Leading with Equity and Excellence for All A Regional Equity Snapshot for Nobles County Integration Collaborative Member School Districts Adrian Round Lake-Brewster Heron Lake-Okabena Worthington Ellsworth Fulda i i Minnesota Education Equity Partnership Advancing Race Equity & Excellence This work s funded and made possible through a collaborative partnership between the Minnesota Education Equity Partnership, the Nobles County integration Collaborative, and Blandin Foundation. Compe Race Eau Folin leg Ze info@mneep.orgPurpose and Methodology ing Organizations: The Nobles County Integration Collaborative (NCIC) is a consortium of adjacent school districts. heir mission is to promote student success and community acceptance of differences by providing opportunities for stu: fonts, families and staff from diverse backgrounds to learn from and with one another. A summary of their mission and activi ies can be found at http://www.isd518.net/ncic-mission-and-goals, The Minnesota Education EquyParnership (MEP nonprofit that uses rae equ lens to transform education ns hutions, ‘organizations, and leaders to ensure that students of color and American Indian students achieve full academic and Jeadership success Their website canbe viewed at meep.or, Purpose of this Report: NCIC partnered with the research and advocacy organization, Minnesota Education Equity Partner- ‘ship (MnEEP) in March of 2015 to develop a research report of baseline race equity in education data about the Nobles Coun- ‘ty region and its participating school districts. The aim of the report isto bring to the community a shared understanding of the education equity gaps in the region and start a process of identifying shared strategies (in-school and outside of school) to produce more equitable and excellent education outcomes. The findings of this report will be shared at a community-wide ‘summit in Fall of 2015 to start the pracess of shared responsibilty and actions aimed at progress for equity and prosperity in this community. ‘Methodology: This project has three main activities. The first was the collection of the data for this report. The majority of the data was collected through MDE, The remaining was collected by contacting individual school districts. The fellow met \with district representatives at Worthington High School, Worthington Middle School, Round Lake-Brewster, Heron Lake- (Okabena, Ellsworth, and Fulda to discuss the project and specific data points, The indicators discussed are: ‘Kindergarten Readiness ‘* MCA Reading Proficiency (3rd and 4th grade) ‘© MCA Math Proficiency (Sth and 11th grade) ‘* Graduation and Dropout Rates ‘= Suspension Rates ‘ Enrollment in Insitutions of Higher Learning Next Steps: The second activity is the building of a community stakeholders group. This group met in March, July, and August ‘to discuss ways in which their respective organizations can collaborate in support of the project, as well as comment on im- pportant notes found inthe report and their own experience. The stakeholders will also assis in the planning of the communi /-wide summit and the mobilization of community resources to support I. ‘The third activity willbe the summit itself and the development ofan action plan to be undertaken in the community. The ‘action plan wil be informed by the community profile and implemented by members ofa solt-elected task group. The mem- 25 ofthe stakeholders committee will support the task group within their various functions inorder to provide the neces- ary resources forthe action plan tobe undertaken successfully hroughout the report, the following shorthand may be used to refer to groups of school districts: ‘* Nobles County = Ellsworth, Fulda, Heron Lake-Okabena, Round Lake-Brewster, Adrian, and Worthington ‘© Adjacent Districts = Ellsworth, Fulda, Heron Lake-Okabena, Adrian « Isolated Districts = Round Lake-Brewster, WorthingtonDemographics - NCIC Member Districts Town and Student Population Sizes ‘The Nobles County integration Collaborative (NCIC) provides programming to six independent public school districts serving 2 total population of more than 20,000 people. Worthington is the largest school district, with a student population of 2,996. Outlaying districts are Adrian (574 students), Fulda (337), Heron Lake-Okabena (318), Round Lake - Brewster (188), ‘and Ellsworth (145)(MDE, 2014) Demographic Makeup by School District ‘The demographic profiles of the six school districts vary widely. Two districts (Worthington and Round Lake-Brewster) are designated ‘racially isolated districts’ by MDE, meaning the racial disparity between them and ‘racially-adjacent districts’ is ‘more than 20 percentage points (Multi-District Integration Plan, 2013). A breakdown of the student populations follows. ‘The