Taylor Allderdice's Proposal to CK:P

PART ONE: CURRICULUM PROJECT

PROBLEM STATEMENT

One of the most serious problems identified by high-school students, teachers, and parents alike is the inequitable access to teaching and learning resources. Students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools are classed in one of three levels, depending on abil ity and performance: Centers for Advanced Study (CAS), for students with IQ over 130, with lower class size and extra resources; Pittsburgh Scholars Program (PSP), for students having grades of B or higher in academic classes; and Career and College Preparation (CCP), commonly known as "mainstream." CCP classes traditionally have had fewer classroom resources, and the students have fewer opportunities for learning outside the classroom. At Taylor Allderdice High School most CAS students have computers at home, and their classes have minimal computer availability; some PSP students have computers at home, but almost none of the CCP students have access to computers at home, and the school lacks computer equipment, even for courses mandated by state and city education standards.

The problem is also reflected in the perception of inequitable access to resources. A survey conducted by a University of Pittsburgh Documentation Team in May-June, 1995 (see "Taylor Allderdice Survey Findings," Attachment D), shows that students' highes t priority is the need to rectify program differences: "Students believe that students in different programs are treated differently." "...CAS students are normally treated in a different way than mainstream." Parents agreed: "Most parents believe stude nts in different programs are not treated fairly." The most frequently stated student suggestion for improving the school's technology and physical plant is to "provide more and better computing technology." Teachers also identify the need to upgrade te chnology and make it more readily available--an area most needing improvement is "More computers and equal distribution of them"--and they recognize the need to have "more emphasis on the mainstream student."

CURRICULUM ACTIVITY

This proposal addresses Pittsburgh Board of Education district curriculum standards for outcomes (see Attachment E) in Communications 1 and 10; Mathematics 2 ( using modern technology such as computers); Citizenship 1; Science and Technology 1 and especially 9 (basic computer literacy, including the ability to access the global infrastructure, using current technology); Environment and Ecology 1 and 5; and Career Education and Work 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. At Allderdice, in an effort to hold high standards for every student and prepare students to meet the exit outcomes, each 9th grader at a minimum is required to enroll in Algebra I, Biology I, and Computer Applications (semester).

Allderdice's exemplary Programs for Students with Exceptionalities (PSE), formerly known as special education, includes "Occupational Adequacy" (OA), a study-skills course that places PSE students in mainstream classes (see "Occupational Adequacy Course O verview and Requirements" for first and second semesters, Attachments F and G). But the school is currently unable to meet Mathematics 2 and Science and Technology 9 standards for CCP and OA students, or even to fulfill portions of its own course require ments calling for use of the Internet, because it lacks the technology.

The Allderdice PSE places students in classes required of all 9th-graders--Algebra I, Biology I, and Computer Applications--and in other CCP classes in Chemistry I and Geometry I, using a co-teaching model. Rather than simply inserting PSE students into classrooms where the teacher and students are unprepared to deal with special needs, in Allderdice inclusion classes the PSE teachers provide additional learning and emotional support for the PSE students to enable them to complete the mainstream classes successfully. The PSE staff focus their efforts to include all the students in the classroom, not only the PSE students. Students' achievement as measured by grades is consistently higher for inclusion classes than for the same mainstream classes withou t PSE students (see "Marks Analysis," Attachment H). The content-area teachers who have worked with PSE co-teachers and students have praised the inclusion program highly (see "What Our Content Co-Teachers Have to Say about Inclusion at Taylor Allderdice H.S.," Attachment I).

A major impediment presently is that none of the inclusion classrooms has access to the Internet. This invaluable tool for students and teachers in biology and chemistry courses, for example, would connect them with Access Excellence and labnet, two Inte rnet communication web sites for science teachers. Access Excellence includes lesson plans on such topics as AIDS and ethnobiology. The team at Allderdice therefore proposes installing a hardware configuration of a server, computers, and printers to acc ess the Internet in the one OA classroom and two OA inclusion classrooms.

All OA students take Computer Applications, and the team proposes extending the installation into the two Computer Applications classrooms, providing further opportunities for mainstreaming, and including the telecommunications component of the curriculum currently omitted at the school for lack of equipment. The Computer Applications semester course sequence includes "Telecommunications - using the computer to communicate by telephone" (Duty VII in the Pittsburgh Public Schools curriculum statement; see Attachment J). The Internet is part of this objective, but at this time can not be taught to the students.

