OFFICE OF MULTIPLE PATHWAYS TO GRADUATION:

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OFFICE OF MULTIPLE PATHWAYS TO GRADUATION

• Developing and strengthening schools and programs
  that lead to high school graduation and
  post-secondary opportunities for overage,
  under-credited youth

CCSSO Secondary School Redesign
Conference Atlanta, Georgia June 7-9, 2006
THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office
of Multiple Pathways to Graduation
JOELLEN LYNCH, Executive Director
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Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation
MISSION To create a differentiated portfolio of
educational options integrated with secondary
reform that will provide systemic opportunities
to improve student high school graduation rates
and the long-term plans of overage and
under-credited youth or multiple pathways to
graduation
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Multiple Pathways options meet New York State
graduation requirements
Regents Exams 5
Courses 44 credits

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• Comprehensive English
• Global History and Geography
• U.S. History and Government
• Mathematics
• Science

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Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation
Methodology
STRATEGY
IMPLEMENTATION
Research best practices and design models for
schools and programs
Build capacity system-wide
GOAL
Create a differentiated portfolio informed by
analytics
Develop tools to start, sustain, and strengthen
schools and programs
ACTIVITY
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Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation
Methodology
GOAL
ACTIVITY
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Situation Assessment Segmented population
analysis
An overage and under-credited student is defined
as a student who is 2 years behind his or her
expected age and credit accumulation in high
school
Age
Credits
Segmentation informs strategy
Who are these students? What is their experience
in the system?
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Situation Assessment Segmented population
analysis
Of the nearly 140K overage and under-credited
youth in New York City, half are currently in
school.
Out-of-School Youth
In-School Youth
70K
68K
Age 21
Focus of MultiplePathways Initiative
Percent of Students
IN- AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL OVERAGE AND UNDER-CREDITED
YOUTH, JUNE 2005
Note Includes District 75 students. Students
are counted as out-of-school youth only if they
are dropouts (as opposed to other discharges)
Source ATS Data, Parthenon analysis
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Situation Assessment Demographic Profile of
Current OA/UC Students

• Overage / under-credited students have the
  following demographics
• Gender 60 male (vs. NYC total of 51)
• Age 42 aged 18 or older (vs. NYC total of 22)
• Ethnicity 83 African-American or Hispanic (vs.
  NYC total of 71)

Demographics of Overage / Under-Credited Students
vs. Total HS Enrollment, June 2005
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Source ATS Data
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Situation Assessment Segmented population
analysis
Nearly all high school dropouts have a history of
being overage and under-credited

• The dropout population is the overage and
  under-credited population, just at different
  points in time
• By contrast, only 19 of graduates were once
  overage and under-credited in high school

19K
37K
100
Non-Overage and Under-Credited
80
Non-Overage and
60
Under-Credited
Overage and
Percent of Students
Under-Credited
(93)
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Overage and
Under-Credited
(19)
0
Graduates (Class of 2003 Cohort)
Dropouts (Class of 2003 Cohort)
Graduates and Dropouts by Overage and
Under-Credited Status, Class of 2003 Cohort
Note Excludes District 75 Students Source ATS
Data
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Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation
Methodology
GOAL
ACTIVITY
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Segmented population analysis drives Multiple
Pathways strategy
STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS
How much time does the student have to complete
the requirements for credential?
Segmentation by student age and credits earned
How far has he or she progressed?
What potential strategies have preventive versus
recuperative power?
Segmentation by level of academic preparation at
high school entrance
To what extent can programs at the high school
level be effective?
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Differentiated Portfolio Transfer Schools

• Transfer Schools are small, academically rigorous
  diploma granting high schools for students that
  have been enrolled in a NYC public high school
  for at least one year and are far from promoting
  on grade level in their current high school.
• Essential elements of Transfer Schools
• personalized learning environment
• integration of youth development practices with
  rigorous academic instruction
• student-centered pedagogy
• support to meet instructional and development
  goals
• focus on connections to college
• OMPG Transfer School Portfolio
• The Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation
  supports and strengthens NYC DOEs network of 22
  Transfer Schools, and is developing tools for new
  Transfer School start-up.

