MEMBER PROFILE: North Lawndale College Prep

1615 S. Spaulding Ave., Chicago
(773) 542 1490
www.nlcphs.org
Contact: John Horan, Dean of Students

Since its opening in 1998, North Lawndale College Preparatory Charter High School (NLCP) has dedicated itself to providing the youth of North Lawndale with “a new and different educational opportunity to prepare for the rigors of college.” NLCP couples a traditional college prep curriculum with a strong programmatic emphasis on community service and youth development. The school draws a majority of its students from the surrounding community; two-thirds come from North Lawndale Proper and one-third is predominantly from Chicago’s West Side. NLCP continually strives to answer the following two questions: 1) How can a high school best prepare its students for college? and 2) How does one cultivate a culture of achievement and success within a school (particularly among African American and Latino males)?

SCHOOL STATISTICS:

Back to top

SIGNATURE PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES:

• Phoenix Rising - A summer program that connects students with a diverse set of academic, leadership, and enrichment opportunities. View the Phoenix Rising PDF
• Minority Men Exceeding the Norm (M²EN) – Alliance in-depth project aimed at improving the academic achievement of African American and Latino male students. Developed during spring semester, 2005. View the M2EN PDF
• 5-Year Class Counselors – A student advising system that assigns a counselor to each incoming class, to follow those students through high school and into their first year after graduation.
• Three-Dean Governance Structure - NLCP is led not by a single principal, but instead by three administrators: Dean of Academics, Dean of Students, and Dean of Operations.
• Academic Rigor Committee – A group of faculty members is looking into the question, “what does academic rigor look like?” This committee visits “best practice” schools in the city and across the country, and receives feedback from NLCP faculty peer reviews and outside educational experts.
• Interdisciplinary Math and Science Curriculum - Beginning in the fall of 2005, the science and math departments have merged into one department.
• Intersession – Once or twice a year, classes are replaced by three to five days of unconventional experiential learning in areas such as law, dance, and music composition. (This program is on hold for the 05-06 school year pending further inquiry into its long-term sustainability and efficacy)

Back to top

CALENDAR AND SCHEDULING

Schedule: 2004-05 featured seven 50-minute periods. 2005/2006 schedule has six academic periods, 55 minutes each, with a 30-minute advisory period at the end of the day. Wednesday classes end at 1:30, leaving teachers 2 hours for professional development.

Test-Prep Wednesdays: For eight weeks leading up to the PSAE (Prairie State Achievement Examination), each Wednesday is converted into a block schedule with 2.5 hours of math instruction and 2.5 hours of reading instruction.

Back to top

ACADEMICS

Curriculum: All students take courses in Humanities (English and Social Studies), Science, Math, Foreign Language (Spanish), Fine Arts, Health and Physical Fitness, Public Speaking, Computers, and College Prep.
Notably, beginning in the fall of 2005, the science and math department merged into one department.

Graduation Requirements: 27 credits are required for the class of 2006; 28 for the class of 2007. The College Prep Dept. offers mandatory college prep classes at every grade level. View the NLCP College Prep PDF

To fulfill the College Prep requirement students must pass a public speaking assessment in their junior year, and a senior research project in their senior year. Each senior must complete research in an area of interest and present his or her "Senior Project" in the form of a research paper, a tangible project and an oral defense before a panel of outside experts.

Programs/Practices of Note:

• Read 180 Program: This intensive reading program (from Scholastic, Inc.) designed to bring students up to grade level supplements NLCP’s efforts to integrate better reading and writing instruction into all course offerings.
• Advanced Placement and Honors Classes: AP and Honors classes are offered in English (both Literature and Language), Art, Government, Physics, Environmental Science, and Calculus. NLCP hopes to eventually have multiple AP offerings in all subject areas. Students may earn college credit by: 1) taking the AP courses offered, or 2) participating in College Bridge, a program in which students complete college-level courses at DePaul and UIC. College Bridge participants must be recommended by their teacher. 32 juniors and seniors participated in the 04-05 school year.
• Saturday Achievement, Challenge, Enrichment (A.C.E.) Program: This new Saturday educational enrichment program offers students a creative outlet and an opportunity to explore a range of interests by enrolling in different courses. While A.C.E. courses are not a substitution for the regular school curriculum, students may earn credit towards graduation. Courses extend for a six-week period and meet on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Interdisciplinary Math & Science Curriculum: The science and math departments have merged in order to encourage student understanding of math and science concepts. Through this interdisciplinary approach, students are able to use their problem solving skills and apply the math concepts they are learning in their math classes to their science units.

