Happy New Year
2024 was a transformational year for Duane and me. To help you out, here’s where we ended up so you don’t have to make the grindingly slow shift that we made, struggling along the way.
I know you’re reading this because you care about Decatur Public Schools. But I also know some of you are very busy, so here’s the short version (details to follow though if you can stick with me):
Of our 500 incoming high school freshmen in DPS, 471 will not earn a college degree, yet we spend all our time and energy on the 29 that will. Doesn’t that seem crazy to you?
So, we should create a Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum that will encourage, energize, and keep kids in school, preparing the 471 for what will most likely be ahead of them in life. A CTE curriculum is like what used to be offered in the vocational center in downtown Decatur for years.
We should also try to do more for the kids at the younger ages, with a heavy focus on reading, but the main goal should be to keep kids in school - happy and engaged.
That’s it. It’s a big change because we no longer need to worry about most of the things that keep educators up at night. (Although we now have a whole different list of things to worry about.)
That's the summary for you TL;DR people. But if you're curious about how we arrived at these conclusions, let me share the backstory of where that '471' number came from... During our conversations, Duane and I became curious to know how many DPS high school freshmen end up going to and graduating from four-year colleges. Illinois state standards (our version of Common Core) and all our testing seem to measure and push, and remeasure and retest kids to death to make sure they are moving toward, and eventually reach that vaunted pinnacle - the bachelor’s degree! So, Duane and I did a little math1 and found that of the approximately 500 freshmen that enter high school each year, only about 29 of those kids will get bachelor’s degrees, and (here’s the kicker) we spend all our time and energy worrying about those 29 kids! And worry about them at the expense of (and I really mean that) the other 471. (And as a side note - we verified that we’re very close with this 471 number, using an unrelated slick big data calculation.)
I know the phrase “at the expense of” is fighting words, and I’m willing to defend that. Expense implies that preparing kids that will never graduate from a four-year college, or more likely will never even attend a college, is doing them some harm. So - yes, if that type of teaching and learning prevents them from acquiring the skills they could use, at the expense of learning skills we wish they might possibly someday need – is simply wrong. And if we drive out any enthusiasm they might have for learning in the pursuit of those goals - goals which they will never achieve - then we are doing a disservice to the kids and a disservice to the teachers that must force feed a college-centric curriculum down their throats.
Then what should we teach instead? Most of Europe has it right. Kids there can test into a technical or trades curriculum. Here in the states though, every kid must follow a curriculum mandated by the State, that will teach them the skills the State decided they need: four years of high school language arts, for example. So instead of taking three years of math, progressing from algebra to geometry, wouldn’t the kids be better off if they took a self-paced Math for the Trades class? A class where they stay with a concept until they master it, with the goal of eventually passing the carpenters union entrance exam (for example)?
Having recognized these challenges, Duane and I spent the last year diving into what a proper CTE curriculum might look like. Through our research and discussions, we've identified seven critical issues that need addressing with our current CTE program:
Courses - what we're doing now vs. what we should be doing. An anecdote - Eisenhower no longer offers a Math for the trades course because the teacher left. We feel this course would be the most important class offered at the school, so this speaks volumes to us. Any of the Math teachers at the school could teach this class! This is an example of low-hanging fruit that could be addressed immediately. Kids going into the trades need this class to pass union entrance exams and compete with other workers looking for trade jobs.
The Ag Academy – Is this program structured to help the 471 kids that won’t go to college? We’re seeing some incremental changes to the program but transitioning from a 4-H Ag-focused, college prep style Ag Academy to a tech academy focusing on carpentry, welding, and electronics does not seem like the current goal. The current structure probably helps motivate some kids to stay the track and work toward a college degree, but that's not the kids that need the most help in DPS. We think it's time to reevaluate this program with a trade focused structure.
Our current relationships with local businesses and how that integrates with CTE - we really don't think this is as important as some might believe. The small number of kids that participate in a program at Caterpillar, for example, and what they’re tasked with each day on that job site is probably a waste of time and resources compared with what they could be learning in a structured welding class at the Ag Academy or in the Math for the Trades class mentioned above. We’re putting a lot of time and effort into things for a small number of the 471 that really doesn't amount to much toward long term job goals.
