CASE STUDY: GREENFIELD CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Transcription

1 CASE STUDY: GREENFIELD CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School 1 P a g e

2 About The Case Study This case study is one of a series of case studies produced for The STEM Schools Project. The purpose of the STEM Schools Project is to document promising practices in high schools and middle schools that are providing students a STEM-rich experience, drawing upon a high quality implementation of Project Lead The Way's Pathway To Engineering and/or Biomedical Sciences programs. The Meeder Consulting Group conducted the site visits, wrote the case studies and final report, and is managing all aspects of The STEM Schools Project. The project is funded through generous support from the Kern Family Foundation based in Waukesha, Wisconsin ( From information collected during each of the nine site visits, the authors prepared detailed, reader-friendly reports describing the schools accomplishments, approach to STEM learning, and school improvement strategies. The case studies organize material into three overarching themes related to how schools use PLTW to spur STEM-related learning emerged: Create an Exceptional PLTW Implementation, Develop a School-wide STEM Culture, and Implement Related School Improvement Strategies. In addition to the case studies, a Final Report will be released that synthesizes key findings from all the case studies and places them in the larger context of STEM education reform. For more information about the STEM Schools Project, visit The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 1

3 Part i. introduction and overview Summary Greenfield-Central High School has achieved an exceptional level of student participation in courses related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), with approximately one-third of its students participating in Project Lead the Way s Pathway to Engineering and Biomedical Sciences programs, as well as technology education programs. A large, cohesive team of math, science, and technology education instructors provide instruction in the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) courses, and the programs are highly valued by parents and business partners who see the programs as providing students with a high-quality preparation for future STEM-focused learning. Profile of Greenfield-Central High School Established in 1969, Greenfield-Central High School (GCHS) is a relatively large, comprehensive public high school located in the middle of Greenfield, Indiana, a suburban community about 15 miles east of Indianapolis. GCHS offers a full academic curriculum to students from the Greenfield-Central school district. As of the school year, approximately 1,433 students in grades nine through 12 attended Greenfield. GCHS is under the jurisdiction of the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation, which oversees curriculum approval and instruction across the district. The district serves 26,000 people and seven other schools including four lower elementary schools (kindergarten through third grades), two intermediate schools (fourth through sixth grades), and one junior high school. Industries that are intensive in STEM drive the regional economy, as Greenfield is home to two pharmaceutical companies, two international auto parts manufacturers, a large hospital, and a graphics and office supplies manufacturer. Of the students enrolled at GCHS, 95 percent are white, 2 percent are Hispanic, and the remaining 3 percent are black or Asian. Approximately 27 percent of the students receive Free and Reduced Lunch, and 16 percent of the students receive special education services. The leadership team includes a principal, Steve Bryant, an associate principal, and two assistant principals. There are approximately 75 full-time instructors. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 2

4 Synopsis of Project Lead the Way Implementation In the late 1990s, GCHS upgraded its Technology Education (Tech Ed) program, a program of study designed to teach the specific actions used in developing, producing, using, and assessing all technologies. However, school leaders, local businesses, and community members were concerned that there still was not an appropriate course of study in the school that focused on higher-level engineering and math skills courses that would be appropriate for high-performing students who were planning to pursue STEM careers were only available at the baccalaureate level. 1 In , Greenfield Central began implementing PLTW s Pathway To Engineering (PTE) program. That year, just one PLTW course was offered, but within four years, seven of the eight engineering courses were fully implemented. In the third year of implementation, Purdue University certified courses in the program to count for dual credit (for both high school and university credit). After a positive response to the PTE program from the community and enthusiastic student participation, the school introduced the PLTW Biomedical Science (BMS) program in After three years, the BMS program was complete in its course offerings. Both programs are now fully implemented with nine PLTW-trained instructors. This successful implementation and growing student enrollment contributed to GCHS being recognized as a PLTW Model School in To assist in this growth, the school underwent a renovation and expansion project in Prior to the renovation project, there were only three science labs serving the entire high school. Now there are 12 state-of-the-art labs to support the growing interest and participation in STEM studies. Over the last ten years and under Bryant s leadership, GCHS has more than doubled its STEM-related offerings. Funding for the PLTW and Tech Ed programs comes from several different sources, including the school and also federal and state High Ability funding (state funds provided to schools based on the number of gifted and talented students enrolled at the school). Additionally, in the past six years, the PLTW programs have received more than $160,000 in competitive grants from Perkins grants and Workforce Development grants. The table below provides a glance at the timing of and extent of PLTW implementation at GCHS. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 3