following charts were created using the October 1st enrollment snapshot provided by MDE. Worthington Student Demographics Worthington, ax Prairie Elementary has both larger and more di- verse classes than Worthington High School. The number of white students is constant across grade levels Districtwide, about 26% ofall students are English Learners. Source: Data from MOE Report Cards, 9/26/2015 All figures from October 1, 2014. Mamercanindin issn WHspanie Malek H Whee Round Lake - Brewster iz Demographics Round Lake - Brewster 2% 0% Has undergone a demographic shift in the last § years, with an increasingly diverse student body. ‘Those students will go on to attend high school in other districts, as Round Lake - Brewster does not offer classes past eighth grade. About 34% ofall students are English Learners. Source: Data from MDE Report Cards, 9/26/2015 2% Al figures from October 1, 2014. wAmencanindan mAsian mHlsparic w Black mWhiteAdrian Student Demographics aw Fulda Student Demographics ae so Heron Lake - Okabena Student Demographics Ellsworth Student Demographics feAmerkaningan wAsion Hepa aBact White Adrian Has undergone a demographic shift in the last 5 years, with an increasingly diverse student body. Notably, un- like Round-Lake Brewster and Worthington, there is no substantial English Learner population, Source: Data from MDE Report Cards, 9/26/2015 Al figures from October 1, 2014. Fulda Nearly 90% of the students in the Fulda school district are white, There have been no significant changes in the student population size or demographics in the last five years. Source: Data from MDE Report Cards, 9/26/2015 All figures from October 1, 2014. Heron Lake - Okabena Nearly 9056 of the students in the Heron Lake-Okabena school district are white. There have been no significant changes in the student population size or demographics In the last five years. Source: Data from MDE Report Cards, 9/26/2015 All figures from October 1, 2014. Ellsworth Nearly 100% of the students in the Ellsworth school dis- ‘trict are white. There have been no significant changes in the student population size or demographics in the last five years. Source: Data from MDE Report Cards, 9/26/2015 All figures from October 1, 2014.Graph created using data from MDE Report Cards. Worthington - Students using Free/Reduced Price Lunch 2014 school ane Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015, ALC Student Demographics mK 4% 13% mAmericanindan mAson aHsponic m Black White Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015, ‘The isolated districts (Worthington and Round-Lake Brewster) have rates of FRL utilization (shown to the left.as @ percentage of total students) higher than the state average. 79% of students in Round Lake ~ Brewster and 70% of students in Worthington utilize free and reduced lunch, while three of the four adja- cent district show utilization rates comparable to the state average of 39% (MDE 2014). Other districts’ rates are as follows: Adrian (35%), Ellsworth (49%), Heron Lake-Okabena (34%), and Fulda (36%) ‘The rate of Free and Reduced Lunch utilization var- ies across schools within the Worthington Schoo! District. The highest rate of utilization is at Prairie Elementary, with a slightly lower rate at the middle school and an even lower rate at the high school, This trend (less FRL utilization with older students) is seen in all NCIC member districts. ‘The ALC has the highest rate of FRL utilization of any schools served by NCIC. ‘The Worthington Area ALC provides open enroll- ‘ment for students across the area served by NCIC. About 95% of the students at the ALC come from within the Worthington District, while the remaining students come from the other five districts. While the ALC does serve students from each district, the ‘majority of the students from outside Worthington ‘come from Adrian. All figures from October 1, 2015,Demographics of School Staff in Nobles County According to data supplied by NCIC member districts, as of the 2015-16 school year there were 6 full-time teachers of color hired on full-time teachers contracts. The demand for teachers of color in Minnesota has skyrocketed in recent years, prompting multiple ‘grow your own’ teach- cer of color programs across the state (McGuire, 2015). 