Description:
The District has identified a need to create and support innovation in our high schools, improve high schools to more effectively meet student needs, and ensure all students leave high school adequately prepared for college, career, and life. A large and compelling body of research shows that literacy, numeracy, and other forms of content knowledge are but one ingredient in the recipe for success. Other, equally important ingredients include the ability to think creatively and solve problems, work with others, plan (and follow through), network, and work independently and responsibly. As such, research suggests students have a much greater likelihood of succeeding in college or the workplace. We need high schools that are designed expressly for this purpose, such as the Workshop School.
Project Based Learning, Inc. (PBLI) has provided professional and technical services for the Workshop School since 2013. The School District and PBLI worked together in the development and implementation of the Workshop School, which opened in September 2013. PBLI, a non-profit organization, is focused on supporting the academic goals of the Workshop School. By contracting with PBLI, the District will be able to clearly define autonomies within which the Workshop School may operate and simultaneously support the school model in accordance with those autonomies. Additionally, the contract will help to expand resources which will allow flexibility in the allocation and use of those resources in accordance with the Workshop School’s design and needs. This contract covers 100% of the services provided by PBLI in its operation of The Workshop School.
Anchor Goal 1 of the Action Plan states “100% of students will graduate ready for college and career”. Moreover, one of the goals for high schools as detailed in the High School Strategy Planning Process is to “ensure all students have access to grade-level content; ensure all students are engaged in rigorous coursework and compelling programs, including Career and Technical Education, AP and IB courses, and project-based learning. Contracting with PBLI will allow the Workshop School to continue to align learning experiences and design a curriculum around the skills students need to succeed in college and careers through academic autonomy.
The School District’s Office of New School Models/Innovation Network has primary responsibility for the evaluation of the Workshop School with the ongoing support of our District Performance Office (DPO). Through the implementation of this contract, the Office of New School Models/Innovation Network expects to see improvements with all five School Progress Report (SPR) Domains: Achievement, Progress, Climate, College & Career, and Educator Effectiveness year over year. As the Workshop School continues to improve, the following measures must be met:
● Attendance: At least 60% of Workshop School students will attend 95% or more of all school days. (Aligns with SDP goals.)
● Graduation: At least 90% of Workshop School students will graduate within five years. (Aligns with PA Future Ready).
● Achievement: At least 70% of Workshop School students will demonstrate growth in reading and mathematics, as measured by MAP Assessments (or a comparable interim assessment system) and/or Keystone exams.
While we recognize the importance of standard measures of school performance, it is also important to recognize that the Workshop School (and schools like it) emphasize a skill set that is very different from the content focus of traditional high schools, and that its ultimate goal is postsecondary success. As such, PBLI, in collaboration with the District, commits to working together over the life of the contract to identify a set of alternative measures of academic growth and achievement that more closely map to the school’s model and graduation requirements. Additionally, results from the SPR will allow us to use the indicators of student success to develop strategies, refine the model, and improve outcomes where needed.
The Workshop School must achieve an enrollment of 240 students for the 2020/2021 school year or the budget will be addressed at leveling. However, in order to address continued growth and sustainability, the District will make every reasonable effort to expand Workshop School’s enrollment to a total of 360 students. This will require additional or new space, which may be achieved by (1) identifying a site for a second campus or (2) relocating the school to a larger location. As part of this contract, PBLI will identify the facilities conditions needed for expansion, while the District will identify a list of possible expansion sites and create a budget for expansion/relocation. Once a suitable site has been identified, the parties will work together to create a timeline and budget for the expansion.