May 2010

In This Issue

The National High School Center hopes that your 2010 is going well so far and continues to be an educational and productive year! In this issue we would like to share our latest tools and resources, Ask the Expert column, Webinar, and other news.

What's New: Tools and Resources

Since our last E-News, the National High School Center has released:

A Coherent Approach to High School Improvement: A Needs Assessment Tool
Building off of Eight Elements of High School Improvement: A Mapping Framework, this tool is designed to help districts and schools assess current high school education policies and practices, identify areas of strengths and limitations, and implement coherent and sustainable school reform initiatives. Originally released in December 2009, this tool has recently been updated with new Characteristics of Effectiveness on which districts and schools can assess their work.
Using the Right Data to Determine if High School Interventions Are Working to Prepare Students for College and Careers
This report is designed to guide educators in collecting and analyzing valuable student achievement data that can help them determine if and how high school interventions for underprepared students are working to effectively prepare them for college and careers. The report was authored by Chrys Dougherty, a senior research scientist at the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA), which is a partner of the National High School Center.
Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants
This handbook provides practical and useful guidance on the models and strategies required and recommended for use in applying for School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds, and includes references to the underlying research and connections to useful resources. Developed by the Center on Innovation and Improvement at the request of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Secondary and Elementary Education, this resource includes contributions from the National High School Center, the Center on Instruction, the Assessment and Accountability Center, and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.

Archived Webinar Now Available: High School Tiered Interventions

Archived Webinar The High School Tiered Interventions Initiative (HSTII) is a collaborative effort among the National Center on Response to Intervention (RTI), the Center on Instruction, and the National High School Center that explores how RTI and tiered interventions are being implemented at the high school level. During this Webinar, "The High School Tiered Interventions Initiative: The Implementation of Tiered Interventions and RTI in High Schools," Dr. Lou Danielson and HSTII staff shared information on how the essential elements of RTI can be implemented in high schools, what some of the associated challenges and considerations are, and how contextual factors specific to high school settings make RTI implementation increasingly complex and challenging. This presentation is suitable for anyone interested in RTI and tiered interventions at the high school level. Visit our Web site to view the Webinar, presentation slides, and answers to Webinar questions.

May's Ask the Expert Column: Using Data in High Schools

Visit the National High School Center’s Ask the Expert column during the month of May as Chrys Dougherty, Senior Research Scientist at the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA), will host an online discussion about his report, Using the Right Data to Determine if High School Interventions Are Working to Prepare Students for College and Careers. Please submit your questions via email for the May discussion. Chrys will be available until May 31st to answer your questions.

The Ask the Expert column is an interactive portion of the Web site hosts a topical discussion led by an expert on a specific high school improvement area. The column allows viewers to pose questions on a particular topic via our email account and receive a posted answer on the Web site within a short time span. Additional resources about the given topic will also be provided to further educate readers. To learn more about past topics, such as dropout prevention, high school literacy, Response to Intervention, and others, please visit our Ask the Expert page.

National High School Center in the News:Joseph Harris Discusses Early High School Graduation

High schools in eight states - Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Kentucky – are considering a new program next year that will allow students to place out of their senior year in high school and enter community college. Listen as National High School Center Director Joseph Harris spoke with The Takeaway morning radio program in February on the subject of dual enrollment in high schools.

Follow Us Through RSS, Facebook and Twitter

RSS & Twitter icons The National High School Center is on Facebook and Twitter, and also has an RSS feed. These mediums offer quick and easy methods for accessing our newest publications, resources, and the latest information on high school improvement. Visit our Web site to subscribe to our RSS feed, become our fan on Facebook,or follow us on Twitter at NHSCatAIR and have the latest National High School Center news sent directly to you.

Upcoming Conferences

The National High School Center wants to keep you informed of upcoming conferences and events pertinent to your work. The High School Events Calendar on our Web site lists national conferences, workshops, and dialogues sponsored by organizations around the country focused on high school improvement. If you are sponsoring a high school-related event, we encourage you to submit the event for posting on the Calendar through the online form on our Web site.

About Us

The National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), in collaboration with its partners, strives to provide the most up-to-date, accessible information on breakthroughs in high school improvement, vetted best practices, hands on technical assistance to the Regional Comprehensive Centers, and an easy-to-use navigation of the latest research on creating and maintaining excellent high schools. The National High School Center does not endorse any interventions nor does it conduct field studies. The National High School Center Web site is available at www.betterhighschools.org.

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