96% of Minnesota teachers are white, and each successive gradu: ating cohort has been growing whiter and whiter for five consecutive years (McKnight, 2024), Several of the school leaders interviewed for this report have stated, Were there 0 qualified candidate of color, we would be happy to hire them, But in ‘most years, we do nat have such an applicant. This statement needs further research to identify the systemic reasons why qualified candidates of color are not found, Worthington students have expressed their desire to see diverse role models i their classrooms, particularly in a video pro- duced in the previous year (Voices for Racial Justice, 2015). Similar desire has been voiced by community members and school staff. Many individuals of color have been hired as support staff, especially as interpreters and paraprofessional, but it remains dificult to find full-time teachers from diverse backgrounds. A literature review by Villegas and Irvine (2010) reports that the research examined “suggests that students of color accrue academic benefits when taught by a same-race teacher or when exposed to a teaching force (at the school or district level) that isracially/ethnically representative of the student population.” The hiring of diverse school staff remains an opportunity for further discussion, In Nobles County, 2% of full-time teaching contracts for the Nobles County Teacher Demogsaphics 2015 2015-16 school year were awarded to people of color. Source: Self-Reported by Districts Nobles County Student Demographics 2014 In the school districts served by NCIC, about half the student population is white, and about half comprises students of color. For breakout of Worthington and Round Lake-Brewster teacher demographics, please see appendix after the refer- ence page. ‘Source: MDE Report Cards, Accessed 10/13/2015Addressing Race Equity and Excellence in Education—With Outcome Indicators from the K-12 Pathway of Education: Academic Pathway for Student Achievement 8 = KReady 3rd Grade 8thGrade 12th Grade Indicators of Academic Achievement Individual academic achievernent is generally accepted to mean the ability of a student to perform well on schoolwork, standardized testing, and graduation standards. Kindergarten testing; standardized testing scores in 3" grade, 4 grade and 8 grade; graduation rates; higher education attainment rates; and discipline rates are those indicators which are both available for every student and fairly standardized across school districts. While it can be argued that there are other (more holistic) means to evaluate student achievement, these are the statistics that are reacily available for review and for which | suecessful intervention can be most easily measured over time. | | Using an Equity Lens along the Continuum ‘According to Dr. Ron Ferguson of the Harvard Achievement Gap Institute, “A successful movement for excellence with equity is one that is aimed at raising achievement levels for all racial and ethnic groups while narrowing gaps between groups.” Looking at the achievernent of a group of students through an equity lens, we can assess the ability ofa district to prepare all students for academic success. Various academic achievement gaps between students (students of color and White | students; within student group differences, etc.) tell us that strategies to assist students must be specific to their situation, | their needs. in this project, reaching education equity means that race and/or FRL status will no longer predict a student's | academic success. |The Definition of MnEEP for Race Equity Includes: “Race Equity is a condition. It means that those most impacted by inequities have the space to build power and lead through collective actions. Equity is raising the achievement ofall students while eliminating the racial predictability and disproportionality of which student groups occupy the highest and lowest achievement.” (MnEEP Strategic Plan, 2015-2018, www.maeep.org)Addressing Race Equity and Excellence in Education—With Outcome Indicators from the K-12 Pathway of Education: Planning Process Reaching Equitable and Excellent Outcomes through Collective Action--All Stakeholders ‘One of NCIC’s goals is to reduce academic achievement gaps by investing in early intervention strategies (Multi-District Integration Plan, 2014). Until recently, efforts to identify exactly where those gaps are and how large they are have been undertaken mostly by school and NCIC administration. This report is an opportunity for the community as a whole to investigate the existing gaps. As researched by Dr. Ron Ferguson of Harvard, “In the context of a movement for excellence ‘with equity, iti important to view the changing cultural norms in schools, homes, and youth peer groups as collective action projects requiring organizers and leadership, not adjustments that individuals will carry out in isolation without regard for others’ responses.” A root-cause analysis of the barriers in the educational system, curricular shifts, and student needs—gets at the strategies that can more appropriately address the needs of each student and student groups, towards equitable outcomes. Using this Data for Discussion and an Equity Action Plan: Reviewing the achievement indicator data isthe first step in a