Join us Friday, March 28 for the final session of our 2014 Chicago School Policy Forum Series
Numbers That Count: Can well-chosen measurements make a long-term difference for kids?
In recent years, 28 states and dozens of school districts have adopted “early warning” systems aimed at identifying students who are “off track” on their path to high school graduation. Inspired by Chicago’s “ninth-grade, on-track” indicator–a compilation of course completions and grades–some educators are bringing predictive analysis and drop-out indicators to the middle grades, and in one well-regarded district–Montgomery County, MD–even into first grade. In a counter trend, these indicators rely heavily on grades, course completions and attendance rather than test scores.
Meanwhile, the “collective impact” movement advanced by civic, institutional and grassroots leaders in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is reinforcing the trend. Founded in 2006, Cincinnati’s Strive Together can now point to a civic infrastructure organized around common, long-term goals and metrics–and significant increases in rates of school readiness, high school graduation, and college enrollment. Some 100 Strive-like efforts, including Thrive Chicago, now dot the country.
The 2014 Chicago School Policy Forum Series will examine these growing trends for their potential impact on Chicago’s ever-changing, fragmented and often contentious education reform efforts.
Forum 2 | Friday, March 28
How one region is using numbers to get everyone on the same page, from cradle to career
With Thrive Chicago being incubated in Mayor Emanuel’s office, now is the time to explore what Chicago can learn from StriveTogether. Why were numbers and data critical? Has StriveTogether decreased program and policy churn?
Lead Presenter: Richard Colvin, journalist and co-author of the Education Sector report “Striving for Student Success: A Model of Shared Accountability” (2011).
Respondent: Mary Ronan, superintendent, Cincinnati Public Schools
Respondent: Robert Reifsnyder, president, United Way of Greater Cincinnati