Posts published on February 13, 2010

Seven Key Actions For Students To Be Admitted To Selective Colleges

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 86 percent of high school graduates in Montgomery County went on to college in 2009.

Jerry Weast, the superintendent, and Carole Working, principal of Quince Orchard High School, shared some of the key components of the district’s college readiness successes at the recent AASA convention.

The initiative began in 1999 when the school district’s population began to dramatically shift. Between 1998 and 2009, the number of students participating in English for Speakers of Other Languages programs increased by 103 percent and the eligibility for free and reduced-price meals increased by 44.1 percent.

In order to increase student achievement, Weast said he realized “if we could differentiate on the inputs, we could change the outputs.”

The district first set what he calls a “clear and compelling goal” to have 80 percent of students in the district become college ready by the year 2014. Weast and his team went to colleges directly and researched what it takes to be prepared for college. They used this information to carefully frame and define the seven keys.

A district-produced brochure on the initiative states: “The 7 Keys provide a pathway for students to follow from kindergarten through graduation to prepare them for rigorous academic work at competitive colleges after twelfth grade.”

The seven keys to college success are listed as:

1. Read at advanced levels in grades K-2.

2. Score at the advanced level on the Maryland School Assessment in grades 3-8.

3. Complete the 6th-grade math curriculum by grade 5.

4. Complete Algebra I with a grade of C or better by grade 8.

5. Complete Algebra II with a grade of C or better by grade 11.

6. Pass at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam.

7. Score at least a 1650 on the SAT or a 24 on the ACT.

The next step was to determine the district’s “blind spots.” Student-teacher ratios were the highest in the poorest areas of their district and teacher quality was the lowest in these areas. Weast and his team then went to work to change the systems and structures within the district that were hindering student achievement. They collaborated with unions to increase teacher performance and retention. They gave the teachers new technology to use in the classroom, created parent education programs and produced marketing plans to get their message out to students and families.

College preparation begins early in the Montgomery County schools. The district instituted an early success performance plan for Pre-K-3 students in low-income areas. They have full-day kindergarten and have aligned reading, math and language instruction into preschool, summer and after-school programs. Students start visiting colleges in grade 3. Elementary school teachers wear gear from their alma maters to help instigate classroom discussions about what college is like.

Parent buy-in is crucial to the initiative, Weast said. Workshops are held to teach parents how to help their students become college ready. Child care and interpretation services are provided at all the workshops. In addition to the workshops, television shows are broadcast weekly in five different languages to help educate parents.

Marketing is also very important. Working, a veteran principal, said, “The more we get the message out, the better we do.”

Students help create the messaging and it can be found nearly everywhere, from the sign in the lobby at Quince Orchard High School that states this is “where Cougars are creating a culture of college readiness” to the bookmarks with information about the seven keys to college readiness that are distributed to the students.

Weast and Working emphasized that the process has taken an immense amount of time, patience and persistence. Weast and his team have done a tremendous amount of work with the school board, teachers, administrators, staff members, unions and other stakeholders to ensure that students become college ready.

At the end of the session, Weast and Working encouraged school administrators in attendance to set goals to increase student success in their districts and to be willing to put forth the planning and work necessary to reach those goals.

More information on Montgomery County Public Schools and the Seven Keys to College Readiness can be found at www.mcps7keys.org.