2008 Events

Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Centers and Community Colleges: Increasing Underrepresented Minorities Participating in STEM Fields ATE Centers and Projects have made it a priority to reach out of underrepresented populations by providing opportunities for exposure to new fields and academic support to succeed in postsecondary education. The programs highlighted at this forum described their programs and efforts to serve these student populations.  Presenters included Diego Navarro, Digital Bridge Academy, Cabrillo College, (CA); Toby Horn, DC Bio Tech, Partnership between Carnegie Institution of Washington, DC; DC Public Schools (DC); and Montgomery College, (MD); closing remarks by Gerhard Salinger, National Science Foundation, (DC). (Forum Brief)

11/17/08

The Role of an Advanced Technology Center (CITE) in Promoting Case-Based Learning and High School Redesign This forum focused on how the work at CITE has influenced Metro Nashville Public Schools and other partners in Nashville, TN, to create a system to bring community organizations and resources into alignment to support youth and high school performance. The forum also described one of the Innovation in Technological Academies directly supported by CITE and business partners.  Presenters included Sydney Rogers, Executive Director, Alignment Nashville, (TN); Nicholas Holland, President and CEO of Centresource, Business partner of the IT Career Academy at Stratford High School, (TN); David McNeel, Former Principal Investigator, Center for Innovation in Technological Education (CITE), (TN); and Starr Herrman, Director of Smaller Learning Communities/Career Academies, Metro Nashville Public Schools, (TN). (Forum Brief)

11/12/08-
11/14/08

Infusing Career and Technical Education into High School Reform  The focus of this trip to Sacramento was to learn about California’s efforts at improving career and technical education, to witness the interaction between state initiatives and district implementation, and to examine the impact of the reform at the school level by visiting schools and hearing from principals, teachers and students.  The group had the opportunity to meet with a variety of stakeholders, including state officials and business leaders, involved in California’s CTE reform efforts in order to gain an understanding of the state’s high school redesign initiatives; learn about the leadership and partnerships necessary to ensure effective implementation, including partnerships between secondary and post-secondary institutions, and schools and business leaders; and learn about the state’s process for implementing the new CTE, including the creation of CTE Standards and Framework, the provision of funding to implement new curricula and refurbish facilities, and efforts to address CTE teacher preparation. Site visits were made to Health Professions High School and Luther Burbank High School, Sacramento, CA. (Trip Report)

10/24/08

School Improvement and School Turnaround: Local Accomplishments Of MetLife Foundation/NASSP Breakthrough Schools The first forum in a series on school improvement and turnaround focused on a project by the MetLife Foundation and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.  This project identifies, showcases, and recognizes middle level and high schools that are high achieving or are dramatically improving student achievement and serve large numbers of students living in poverty. This forum showcased three schools that utilized these school improvement strategies, and that were grant award winners in 2008: Forest Grove High School in Oregon; Cashman Middle School in Nevada; and Wheaton High School in Maryland.  Mel Riddile of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, (VA), led the presentation.  Speakers were:  Kevin E. Lowndes, Principal, Wheaton High School, (MD); John O’Neill, Principal Forest Grove High School, (OR); and Misti Taton, Principal, Cashman Middle School, (NV). (Forum Brief)

10/05/08-
10/07/08

Local Leader Trip to Portland, Oregon: Sustaining Systemic Approaches to Reengaging Disconnected Youth In collaboration with National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education and Families, The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), planned a series of workshops and field trips to help local leaders learn more about reaching struggling students and out-of-school youth and expanding options and alternatives for high school-aged young people. This project, funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, supports the YEF Institute’s work engaging municipal leaders in building cross-system collaborations by providing hands-on professional development activities to mayors and superintendents, their staffs, and other local leaders engaged in efforts to reach young people who have dropped out of school, are out of work, or have been involved in the juvenile justice or foster care systems. This field trip offered local leaders an opportunity to participate in strategically designed and intensive workshops and site visits during which participants engaged in substantive policy discussions with their counterparts in other cities and visit exemplary programs.  The third trip in this series reconvened city teams who joined the AYPF field trips to Newark and New York City in December 2007. Participants learned about Portland’s varied efforts to serve disconnected youth through education and employment training as well as reflect upon their own growth since the first gathering. Following a presentation by Superintendent Carole Smith and others, the group visited Open Meadow; New Avenues for Youth, and Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, Portland, OR. (Trip Report)

09/29/08-
09/30/08

Federal Policy Makers Trip to Long Beach Unified School District, California: Investing in Human Capital and Professional Development The Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) is nationally known for its investment in its teachers and teaching pipeline.  The district maintains the perspective that improving student achievement rests on building the capacity of teachers to diagnose their students’ needs and help them make academic progress. This core belief in the capacity of its teachers guides the district’s efforts to recruit, develop, and retain highly effective educators. AYPF brought a group of federal education policy leaders to Long Beach to learn about the role of human capital and professional development in high school reform. The group had the opportunity to meet with several district leaders, including Christopher Steinhauser, LBUSD Superintendent of Schools, as well as with students, teachers, and school administrators. (Trip Report)

