Essential Elements of Standards-Focused Middle-Level Schools and Programs

Addressing the

Essential Elements of Standards-Focused

Middle-Level Schools and Programs

Through Home and Career Skills

1.  A philosophy and mission that reflect the intellectual and developmental needs and characteristics of young adolescents…Its basic aims are to educate and nurture.

·        The Home and Career Skills course is based on the understanding that the ability to reason, to think critically and creatively, and to reflect on one’s actions, will empower students to act responsibly toward themselves, their families, their peers, and the larger society.

·        Basic to our mission is the understanding that as technology advances and societies change, the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and the desire for nurturing human relationships and satisfying work remain.

Section 100.4 (a) (2): Affirm present definition with suggested enhancement.

2.  An educational program that is comprehensive, challenging, purposeful, integrated, and standards-based.

·        The Home and Career Skills course is the vehicle used to directly deliver the NYS Learning Standards in Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) and Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS). (See NYSED website for complete content matrix document. The matrix is a crosswalk detailing the Home and Career Skills course objectives’ connection to the National FACS Standards and NYS Learning Standards in FACS and CDOS.)

·        Home and Career Skills is a skills-based curriculum. Students acquire and demonstrate communication, critical and creative thinking, leadership, and management skills that can be applied at home, in school, and in the workplace now and in the future.

·        The Home and Career Skills course affords all students multiple opportunities to read, write, and compute in the context of real-life situations that are relevant to early adolescents. Home and Career Skills projects show students the answer to the question, “Why do I have to know this?”

·        Middle-level FACS educators, under the leadership of SED’s Office of Assessment, have been developing scenarios to assess student mastery of intermediate FACS and CDOS Learning Standards.

o       Scenario assessments are comprehensive, challenging, purposeful, integrated, and standards-based.

o       Scenarios are real life situations for current or future role that pose a problem for the student to solve.

o       Scenarios require students to apply academics as they relate to Home and Career Skills and the situation of the scenario.

o       Scenarios require students to use technology as needed in problem solving.

o       NYS Scenario Assessment in Home and Career Skills has provided a national model for states to

assess their learning standards (Association of Career and Technical Educators National Conferences 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001)

Section 100.4 (b) (1) (vi): Affirm present curriculum scope with formal recognition of intermediate CDOS standards as an integral part of the Home and Career Skills course. Section 100.4 (d): Encourage FACS teachers to incorporate scenario assessment as part of their program evaluation to facilitate integration of ELA and MST Learning Standards. Scenario assessment in Home and Career Skills need not add to the burden imposed by the current eighth grade testing schedule.

3.  An organization and structure that support both academic excellence and personal development.

·        There are many ways to schedule the Home and Career Skills course to support the efforts of teaming (academic and/or unified arts teams).

·        The Home and Career Skills curriculum is comprehensive, and practice is needed in applying skills and concepts to daily living. The curriculum can be taught across grade levels (6, 7, and 8). FACS teachers identify the appropriate topics to be taught at each grade level and differentiate between the level and depth at which the concepts and skills can be taught. The maturity of the student affects the level and sophistication that can be achieved in meeting the objectives. The course should be taught over more than one grade level in order to allow student maturation and experiences related to their personal development (see NYS Home and Career Skills Curriculum pp. 5, 6).

·        Home and Career Skills programs offer connections with the community through service learning opportunities.

·        Experiential learning is a valuable component of Home and Career Skills (i.e. Project Adventure’s “Challenge by Choice”).

·        High-performing middle-level schools are currently meeting or exceeding the mandate.

Section 100.4 (b) (3): Affirm that Home and Career Skills course may be initiated, but not completed, in grade 6.

Section 100.4 (b) (2):  Encourage Home and Career Skills curriculum be delivered independently of other subjects.

4.  Classroom instruction appropriate to the needs and characteristics of young adolescents provided by skilled and knowledgeable teachers.