longer action planning process that involves students, teachers, and other community stakeholders. Viewing the data through a race and income equity lens will ensure that resulting interventions will result in increased equity in education for all students, regardless of the exact intervention used. Strategies: Families, Organizations and Schools (|=, tarde KRendy ad Grade ancndeIndicator #1: Kindergarten Readiness 'As NCIC member districts are independent, each maintains its own testing program. For this reason, ‘aggregation or cross-comparison of Kindergarten testing scores is not sound from an evaluation per- spective. Furthermore, at this time, not all districts in Nobles County retain Kindergarten Readiness da- ta, The data that is retained is not broken down by race. MDE was contacted for this information, but does not retain it either. The closest data available is a score that predicts 3rd grade MCA reading profi- ciency, but this is an optional program in which few districts participate. Why is kindergarten readiness important? ‘+ The academic skills that students are exposed to in kindergarten are focused primarily on letter, number and sound recognition, as well as counting ability. Readiness for kindergarten can vary greatly, with some students entering kindergarten writing basic words, others reciting their alpha- bet, and others knowing no letters or numbers. Low-income students who have attended preschool are observably better prepared than low-income students who did not (Tucker-Drob 2011). Nationally, one of the largest gaps in achievement at this age is vocabulary. Students from profes- sional and educated families have significantly larger vocabularies than their peers (up to a factor of three) when they enter kindergarten (Hart & Risley, 2003). This is significant because much of early reading consists of matching written vocabulary with a student’s receptive vocabulary (Ehri, 2002). However, this age is also the opportune time to address gaps in vocabulary: 2-3 year olds are be- lieved to learn only 2-3 new words a day, while 5 year olds can learn 6, and 6-8 year olds can learn up to 20 (PBS, 2003). The first years of school are a short window in which to rapidly increase stu- dent vocabulary and overcome pre-kindergarten gaps, as language acquisition slows appreciably after the third grade and slows to adult rates after the onset of puberty (Augustin & Fitzpatrick, 2001). For English language learners (ELLs), vocabulary development is especially important. The average native English speaker enters kindergarten knowing at least 5,000 words. The average ELL may know 5,000 words in his or her native language, but very few words in English. While native speakers con- tinue to learn new words, ELLs face the double challenge of building a vocabulary foundation and then closing the gap (August, Calderon, & Carlo, 2002).Indicator #2: 3rd Grade MCA Reading Scores Leading up to the third grade, students are learning to read. After third grade it is commonly said that they are reading to learn (Boots, 2005, Citing National Research Council, 1998). The achievement gap between students utlizng free and reduced lunch (FRL) and the group average is 10 percentage points in Nobles County, 7 percentage points in Worthington/Round Lake-Brewster, and 9 percentage points in Adrian/Ellsworth/Fulda/Heron Lake-Okabena 3rd Grade Reading - MCA III 2015 ‘Te achievement gap between students of clo (SOC) sr re gamiveaee = peroemenenstne Ire bles County 5 perentage points in Worthington! noth tamer] | pound take Brewster, and 6 percentage pons n = Actian/Elsworth/Flda/Heron Lake-Okabena. Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed9/26/2015, In Worthington, the achievement gap between free seine a, x and reduced lunch students and the student state 3rd Grade Reading - Worthington by Race average is 18 points. The achievement gap between 2015 students of color in Worthington and the state aver- ages 16 points. White, non-ELL Hispanic, non-ELL Asian, and Black students perform at about the state average. The achievement gap between Hispanic ELL students and their non-ELL Hispanic peers is 35 percentage points. The achievement gap between Asian ELL students and repens ore their non-ELL Asian peers is 39 percentage points. romgtt fit |nontL The gap between white students and Hispanic ELL sere) J Le te i - students is 36 percentage points. The gap between Graph created from MDE Report Cards, Accessed 9/26/2015. white students and Asian EL students is 32 percentage | points All scores are from 2015.