for myself, but I think the situation is applicable to most teachers.
My students do not know how to study on their own. In fact, when I try to
encourage them to study on their own, I am accused of being uncooperative,
unhelpful and lazy. In high school, the students (and their parents) expect the
teachers to do everything for the students. I have to devote a full two days of
class to "studying" before every test! I truly believe this is what they should be
doing at home! It is very clear to me that these students are working with
"short-term" retention only. Now remember, I teach "average" students exactly the group that might choose SJRSC. The issues I mention probably
don't apply to the very high achieving students. My students, in general,
maintain B averages, but I feel they are very ill-prepared for independent
college-level studies. I agree that we should focus on the Career and College
Readiness Skills rather than the content skills. If our students really, really
know how to study, they will have the skills to learn any content!
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
“Deliverable”
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Culminating Taskforce Roundtable
• President Pickens has invited
Superintendents, School Board
Members, SBOE Members, Local
Legislators, etc. to attend
• Faculty Taskforce Members will be
presenting the results of their
collaboration and making
recommendations for future
partnership and to ensure CCSS
implementation results in K20
Curricular Alignment
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Grant Funding
 Grant Funded Expenses
 Meals
 Faculty Stipends
 Substitute Teachers
 Non-Grant Funded Expenses
 Facility Rental
 Donated Time!!
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Other K12-SJR State Articulation Efforts
 Annual High School Guidance Counselor Meetings
 College Staff Members Dedicated to Increasing College

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Access in Service District
Increased Dual Enrollment at both the High School Sites
and College Campuses
English, Reading, & Math High School teacher/ College
professor mentoring program
PK-20 Guidance Counselor Coordination Meetings
Core to College FL College System Foundation Grant
Connections Conference
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Middle School Reach-Out
 8th Grade College & Career Rallies
 College Reach Out Program (year-round after-school
tutoring & reach-out activities)
 Summer Camps
 Parent Information Sessions
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
High School Reach-Out
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Parent & Student Information Sessions
Open Houses & Other Campus Visits
SAT Boot Camp
Increased Dual Enrollment at both the High School Sites and
College Campuses
Work Ready Youth Tutoring and
Job Shadowing Program
College Reach Out Program
Upward Bound
In-District Minority
Scholarship Program
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Minority Scholarship Program
 SJR State Collier-Blocker In-District Minority Scholarship
Program
 12 In-District Minority Scholarships awarded for 2012-2013
 4 full scholarships to be awarded to St. Johns County
minority students Spring 2013
 Scholarship includes books, tuition, and fees and an annual
cash stipend
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Looking to the Future….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY2mRM4i6tY
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Questions?
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013
Contact Us
 Melanie Brown, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs, SJR State College
melaniebrown@sjrstate.edu
 Meghan Deputy
Director of Continuing & Community Education, SJR State College
meghandeputy@sjrstate.edu
Connections Conference -- April 12, 2013