5 Project Lead the Way Enrollment PLTW Programs Offered Number of Students Enrolled Pathway to Engineering (PTE) Biomedical Sciences N/A N/A N/A N/A (BMS) Source: Greenfield-Central High School, October The STEM Continuum Model The working theory of the STEM Schools Project is that there is a natural continuum of integration and connection of STEM education occurring in schools that use Project Lead the Way s Gateway to Technology (middle schools) or PTE and/or BMS programs (high schools). In some schools, PTE and BMS are offered as sequences of courses that offer an excellent learning experience to students, but the courses stand alone and do not connect to other courses that fall under the STEM umbrella. In some schools, teachers on a case-by-case basis and through individual initiative inculcate some of the project-based and inquiry-based approaches of PLTW courses into the math and science courses that they teach. Alternatively, they may informally collaborate with colleagues in other content areas to create a smattering of integrated or linked curriculum units. Further along the continuum are schools that are actively and intentionally creating integrated and connected learning between STEM courses, and in some cases with other courses such as English Language Arts and the Social Sciences. In these schools, teachers are actively and consistently collaborating with the support of administrative team members. The STEM continuum includes the following groupings of strategies: Create an Exceptional PLTW Implementation, Develop a School-wide STEM Culture, and Implement Related School Improvement Strategies. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 4

6 The remainder of this case study is organized around these groupings, although not every strategy in the continuum will be observed in every case study. If the strategy was not observed during the site visit or subsequent interviews, this fact is noted but should not be construed to reflect negatively on the school that is profiled. Part ii. Strategies 1. create an exceptional pltw implementation 1.1 Building Readiness and Support for PLTW Implementation In 2002, two of Greenfield-Central s technology education teachers, Mark Holzhausen and John Rihm, learned about PLTW through the Indiana Department of Education and believed it would be an excellent supplement to the school s already high-performing Tech Ed program. They brought it to the attention of the school leadership team for consideration. Principal Bryant and the GCHS leadership team began a systematic exploration of PLTW, and the community was engaged to give input. Members of the business community expressed concern to school leaders that although many graduates were going on to enroll in engineering programs at the university level, Greenfield-Central could do more to provide students with a stronger preparation to pursue STEM-related studies at area universities. This preparatory work yielded a six-year implementation proposal that Mr. Bryant, Mr. Holzhausen, and Mr. Rihm brought before the superintendent and school board for approval in Viewed as an opportunity for the district and board to both expand STEM education opportunities and provide a more specialized curriculum for high school students, the request was quickly approved by the board. Included in the request was a three-year financial package as well as the school s short-term and long-term plans for implementing PLTW. Both the district and the board felt those details helped quicken the approval process because the plan was realistic and built in the necessary time to properly scale the program with staff, training, materials, and equipment. Over the course of those initial three years, the district funded roughly half of the $150,000 needed for program implementation. The remainder of the funds was raised through state and federal grants for which the GCHS leadership applied. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 5

7 During the PLTW implementation process, non-pltw, STEM-related course offerings remained the same because the GCHS leadership team did not add any upper-level math and science classes to the course offerings. Because PLTW at GCHS typically targets higher-level students (most PLTW graduates are enrolled in at least one AP course), Mr. Bryant did not see any significant enrollment increases or decreases in those upper-level courses. Because of this, he did not feel a change in course offerings was warranted. 1.2 Select and Support a Strong PLTW Instructional Team When building the PLTW programs, GCHS intentionally recruited instructors from the school s math and science departments to provide PLTW instruction. There were several reasons for this approach to staffing the program. Primarily, the staff and administration wanted to include non-career technical education (CTE) instructors in an effort to increase school-wide buy-in of PLTW as well as to break the stigma of PLTW being just a CTE program. The school is very explicit that, from its perspective, PLTW is a college-preparatory program. Because of this, GCHS has maintained the Tech Ed program to serve middle -performing students who plan to pursue something other than a traditional four-year degree after graduating from high school. 2 The academic instructors were also recruited to allow for a closer connection between the traditional academic courses and the PLTW programs of study. When PLTW calls for a deep level of math or science content knowledge, these teachers already have deep knowledge in those aspects of instruction. With teaching in both PLTW and math and science classes, there exists more opportunity to demonstrate to students the cross-curricular connections that exist. Another reason for recruiting math and science teachers is to spread the teaching load and, therefore, deepen the quality of instruction in the PLTW courses. A majority of PLTW instructors are responsible for teaching only one PLTW course, with the remainder of their teaching time dedicated to traditional technology education, science and math courses. The instructors said that this staffing approach allows each of them to become true experts in their subject matter and to delve deeply into the information. Because each teacher knows their PLTW content deeply, students reap the benefits of receiving more than a waterfront exposure to the information. A somewhat unanticipated benefit of the distributed teaching load is that of program sustainability. As of the school year, GCHS employs nine PLTW-trained instructors between the PTE and BMS programs. According to the teaching staff, having a large number of instructors ensures that the success of the The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 6

