educators for quality alternatives · 2016-11-16 · educators for quality alternatives annual...

Annual Report

2012-2013

Educators for Quality Alternatives


Annual Report: 2012-2013

2

Mission

The mission of Educators for Quality Alternatives is to provide struggling high school students with the skills,

confidence and experiences necessary to succeed in the education and careers paths of their choice.

The NET Charter High School

The NET was developed after years of research into highly effective opportunities for young people who struggle

academically or behaviorally in traditional high school settings.

This year, Educators for Quality Alternatives (EQA) transformed its pilot program, the NET @ Clark, into a full public

school, The NET Charter High School.

Values

Belonging

Being safe, being accepted and having multiple

chances to succeed

Having strong positive & respectful relationships

with other students & adults

Being a proud, responsible community member

Independence

Taking charge of and responsibility for the

present and future

Taking risks and trying new things

Mastery

Being reliable & prepared

Solving meaningful problems

Practicing a strong work ethic

Meeting high standards by pushing ourselves to

create, get feedback and revise

Generosity

Inspiring and supporting others

Solving conflicts productively and practicing

forgiveness



3

60

150 156

2011-2012 AverageEnrollment

October 1st February 1st

Enrollment

1813

3 915

1

29

Graduated Moved outof City

Transferredto anotherhigh school

Transferredto

GED/AdultEd/Job Corp

program

Incarcerated Expelled Dropped out

Exit Reasons

Student Enrollment

Retention, rather than enrollment, continues to be the NET’s challenge.

Because NET students tend to have a lot of instability in their lives, retention

issues are expected. The majority of students who dropped out had

previously dropped out of at least one other school. The majority of transfers

were due to students moving out of or to another part of the city.

Through increased attendance initiatives, improved social supports, and a

new system for communication around adjudication, the NET strives to

increase retention annually.

Based on the district’s One App data, 99% of

students elected to return to the NET for the

2013-2014 school year.

This year, the NET expanded from an

enrollment of 60 students to 150

students. Despite the greater

number of seats and the increased

competition from other high

schools, the school maintained a

waiting list for the majority of the

year. The NET is entirely open

admissions and participated in the

One App process. The school worked

closely with the RSD to support the

placement of struggling students

into the NET. While students were

accepted all year, most students

started in August or January.



4

Student Demographics

95%

90%

49%

20%

25%

33%

54%

14%

1%

FREE/REDUCED LUNCH

OVERAGE

HOMELESS

PREGNANT/PARENTING

COURT INVOLVED

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS

SPECIAL EDUCATION

ESL

2012-2013 Student Profile

Every student at the NET has an individual story and each

has unique strengths. Every student at the NET also faces

multiple challenges which create serious barriers to

succeeding in school and beyond.

The NET’s counseling, social work referrals, resources and

innovative restorative & individualized supports are key

to helping students overcome these challenges.

Gifted/Talented14%

Mild/Moderate9%

Emotionally Disturbed

10%Traumatic

Brain Injury10%Other Health

Impairment14%

Specific Learning Disabled

43%

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Student progress data from the year shows that many more students

may be eligible for Special Education. While all students at the NET

receive highly individualized support and attention, the school is

working to improve its identification and evaluation processes so

that, as appropriate, students are quickly and accurately classified to

insure that they receive all the rights and supports of Special

Education both inside and outside of the NET.



5

Attendance

0%20%40%60%80%

100%

AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE

Poor attendance rates reflect a handful of

students with serious truancy issues. However,

the vast majority of students also struggled on

some level with attendance and tardiness.

Attendance was the single greatest predictor of

grades. Failure due to attendance, not skill, was

the reason for all students who did not earn at

least 1 year’s worth of credits.

In discussions and surveys, students identify

external issues such as family problems,

homelessness, illness, & legal issues, as effecting

their attendance rather than internal issues such

as a dislike of their teachers or classes.

