program proposal 5 9 2015

B.U.I.L.DBuild Up Individual Learning and Development:

After School Remediation and Intervention

SUMMARYWe have an opportunity to run and test a scalable, after school pilot-tutoring program for our most at-risk middle schoolers. We have an opportunity to grow these students 3 years in only one. We want to partner with our local schools of education to become their field sites providing our program with volunteers and develop long-lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships.

ASPIRE TeamNational Heritage Academies

After School Intervention - ASPIRE Charter AcademyNational Heritage Academies

Program Proposal & Plan: After School Tutoring Intensive in Middle School

Table of ContentsIntroduction.................................................................................................................................................2

Background: Our At-Risk Middle Schoolers.............................................................................................2

How? A Modern, No Excuses Intervention to Change These Kids Lives...................................................3

Finding Program Partners to Spark Change.............................................................................................4

The Benefits for our Partners..................................................................................................................4

Last Chart: Our Effectiveness and Quality of Teachers............................................................................4

Quick Facts of Program............................................................................................................................5

Program Parameters............................................................................................................................5

Program Benefits for Volunteers.........................................................................................................5

Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6

Contact Information....................................................................................................................................7

Appendix: Program Overview Process Maps...............................................................................................8

Quick Overview.......................................................................................................................................8

More Detailed Overview.........................................................................................................................9

Appendix 2: Charts and Graphs with Student Data...................................................................................10

ELA.........................................................................................................................................................10

MATH.....................................................................................................................................................13

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Figure 1: At the beginning of the year, 78% of our 6th graders are at Some or High Risk; 95% of our 7th graders are at Some or High Risk; and 100% of our 8th graders are at Some or High Risk.

Figure 3: We see massive gains, on average, for our students in ELA, but our Math gains are weighed down by 7th and 8th grade.

Figure 2: At the beginning of the year, 93% of our 6th graders are at Some or High Risk; 95% of our 7th graders are at Some or High Risk; and 92% of our 8th graders are at Some or High Risk.


IntroductionBackground: Our At-Risk Middle Schoolers

ASPIRE Charter Academy in Gary, IN is a K-8 school that services a predominantly urban, at risk youth, and the majority of our students receive a free or reduced lunch. We are owned and managed by a Charter Management Organization called National Heritage Academies (NHA). Our school tiers students according to their NWEA scores into A, B, and C classes—the A classes (8A, 7A, 6A) are the highest performers; the B classes, the mid performers; and the C classes, the lowest performers.

It is (part of) our B and (all of our) C classes that we are most concerned about. Our C classes in particular come into our classrooms anywhere between 1-5 grade-levels behind—they are our High and Some Risk students. Figures 1 and 2 show us that the students we are most concerned about populate most of our middle school student body. Most of these students are those that have transferred into our middle school from surrounding neighborhood and charter schools.

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Figure 4: We successfully move all our students, on average, towards grade level. But we can do it faster with greater capacity,

As Figure 3 and 4 attest, we have seen amazing success with our teachers and intervention staff. Our teachers and interventionists move our students, on average, towards grade level. But we believe that we can do this faster with increased capacity and more focused intervention! We can see an entire 3 years worth of growth within 1—we can change their entire life trajectories—faster, with everyone winning.

How? A Modern, No Excuses Intervention to Change These Kids Lives

We want to implement a middle-school wide after school intervention and remediation program for these students that will grow them a full 3 more years in math compared to similar students without this program, and potentially create similar years of growth in reading (Cook et al).

For 1 to 1.5 hours Monday through Friday, every pair of middle school students would be matched with a mentor/intervention volunteer. That mentor would provide a reading intervention for the first half of the tutoring session and then a math intervention for the second half of the session, focusing on the specific skills they need the most help on according to NWEA scores (for math) and reading diagnostics (for ELA).