8 program does not hinge on the continued employment of just one or two instructors. Rather, the program can withstand the occasional departure of an instructor and is more fully embedded in the school culture. The level of instructor dedication and expertise is apparent when speaking to PLTW students. When asked about their favorite features of the PLTW program, nearly all students mentioned their appreciation for the instructors and how much more they learn in their PLTW courses each semester when compared with their traditional core academic classes. The students also routinely mentioned that they initially signed up for a PLTW course because they wanted to be in a course taught by a particular instructor and they had heard about how exciting the course was. Only after this initial enrollment did a majority of these students decide to continue on in their PLTW studies. Of the 31 PLTW students interviewed, over 60 percent indicated that they will be pursuing STEM-related postsecondary studies. In the site visit interviews, the school leadership team did not talk about efforts to explicitly build a positive school culture or spirit of teacher camaraderie. But when one interacts with the PLTW instructors at Greenfield, there is an almost palpable sense of school pride, collaboration, and cooperation. Instructors indicate they readily provide assistance to one another, regardless of whether the request is from outside their own classroom. By not allowing for territorialism, the instructors seem to have created a cohesive group that is focused on building not just one great course but a great program. 1.3 Set Goals for Program Enrollment Enrollment between the PLTW and Tech Ed programs includes one-third of the entire student population. Approximately 300 students enroll in at least one Tech Ed course per year, and both PLTW programs have a combined enrollment of 357 students. There is a 30 percent overlap of students taking both PLTW and Tech Ed courses. In 2011, PLTW enrollment increased by 30 percent. Of the students who take an introductory PLTW course, 25 percent complete the full sequence. From the beginning, the Greenfield team intended to pursue a broad implementation of PLTW to complement its already strong Tech Ed program. Several factors have contributed to this large-scale student participation. First, by recruiting math and science teachers for the PTE program, the school built a teaching infrastructure that was more scalable, with the ability to draw from a large pool of potential teachers, than it would have been if the PLTW program had been limited to just the school s Tech Ed teachers. Additionally, because Greenfield is an affluent school with many students coming from college-educated families, the decision to employ math and science teachers gave PLTW a collegeprep image that appealed to both students and their well-educated parents. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 7

9 Furthermore, the school district supported building new and upgrading existing lab space to serve the program, allowing it to grow its footprint in the school. The mainstream image of the program was further reinforced by locating the engineering, science, and Tech Ed labs all in the same STEM wing of the school. Finally, the school enthusiastically embraced the BMS program, which attracted a new swath of students who are more inclined toward the life sciences than toward engineering. All of these factors combined to give GCHS a high level of student participation. Because GCHS leadership places a high priority on PLTW courses, the school schedule is arranged to minimize scheduling conflicts for students. When possible, honors and AP courses are intentionally scheduled at times when PLTW courses are not offered, thus preventing students from being shortchanged in their course choices. When courses do conflict, the school occasionally allows a student to take a course on an individualized basis with teacher supervision. Another academic alternative allows students to take online courses while on the GCHS campus. The school recently introduced the Online Cougar Academy, which provides 40 accredited online courses, some of which are AP courses, to junior and senior students. 1.4 Reach Out to Prospective PLTW Students The high level of student participation in STEM-related studies is a direct result of the active PLTW marketing and recruiting by GCHS. PLTW recruitment begins early for students in the Greenfield-Central school district. High school students in the PLTW program regularly share their experiences and projects with students as young as those in the third grade. Additionally, the district supports the PLTW Gateway to Technology (GTT) courses offered at the local junior high school. All seventh grade students are required to take one semester (18 weeks) of GTT. Currently, there are no GTT offerings at the sixth or eighth grade level. To encourage PLTW high school participation, senior high PLTW students routinely visit students in the junior high GTT courses and share the results from their latest projects. Because of the prestige that high school students have among younger students, this outreach helps build excitement about the learning opportunities available. Seniors in both the PTE and BMS capstone courses display their research and design projects to the community at a school-sponsored PLTW exhibition. PLTW teachers believe that the more students get out in the community to share their learning and achievements, the stronger the resulting community support will be. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 8

