Central Falls High School Transformation

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Everyone thinks they know the Central Falls story. High drama. Teacher firings. President Obama’s comments. What most people don’t know is that underneath the drama around creating the right conditions, there was a coherent academic plan.  And after just one year of transformation, Central Falls High School raised its four-year graduation rate from 54% to 71% and is seeing other early signs of sustained improvement.

Today, Victor Capellan, the Central Falls Deputy Superintendent of Transformation, is guest blogging for STG.  Victor oversees the day-to-day transformation initiatives in Central Falls, RI, and has been at the helm of turning around Central Falls High School.  Read on for the real Central Falls story. (Disclaimer:  Mass Insight has worked with the Central Falls leadership team supporting the turnaround strategy for the past two years.)

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By Victor Capellan

There has been much debate about what it takes—both in money and people—to truly turn around a school.   Here’s how we used our transformation dollars to support our school reform plan and invest in our teachers and staff.

Designated as a “Persistently Low Achieving” school, we received a three-year School Improvement Grant of a little over a million dollars a year for three years.  After an extensive and inclusive planning process, we focused on three core strategies and invested in a handful of key priorities:

• Extend the school day by 30 minutes. In addition to adding time to the day, we also revamped the daily schedule so that students receive more instruction in core content areas. 
• Design a new teacher evaluation and professional development system. Teachers work collaboratively across grades and content areas to analyze student data and plan instruction.  A new Teacher Leader Team has distributed instructional leadership across departments and grades.
• Develop the multiple pathways. We created multiple opportunities for our diverse students, including a PM school, a Saturday school, and a program specifically for older, under-credited students.  We also worked with local partners to offer internships, long-term research, and hands-on learning experiences in the community. 
• Upgrade our school’s technology systems. We brought in new resources and helped teachers integrate technology into everyday learning.
• Hire staff dedicated to the transformation. The new Director for the Center for Family Support and Student Development has helped to create robust opportunities for parent involvement and has been instrumental in fostering community partnerships.

Building Capacity for Sustainable Change

With each transformation strategy, we paid close attention to building capacity across the school.  We have been careful not to invest too much in improvements that cannot be sustained past the three-year grant.  For example, we have implemented professional development systems that have distributed leadership across the faculty to ensure that we are building expertise in-house once the consultants have gone home. For many of the other programs, after an initial start-up cost, the sustaining costs have been integrated into our day-to-day operations.  Of course, certain elements of transformation, such as extended time and additional professional development, depend on contract negotiations. Sustaining and expanding successful initiatives will be a priority as we transition out of transformation in 2013.

Getting Results

While it’s still early, we are learning what it takes to create lasting, sustainable change.   The results have beenpromising. Our 2011 four-year graduation rate was up 17 points to 71%.  Our 2011 dropout rate was 9%, down from 34% in 2010.  Our ninth graders have maintained a 92% average attendance this year. Discipline referrals have decreased by nearly 50% over last year.  And the number of students participating in AP courses has increased by nearly 60%. Next step—more dramatic increases in state test scores.

It has not always been easy.  We have had to work collaboratively and make tough decisions.  As a school, we had to break traditional behaviors and attitudes to build innovative and creative programs that meet the needs of our students. We are encouraged by the progress we have made, and we know the work continues.

Typically an uncommon, mutually beneficial partnership, Central Falls High School (CFHS) students and the Rhode Island State Police are working directly together to support and promote the educational benefits of learning through established state leadership. The Studies in Leadership program is a leadership enhancement four-session program at CFHS that helps student leaders gain a competitive edge by working with the expertise of established leaders through in-person lectures and interactions. The next session of the program was held this week during school vacation at the R.I. State Police Museum on April 18, 2012, with presentations made by Major David P. Tikoian, Sergeant Ann C. Assumpico, and Trooper Kenneth D. Jones.

“This is an opportunity for our student leaders to further develop their leadership skills to improve personally and make positive changes in their community,” said Central Falls Schools Superintendent Frances Gallo. “We are extremely grateful for the Rhode Island State Police and their commitment to working with our students here in Central Falls.”

The first leadership session, which took place in February, was lead by Major Wilfred Hill (5th Rank in RISP Command Staff). The second session held in March was delivered by Major David Tikoian (4th Rank in RISP Command Staff).  Rhode Island State Police Colonel O’Donnell will deliver Sessions 3 and 4.

“We are pleased to partner with Central Falls High School and to work directly with their student leaders,” said Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police. “We are ecstatic to implement this program and help prepare the future generation of leaders for Central Falls and for our state.”

The Studies in Leadership program is part of the newly developed Student Leadership structure at Central Falls High School, which now includes a fully functioning Student Government, four active Student Councils, one for each grade and a Student Ambassadors club.

“The student leaders participating in this program were chosen for their commitment to their studies and their leadership work and potential,” said Joshua Laplante, Principal of Central Falls High School. “Our students’ participation in this program proves once again that we have talented and capable students who work to make personal improvements and positive changes in their community.”

Congratulations to our students who completed Guide 2 Success (G2S)! G2S is designed for overage and under-credited students to ensure that they graduate from high school by offering additional support, flexible scheduling, and an opportunity for students to make up credits and accelerate their learning.

On March 30, 2012 a Completion Ceremony was held for them, which included keynote speaker, Ms. Karol Gaitan, a 2004 graduate from Central Falls High School. She currentlygives back to the community by working as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the State of RI, and she collaborated with us in our Earth Day efforts last year. The ceremony also included a senior project presentation by Melissa Morales, a speech from student Josiliny Cruz, a certificate presentation by Judge Robert Flanders, and more.