Allderdice's courses in business have three classrooms where Computer Applications is taught, each with twenty-six Tandy computers about ten years old; the department also has one lab of twenty-six 486 computers used for teaching C++ and such advanced bu siness classes as Wordprocessing 2 and Database & Spreadsheets. It has one 486 on-line with CD-ROM in the classroom of the Instructional Team Leader (ITL), the department head. The PSE department has one 486 on-line in the ITL's classroom, and two Apple 2gs computers. With a successful fund-raising effort the school is undertaking by itself, the room next door will be converted to a PUMP algebra lab with twenty-four Mac Performa computers with CD-ROM and a server before the end of June 1996.

To guarantee access at all times to all students in the school, and to help students maintain skills learned in classes, the team further proposes installing Internet terminals and a printer in the school library, where printing can be monitored using th e model in place at Schenley High School.

Allderdice High School has a Hands Across the Campus program, sponsored by the Grable Foundation and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, which addresses "intergroup tensions and the need for integrated multicultural education" (see brochure, Attachment K). It develops "non-traditional leaders" (including former gang members) who work within the school and mentor students entering Allderdice from the middle schools, for continuity. When they acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to work with the Inter net, these leaders will have a valuable and attractive tool to open lines of communication with middle-school students. By mentoring the younger students, at-risk Allderdice students will reach a higher level of knowledge--being able to teach someone els e what they know. Hands Across the Campus will be promoting equitable access and mentoring on the Internet.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES

The "Pennsylvania Special Education Standards" (see Attachment L) call for an individualized education plan (IEP) for every PSE student. "Transition Services" are a part of these standards (see Pennsylvania State Standards "Definition of Transition Servi ces," Attachment M), that help move disadvantaged and special-needs students into productive lives after high school. In their "transition IEP," OA students will use such Internet tools as "FastWeb" to search scholarships, grants, and funding sources for post-secondary education; Occupational Outlook Handbook, a government publication; Career Mosaic; Princeton Review; Espan Employment Data Base Search; and CollegeNet. The students will learn various search engines, including Web Crawler, Yahoo Search, A lta Vista, and Lycos Search.

The use of the specific Internet search engines will be taught to all OA students as a critical component of their research skills. OA students would learn Internet skills first in their OA class, and then share their knowledge and model with CCP student s in their inclusion classes. In the 9th-grade biology and chemistry inclusion classes, students will be able to participate in various on-line scientific investigations, using sites mentioned above.

Effective reinforcement of online searching skills will be provided in the Allderdice library, through both the proposed expansion of Internet terminals and printer through CK: P, as well as the newly created occupational/vocational resource library fund ed by a Perkins Grant as part of Applied Technology Career Development's school-to-work initiative.

Student access and instruction to the Internet will be bolstered by formation of a "Surfing the Net Club," open to any students in the school. The club will meet after school under the guidance of one or more members of the management team.

Hands Across the Campus would create a "Dice Hands Across the Campus" home page, with photos, good ideas, projects, and highlights on particular students. The program can also use the Internet to build relationships with students in other cities who are dealing with similar types of human-relations issues.

ASSESSMENT PLAN

Hands Across the Campus, which is training students in assessment procedures, will survey all incoming 9th-graders at the 9th-grade orientation, to establish a baseline of student use, familiarity, and interest in the Internet. (The information on PSE s tudents will also be particularly useful to OA teachers.) It will conduct an exit survey at the end of the 9th-grade year. Success will be measured in increased usage, familiarity, and interest in the Internet.

Every teacher at Allderdice is required to provide each student and parent with a course overview each semester. The Technology Committee that manages the Internet project will examine the course overviews of every teacher in the school (not only those i n OA and Computer Applications courses) at the beginning of each semester, and measure the increase in use of the Internet as an instructional tool.

Both OA and Computer Applications courses contain specific instructional objectives relating to use of the Internet, so teacher evaluation of student learning will take place during normal assessments such as quizzes, tests, and final exams. The teachers will design special assignments and projects to demonstrate students' competency in using the resources of the Internet.