10 Recruitment also occurs through the visibility and awareness that is generated through competitive extracurricular programs like VEX Robotics, Internationally Genetically Engineered Machine (igem), and High Mileage competitions. Although PLTW participation is not a requirement for joining these extracurricular activities, many students enroll in PLTW courses to gain the knowledge base necessary to successfully compete. These programs teach students to apply what they have learned in their STEM studies and compete with different creations. GCHS qualified for and competed in the VEX Robotics World Championships in 2007 and 2011 and will again be competing in 2012, and the school s Super Mileage team has won the Indiana competition for the stock class in 2008, 2009, 2010, and In addition to the competitions, instructors regularly offer unique STEM-related activities. GCHS students recently communicated with the International Space Station via their HAM radio sets. Students also use the Advanced Manufacturing production facilities to create and experiment with student-designed inventions. These real-world applications help students take what they have learned in the classroom to a deeper level of learning. GCHS also regularly markets PLTW throughout the community, emphasizing the benefits of STEM programs in the local high school. Since the inception of these programs, faculty, instructors, and program advisory committee members have worked to place articles and photographs of students in the local newspaper or on cable TV at least six times a year. Members of the PLTW Partnership Team also act as program promotion partners throughout the community, making it possible for students and instructors to host presentations at local schools and civic organizations about the innovation, design, problem-solving, and collaboration skills that students are developing. This exposure has helped raise money to support PLTW as well as STEM-related extracurricular activities. In order to support these efforts, GCHS school counselors play a key role in promoting PLTW programs to students and parents. Each GCHS counselor attends a PLTW guidance counselor conference to learn how to enroll students in appropriate PLTW courses, to gain a solid understanding of the program and the curriculum, and to learn how to assist students in choosing related science and math courses. The concept is to educate the counselors so that they can in turn guide students through their program course selection. 1.5 Reach Out to Local Businesses to Gain and Sustain Support The PLTW program regularly engages and requests support from local businesses. Likewise, local businesses also request support from PLTW students and staff. In The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 9

11 2010, staff from an urban and a rural hospital emergency rooms asked biomedical students to design a system to improve the flow of the emergency rooms in these different contexts. Students then designed a system to move patients through the check-in and diagnostic process quicker. During the school year, employees from a local animal shelter and a mechanical engineer served as consultants to students in the engineering capstone course as they developed a system to safely transfer animals from the local animal shelter trucks to a holding cage inside the building. To earn support for engineering projects and extracurricular competitions, PTE program students also hold fundraisers at several area restaurants throughout the year. Local pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Elanco also support the PLTW programs by offering internships and participating in the PLTW advisory committee. 2. develop a school-wide stem culture 2.1 Establish Shared Guiding Principles for STEM Learning Under this strategy of establishing shared guiding principles for STEM Learning are three related, but distinct sub-strategies: Define STEM Education; Define STEM Literacy, and Develop District-wide Vision for STEM Learning Define STEM Education At this time, the GCHS leadership team is making a strong effort to promote overall academic achievement among students and also to promote enrollment in PLTW programs. But there does not appear to be a specific effort to define, establish and support STEM-based learning as a school-wide focus Define STEM Literacy GCHS and the district have not adopted a formal definition of STEM literacy. Although school and district leadership encourages the academies and programs within the school to implement the knowledge and skills related to STEM, no shared definition of STEM literacy and skills has been introduced at this time. Mr. Bryant noted that although GCHS is working toward accomplishing this, the school lacks funding for the necessary professional development and preparation to undertake such an initiative. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 10

