Teamwork Does Make the Dream Work!

Format

Poster Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Ben Davis High School

Second Presenter's Institution

MSD of Wayne Township

Third Presenter's Institution

MSD of Wayne Township

Fourth Presenter's Institution

Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Location

Harborside East & West

Strand #1

Academic Achievement & School Leadership

Relevance

Ben Davis High School is a high poverty, high performing school. When Indiana changed the graduation rate calculation in 2006, Ben Davis was at 64%. We were 67& in 2007 and in 2014 we hit 94%! Though we were at 88% in 2015, we know that the work we have done as a team over the past 10 years has led to this 25% jump in our graduation rate! There have been several major events that have led to this jump: the opening of a 9th grade center, the implementation of incompletes and extended semesters, and a major cultural change in college and career readiness.

Brief Program Description

We will clearly outline the efforts to yield high results in a high poverty school. The creation of a 9th grade center helped increase credit attainment. The push for high expectations and high support in AP and dual credit classes helped us change the culture. We have improved student achievement, and we continue to go from good to great!

Summary

We will discuss the last 13 years of redesign in the MSD of Wayne Township that ha led to an improved graduation rate and increased college going culture. We will review the opening of a 9th grade center in 2005, the growth of AP, Honors and Dual Credit classes through a culture of self selection and high expectations, and the building of student support systems. This presentation will have a 1000 foot view of the redesign as well as 10 foot view from the building level. Each participant has been an active part of the changes that have occured in Wayne Township. These changes have led to the highest graduation rate for African Americans in Marion County, one of the highest graduation rates for students with disabilities, and a 25% overall jump in the graduation rate. But we have not stopped! We are now redesigning the school again to ensure all students are "plugged in" and that there is a clear bridge to college or a career after high school! It is no longer enough to get them across the stage.

Evidence

We have grown the graduation rate by 25%. We have increased AP enrollment by over 3000. Finally, we have gone from earning 273 dual credits to 4407 credits in 2015 through a highly credentialed partnership with Indiana University.

Biographical Sketch

Sandra Squire is in her 5th year as the first woman principal of Ben Davis High School. Prior to becoming principal, she served as an English teacher, the English Department Chairperson, Assistant Principal for Student Life and the Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction. She worked with Indiana University’s Advanced College Project (ACP) program to help increase dual credit attainment over the past 6 years, and she oversaw the NIMSI grant which infused over 300,000 dollars into the AP program through training and incentives. She has also worked to change the culture of what an AP class should “look like.” She has played a role in pushing for self selection and getting rid of gates and obstacles for student success. Most recently, Sandi has collaborated on a secondary redesign project which has created pathways through Ben Davis High School, implemented Wayne Habits of Success grades 7 - 12, and launched a comprehensive college and career guidance program.


John Taylor currently serves as Assistant Superintendent for the MSD of Wayne Township which is a large urban district in Indianapolis, Indiana that serves a highly diverse student population of more than 16,000 students. John is in his 33rd year in urban education serving as a social studies teacher, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent. He has been a contributor to many change projects that include the opening Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center that was designed to decrease the failure rate of freshman students and improve the overall graduation rate for the district.. This effort, along with many others, decreased the failure rate for ninth grade students by more than half and helped to raise the graduation rate for the district from 65% in 2005 to over 94% in 2014. Most recently, John has collaborated on a secondary redesign project which has created career pathways through Ben Davis High School, implemented Wayne Habits of Success grades 7 - 12, and launched a comprehensive college and career guidance program.


Wendy Skibinski served as the first woman Dean at Ben Davis High School. She then went to Ben Davis University High School, an early college high school that partners with Vincennes University to offer students an associate's degree upon graduation. Under her leadership, Ben Davis University reached 100% graduation rate and consistently, over 85% of the students earn their associate’s degree. She moved from BDU to the Education Center as the Director of College and Career Readiness. She has pushed for a full district implementation of Naviance which she has been quoted as saying is a “moral imperative.” Most recently, Wendy has collaborated on a secondary redesign project which has created pathways through Ben Davis High School, implemented Wayne Habits of Success grades 7 - 12, and launched a comprehensive college and career guidance program.


Steve Samuel is the principal of Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center. He was previously a science teacher in Wayne and then Assistant Principal at the Ninth Grade Center prior to becoming principal. He has been instrumental in helping students increase credit attainment upon completing 9th grade. He also pushes for high expectations and high support. The Ninth Grade Center is the first secondary school that allows students to self select into honors classes and helps set the culture for students’ success. Most recently, Steve has collaborated on a secondary redesign project which has created career pathways through Ben Davis High School, implemented Wayne Habits of Success grades 7 - 12, and launched a comprehensive college and career guidance program.

Keyword Descriptors

Rigor, Collaboration, High Expectations, Urban Education, Redesign, Student Centered

Presentation Year

2017

Start Date

3-7-2017 4:00 PM

End Date

3-7-2017 5:30 PM

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Mar 7th, 4:00 PM Mar 7th, 5:30 PM

Teamwork Does Make the Dream Work!

Harborside East & West

We will clearly outline the efforts to yield high results in a high poverty school. The creation of a 9th grade center helped increase credit attainment. The push for high expectations and high support in AP and dual credit classes helped us change the culture. We have improved student achievement, and we continue to go from good to great!