- | Indicator #3: 4th Grade ‘MCA Reading Scores Before the 4th grade, the average reader has a larger receptive vocabulary than reading vocabulary. In the fourth grade, read- ing vocabulary meets and then surpasses receptive vocabulary, and the student enters a second stage of language acquisition in which he learns context-specific and increasingly academic words (Graves, 2005). Learning new vocabulary in context be- ‘comes increasingly challenging as the new words go an to be used as context for newer vocabulary, and non-proficient read- ers often begin falling further and further behind. z s The achievement gap between students utilizing free Ath Grade Reading - MCA III 2015 and reduced lunch (FRL) and the group average is 8 oe —— | percentage points in Nobles County, 7 percentage | points in Worthington/Round Lake-Brewster, and 10 | percentage point in Adrian/Ellsworth/Fulda/Heron Lake-Okabena. The achievement gap between students of color (SOC) and the group average is 11 percentage points in No- bles County, 8 percentage points in Worthington/ Round Lake-Brewster, and 28 percentage points in sworn. ‘sarin (ldo fencers as fa Adrian/Elsworth/Fulda/Heron Lake-Okabena. Insoe 2 2 Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015, 4th Grade Reading - Worthington by Race In Worthington, the achievement gap between free 2015, ‘and reduced lunch students and the state average is. — 19 points, The achievement gap between students of |color in Worthington and the student state average is, | 28 points | White, non-ELL Hispanic, non-ELL Asian, and Black | students perform at about the state average. The achievement gap between Hispanic ELL students and a their non-ELL Hispanic peers is 43 percentage points. a saane]noane] Aer J AR0" | aoa | |The achievement gap between Asian ELL students and aicna|_@ | aa] -@ [| ao | | thelr non-€Lt Asian peers is a3 percentage points. The {ap between white students and Hispanic ELL stu- dents s 56 percentage points. The gap between white and Asian ELL students is 53 percentage points. Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015. All scores are from 2015,Indicator #4; 8th Grade MCA Math [Gaps that exist in 8th grade math achievement intuitively existed much earlier, as early as kindergarten or preschool, Mathe- ‘matical concepts build on one another ina natural order, so even schools that do not have a highly tracked curriculum use prerequisites to determine a student's progression. Students that have not entered Algebra by 9th grade are unlikely to com: plete Calculus before graduation unless they accelerate with special permission. All ath grade students are required to complete Algebra | to meet grade level standards, but some students will complete ‘Algebra | & I! during the year while others will complete Basic Math and Algebra |. ‘As the 8th grade MCA math test covers topics from algebra (along with other subjects covered in previous years}, students ‘who are completing the Basic Math and Algebra track have significantly less experience with the material than those who are ‘completing the Algebra | & Il track. For this reason, students In the Basic Math /Algebra track would be anticipated to show lower levels of proficiency on the MCA test, indicating those student who are unlikely to complete Calculus before gradua- ‘on. These students are anticipated to be less competitive applicants to STEM programs, private colleges, and the U of M. | | | | | | | | It should be stressed that MCA test scores do not necessarily reflect a student's true progress in class. Ideal data would be | ‘actual student grades and progression paths through classes. However, MCA scores can be used as a rough approximation of student progress and skills. ji | The achievement gap between students utilizing ft 8th Grade Math - MCA III 2015 lela oa ated ata ee and reduced lunch (FRL) and the group average is 11 percentage points in Nobles County, 10 percentage points in Worthington/Round Lake-Brewster, and 12, percentage point in Adrian/ Ellsworth/Fulda/Heron Lake-Okabena, The achievement gap between students of color (SOC) ‘and the group average Is 12 percentage points in No- : bles County, 11 percentage points in Worthington/ Nobles County Euaortike pe aa e Ysdren/Fulie | | Round Lake-Brewster, and 24 percentage points in Average m 52 Adrian/Ellsworth/Fulda/Heron Lake-Okabena. 