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I N N O V A T O R
News about high school innovation
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Feb. 15, 2010
Welcome to INNOVATOR, a bimonthly report on high school change in North Carolina from the North Carolina New Schools Project. INNOVATOR informs practitioners, policy makers, and friends of public education about high school innovation in North Carolina as well as success stories and research from across the nation.
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In This Issue
NC's early colleges highlighted in The New York Times
The Times coverage noted by The Charlotte Observer
Emerging Issues speaker links creativity and education
North Carolina sees gains on AP pass rates; gaps remain
NCNSP building Facebook presence; join the conversation
NC highlighted in New York Times story about early colleges

Nearly 10 years ago, Hoke County was making headlines across North Carolina as Exhibit A in a landmark court case that proved the lack of educational opportunity for thousands of students across the state.

Fast forward to 2010. With a dateline that read Raeford, N.C., a story in The New York Times last week reported strong evidence of progress at H0ke's SandHoke Early College, one of 70 similar small, innovative high schools committed to the ambitious goal of  graduating all students not only with a high school diploma, but also an associate's degree or two years of college credit.

"Until recently," reporter Tamar Lewin explained, "most programs like this were aimed at affluent, overachieving students -- a way to keep them challenged and give them a head start on college work. But the goal is quite different at SandHoke, which enrolls only students whose parents do not have college degrees.

"Here, and at North Carolina's other 70 early college high schools, the goal is to keep at-risk students in school by eliminating the divide between high school and college.

" 'We don't want the kids who will do well if you drop them in Timbuktu,' said Lakisha Rice, the principal. 'We want the ones who need our kind of small setting.'

"Results have been impressive. Not all students at North Carolina's early college high schools earn two full years of college credit before they graduate -- but few drop out.

" 'Last year, half our early college high schools had zero dropouts, and that's just unprecedented for North Carolina, where only [72] percent of our high school students graduate after four years,' said Tony Habit, president of the North Carolina New Schools Project, the non-profit group spearheading the state's high school reform.

"While North Carolina leads the way in early college high schools, the model is spreading in California, New York, Texas and elsewhere, where such schools are seen as a promising approach to reducing the high school dropout rate and increasing the share of degree holders -- two major goals of the Obama administration."

In a follow-up note to key leaders across the state about the story in the Times, Habit stressed the importance of effective partnerships among many organizations in developing North Carolina's growing network of early college high schools.

"The lesson is clear," Habit said. "It takes sustained collaboration among all of North Carolina's institutions to create schools capable of graduating every child prepared for college, careers and life in the 21st century. The NC New Schools Project is honored to work with our local communities and state leaders in helping make this a reality for more students every year."

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... and others, including The Charlotte Observer, take notice

The story about the success of North Carolina's early college high schools helped spread the word about the state's role in leading the initiative nationally. The New York Times story was published in newspapers and online as far away as Florida and Hawaii. It also sparked an editorial endorsement right at home from The Charlotte Observer. (Reprinted here with the permission of The Charlotte Observer.)

Early college program in N.C. is proving its worth
Initiative is working to boost academics, lower dropout rate

North Carolina's early college program got well-deserved national attention this week in a story in The New York Times. The Times profiled a senior from SandHoke Early College High School, a Hoke County program at Sandhills Community College, and praised the program for impressive results in two areas: Few students in early college programs drop out, and those in the programs get better grades on college courses than their other college classmates.

If you think those results come just because the students are middle-income overachievers bored with high school, think again. The SandHoke school is for at-risk students whose parents don't have college degrees. Yet more than 80 percent of the students scored at or above grade level last school year.

Such high performance is typical. The college course passing rates for N.C. early college high school students ranged from 76 to 100 percent. Most schools report passing rates of 90 percent or better, say officials at the New Schools Project, which oversees the state's Learn and Earn reform initiatives.

The New Schools Project, which includes redesigned small high schools, was launched by former Gov. Mike Easley to encourage more students to complete high school and get the skills needed in the 21st century. It has gotten substantial funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was named one of the top 50 programs in the 2008 Innovations in American Government Awards at Harvard University.

