Portland Public Schools Certificate of Initial Mastery [CIM] Academy Summer School

Program

Portland Public Schools Certificate of Initial Mastery [CIM] Academy Summer School
513 SE 14th St.
Portland, OR 97215

Contact

Carrie Colombo, CIM Summer Academy Coordinator
Phone: 503/916-5840 ext. 359
Fax: 503/916-2714
E-mail: ccolombo@pps.k12.or.us

Information for this profile was compiled from interviews with PPS staff and from the PPS CIM Academy Summer School evaluation reports of 2001 (Suggs, 2001).

This is just one of many schools in Oregon that have developed programs to assist students with meeting standards. This program is one of the largest in the state, has operated for several years, and has publicly accessible evaluation data to indicate effectiveness.

CIM Summer Academy at a glance:

• Urban
• Grades 5-8
• Academic focus for students not meeting standards

Background

Portland Public Schools has offered a summer school program for grades five through eight for the last four years. The goal is to provide support for students who have not met state or district standards in mathematics, reading, or writing. For the summer of 2002, the school operated for 23 half-days in four middle schools. Each site has a principal and two head teachers, one for mathematics and one for language arts, with 52 teachers total (in the 2002 summer school). Each class has no more than 15 students. The 2001 summer school had a total of 876. The 2002 summer school had 746.

In Oregon, 10th-grade students receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery [CIM] if they achieve state content and performance standards. To measure their progress students in earlier grades take multiple-choice tests in mathematics and reading, are assessed in their performance of writing and mathematics problem solving, and complete writing, speaking, and mathematics work samples.

During the 1998-1999 school year the PPS district wanted to provide support for students in grades five and eight who were not yet meeting the standards. One such support was the creation of the CIM Academy summer school in the summer of 1999.

The 2002 school year marked the fourth year of the academy. PPS Research, Evaluation, and Assessment staff extensively evaluate the program each year, publish a report on findings, and make recommendations for the next year.

CIM Academy is funded with a combination of Title I, 21st CCLC funds, and Gear-Up grants. The program charges a nominal registration fee of $10-30 per student depending on the time of registration. Because of funding cutbacks, the program has been reduced 50 percent from last year; operating at only four middle schools instead of seven, operating costs were $305,000 for 2002. Total enrollment was limited to 720 students this year versus more than 1,000 last year. Colombo acknowledges that finding funding to continue the school will be a challenge.

The goals/learner outcomes for the 2002 summer program were focused and specific:

• Thirty percent of the CIM Academy students who are below state standards in reading as measured by the spring 2001 state or district assessment will move to a higher achievement category in literal and inferential comprehension based on a summer posttest.
• Thirty percent of the students who are below state standards in mathematics as measured by the spring 2001 assessment will move to a higher achievement categoryfroggerin calculations and estimations and algebraic relationships based on a summer posttest.
• Sixty percent of the students will complete a math work sample of calculations and estimations (sixth grade) or in algebraic relationships (seventh and eighth grade)
• Sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students will complete one writing work sample (either persuasive or narrative). Fifth-grade students will complete the writing work sample if there is time.

Other desired outcomes:

• 100 percent of students will get a public library card
• 100 percent of fifth-grade students will become competent in multiplication tables
• Students will be better prepared for middle or high school due to the learning gap being bridged between June and September and retention will be higher
• Students, staff, and families will complete reflection papers at the end of summer school

Programming

The mathematics curriculum is focused on calculations, estimations, and algebraic relationships. Students also practice problem solving and communication for preparation in creating math work samples. Although the curriculum may seem rather prescriptive the teachers make the lessons as interesting as possible by having hands-on learning activities. Students work on projects in groups and individually. The curriculum is aligned to the standards requirements and is aligned to the math curriculum of the regular school year.

The literature curriculum is focused on inferential and literal comprehension. Lesson plans emphasize cooperative learning, with literature that would be interesting to the students selected by reading specialists and teachers. The students also practice writing work samples.

A calendar is developed during the planning process that clearly outlines the lesson goals for that day. For example, the lessons for the second day are object solving, and diagrams and sketches. A pretest is given to students. On Days 21 and 22 children are given a posttest on what they have learned during the previous 20 days.

Community and Family Involvement

In the spring parents receive information about the program, which is promoted as offering smaller classes and individualized instruction for struggling students. Colombo has heard many comments from community members who have been very excited about this opportunity for their children.

The Thursday before the summer session begins, the teachers meet with each student and family members to go over the teacher expectations for the student and the parents' expectations for the student. Students are expected to attend class every day; parents and children must sign a statement that if the student misses more than two unexcused days, they will be dropped from the program. Says Colombo, " We emphasize to parents the need to commit to every day—don't take your family vacation during this time." The discipline policy is clearly outlined at this meeting as well. Both families and staff have commented that these goal conferences are important to determine each student's individual learning needs.

Parents are surveyed to determine if the program met their expectations. The majority of parents have indicated that the summer program has been beneficial to their children's academic progress.

Evaluation and Outcomes

Evaluation reports are available for each year the program has been in session. The data from 2001 indicate that students have shown more improvement than in previous years. "In terms of mean RIT gain, students in all four grade levels and in all four goal areas demonstrated statistically significant growth from the pre- to posttest" (Suggs, 2001, p. 23).

Overall, students showed the greatest achievement growth in mathematics. The data show that students who exceeded, met, or nearly met standards on a pretest benefited the most from the mathematics curriculum. The reading curriculum, on the other hand, most benefited the lower-achieving students and provided less benefit to the highest achievers.

Colombo is busy comparing scores from last year's summer school with spring 2002 test scores and will have a report later in 2002. She cautions that test scores are not the only indicators of success and do not show the gains children make in their confidence and in building relationships with teachers and each other. "Children have much more positive feelings about academics. They think school can actually be fun!" Clearly, the smaller class size has been very beneficial. With budget cuts in Portland Public Schools increasing regular school year class size to 30, summer school is an opportunity for struggling students to receive individualized instruction. English Language Learners especially gain much from this attention, says Colombo. Students and staff also reflect that smaller class size helped the students foster relationships with the teachers, and reduce behavioral issues. Fortunately, many of these teachers teach in the middle schools during the school year. And most teachers return to teach summer school year after year.

Some student comments from selected reflection papers indicate the benefits they have received from the program:

• In math I never learned how to do ratios that would always get me a bad grade, but now I know how to do it quickly.
• The program has helped me "get a bit more ready for high school...math."
• The best thing about summer school was learning. I think I learned more in one month of summer school than I ever learned in nine months of school....I liked that the classes were smaller (Suggs, 2001, p. 68).

Teachers also reflected on their experiences. Teachers indicated that the most positive experiences about the program were the support of the school administrative staff, teaching small classes, and the other teachers.

Next year some adjustments will be made based on Colombo's observations and the recommendations from the evaluation report. In particular, Colombo wants to add an advanced mathematics section, organize a language arts calendar, and reduce the amount of diagnostic testing. The evaluator recommended that the program continue to be evaluated every year, continue to focus on strengthening the skills of the lowest-achieving students, and determine why mathematics performance increased and use that information to make improvements to the reading curriculum to increase reading performance.

In spite of budget cuts that make it challenging to continue the program, staff and parents hope it will survive, especially Colombo, who advocates strongly for supporting the students who most need assistance. Her enthusiasm for the program shows as she talks animatedly about the marked increase in student's reading and math skills, their interest in school, and improved behavior. She reports that the 2002 program had a higher enrollment than expected, and higher daily attendance than the previous year. Says Colombo, "This program really is a service to the community and to the families—providing a safe, fun, learning experience for students in the summer."