This past week at the 2013 National Alliance of Public Charter Schools Conference, dropout recovery practitioners and themes were strongly evident. The NAPCS conference began with a 4-hour preconference session entitled, “Appropriate Accountability for High-Quality Dropout Recovery Charter Schools.” Eighty attendees from 22 states and the District of Columbia met to compare notes and discuss alternative metrics for demonstrating accountability among schools serving what many consider to be the most challenging public school students.
The session presenters included Elizabeth Grant, Chief of Staff, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Nelson Smith, US Department of Education; Mala Thakur, National Youth Employment Coalition; Alice Donlan, America’s Promise Alliance; Jared Polis, U.S. Congressman and Representative for the 2nd District of Colorado; Jody Ernst, previously the Director of Research and Evaluation, Colorado League of Charter Schools ; John Shacter, Value Added Analysis Network; Linda Dawson, Superintendent/COE School for Integrated Academics and Technologies; Marjorie Cohen, National League of Cities; Kathy Hamilton, Boston Private Industry Council; Scott Emerick, YouthBuild USA; and others.
The discussions included problems with the use of ninth grade cohorts for calculating graduation rates of reengaged dropouts, the use of individual student growth models as an alternative to single day standardized tests, and policy modifications being considered by National advocacy groups.
Last year’s conference included a session on alternative accountability which led to the recognition that schools serving reengaged dropouts and other highly at risk students have common challenges and needs distinct from other charter schools. This year’s NAPCS Conference included both the preconference session dedicated to dropout recovery accountability, but also included an alternative accountability session focused on both reengagement and retention issues. But the highlight for dropout recovery school leaders was the speech by Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Secretary Duncan both called for more work to be done on overage students and identified the expansion of non-cognitive accountability measures to be one of three new initiatives of his administration’s next three years.
The growing recognition of the importance of finding relevant accountability measures was evident by the NAPCS sessions. But its importance was also evidenced by the presence of State Departments of Education at the sessions and the convening address by Nelson Smith. Mr. Smith is not only the past President of NAPCS, he is currently a Senior Advisor to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, where he is in charge of developing recommendations on accountability for authorizers who oversee dropout recovery and other charter schools serving highly at risk students. When charter schools, authorizers, State Departments, and the Federal Secretary of Education are all recognizing the same challenge, meaningful solutions cannot be far behind.
The discussions included problems with the use of ninth grade cohorts for calculating graduation rates of reengaged dropouts, the use of individual student growth models as an alternative to single day standardized tests, and policy modifications being considered by National advocacy groups.
Last year’s conference included a session on alternative accountability which led to the recognition that schools serving reengaged dropouts and other highly at risk students have common challenges and needs distinct from other charter schools. This year’s NAPCS Conference included both the preconference session dedicated to dropout recovery accountability, but also included an alternative accountability session focused on both reengagement and retention issues. But the highlight for dropout recovery school leaders was the speech by Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Secretary Duncan both called for more work to be done on overage students and identified the expansion of non-cognitive accountability measures to be one of three new initiatives of his administration’s next three years.
The growing recognition of the importance of finding relevant accountability measures was evident by the NAPCS sessions. But its importance was also evidenced by the presence of State Departments of Education at the sessions and the convening address by Nelson Smith. Mr. Smith is not only the past President of NAPCS, he is currently a Senior Advisor to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, where he is in charge of developing recommendations on accountability for authorizers who oversee dropout recovery and other charter schools serving highly at risk students. When charter schools, authorizers, State Departments, and the Federal Secretary of Education are all recognizing the same challenge, meaningful solutions cannot be far behind.
Ernie Silva, J.D., is the Director of External Affairs for SIATech, a network of dropout recovery high schools. He has been a lobbyist for twenty years with a passion for alternative education and advocating for “at promise” youth. SIATech operates dropout recovery public high schools in five states and has granted standards aligned accredited diplomas to over 10,000 formerly out of school youth. His e-mail address is: ernie.silva@siatech.org.
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