·        Students enrolled in Home and Career Skills are early adolescents. FACS teachers intensely study adolescent growth and development/developmental psychology as part of their undergraduate preparation. FACS teachers recognize the enormous range of individual differences in all areas of development. Home and Career Skills teachers deal with subject matter and issues that are personally relevant to students. They keep in mind significant changes of adolescence when planning, implementing, and evaluating the concepts and skills developed throughout the curriculum. (See Home and Career Skills curriculum Mod II [Personal Development] Topics I and II).

Section 100.4 (b) (2) (3): Affirm that Home and Career Skills be taught by individuals certified in Family and Consumer Sciences.

5.  Strong educational leadership and a building administration that encourages, facilitates, and sustains involvement, participation, and partnerships.

·        FACS teachers support building administrators by representing the ideals of their field on a multitude of committees and middle-level initiatives that are intended to improve student learning.

Section 80: Affirm that teachers and administrators working in middle-level are sufficiently skilled to fulfill their professional responsibilities.

6.  A network of academic and personal support available for students.

·        Home and Career Skills and academic programs are mutually supportive.  Home and Career Skills supports the achievement of academic standards for all students. The Home and Career Skills classroom affords hands-on, relevant, real-life applications of academic standards in a nurturing environment. Students in Home and Career Skills are provided the opportunity to experience success in attaining academic standards that they have had difficulty achieving in traditional academic settings. In addition, the integration of academic standards in our curriculum contributes to the ultimate goal of academic intervention services for many of our students.

·        Home and Career Skills classes consist of heterogeneously grouped students. A team approach is used in adapting instruction for various populations. (FACS teacher, special education teacher, school counselor, nurse, librarian, psychologist, etc.).

·        When students in need of academic intervention services are removed from Home and Career Skills, the students are being prevented from developing the intermediate component of the Career Plan (CDOS Learning Standard 1, 3a).

Section 100.4 (b) (4): Affirm that the “reduce-but-not-eliminate” provision is sufficient provided that a student is not prevented from achieving any State Learning Standards.

Section 100.4 (b) (4): Encourage a team approach for determining the subject(s) that can be reduced for a particular student. This decision should not be a burden on solely the principal.

7.  Professional training and staff development that are ongoing, planned, purposeful, and collaboratively developed.

·        Districts should encourage and support Home and Career Skills teachers’ attendance at professional training and staff development offerings in both middle-level and FACS initiatives.

·        Provide Home and Career Skills teachers with the technology needed to access web-based professional development (See AccelerateU.org).

Section 80: Affirm that staff development insures FACS teachers continue to develop and refine skills to fulfill their professional responsibilities.

Essential Elements of Standards-Focused Middle-Level Schools and Programs

Addressing the

Essential Elements of Standards-Focused

Middle-Level Schools and Programs

Through Health Education

1.  A philosophy and mission that reflect the intellectual and developmental needs and characteristics of young adolescents…Its basic aims are to educate and nurture.

·        New York State Health Education is based on six skills that create the foundation of happy and healthy adults:

o       Planning and goal setting skills

o       Refusal skills

o       Decision making skills

o       Advocacy skills

o       Communication skills

o       Self management skills

·        The ability to use these skills will empower students, when faced with choices, to choose health-improving and risk-reducing behaviors that impact themselves, their families, their peers, and the larger society.

·        New York State Health Education is strength-based. It focuses on working with students to decrease risk factors and increase protective factors (strengths).

2.  An educational program that is comprehensive, challenging, purposeful, integrated, and standards-based.

·        Skills-based health education is comprehensive. Six Guiding Principles are included in all skills-based health education. A skills-based health education curriculum must be

o       Standards driven

o       Research based

o       Skills based

o       Learner centered

o       Authentic

o       Strength based

·        Skills-based health education is challenging and purposeful.

o       Stressful, real-life situations are used in order for students to practice the essential skills.

·        Health Education is integrated.

o       Health Education affords all students multiple opportunities to read, write, and compute in the context of real-life situations that are relevant to early adolescents.

o       The skills that students acquire and demonstrate in Health Education classes can be applied at home, in school and in the workplace now and in the future.

o       Functional knowledge in the field of health education is integrated among the six skills.

Section 100.4 (b) (1) (viii): Affirm or revise to focus on skills-based curriculum scope.

