Trip to Charleston and Elkins, West Virginia
An American Youth Policy Forum Field Trip — April 8-9, 1999
The focus of the trip was to learn about West Virginia’s statewide education reform legislation, the Jobs Through Education Act, and to visit the Randolph County Vocational Technical Center, part of the "High Schools That Work" Consortium.
The Jobs Through Education Act
In 1996, West Virginia enacted a major school reform bill, the Jobs Through Education Act, to assure that all students graduate from high schools fully prepared for college, other postsecondary education or gainful employment. The Act focuses on all students at all levels (K-12) and constitutes a comprehensive package of systemic reform measures designed to assure student success.
The Act established a state policy framework, guidelines and goals for increased academic expectations and career readiness for all students. It also established processes for increased parental involvement and partnerships with business, labor and the community to help students connect success in school with success in adult life, to see how academic subject matter is applied to real world problem solving and to explore career options.
In general terms, the Jobs Through Education Act:
- Replaces the general curriculum with a system of career clusters and majors;
- Increases academic expectations for all students;
- Implements a system of career information and guidance that includes work-based learning;
- Requires every student in consultation with his/her parents and school advisor to establish a five-year educational plan (Grade 9 – one year beyond high school);
- Requires the involvement of the private sector and other stakeholders as partners at the state, regional and local levels;
- Creates a process through which qualified high school graduates can receive a credential that is recognized by employers and;
- Implements a continuous program of assessment, program improvement, and staff development.
The Jobs Through Education Act is being implemented in stages, to be complete by 2001.
The West Virginia Department of Education also decided that federal funding available from the School to Work Opportunities Act would be used to enhance the Jobs Through Education Act. Additionally, the state required participating high schools to use the key practices and conditions associated with "High Schools That Work" (see end of report for a list of key practices), organized by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), in their School to Work efforts. As a result of this mandate at the state level, West Virginia currently has 127 participating "High Schools That Work" (HSTW) sites (75% of all secondary schools in the state).
The Department of Education has also been aggressive in promoting an integrated approach to vocational-technical education and education reform. Funds from vocational education, Tech Prep, School to Work, and the state are integrated, so that technical assistance and support is provided for all programs in an integrated fashion. Each program supports the other, and state leaders have worked hard to avoid any turf battles over program funding. The existence of the Jobs Through Education Act has furthered this integration of efforts, as the legislation applies to all students, not just certain categories of students.
West Virginia has generally been successful in its implementation of School to Work and the Jobs Through Education Act and has avoided problems with parents and community members who claim that curriculum is low-level vocational training narrowly focused on jobs. State administrators have made an effort to keep a focus on strong academics and high expectations for all students and to ensure that the career clusters and majors are very flexible. Also, the culture of West Virginia is one that supports and accepts all types of work, including "blue collar" jobs.
Area High School Experiences
During the first afternoon of the field trip, the group met with representatives from two area high schools involved in implementation of the Jobs Through Education Act and "High Schools That Work." Both schools were in relatively early stages of implementation, but nonetheless had positive experiences.
Wayne High School began implementing "High Schools That Work" in 1994. The school has created a challenging program of study with high expectations for all students in several career clusters: Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technical; Health; Human Services; Business and Marketing; and Science and Natural Resources. The school has conducted job shadowing for teachers and students with 80 local businesses, and will start internships for all students in school year 1999-2000. One program has been developed with Cisco Systems, to create a Cisco Regional Academy to provide Internet training and certification, which has been very popular and leads to high paying jobs. The high school, working with nearby Marshall University and the Western West Virginia Tech Prep Consortium, offers a number of dual credit classes for freshman level English, French, Geography, German, History, Chemistry, and Biology.