Back to top

STUDENT ASSESSMENT

Grades and Progress Reporting: NLCP has eliminated the grade of D; students earning a D have not mastered the material sufficiently. Grades are entered into the PowerSchool computerized record system for online viewing by students, parents, and teachers. Official student progress reports are sent home every six weeks. The first progress report of every semester is “mandatory pick-up”, requiring parents to meet with their child’s teacher.

In-School Assessment: Tests are designed by teachers and geared toward engaging students in “higher-order thinking.” Diagnostic tests are administered to incoming freshmen in the spring before their 8th grade graduation.

Standardized Testing: While NLCP recognizes its numbers as far below the state average, they believe these do not accurately represent their progress with lower performing students: In 2003-2004 alone, 32% of NLCP students moved out of the bottom quartile, and average student performance increased 1.4 points in reading and 1.2 points in math.

Back to top

STUDENT CULTURE

Philosophy: To create a school culture that prepares young people from under-resourced communities for graduation from high school with the academic skills and personal resilience necessary for successful completion of college. Such a culture continuously recognizes and rewards students for success and acts of leadership. Specific individual and community goals and expectations are outlined in the Phoenix Creed. View supplementary info

Methods for Fostering School Culture: To prevent/counteract apathy and individualism, NLCP invests heavily in providing structure and incentives for student achievement.

• Dress code – Students are required to wear collared shirts, khakis and solid dark shoes (men must also wear ties).
• "Consecutive days of peace" – The number of consecutive days of peace within the school community is counted and celebrated with school-wide rewards and incentives.
• "Phoenix Bucks" – Faculty award students who exhibit acts of leadership and school spirit with slips of “Phoenix Bucks,” currency that can buy various prizes in school (hats, t-shirts, etc.) A student who earns enough "Phoenix Bucks," may even buy his or her way out of detention. View Phoenix Buck PDF
• Biannual Honors Convocation – At this event, faculty members wear full academic regalia. Students earn "honor sweaters" for placing on the NLCP honor roll and are awarded academic prizes sponsored by colleges from across the country
• "College Hall of Fame" – Displays the banners of the colleges attended by NLCP graduates.

Programmatic Approaches to Increasing Student Achievement:

• 5-Year Class Counselors: Counselors assigned to a class for five years have enough time and contact with students and their families to identify obstacles to student achievement and college matriculation both inside and outside the classroom.
• Phoenix Rising: Students participate in summer internships, college enrichment programs, and leadership development programs (often located on college campuses). The program’s dual purpose is to strengthen a student’s interest in higher education and to build the student’s application portfolio with meaningful work/internship experience (sharpening the students' "competitive edge"). Over 180 students participated in the program during the summer of 2005. View Phoenix Rising Description
• Freshmen Orientation Academy: Begun in the summer of 2004, all incoming freshmen attend a two week "orientation academy". During the first week, students spend 6 hours a day with counselors, discussing transition to high school and preparing for college. The second week is focused on intensive academic work. During this second week, all other grades participate in orientation retreats.
• Homework Hub Club: Mandatory Saturday school program, launched in the fall of 2005, that provides students who are failing two or more courses with the environment and teacher support they need to attain higher achievement. Eligible students and their parents are contacted directly by the school administration about participation in the Hub Club program. Only after a significant improvement in their grades will a student in the Hub Club be allowed to discontinue attendance.
• Educational Talent Search Program: A joint effort with National Louis University, this skill building program is geared towards helping groups of 6 students who need additional assistance with their reading, grammar, science, and math skills. During spring exams students' critical and processing skills are assessed. After the assessment prospective students and their parents are contacted and students are grouped into cohorts. Cohort group sessions are held Wednesday's after school or Saturdays and run for four or six weeks.

Male Achievement - Minority Men Exceeding the Norm (M2EN): This new selective program started as NLCP’s in-depth Alliance project in 2005. It identifies leadership, achievement, and care for the community as key characteristics of “a man,” and provides a unique structure of support and incentive for the boys of NLCP to uphold these principles in school and at home. While there is anecdotal evidence of the program’s effectiveness, more formal observation of outcomes is being conducted during the 2005-06 academic year. View the Minority Men brochure

• Borrowing the structure of some Black fraternal college organizations, the program organizes its members into "houses." Each house is awarded “points” for members’ leadership and academic excellence (and penalized points for poor grades or disciplinary actions taken).
• Students are exposed to a culture of male academic achievement during a week-long retreat to Morehouse College which will be an annual M2EN event.
• A group of female students at NLCP has formed with the goal of supporting male achievement. The group considers such support a vital part of ensuring the strength and diversity of the communities of color at the colleges and graduate schools these young women hope to attend.