9/26/08

Dual Enrollment Research, Policies, and Effective Practice: Dual enrollment, in which high school students take college courses, has become a popular strategy to help students transition to, and be successful in, college. The forum provided a status report on dual enrollment – what the newest data show, how policy is stimulating participation and shaping practice, and the ways in which dual enrollment is being incorporated into career and technical programs so as to prepare students for both college and careers. Dr. Thomas Bailey of the National Center for Postsecondary Research, (NY) led the presentation.  Speakers included: Joel Vargas, Program Director, Jobs for the Future, (MA); Heather Sherry, Director K-20 Articulation, Florida Department of Education, (FL); and Daniel Voloch, Coordinator, College Now, Hostos Community College, (NY).  (Forum Brief)

9/11/08

Advisory Group for AYPF Compendium on Supporting College- and Career-Readiness for All Youth: The Advisory Group is comprised of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with expertise in secondary school reform, college access efforts, and strategies for closing the achievement gap. This group helped inform the scope of analysis for the compendium and criteria used to select programs, identify research to be included, and provide a context for the framing of policy recommendations. (Advisory Group)

9/19/08

Keeping Up with the Demand for a Technically-Skilled Workforce: The Role of ATE Networks and Community Colleges:   This was the first forum in a series hosted in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges on the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, an initiative of the National Science Foundation. Highlighting the education-industry partnership of these programs, speakers included Gordon Snyder, National Center for Telecommunications Technologies, Springfield Technical Community College, (MA); Ellen Bemben, Regional Technology Corporation, (MA); Bill Raley, College of the Mainland, Texas City, (TX); and Lee Rector, Texas Workforce Investment, (TX). (Forum Brief)

6/27/08

Improving Long-Term Labor Market Prospects for Youth: Evidence from Career Academies   Career Academies are one of the most popular and lasting high school reform strategies. This forum featured the release of a new report from MDRC which includes findings from eight years of post-high school data discusses the findings’ potential policy significance and implications for school reform and youth programming. Speakers included James Kemple, Director of K-12 Education Policy at MDRC, (NY); J.D. Hoye, President, National Academy Foundation, (NY); and Charles Dayton, Director of the Career Academy Support Network, (CA). (Forum Brief)

06/13/08

Building a Better Bridge: Helping Young Adults Enter and Succeed in College  A partnership between the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC) and The New York City College of Technology (NYCCT) of City University of New York (CUNY) was created to develop and implement a college access and success program for young people who are overage, under-credited, or have dropped out of high school. This forum described the successes and challenges of the partnership and lessons learned on how to help formerly disconnected youth access postsecondary education. Speakers  included Peter Kleinbard and Vivian Vazquez of the Youth Development Institute, New York City (NY); Bonne August, Provost of New York City College of Technology, (NY); and Emily Van Ingen of the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, (NY). (Forum Brief)

06/05/08-
06/06/08

05/20/08

 

Improving the Transition from Middle Grades to High Schools:  Promising District Initiatives in Coaching and Planning This forum was the final presentation in the series on “Improving the Transition from the Middle Grades to High Schools.” Presenters showcased how Lowndes County Schools in Georgia are implementing the state’s Middle and High School Graduation Coach Initiative to help students transition successfully from the middle grades to high school.  The forum also highlighted the use of a new course for incoming freshman, called Keystone - The Freshman Experience, in Duval County, Florida, which helps high school students to become career-focused while learning how to make effective decisions about their futures. Presenters included Dr. Steve Smith, Superintendent, Lowndes County Schools, (GA); Wes Taylor, Principal, Lowndes High School, (GA); and Beverly Strickland, Director, High School Programs, Duval County Public Schools, (GA). (Forum Brief)

05/14/08

Building Afterschool Capacity at the National Level: The Community Schools Model  This forum examined the “community schools” model as a part of the growing movement to expand the lens through which out-of-school time programming is viewed. The community schools model is proving to be an effective comprehensive learning model and has fully embraced out-of-school time enrichment as a necessary and valued piece of its framework. Speakers included Martin Blank, Director, Coalition for Community Schools, Institute for Educational Leadership, (DC); Daniel Cardinali, President, Communities In Schools, (VA); Jane Quinn, Assistant Executive Director, Children’s Aid Society, (NY); and Joann Weeks, Associate Director, University of Pennsylvania Center for Community Partnerships (PA). (Forum Brief)

