CCEA 2019 Conference "Moving into the Future Together"

Transitioning from a trimester system to a "Fluid System" was a large task our site took on this school year.  What is a fluid system?  Teachers created what is known as a cover sheet for each course that breaks down exactly what the student needs to do to earn 5 credits and the cover sheet rubrics the entire course.  In weekly collaboration, our staff has constantly adjusted their curriculum in the effort of finding a sweet spot where the expectation is that students typically finish a 5 credit course every 6 to 10 weeks of study.  Join us for this session and where we will discuss, why the fluid system works,  how it has transformed the academics at our school, and why the fluid system makes better sense for a continuation school whose enrollment constantly changing.

Help motivate students and keep focused on the learning by implementing a stamp-based credit accrual system for all students, school wide. This system serves as a positive behavior intervention system, a consistent method of checking for understanding, and a motivator for students to stay focused on learning. While at once the system may seem simple, upon closer reflection it is a system that encourages self-direction and encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning and progress.

Join Santa Barbara Crystal Apple Winner, Glynda Maddaleno, to learn how anyone in any subject area can create a fun, exciting, and engaging environment that includes built-in differentiation, instant participation feedback, and can be used for any level of rigor. Come with an open mind and enthusiasm and leave with Interactive lessons and tools you can use in the classroom tomorrow!

Gateway High School has transformed its credit recovery program over to using an online course provider, Edgenuity. This has enabled our students the opportunity to access quality core courses, electives, and even world languages that they otherwise wouldn't be able to complete for graduation. We provide access to credentialed teachers 6 periods out of the day alongside Edgenuity courses. The courses provide robust standards-based instruction with a variety of tools that help the population of students we serve. Many of our students arrive with partial completion credits and Edgenuity provides the flexibility to customize courses to fulfill whatever they might need to meet graduation requirements. Students also have access to courses at home which helps increase opportunities. Edgenuity is used district-wide and as a district, we've increased our graduation rate for students a semester or more behind. This has a positive impact on graduation rates and meets the needs of all of our students.

Research and data continue to reinforce that a high quality education that includes the arts positively impacts students, including increased student engagement, achievement, attendance, and graduation rates. Join us in exploring how the arts can transform teaching and learning in the continuation school environment.

California statewide partners have joined together as the Create CA coalition to be solution partners with schools, districts and county offices to implement the state Education Code requirement for providing visual and performing arts instruction to all students. With one out of seven jobs in California now in the creative industries, the integration of the arts into a whole child curriculum has never been more urgent. The alignment with social/emotional priorities is impactful and exciting for school transformation. This interactive presentation will include a data walk, real strategies and next steps, as well as resources available to move forward with an integrated curriculum for all students. Planning partners include the California Department of Education, CCSESA (California County Superintendents Educational Services Association), California Alliance for Arts Education and the Alameda County Office of Education.

Valley High School in Escondido offers a Connections course once a day to all students enrolled. The Connections course is a trimester long course that can be repeated for elective credit.  The Connections class is intended to help students make the academic, career and college connections necessary to become successful in high school and post-secondary endeavors across interdisciplinary areas. The classroom and extended learning experiences will provide students with conceptual understanding and development in the following areas: goal setting, personal focus of responsibility, ownership of personal actions, decision making/problem solving, time management, organizational skills, critical thinking skills, communication skills, college/career readiness, financial literacy, computer skills, community service learning and development of a professional portfolio. Due to the developmental nature of the acquisition and mastery of all course components, this course is to be taught with fluidity which emphasizes skills in advancing levels of application which will include site adopted literacy routines aligned to both English Language Arts and College & Career Readiness Standards. Each unit of study is designed to foster student growth in content literacy (reading and writing).  All units are broken down to facilitate student participation in a required reading/writing activity two days per week.  Students may be enrolled in Connections up to two years and will continue to develop their skill, for a maximum of six trimesters of coursework. I intend to present on this course and how it can be adopted and modified to be taught in other continuation school settings. It can be a stand-alone curriculum or the literacy strategies can be applied across the content areas.

This interactive presentation offers practical creative writing techniques and strategies that are presently being used successfully with incarcerated and other underserved youth in the greater Sacramento area. Through supportive and non-threatening creative writing practices, teen writers learn the power of their stories, as they build writing fluency, and gain respect for the stories of others. A writing community develops that often extends beyond the classroom. The motivation to understand and use standard conventions of writing greatly increases as students strive to communicate their stories clearly. Creative writing students are motivated to improve their story-telling skills through increased vocabulary and through learning and practicing standard writing conventions. This in turn leads to greater motivation to read the work of others and to recognize what works for other writers. The non-threatening nature of these creative writing practices and the ongoing sharing of written stories leads to a sense of community and engagement.