1 Connecting Activities Leadership Meeting March 29, 2011

2 Agenda – March 29 th Leadership Meeting Race to the Top College and Career Delivery Plan What’s New for Connecting Activities: - New “Work and Learning Program Elements” - Collaboration with Mass. School Counseling Model and other school-wide initiatives - Opportunity to integrate a range of new and existing high quality “work and learning” and career development experiences into school-wide programming Preview of RFR and FY12 Measurement How to start thinking about FY12 goals Regional Training Teams and the FY12 RFR

3 College and Career Ready Academic Support Grants Early Warning Indicator System High School Graduation Initiative High School Turnaround MassCore Policy & Implementation Mass Model for School Counseling School to Career Connecting Activities New for FY12 Connecting Activities is one of the seven strategic initiatives in the Race to the Top College and Career Readiness Delivery Plan

4 This opens up new opportunities for Connecting Activities programs to work with school-wide initiatives to support college and career readiness. College and Career Ready Academic Support Grants Early Warning Indicator System High School Graduation Initiative High School Turnaround MassCore Policy & Implementation Mass Model for School Counseling School to Career Connecting Activities

5 FY12 Primary Goal To support college and career readiness by providing students with high quality “work and learning” experiences and other career development activities that are part of school-wide efforts to raise graduation rates by working with school, community and employer partners to ensure that students, particularly students most in need of support, are able to graduate from high school with the academic and career readiness skills necessary for postsecondary success.

6 New Work and Learning “Program Elements” A = All Work Experiences. G = Planning Goals. R = Raising Graduation Rates. O = Workshop or Classroom Component. W = Work-Based Learning Plans. E = Number of Employers.

7 New Work and Learning “Program Elements” A = All Work Experiences. Total number of students participating in jobs/internships brokered by Connecting Activities. Brokering may include direct placement, managing Work-Based Learning Plans, providing workshop or classroom programming or other brokering roles. G = Planning Goals. Number of students in jobs/internships linked to individual student formal planning goals, based on a College and Career Plan, Individual Education Plan, Educational Proficiency Plan or other formal planning process. R = Raising Graduation Rates. Number of students in jobs/internships where the student was targeted or identified through school-wide initiatives to raise graduation rates. This may include students identified through the Early Warning Indicator Index, MCAS results for students who need to re-test, and dropouts who have re-enrolled in school. O = Workshop or Classroom Component. Number of students in jobs/internships with a classroom or workshop component. This may include an internship class, Academic Support program, CVTE program, career pathway program, or workplace readiness or career development classes and workshops. W = Work-Based Learning Plans. Number of students in jobs/internships with Work-Based Learning Plans. E = Number of Employers. Total employers providing jobs/internships through Connecting Activities. The Work and Learning Performance report also includes a count of private, nonprofit and public employers.

8 - Background -

9 Background about the Mass School Counseling Model and College and Career Plans The Mass Model is a collaborative leadership model whereby Guidance is charged with spearheading systemic school change to help raise student achievement in the academic/technical, workplace readiness and personal/social domains. Forty-five districts have signed on to participate in Race to the Top under College and Career Readiness representing 90,506 students in Grades Enhance and coordinate services for 8 th and 9th grade students as they transition into high school based on early warning indicators, the growth model and previous MCAS scores with a goal of proficiency in the academic/technical, workplace readiness and person/social domains Focus targeted efforts on developing college and career plans for all incoming 9th graders and tracking every student’s progress while making data driven adjustments to insure student success over their high school experience. Coordinate academic support services for students in Grades 9-12 who have yet to meet their CD by leveraging allocation and competitive academic grants designed to meet the specific needs of at-risk populations. Ensure all students are “on track” to graduate high school college and career ready by completing MassCore, taking all appropriate coursework and participating in experiential learning opportunities to support their success in postsecondary education, training and career pathway opportunities.

10 Background about the Early Warning Indicator Index and other school-wide initiatives to raise graduation rates The Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) is a data-driven system to identify students K-12 that are potentially “off-track” for grade-level or developmental age, including those students that are off-track for high school graduation (potential dropouts). This project is funded through the federal Longitudinal Data System Grant Program (LDS-2) and will build-off of the current Early Warning Indicator Index (EWII) developed by the Department.

11 Background about Academic Support Academic Support provides academic support and remediation services to secondary school students scoring in warning/failing and needs improvement on the mathematics, English language arts and science/technology and engineering MCAS. There are several different funding line items within the Academic Support program. The Connecting Activities initiative provides “Work and Learning Academic Support” programs through Academic Support grants.

12 Background about MassCore MassCore is the Board of Education’s recommended program of high school studies, which includes 4 years of English and mathematics (including Algebra II), three years of history and social science, three years of lab sciences, two years of foreign language, a year of the arts, and physical education. It also encourages students to take electives, including Advanced Placement (AP), a capstone senior project; dual enrollment: courses taken for both high school and college credit; online course for high school or college credit; service learning; and work-based learning. Core courses and electives should total a minimum of 22 credits.

13 How this fits Before looking at FY12 reporting and measurement and at the FY12 RFR, a quick review: –How this all fits together –Opportunities –Current strengths –Vision for FY12 and future years

14 FY12 Measurement

15 New Performance Report

16 New Optional Activities Report

17 New Checklist on Placement Screen (will be “live” shortly before July 1 st )

18 New Activities Screen

19 FY12 Planning and RFR

20 RFR Section I: Planning Chart about Program Elements

21 RFR Section I: Planning Chart for Career Development Activities

22 RFR Section II: Planning Chart for Regional Training Team

23 From RFR Section I: Not new… but worth mentioning

24 RFR Attachment D: Not new… but re-formatted NOTE – this will be slightly reformatted based on suggestions from the March 29 th meeting

25 - Discussion Questions -

26 How to start thinking about FY12 Goals…

27 - RFR Webinar Dates -