Wayne High School administrators indicated that they have been working on varying pieces of reform over a period of several years. They recognize that the various components of the system need to be changed together, and that this change will take time. Ferrell Mills, Principal of the high school, indicated that it took five years to eliminate the "old vocational" programming and replace it with a developmental curriculum for all students. Staff and teachers have been willing to change and have spent many hours in professional development learning applied teaching techniques, technology integration strategies and building an advisor/advisee system.
As a result of the involvement in "High Schools That Work," Wayne High School has seen dramatic increases in student scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading, math and science tests. For the period 1996-1998, overall scores in reading increased from 266 to 281; in math, the scores increased from 278 to 295; and in science, the scores increased from 283 to 294. In each case, Wayne High School’s scores exceeded the goals set by "High Schools that Work" by several points.
With the reform efforts at the high school proceeding in an orderly fashion, the school district is looking at how to create "Middle Schools That Work" and "Elementary Schools That Work," based on the same philosophy of high expectations and the other key practices of "High Schools That Work" so that more students come to high school with high levels of reading and math.
The second high school, Summers County High School, has been implementing "High Schools That Work" for two years. The superintendent of the district indicated that student performance was so low they closed half of the schools in the county and held public hearings to decide what the community wanted. The community agreed with a focus on stronger academics as well as a hands-on approach to learning. The high school reopened with a strong focus on career preparation and academics. Teachers were very willing to change because performance was so bad, they realized they had to do something. Summers County High School has recently been selected to participate in the New American High Schools initiative due to the positive changes they have brought about.
Guidance and counseling is an important aspect of reform. Evaluation data on individual students is used to help teachers evaluate their teaching strategies for those students. The school also provides extra time and extra help for students who need it through an alternative school and after school classes that focus on basic skills.
Students select a major in 9th grade, after spending time with counselors, teachers, and parents discussing options in the 8th grade. A plan is developed to cover the 9th and 10th grades, and then is revised for the 11th, 12th and 13th year (if appropriate). Students have great flexibility to move across clusters, and can do so until the first semester senior year without losing any credits toward a major, because the clusters have been designed so broadly. This year, for students in the 8th grade, 100 percent of parents participated in the development of the plan for high school.
Because the labor market is limited (the largest employer in the county is the public education system), job simulations are a primary means of providing students with workplace experiences. School-based enterprises, developed by students, include a dinner theatre, construction of a home and Cat’s Café, which serves fast food at school and caters business dinners. Jobs for West Virginia’s Graduates is also very active in preparing students for the workplace.
Harry Keaton, Principal of the Summers County High School, indicated that funding from the School to Work Opportunities Act provided the necessary funds to support the curriculum redesign and teacher training needed to affect reform. The state also provided a great deal of support and Wayne County was their mentor. Schools openly share their work with others and encourage each other to innovate. State leadership has worked hard to create this environment of cooperation and sharing.
Dr. Henry Marockie, State Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Marockie addressed the group at dinner. He indicated that this was a decade of reform, starting with the first pilot of "High Schools That Work" in 1988. The most significant step was the passage of the Jobs Through Education Act, which put all the reform efforts into one piece of legislation and affects all students. It has three major components: high academic achievement, with grade level achievement in the core subjects; a warranty for students based on statewide standards; and workplace readiness with strong academic foundation, problem solving, and work-based learning experiences.
Dr. Marockie shared a number of observations about promoting reform: reform takes a long time; the consistency of support from public officials including the Governor, the state legislature and state superintendent can make an enormous difference in keeping a focus and momentum; strong leadership is required to help change the culture of schools; a unified county plan for K-12 system is crucial; reform must be systemic and change all aspects of the system simultaneously; there must be a focus on ALL students; and technical assistance and massive staff development are vital.
Overall statewide scores in the ACT increased from 19.7 in 1989 to 20.1 in 1998; statewide NAEP math 4th grade math scores increased from 215 in 1992 to 223 in 1996 and 8th grade math scores went from 259 in 1992 to 265 in 1996. The number of sites that meet the HSTW goals went from two in 1994 to 27 in 1998.