About now, Easley might be wishing this initiative is what he'll be remembered for as governor. Ongoing investigations questioning his ethical and legal conduct in office have overshadowed his role in creating this project.

Early college programs that let students get a high school diploma and college credit at the same time are getting exactly the results the public has been clamoring for from students who struggle in school and are in danger of dropping out. A nationwide study showed that in 2008, early college schools had a graduation rate of 92 percent.

Last year officials in Guilford County (Greensboro) credited high school reforms, including early college programs, for its 3.31 percent dropout rate, the lowest of the state's large school systems. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' rate was nearly double that, at 5.9 percent. The statewide rate was 4.9 percent.

Guilford also had a much narrower gap between the number of black dropouts and white dropouts - 430 to 235. In CMS, there were 1,404 black dropouts to 445 white dropouts.

Guilford has five early college programs. CMS has one, though it does have several redesigned, smaller high schools. But because such smaller schools haven't been as successful nationally or statewide, CMS should consider adding more early college programs here, too.

At least 24 states now have early college high schools. But North Carolina, which now has about 70 such programs, led the way. The public recognition the state is receiving has been well-earned.

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Emerging Issues Forum speaker offers insight for educators

Take 15 minutes and watch this presentation by Daniel Pink, who urged an emphasis on creative thinking during last week's Emerging Issues Forum in Raleigh. Pink, an author and former speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore, said the nation's global competitiveness depends on educating future scientists and engineers able to solve problems with creative, big-picture thinking.

In his talk at a previous event, Pink stands conventional thinking about motivation on its head and argues that when people face challenging, open-ended problems, their performance is actually hindered by conventional, carrot-and-stick incentives such as monetary rewards. Instead, he argues, intrinsic motivation based on autonomy, mastery and purpose is significantly more effective for the kind of creative thinking needed to solve 21st century problems.

Pink's argument raises important questions for schools and educators.

"People who perform routine, repetitive mental tasks can easily be outsourced," The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Pink saying at last week's forum, "and the nation's education system is developing obsolescent skills."

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NC shows gains in participation and passing rates on AP exams

The percentage of high school graduates in North Carolina who earned a score of at least a 3 on an Advanced Placement exam reached 17.4 percent for the class of 2009, up from 15 percent in 2004, according to a report released last week by the College Board.

North Carolina ranked 14th in the nation for its AP performance and was one of 16 states that exceeded the nation's 15.9 percent of graduates to earn a score of at least 3, which the College Board says is predictive of college success and college graduation. Maryland had the highest percentage of graduates scoring at least a 3, at 24.8 percent, followed by New York, Virginia, Massachusetts and Florida.

Gaps remain between white and minority students taking and passing at least one AP exam. In North Carolina, 12.9 percent of all graduates who took an AP exam in 2009 were black, according to the state report, while they represented 29.5 percent of the graduating class. Black students represented 6.1 percent of graduates with a score of at least 3, a percentage unchanged from 2004. Hispanics represented 4.6 percent of all graduates who took an AP exam in 2009, while they accounted for 6.1 percent of all graduates. Of students who received a score of 3 or better, Hispanics represented 4.5 percent.

While white students accounted for 60.3 percent of graduates in 2009, they represented 72.1 percent of all exam takers and 78.4 percent of those with a score of 3 or higher.

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Become a fan of NCNSP on Facebook; join the discussion 

North Carolina New Schools Project now has its own Facebook page.

If you are a Facebook user already, become a fan today and contribute to the conversation. If not, you can follow the page without joining Facebook, but you won't be able to post your comments or content.

Either way, please take a look here.

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INNOVATOR is produced by the North Carolina New Schools Project, an initiative of the Office of the Governor and the Education Cabinet with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other businesses and foundations. For story suggestions or to opt out of receiving this e-mail report, please send an e-mail to innovator@newschoolsproject.org or call Todd Silberman at (919) 277-3760.