We would like to give a special  thank you to the administrators and staff of Central Falls for hosting the G2S Completion Ceremony  at the Central Falls City Chambers.

G2S students honored:

Nathan Carreno

Gadialys Matos

Melissa Morales

Adaysa Rodriques

Geycha Marie Romero

Faculty

Mr. Donald Blais, G2S Teacher

Mr. Richard Ferri, G2S Teacher

Ms.  Vilma Gaspar, G2S Teacher

Ms. Eileen Lambert, G2S Teacher

Community Partners

The following is a highlight of various mentors and community members who partner with G2S teachers and students to provide a personalized and real-life experience.

Jacqueline Babosa with BVCap

William Bianchi with Financial Literacy—RISLA

Amanda Alessio and Justin Beatini with Goodwill Industries

James Booth, East Bay Education Collaborative

Rebecca Flores, Freelance Artist

Kathleen Grankien with RI DHS

Brett Henrikson, Freelance Photographer

Chris Jackson, Julia Keller, Leah Cogan with Brown University Abolitionist Theater

Lynne-Marie Shea with the Institute for the Study and

Practice of Nonviolence

Support Team

Mr. William Volpe, G2S Guidance Counselor

Jodi, Timpani, PBGR Coordinator

Troy Silvia, PE Teacher

Ms. Pat Reilly, Central Falls High School Nurse

Ms. Elizabeth Ochs, ELO Coordinator

Ms. Patricia Goiuin, School Psychologist

Ms. Christine Gingerella

Art Teacher Mentors, Ms. Camputaro and Ms. Vollucci

Leadership Team

Dr. Fran Gallo, Superintendent, Central Falls School District

Mr. Victor Capellan, Deputy Superintendent for Transformation

Ms. Heather Dos Santos, Special-Education Assistant Director and CFHS Dean of Students

Mr. Joshua LaPlante, Central Falls High School Principal

Ms. Elizabeth Legault, Administrator for G2S and Square Mile High

Ms. Patricia Martinez, Executive Director for Family and Student Supports

Rhode Island College will be honoring Deloris Davis Grant (RIC ’88), (MAT ’94) at the Alumni Awards Dinner, along with five other alumni award winners and seven honor roll recipients, on on May 10, at 5:30 p.m.

Deloris Davis Grant ’88, ’94 is renowned as one of the finest teachers, advisors, and mentors in her profession. A graduate of Upward Bound, her involvement with that program, as a teacher, tutor and co-founder of the Upward Bound Alumni Scholarship Fund, is emblematic of her personal dedication to the transformative power of education. During her remarkable tenure at Central Falls High School, Deloris has touched the lives of countless students and colleagues. Her expertise has been tapped for numerous education task forces throughout the region, and she has given generously of her time and talent to Rhode Island College over the years.

Pictured left to right is: ELO Coordinator Elisabeth Ochs, Parent Volunteer Maria Cristina Betancur, Teacher Marcella Garces, Principal Joshua Laplante and Guidance Counselor Carolyn Ferris.

Four Rhode Island public schools—Central Falls High School (Central Falls), Smithfield High School (Smithfield), and Ponaganset Middle School and Ponaganset High School (North Scituate)—were invited to represent their state at a regional conference on effective strategies for improving teaching and learning in the 21^st century.

The conference, High School Redesign in Action (newenglandssc.org/conference), took place March 22–23, 2012, in Norwood, Massachusetts. It was sponsored by the New England Secondary School Consortium, a regional partnership committed to high school innovation, in collaboration with the departments of education for Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. All the selected schools made significant progress raising student achievement, graduation rates, college-enrollment numbers, or other indicators of educational success.

Dramatically improving low-performing high schools is a challenge being faced by school districts throughout New England, and at Central Falls High School, teachers, students, parents, and administrators are tackling school improvement head on. The school is establishing standards for excellence in teaching, providing teachers with training to improve their skills, addressing low graduation and high drop-out rates, creating personalized support systems for students, and improving school culture by successfully engaging and mobilizing parents and community members.

Ponaganset Middle School and Ponaganset High School are working together to implement comprehensive academic support systems designed to help struggling students and make sure they stay in school and graduate prepared. The two schools have learned that ensuring student success cannot wait until ninth grade—it requires a strong partnership and ongoing collaboration between the middle school and the high school.

Using Race to the Top support, proficiency-based graduation requirements, and the new Common Core State Standards (corestandards.org), Smithfield High School has established clear learning outcomes for all students that are reinforced by instructional strategies, assessments, and professional development. The school’s work has focused on balancing accountability (holding everyone to high standards) with capacity building (giving every teacher the support and training they need to succeed).

The New England Secondary School Consortium is a regional partnership working to advance forward-thinking innovations in secondary education that will empower the next generation of citizens, workers, and leaders. The Consortium’s goal is to ensure that every public high school student receives an education that prepares them for success in the colleges, careers, and communities of the 21^stcentury. The Consortium is funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (nmefoundation.org), the largest philanthropy in New England focused exclusively on education, and it is coordinated by the Great Schools Partnership (greatschoolspartnership.org), a nonprofit educational-support organization in Portland, Maine. The Nellie Mae Education Foundation has committed more than $2 million to support the Consortium, which includes $1 million in partnership grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.