12 2.1.3 Develop District-wide Vision for STEM Learning In addition to supporting the STEM programs being offered at the high school and middle school levels, the district focuses on equipping teachers to introduce younger students to STEM-related curricula and projects. Currently, the district funds Project 2061, a national science/math professional development program, for 40 teachers throughout the district, covering kindergarten through twelfth grade. This program, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, aims to provide teachers with the instruction tools and training necessary to improve student achievement in science and math. The district also invests in the FOSS (Full Option Science System) curriculum and professional development series for students and teachers in kindergarten through sixth grade. Used in all elementary schools throughout the district, this inquirybased science curriculum is designed to engage students in meaningful research at an early age. Also, in the summer of 2010, district math teachers of kindergarten through sixth grade participated in the University of Chicago s Everyday Math training sessions, during which they learned how to use the Everyday Math curriculum. This curriculum, based on STEM-supported core math, teaches children to link math to everyday situations. Although the district does not have a specific vision for STEM at this time, district leadership feels that its continued investment in STEM-related activities, curricula, and professional development indicates a long-standing and continued commitment to PLTW/STEM philosophy. 2.2 Implement Innovative STEM Curriculum and Instruction Under this strategy of implementing innovative STEM curriculum and instruction, there are two related, but distinct sub-strategies: Integrate STEM-Rich Instruction, and Implement Inquiry-based and Project-based Learning Strategies Integrate STEM-rich Instruction across Math, Science, and Other Applied STEM Programs In interviews with administrators and teachers, there was no evidence that GCHS is working to integrate or create cross-curricular linkages in instruction across math, science, and PLTW courses Implement Inquiry-based and Project-based Learning Strategies Since becoming certified to teach PLTW, instructors indicated they have also begun to modify the way they teach their other academic classes. For example, a The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 11

13 Geometry instructor who is also PLTW instructor blends applicable PLTW lessons with her geometry lessons. She found that when she uses the contextual lessons offered in the PLTW curriculum, her geometry students grasp the information more quickly because the lessons offer real-world application. The instructor of the BMS capstone course regularly looks outside the classroom to pull in subject-matter experts. During the school year, she asked GCHS business instructors to come to her classroom to teach statistics to the students in the capstone course. This additional instruction enabled the students to better track research results using a statistically sound method. Alternatively, instructors indicate that students taking PLTW courses excel in the traditional academic classes. According to instructors, students in geometry courses who have already taken Introduction to Engineering Design are performing much better on assessments than students who have not taken the same class. Instructors attribute the success to PLTW students ability to apply the problem-solving skills and use the contextual knowledge acquired in their PLTW courses. Because these students previously used geometry in a different but relevant context, they quickly grasp the academic concepts. 2.3 Engage Math, Science, and PLTW Teachers in Collaborative Planning and Instruction At the time of the site visit, curriculum collaboration and integration among instructors at GCHS is largely informal. School leaders indicate they would like to like to create a common planning period for STEM instructors but that they find it prohibitive to allocate time to achieve this without taking time away from the students. There is an annual departmental planning meeting to discuss state standards, course offerings, and best teaching practices. Except for this annual activity and with the option of a common planning period off the table there does not appear to be any other regularly scheduled time for teacher collaboration and planning built into the school year. Despite this challenge, there appears to be a positive, collaborative culture in which instructors regularly seek one another out to discuss ongoing issues in the classroom, extracurricular activities, and fundraising. The PLTW laboratories are in the same wing of the school, allowing instructors to see one another on a regular basis. One instructor stated, It s amazing how much we can accomplish in the five minutes we stand outside our classroom as kids change rooms. While more time would be nice, we just make do with what we have and it seems to work. We still get a lot done. Ultimately, Principal Bryant relies on the strength of independent collaboration among PLTW and STEM instructors. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 12

