Cuyahoga Falls City Schools

1. Cuyahoga Falls City Schools Transforming our Learning Communities to address 21st Century needs Board of Education September 9, 2013

2. Cuyahoga FallsWhere are we now? Attendance Rate ACT Composite Score

3. Cuyahoga FallsWhere are we now? AP Offerings What does this mean? Need to re-engage some of our students to want to come to school Steady performance on ACT scoring CFHS is providing more opportunities for students to take AP courses We need to continue to look for ways to improve our product

4. Cuyahoga Falls City Schools “Educational Excellence in a Changing World” • Common Core/state standards; staff-created curriculum maps • Commitment to professional learning communities • Established ongoing, systemic, job-embedded professional development • Large stock of quality educators

5. 21st Century Skills Aligned to Ohio’s Education Reform Plan in HB 1

6. What is the driving force behind this transformation?

7. Skills Needed for the 21st Century What skills are most important for job success when hiring a high school graduate? Source: Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2006). “Workforce Survey: Are They Really Ready to Work.”

8. Business Executive Survey Does your organization make a special effort to evaluate these skills when hiring? Yes The Four C’s American Management Association

9. Business Executive Survey How will 21st Century Skills be viewed in your organization in the future? American Management Association

10. Cuyahoga FallsBusiness Advisory Council August 15, 2013 KIVA with CFHS Summer Institute. This group mentioned the following: • New employees should have strong communication skills; oral and written • New employees should have experience with new technologies • New employees should be creative • New employees should have problem solving /critical thinking skills

11. What guides our schools to develop these skills desired by business and industry?

13. The Common Core is forcing change • Common Core standards require greater rigor • Common Core standards require greater problem solving skills • Common Core standards require technology skills • The 4C’s of critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication are foundations to the CCSS

14. Common Core • These are positive changes for instruction • They are also necessary in order to prepare students properly

15. Curricular ExpectationsAssessments Ohio Proficiency/Achievement Assessment question The students would be required to read a short selection from The Baby Grand, the Moon in July, and Me before answering the following questions.

16. Grade 6 – ReadingOhio Proficiency Test Which of these sentences best summarizes this story? • One family is composed of several musicians. • A boy tries to explain to his sister how he feels about music. • A girl wants to play a piano, but her brother won’t let her. • A mother finds a source of pride in her children.

17. Curricular ExpectationsAssessments New age assessment questions from PARCC The students would be required to read a selection from the book Julie of the Wolves before answering the following questions.

18. Grade 6, Item #5—Part BEnglish/ language arts Drag and drop two details from the passage that support your response to Part A into the box labeled “Supporting Details.”

19. Grade 6, Item #6English/language arts In the passage, the author developed a strong character named Miyax. Think about Miyax and the details the author used to create that character. The passage ends with Miyax waiting for the black wolf to look at her. Write an original story to continue where the passage ended. In your story, be sure to use what you have learned about the character Miyax as you tell what happens to her next.

20. How will instruction need to change in order to meet the new standards?

21. How do we make this change in instruction? Making learning relevant for students

22. Relevance is: “Learning in which students apply core knowledge, concepts, or skills to solve real-world problems. Relevant learning is interdisciplinary and contextual.” (Bill Daggett, Rigor/Relevance Framework, 2011)

23. How do we make learning relevant for students? • Provide authentic, real-life problems for them to solve • Tap into students interests and apply to their learning • Our teachers do this, but we need to improve upon this in order to address 21st century needs

24. Cuyahoga Falls City SchoolsSystemic & Connected Work

25. Middle School Summer InstituteNicole McMillen • August 19, 20, & 21 • 70 participants • Design Challenge study • Provide MS students exposure to career clusters

26. What are design challenges? A way to initiate a project where students cycle through an entire design thinking process. (Imagine, Plan, Design, Improve, Share) The design process is built into each challenge where students work together to develop a solution to a “real” issue/problem. These challenges will be focused on all of the career clusters throughout sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. During the institute, each team was given a career cluster to create a design challenge that would get the students familiar with the career cluster.

27. 6th Grade Hospitality and Tourism Design Challenge Frame the Challenge • We need our local retail stores to be successful in order to create a strong economic base that encourages tourism in our community. How might we create a reusable, environmentally friendly popcorn container? The container should appeal to teens and promote repeat visits to a local business. Next Steps • Establish the constraints • What sources of information will students need? • Day-by-Day Plan

28. Cuyahoga Falls High SchoolJen Culver High School Summer Institute August 12-14 NEOnet

29. General Overview • 60 Participants • Evolution of Schooling • Preserving Strengths • Business Advisory Council perspective • 8 Work/Research Groups • Share Out/Reflection • Next Steps

30. After the institute…. OPENING DAY STAFF MEETING DEN PARTICIPATION FRAMEWORK FUTURE WORK

31. Cuyahoga FallsMisunderstandings • A student has to choose his/her career in 9th grade • NO, he/she is choosing an area of interest • This structure will limit a student’s potential to get into a major in college • NO, it may help a student begin to develop possible areas to major in, but not limit

32. Cuyahoga FallsMisunderstandings • This structure does not support students with special needs • NO, this should provide more opportunities for students with special needs to explore interests and options • This will limit students in taking higher level courses • NO, our higher level learners will have the same or MORE opportunities

33. Cuyahoga FallsMisunderstandings • Band and other unified arts will not be an option in all dens. • NO, all students currently make choices on these courses. They will not be further limited because of the Den structure

34. Future Communication & Engagement • Parent/Community engagement meetings • Student engagement • Staff engagement • Use of website to inform and engage We need input from all our stakeholders!

35. Thank You for your support of this process! Please check www.cfalls.org for additional information and opportunities to ask questions