What Are We Looking For?

Today, I had the opportunity to speak at Hyde Leadership's High School faculty meeting. In search of teachers to help with program implementation, I was able to make a short presentation about the work Reach will be doing at Hyde this year. It's always a wonderful experience to see how some people really get excited about our program model - even tired teachers at the end of a long day.

In preparing to make this presentation, I was forced to consider an important question regarding the teachers we will hire: What exactly are we looking for?

One of the beautiful aspects of our teaching framework is that it can be executed by those with expertise in areas other than reading. By focusing on very specific learning activities, we create the context for our tutors to do the "heavy lifting." More than anything, we need teachers that can ask good questions, encourage effort, and earn the respect of our students.

For example, a tutor might ask, "What does this word mean?" We would expect our teachers to respond by saying, "What strategies do you know for figuring out the meaning of words?" And, once our tutor figured out the definition, we would ask, "So, since that was a challenge for you, we can assume your student might need some help with that word. How will you help them to figure out what that means?" At no time would the teacher simply provide the definition.

While, traditionally, we think of teachers as the ones with the right answers, we're asking our teachers to take on a different role - we want them to be the ones with the right questions.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Mark

A Wonderful Problem

The start up process involves many moving pieces. Only weeks away from program launch, many items must still fall into place. Will students want to participate? Will we be able to find talented teachers interested in working with us? Will we have the money needed? Will the instructional materials arrive on time? And, as an outside school partner, I only have some control over these items - I depend on Hyde to answer questions about program space, storage, and access to data. So many questions to be answered, yet the countdown to launch continues.

Over the last two days, we were able to address one of the questions listed above: Will students want to participate? This week, I was given the opportunity to make a short presentation in four different 9th grade reading classes. Given the opportunity to speak to 40-50 Hyde 9th grade students, I was curious to see whether the kids would be interested in the program we were offering. Would they want to do extra work? Would they want to help younger students become better readers? Would they be willing to dedicate themselves to improving their school performance to earn financial incentives?

How many of the students I spoke with filled out the interest form so I could approach their guardians with additional information? Every. Single. One.

With space for only 30 tutors, we will now have to find ways to identify the students most appropriate for Reach's program - those students that would derive the most benefit from the structure and motivation we offer. For now, we have more interested students than we have space in the program - what a wonderful problem!

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Mark

It Works, Except When it Doesn't...

In this month's edition of the Harvard Graduate School of Education Magazine, there is an interesting article about the use of financial incentives. While researchers certainly have strong opinions, there does not seem to be a consensus around the use of financial incentives. What does this mean for an organization, like Reach, that uses compensation as a component of programming?

Without doubt, the motivation facilitated through financial incentives is not the most important aspect of our work. Our goals: improve student engagement, increase student motivation, and teach students to believe in their ability to improve. For students that have experienced previous academic failure, like those at The BIFF Paradigm Project, financial incentives simply encourage students to take the first step. Additionally, students learn about the relationship between academic success and financial rewards - a relationship that remains long after graduation.

That is not to say that financial incentives are the solution to all our problems. We must also convince kids to value education - yes, as BIFF's director states, this is a bait and switch. I regularly state that we, as educators, often focus on how kids can improve academic performance, but we rarely answer a simple question: why?

While there is some overlap, there are some distinct differences between Reach and the programs mentioned in this article. Reach's compensation system acknowledges that our teenage tutors are actually providing a service, not simply being rewarded for academic outcomes. Additionally, instead of rewarding mastery - for example, making honor roll - we reward improvement, regardless of the student's starting point.

While we have not achieved certainty in researching financial incentives, we do know that those students that enter high school without adequate literacy skills face dire consequences. While a complete educational revolution is likely needed, we must take immediate steps to identify avenues to improved outcomes.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Mark

Blog Break

While out of the office this week, I will have limited internet access; therefore, the blog will take a short break. We will return with our twice weekly installments on Monday, August 23rd.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Mark

Training Tutors

Today, I finished a strong draft of Reach's Tutor Training Manual. I feel confident in this version, though I would never call it a "final draft" as there is always room for improvement, and we will continue to learn. The creation of the Tutor Training Manual has been a fascinating process - it's so much stronger than it once was. Now, we have a document that will provide our tutors with a basic understanding of literacy development, the tools necessary to create a lesson plan, and the confidence to provide high-quality instruction to younger learners. And, the manual itself is a graphic organizer that will facilitate note-taking and knowledge retention.

The training will occur over a four-day period in the week prior to program launch. On day one, our tutors will get an overview of the program structure. We'll answer all of their questions: How does it work? When do we get paid? How much do we get paid? How can we earn more money? We don't doubt that our tutors will be fixated on this issue in the beginning, so we would like to answer all their questions quickly.

On day two, the tutors will be students. Using an original lesson, I will teach the tutors. They will experience a basic literacy lesson covering all five components of literacy development: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Using that lesson, we will then backtrack to introduce those five components to our tutors. We will explain each concept, then show the tutors how we addressed them in the lesson.