Our current relationship with Heartland - The number of kids attending Heartland looks pretty good on the surface, and Duane will have more about this later, but this looks like our current best starting point without entirely restructuring HS in DPS. We need to leverage this more; or better yet we need to start developing this style of coursework on our own campus. Our approach to CTE, from looking to Heartland and other businesses to carry the load has been an external methodology. We think we should start taking responsibility and thinking internally because this is not someone else’s problem!
Marketing - at what age do we start guiding students toward CTE, and how do we convince kids to take a CTE route. The problem is - how do we convince kids to follow this path without role models that have done it? How can we convince ninth, or possibly even eighth graders, that earning $50/hour ($100,000 per year!) in a trade job wouldn’t be too bad?
Integrating a CTE curriculum within the Illinois standards and state funding restrictions - Duane has found districts in Arizona that have started to tackle this difficult task. We must come up with a curriculum that pretends enough to "do" Illinois' version of common core, so funds continue to flow from the state. This must be done while still engaging the kids enough to keep them in school and heading along a CTE path.
Apathy – Even if we develop an awesome CTE program, it probably still won’t affect the lives of all the 471 kids. There are still going to be kids that drop out, mentally if not actually, long before any change we might make can have an impact. How do we connect with those kids?
These seven issues only scratch the surface, but they highlight why we need a complete reimagining of our curriculum and our buildings. The timing is critical. Not only has Project 2030 already started, but we're also facing a pivotal moment over the next year - evaluating and hiring a new Superintendent. And we must ask ourselves in our evaluation process – what are we trying to accomplish in Decatur Public Schools? Is it to:
Ensure every kid has the skills they need to be successful in college, or
Realistically evaluate our kids so the ones that can excel in college will have that chance, but others that won’t have that opportunity (the vast majority) will have the skills they need to flourish elsewhere?
While this shift in focus toward CTE is critical, it doesn't mean abandoning everything else we've discussed over the last two years. Let's look at a few of our other ideas that should continue to be discussed by the administration and the Project 2030 group:
A 3rd grade reading gate will still reap benefits, allowing the kids who aren’t ready to move on a one-time chance to catch up. Rather than simply putting reading scores on a board meeting PowerPoint each year, we need to create a laser beam focus on reading by grade 3 and ensure we monitor, evaluate, and hold everyone accountable for progress toward this fundamental goal.
More homogeneous learning will benefit every student and teacher. We need to ensure more RTI occurs, and that dividing kids by math and reading groups is reincorporated in the classroom over the coming year.
Cell phones banned – partially check one this off the list. But, with more studies continually showing the detrimental effects of kids with cell phones in schools, let’s make sure this ban is adhered to in every school and every day.
Duane and I didn’t invent the CTE-first concept. Other districts across the country are doing it and DPS, as much as anyone, needs to latch on. We want every Project 2030 member to know that our biggest obstacle right now, and over the next ten years will not be buildings, teachers, or money; but rather it will be creating a CTE program that benefits 471 students every year.
One final note - I overheard a conversation between two education luminaries in River Coffee yesterday - Freddie deBoer, author of the Cult of Smart, and Harvard economic professor Roland Fryer discussing Decatur Public Schools! Amazing, I know. I managed to record it and will post a transcript in the next couple of days.2
Back of the napkin calculation...
399 Graduates from DPS last year
x.16 That’s the % of kids attending 4 year college (from Roadmap 2030 stats)
----
63.84
x.65 The % low income kids at DPS (from illinoisreportcard.com)
x.26 The % of low income incoming freshman college students that earn a 4 year degree (from national averages)
----
10.8
+
63.84
x.35 The % not low income in DPS
x.62 The % of incoming freshman college students that graduate (from national averages)
----
13.9
+
399
x.22 The % of kids attending community college (from Roadmap 2030 stats)
x.30 The % of kids attending community college that earn associate's degree (from national averages)
x.16 The % of community college graduates that go on to earn a 4 year degree (from national averages)
----
4.2
So, 10.8 + 13.9 + 4.2 = 28.9 (let’s round that to 29)
And if you believe that, I have some land to sell you in Botswana. But I am going to post a “conversation” between these two very interesting guys.
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