Profiles of Successful Schoolwide Programs - December 1998

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Secondary Schools

Preparing Students for Real-World Experiences

King Middle School
Portland School Department · Portland, Maine

OVERVIEW

At the King Middle School, according to its mission statement, "All kids can learn and show it." King Middle School's instructional program revolves around hands-on, active learning experiences that prepare students for real-life challenges. In 1993-94, King adopted the Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) school improvement model, a New American Schools (NAS) design. Student learning occurs in ELOB through purposeful, rigorous, and interdisciplinary "learning expeditions" that involve intellectual, community service, and physical activities. These expeditions encourage in-depth study of topics that students select. The culmination of expedition work is a "product" that demonstrates what a student has learned.

King serves students in grades six through eight in six autonomous "houses"—two at each grade level—that has five teachers and approximately 100 students. In four of the houses, teachers work with the same group of students for two consecutive years. Although King's curriculum accommodates the many different ways that students learn, the school challenges all students to meet the same high standards and expects them to produce high-quality work. "It's not a touchy-feely kind of learning," said Angela Jolliffe, a former teacher who was a key player in designing the school's curriculum. Expeditionary learning is serious, hard work in ELOB schools.

King began its transition to becoming a schoolwide program in 1992, at the same time that it became a middle school. As the school improvement team embarked on its in-depth needs assessment, its analysis of achievement indicators showed that academic success and socioeconomic status appeared to be disturbingly correlated. "We found that we were running two schools—one for the haves and one for the have-nots," said Principal Michael McCarthy. "We needed a dramatic experience to get King out of a rut and promote trust among members of the school community." The King team decided to unify its staff, materials, and funding—including ESEA Title I, Eisenhower Professional Development, and Migrant programs—to fully support the ELOB program that had begun several years before. "The marriage of the Outward Bound and schoolwide philosophies enable us to ensure that every child has a shot at success," McCarthy explained.

More than 28 languages are spoken at King, where 65% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Grade Levels
6-8
Number of Students
(1997-98)
606

Schoolwide Since
1995-96
Racial/Ethnic Composition

74% White

12% African American

11% Asian

3% Hispanic

VISION, LEADERSHIP, AND DECISION MAKING

The marriage of the Outward Bound and Schoolwide philosophies enabled us to ensure that every child has a shot success.

Michael McCarthy, Principal
King Middle School
Portland, ME

King's school improvement team—a seven-member elected body of teachers, administrators, and parents—assumes leadership for school improvement. It wrote the schoolwide plan, monitored progress toward schoolwide goals, and encouraged King's participation in ELOB. The SIT seeks a balanced membership of staff and parents so that both constituencies have a voice. It follows a formal decision-making process governed by agreed-on norms and procedures. Working under a unified philosophy clarifies decision-making roles and ensures that academic results are documented accurately and are readily available to all members of the school community.

School decisions are made according to the "ABCD process." An "A" decision is an executive decision made by the principal; "B" and "C" decisions involve staff and SIT members who achieve consensus; and individual houses make "D" decisions, those that pertain primarily to the content and organization of learning expeditions and instruction in each house. According to McCarthy, most decisions that affect the schoolwide program are "B" or "C" decisions.

Teachers' authority in spearheading ELOB and related professional development initiatives also fosters collegial relationships and shared decisionmaking. Teachers are free to determine how best to use their time, control the house's budget, and develop curriculum.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE RESULTS

Between the fall of 1994 and fall 1996, eighth-grade scores on the Maine Educational Assessment increased in all seven subjects, surpassing the state averages in all but one content area.

King places great emphasis on students' culminating project work, which is evaluated against staff-designed rubrics and product descriptors. Teachers measure student performance through observations, in-class assessments, public performances and presentations, portfolios, student self-evaluations, pre- and post-reading and writing scores, and state standardized tests.