Back to top

TEACHERS AND STAFF

Governance - Three-Dean Governance Structure & Department Chairs: NLCP does not have one principal. Instead, administrative duties are distributed amongst a Dean of Students, a Dean of Academics, and a Dean of Operations. This model allows for greater efficiency, as well as more individual attention to student and staff needs. The administration identifies experienced and talented teachers who exhibit leadership potential, and appoints these teachers as Department Chairs.

Professional Development: The two weeks before and after the school year are used for Professional Development (PD) and curriculum planning. During the school year, teachers are given one departmental prep period per week, and 2 hours for planning and PD every Wednesday afternoon.

Specific PD goals for 05-06 include: increasing student efficacy, improving math instruction, using student work to improve teaching, and creating a definition of "academic rigor."

NLCP has focused for the past three years on integrating strong reading and writing practices across the curriculum. This year, National Louis University helped improve math instruction, resulting in more intensive tutoring for freshmen. General curricular goals for 05-06 also include aligning curriculum with the Prairie State and ACT standards, the National Standards for Success, and the AP curriculum standards.

A committee of NLCP faculty is investigating the question, "What does academic rigor look like?" and has visited other schools in the community and across the country.

The Dean of Academics and department heads meet one-on-one with teachers to set personal teaching goals with faculty members.

Teacher Evaluation: The three deans conduct official teacher evaluations twice a year (October and May). Evaluators use a chart and rating scale to give a numerical rating from 0 to 5 (5 being "outstanding").

Unofficial observations and evaluations are conducted regularly by the Dean of Academics and department heads.

Staff Culture:

• Teachers operate under an eleven-month contract.
• 65% of Teachers are Racial/Ethnic Minorities
• Each year the administration and faculty craft 12-15 school-wide performance objectives in the areas of academic performance, student persistence and stability, attendance, graduation rates, post-graduation activity, special education integration, parent satisfaction, etc. For each goal achieved, budget funds are placed in a "bonus pot." At the end of the year this money is distributed to the faculty in the form of salary bonuses. The size of the bonus is determined by the numerical rating received during teacher evaluation.

Back to top

PARENT AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

PowerSchool Software: computer program that allows families real-time access to student performance, 24 hours a day.

Parent Academy: In the fall of 2005 NLCP began a program for parents to attend or teach after school or Saturday classes at NLCP. Additionally, through the Parent Academy, parents are able to learn about volunteering and chaperoning experiences that are available.

Back to top

EFFORTS THAT DIDN’T SUCCEED

• An attempt at in-school suspensions proved unsuccessful for NLCP. The Dean of Students cautions that when a student needs to be temporarily removed from a school community, his or her continued presence at school can often prove problematic and unfruitful for both the student and the community.
• An idea for "student offices" with professional work space (complete with desks, phones, and computers) proved unsuccessful when exorbitant phone bills and calls to inappropriate numbers revealed that student discipline and maturity had been overestimated.

Back to top

HELPFUL RESOURCES

• University of Missouri Correspondence Course (for comprehensive coursework to help students make up credits when falling behind).
• Ron Ferguson, J.F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard U., Minority Student Achievement Network (for issues pertaining to the achievement gap for African-American students)
• PowerSchool (for online student records)

Back to top

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Pheonix Creed

Personal Responsibility
· Bring all learning tools to class.
· Dress in uniform all day, every day.
· Take responsibility for your actions.

Heroism
· Take initiative - come early and stay late.
· Report unusual and inappropriate behavior to adults.
· Show confidence in class - Participate!

Opportunities for Community
· Contribute to the community by caring and sharing.
· Keep the environment clean.
· Join an extracurricular activity.

Effort
· Submit only the very best work.
· Engage in study groups.
· Seek help when needed.

New Leaders
· Participate in student government.
· Organize a club/extracurricular activity.
· Rise above negative peer pressure.

Ideas
· Read! Read! Read!
· Ask questions to seek clarity.
· Respect all other opinions, (you don't have to agree).

X-cellence
· Believe in yourself - You can do it!
· Prepare for success in college.
· Know and live the meaning of the P.H.O.E.N.I.X.

Back to top