PART TWO: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION TEAM SUPPORT AND VISION

Attached to this proposal are letters from each team member, describing individual motivation, goals, and responsibilities for the activity. Also included are letters from school administrators and parents. (See Attachment A.)

The teacher for Applied Technology Career Development (ATCD) has offered to include doing the wiring for this project as part of the course work for Basic Electronics 3 & 4 students.

The leader of the school team is Susan Hirsch, ITL (Instructional Team Leader, or department head) for PSE, who will also serve as the site coordinator for the project. Working closely with her are Emily Sprys, ITL for the Business Department, and Ellen Tarpey, instructor in Business, both of whom currently teach computer applications course; Alan Cazen, Librarian; and Trish Cloonan, coordinator of Hands Across the Campus and administrator of the Grable Foundation grant.

Beyond the project team, the proposal has been initiated, discussed, planned, and approved by a representative cross-section of teachers, administrators, students, and parents, including Judy Johnston, Principal; Vivian Fondy, Intervention Specialist and Chairperson of Pupil Affairs; Andrea Martine, AP Coordinator and CAS Facilitator; Dale Bizub, ATCD teacher (Basic Electronics and Audio Visual Coordinator); Bill Doak, ITL of the Math Department; Elizabeth Claytor, ITL of the English Department; Frank Cas orio, ITL of Foreign Languages; Ken Lutz, Music Department; Carol Petett, Social Studies teacher and School to Work Coordinator; Dan Kraut, a senior; Matt Ittigson, a junior; and David Guttridge and Deane Root, parents.

MANAGEMENT

The project will be managed by a Technology Committee, comprising the design and implementation team and a cross section of the Allderdice community. The chair of the Technology Committee, the ITL for PSE, will be the site coordinator. The teachers will include all the staff of PSE and Computer Applications. All members of the Technology Committee will receive training in the use of computers and Internet resources. The committee would meet biweekly, and would update the school cabinet at its meetings . The committee would implement an ethics policy to be signed by all users of the Internet at Allderdice--students and staff alike--to ensure integrity and honesty in the handling of these resources.

COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CEIP)

The portion of Allderdice's CEIP (Attachment B) that is especially relevant to this proposal is Goal Two, for which the computer and study skills rely on having appropriate technology. In addition, portions of the CEIP aligned with this proposal are the statement on technology (page 1); the long-range goal 2 (page 4); Goal One (page 5), adding Biology I and Algebra I to Inclusion classes; the implementation of teacher training (page 11); study skills that can model on this program (page 13); and instruct ional strategies for teachers (page 33).

PART THREE: EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES STATEMENT OF NEED

Board of Education statistics confirm that Allderdice has the widest range in family income of all high schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The OA students are predominantly from the lower-income families. The OA inclusion classes and the computer applications course taken by all 9th graders in all levels are designed to promote equity and support the career "school-to-work" process, but they can not fulfill these goals without the resource of the Internet and its access equipment.

UNDER-REPRESENTED POPULATIONS

Some 75% of OA students are minorities. While all 9th-graders in all levels take the computer applications course (one of only four courses where the levels are completely mixed, the others being health, gym, and the arts), almost none of the OA students have computers at home. Students from families without computers are much more reluctant to try the equipment, but only by this exposure will they be able to compete in the job market. The effect of Allderdice's project for at-risk students will be to give them equal access to the educational resources of the Internet in core-curriculum and occupational-adequacy courses, and provide additional opportunities for learning through mentored Internet club experiences after school and through Hands Across the Campus activities.

CONTINUITY

The feeder schools for Taylor Allderdice High School are Colfax, Greenfield, Mifflin, Minadeo, and Regent Square elementary schools, and Gladstone and Reizenstein middle schools. Allderdice also gets a substantial number of students from Frick, Sterrett, and Rogers magnets, and very small numbers of students from Arsenal, Columbus, Montessori, Schiller, and Washington Practical Arts magnets. Under the proposed redistricting plan, Burgwin and Liberty Elementary schools would be added to the feeder plan f or Allderdice. Greenfield, Gladstone, and Allderdice have been designated the pre-engineering magnet schools. All 9th-graders entering Allderdice, including the pre-engineering students, will be exposed to the Internet through the required courses of al gebra and biology which will be taught as Inclusion courses, and through the computer applications course.