Postsecondary Access and Success for All of Houston’s Students

Generously Funded by Houston Endowment, Inc.

Connecting Achieving the Dream to K-12 in Houston= Preparing to Dream

• Eleven Houston-area community college districts and public universities participate in Achieving the Dream, through funding provided by Houston Endowment and the Lumina Foundation for Education.

•Preparing To Dream is modeled after and feeds into the national Achieving the Dream initiative to promote higher levels of student success in community colleges and universities.

•Houston Endowment funds Preparing to Dream. National College Access Network (NCAN) and Houston A+ Challenge collaborate on this innovative pilot initiative.

The Preparing to Dream Initiative targets five K-12 districts in Houston region

• Purpose: Increase the percentage of high school graduates who are prepared for and who complete post-secondary education, especially among low-income and first generation college-going students.

• Houston A+ Challenge and National College Access Network guide the initiative with national data experts, core team coaches and on-the-ground facilitation.

• Alignment of PTD work in K-12 with ATD work in postsecondary brings benefits to both programs and opportunity to target interventions more systemically.

• Four-year initiative unites five school districts with higher education and national experts to analyze student achievement data, college-going rates and trends, district demographics and current college access programs, and use information to pilot projects and make system-wide changes.

• Aldine ISD

• Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

• Goose Creek ISD

• Houston ISD

• Spring Branch ISD

Planning Phase 2007-08

•Created Core and Data Teams

•Analyzed district demographics, student data and college access programs; disaggregated data by income and ethnicity.

•Solicited parent and student insights

•Each district developed a proposal with goals, action steps, and evaluation plan

•Districts modified plans based on 2008-09 results

•Some details from the individual plans follow,

Aldine ISDMajor Elements of PTD Plan

•Targeted two HS Feeder Patterns (of six comprehensive high schools)•Created “The Dream Team” of students to motivate and assist their peers•Added a College Access Advisor to be shared by the two high schools •Assigned three faculty members per campus to support college readiness•Focused on creating a college-going culture throughout the feeder pattern and the district

Cypress-Fairbanks ISDMajor Elements of PTD Plan

• Assessment/Inventory revealed:• Numerous readiness initiatives in place• Inconsistent implementation across campuses • Inconsistent evaluation data available• Lack of systematic structure• Resources under-utilized

• Targeted new High School and two feeder middle schools for college going culture• Expand successes across district

Goose Creek ISDMajor Elements of PTD Plan

District-wide College-bound Culture

• Adopt WEST Data System• Offer Parent Training Series• Implement Kids2College – Grade 6• Establish Go Centers on each high school campus• Increase Public Awareness – KnowHow2Go• Strengthen SAT/ACT Preparation• Establish a College Week

Houston ISD – North RegionMajor Elements of PTD Plan

•Focused on a single HS Feeder Pattern-Wheatley HS•Analysis showed a huge challenge in getting students to complete 4 years of Math•Goal to increase enrollment in higher level and AP Math courses•Focus on strengthening rigor and quality in math instruction

Spring Branch ISDMajor Elements of PTD Plan

•Survey all high school graduates and to determine how well students were prepared for college by his/her high schools.• Assess, modify, revise, and possibly expand its curricula based on an analysis of survey data.•Modified proposal in summer 2009 to include an Early College Program which offers offsite dual credit.

PtD Outcome Measures•Completion of college prep curriculum

•Complete accelerated learning courses (AP/IB/Dual Credit)

•Scores on college entrance exams

•Postsecondary college enrollment

•Receipt of Pell Grant (proxy for FAFSA completion)

Data Reporting System• Data Sharing Agreements with districts for access to student level data•Districts send same student data as sent to Texas Education Agency, which eliminates reporting duplication, reducing effort for districts • Data submitted to National Student Clearing-house to get post secondary enrollment information• Information on course placement and success at college from local ATD schools

Initiative-wide Successes•Increased collaboration both within districts and among districts in the initiative •Districts are more mindful of need to address the post-secondary needs of all students•District employees (NOT in research departments) are looking at data to understand their challenges•Staff positions to support students/parents in college process, originally funded through the initiative, are being picked up in district budgets•Improved relationships between districts and colleges•Use of alternative outreach methods such as churches to reach and involve parents

Aldine ISDSelected Accomplishments

•Kids2College, as well as other activities and programs, has been so successful that other district schools are adopting•Students have opened up to different opportunities. Applications and acceptances have dramatically increased at Texas A&M, one of the state flagship universities•As of March 2010, Aldine High School seniors have been offered more than $1 million in scholarships

Cypress-Fairbanks ISDSelected Accomplishments

• Unexpected outcomes:• Raised awareness of CCR across the district• Increased internal collaboration among departments• Strengthened outside partnerships, esp. with CC• Better communication within the target feeder pattern• High staff interest in college readiness assessments

• Growing attendance at outreach events• Developing CCR curriculum for entire district

Goose Creek ISDSelected Accomplishments

• Data system has changed but now implemented• Almost 1000 students in Kids2College program• Go Centers successfully established• Better collaboration among student success programs• College Week drew 1200 parents and students• Awarded a Texas Education Agency Early College High School grant in association with Lee College, the local community college.

Houston ISD – North RegionSelected Accomplishments

•Student services from many providers are better aligned and collaborating•Increased emphasis on involving parents•Changing outcomes in Math is slow, but tutorials and summer programs are showing some effectiveness•Professional development and team planning in Math Department

Spring Branch ISDSelected Accomplishments

•Graduate survey shows significant correlation between students’ feeling of preparedness and college attendance.•Developing a post-secondary database•Early College Program, offering offsite dual credit, is gaining district support. In its first semester 77 students each earned 6 hours of credit.

Challenges

• Data and reporting are a major challenge

• How to keep high level of commitment, especially at the Board and Superintendant levels

• Focus

• Funding

The Challenge

• According to the National Center for Education Statistics, for the 2006-2007 school year the student-to-counselor ratio was 475:1. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250:1.

• Overburdened counselors cannot offer an adequate level of guidance to every student and some students are underserved. Research shows that underserved students tend to be in the low-income and first-generation population, arguably the students with the greatest need for well-informed and capable counseling.

• And this is precisely the population that is growing most rapidly.

• While academic preparation remains a challenge, for this growing population there is a tremendous need for more targeted college access and success services.

Indicators of College-Going Culture

• School Climate– Clearly-defined college-going goals and expectations stated in the school’s mission, on posted visuals, and in

distributed information and school resources (English/Spanish)• Pre-College Counseling Model

– College plans for all students, financial aid/FAFSA completion workshops, college visits, career development workshops, college fairs, peer mentors, etc.

– Services based on student needs as evidenced through data and student surveys.• Professional Development

– Training sessions for counselors and teachers to improve roles as college advocates (interpret data, design and implement programs, college access advising, etc.)

• Family Involvement– Increased parental involvement in pre-college planning through workshops, seminars, college fairs, newsletters, etc)—

delivered in both English and Spanish• Partnerships with Higher Education Institutions

– Improved partnerships with local higher education•  Data-Driven Decisions

– Student progress monitored through data on postsecondary readiness outcomes;– Implementation of new or expanded services based on student needs as identified through the data;– All implemented student services should be evaluated for effectiveness.

Generously Funded by Houston Endowment, Inc.

www.preparingtodream.org

Postsecondary Access and Success for All of Houston’s Students