I completed a semester-long project, working in the role as educational
consultant, at my school site. New School, a Community Day High School
located in Watsonville, California, is in the process of redefining its goals
for students. The school operates under the alternative school umbrella in the
Pajaro Valley Unified School District. In December 2008, the school's principal
and district supervisor retired. The change in key administrative staff spurred
an examination of the school's academic structure. The results of my analysis
resulted in a report that formed the basis of specific curricular and
pedagogical recommendations for New School.
Link to Standard
I learned that my school is part of a complex system in my quest to recommend
math curriculum for New School students. A complex system is defined as,
"...any system featuring a large number of interacting components (agents,
processes, etc.) whose aggregate activity is nonlinear (not derivable from the
summations of the activity of individual components) and typically exhibits
hierarchical self-organization under selective pressures" (Rocha, 1999).
The entities of the school’s system, which I encountered in the development of
my project, are listed in the chart below.
System Objective Provide Educational Services for students in grades K-12
System
Entity
Boundary
Components
New School
The
school's front gate
Administration,
Faculty, Staff, Students, Parents, and Community Partners
Alternative Schools
Santa
Cruz County Office of Education (SCCOE)
District
Office, Board of Trustees, Alternative Schools Advisory Panel, Alternative
School Faculties, Administrations, and Staff
District office
District
office front doors
SCCOE,
District Personnel, Parents, Students, Teachers, Administrators, Classified
Staff, Numerous School Support Offices (IT, Maintenance, Transportation,
etc.)
California Department of Education
(CDE)
State of
California's geographic boundary
Lobbyists,
Legislators, Staff
Community Day School, CDE
Specialized Program
CDE's
front door
Program
Officials
No Child Left Behind
Federal
jurisdiction
Legislators,
Lobbyists, Testing Companies, and Stakeholders at the Regional, County,
District, School, and Community Partner Level
This project required me to step up to the balcony to
cast a wide view across many systems. My recommendations in this work
would be viable only if I understood how the school fit into a bigger
picture. I began this project with a general awareness of my state's and
the federal accountability structures for schools. I was unfamiliar with the
district's expectations and the programmatic elements of the Community School
designation. After three, solid months of research, I gained a
substantial amount of knowledge about the system. It is important to note
that I require further research to fully grasp the cause and effect
relationships among and between the complex system entities.
My description of the system will start at the micro-level, the school. The
district, and state in respect to the Community Day School (CDS) designation, categorizes New School
as a both an Alternative School and a CDS. The school is expected to perform
the functions of an alternative high school, that is to provide students who are
assigned or enroll on their own a school that has a different "feel' than
a traditional high school. The CDS designation adds an extra layer of
support. It is a designation for schools containing "high-risk"
students whose socio-emotional issues that will overshadow academic
success without intensive support. When I began the project, I assumed
that my recommendations would be limited by a district or state approved
materials list. This was an impediment to recommending a curriculum for
students who speak little English and whose math skills are far behind their
grade level. It was liberating to discover that because the school is a
CDS, it has the flexibility to implement instructional materials the school
deems appropriate. This had a huge impact on my work. I could
recommend any math curricular elements that aligned to the criteria revealed in
my analysis.
My investigative efforts moved into funding issues. Traditional and
alternative schools' funding is based on Average Daily Attendance. Traditional
schools offer (about) a seven-hour school day in the district. Alternative
students attend about five hours. I wondered if New School could shorten
its school day as well. Perhaps creative scheduling of core classes would promote student achievement. As I researched the funding nuances under CDS
regulations I found two, key pieces of information. First, CDS funding is
based on a 360 minute day. Students who attend less than 360 minutes do not
bring in a single penny of funding to the school. Considering the truancy
rates of high-risk students, this posed a challenge for the school. To
achieve full funding each year, truancy rates must be significantly
reduced. The second funding discovery was better news. A CDS operates
like a small business. It contracts the district for services (staffing,
lunches, etc.) and spends its money, as it deems necessary.
After learning that the school could purchase instructional resources without
approval from a district staff member, I next explored the effect of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on
the school. My analysis revealed that the school failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for
several years. One hundred percent of the students also fell into the
"below basic" category on the state's standardized tests for the past
three years. Could the school be sanctioned for failing to make AYP? Could the sanctions override
the school's curricular selections? I was unable to draw any conclusions
on my own. I met with my principal and learned that a CDS is not
subject to sanctions under the law. This was another piece of good news
for the school. A well-informed curriculum recommendation could not be
reversed due to student's standardized test performance.
Challenges
and Opportunities I began this project with the expectation of being constrained the complexity
of the system itself. I was unsure if I would be able to untangle the
components that overlapped to truly understand their affect on a very specific
element, curriculum. It took a bit of persistence and a lot of questioning to
get to my current understanding. This project was an excellent
opportunity to practice as an educational consultant. Outside my studies,
I will surely encounter systems that are unfamiliar. I also practiced
liaising with individuals who are work in separate entities within a system.
Being able to read for understanding, connect the dots, and direct questions to
the appropriate person are skills that I will undoubtedly draw on in the
future.
Professional and Personal Growth I am especially proud of my work in this project. I feel that I grew
tremendously as an instructional designer and technologist in the development
of the recommendation. This work taught me that I posses the analytical
and people-skills that lend well to this sort of work. I gained
confidence in my skills, and am comfortable participating in challenging
projects that cross boundaries within complex systems.
