Raising the Educational Achievement of Secondary School Students - Volume 2 Profiles of Promising Practices - 1995

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

Individualized Instruction and Community Involvement Engage Dropouts in Learning

City Academy
St. Paul, Minnesota

Key Characteristics

Small, personalized environment increases teacher involvement with students

Individualized instruction allows students to work at their own pace

Service learning builds bridges between students and their communities
Number of Students: 40
Ages Served: 14-21

Racial/Ethnic Breakdown:

80% minority (Hmong, African American, Hispanic American, and Native American)

Eligible for Free/Reduced -Price Lunch: 90%
Chapter 1 Program: No
Major Sources of Outside Funding: None

Overview

Two years ago, Keshon--a high school dropout--could be found wandering his neighborhood streets. Today, he attends classes five days a week and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity; when he graduates, Keshon plans to attend the local junior college. Keshon attends City Academy, a year-round charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota.

City Academy provides individualized learning in an alternative setting for young adults seriously at risk of dropping out of school. The school's small size--just 40 students--allows staff to provide the personal attention and flexibility students need to stay enrolled and succeed in school. City Academy offers students many opportunities to learn in the community through partnerships with area businesses and organizations.

School Context

According to the 1990 census, 40 percent of the teenagers in the economically depressed neighborhood surrounding City Academy drop out of school each year. Most are unemployed. Many City Academy students are represented in these statistics--they are former dropouts or were expelled from their old high schools. The academy targets alienated students who often fail to finish school--those who are teen parents, substance abusers, or victims of physical abuse. Most students learn of City Academy through word-of-mouth; others are referred from local schools.

Major Program Features

City Academy grew out of two teachers' experiences with alternative programs in St. Paul. Although these programs targeted at-risk students, the teachers believed that some of the students most in need of such specialized programs fell through the cracks for two reasons: (1) Because of their demand and exposure, most specialized programs grew rapidly in size and, consequently, participants received less individualized attention; and (2) the layers of school, political, and board bureaucracy slowed or hampered teachers' flexibility to provide needed services.

With $30,000 in start-up funding from Northern States Power Company, City Academy opened in 1992 as Minnesota's first charter school. The academy's primary goal is to address students' academic needs and keep them in school through graduation; however, school staff also address students' social and emotional concerns.

To ensure individualized attention and to curb rapid growth without additional support, the school limits enrollment to 40 students who are chosen by lottery. City Academy employs four full-time, certified teachers in health/physical education, English/social studies, math, and science. In addition, two faculty members from local colleges work part-time at the school, teaching English, college writing, and art.

Academic Program

Individualized instruction. Curriculum and instruction at City Academy are built around the abilities, needs, and goals of individual students, incorporating state guidelines. Teachers design activities tailored to students' level and pace within classes of five or six students.
Teachers have developed progress checklists to help students and teachers mutually assess student progress. When students enter City Academy, staff use standardized tests (the Test of Adult Basic Education or the Woodcock Johnson) to assess their ability level and determine areas of need. Based on test results, students and teachers design five-week academic plans. This student involvement is key to the program; it gives students an active voice in the development of the curriculum and sets the tone for the academic environment.
Because some students may want a break between tough academic cycles, the school periodically allows them to interrupt their intense academic plans with less rigorous courses rather than risk their dropping out because of short-term fatigue. For example, a student may study algebra for two five-week cycles and then take a weight-lifting class for five weeks (in addition to other courses). Because instruction is completely individualized, students can resume where they left off.
Assessment. In consultation with business and university partners, academy staff set a minimum competency level of 80 percent mastery in a given subject area (rather than Carnegie units or course credits) that students must achieve to advance and to graduate. Subject-area competency is based on self-reporting, teacher reports, testing, classwork, and other measures. Most students have had no trouble achieving the minimum standard; many work to exceed it.
Rather than tracking students, teachers devise student work plans incorporating activities based on individual ability levels. For example, in a social studies class on prehistoric Minnesota, the teacher leads all students in a general discussion about the topic and brainstorms with them about possible areas for further required research. A higher-ability student might write a formal research paper, and a student operating at a less skilled level might write a simple report incorporating general concepts. Evaluation of student work is based on the individual, progress checklists, and initial and continuing assessment; grading is not done by comparison.
Integrated curriculum. Teachers integrate learning across disciplines as much as possible. Activities require students to read, write, make personal connections with the subject, and apply their knowledge to current situations. For example, students in a social studies class learning about cultural clashes between Native Americans and European settlers in the last century might discuss the war in Rwanda. In art class, math skills may be woven into a study of architecture.
All students must take a daily communications class, which varies from 30 minutes to one hour long based on student need. In this class, five to eight students work on interpersonal communication skills and problem solving with a student-selected faculty member. The class time is considered confidential, so students may discuss personal problems. A student or group of students may request that the entire school meet as a group to address issues of concern or interest. Sometimes the time is combined with other required classes such as a required spelling class, to fulfill an outcome objective for all students.
For students who seem ready for college-level work, the academy uses some of its state per-pupil allocation to pay for courses at a local college.
Program structure. City Academy operates year-round; students attend approximately 215 days of school each year. During the fall and spring semesters, students attend school from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every weekday but Tuesday, taking seven classes a day. Classes run in five-week rather than ten-week cycles to provide students with more frequent feedback on their progress.
Teachers added a two-hour afternoon program three days a week for students who are not succeeding in the City Academy program and for students who have dropped out of school and are considering City Academy. Teachers take turns teaching a class in their subject from 2 to 4 p.m. Students in this program may attend an English class on Monday, a history class on Tuesday, and a science class on Wednesday. Students admitted to the academy who are apprehensive about committing to the program may work their way into the regular day program through these afternoon sessions.
During the summer, classes meet in seminar form without breaks from 8:30 a.m. to about noon. Students usually study one subject every day, although some subjects may be combined (e.g., music and a short science class). The long summer schedule allows for flexibility in activities; for example, the writing class might focus on research and spend part of the morning on the school's computers and part in the public library, while the fitness class plays a round of golf and the art class paints indoor and outdoor murals.