Truant: Attends less than 50%

Poor: Attends fewer than 4

days per week

Average: Attends 80%-94%

Optimal for Academic

growth: 95% attendance or

better

ATTENDANCE RATES

Initiatives to improve attendance next year include:

Grading system which shows students to the effect of

their attendance and effort on their academic growth

Increase homevisits and community outreach

Case management of adjudicated students to decrease

time out of school

Improved data management & communication systems



6

28%17%

37% 59%

36%24%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Literacy Math

Academic Level Distribution

Tier 3: Elementary Level Tier 2: Middle School Level Tier 1: High School Level

Academic Growth

During the 2012-2013 year, the school

improved and codified many of the

components it piloted during the NET @ Clark

year. Two of the most innovative and effective

are:

1. 6 period schedule from 8am-6:30pm:

Students typically take 3 of the 6

periods per day allowing for a variety of

start and end times which help students

parent, work etc. It also allows students

to have shorter or longer school days

depending upon their stamina, focus,

and graduation progress

2. Three distinct learning environments:

Computer Lab for credit recovery and

Math & Reading remediation; Core

Classes for Math and Science; Advisories

for seminar style project driven

learning. Students typically take one

class in each environment. This variation

helps students focus, gain ownership

over their academic growth and receive

highly individualized supports.

Because of the difficulty in gaining information on students prior to

arrival and lack of centralized data systems, tracking student GPA growth

and credit attainment is difficult. Next year the school will develop a

database to effectively analyze such growth. Currently progress is

primarily measured by literacy and math growth and state test scores.

Despite all being high school students, less than 1/3rd of

students arrived at the NET able to read and do math at a high

school level and more than 1/4th were reading at an

elementary level.



7

Literacy & Math Growth

2011-2012

2012-2013

50%

56%

32%

47%

Students working below 8th grade level who grew 2+ grade levels

Goal Literacy Math

All students at the NET receive targeted

literacy and math support within their high

school credit classes, Blended Learning

computer programs and academic

intervention groups. This individualized

support resulted in a majority of students

making more than a year’s worth of

academic growth.

The staff and curriculum programs were

strongest in Literacy, particularly in moving

students at the lowest reading levels.

For next year, the NET has added two new

blended learning programs and shifted

academic leaders to work more intensively

with the most struggling students.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

Literacy Growth

Unsat (less than 1 year) Basic Growth (1 year) NET Target Growth (2+years of growth) 0%

50%

100%

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

Math Growth

Unsat (less than 1 year) Basic Growth (1 year) NET Target Growth (2+years of growth)



8

31%

23%

36% 35%

44%

30%

15%

38%

ELA MATH SCIENCE SOCIAL STUDIES

GEE Passage

NET Pilot 2011-2012 NET 2012-2013

Standardized Test Results

In order to graduate, depending upon their high school entry year and special education status, students must pass:

Graduate Exit Exams (GEEs)

End of Course Exams (EOCs)

Louisiana Alternative Assessment 2 Exams (LAA 2) students on this track can graduate with a Certificate of

Achievement or a regular Diploma. Students on this track must ALSO take the EOC exams and ACT type exams.

Louisiana Alternative Assessment 1 Exams (LAA 1) these students graduate with a Certificate of Achievement

For the first time this year, all students must take the Explore (9th grade); the Plan (10th grade); the ACT (11th/12th

grade) exams. These exams do not effect student’s graduation but do effect college access and scholarships.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

ELA Math

GEE Comparative

Orleans Parish Alternative Schools 2010 NET Pilot 2011-2012

ReNew Alternative School A 2011-2012 ReNew Alternative School B 2011-2012

Schwarz Alternative 2011-2012 NET 2012-2013

GEE scores improved in all areas but science. As the test is

being phased out, each year the students taking the tests

are students who are further and further behind which has

truly pushed our and all schools’ teachers’ skills.

GEE scores were not publically released after 2011-2012



9

19%

35% 33%22%

76%

62%68%

InitialTesters Only

CrescentLeadershipAcademy

RenewAcceleratedHigh School

#1


#2

Joseph S.Clark High

School

JohnMcDonoughHigh School

NO-RSDAverage

NET Alternative Schools Transformation Schools District

Geometry

The comparisons below are among initial testers only. The state only

release the passage rates of initial testers- students who are taking the

EOC for the first time. For the NET and other alternative schools,

between 5%-30% of students may be re-taking the EOC after failing the class or test in the past. The NET has asked for more comprehensive data to be

released in the future.