14 3. implement related school improvement strategies 3.1 Provide Academic Support and Intervention to Enhance Student Learning Under Principal Bryant s leadership, the overarching theme at GCHS is to ensure no students fall through the cracks. By connecting with students on an individual basis, the school is working to promptly identify at-risk and underperforming students, reduce drop-out rates, and increase graduation rates. The school is working to reduce its dropout rate by engaging students in small learning communities and one-on-one relationships with instructors. Recognizing that students have different needs, the school provides students identified as atrisk with instructor mentoring and one-on-one tutoring in any subject, as well as the option to supplement classroom learning with online courses. The dropout rate decreased at GCHS from 11 percent to 3 percent from to The school also saw a sharp increase in graduation rates, from 81 percent in 2009 to 90 percent in Focus On Student Motivation To achieve this reduced drop-out rate, raising student motivation is a theme found throughout all classrooms. The school s three-year improvement plan calls for instructors to engage all students in conversation in class instead of just having them take notes with little to no real-life interaction. Instructors also use an online database that allows them to monitor how students are performing not only in that instructor s course but also in their other courses. If a student is achieving higher grades in one class over another, the two instructors collaborate on how they can better motivate the student. Cougar Connection The school begins investing in freshmen students as soon as they enter the school, noting that it is much easier to motivate an incoming student than one who has been languishing for a few weeks or months, unmotivated and barely hanging on. When entering GCHS, all freshmen must participate in the Cougar Connection, a daily homeroom-type meeting designed to provide students with guidance and mentoring from instructors. Lasting 17 minutes a day, this meeting time is designed to build relationships among students and instructors as well as to fill the gap of touching each student s life. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 13

15 This experience does not end with the freshman year the same instructor who hosts a group of students in the Cougar Connection stays with the same student group throughout their high school experience. That instructor monitors their grades and extracurricular involvement and provides guidance when necessary. This initiative has dramatically helped the counseling department to identify at-risk students before they fail a class or choose to drop out of school. Appropriate dropout prevention and remediation strategies are put into effect in an effort to help that student achieve success. To build on the work of the Cougar Connection, freshmen are also assigned to a cadet, an older student mentor volunteering their time to assist new students in becoming acclimated and familiar with everything high school has to offer. Looping Across Grade Levels Principal Bryant is also building a linked educational experience for his students by creating looping teams for ninth and 10 th English classes that group students with the same instructor for both semesters of English. If an instructor had a ninth grade class last year, this year that same instructor will have those same students as 10 th graders. Once the 10 th grade class is over, the instructors loop back and begin teaching 9 th grade again. Since they were first implemented in 2009, these looping teams have provided more continuity in what is being taught and made it easier to detect low-performing and at-risk students. It can be difficult for an instructor to accurately identify struggling students after teaching them for only one course. By linking a student with an instructor for two years, that instructor is able to more readily identify the needs of the student. Tutoring and Academic Support Another initiative that Bryant introduced is the Cougar Café. Students have anytime-access to the Café, a dedicated room set up as a comfortable lounge area with drink and snack machines that offers tutoring in all subjects, online courses, and one-on-one subject coaches. The Café also provides free-of-charge services including GED training and online courses for students who need to retake a course but do not want to fall behind a semester or grade level. No matter the level of remediation or additional studies needed by a student, the Café is available to provide those services. Professional Learning Communities In 2004, GCHS began working to engage students in professional learning communities (PLCs). Principal Bryant loosely implemented the career academy structure to provide students with accountability and a cohort experience. However, GCHS does not employ a wall-to-wall academy structure as the school allows students to opt out of the PLC. For Bryant, the goal is to allow those nonbaccalaureate students to look at and explore all programs available within the The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 14

16 school with a group of their peers. Although these PLCs link students together in many classes, they are not what one would consider traditional cohorts. Despite this, Bryant finds and the improving dropout rate data suggests that PLC students are less likely to drop out when connected to an organized school experience. Participation in Extracurricular Activities To encourage a sense of school ownership and engagement, all students are regularly encouraged to become involved in at least one extracurricular activity. GCHS offers more than 30 extracurricular activities. Several of these activities are STEM focused, including VEX Robotics (a robotics competition with local, regional, and national competitions), High Mileage Car competitions (a project to build and compete with a vehicle that can maximize a small quantity of fuel), and the International Genetically Engineering Machine (igem) competition. Over 70 percent of students participate in at least one activity; Bryant attributes the school s declining drop-out rate, in part, to this high rate of participation in extracurricular activities. 3.2 prepare students for postsecondary and career success Under this strategy of preparing students for postsecondary and career success, there are two related, but distinct sub-strategies: Offer Career Development and College Planning, and Offer Opportunity to Earn College Credit Offer Career Development and College Planning In order to prepare and educate students on financial aid, the college application process, and scholarship opportunities, GCHS leadership hosts four meetings a year two during the day, two during the evening for students and parents. These meetings cover topics from how to fill out a FASFA form to choosing and applying to a college that best suits the student. Parents and students are also given access to school guidance counselors throughout the year so that the counselors can answer specific questions and provide additional information on related topics Offer Opportunity to Earn College Credit GCHS leadership places a strong emphasis on providing students the option to earn postsecondary credit while in high school. Between dual-enrollment and AP courses, GCHS offers students more than 40 opportunities for postsecondary learning. These offerings, which span a variety of subjects such as math, art, and English, include articulation agreements with three postsecondary institutions Purdue University, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. In 2010, 33 percent of students took a dual-credit or AP course. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 15