3 © -— In Worthington, the achievement gap between free Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015. and reduced lunch students and the state average is 8th Grade Math - Worthington by Race 23 points. The achievement gap between students of 2015 ‘color in Worthington and the state average is 22 points White students perform above the state average. The achievement gap between non-ELL Hispanic and Asian students andthe state average is 1 percentage points, The achievement gap between Sack students and the state averages 30 percentage points. The achievement gap between Hispanic ELL students and na their non-ELL Hispanic peers is 45 percentage points. ene a The achievement gap between white students and. cm hispanic EL students i 61 points Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015.Indicator #5: 11th Grade MCA Math |oy tne 3th grade, students re competing thirst math cases required for graduation. Students who were fas-racked | may already be enrolled in Calculus. On-track students are generally completing Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus. A student who had tested just below proficiency nth grade but emainsin good academic standings alt have just completed Geome- ty/Agebra. Because the MCA covers trigonometry and geometyviualy any student that had tested non-profcient in ‘8th grade and has since fallen out of good standing has not been exposed to the majority of the materials on the MCA 11 wath Tes, Similar to how itis more difficult in 4th grade than in 3rd grade to close a vocabulary gap, its more difficult to close a math gap in 11th grade than in 8th grade. A student would be required to master the material in one class before moving on to the next, and some students may be four semesters behind by 11th grade. Even for on-track students, completion of the state requirements for high school graduation (3 math classes) does not make them a competitive college applicant. Ifa student stops taking math after the 11th grade, they are inadmissible to STEM pro- grams, private colleges, and the University of Minnesota. A student who takes four years of math but on a less challenging track is admissible, but a far less competitive applicant. Some school districts have acknowledged this and require 4 years of math classes to graduate. MCA test scores do not necessarily reflect a student's true progress in clas. Ideal data would be actual student grades and progression paths through classes. However, MCA scores can be used as a rough approximation of student progress and skills, 11th Grade Math - MCA Ill 2015 ‘The achievement gap between students utilizing free and reduced lunch (FRL} and the group average |s M4 percentage points in Nobles County, 16 per- ‘centage points in Worthington, and 12 inverted by percentage points in Adrian/ Ellsworth/Fulda/Heron Lake-Okabena, The achievement gap between students of color (50C) and the group average is 16 percentage points Tae aad Zisworenpac] iN Nobles County, 13 percentage points in Worthing- _ ‘adcanfuléa | ton, and 1 percentage point in Adtian/Elsworth/ 9 3 34 Fulda/Heron Lake-Okabena, 2 2 2 2 23 3 aacaneee In Worthington, the achievement gap between free MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015. and reduced lunch students and the state average is 11th Grade Math - Worthington by Race 31 points. The achievement gap between students 2015 Cf color in Worthington and the state average is 28, points ‘Percent Profient Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015. ‘White students and non-ELL Asian students perform at about the state average. The achievement gap between non-ELL Hispanic students and the state average is 28 percentage points. No Hispanic ELL or ‘Asian ELL students tested proficient. There were too ‘acensul| | few Black students tested to report their scores, cr a Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015. o | 7] 3Enrollment in Advanced Classes—Worthington High School The completion of one or more advanced math and/or science classes allows students to become competitive applicants for private and selective universities. While final grades are not available in this report, a summary of student enrollment in ad- vanced classes is provided below. The classes aggregated here are: AP Math, AP Science, Geometry, Algebra I iftaken in 9th cr 10th grade), Algebra l, Advanced Mathematics, Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. There are no IB classes offered Demographics in Advanced Math and Science Classes - Worthington 2014-15 Hispanic Asan Black White Schoo! a 3 6 0 Ady Math 38 2 6 e Ady Science 95 15 7 8 Percenta School mAde. Math mAdy. Science Source: Chil Rights Data Collection Report 2014-15, Office of Teach- ing and Learning, provided August 2015 ‘Students Enrolled PSEO Auto Class 2014-15, The graph to the left shows enroll- ‘ment in math and science classes by racial categories. Asian and Black students are equitably represented in advanced math and science clas- ses. Hispanic students are slightly underrepresented, while white stu- dents are slightly overrepresented. It should be noted a student en- rolled in multiple classes will be counted multiple times. This graph is read as follows: 41% of the students enrolled at WHS are Hispanic, while 32% of the students enrolled in advanced math classes are Hispanic, and 35% of students enrolled in advanced science classes are Hispanic. In Worthington 