This year’s winners use OSPI’s Career Guidance Washington life-planning lessons and activities with middle and high schools. Administrators, counselors and teachers work as a team to promote career and college readiness school-wide. In this model, teachers serve as advisors to help every student make clear, careful, creative plans for life after high school.
“Using system-wide approach, educators have gotten results for students in these award-winning schools,” State Superintendent Randy Dorn said. “The data are impressive.”
The award is based on data from a variety of sources that include The BERC Navigation 101 Evaluation, State Board of Education’s Achievement Index, graduation rates, college ready transcripts, gatekeeper courses and rigor, connection to guidance & counseling and demographics, including ESEA Status. College and career readiness program leadership and program sustainability related to implementation of best practices was also a consideration.
Many finalist schools utilized additional evidence-based practices with data from various sources that may have included attendance, discipline, class rank/GPA, and failure rates. Most of the schools to receive the award this year are a part of ongoing efforts through a grant from College Spark WA for the College Readiness Initiative.
OSPI selected this year’s winners based on 2012-13 school year data. These schools have increased their graduation rates and academic rigor. This has led to more students with college-ready transcripts and fewer students in need of remediation once they get to college. Most of these high implementing schools are in the College Readiness Initiative, a grant program funded by College Spark Washington.
Dorn will honor these schools at a ceremony on March 12, 2014, at 8 am, at ESD 121 in Renton.