Changes in High School Will Help All Students

By Barbara Erwin

To hear the critics tell it, the American high school is broken.

I am not sure if it is broken, but the American high school sure isn’t what it could or should be. Certainly there are a lot of good high schools doing good things for their students. We have two right here – St. Charles East and North.

But as renowned author Jim Collins said, “Good is the enemy of great.”

Across the state and the nation, high school students’ academic achievement and personal growth is not keeping pace with expectations for excellence. This is particularly frustrating for communities like ours that are lucky enough to have many of the resources needed for such achievement and growth.

The institution that we entrust to help our young adults become a successful part of the future was designed so far in the past that it is no longer effective for ALL students today.

That’s why District 303 is embarking on an exciting and ambitious secondary school redesign initiative.

Of course, nothing of consequence comes quickly, nor is done in isolation.

District 303′s secondary school redesign will take three to five years. It also dovetails with Illinois’ recent decision to increase high school graduation requirements, which is part of an overall emphasis on raising student achievement. We too see that bigger picture and want to make sure that all of our students will be successful during and after their time in District 303.

With the help of “Breaking Ranks,” we have begun a systematic process of reflecting upon and analyzing our high schools. “Breaking Ranks” is a ground-breaking 1996 study about the need to reform the American high school conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Work started last year with staff at both District 303 high schools studying “Breaking Ranks.” Staff started analyzing our high school curriculum beginning with mathematics, English and science. The board of education approved significant changes in the way we will now teach all three subjects.

“Breaking Ranks II”, which the NASSP published in 2004, was largely informed by research done by, among others, the Education Alliance, an arm of Brown University.

The Education Alliance in turn used core “Breaking Ranks” recommendations to shape the strategies and suggestions that it now uses to guide school reform.

The Education Alliance’s reform process is based on the premise that high schools need to provide more personalized learning environments, ensure that all students can achieve higher academic performance, and use data to support ongoing evaluation and improvement.

That emphasis mirrors our own belief that improved academic achievement, particularly in high school, comes through increased rigor, relevance and improved relationships, and is based on data- driven decision making.

We are very fortunate to have the Education Alliance and Brown University supporting us in this important effort.

The Education Alliance started its work in District 303 this year by gathering input from high school parents, students and staff through a 35-question survey. The survey questions may have seemed meaningless to some, but they were crafted based on years of research with high-performing high schools nationwide.

Education Alliance officials also shadowed students from both of our high schools to get a sense of their lives. They spent many hours with district and school staff and leaders to help begin formulating their initial impressions and recommendations.

We expect preliminary data and suggestions this month.

This redesign effort is part of a bigger school improvement process through which we regularly review what we do and change what needs to be changed. This process ensures that we’re giving all of our students every tool, every resource, every advantage possible.

All of our schools have individual school improvement teams that regularly look at data and set target improvement goals. The secondary school redesign is just another form of school improvement.

This community, through the board of education, has made it clear that it wants District 303 to be a “lighthouse” school system. With our community’s support we will set the standard in K- 12 public education by focusing our resources, thinking and work on the needs and aspirations of ALL of our students.

Now we must have the courage of our convictions.

Before we can illuminate the way for others, we must first shine the light on ourselves.

Times change. The demands on students change. We must be ready, willing and able to change too. All of our students deserve no less.

– Barbara F. Erwin is the superintendent of St. Charles school district 303. Her column appears every month during the school year.