70% of the students that enrolled for PSEO auto class were white, while 30% were students of color. Source: Data supplied by District $18 Students Enrolled PSEO at MIN West 2014-15 In Worthington 48% of students enrolled in PSEO classes at MN West were swhite, while 52% were students of Source: Data supplied by District 518Indicator #6: Graduation/Dropout Rates High school dropout will earn, over ther lifetime, $200,000 less than a igh school graduate and $1 milion less than a col- lege graduate (Levin, 2007). In the current job market, 2/3 of all jobs and nearly all high-paying jobs require some level of post-secondary education (CEW, 2013), Individuals who drop out of school do have options to get back on trackin terms of their employable sklls- GED courses, on the job training, etc - but doing so often requires adsitionl challenges in terms of balancing work, family, and education Inthe following pages, a non-graduate constitutes any student who did not receive their high school diploma after four years. A student who does not receive a high school diploma is tracked by MDE in one of three ways. A student who has dropped out has left the educational system. A student who is continuing in his studies may continue for a fifth year/ summer at his school, or transfer to another educational institution. A student whose status is “unknown” isin reality doing tone of these two things, but their exact status was either not reported to MDE or was not clear at the time the report was made. (Visuals on Following Page) [ | Non-Graduation: A Definitioni Graduation here means those stu Graduation Rates - 2014 dents who were awarded a diplo- main years. It excludes those students who continued their edu- cation (re-enrolled in any institu: tion), dropped out (failed to re- enroll in any institution}, or whose status was unknown. The 4-year graduation rate for all adjacent districts is well above the Wi | Wen state average of 81%. The aver- WHS Other__—_age graduation rate in Minnesota malistudents 94 * a J a = for students of color is 70%. soc 7 50 7 Cy n 2 Worthington has been split into Worthington High School and Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015. Worthington Gther (VIBE, ALC, Adian | Ellsworth | Fulda HLO Night School). The ALC houses students from Worthington as well as surrounding districts and is, designed for students who are at: risk of educational failure (MDE website) Demographics of Seniors, Non-Graduates, Dropouts While student of color make up 2014 less than half of the senior stu- dents in Nobles County, they are ‘more likely to not graduate. Several of these date points have alow sample size. It was felt, however, that these rates are con- ducive to conversation and are a a thus included, —_ ——— cone This graph is read as follows: 58% aa of the seniors enrolled in Nobles County were white, while 19% of nnon-graduates were white, and Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015. 18% of dropouts were white. sm Wwhive students s w fs Studer of Calor a a 6 For a break-down of non-graduate demographics, please see appendix.Indicator #7: Suspension Rates Nationally, most schools employ a combination of in-school suspension (ISS) and out-of-school suspension (OSS) to address serious discipline issues. OSS has the potential to disrupt students’ academic achievement in that it removes them from their learning environment. Low-income and students of color are often overrepresented in OSS incidents, meaning that students who are statistically more likely to be struggling are often given an additional disadvantage by being removed from the class ‘As NCIC member districts are independent, they share no universal suspension policy. Fulda, Round Lake-Browster, and Ells- worth did not utilize OSS in the 2014-15 school year, although the option exists in their handbooks. Heron Lake-Okabena and, ‘Adrian utlize OSS. By policy, HLO implements it only at the high school. | Ax Worthington ida School, OSS is almost exclusively used fr students who are fighting or bring weapons. They are re | moved to create a safer environment for the rest ofthe students. Homeworks provided for anyone in OSS. They are at isk | | of fling behind noone comes to pickit up ofthe choose not to do the work Worthington High School uses suspension | | {both in school and out of school) very selectively, with about half as many cases as any other district that uses ISS or OSS, despite is larger student population, For ll districts in Nobles County OSS is used selectively, with only 26 incidents in the past year. It should be noted that fewer than 26 students were placed on OSS, as there were repeat suspendees. ISS is defined differently by each school, Demograpics in Nobles County 2014 In Nobles County, students of color and