Communities In Schools of Georgia

1. Communities In Schools of Georgia Charting For Success Empowering Students for a Lifetime of Success

2. 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools • In February 2005, Achieve and the National Governors Association co-chaired the National Education Summit on High Schools. • Forty-five governors, along with corporate CEOs and K–12 and postsecondary leaders participated. • Addressed the fact that schools are not adequately preparing students for college and 21st-century jobs. • Reached the conclusion that aggressive action is needed to address the expectations gap. • Launched the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network. Source: American Diploma Project, February 2008

3. Key Finding 1: Expectations are the same for both college & “good jobs” The knowledge and skills that high school graduates will need to be successful in college are the same as those they will need to be successful in a job that: • pays enough to support a family well above the poverty level, • provides benefits, and offers clear pathways for career advancement through further education and training Source: American Diploma Project, February 2008

4. Key Finding 2: Expectations Gap between High School & Postsecondary • Academic standards in HS not aligned with postsecondary and workplace entry requirements • HS graduation requirements too low • HS assessments not meaningfully connected with students’ college or career aspirations RESULT: Students can earn a high school diploma without the skills necessary for success in college and work. Source: American Diploma Project, February 2008

5. ADP Network Policy Agenda • Align high school standards with the demands of college and careers • Require students to take a college-and career-ready curriculum to earn a high school diploma • Build college-and career-ready measures into statewide high school assessment systems • Hold high schools and postsecondary institutions accountable for student preparation and success Source: American Diploma Project, February 2008

6. Georgia Department of Education Teachers-As-Advisors Orientation and Awareness PowerPoint, February 2008 • http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/TAA%20PowerPoint.2008.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6B5CF239B5F901B2E8392308038C1705A8025123BD10B5830&Type=D Georgia, Teachers-As-Advisors Framework PowerPoint • http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/Teachers-As-dvisors%20Framework-R%20FINAL%203-5-08.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6F2F9152F00CE2AEF2055002EEC5296F89B8464FE7E05833C&Type=D

7. Expectations… • Studies show that the expectations that teachers have for their students has an effect both on student performance and whether they drop out of school. (The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, Gates Foundation, 2006) (Blink) • 72% of high school graduates who did not go to college responded that – • knowing what they know today about the expectations of college/the work world – they would have taken more challenging courses in at least one area. (Achieve, Inc., 2005, Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work?) • Dropping out of high school is not a sudden act, but a gradual process of disengagement. Participants in (dropout survey) focus groups recounted that some of their best days were when their teachers noticed them, got them involved in class, and told them they were doing well. (The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, Gates Foundation, 2006) Source: GADOE, Teachers-As-Advisors: Orientation and Awareness, February 2008

8. What is Teachers-As-Advisors? A systemic, systematic method of delivery wherein an entire student population (grades 6-12) is assigned, in small groups, to a trained, caring adult advisor who both advocates for his or her advisees and facilitates sessions focused on: 1) Career Management: Awareness, Exploration, and Planning, 2) Academic Achievement, Educational Attainment and Lifelong Learning: Thinking and Learning Skills 3) Life Skills: Personal and Social Development Source: GADOE, Teachers-As-Advisors: Orientation and Awareness, February 2008

9. Counseling: the help that some students need to overcome personal and social problems that interfere with learning. Advisement: the help that ALL students need from parents, teachers, counselors and others to assist with educational and career development and planning. Essential Differences Source: GADOE, Teachers-As-Advisors: Orientation and Awareness, February 2008

10. Driving Questions • What are the compelling reasons for making postsecondary options for our students a priority?  • How can Charting For Success help us promote postsecondary learning, and what will it take to implement this curriculum effectively?

11. The Fourth CIS Basic “Every child needs and deserves a marketable skill to use upon graduation.” • A high school education alone will not give graduates the skills needed to be marketable. • Our students’ best chance for obtaining marketable skills is pursuing postsecondary training to prepare them for the globally competitive career market. • We must also help students realize this and create a plan of action for them to obtain postsecondary training, which includes technical, 2-year and 4-year college. • “Students who link expectation that college degree is essential to their desired career are six times more likely to matriculate.” (Reclaiming the American Dream, 2006)

12. The Origins of the CFS Curriculum:Combining Experience and Research Best Practices Charting For Success North Carolina CIS Network National Office

13. Charting For Success Purpose • Increase the number of Georgia graduates ready for college and postsecondary success • Engage students in planning, preparing, and transitioning into postsecondary options • Provide a roadmap for teachers as advisors, providing them with • A teachers guide to facilitating constructive advisory sessions • Background information and material to equip teachers to successfully and comfortably advise students • Pre-planned lessons designed to help youth prepare personalized postsecondary plans

14. How Charting For Success Works Two modules are available: 101 is for underclassmen (9th-10th) and 102 is for upperclassmen (11th-12th) Each module contains 24 lessons, 12 lessons per semester Lessons are designed to progressively build knowledge and experiences to lead to a prepared, informed transition into postsecondary choices Career Exploration for ALL Students College Exploration Financing College/Financial Planning Assistance Parent sessions and Cross-Curricular Lessons are also included

15. Purpose Learning Objectives Course Logistics Time Frame Materials Needed Handouts Additional Resources Lesson Steps Extensions/Modifications Important Terms Future Planning References Charting For Success Lesson Format

16. Tools & Talents = Marketable Skills Charting For Success Curriculum + Students, Teachers, Parents/Guardians, Business & Non-Profit Partners Springboard to Careers/College

17. For More Information Contact: Tony Owens, PLC Student Transition Coordinator Communities In Schools of Georgia towens@cisgeorgia.org 404-881-2133