63%

40%

20% 17%

65%

47%

73%

InitialTesters Only



#1


#2

Joseph S.Clark High

School


NO-RSDAverage

NET Alternative Schools Transformation Schools District

Algebra I

The NET met its EOC test passage goal of 60% on all tests

except Geometry and American History. 2012-2013 was the

first year of the American History test was officially released

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

ELA II ELA III Algebra Geometry Biology AmericanHistory

EOC Passage

NET Pilot 2011-2012 NET 2012-2013

In most areas, the NET outperformed the city’s other alternative

schools and in some cases, has comparable scores with

transformation schools. On half of the EOCs, the NET performed

within 10% of the district average. Only in Geometry are the

school’s initial tester scores significantly lagging.



10

59% 56%

25%

38%

60%

39%

68%

InitialTesters Only



#1


#2

Joseph S.Clark High

School


NO-RSDAverage

The NET Alternative Schools Transformation Schools District

English III

33%27% 29%

36%

67%

25%

67%

InitialTesters Only



#1


#2

Joseph S.Clark High

School


RSD-NOAverage


American History

62% 62%54% 50%

75% 74%80%

InitialTesters Only



#1


#2

Joseph S.Clark High

School


NO-RSDAverage


English II

63%

24%

45%

29%

69%

37%

70%

InitialTesters Only



#1


#2

Joseph S.Clark High

School


NO-RSDAverage


Biology



11

Career & Internship Program

63%

79%

55%

Goal 2011-2012 2012-2013

Successful Completion

1522

15

30

14

2011-2012 2012-2013

Number of Internships

Fall Spring Summer

Quotes from 2012-2013 Interns:

“My internship was a good experience. I

learned a lot and I had fun doing

something I really like.”

Abanobi Lawes, Mural Artist Intern

“The internship was a really, really good

experience for me. It taught me how to

become better at music and at working

with kids.”

Andrew Tran, NOLA Mix DJ Class intern

“I love my internship. It’s helping me a lot

to figure out what I want to do in life”

Je’Vente Patterson, Kingsley House Head

Start Intern

“My mentors are two fantastic men! They

really taught me how to be responsible

and confident”

Julio Clotter Bermudez, Son of a Saint &

Groundwork NOLA Intern



12

Significant, multi-year Partnerships formed with

Grow Dat Youth Farm

JUMA Ventures

Kingsley House Headstart

Louisiana Groundwork NOLA

LOOP: Louisiana Outdoor Outreach Program

75%68%

97%

Goal 2011-2012 2012-2013

Mentor RetentionNew Internship Sites during 2012-2013

Ashe Cultural Arts Center Kuumba Institute

Crescent City Cuts Barber Shop

Groundwork New Orleans

Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies

NOLA Mix

Shine Tyme Dance School

Son of a Saint

Southern Food & Beverage Museum

The Music Shed Recording Studio

YLC Kicks

Youth Rebuidling New Orleans

Coming 2013-2014!

The NET received funding from the GPOA Foundation to start a Next Steps Program. This program will

help seniors and alumni successfully leverage their diplomas, internships and growth at the NET to find

placements in higher education and the workforce.



13

Suspensions, 14%Community Mediations (mediations

which include Cease Fire or

CRA), 2%

Restorative Conversations/Interventions, 68%

Agreements/Contracts, 16%

RESPONSES

Culture & Behavior

The NET received a competitive fellowship to work closely with the Center for Restorative

Approaches for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years. CRA is providing intensive

training, coaching and other support to develop the NET’s restorative practices.

4% 2%1%

42%51%

BEHAVIOR ISSUES

Fighting (physical or adultsprevented physical)

Bullying

Harming Property

Disrespecting an adult

Not following Directions

NET students mostly struggle with themselves—they are

often missing the skills to respond adaptively to

expectations, requests, difficult assignments or

situations. Thus their most challenging behaviors occur

when they are asked to push themselves—stay in class,

complete a difficult assignment, speak respectfully to

someone who upset them etc.