King's scores on the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA), an open-ended test in seven disciplines that reports scores on a scale of 100 to 400 points, have climbed steadily since 1994. Between the fall of 1994 and fall of 1996, eighth-grade students' scores on the MEA increased from 255 to 305 in reading; from 185 to 245 in writing; from 290 to 360 in mathematics; from 225 to 245 in science; from 225 to 255 in social studies; from 250 to 255 in arts and humanities; and from 195 to 265 in health. Eighth-grade scores from the fall of 1995 showed King students surpassing state averages in all areas of the test except writing.

RESEARCH-BASED REFORM STRATEGIES

Under the Expeditionary Learning/Outward Bound model (ELOB), student learning is organized around rigorous interdisciplinary projects.

King was organized to reflect the characteristics of successful middle schools, including a clearly defined mission, effective leadership, student-centered teachers, and opportunities for all students to explore their personal interests and become reflective learners. The staff decided that teachers would remain with the same group of students for two consecutive years to foster a climate of trust and to increase the ties among students within classes and among students and their teachers. This also encourages teacher accountability for students and strengthens parent and teacher communication.

Program organizers also eliminated pull-out assistance when King became a schoolwide program. Services for migrant students with limited English skills, and others who require additional academic assistance, take place in regular classrooms, although specialized assistance is available in small study groups, after school programs, and in a student learning center staffed with diagnostic teaching specialists and counselors.

Students' culminating projects are evaluated against high standards, are set within the school, and are displayed for public review.
The rigorous, standards-based curriculum at King reflects the 10 design principles of the ELOB model: (1) the primacy of self-discovery; (2) the possession of wonderful ideas; (3) student responsibility for learning; (4) intimacy and caring; (5) success and failure; (6) collaboration and competition; (7) diversity and inclusion; (8) the natural world; (9) reflection and solitude; and (10) service and compassion. The model fosters collaboration among the teaching staff in house teams that use three common planning periods per week to plan expeditions and regular classroom instruction.

Because there are no set class periods or bells at King, teachers have the flexibility to schedule the school day according to the tasks on which their student groups are working.

In-depth, interdisciplinary learning expeditions group students heterogeneously to accommodate their interests and learning styles. Flexible scheduling encourages students to delve deeply into the curriculum and explore questions that relate to their lives. The ELOB model uses the same variety of assessment tools across classrooms to evaluate students' learning: portfolios, critique sessions, self-evaluation, performance tasks, benchmark assessments, and evaluation conferences. Using a two-tiered portfolio system, students keep both a "working" portfolio of all drafts and works-in-progress and a "finished" portfolio of final products. At the end of each expedition, students must create final "demonstrations," each completed to high-quality standards that are explicitly set by teachers and students.

The emphasis on teamwork and peer collaboration means new students become part of a peer group soon after they enroll in the school and ensures that all students' contributions are valued.
Students have access to numerous enrichment classes, including computer and music classes in grade six, art and a reading/writing workshop in grade seven, and design/technology and family/consumer science in grade eight. Based on the national Outward Bound program, the physical education program at the school features a ropes course and other activities to promote teamwork.

King's ESL population has grown dramatically since the early 1990s. In school year 1997-98, 22 percent of students required ESL services, compared with 6 percent in 1992. Four ESL teachers work with ESL students in both a beginners' and a transitional program. The beginners' program targets students who have little or no knowledge of English—many also have no formal education experience—and works with them on basic language skills. ESL students in the transitional program are mainstreamed into regular classrooms gradually, based on their progress. "When we redesigned the school, we chose a model that works for all kids," explained McCarthy. For the growing ESL populations that also includes newcomers to the United States, interdisciplinary expeditionary learning is particularly successful. Collaborative project work personalizes instruction and motivates students to take greater responsibility for their own learning. The emphasis on teamwork and peer collaboration means new students become part of a peer group soon after they enroll in the school and ensures that all students' contributions are valued.

THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY

ELOB inspires teachers to under- stand professional development as an integrated philosophy rather than as a series of fragmented workshops. These design principles, shared by the faculty, are the foundation of all learning and teaching at King Middle School:

Self-discovery

Wonderful ideas

Student responsibility for learning

Intimacy and caring

Success and failure

Collaboration and competition

Diversity and inclusion

The natural world

Reflection and solitude

Service and compassion

King's professional learning community includes 55 teachers, 11 educational technology specialists, four guidance counselors, and two administrators. Professional development revolves around the middle school philosophy, the ELOB model, and principles that promote ongoing reflection and revision. According to McCarthy, ELOB has inspired teachers to understand professional development as an integrated philosophy rather than as a series of fragmented workshops. When King became an Expeditionary Learning Center in 1993, a NAS designer worked with staff to integrate the ELOB model with other features of the middle school program. Now, a faculty member serves as a teaching strategist and offers most of the on-site training. The teaching strategist provides on-the-job mentoring, seeks out professional development opportunities, and identifies and obtains instructional materials for teachers.

There are many staff development opportunities throughout the year that model ELOB design principles. Each one invites educators to become learners by immersing them in "summits" that focus on academic content pertaining to the middle school curriculum and assessment. Teachers participate in one-day community explorations where they work with colleagues in small groups to identify, review, and compile potential field sites and resources for future learning expeditions. They have the option to attend five-day institutes on curriculum-writing or on organizing and sequencing learning expeditions to make their practices consistent with state and local standards. During the school year, the faculty conducts topic-oriented staff meetings and midweek workshops. The workshops emphasize best practices for young adolescents and resemble on-site professional courses. The school's teachers also mentor preservice teachers from the University of Southern Maine's new teacher internship programs. They introduce future teachers to the ELOB model and supervise and evaluate these teachers-in-training during a nine-week interval at King.

PARENT AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

ELOB learning expeditions rely on the expertise and support of both parents and community volunteers. King recruits volunteers to supervise students and assist with the logistics involved in implementing off-campus expeditions. A Portland law firm has been a particularly supportive partner to King, contributing to the off-site learning expeditions by mentoring at-risk students and promoting the school's arts program. The lobby of the law firm showcases students' artwork and the firm has donated lights to the school so that students' work can be displayed well in the school hallways. To keep parents and community members informed of learning activities and student performances, King publishes and disseminates newsletters and has produced two videos that highlight students' projects.

Parent, community, and teacher volunteers supervise "After School at King," a program for students who request additional academic assistance or who have questions about their homework. In addition, King provides four rooms that are open for students, parents, and community members to collaborate on completing projects before, during, or after school. According to McCarthy, the idea for the project rooms originated with the students themselves. "The rooms are a way to level the playing field for many of our students who live in small quarters and don't have access to materials such as poster board and art supplies," he said.

Parent, community, and teacher volunteers supervise "After School at King," a program for students who request additional academic assistance or who have questions about their homework.
King makes a special effort to reach migrant parents through home visits in the fall and an annual multicultural/migrant party in May, which attract 75 to 80 percent of migrant families. The staff conducts regular conferences with parents to keep them informed about expectations and students' progress. The Parent Teacher Organization has also become increasingly popular since King became an Expeditionary Learning Center, and its members endowed a significant amount of money toward technology and the school's drama program to increase expeditionary instructional opportunities.

SUSTAINING CHANGE

King significantly changed its organization and philosophy when it became a Expeditionary Learning Center. To maintain effectiveness, the ELOB model requires a considerable commitment of time and energy from the King staff who continue to infuse the latest research-based instructional strategies into the academic program. A positive aspect of the change involves the public display of student work at King's annual "Demonstration Day," a schoolwide event that celebrates student learning and success and enjoys communitywide participation. These demonstrations,coupled with the bonds forged between teachers and students as they prepare for the day's events, have changed the school's culture and motivated both staff and students. "Success breeds success," McCarthy observed, "when teachers and the outside community see that our students can produce high-quality work, they want to stay committed."

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