17 3.3 Focus on Professional Development, Growth, and Collaboration Although the school is not able to fund many professional development activities (its professional development budget was reduced from $34,000 to less than $4,000 over the last three years), PLTW instructors regularly seek out other funding sources such as grants and sponsorships from area businesses to allow them to participate in a variety of types of education training. Although they are encouraged to attend professional development activities, the teachers are largely responsible for seeking out opportunities to further their PLTW knowledge and training. 3.4 Use Data to Make Instructional Decisions To encourage continued improvement, the school publicly posts current achievement data in the main thoroughfare of the school to show where the school is performing in relation to state and national benchmarks. The school posts its data in this very public space, even when that data indicate GCHS did not achieve its goal. For instance, in 2011, the school did not make Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) because not all categories had >95 percent participation on both assessments. To address this, the administration developed a three-year improvement plan spanning from 2011 to The goals outlined in the plan include improving student communication skills, improving student mathematical skills, and better preparing students for college or careers. The school hopes to accomplish these goals through providing instructors with the professional development and explicit strategies necessary to achieve success. Part iii. data and next steps Performance Data In Indiana, students take the Indiana End-of-Course Assessments (ECAs) in English 10 and Algebra I. The ECAs are standardized tests that students are required to take upon completion of those two courses. The ECS pass score for English 10 is 360. The pass score is 564 for Algebra I. The charts below show the average score of students on the ECAs in English 10 and Algebra I since the school year and the graduation rate since (All data was provided by GCHS. Charts showing assessment performance for all students and PLTW students are not intended to indicate a correlation between enrollment in PLTW and student achievement.) The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 16

18 Average Score of PLTW and All Students on ECA Algebra I* Score on ECA Algebra I School Year All Students PLTW Students *Pass score is 564. Average Score of PLTW and All Students on ECA English 10* Score on ECA English School Year All Students PLTW Students *Pass score is 360. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 17

19 Greenfield-Central Graduation Rate, P e r c e n ta g e o f S tu d e n ts G r a d u a tin g Year Greenfield s Next Steps As GCHS moves forward, Bryant and his leadership team are working to achieve the goals outlined in their School Improvement Plan: to improve student communication across the curriculum, to improve student math skills, to improve student cohort graduation rates, and to better prepare students for college or careers. The school will also continue advancing technology as a learning tool, and by the end of the school year, wireless access will be available throughout the building. GCHS is also working to reinvent its approach to professional development because of severe state-funding budget cuts. GCHS plans to use local funding for three designated professional development days throughout the year. During these days, instructors will continue to focus on the school mission and work to accomplish the goals outlined in the school improvement plan. In doing this, GCHS hopes to significantly raise its ECA scores and achieve AYP over the next three years. Regarding PLTW, school leadership hopes to add the Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) course within the next few years, which would result in GCHS The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 18

20 offering all eight PLTW PTE courses. Although CIM has already received approval for implementation by the school board, funding is not currently available at the district or state level to purchase the necessary curriculum and equipment. To address this shortage, GCHS leadership is currently applying for funding from external grants. They hope to be able to implement CIM within the next three years. # # # The site visit was conducted on September 20 21, This case study was written by Hans Meeder and Nichole Jackson of the Meeder Consulting Group. Site visit coordination and follow up was provided by Steve Bryant, principal of Greenfield-Central High School. Published June All case studies and affiliated reports for the STEM Schools Project can be found at , Meeder Consulting Group, LLC. Endnotes 1 This focus on STEM for college-going students is not a required feature of the Project Lead the Way program, but it is how GCHS has chosen to differentiate between its PLTW offerings and Tech Ed programs. 2 This approach of how the school is positioning PLTW is not dictated by the national organization but reflects the implementation flexibility that the program offers. The STEM Schools Project: Greenfield-Central High School Page 19