Randolph County Vocational Technical Center
The second day of the field trip was spent visiting the Randolph County Vocational Technical Center (RCVTC) located in Elkins. The RCVTC was built as a "stand-alone" facility in 1976. In 1994, a new Elkins High School was built on the same campus. Ninety-five percent of the 800 students enrolled at the center are from Elkins High School; the other five percent are from other county high schools and attend classes at the center on a half-day basis. Ninety-nine percent of the students are non-minority. Countywide, the minority population is two percent. Of the 800 students, approximately 500 are qualified as economically disadvantaged and approximately 225 are educationally disadvantaged. Funding for the school comes solely from the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act; the average daily attendance funds for each student remain with the home high school.
Glen Karlen, who became Superintendent of Randolph County Schools in 1997, was principal of RCVTC in 1987, when it first became involved with HSTW. Karlen and the faculty knew that improving achievement meant reaching out to the three home high schools to bring them on board with the improvement effort. Leaders at the vocational technical center faced the task of convincing these schools that the center was not a "dumping ground" for low-ability, low-achieving students and that these students could and should be taught to higher standards. This hurdle had to be overcome before Karlen and his staff could tackle a list of challenges that included:
- Students coming to the vocational center lacked basic reading, mathematics, science and problem-solving skills.
- High dropout rates, poor attendance, and low achievement.
- Employers complained that they were spending time and money to prepare high school graduates who were woefully ill equipped to perform even menial tasks.
- Staff in need of training and direction in bringing about change.
- A school image that was tarnished due to all of these factors.
In the first year, school leaders and teachers attempted to address all of the HSTW key practices, but it simply was not possible. However, Karlen is glad they tried, because it gave them insight on how the key practices fit together.
School leaders and teachers decided to focus on raising student’s expectations and preparing teachers to engage students in more challenging assignments. Their strategies included:
Eliminating the general track and raising graduation requirements from 21 to 27.
Supporting teachers with staff development. Academies for teachers were held early on, to help teachers understand how to develop integrated curriculum, how to teach applied, contextual material, and to understand the readability levels of vocational text books (this was to demonstrate to "academic" teachers that the reading requirements of vocational curriculum was above the 10th grade level). Staff development has continued to be a major activity of the HSTW implementation.
Designing a challenging vocational curriculum. Academics were strengthened in all vocational courses. Block scheduling was instituted to allow students to repeat failed courses and graduate on time, as well as to allow more advanced students to take courses for college credit during high school. Seniors are required to complete a senior project which starts with a research project in junior year and includes an internship, a product and a presentation in the senior year. Students select a career major in 9th grade, but by "flexing" three or four classes, a student could cover three or four career majors. This flexibility allows students to graduate with more than one career major, and the flexibility has kept parents happy. Work-based learning opportunities for students are available through job shadowing, internships, and registered apprenticeships, as well as by participating in school-based enterprises (SBEs). One SBE at Randolph involved a group of students researching, writing and publishing a cookbook on local recipes with history about the area’s well-known cooks and restaurateurs.
As part of their work for credit, students carry out projects often in conjunction with one of the vocational student organizations, such as Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), VICA, or Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). One FBLA project was to publish a children’s book and use the book to raise funds for the local children’s hospital. Students were involved in creating a business plan for the project, designing the book, preparing the book for printing, managing the overall project, developing PR, communications strategies and marketing that involved stores like Wal-Mart.
Improving guidance and advisement. Students meet with their advisor, who is a faculty member assigned to work with a student for all four years, at least once a month to review the five-year career plan and to help students become more organized and responsible for their work and schedules. Outside speakers are brought in to talk about careers.
Providing extra help. The school provides numerous opportunities to help students meet the standards and an extra-help and extra-time system is part of the culture. A program called "Zeros Aren’t Permitted" (ZAP) requires students to complete all assignments by offering extra help or extra time. Students are allowed to take tests a second time to increase their scores; and individual tutoring is available after school. "The emphasis in Randolph County is not on student failure but on helping students meet higher standards," Karlen said. "Our teachers consider extra help a part of the job."