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http://www.nber.org/papers/w19862.pdf

http://www.nber.org/papers/w19862.pdf

http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2014/01/27/targeted-tutoring-can-reduce-achievement-gap-cps-students-study-finds


Finding Program Partners to Spark Change

Of course, in order to create this program, we need partners in change. We need educated and motivated volunteers to be part of a program larger than themselves, to quickly and effectively intervene in at risk youth’s lives, and to grow professionally and skillfully to respond to these children’s needs.

We want to partner with our local school of education to provide a field site for education students to implement and administer our program.

The Benefits for our Partners

In return, these volunteers would receive first notices for teaching and intervention job openings at any of our 84 schools within our Charter Network in 8 states.

They would also receive valuable training and experience. Volunteers would shadow our master teachers twice a month, attend in-house training sessions on effective teaching methods in math and ELA at all grade levels led by master teachers, gain experience lesson planning within a team and urban school, and learn to analyze standardized test data and create standards-based student tracking data.

The benefits are not only for the students and our school, but also the volunteers and partners themselves.

Last Chart: Our Effectiveness and Quality of Teachers

Figure 5: Our staff does wonders for our students. And this is only ¾ of the year. But we can do a whole more.

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Quick Facts of ProgramProgram Parameters

1. After School Intervention Program in MATH and ELA2. Run Monday through Friday3. 1 - 1.5 hours of intervention each session

a. 30-45 minutes for Mathb. 30-45 minutes for ELA

4. 2:1 Ratioa. 2 students per 1 mentor/intervention volunteer

5. Volunteer Orientationa. Training: School Operationsb. Training: Lesson Planningc. Training: Student Data Tracking d. Training: Student Data Testing Analysis (NWEA, Acuity, QRI)e. Overview: Volunteer Expectations, Responsibilities, and Protocols

6. Volunteer Commitmenta. 1.5 hours M-Fb. Optional attendance of workshops led by Master Teachers in K-8c. 16 weeks (2 Quarters of 8 weeks each)

i. OR 8 week alternative

Program Benefits for Volunteers

1. First notice teaching/interventionist positions in 84 school charter network in 8 states2. Earned credit hours towards their major degree3. Master Teacher Shadowing4. Training

a. Student Data Trackingb. Student Data Analysisc. Lesson Planningd. Teaching Method Experimentatione. Effective Teaching Methods by Master Teachersf. Collaborating within school intervention teamg. Reading Intervention

Conclusion

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Ultimately, we have an opportunity to run and test an innovative and intensive pilot-tutoring program for at-risk youth that may be scalable across the nation. We have an opportunity to support time-strapped and overworked teachers, an opportunity to support our community, an opportunity to support incoming education professionals and teachers, and finally an opportunity to make a lasting difference in youth’s lives.

Join us to make our shared dream a reality.

Sincerely,Aspire Family

Contact InformationDr. Rasheeda Green, Principal

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[email protected] ASPIRE Charter Academy4900 W 15th AveGary, IN 46406219 670 – 4737

Marvin Espinoza, K-8 Math [email protected] ASPIRE Charter Academy4900 W 15th AveGary, IN 46406832 283 – 9023

Stephen Paff, Middle School Math [email protected] ASPIRE Charter Academy4900 W 15th AveGary, IN 46406412 352 – 2878

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mailto:[email protected]




Appendix: Program Overview Process Maps

Quick Overview

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More Detailed Overview

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Appendix 2: Charts and Graphs with Student DataELA

Figure 6: Our gains in 6th grade are too slow per year, considering we have the majority of them still at Some Risk.10


Figure 7: We see more of our students get to Grade Level, and our High Risk are moving into Some Risk, but that's still moving too slowly.

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Figure 8: Our 8th grade needs the most help.

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MATH

Figure 9: Our 6th graders in math seem very temperamental.

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Figure 10: Again, our students at Some and High Risk seem to stay there. They're quite stubborn.

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Figure 11: Our 8th graders seem to get out of High Risk and move into Some Risk, but stay there.

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Challenging each child to succeed.

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program proposal 5 9 2015

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