Time for Learning Spotlight

Boston Public Schools Acceleration Academies

Traditionally, a week off from school means sleeping in, watching TV, and hanging out with friends. But at Boston Public Schools (BPS), some students and teachers dedicate their week-long February and April vacations to more time for learning. The districts Acceleration Academiesa week long academic camp have given students a boost in academics and teachers an opportunity to improve their craft. So far, the academies are yielding promising results. Last year, Acceleration Academies served 919 students in nine Boston public schools. On 2010 Massachusetts standardized test, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), 51% and 39% of these students jumped at least one proficiency level in ELA and Math, respectively. These results underscore the value additional time can have when it is tailored to individual student needs and coupled with quality instruction. In Acceleration Academies, teachers use data to diagnose student weaknesses and develop curricula that specifically addresses skill and knowledge gaps. The academies are a good example of how an extra layer of tiered instruction can make all the difference for struggling students, and why more time used properly is such a powerful tool for boosting student achievement. Acceleration Academies at Clarence Edwards Middle School: 2008 First called boot camps, Acceleration Academies originated at the Edwards Middle

919 Different Students in 18 Acceleration Academies at 9 Schools

School in 2008 under former principal Jeff Riley. Two years earlier, in 2006, the Edwards had added two additional hours to its school day through the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative, which provides $1300 per student to select schools to expand the school year by 300 hours each year. With the added time, the school was able to provide students with an extra dose of math or ELAdepending on individual needsas well as an array of enrichment programs in the arts, sports or community service. While most students were thriving with the extra time, Riley and his staff realized that many students could benefit from even more time, structured to meet specific academic deficits. Riley found this additional time by developing the Acceleration Academies during both the February and April vacations. These breaks seemed well timed to prepare

National Center on Time & Learning 24 School Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108 www.timeandlearning.org

Page 1

students for the ELA MCAS exam in March and the Math MCAS exam in May.

Acceleration Academies from the Edwards to Nine Boston Public Schools: 2010 In 2009, Riley was tapped to become the districts Academic Superintendent for Middle and K 8 Schools. Based on the success of Acceleration Academies at the Edwards, he decided to replicate the program at nine turnaround schools as an intervention for students in need of additional academic

Acceleration Academy Typical Daily Schedule

Riley wanted to target students with the capacity to work hard in small groups and the drive to attend regularly. To identify these students, he sought the input of his teachers and analyzed attendance and assessment datawhich also informed decisions regarding lesson design and student placement. Participation was voluntary, but the school provided an incentive for students to enroll and attend each day: the opportunity to win a $50 gift card by exhibiting strong effort. Convinced that the one week academies would only make a difference if taught by highly effective teachers, Riley led a rigorous effort to recruit the strongest teachers he could find. In addition to selecting the best teachers on his own staff, Riley searched for teachers outside the school, and even the district, posting on the district job site and other sites for Edwards Fellows, to teach the Acceleration Academies. In the first year of the program he hired as many as 15% of the teachers from outside the school, allowing his teachers to collaborate with and learn from strong teachers from other schools. February 7:30 8:00 8:00 9 :10 Breakfast April Breakfast

ELA (e.g. Math (e.g. Context Patterns in Clues) Algebra) Enrichment Enrichment

9:10 10:15 10:15 11:30

ELA (e.g. Math (e.g. Statistics and Main Idea) Data) Lunch Lunch

11:30 12:00 12:00 1:30

ELA (e.g. Math (e.g. Open Number response Sense) writing)

While most students were thriving with the extra time, Riley and his staff realized that many students could benefit from even more time particularly if that time was structured to meet specific academic deficits.

National Center on Time & Learning 24 School Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108 www.timeandlearning.org

Page 2

support. To scale the program from one school serving 100 students to nine schools serving 900, he raised $125,000 from private sources, and secured $900,000 of the districts AARA funds. This money covered costs such as personnel, including staff and professional development, as well as transportation, food, and prizes for participants. The total cost per student was approximately $750, though Riley emphasizes that the academies can be run for less if funds are not available for key extras like events and prizes.

during which Riley handed out golden tickets to the targeted students and provided an overview of the week, including daily drawings for prizes such as Nintendo Wiis and other game systems.