05/14/08-
05/15/08

State Policy Trip to Louisville, Kentucky: Helping Policymakers Understand High School Redesign Dropout Prevention and Persistence to Graduation This trip showcased promising programs and practices, as well as other innovative methods that Kentucky is employing to ensure a comprehensive approach to high school improvement, with a specific emphasis on dropout prevention. Participants heard from key speakers such as Michael Miller, Division Director of Curriculum, KY Department of Education; Nijel Clayton, Branch Manager of Dropout Prevention, KY Department of Education; Marty Bell, Deputy to the Superintendent, Jefferson County Public Schools, KY; Joe Burks, Assistant Superintendent of High Schools, JCPS, KY; and Maurice Risner, Executive Director, Student Relations and Safety, JCPS, KY.  Site visits included visits to Breckinridge High School; Liberty High School; Jefferson County High School; a Family Youth and Service Center; and South Central Neighborhood Place.  (Trip Report)

04/24/08

 

Building Afterschool Capacity at the Local Level: Spotlight on the NYC City-Wide Out-of-School Time Initiative  Under the mayor’s leadership, NYC is investing in numerous capacity-building techniques in their OST system, such as evaluation, data systems, and professional development, and the city’s youth are already experiencing positive results because of it. Speakers included Jeanne B. Mullgrav, Commissioner, NYC Department of Youth & Community Development (NY); Elizabeth Reisner, Principal, Policy Studies Associates, Inc. (DC); and Richard Berlin, Executive Director, Harlem RBI (NY). (Forum Brief)

04/11/08

Improving the Transition from Middle Grades to High Schools: Promising State Initiatives in Literacy and Mathematics  By addressing mathematics and literacy deficiencies, educators improve the chances of at-risk students remaining in school, and graduating on time. This forum, the second in the series  on “Improving the Transition from the Middle Grades to High Schools,” featured  Sherrill W. Parris, Assistant State Superintendent of Education for the Alabama Department of Education (AL) and Linda M. Wallinger, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction at the Virginia Department of Education (VA). (Forum Brief)

03/31/08

Building Afterschool Capacity at the State Level  This forum focused on how three state-level entities are effectively building the capacity of the afterschool field. Speakers included Jill Riemer, Executive Director, Georgia Afterschool Investment Council (GA); Karyl Resnick, 21st CCLC Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA); Debra McLaughlin, Consultant, The Kunnusta Group, (MA); Lauren Sterling, Staff, Maine Governor’s Children’s Cabinet (ME); and Robert Stonehill, Chief Program Office, Learning Point Associates, (DC). (Forum Brief)

03/14/08

Improving Transition to Higher Education for Out-of-School Youth  This forum was co-sponsored by the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) and the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) to highlight factors influencing the success of youth programs that provide support for formerly out-of-school youth as they transition to postsecondary education and employment. This session featured NYEC’s policy recommendations intended to inform federal higher education and workforce development policy and representatives from local and national youth-serving organizations.  Speakers included Betsy Brand, Director, American Youth Policy Forum (DC); Mala Thakur, Executive Director, National Youth Employment Coalition, (DC); Bob Rath, President and CEO, Our Piece of the Pie, (CT); and Sangeeta Tyagi, Vice President for Education and Career Development, YouthBuild USA, (MA). (Forum Brief)

03/12/08-
03/13/08

State Policy Trip to Providence, Rhode Island: Proficiency-based High School Diploma System  Highlights from this trip included meetings with Robert Flanders, Chair of the Board of Regents; Peter McWalters, Commissioner of Education; Jack Warner, Commissioner of Higher Education; and Janet Durfee-Hidalgo, Education Policy Advisor of Governor Donald Carcieri, as well as other state and district education leaders. In addition, the group visited Hope High School, Coventry High School, and Shea High School to see how the diploma system has been implemented at the school level. (Trip Report)

01/29/08

American Youth Policy Forum Meeting on Federal and State Policies to Support Career and Technical Education   Featuring Anne Stanton, Program Director, Irvine Foundation; Gary Hoachlander, President MPR Associates, Inc.; Domenic Giandomenico, Director of Government Relations, National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium, VA; and Scott Hess, Chief, College and Career Transitions, U.S. Department of Education, DC. (Discussion Group)

01/25/08

Improving the Transition from Middle Grades to High Schools:  The Role of Early Warning Indicators  This forum, the first in the series on “Improving the Transition from the Middle Grades to High Schools,” focused on early warning indicators, particularly the use of on-track indicators, that can identify potential high school dropouts as early as sixth grade.  Presenters included Robert Balfanz, Research Scientist, Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University (MD); Elaine Allensworth, Co-Director for Statistical Analysis, Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago (IL); and Craig D. Jerald, independent consultant, Break the Curve Consulting, (DC).   (Forum Brief)

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