white students make up approximately equal parts of the students population. However, 63% of the suspension incidents (ISS and OSS combined) involve students of color, as opposed to 37% of formePotein | smote: | OSes A situation that Involved two students {i.e.,@ meses fight) would be counted as two incidents if both fs Seusres of oer a 63 3 students were disciplined. urce: MDE and self-reported data by districts AA student who has been disciplined with Iss/Oss Suspension All Types Worthington by Race ‘multiple times gets counted as one incident for 201415 each discipline event. In Worthington, Native America, Asian, and His- panic students are represented equitably in sus- pension (ISS and OSS combined). Black students are overrepresented compared to their popular I tion size in the school, and white students are —- al in deepest ave ‘mSuspenson 1 56 1" 19 schoo! 1 2 6 = fam | ae wns For 055, white students less than 10% of inci- dents despite making up 33% of the student population. Source: Self-reported data by WHS and WMS. ALC not included,Indicator #8: Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Learning Hoving a college degree is a requirement for 65% ofa obs onthe market, even for jobs that in previous generations required only a high school diploma (CEW, 2013). Ideally, we could present data here on how many students had attained an associate’s degree | orhigher. Unfortunately, thats beyond the scope ofthis projec. | "Nationally, only 60% of students who enter a bachelor’s program and 30% of those who enter an associate's program will graduate from that program (CEW, 2013). So the enroliment statistics given here should not be equated with final degree attainment. Non-enrollment in an IHL directly after high school does not preclude students from returning to school later in life. In fact, many students will work for a number of years and save up money before enrolling in an IHL. However, their chances of degree comple- tion are even lower than those who enroll directly after high school: 43% of non-traditional students completed thelr bachelor’s degree, as compared to 60% traditional students (Shapiro, 2013). To be sure, enrolling in an IHL does not guarantee academic or career success - counterexamples can be given of both successful students who fail to land a job, and dropouts that go on to have lucrative careers. For most, however, enrollment in an IHL directly after high school is highly predictive of future career options. Statewide, $2% of graduating students utilizing free and, reduced lunch enroll in an IHL within sixteen months of graduation, while 40% of students from Worthington ‘enroll and 44% of students in adjacent districts do so. Statewide, about Saf graduating student of or envolnan HL within sateen month of graduation, wile the oes for Worthington and adjacent sets i are 37% and 46% especie. Aaan/EbswerFulds fo Statewide, about 48% of graduating EL students enroll in [ava 7 = a an IHL within sixteen months of graduation, while the are 2 0 « aaa = z = rate for Worthington is 16%. There were too few EL meu © 6 0 students in adjacent districts to report. Enrollment 16 Months After Graduation 2014 sue ‘Woringzon Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015, a “On-track’ for students enrolled at public institutions means that students complete at least 1 year of credits within 2 years of enrollment. This data is for students who graduated in 2014, measuring their progress through the end of the 2024-15 school year. Students in Public Institutions On-Track 2014 tomes > * Coat s = - ‘There is a high rate of students considered ‘on-track’ a = who raduated from adacent dss and uted free and reduce lunch ences. EL stdent om Worthing Graph created from MDE Report Cards. Accessed 9/26/2015. ton are also on-track at a high rate. =e |References 2010 Census Bureau, . ‘August, D.,Calderén M., and Carlo M. (2002) The Transfer of Skills from Spanish to English: A Study of Young Learners.Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C. Baer, J. and Kuther, M. (2009). Basle Reading Skils and the Literacy of Americas Least Literate Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. National Center for Education Statistics, Bogard, K. and Takanishi,R. (2005). PK-3: An Aligned and Coordinated Approach to Education for Children 3 to 8 Years Old. Society for Research in Child Development, Socal Policy Report 18, 3. Boots, $.W. (2005). Building a 21st Century Economy: The Case for Investing in Early Education Reform. Issue Brief #1, Seattle, | WA: New America Foundation, | CEW (Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University} (2013). Recovery: Job Growth and Education Require- ‘ments Through 2020 Edvantia (2007). 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