Incentives for Participation

Acceleration Academy Costs

Next, Riley met with principals from each of the nine schools to discuss implementation. This included addressing instructional issues (i.e. teachers and content) as well as non instructional ones (i.e. food and transportation). Additionally, Riley helped principals and other staff anticipate the issues they could encounter during the academy, and assisted in compiling and analyzing data to identify students for participation. After students from each school had been selected, an assembly was held,

Most importantly, Riley led an ambitious search for 100 teachers to staff each of the February and April academies. Selecting the right teachers to work the academies and matching them with the right students is one of the most critical tasks involved in planning a successful academy, says Riley. Experience at the Edwards had shown him that he could maximize the impact of the extra time by finding the strongest teachers. He sought out teachers who knew how to look at data and analyze student skill gaps, plan and execute effective lesson plans, and keep students engaged and excited. He also met with principals at the nine schools to pair teachers and students who would work well together. Because the hiring was selective, Riley hoped teachers would consider it an honor to be invited. In addition to a $3,000 stipend, tickets to a Boston theatre production, and professional development opportunities at the Harvard Business School and Harvard Graduate School of Education, each of the 100 selected teachers were also

National Center on Time & Learning 24 School Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108 www.timeandlearning.org

Page 3

awarded the Sontag Prize in Urban Education, at the end of the week. An Extra Month of Instruction When you add up the time during the week, students are receiving almost an extra month of instruction with excellent teachers in subjects where they need support. Of course you are going to see a difference. explains Riley. A typical acceleration academy day runs from 7:30 to 1:30 and includes three academic classes, an enrichment class, lunch and breakfast. Transportation to and from the school is also provided. Student teacher ratios are kept around 12:1less than half the typical student teacher ratio in a BPS classroomto allow for small group and individualized instruction. In addition to academics, students also receive an additional period of enrichment activities, such as sports or music. This helps to break up the intensive studies and also allows academic teachers time to analyze student progress and collaborate each day. Before the start of each academy, every selected student takes a pre-assessment to identify skill gaps and determine student placement. Data is hugely important, says Riley, We work with the Achievement Network to analyze the data in order to identify strengths and weaknesses. Each teacher receives detailed information on their students, including specific strands and skills to target, including power standards the standards that are fundamental to achieving proficiency in the subject. We tell teachers what to teach, but not how to teach. We believe that these particular teachers weve chosen know best about how to teach the skills our students need, says Riley.

What School People are Saying about Acceleration Academies

A Boost in Proficiency While it is difficult to isolate the impact of Acceleration Academies, participating students performance on the 2010 MCAS suggests significant benefits. For each student in grades 4 and above, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) assigns a Student Growth Percentile (SGP) in math and ELA. SGP measures the growth a student made in math and ELA during a given school year relative to other students who had similar scores in previous years. A student SGP of 50 in ELA, for instance, indicates that he/she scored higher than 50% of students with similar prior ELA test scores. At the nine Acceleration Academy schools, the SGP of students who participated in the Acceleration Academies in 2010 were 14 and 13 points higher in ELA and math, respectively, than the SGPs of nonparticipantsESE considers a difference in SGP of 10 more points to be meaningful. These gains were even slightly larger for Special Education students and English Language Learners.

National Center on Time & Learning 24 School Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108 www.timeandlearning.org

Page 4

ELA Median SGP: 2010

Participants 57 43 Non Participants 57 42 33 58 42

Looking Ahead: Acceleration Academies 2011 For the 2010-2011 school year, the district plans to double the number of schools that will host Acceleration Academies as well as the number of students. To do so, Riley will need to raise more than twice as much in private funds from $125,000 to $300,000coordinate with more schools, speak at more assemblies, and recruit more teachers. But based on the success of prior academies, the payoff could be a dramatic improvement in student gains. Ultimately, we want our kids to be doing better than the average suburban kids, says Riley, and at the end of the day, Acceleration Academies are about what good teachers can do with additional instruction, and the only way to close the achievement gap is more time with good teachers.

50

All Students (n = 460)

SPED Students (n = 93)

ELL FARM Students Students (n = 256) (n = 436)

Math Median SGP: 2010

Participants 65 52 53 40 Non Participants 73 59 66 52

All Students (n = 354)

SPED Students (n = 75)

ELL Students (n = 182)

FARM Students (n = 335)

National Center on Time & Learning 24 School Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108 www.timeandlearning.org

Page 5