Integrating Academics, Community Service, and Career Education

Although the students at the academy are often adept at acquiring academic skills and knowledge, life skills--such as attendance, problem solving, and being on time--can be harder to master and can lead to their dropping out of school. Staff enhance students' life skills by integrating community and service learning into instruction whenever possible. Once a week, the school schedule allows time for off-campus activities at community service projects, the public library, or other local institutions. A traveling history course takes students to important historical sites in the region, such as Indian Mounds Park and Mankato; students read books such as Black Elk Speaks. Opportunities like these expand students' learning experiences and help them build academic, personal, and social skills simultaneously.

All students are involved in community service in some way to help them gain skills and confidence. Ten to 15 students work at a job of some kind, up from just four when the program began. One student is developing a pilot program with the Eastside Neighbor-hood Development Corporation. She will be responsible for maintaining several abandoned and low-income properties, developing a job list, and writing a proposal to a local nursery to provide the landscaping materials for the properties. While learning such skills as supervising a coworker and creating tasks for completion, the student also receives money for college as well as valuable academic and work experience. Another student developed and implemented a neighborhood childcare program through the parks and recreation department. Costs of such projects, including students' salaries, are supported by the school through grants from independent sources. The academy also has a federal grant for career education and training that funds 24 summer jobs for students.

All students volunteer with Habitat for Humanity for at least one five-week period before graduating from City Academy. In addition, some students join a local senior-citizens group on Tuesdays, weekends, and vacations to work with Habitat for Humanity on many aspects of housing construction: building houses, pouring footing, demolishing structures, and salvaging materials. Through the department of parks and recreation, with which City Academy shares a building, some students lead activities at recreation centers, serve lunch to senior citizens, and help maintain the parks facility. Some students painted a mural for the local police department.

Support for Implementation

Professional development for City Academy staff focuses on defining outcomes and ability levels for student learning. In 1993, the entire staff attended seminars on evaluation and assessment at Alverno College in Milwaukee; in 1995, Alverno's four-day summer conference will become a regular part of the teachers' professional development. The school also is applying for grants to collaborate with a local college on inservice training and to certify part-time staff.

Minnesota treats charter schools as independent school districts, governed by a school-selected board that includes all staff members. This structure eliminates the administrative layers of a regular school district, giving City Academy more decision making capacity. City Academy receives the same per-pupil funding from the state that other public schools receive ($3,050 in 1993-94). City Academy receives no local funding, but does get financial support from the Northern States Power Company and in-kind support from the recreation center in which it is housed.

Evidence of Success

Seventeen students graduated from City Academy in 1993. Of those 17, 15 enrolled in postsecondary education. More than half--perhaps most--of the students who enter City Academy eventually leave with a high school diploma.

Academy students tend to have high truancy rates before attending the school, but absenteeism has declined at the academy. At least 95 percent of students have improved their attendance rates. Students exhibit less self-destructive behavior after attending, and they often acquire and maintain jobs. Reading, writing, and math scores also show improvement.
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