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Differentiated Portfolio Transfer Schools
Transfer Schools produce differentiated outcomes
regardless of 8th grade ELA levels
Overage and Under-Credited Seven-Year Graduation
Ratesby Reading Level Comprehensive High
Schools vs. Transfer Schools
278 145 109
111 137
Improvement vs. Comp HS
Note Comprehensive HS data is for students who
are OA-UC in each segment in June 2001 and end in
a comprehensive HS Transfer school data is
calculated based on student credits and age at
entry for the 2001-02 transfer school cohort
Graduation rate excludes IEP diplomas Source ATS
Data Similar analysis based on math level is
unavailable, given change in 8th grade math test
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Differentiated Portfolio Transfer Schools
and outperform comprehensive high schools for
students across a range of age and
credits.
Overage and Under-Credited Seven-Year Graduation
Rates byStudent Segment Comprehensive High
Schools vs. Transfer Schools
Graduation Rate
Comprehensive HS
Transfer Schools
Age lt18 Credits lt11
Age 18, Credits lt11 Age 19, Credits lt22
Age 17-18 Credits 11-22
Age 18 Credits 22
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Differentiated Portfolio Blended GED Programs

• OMPG is developing models of blended GED programs
  tailored for overage, under-credited youth. The
  model will serve as a lab school for further
  research and development of GED programs for
  overage, under-credited youth.
• Essential Elements of GED Blend Model
• Youth development approach
• Integrated learning cycles Portfolio
  creation process Innovative systems for student
  engagement, assessment, and progression
  Pathways to post-secondary training and other
  opportunities
• In-depth, sector-specific career exploration
  with individualized career strands
• OMPG GED Blends Portfolio
• 3 programs launched at Learning to Work sites in
  2005-2006
• 1 full-time, stand-alone program with a Learning
  to Work component will be launched in Fall 2006,
  with a capacity of 150 students

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Differentiated Portfolio YABCs

• Housed in host high schools, Young Adult Borough
  Centers are full-time programs for students who
  are 17½ or older and have at least 17 credits.
  The instructional model of YABCs allows students
  to concentrate only on the credit portfolio they
  need for graduation through a non-traditional
  block schedule.
• Essential elements of YABCs, provided by a
  Community Based Organization at each program
  site
• youth development support
• career and college counseling
• assistance with job placement
• OMPG YABC Program Portfolio
• 18 YABC Programs, with 9 new programs launched
  in 2005-2006

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Differentiated Portfolio Learning to Work
Learning to Work (LTW) is an integrated workforce
readiness and student support program that
prepares overage, under-credited students for the
workforce, connects them to jobs and
post-secondary, and enables them to earn a high
school diploma or GED through
CAREER PREPARATION

• Vocational/Work Readiness Workshops
• Career Exploration and Planning

WORKFORCE CONNECTIONS

• Internship Placements
• Job Placements

ACADEMIC SUPPORT

• Tutoring and Attendance Outreach
• Post-secondary Exploration and Advising

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Individual and Group Counseling
• Referral to Services

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Differentiated Portfolio LTW Workforce
Connections
Learning to Work connects students to a broad
array of employment sectors throughout New York
City
LTW INTERNSHIP PLACEMENT BY SECTOR
Learning to Work also empowers students to make
their own connections

• To date, 1403 students from LTW programs have
  made workforce connections
• 833 students placed in LTW internships
• 570 students are currently working in positions
  secured outside of the LTW internship program
• Preliminary data shows that 50 LTW students have
  already turned their LTW internships into paid
  jobs

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Office of Multiple Pathways to GraduationMethodol
ogy
GOAL
ACTIVITY
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Implementation and Capacity-Building

• STARTING NEW SCHOOLS/PROGRAMS
• Developing new models
• Adolescent literacy
• GED blends
• Replicating successful models
• Creating tools for implementing models
• SUSTAINING EXISTING SCHOOLS/PROGRAMS
• Bolstering networks of schools and programs to
  capture and share learnings, identify best
  practices, and disseminate information
• STRENGTHENING THE SYSTEM
• Managing performance
• Developing resources
• Sharing knowledge and disseminating information
• Network meetings for YABC/LTW program directors

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Implementation and Capacity-Building
Accountability
Path of Transfer School Students in the Current
System
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Comprehensive High School
Average Enrollment 2.7 years
80 have moved to Transfer School by halfway
through 4th year

• On average, students
• Are retained for two years, earning 6 credits/yr
• Become disengaged, attending at a lt50 rate

Transfer School
Average Enrollment 1.9 years
90 of students have a final outcome within 6 yrs

• On average, students
• Re-engage with school, attending at a 78 rate
• Find academic success, earning 9-10 credits/yr

• When students become OA-UC in Comprehensive HS,
  they are on a path toward dropout
• Transfer Schools re-engage OA-UC students and put
  them on track for graduation

Source ATS Data
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Implementation and Capacity-Building
Accountability
The Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation is
exploring accountability measures that reflect
added value of Transfer Schools. Areas under
consideration include
PROGRESS MEASURES
Value-added system captures Average prior to
admission 1st year in Transfer School 2nd year in
Transfer School 3rd year in Transfer
School Relative change versus prior schools

• Attendance
• Credits earned toward diploma
• Regents performance

• Graduation rate by credits at admission
• 0-11 credits
• 11-22 credits
• 22 credits

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• Graduation rate by type of diploma
• Regents diploma
• Local diploma
• School environment
• Safety
• Parent/Teacher student survey

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Questions?