State of Education in Tennessee Executive Summary – 2011-12 | Page 12

P ROMISING P RA C TI C E S SECTION 1: Year-in-Revi ew Mt. Juliet High / Beyond the classroom: Collaborative instruction elevates Mt. Juliet curriculum Illustrating the fine points of a cow eyeball isn’t part of the syllabus in most high school art classes. But Mt. Juliet High School offers more than a typical curriculum. for college or the workforce, regardless of the state in which they live. During Summer 2011, the Department held two series of trainings: one for K    educators –2 who began implementing the standards in Fall 2011 and an awareness training for other educators who will implement the standards in later years. Additionally, Tennessee began its work to turn around the state’s lowest performing schools. In May 2011, Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman appointed charter school network founder Chris Barbic to lead the Achievement School District. In Fall 2011, the ASD began co-managing five schools in Tennessee and assisting with operations in eight others. In addition, because of the state’s charter school legislation mentioned earlier, the ASD began authorizing new charter schools to open in 2012. The ASD will open the Achievement Schools in the 2012    013 school year, –2 the team’s own brand of charter schools that they will run. (For more information on educator evaluations, implementation of the Common Core standards, and school turnaround, see the First to the Top progress update later in this report). To more accurately identify schools that need additional support, Tennessee announced its intent to seek a waiver from certain provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law in late Summer of 2011. In 2010    1, only 51 percent of Tennessee schools were in –1 “Good Standing” under the Adequate Yearly Progress measure, the accountability system established by NCLB. Many education leaders in Tennessee and across the country felt that the federal accountability system was not an accurate or fair measure of the performance of Tennessee’s schools, in part because Tennessee had dramatically raised academic standards through the Tennessee Diploma Project in 2009, an action which initially lowered the average test scores of Tennessee’s students. In September 2011, President Barack Obama announced a formal waiver process for states to seek regulatory relief from NCLB. Under the waiver plan, states would be freed from some parts of the law in order to pursue their own plans for school improvement and accountability, if they meet certain requirements of the U.S. Department of Education. These requirements included raising student-achievement standards to reflect what’s needed to go on to college or a career, holding schools accountable for student gains, and improving teacher effectiveness.12 On November 15, Tennessee submitted a waiver request to the Department of Education to replace many of the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law with an accountability framework that is aligned with the state’s First to the Top plan. Tennessee’s request was granted in February 2012. The state will replace the Adequate Yearly Progress measurement with a goal of raising overall achievement 3 to 5 percent every year, while cutting the achievement gap for minority and lowincome students in half over the next eight years. Tennessee Schools in “Good Standing” Under NCLB Out of more than 1,700 schools 1400 The eyeball illustration project, for example, began when a group of Mt. Juliet teachers brainstormed skills that students will need in future jobs — in this case, high level teamwork. Fine arts teacher Derek Elwell followed up on this idea with biology instructor Cher Carlisle to devise a lesson plan that incorporated medical illustration in the two classes. When it was time for dissections to take place, the students from the two classes were placed in teams, and they were all graded, in part, on their ability to work together. “There’s a real collegial air here,” Elwell said. “You’re given the latitude to go outside your department and your discipline.” These partnerships extend beyond arts and sciences. English and world history are taught together in a World Studies class. Authentic frescos are crafted in history classrooms. The science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiative has involved auto mechanics, biology, chemistry, and health science to help students make connections between their classes and these areas. If the staff is working toward specific ACT achievement test objectives, students can expect to field practice questions in every class, from physical education to drama. In fact, physical education instructors conduct a daily writing assessment program, which school officials say have contributed to their growth in this area. This teaching culture is nurtured very deliberately by school administrators. Common planning periods are built into the daily schedule to facilitate team teaching. School-wide benchmarks are honed in a monthly process bringing together every teacher in the building. A Professional Learning Community (PLC) structure facilitates cross-curricular focus groups, as well as subject area-specific planning to analyze benchmarks and discuss students’ strengths and weaknesses on state standards. All of this adds up to an environment in which much is expected of students and teachers alike. The foundation of the team’s success, according to Principal Mel Brown, is a carefully hired staff of individuals ready to be part of a dynamic school. “As principal, I do have high expectations of everyone in the building, including myself” Brown said. “If it is determined that someone cannot be a team player or is not willing to be coached and encouraged to do better than their best, I try not to hire them.” The holistic approach is paying off. Mt. Juliet students exceeded state averages in composite ACT scores, and TVAAS performance exceeded expectations in all five End-of-Course exams. The school is proactive and aggressive in interventions when students veer off track from graduation requirements. A new Academic Referral System is in the works, in which teachers are asked to intervene every time a student receives a zero or submits sub-par work. When MJHS senior Mikka Maderal talks about her school, she doesn’t mention PLCs or composite ACT scores. She talks about choir practice. Maderal said she appreciates that her choir teacher “constantly” tells students about how anatomy produces music. Exact language is used at practice — students are told to lift their sternums, for example, to produce the best sound. The interdisciplinary structure of choir and other classes helps Maderal think beyond c lassroom walls. 1200 1000 800 “We’ll talk about math in choir. We actually talked about anatomy in history and language arts,” said Maderal, who plans to study physical therapy at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in the fall. “They teach you things that you’re supposed to learn, and then they teach you more things that you can use in real life.” 600 400 200 0 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 Source: Tennessee Department of Education 21 At MJHS, a uniquely collaborative instructional culture helps students make connections between arts and sciences, classrooms and careers. The staff works creatively together to support higher expectations and advance common goals. THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE 2011–12 2010-2011 With a teaching force modeling the kind of high-level teamwork students will one day use professionally, a relevant, “real life” education is exactly what MJHS offers. Mt. Juliet High School, part of Wilson County Schools, is the 2011 SCORE Prize winner in the high school category. THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE 2011–12 22