BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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RACE TO THE TOP DISTRICTGRANT APPLICATION

OVERVIEW

OCTOBER, 2012

BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Overview of RTTDRTTD is a competitive grant awarded by the

U.S. Department of Education to districts who propose to transform the way teachers teach and children acquire knowledge and skills in a manner that is personalized to help students set and achieve individual goals

The application is due October 30th and notification of awards will be made in December

City Schools is applying in the category that reaches at least 25,000 participating students and $40 million

4 year time period - January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2016

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Requirements

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The LEA must demonstrate its commitment to preparing all students for college or career, demonstrated by— Being located in a State that has adopted college-

and career-ready standards; Measuring student progress and performance

against college- and career-ready graduation requirements;

Implementing a robust data system Include the signature of Superintendent, local

school board president, and local teacher union or association president

BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

What Can It Fund?

Professional Development for teachersContent developmentTechnology for teachers and studentsConsultantsData system upgradesEnhancing internships and mentoring for

college and career preparednessFamily and community partnershipsWraparound supports for students

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Absolute PriorityCompetitive Preference

PriorityPersonalized Learning Environments

Designed to significantly improve learning and teaching through the personalization of strategies, tools, and supports for students and educators that are aligned with college- and career-ready standards or college- and career-ready graduation requirements;

Accelerate student achievement and deepen student learning by meeting the academic needs of each student;

Increase the effectiveness of educators;

Expand student access to the most effective educators;

Decrease achievement gaps across student group

Results, Resource Alignment, and Integrated Services

The extent to which the applicant

integrates public and private resources to augment the schools’ core resources by providing additional student and family supports such as those addressing the social-emotional, behavioral, and other needs of the participating students, giving highest priority to those students in high-need schools.

Application Priorities5

BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Need Based on Expectations for Students

Expectation for the district is to be fully implementing Common Core in SY 2014-2015 including college and career ready standards

Chronic absenteeism has broad impacts on student achievement

On the 2011 NAEP assessment which measures ability to apply critical real world thinking skills, only 11.9 percent of Baltimore City 8th graders at proficient or advanced in reading; 13.1 percent are proficient or advanced in math

Compared to other urban districts Baltimore City 8th graders rank 15th out of 21 in math and 13th of 18 in reading pointing to a need to better prepare kids for college and career skill sets

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Need for Teachers to Adjust Instruction

In order to get students thinking critically and to be equipped with college and career skills, teachers need to change their instruction to be standards-based

Teachers require development on setting personal goals for students and the creation of individual pathways for meeting goals

Integrating technology into the classroom and for use in personalization will require training for teachers to be comfortable with the devices, capitalizing on features, and incorporating it into day-to-day teaching

Teachers must be culturally competent and engage the community contexts and students’ families in supporting student learning

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Need to Engage Parents and Community

Families and community partners are critical to kids’ success and in combating chronic absenteeism

There is a need to emphasize the increased academic rigor and expectations

Parents need to be partners in helping their kids become college and career ready, and City Schools needs to give parents the tools to support them

Businesses, nonprofits and community groups are great resources for providing career experiences and assisting with wraparound services

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Why Are We Applying?Race to the Top District provides City Schools with

the opportunity to leverage $40 million to advance teaching and learning and expand college and career pathway preparation

The idea of choice and options drives City Schools’ theory of action: Schools have choice and autonomy over resources and

staffing Families have choice and options for selecting their

schoolThe next step is providing students with choice in

how they demonstrate mastery of skills and broadening their options for career exploration earlier and more intensively

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Solution - Addressing the College and Career Preparedness of 6th – 12th Grade Students

Creating Pathways of Student Progression – from broad skills and interests to specialized skill sets A shift in how we look at classroom instruction Personalized plans for student growth by year and long

term with parent involvement Technology access and personalization Teacher Development Internships (exploring career interests earlier) Mentoring Additional interventions for students in crisis and

approaching crisis

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

City Schools’ Personalized Learning Philosophy

Students will:Be provided choices in how they demonstrate

mastery of concepts and standardsCollaborate with educators and families in

establishing their academic goalsReceive meaningful feedback and frequent updates

on their progressEngage in learning experiences that extend beyond

the classroom

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Areas of Impact

Preference- Student choice over content delivery

Place- Location of learning experiencesPace- Speed of progression through content Platform- Learn any way at any time with the

assistance of a mobile technology tool that enables students to track their own progress, access valuable learning resources

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

District Strategy for Personalization

8 + Year Plan

Choice in Mastery in ELA classes

(LDC modules)

Universal Design for Learning strategies

for Teachers

Computer Technology

Platform

Problem- Based

Learning Projects

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Each Student Has an 8+ Year Plan

Teachers, guidance counselors, students and parents will collaboratively map out a path from 6th grade to 12th grade and even into their college or career

Initially the plan identifies each student’s academic interests and needs and adjusts as he/she grows, with behavioral and emotional supports for high-needs students

The Plan maps out class schedules and course sequences, and opportunities in future years that allow students to reach the goals that they have set for themselves

