2/28/06
Possible lessons from an inner city high school
by Joe Nathan
ìThis is a very different place than it was five years ago.î Thatís what Kay Arndt, principal at St. Paul Johnson High School, told me last week.
Both numbers and actions proved her point. While Johnson serves a significantly different group of students than many suburban and rural high schools, several the things her school is doing may be worth considering around the state.
Signs of progress include the following:
? Four-year graduation rates are up 14 percent over the last four years.Ý
? The percentage of students passing the stateís 10th grade reading test is up 10 percent
? The percentage of students passing the stateís 10th grade writing test is up 11 percent
This at a high school where more than 70 percent of students come from low-income families. Moreover, more than 2/3 of Johnsonís students are African American, Hispanic, Native American or Asian American. Johnson is very diverse. With help from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, our center has worked with Johnson for five years.
Johnsonís first and perhaps most important change was to adopt higher expectations for ALL its students. Each of its ninth graders is expected to develop a six year plan - something that involves a good deal of thinking not only about what they will do in high school - but afterwards. Internships, apprenticeships and other out of school activities, beginning in the ninth grade and continuing through the senior year, help students make an initial plan, and then refine it.
Second, beginning in the ninth grade year, students are required to, research, write and make public presentations about a personal interest. And, each student is required to conduct and present a major senior project. I watched several of them last week. One youngster had studied weightlifting, and explained his passion for the sport. A young woman explained her traditional Hmong clothing, and another with parental permission, redesigned part of the familyís home.Ý
Students saw how key academic skills apply to topics that really matter to them.
Third, ninth graders who need it get intensive help with reading or math. This makes it much more likely that students will be able to make progress toward graduation. Often, ninth grade is the time when youngsters drop out of high school. Johnson makes a major effort to help ninth graders develop allegiance to the high school, and acquire the skills they need to succeed.
Two recent reports by Education Trust, a non-partisan research group in Washington, D.C., strongly support these efforts. Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground, and The Power to Change, describe major progress at schools similar to Johnson. (www.edtrust.org).
Arndt has been a public school educator for more than 30 years. Like all great educators, she really loves young people. You can see it as she sells doughnuts in the school store, when she chats with students in the halls, and quietly, but proudly, reviews Johnson studentsí progress. Setting aside all the controversies in education, Johnson reminds us that major, measurable progress is possible.
Joe Nathan directs the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesotaís Humphrey Institute. He welcomes responses: jnathan@hhh.umn.edu
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