cuyahoga falls city schools transforming our learning communities to address 21 st century needs...

Cuyahoga Falls City Schools

Transforming our Learning Communities to address

21st Century needs

Board of EducationSeptember 9, 2013

Cuyahoga FallsWhere are we now?

Attendance Rate ACT Composite Score

Year ACT Avg.

10-11 21.5

11-12 21.5

12-13 21.6

Year Rate

10-11 95.3%

11-12 95.1%

12-13 93.8%

Cuyahoga FallsWhere are we now?

AP Offerings What does this mean?

Year AP Courses

10-11 9

13-14 14

• Need to re-engage some of our students to want to come to school

• Steady performance on ACT scoring

• CFHS is providing more opportunities for students to take AP courses

We need to continue to look for ways to improve our

product

Cuyahoga Falls City Schools “Educational Excellence in a Changing

World”• Common Core/state standards; staff-created

curriculum maps• Commitment to professional learning

communities• Established ongoing, systemic, job-embedded

professional development• Large stock of quality educators

Aligned to Ohio’s Education Reform Plan in HB 1

21st Century Skills

What is the driving force behind this transformation?

Business/industry expectations

Strong CCSS curriculum

Change in delivery of instruction

What skills are most important for job success when hiring a high school graduate?

Work Ethic 80%

Collaboration 75%

Good Communication 70%

Social Responsibility 63%

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

58%

Source: Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2006).

“Workforce Survey: Are They Really Ready to Work.”

Skills Needed for the 21st Century

Business Executive Survey

Critical Thinking 75.7%

Communication 80.7%

Collaboration 62.6%

Creativity & Innovation 60.1%

Does your organization make a special effort to evaluate these skills when hiring?

Yes

The Four C’sAmerican Management Association

Business Executive Survey

Become Less Important 0.6%Remain the Same 22.5%Become More Important 75.7%No Opinion 1.1%

How will 21st Century Skills be viewed in your organization in the future?

American Management Association

Cuyahoga FallsBusiness Advisory Council

August 15, 2013 KIVA with CFHS Summer Institute. This group mentioned the following:• New employees should have strong

communication skills; oral and written• New employees should have experience with

new technologies• New employees should be creative• New employees should have problem solving

/critical thinking skills

What guides our schools to develop these skills desired by business and

industry?




The Common Core is forcing change

• Common Core standards require greater rigor• Common Core standards require greater

problem solving skills• Common Core standards require technology

skills• The 4C’s of critical thinking, collaboration,

creativity and communication are foundations to the CCSS

Common Core

• These are positive changes for instruction

• They are also necessary in order to prepare students properly

Curricular ExpectationsAssessments

Ohio Proficiency/Achievement Assessment question

The students would be required to read a short selection from The Baby Grand, the Moon in July, and Me before answering the following questions.

Grade 6 – ReadingOhio Proficiency Test

Which of these sentences best summarizes this story?A. One family is composed of several musicians.B. A boy tries to explain to his sister how he feels

about music.C. A girl wants to play a piano, but her brother

won’t let her.D. A mother finds a source of pride in her

children.

Curricular ExpectationsAssessments

New age assessment questions from PARCC

The students would be required to read a selection from the book Julie of the Wolves before answering the following questions.

Grade 6, Item #5—Part BEnglish/ language arts

Drag and drop two details from the passage that support your response to Part A into the box labeled “Supporting Details.”

Supporting Details

Grade 6, Item #6English/language arts

In the passage, the author developed a strong character named Miyax. Think about Miyax and the details the author used to create that character. The passage ends with Miyax waiting for the black wolf to look at her.Write an original story to continue where the passage ended. In your story, be sure to use what you have learned about the character Miyax as you tell what happens to her next.

How will instruction need to change in order to meet the new standards?




How do we make this change in instruction?

Making learning relevant for

students

Relevance is:

“Learning in which students apply core knowledge, concepts, or skills to solve real-world problems. Relevant learning is interdisciplinary and contextual.”

(Bill Daggett, Rigor/Relevance Framework, 2011)

How do we make learning relevant for students?

• Provide authentic, real-life problems for them to solve

• Tap into students interests and apply to their learning

• Our teachers do this, but we need to improve upon this in order to address 21st century needs

Cuyahoga Falls City SchoolsSystemic & Connected Work

Elementary Schools

• Teaching to rigor and relevance of CCSS every day

MS Institute

• All students experience the 16 career clusters

• 6 Design Challenges per year

• August 19, 20, & 21–70 participants–Design Challenge study–Provide MS students exposure to

career clusters

Middle School Summer InstituteNicole McMillen

What are design challenges?•A way to initiate a project where students cycle through an entire design thinking process. (Imagine, Plan, Design, Improve, Share)•The design process is built into each challenge where students work together to develop a solution to a “real” issue/problem.•These challenges will be focused on all of the career clusters throughout sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.•During the institute, each team was given a career cluster to create a design challenge that would get the students familiar with the career cluster.

6th Grade Hospitality and Tourism Design Challenge

Frame the Challenge• We need our local retail stores to be successful in order to

create a strong economic base that encourages tourism in our community. How might we create a reusable, environmentally friendly popcorn container? The container should appeal to teens and promote repeat visits to a local business.

Next Steps• Establish the constraints• What sources of information will students need?• Day-by-Day Plan

Cuyahoga Falls High SchoolJen Culver

High School Summer Institute

August 12-14NEOnet

General Overview

–60 Participants–Evolution of Schooling–Preserving Strengths–Business Advisory Council perspective–8 Work/Research Groups–Share Out/Reflection–Next Steps

After the institute….

• OPENING DAY STAFF MEETING• DEN PARTICIPATION FRAMEWORK• FUTURE WORK

Cuyahoga FallsMisunderstandings

• A student has to choose his/her career in 9th grade– NO, he/she is choosing an area of interest

• This structure will limit a student’s potential to get into a major in college– NO, it may help a student begin to develop

possible areas to major in, but not limit


• This structure does not support students with special needs– NO, this should provide more opportunities for

students with special needs to explore interests and options

• This will limit students in taking higher level courses– NO, our higher level learners will have the same or

MORE opportunities


• Band and other unified arts will not be an option in all dens.– NO, all students currently make choices on these

courses. They will not be further limited because of the Den structure

Future Communication & Engagement

• Parent/Community engagement meetings

• Student engagement• Staff engagement• Use of website to inform

and engage

We need input from all our stakeholders!

Thank You for your support of this process!

Please checkwww.cfalls.org for

additional information and opportunities to ask

questions

http://www.cfalls.org/

cuyahoga falls city schools transforming our learning communities to address 21 st century needs...

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