It drives a student’s choice of high school in the district and the college selection process

The Plan helps students structure their learning to achieve their college and career goals beginning in 6th grade

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Universal Design for Learning Drives Change in Teacher Practice

Every ELA teacher in grade 6-12 will receive training in UDL, ensuring that they know how to:

Present information and content in different ways (the “what” of learning)

Differentiate the ways that students express what they know (the “how” of learning)

Stimulate interest and motivation for learning (the “why” of learning)

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Problem-Based Learning Projects Will Occur in Every Grade

The skills and knowledge learned in the LDC units from ELA, science, and social studies classes will be integrated in a yearly Problem-Based Learning (PBL) project

PBLs allow students to demonstrate mastery of standards and build the skills on which the unit is based in a way that appeals to their academic interests

Students will work with teachers and parents to select a research topic of question that will be the basis of an in-depth and long term project that increases in rigor each year

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Technology Platform Aids Personalized Goal Setting and Performance Tracking

City Schools will work with a partner to develop a personalized,mastery-based learning platform on a tablet or laptop.

The device must provide:

Real-time student performance data and progress analytics. Analytics should “learn” about the student based on his or her performance and preferences and provide recommendations for activities.

Pre-populated, high quality resources, with the flexibility for the district, teachers or students to add new applications as needed

An intuitive interface that adapts to students’ need for further practice on a skill

Training and technical support for families will be part of rollout

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

A New Emphasis on Internships and Apprenticeships

Expanding the reach of Career Technology Education and Learning to Work programs

9th and 10th graders will shadow professionals in the field to explore a career interest and the district will partner with organizations to bring in experts from the field to do activities, info sessions, lead a specialized lesson, etc.

11th and 12th graders will engage in internships and apprenticeships in a desired field, trade or profession

12th graders (some 11th) will have dual enrollment opportunities at colleges, universities, trade schools to earn credit or certifications ahead of graduation

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Professional Development Strategy

Summer Academies-280 teachers-5 weeks-3,000 students-Grades 6 through 12

Cycles of Professional Learning-Teachers at school sites-6 to 8 week cycles of improvement

Opportunities for advanced learning-15 + hours-Advanced learning-Cycles of development

Systemic Professional Development Days-10 systemic PD days -At least 7 used for Personalization strategies

Improved Instruction using

Personalized Learning

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Additional Professional Development Strategies

Enhanced shared learning- use of technology Use of live video conferencing technology for teachers to collaborate

across schools (or country or world) to observe other classes/teachers

Videos of highly effective teachers Video library of City Schools effective teaching Access to other district’s libraries

Engagement training for teachers and parents Developing relationships, cultural competence, and effective

collaboration School-wide campaigns to improve in ways identified by the school

community Partnerships with teacher preparation pipelines

Working with schools of education and alternative certification programs to train on personalization and technology in classroom

Teachers Leading Teachers in School Based Development Teacher Leaders will facilitate learning at the school through cycles

of development and collaborative meetings

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Layered Support for Students Facing Multiple Challenges

Focus on chronically absent students, particularly those involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems

Pathways Coordination via Family League Identify students involved in DJS, CINS, foster care for whom additional

services are available Work with counselors and families to integrate supports with Personalized

Pathway Examples include PACT Center, CINS, Ready by 21

Expand community resource schools to 4 additional high schools

Expand intensive mentoring from 2 to 3 high schools with a heavy concentration of high-needs students

Demonstrate coordination of intensive mentoring with Personalized Pathways and Community Resource Schools. 97% college matriculation at two current sites

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Ongoing Engagement of Stakeholders

Personal Pathways Advisory Committee to advise district

Including parent representatives, principal, teachers’ union, higher education, business, students, community partners

Feedback on implementation and efficacy

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Phase I: January 1, 2013 – June 2014

Revise LDC modules Implement Universal Design for Learning as a lesson planning

and curriculum design framework Work with students to develop their 8+ year plans, Offer internships through current programs Continue offering blended & distance learning, i.e. an AP

Statistics class could be offered by live video conferencing with small groups of students at multiple high schools in the district

Engagement training for teachers and parents Create 4 new Community Resource Schools in middle and/or

high school Hire Pathways Coordinator to coordinate services for

chronically absentee and at-risk students

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Phase II: July 2014 – June 2015

Continue implementation of Phase IIntegrate year-long Problem Based Learning

projects into all ELA classes in grades 6-12Implement mentoring programExpand internship experiences Implement technology platform in a subset of

schools in ELA class

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Phase III: July 2015 – June 2016

Continuing implementation of Phases I-IIRoll out technologyAchieve 1:1 computing in grades 6-12Expand blended & distance learning

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BALTIMORE CITY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Phase IV: July 2016 – Dec 2016

Continuing the implementation of Phases I-IIIImplement accelerated pathways

More students taking college courses More advanced classes offered to gifted and talented

students across the district using technology Students able to pass a course by demonstrating

mastery of skills on an accelerated timeframe

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