Texas High School Project

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Texas High School ProjectA Partnership to
Increase Graduation Rates and College Readiness

• CAST
• Administrators Science Education Institute
• Thursday, November 9, 2006

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What is the Texas High School Project?

• The Texas High School Project (THSP) is a 261M
  public-private initiative with 3 funding streams
  administered cooperatively toward common goals
• 148M TEA118M in state and 30M in federal
  funding
• 57M Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and other
  private funding managed by THSP staff at
  Communities Foundation of Texas
• 55M Michael Susan Dell Foundation
• 1M National Instruments

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Why was THSP created?

• Building on previous reforms
• TAKS testing expanded with an exit-level
  graduation assessment at Grade 11
• All ninth grade students now enroll in the
  college-preparatory Recommended High School
  Program
• State funding provided for ninth-grade initiative
  and high school initiative
• Personal graduation plans required for at-risk
  secondary students
• Result 84 percent of Texas students graduated
  from high school within 4 years

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however, disparities persist
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Exit level disparities are particularly troubling
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College readiness is low for all groups

• Percent of Students Meeting THECB Standard for
  Higher Education Readiness (Preliminary Spring
  2006)

English/LA Math Both
All students 39 49 28
African-American 27 27 13
Hispanic 31 38 19
White 48 63 37
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Negative consequences are significant

• 56 percent of jobs today require some college.
• 80 percent of the fastest-growing jobs over the
  next decade will require some college.
• Of the 50 best-paying occupations, only 2 do not
  require a college degree.
• A male with a college degree will make almost 1
  million more over his lifetime than a high school
  dropout.
• A woman with only a high school diploma earns a
  salary just above the poverty line for a family
  of three.

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What is the vision of the THSP?

• All Texas students will graduate high school
  ready for college and career success and prepared
  to be contributing members of the community.
• To succeed in work and life in the 21st century,
  students need the opportunity to achieve the
  highest level of education they can
• Four-year college
• Community college
• Military
• Job training

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What are the goals of the THSP?

• Key goals
• Increase high school graduation rates
• Promote a college-going culture and increase
  college readiness
• Build statewide capacity for supporting high
  school redesign and reform
• Create systemic changes that ensure long-term
  sustainable high school improvement

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Who does the Texas High School Project serve?

• Focus
• Border communities and urban areas Austin,
  Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Rio Grande Valley, San
  Antonio
• High schools serving high percentages of
  economically disadvantaged students

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What are the guiding principles of THSP programs?

• The Three Rs
• Rigor challenging curriculum and high
  expectations for all students
• Relevance meaningful course of study with
  real-life applications clear pathways to college
  and work
• Relationships powerful, sustained involvement
  with caring adults who mentor, advise, and
  support students throughout their high school
  careers

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What has the THSP funded?
Initiative Programs and Funders
New campus models Redesigned High SchoolsTEA/CFT District-wide ReformCFT Early College High SchoolsTEA/CFT New High Schools (Charters/Asia Society)CFT
Leadership innovations Pilot HS Principal Certification ProgramTEA/CFT UTeachTEA/CFT Teach for America and Texas Teaching Fellows-MSDF
Student-centered programs Texas HS Completion Success GrantsTEA Postsecondary Success InitiativeTEA AVIDMSDF AP StrategiesMSDF
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What has the THSP funded?
Initiative Programs and Funders
T-STEM T-STEM AcademiesTEA/CFT/MSDF T-STEM CentersTEA/CFT/MSDF T-STEM NetworkTEA/CFT/MSDF
Technical Assistance/ Evaluation Statewide Redesign Technical AssistanceTEA ESC Support for HS ImprovementTEA SREB/AIR/CRSS/NCEA (District/Campus Redesign Consultants)CFT Early College High School Technical AssistanceTEA T-STEM Technical AssistanceTEA/CFT/MSDF External Evaluation of THSCS, Redesign, and ECHS grantsTEA
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What is the T-STEM Initiative?

• Texas Science Technology Engineering and Math
  Initiative Goals
• Develop leading innovation economy workforce by
  aligning high school, postsecondary education,
  and economic development
• Establish 35 T-STEM Academies, each year
  producing 3,500 Texas high school graduates
• Create 6-9 T-STEM Centers to support the
  transformation of teaching methods, teacher
  preparation, and instruction in the STEM fields
• Establish a statewide best practices network for
  STEM education to promote broad dissemination and
  adoption of promising practices

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Why T-STEM?

• High school students continue to pass the Math
  and Science sections of the high school
  graduation test (TAKS) at lower rates than the
  ELA or Social Studies sections.

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Why T-STEM?

• Texas has lower percentages of students taking
  Advanced Placement exams in Calculus, Biology,
  Chemistry, and Physics than the nation and lower
  percentages of students scoring a 3 or higher.
• The number of Hispanic and African American
  students in Texas who score a 3 or higher on the
  Chemistry and Physics AP exams is fewer than 500.
• Two of the most common reasons campuses were
  Academically Unacceptable under the state
  accountability system were failure to meet the
  TAKS math standards and failure to meet the TAKS
  science standards.
• Math performance was one of the top reasons that
  campuses failed to meet federal AYP standards.

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What is STEM Education?

