Our Mission…

To assure high levels of learning for all students!

Never in our nation’s history have the demands on our educational system been greater or the consequences of failure as severe. Beyond the high-stakes school accountability requirements mandated by state and federal laws, the difference between success and failure in school is, quite literally, life and death for our students.

Today, a child who graduates from school with a mastery of essential skills and knowledge is prepared to compete in the global marketplace, with numerous paths of opportunity available to lead a successful life. Yet, for students who fail in our educational system, the reality is that there are virtually no paths of opportunity.

The likely pathway for student who struggle in school is an adult life of poverty, incarceration, and/or dependence on society’s welfare systems.

-- Dropouts on average earn about $12,000 per year, nearly 50 percent less than those who have a high school diploma

-- 50 percent less likely to have a job that offers a pension plan or health insurance

-- They are more likely to experience health problems

--Rouse/Muenning, 2005: www.centerforpubliceducation.org

Poverty…

According to a US government report, The State of Literacy in

America, over 90 million US adults,

nearly one out of two, are functionally illiterate or near

illiterate, without the minimum skills required

in a modern society. Larry Roberts, Illiteracy on the Rise in America http://www.wsws.org

Poverty…

44 million cannot read a newspaperor fill out a job application.

Another 50 million more cannot read or comprehend above the eighth

grade level.

Larry Roberts, Illiteracy on the Rise in America http://www.wsws.org

Poverty…

Poverty…

43 percent of people with the lowest literacy skills live below the

government's official poverty line

Larry Roberts, Illiteracy on the Rise in America http://www.wsws.org

Incarceration

Russia and the U.S. are now the world leaders in incarceration, with imprisonment rates 6 to10 times that of most industrialized

nations.

http://www.proliteracy.org/downloads/ProLiteracyStateOfLiteracy%2010-25-04.pdf

Incarceration

Across the United States, 82% of prison inmates are

dropouts

Ysseldyke, Algozzine, & Thurlow 1992

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_n126_v32/ai_19619426/pg_4

Incarceration

According to the report, Literacy Behind Prison Walls,

70 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate or

read below a fourth-grade level.

http://www.proliteracy.org/downloads/ProLiteracyStateOfLiteracy%2010-25-04.pdf

Incarceration

85% of juvenile offenders have reading problems.

http://www.literacybuffalo

Incarceration

Youth in Correctional Facilities

Average age: 15

Average Reading Level: 4th Grade (30% below this level)

www.edjj.org

Incarceration and Special Education

The incidence of learning disabilities among the general population based on U.S. Dept. of Education and local service providers is around 5%. This is in sharp contrast with the number of LD students in the criminal justice system, estimated to be as high as

50%. Bell, 1990: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_n126_v32/ai_19619426/pg_4

Incarceration and Special Education

Only 57% of youth with disabilities graduated from high school in the 2001-02 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education

(2002)

http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=3135

Social Costs

75% of those claiming welfare are functionally illiterate.

http://www.covinaliteracy.org/facts.htm

Social Costs

One study conducted by a University of California, Berkeley

economist found that a 10 percent increase in the graduation rate would likely reduce the murder and assault

arrest rates by about 20 percent

Moretti, 2005: www.centerforpubliceducation.org

Social Costs

The same study found that increasing the high school completion rate by just

one percent for men ages 20-60 would save the United States up to

$1.4 billion per year in reduced costs from crime.

Moretti, 2005: www.centerforpubliceducation.org

With such high stakes, educators today are like

tightrope walkers without a safety net, responsible for meeting the

needs of every child with little room for error.

Our Mission…

To assure high levels of learning for all students!

What do we mean by “high” levels

of learning?

Is a high school diploma enough for our current

students to be competitive in the global

marketplace?

“The high school diploma has become the ticket to nowhere.”

James Waller, Face to Face: The Changing State of Racism Across America

Education and Lifelong Earning:

High School Drop Out: $608,000High School Graduate: $802,000Some College: $922,890Associate Degree: $1,062,130Bachelors Degree: $1,420,850Masters Degree: $2,142,440Doctorate: $3,012,300

James Waller, Face to Face: The Changing State of Racism Across America

2006 College Graduates

US: 1.3 Million

India: 3.1 Million

China: 3.3 Million

What do we mean by “high” levels

of learning?

“High School + Plus”

If our mission is high levels of learning for all students,

the question is:

Is it possible?

“There are simple, proven, affordable structures that exist

right now and could have a dramatic, widespread impact on

schools and achievement—in virtually any school. An astonishing

level of agreement has emerged on this point”

--Mike Schmoker, 2004

Schools Do Make a Difference

Effective Schools Research of Ron Edmonds, Larry Lezotte, Wilbur Brookover, Michael Rutter, and others concluded that:

• All Children Can Learn• Schools control the factors to

assure that students master the core of the curriculum

Schools Do Make a Difference

An analysis of research conducted over a thirty-five year period demonstrates that schools that are highly effective produce results that almost entirely overcome the effects of student backgrounds

Robert Marzano, What Works in Schools, 2003