Childersburg High School is part of the Talladega County Public Schools system and is located just north of the city of Sylacauga. The school’s 45-member faculty serves 465 students in grades 9-12. Of the 58% African American and 42% Caucasian students, 71% qualify for free or reduced lunch status.
Principal Jay Cook describes the school’s mission, in part, as to provide students “with a rigorous curriculum that prepares them for the 21st Century world.” Teacher leader Jennifer Barnett shares responsibility for achieving that goal in her role as CHS’s technology integration specialist.
In a recent article for Education Week, 7 Ways to Increase Student Ownership, Jennifer highlighted some of the transformational practices taking place at Childersburg High. ABPC consultant John Norton asked her to tell us more about the changes going on at CHS and (wearing her hat as a tech integration advisor to district leaders) in other Talladega County schools.
In a nutshell, what’s changing at Childersburg High School and why?
Childersburg High School is like many schools. The results of so many years of the high stakes testing focus had left the school flat. And it wasn’t just the test scores that were flat. The entire school — students, faculty, and staff — struggled to define the real purpose in its instructional program. We needed to redefine who we are and why we exist. Reaching beyond “adequate progress,” we wanted to provide something really grand for our students.
How far along are you in redefining and reinventing your school?
Simply stated, we strive to prepare students for their futures. We take the concept of college and career readiness very seriously. How far along are we? Some folks might look to a calendar to answer that. We look toward our students. First, we want to see an attitude shift. Dropouts have decreased 86% and school suspensions have decreased by 41%.
We’ve also seen students embrace the possibility of a more challenging direction for their lives. In a recent survey of our student body, over 90% of our students report plans to pursue higher education. Students come to class on time, and they’re focused and ready to learn. The attitude shift has taken place and we definitely believe it was a critical first step.
Next, we want to see students take steps toward the possibility of a more challenging academic path. We have over 150 students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses and even more students in our Honors courses. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of students taking the ACT college entrance exam. Students regularly discuss future plans and eagerly attend our Professional Speaker Series each week. While we celebrate these successes, we are looking for results — results that we expect to strengthen our resolve and remind us that persistence is crucial.
Are we where we hoped to be? Yes. Are we surprised by this progress? Yes and no. Yes, because the shift has taken place so quickly and has been incredibly intense. And no, because we truly did believe it could happen.
See this PowerPoint presentation (January 2013): Childersburg High School – The Inside Story of a College and Career School Transformation.
How will you know when CHS is “transformed”?
First, we don’t think transformation is a destination. This is a process. Each year a new group of freshmen will enter CHS and the process begins again with them. It’s so important to remember that this is not institutional change. As I described in my article for Education Week, our success ultimately depends on student ownership of learning. We are in the business of student transformation, and that’s a job that will never be “completed.”
That said, when all of our schools, K-12, use the same framework, we can make tremendous and rapid progress. We have the audacity to imagine children entering kindergarten already thinking about upper elementary school, and third graders cognizant of the challenges of middle school. We need a very strategic yet flexible plan for supporting every child. And it begins with the end in mind. I do believe we can think of ourselves as highly transformative (not “transformed”) when this vertical pathway is securely in place.
The transformation at Childersburg High is just one example of the systematic shift taking place in Talladega County. We have been laying the groundwork for transformation for years. You’ll find every school in our district somewhere on the continuum.
We enjoy working together on this. The teachers and administration here at CHS feel very strongly about helping others along their path. After all, we would not be where we are without the help of others. True collaboration exists at all levels of this work.
Childersburg High and other Talladega County schools are moving toward project-based learning (PBL) as a primary means of teaching and learning. How is it possible to do that in a high stakes K12 policy environment, with even more challenging College and Career Readiness Standards being implemented?
Actually, we believe very strongly that when PBL is done correctly, everything else is taken care of: high stakes testing, CCRS, and anything else that might come our way.
Teaching and learning the PBL way is incredibly difficult, and we are still learning and growing in the practice. But in Talladega County, our target is the highest standard. If we can effectively meet that target, we will be successful with all other aspects of a strong instructional program.
How is it possible to pursue the deeper, more authentic learning represented by PBL and student ownership? Well, we have an incredibly wise superintendent. Dr. Suzanne Lacey believes in her teachers, administrators, and district staff and empowers us all to recreate our schools. Leadership is crucial to this process. (And the fact that she’s a bit gutsy goes a long way, too!)
In your recent article for Education Week, you chose “student ownership” as your theme. What has to happen for teachers to be willing to share ownership of learning? How about students?
PBL forces a teacher to trust their students to learn — to own their learning. Witnessing student growth, project after project, makes me want to give them more and more responsibility for their learning and their lives. They are begging for it. John Dewey told us this. They don’t need to “practice” for the real world. They need to live in the real world now.
When students prove themselves to me, I can’t wait to find ways to provide them the experience of managing their own learning. Once we reach that place, it’s really easy to share ownership of anything with them.
In traditional school models, students have been trained as “consumers” of education throughout their school years. Do they know how to be “owners”? How do they learn that?
Some students are very intuitive about ownership. I suspect this comes from home. But, most of them need more guidance. It’s a gradual release of responsibility. At CHS, we discuss the importance of remembering that every student is in a different place with this. We start with that. I’d suggest not worrying so much about where you think they should be. Help them grow from wherever they are.
What thoughts can you share with other Alabama schools and districts that see the value in what CHS and Talladega County are doing to create 21st century schools but aren’t sure about the essential first steps?
Visit us. We are eager to share our story because that is what helps us reflect on our practice and sharpen our skills. Before we began this process we visited schools all across the United States. The visits are insightful, but most important are the conversations that MUST take place upon returning home. Truly process what you’ve seen and find what will work for you.
I must say one thing about the community of Talladega County teachers and administrators. Collaboration is in their DNA. It has not been difficult to create a culture of collaboration because everyone here simply loves to share and support one another. Without that collegial spirit, I can’t imagine how challenging it would be to make these shifts.
Can you share some student work samples with us?
I hope this gives a bit of a taste. We’ve just been warming up this first semester of PBL and tech integration. Teachers were all saying the same thing to me when I went around asking for samples: “If you’ll give me just another week or so, they’ll have (various remarkable things) completed!” There are lots of iMovies being produced, websites being created, Livebinders being filled, blogs being started and much more. We just got 60 more iPads in last week and are ready to unload the creative universe on our students. By May we should have a great collection!
Junior Tech Warehouse – 11th grade History and English digital projects (more coming very soon)
Element of Pre-Cal/Trig Project – Kiirsten Miller (senior)
Mr. Crumpton’s Science – Student Work Samples
Ms. Kean’s 10th grade English:
Zach Lightsey
http://prezi.com/bj5y8ky8fznl/determined-to-get-out/
Tariah Reynolds
http://prezi.com/djrhmexcci8k/so-close-but-so-far-away/
Sychem Butler
http://prezi.com/d11g3yi8hmca/lost-and-hopefully-found/
The Daily Home – “Project-based learning at its best”
Other useful Links:
CHS Moodle homepage – Links, daily announcements
CHS Student Ownership – J. Barnett wiki page
Thanks so much, Jennifer!