• Teaching and learning strategies that challenge
  students to innovate and invent
• Model real world contexts for learning and work
• Integration of math, science, and technology with
  other subject areas
• The design process driving student engagement

How do we help children make sense of the world
and solve new and novel problems?
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T-STEM Academies Goals

• Produce Texas graduates in areas of high need
  across the state with the preparation to pursue
  postsecondary study and careers in STEM-related
  fields by
• Providing a rigorous, well rounded education
• Establishing a personalized, college- and
  work-ready culture
• Providing teacher and leadership development

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T-STEM Academies Design

• Mix of charter schools, traditional public
  schools, and schools created in partnership with
  an institute of higher education (IHE).
• Stand alone campuses or small learning
  communities
• Approximately 100 students per grade
• Grades 6 12 (or 9 12 and actively work with
  feeder middle schools)
• Serve a population with a majority representation
  of high-need students
• Open enrollment and non-selective

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T-STEM Center Goals

• Identify and develop innovative instructional
  materials that integrate math and science
  concepts with the practical, problem-solving
  elements
• Deliver professional development to teachers in
  STEM fields based on national best practices
• Train administrators and principals in effective
  leadership strategies for supporting innovative
  math and science instruction
• Provide technical assistance, training, and
  coaching to the T-STEM Academies and other
  schools
• Support regional partnerships between businesses
  and school districts around STEM

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T-STEM Centers Design

• Located at universities, regional ESCs, LEAs, and
  other non-profit organizations
• Create regional partnerships among businesses,
  higher education entities, school districts, and
  other organizations to support the T-STEM
  initiative

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T-STEM Network Goals

• Serve as a conduit for sharing best practices and
  lessons learned from the Texas Science,
  Technology, Engineering, and Math Academies and
  Centers with all Texas middle and high schools.
• Provide access to relevant professional
  development, rigorous math and science
  curriculum, lessons plans infused with real-world
  activities in math and science, and expert and
  peer advice.
• Move as many schools and districts as possible
  toward the implementation of practices that have
  been proven to better serve students in science
  and math

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T-STEM Investments to Date
Academy Center coverage Leadership investment
Texas AM
New Deal ISD
Burnham Wood Harmony Science New Teacher Project
Irving Academy Harmony Science Waxahachie
ISD Dallas ISD Richardson ISD

• Dallas

Fort Worth

• El Paso

Texas Tech
UTEP
AJ Moore
Manor ISD

• Austin

Regions XIII XX
UTeach at U of H

• Houston

• San Antonio

Carver HS YES SE Harmony Science KIPP
Harmony Science NEISD
CCISD (Moody HS)
Region I

• Brownsville

New Teacher Project

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Key T-STEM Priorities 2007

1. Support development and implementation of quality
   programs in Academy and Center grantees
2. Launch STEM Network (fall 2006)
3. Identify up to 10 new Academy grantees (spring
   2007)
4. Identify up to 3 new Center grantees (spring 2007)

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What other funding is available?

• House Bill 1
• Section 56(b)(3) provides an allotment to each
  district in the amount of 275 for each student
  in grades 9 through 12 based on average daily
  attendance.
• Allotment funds may be spent on the following
• Supporting underachieving students to succeed in
  college preparatory classes
• Increasing number taking college entrance exams
• Increasing number enrolling and succeeding in
  college prep courses including AP, IB and dual
  credit
• Increasing number taking AP and IB tests
• Expanding participation in dual or concurrent
  enrollment courses

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How can the HS Allotment enhance the 3 Rs?

• High school allotment funds can be used to
  support academic rigor in high schools
• Tutoring, accelerated online instruction, summer
  programs, ninth-grade transition programs
• High school allotment funds can be used to
  institute personalization strategies in high
  schools
• Advisories, small learning communities,
  ninth-grade academies
• High school allotment funds can be used to align
  curriculum and expectations with postsecondary

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How can the HS Allotment enhance the 3 Rs?

• High school allotment funds can be for programs
  at high schools that allow more students to take
  advanced courses
• Tuition, textbooks and transportation for dual
  credit courses, exam subsidies for AP/IB and
  SAT/ACT, courses to prepare students for the
  college entrance exams
• High school allotment funds can be used to
  attract qualified and effective teachers and
  administrators to high schools
• Incentives/stipends for math and science
  teachers, incentives at hard-to-staff campuses

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Why is the THSP partnership important?
The THSP is a partnership among elected leaders
in Texas, the Texas Education Agency, the Bill
Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael Susan
Dell Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas,
educators, community organizations, and
businesses. Ensuring that all Texas students
graduate ready for college and for work in the
21st century requires a committed partnership
among all education stakeholders. Join us.
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Contact Information

• For more information about the T-STEM Initiative,
  please contact Kelvey Oeser or Mary Wells.
• Kelvey Oeser Mary Wells
• Program Manager Senior Program Officer
• T-STEM Initiative T-STEM Initiative
• Texas Education Agency Communities Foundation of
• William B. Travis Building Texas
• 1701 N. Congress Avenue 5500 Caruth Haven Lane
• Austin, TX 7870 Dallas, TX 75225-8146
• [phone] [phone]
• mckelvey.oeser_at_tea.state.tx.us mkwells_at_cftexas.or
  g
• www.tea.state.tx.us/ed_init/thsp/ www.cftexas.org
  /thsp

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Contact Information

• For more information about the Texas High School
  Project, please contact Barbara Knaggs or John
  Fitzpatrick.
• Barbara Knaggs John Fitzpatrick
• Senior Director Executive Director
• Secondary School Initiatives Texas High School
  Project
• Texas Education Agency Communities Foundation of
• William B. Travis Building Texas
• 1701 N. Congress Avenue 5500 Caruth Haven Lane
• Austin, TX 7870 Dallas, TX 75225-8146
• [phone] [phone]
• barbara.knaggs_at_tea.state.tx.us jfitz_at_cftexas.org
• www.tea.state.tx.us/ed_init/thsp/ www.cftexas.org
  /thsp