On day three, we'll use another original poem to walk through the creation of a lesson plan. As a class, tutors will construct a lesson plan while teachers provide guidance and support. We will use whole group instruction to minimize the risk being taken by any individual student in contributing to the lesson plan.

On the final day, the tutors will have the opportunity to practice. We'll break our Lesson Planning Template into five parts. One component at a time, we will give tutors the ability to develop their own ideas for the lesson plan. Then, before moving on to the next component, we will ask two or three tutors to demonstrate how they would handle that part of the lesson. Through this role play activity, students will gain confidence in providing real literacy instruction.

In the end, the goal is to have our tutors leave training with the feeling that they can do this work at a high level. For the first time, I feel confident in our ability, using this manual, to get our tutors to that place.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Mark

Truth Behind the Numbers

Educational statistics have become part of everyday conversations for many in this country. We hear people speak of merit pay, national standards, teacher evaluation, reading proficiency, and graduation rates; however, we don't really understand what's being said. Statistics can always be spun, and that reality shines through in the world of education as much as anywhere.

Let's look at the educational statistic most relevant to Reach's work: proficiency in reading. How are we to understand the statistic related to reading proficiency? According to the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS), 43% of the District's secondary students are proficient in reading. However, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 13% of DC's secondary students are proficient in reading. How is that possible?

Well, NAEP is considered the gold standard of educational assessments, but it doesn't paint a very bright picture of the District's public education system. So, states generally only highlight their own proficiency data (and credit is due to DC for publishing NAEP scores on their website). No Child Left Behind forced states to develop accountability systems, but it gives states the ability to define proficiency. That means that proficiency as DC measures it is not the same as proficiency by Pennsylvania's definition. Some argue that states can improve statistics simply by lowering standards. NAEP allows us to compare states. DC-CAS and NAEP provide two totally different definitions of proficiency, and we tend to see a preference based on what is most convenient for the writer/speaker.

As you can imagine, Reach often uses the 13% number. To garner support for our programming, it's important that a bleak picture be painted. The seriousness of the problem creates a sense of urgency about fixing the problem (though, to be fair, why are we more satisfied with 43% of our kids reading proficiently?). To truly understand the problems we face, we must understand the nature of the statistics we so often see.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Mark

We Need Your Help!

As many of you know, Reach is one of three organizations selected to benefit from Deals for Deeds during the month of August. We'll be posting each of the daily deals on our Facebook page. We know you might not be interested in every deal you see, but we hope you'll consider spreading the word to those you think might be intrigued. Even better, you could sign up to receive Deals for Deeds' email each day. For every 250 people that sign up here, Deals for Deeds will partner with Casey Trees to plant a tree in DC. Getting great deals while giving back to the community - what could be better?

Additionally, I've decided to indulge my competitive side through a friendly wager with Sara Gibson, Director of Development at Miriam's Kitchen. Whichever organization raises more money through Deals for Deeds during the month of August will receive a $50 donation from the losing organization's executive. There's only one problem: WE'RE LOSING!!

Miriam's Kitchen is off to a fast start, and they've raised about $80 more than Reach at this point. Our competitor has been around for more than 25 years, and they have a legion of dedicated volunteers. We're clearly the underdogs, so we need you to spread the word about Deals for Deeds. And, more important, we need you to encourage your friends to support Reach when they take advantage of the site's amazing discounts. Please forward this to your social networks and help Reach prevail in our competition with Miriam's Kitchen!

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Mark

August Update

Friends of Reach,

Moving quickly toward the beginning of the next academic year, Reach's launch is almost upon us! As we finalize our Tutor Training Manual, create a program library, and begin student recruitment, we are excited about our opportunity to dramatically improve the reading skills of 60 students at Hyde Leadership Public Charter School.

Signs of our growth are evident in many ways. During the month of August, Reach has been selected as one of three beneficiaries of Deals for Deeds, a group buying program that allows consumers to donate a portion of every purchase to one of three local charities. Additionally, building on the leadership donations of ARPC, Monica & David Dixon, Karin Johanson, Jack Werner, and Mike & Missy Young, Reach raised over $45,000 during the month of July alone - leaving us less than $10,000 short of our goal for the first semester! Finally, we have partnered with local restaurant Co Co Sala to a host a September 29th event - Reach Becomes Reality - celebrating our pilot program launch (details to follow). The start-up journey has been challenging, but we hope you share our enthusiasm about our progress and potential.

In a matter of weeks, we will begin recruiting Hyde's newest 9th grade students. Using our unique, three pronged approach - training, tutoring, and compensation - we will simultaneously address the literacy needs of our 9th grade tutors and our 3rd grade students. In a few months, you will begin hearing about engaged students, improving grades, and excited teachers - we look forward to telling those stories in an updated newsletter format.

We are immensely grateful for your support in getting us to this point. If you have not yet made a donation in 2010, we hope you will help us raise that final $10,000 before the school year begins - either by sending a check or donating online. Additionally, we hope you continue to follow our work on our blog or on Facebook - these are exciting times, and we hope to earn the confidence each of you has shown to this point through our successes in the coming school year.

With Gratitude,

Mark