For this reason, the NET responses to behavior are

focused on building students’ communication, conflict

resolution and problem solving skills. Each time a

student’s behavior is inappropriate, the student is

addressed by a staff member and must complete a

process which includes taking responsibility and “making

it right” with whoever they disrespected or hurt. This

process can be a simple conversation, a written

agreement, or a mediation. Overtime, students learn the

skills they need to respond appropriately to challenging

situations inside and outside of school.



14

100% 95%

2011-2012 2012-2013

% of Seniors Graduating

Completion

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

26 Graduates to Date!

Diplomas 2011-2012 Diplomas 2012-2013

Certificates of Achievement 2011-2012 Certificates of Achievement 2012-2013

To date, the NET has not had the resources to comprehensively track graduates. With the additions of the Next

Steps Coordinator and additional funding, the school will work to build out both alumni programming and supports

and alumni tracking.



15

School Year Highlights One Million Bones

Among the highlights for the 2012-2013 school year was Kara Dorsey’s Advisory

project “One Million Bones.” Ms. Dorsey and her class connected with this

national genocide awareness program through a partnership with the Jefferson

Performing Arts Society. NET students learned to make clay bones while

studying the history and effects of genocides worldwide. Ms. Dorsey and two

NET students were selected to travel to DC to join people from across the

country to lay their bones across the National Mall in a day of remembrance and

awareness.

This project proved to be particularly meaningful for the students as they came

to draw parallels to the violence they

face daily within their own

neighborhoods. As part of their final Exhibition, students wrote letters to New Orleans City

Counsel about the effect of violence on their own lives.

Man vs. Fish

For the first time, the NET was able to run year round as designed. The seven week intensive

session provided an exciting opportunity for teachers to collaboratively plan and teach hands-on

courses. Most popular was Man vs. Fish an Environmental Science course taught by Advisors

Neil Poynter and Farhad Karim. In collaboration with the Louisiana Outdoor Outreach Program in

City Park, students studied both in and out of the classroom, spending much of their summer on

the State’s waterways.



16

70% 71%

40%

94%100%

25%

STAFF ASKED TO RETURN STAFF ACCEPTING OFFERS TO RETURN

STAFF PROMOTED

Staff Retention

2011-2012 2012-2013

Staff

40%

60% 60%

100%

40%50%

44%50%

69%80%

44%

25%

MALE NATIVE TO LA STAFF OF COLOR

CERTIFIED STAFF

STAFF WITH 5-10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

STAFF WITH OVER 10 YEARS OF

EXPERIENCE

Staffing Profile

2011-2012 2012-2013

Staff Profile:

Todd Reynolds, Dean of Students

Todd Reynolds joined the NET leadership team in July, 2012. Thanks to his over 20 years

of experience working with at risk teenagers in New Jersey and New Orleans, “Mr. Todd”

has taken the school’s restorative culture and behavior development systems to the next

level. Rather than a “disciplinarian” to be hated and avoided, students proactively ask

for Mr. Todd because they trust him to listen to them, to be fair, and to help them

solve their problems. Mr. Todd has taught his colleagues the true meaning of patience and

persistence as he models how to support each student by holding them accountable for

constantly growing.



17

Facilities The NET moved to 1614 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. in July 2012. The building was

renovated slightly to create the necessary classroom and lab spaces. The fact it is not a

traditional school building has contributed positively to the

NET’s culture as the layout facilitates student and staff

ownership. The school’s location near multiple lines of

public transportation has facilitated student enrollment and

internships. Furthermore, the Oretha Castle Haley

neighborhood is full of likeminded organizations and

partnerships including the Ashe Cultural Arts Center, the

Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, and Café Reconcile.

Operations

Educators for Quality Alternatives contracts with FirstLine Schools to manage the NET’s accounting, federal grants, state

reporting, food service, human resources and facilities. This operational support has been crucial to providing the school

a level of operational quality which would otherwise be difficult given the school’s small size.