Section 100.4 (d): Encourage Health Education teachers to evaluate their program for the integration of ELA and MST Learning Standards wherever possible.

3.  An organization and structure that support both academic excellence and personal development.

·        There are many ways to schedule the Health Education to support the efforts of teaming (academic and/or unified arts teams).

·        The Health Education curriculum is comprehensive, and practice is needed in applying skills and concepts to personal, family and community health issues. The curriculum can be taught across grade levels (6, 7, and 8). Health Education teachers identify the appropriate topics to be taught at each grade level and differentiate between the level and depth at which the concepts and skills can be taught. The maturity of the student affects the level and sophistication that can be achieved in meeting the objectives. The course should be taught over more than one grade level in order to allow student maturation and experiences related to their personal development.

·        Health Education programs offer connections with the community through the Comprehensive School Health model.

·        High-performing middle-level schools are currently meeting or exceeding the mandate.

Section 100.4 (b) (3): Affirm that Health Education may be initiated, but not completed, in grade 6.

Section 100.4 (b) (2):  Encourage Health Education curriculum be delivered independently of other subjects.

4.  Classroom instruction appropriate to the needs and characteristics of young adolescents provided by skilled and knowledgeable teachers.

·        Students enrolled in Health Education are early adolescents. Health Education teachers intensely study adolescent growth and development/developmental psychology as part of their undergraduate preparation. Health Education teachers recognize the enormous range of individual differences in all areas of development. Health Education teachers deal with subject matter and issues that are personally relevant to students. They keep in mind significant changes of adolescence when planning, implementing, and evaluating the concepts and skills developed throughout the curriculum.

Section 100.4 (b) (2) (3): Affirm that Health Education be taught by individuals certified in Health Education

5.  Strong educational leadership and a building administration that encourages, facilitate, and sustain involvement, participation, and partnerships.

·        Health Education teachers support building administrators by representing the ideals of their field on a multitude of committees and middle-level initiatives that are intended to improve student learning.

Section 80: Affirm that teachers and administrators working in middle-level are sufficiently skilled to fulfill their professional responsibilities.

6.  A network of academic and personal support available for students.

·        The NYS Comprehensive School Health Centers are team members for Positive Youth Development Initiatives (See Appendix D). Comprehensive School Health Centers provide education for health educators.

·        The Coordinated School Health model includes eight essential components or “partners”:

o       Health Education

o       Nutrition

o       Physical activity

o       Parent/community involvement

o       School nurse

o       Guidance and pupil services

o       School environment (including character Ed.)

o       Staff wellness

·        Health Education and academic programs are mutually supportive. Health Education supports the achievement of academic standards for all students. The Health Education classroom affords hands-on, relevant, real-life applications of health-enhancing and academic skills. In addition, the integration of academic standards in our curriculum contributes to the ultimate goal of academic intervention services for many of our students.

·        Students in Health Education are given the opportunity to improve their mental, physical, social and emotional health that, if not addressed, can create barriers to learning.

·        Health Education classes consist of heterogeneously grouped students. A team approach is used in adapting instruction for various populations. (Health Education teacher, special education teacher, school counselor, nurse, librarian, psychologist, etc.).

·        When students in need of academic intervention services are removed from Health Education class, the students are being prevented from developing the intermediate component of the Health Education Learning Standards and risk reduction skills.

Section 100.4 (b) (4): Affirm that the “reduce-but-not-eliminate” provision is sufficient provided that a student is not prevented from achieving any Learning Standards.

Section 100.4 (b) (4): Encourage a team approach for determining the subject(s) that can be reduced for a particular student. This decision should not be a burden on solely the principal.

7.  Professional training and staff development that is ongoing, planned, purposeful, and collaboratively developed.

·        Districts should encourage and support Health Education teachers’ attendance at professional training in both middle-level and Health Education initiatives.

·        (Comprehensive School Health Centers provide much professional training for health educators).

Section 80: Affirm that staff development insures that Health Education teachers continue to develop and refine skills to fulfill their professional responsibilities.