Pathways to Opportunity Project:

Pathways to Opportunity Project:
New York State’s Solution to Holding Accountable
Chartered High Schools Serving Off-Track Youth
A Conversation with:
Susie Miller Barker: SUNY Charter Schools Institute
Robert Clark: YouthBuild Newark |Ernie Silva: SIATech
Tony Simmons: High School for Recording Arts | Leslie Talbot: Talbot Consulting
INTRODUCTIONS
WELCOME to our session about the Pathways to Opportunity Project or POP!
OUR URGENCY: 30% or 57,600 school-aged young people are off-track or
disconnected entirely from school in NYS
NY’s RESPONSE: TO ASSEMBLE A BRAIN TRUST of educators,
policymakers, and youth development professionals to develop a set of
recommendations for school design elements and accountability goals for high
schools serving off-track youth.
CO-PRESENTERS: Susie Miller Barker: SUNY Charter Schools Institute
Robert Clark: YouthBuild Newark, Ernie Silva: SIATech, Tony Simmons:
High School for Recording Arts
PROJECT CO-LEADS: Aretha Miller: Community Education Building,
Stephanie Landau: Family/School Advocate
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SESSION AGENDA
We have a lot to learn from each other in 60 minutes! Our agenda:
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My School Changed My Life: Student video on importance of getting this right
POP purpose and goals
A conversation regarding POP Brain Trust recommended school design elements and
accountability measures
Your questions and answers
Take-Aways:
1. Strategies to begin dialogue with authorizers and policymakers
2. Language to amend new and renewal charter RFPs
3. Systems, strategies and structural practices for high schools serving off-track youth
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Student-Created Video
HSRA Students Discuss Why It’s Important to get this Work Right:
My School Changed my Life
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POP Origins & Goal
POP Origins:
 Authorizer Perspective: Reauthorizations looming
 Increasing number of colleagues committed to this work
 Together acquired stockpile of knowledge around alternative education
success in Boston, California, DC, Newark, and New York
POP Goal: To ensure off-track and disconnected youth who enroll in
district and chartered high schools across New York State (NYS) enter
academically rigorous, therapeutic and nurturing learning
environments.
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POP Objectives
6-Part Strategy:
 Collaborate with NY authorizers, NYSED & “Big Five”
 Assemble Brain Trust to create set of recommendations
 Build awareness, and establish and execute advocacy platform
 Add POP recommendations to charter/”Big Five” new and renewal
school RFPs
 Support existing practitioners
 Support the creation of new schools
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Key School Design Elements
Rob: What systems must schools construct to effectively support offtrack youth?
Rob & Tony: Which external partnerships must schools serving offtrack youth establish?
Rob & Tony: Is the daily and weekly schedule different for schools
serving off-track youth? If yes, how?
Tony: Is the student incentive strategy different for schools serving offtrack youth versus those attending traditional high schools? If yes, how?
Rob: Why is CTE programming important for this population?
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Your School Design Elements Questions
Questions from the audience regarding school design elements
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Key Accountability Measures
Susie: What challenges are associated with establishing accountability
measures for high schools serving off-track youth?
Ernie, Tony & Rob: Tell us your challenges with existing state
accountability measures.
Susie: What 2 POP Brain Trust recommended academic measures are key
for high schools serving off-track youth?
Rob & Tony: What 2 POP Brain Trust recommended nonacademic
measures are key for high schools serving off-track youth?
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Your Accountability Measure Questions
Questions from the audience regarding accountability measures
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POP Next Steps
Summer 2015: POP Brain Trust to finalize school design elements
and accountability measures. Outreach continues.
Fall 2015: POP Leads release white paper on Brain Trust work and
recommendations. Outreach continues.
Winter 2015: POP Brain Trust recommendations are incorporated
into NYS authorizer new and renewal RFPs. Outreach continues.
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Thank You for Attending!
Please complete your evaluation sheet to ensure
more sessions about this topic are included during next year’s
conference.
See the postcards on your tables for our contact and
project information.
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