18

Finance & Fundraising

EQA’s board ran three major fundraisers for the

school this year. The most successful, the

Nothing But NET Basketball Tournament will be

established as an annual event.

The NET received the following major grants:

Perkins grant to start the NET’s carpentry

program

Believe & Include grant to support

Blended Learning and Special Education

GPOA grant to launch the Next Steps

program

Center for Restorative Approaches to

strengthen the school’s restorative

practices

Loyola Work-study program to expand

tutoring at the NET

At the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year,

EQA received the prestigious Walton Family

Foundation Grant of $250,000.

EQA borrowed approximately $60,000 in order to cover the school’s first month’s payroll, the building renovations

and initial curriculum and material costs.

The NET repaid the entire loan and finished the year with a fund balance of approximately $250,000.

$3,699 $14,960.00

$149,000.00

Funds Raised

Fundraisers

Private Donations

Grants



19

Voices from the NET Rashawn Ward, Graduated December 2012

“I started attending the NET in the middle of last school year. I chose to come to the NET

because I was falling behind academically and my grades were dropping tremendously.

“It’s not because I wasn’t smart or capable of doing my work but I wasn’t getting the attention

or help I needed from the teachers. That constantly caused conflict between me and the staff

because I get really upset when I don’t understand something. It was not difficult to adjust to

being at the NET because help was always provided and teachers always made time to have

one-on-one time with students. Even the principle made time for students. Attending the NET

is like being with a second family, because the connection with students and staff was always

strong, everyone gets along perfect—we all may have our disagreements or arguments but it

has never torn us apart, out connection at the NET is literally that strong. We look out for one

another, whether it’s academically, personal problems, or just having a bad day, someone is

always there to reach out and talk to us.

“What I like most about the NET is the fact that students only have to work on the credits they

need to graduate, and if you’re coming to school every day doing what you have to do there’s

no way in the world that you won’t graduate, it’s guaranteed. The only thing that is required is coming to school and doing your best, just

don’t ever give up! The staff at the NET always inform students when they’re in danger of failing and they come up with a goal to help them.

I find the NET so helpful because instead of suspending students immediately for their behavior, the staff look further into the situation. The

staff talk to students and make sure that everything is going well at school and what can be the reason for their behavior--- the staff actually

take their time out and talk to us and encourage us to become better as students and young adults.



20

“Honestly, before coming to the NET I had my mind set that I was not interested in college at all and I wasn’t going to attend college. Staff at

the NET was concerned about my future, basically more than I was, and that was extremely important to me. One day I sat down and had a

long talk with our Internship Coordinator, Ms. Monique eventually college was brought up into the conversation, I told her I had no plans on

going to college. She sat there and had a long talk with me for about an hour, and it actually encouraged me and I had a whole new mind

state about college, because the things she was telling me were actually true and understandable. Although college will be a long process it

will help me in my future, the better education I get there will be more and better opportunities in life.

“Now that I’m ready to graduate I’ve been improving my attitude. The NET has really helped me as a student, it made me see the things in

me that I never saw in myself, I never even thought I would have been graduating so soon, because I was so far behind. I would tell anyone

that is even thinking about attending the NET to go for it, don’t second guess it. I’m telling you, it’s worth it, they’re here to help you, build

you, and encourage you and over all to help you get that diploma. Work with them and they will work with you, although it’s a very small

population at the NET it’s worth every bit of going there, it’s easier to learn and get individual help with smaller classrooms.

“Leaving the NET I want my fellow classmates, my teachers, and the whole staff to know that I had fun while it lasted. I learned so much

about myself that I didn’t know. I’ve met new nice people who encouraged me and helped me along my journey-- I couldn’t have asked for

better, this day came so soon, I hate to leave the NET but my day finally arrived and I’m officially done with high school. Thanks to all the

staff, I couldn’t have done this without y’all!”

1614 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

New Orleans, LA 70113

(504) 267 9060 Fax (504) 267 9059

www.thenetnola.org

educators for quality alternatives · 2016-11-16 · educators for quality alternatives annual...

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