Involving the community. The school holds business lunches for employers and students, academic fairs and open houses, and has a good level of parental involvement.
Over the past 10 years, RCVTC has seen increases in various measures of student performance. The average SAT score rose from 906 in 1992-93 to 1001 in 1996-97.
Randolph County Vocational Technical Center NAEP Assessment Scores
| Reading | Math | Science | |
| RCVTC – 1996 | 294.3 | 303.8 | 298.4 |
| RCVTC – 1998 | 289.3 | 304.5 | 304.5 |
| HSTW Goal | 279.0 | 295.0 | 292.0 |
RCVTC has been successful in bringing about these changes due to strong and committed leaders and staff with support from the state department of education and the district superintendent. These offices have provided a great deal of necessary technical assistance, training, and support, to help create the climate for change. Mr. Karlen also indicated that they have been successful because they involved parents from the beginning and kept them involved in all phases of reform. In recognition of its efforts, the U.S. Department of Education has recently invited RCVTC to join the New American High Schools initiative.
While much has been accomplished, challenges remain. RCVTC wants to include computer literacy as a goal for high school graduation; expand Tech Prep programs for dual credit; enhance the planning between RCVTC and the feeder schools; increase the competency levels in basic math; increase business and industry involvement to allow for more work-based learning opportunities for students; increase parental involvement; and build in more time and staff to help each student develop an individualized career program.
Key Practices for Accelerating Student Achievement in "High Schools That Work":
- Setting higher expectations and getting more students to meet them;
- Vocational studies -- increasing access to intellectually challenging vocational and technical studies, with a major emphasis on using high-level math, science, language arts, and problem-solving skills;
- Academic studies -- increasing access to academic studies that teach the essential concepts from the college prep curriculum by encouraging students to use academic content and skills to address real-world projects and problems;
- Program of study -- having students complete a challenging program of study with an upgraded academic core and a career major;
- Work-based learning -- giving students and parents the choice of a system that integrates school-based and work-based learning;
- Teachers working together -- having an organization, structure, and schedule giving academic and vocational teachers the time to plan and deliver integrated instruction aimed at teaching high-level academic and technical content;
- Students actively engaged -- getting every student involved in rigorous and challenging learning;
- Guidance -- involving each student and his or her parents in a guidance and advising system that ensures the completion of an accelerated program of study with an in-depth academic or vocational-technical major;
- Extra help -- providing a structured system of extra help to enable students who may lack adequate preparation to complete an accelerated program of study that includes high-level academic and technical content; and
- Keeping score -- using student assessment and program evaluation data to improve continuously the school climate, organization, management, curricula and instruction to advance student learning.
Contact Information
Dr. Henry R. Marockie
State Superintendent of Schools
West Virginia Department of Education
Building 6, 1900 Kanawha Blvd E.
Charleston, WV 25305-0330
304-558-2681
Dr. Adam J. Sponaugle
Assistant State Superintendent of Schools
West Virginia Department of Education
Building 6, 1900 Kanawha Blvd E.
Charleston, WV 25305-0330
304-558-2346
Mr. Ferrell Mills
Principal
Wayne High School
P.O. Box 940
Wayne, WV 25570
304-272-5639
Mr. Harry Keaton
Principal
Summers County High School
Route 20, North
HC 74, Box 11A
Hinton, WV 25951
Glen Karlen
Superintendent
Randolph County Schools
40 11th Street
Elkins, West Virginia 26241
304-636-9150
Donald Johnson
Principal
Randolph County Vocational-Technical Center
200 Kennedy Drive
Elkins, West Virginia 26241
304-636-9195
Mr. Tom Pritt
Principal
Elkins High School
100 Kennedy Drive
Elkins, West Virginia 26241
304-636-9170