Dual Enrollment gives scholars the incredible opportunity to take college classes while they’re still in high school. And as you’ll hear, these scholars really do recognize the potential in this program. As 11th grader Eric says, “I would be a fool if I didn't take a college course next year, because one they're free and two, they help boost my GPA tremendously. They look amazing on college transcripts, because you look ambitious and just an overall go-getter.” 

So yes, the Reimagining the Alliance Educator pilot program greatly benefit the teachers by giving them double planning time from past years (in Mohan’s case), but it's clear that it's helping create a stronger sense of wellbeing for the kids as well. Mohan High School is seeing scholars becoming more excited about school, as their needs are met in new ways. Principal Andrew King tells us, “When you look at their research when it comes to dual enrollment, the reality is that there's so much benefit to students enrolled in dual enrollment classes for a variety of reasons. The first being that you immediately create a college going culture starting day one because they're not high school students anymore. They are college students. For those students that never thought they were going to be a college student, I constantly remind them, “But you are. You are a college student. You're taking college classes!” 

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As Executive Director “JT” Tiongco puts it, “If you have the enrollment, a strong budget and strong reserves, this is a no brainer.” For those schools still working on their budget, know that grants and other opportunities like Prop 28 are out there! Take a listen to episode 7 for more practical advice on how schools can afford these schedule and enrichment program changes.

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As teacher Caleb Klinger tells us, having 11 hours of weekly planning time has given him and his coworkers the opportunity to check in and connect with each other. They're now able to model self-care for their scholars.

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Now, Valera’s teachers are now able dig deeper into lessons without having to worry about also teaching an elective course with a whole different set of scholars. Yes, this meant hiring additional teachers, but as Executive Director “JT” Tiongco states, “That just led to greater benefits for our kids.” 

Valera’s goal is to get kids excited about coming back to school. No small feat, but the added enrichment and elective opportunities like art, STEM, health, robotics, as well as the camaraderie and connection of sports, is helping those kids, who may not be traditionally inspired by English or math, get excited about school. As Principal Erik Carlstone reminded us, "We often focus on academic rigor, but at the end of the day, what else is there and what else can the kid get excited about?”

In the first year of piloting the program, Valera has created a school environment where scholars feel more connected and that they belong. It's working not only socio-emotionally, but academically as well, as their initial iReady reports are showing their English language learners have already exceeded typical growth for the year.

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We’re back with the staff of Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 4. After testing a few different prototypes, they now give all their teachers a full remote planning day, every single week. They learned, through trial and error, that their planning time needs to have more structure than it did in the first semester they were piloting the program. Since then, their design team has made adjustments, changed how morning meetings are run, and give specific times for in-person collaboration. The staff continues to learn and pivot as needed, leveraging and refining everything from their planning time, to intellectual prep and student work analysis, always with a special focus on their most vulnerable scholars.

They also learned, as Principal Flores-Koops tells us, that co-planning helps ensure teachers are clear on how they’re going to co-facilitate a lesson, and that supporting new teachers through mentorship has been a useful strategy. It’s allowing educators to lead with greater intentionality, and collaborate closer with one another, allowing teachers to, feel “less rushed by time constraints, and more focused in the classroom."

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Erik Carlstone and Jonathan Tiongco, Principal and Executive Director of Valera, learned that the program's success wouldn't be as simple as telling teachers they have more time, and expecting everything to work out on its own. They've had to adjust their approach and put structure around the additional time. They also learned that their school needs to walk teachers through targeted training and intellectual prep that they provide. 

Now their teachers can complete their core responsibilities while not feeling rushed. Teachers report that they can prepare more engaging instructions and collaborate with their peers, to better address the needs of their scholars. As teacher Cynthia Cassandra, one of Valera’s math and integrated science teachers remarks, they can now, “Navigate this profession a lot easier, because they have support from their admin and from their teammates.”

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To make this redesigned schedule work, the school has to be intentional in every step, including hiring more teachers to make the shift work and to offset the balance in class size. They’re also expanding on-campus dual enrollment, giving their scholars the incredible opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school. 

As Principal Andrew King raves about the program, "It's going to give teachers the time to plan during the workday, and not feel compelled to have to sacrifice their loved ones, their time with their children, and their friends at home." He's also excited that, "we have the time to design more engaging classroom conversations and collaboration opportunities."

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Through the pilot program, Middle 4 implemented a 4+1 model, where teachers have one full day of structured planning time, as well as 2 or 3 separate planning blocks with clear deliverables, each week. In total, all teachers have roughly 11 hours of weekly planning time. To support the school’s goals of continuing to grow math outcomes, Middle 4 also launched an expanded math intervention program. 

This pilot program is about so much more than scholars getting an A or B on their report card. It's about preventing teacher burnout and giving them the time to do their job from a more refreshed position. Knowing that in the wake of the pandemic, there's been an increased need in our most vulnerable populations, the additional planning and collaboration time is helping teachers to be more effective in the classroom. Reimagining the Alliance Educator is making a real difference in the well-being of teachers AND scholars!

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