Ras5yrpk-12graduationplan 11 11 2016

DRAFT
Birth - 12
Graduation Plan
2016 - 2021
Dr. Carlton D. Jenkins, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Timothy Gadson III, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Curriculum and Schools
Birth 12 Graduation Plan
Birth - Pre-kindergarten
Plan
December 29, 2016 Page | 2

Focus on policy and innovation.
Aligns to Goal 1: Implement Policies and Practices that Open Pathways to Academic
Excellence for All Students
Explore opportunities and continue lobbying efforts for additional state funding to
expand Pre-kindergarten for all 4 year olds in Robbinsdale Area Schools.
Increase working relationships with center-based daycare centers and in-home
daycare for kindergarten readiness alignment and best practices in Early Childhood.
Increase touch points through education, services and support for all families with
children birth - kindergarten in Robbinsdale Area Schools. (Ex: classes, home visits,
events)
Establish Robbinsdale Area Schools Early Childhood as the hub for training and
services for other providers and families.
Develop strong family engagement.
Aligns to Unified District Vision Goal #3: Engage Family and Community Members as
Partners
Provide parent education through weekly classes both at schools and at apartment
complexes, evening events, home visits, hospital visits, library events and online
communications.
Conduct weekly conferences with parents at parent pickup time.
Hold regularly scheduled Get Ready for Kindergarten events to help parents navigate
the transition into kindergarten, both in-person and virtually.
Develop a district support plan to assist families and/or students in crisis.
Focus on collecting and monitoring accurate data.
Aligns with Unified District Vision Goals #1 and #3: Implement Policies and Practices that
Open Pathways to Academic Excellence for All Students and Utilize culturally responsive
teaching and personalized learning for all students
Collect and monitor T.S. Gold data for assessments of 3 and 4 year old student
achievement in the domains of social/emotional, mathematics, language and literacy.
Collaborate with Early Childhood Special Education to identify students with academic,
social/emotional and physical needs.
Monitor Behavior Intervention Reports (BIR) for strategies to support the healthy
development of children.

Identify at risk students based on academics and behavior (intervene early).

Use common formative and summative assessment data to make instructional decisions.
Focus attention on the Early Childhood to kindergarten transition.
Aligns with Unified District Vision Goal #1: Implement Policies and Practices that Open
Pathways to Academic Excellence for All Students
Form a kindergarten readiness committee to clearly define the meaning and criteria for
kindergarten readiness in Robbinsdale Area Schools.
Continue the Get Ready for K initiative by giving resources to parents to use at home
with children
Construct a database of parents in the district and provide them with information and
direction via email about everyday experiences they can provide for their children to
help prepare them for kindergarten.
Foster the smooth transition between preschool and kindergarten by providing
opportunities for preschool and kindergarten teachers to collaborate and observe each
others classes.
Continue the work of aligning curriculum and assessment from birth through 3rd grade.
Require all students to complete a rigorous academic core program.
Offer Pre-kindergarten - kindergarten literacy program with emphasis on:

o alphabet knowledge;
o phonological awareness;
o rapid naming of letters or digits;
o rapid naming of sets of pictures of objects or colors;
o writing letters or name;
o phonological memory;
o knowledge of print conventions and concepts;
o print knowledge a combination of alphabet knowledge, an understanding of print,
and early decoding;
o reading readiness including alphabet knowledge, an understanding of print,
vocabulary, memory, and phonological awareness; oral language; and the ability
to distinguish visually presented symbols.
Implement mathematics program pre-kindergarten through second grade, that fosters in
students a mathematical foundation by building upon beliefs about what mathematics is

and what it means to understand and engage in mathematics. Emphasis should be placed
on helping students to understand patterns and measurement and develop a solid
understanding of the numeration system.
Engage students in an inquiry-oriented science program that include labs and the use of
technology.
Offer visual and performing arts, physical education, health, social and emotional
learning, all to balance students learning experience and to focus on the whole child.
Create common formative assessments and end of quarter summative exams that allow
teachers to determine whether students have mastered key academic standard.
Provide additional academic supports at each site both within and outside of the school
day for those students who have not yet mastered grade level standards, including
learning labs and tutoring.
Aligns with Unified District Vision Goals #1 and #3: Implement Policies and Practices
that Open Pathways to Academic Excellence for All Students and Utilize culturally
responsive teaching and personalized learning for all students
Offer students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of developmentally

appropriate standards.
Provide students with special tutoring from qualified personnel and/or
providers before and after school or on Saturdays to help them demonstrate mastery
of grade level standards.
Provide ongoing assessment of students progress to monitor their learning and offer
strategic intervention and additional support to students not yet demonstrating
mastery of academic standards during regular scheduled intervals so they do not fall
too far behind.
Provide acceleration and additional academic resources for students identified in
need of these supports.

Elementary School Plan

Focus on policy and innovation.
Investigate possibilities to offer global language learning experiences for elementary

students.
Increase opportunities for native language and literacy development for our
Spanish-speaking students.
Develop a Spanish Dual Immersion program at an existing elementary school. (This
would complement the existing one-way immersion program at Robbinsdale Spanish
Immersion).
Explore the possibility of adding school counselors at the elementary level to help teach
and lead the social emotional learning curriculum implementation along with active and
timely response to crisis,
Develop strong family engagement.
Partners
There is considerable evidence that supports the importance of family engagement and
involvement in the students elementary experiences, including pre-kindergarten. Likewise,
there is an emergent body of intervention reviews that validate research which suggests that
engaging families in decisions and academic planning can be strengthened with positive
outcomes on the success of students and their schools. To realize these positive results, it is
essential for us to match students developmental needs, parental expectations, engagement
practices, and district/school expectations to get our families involved.
Hold regular meetings, at a minimum of two times per school year, involving students,
parents, teachers and administrators to plan and discuss students academic programs and
progress.. Increase language access (interpreters and translations) and outreach to
engage our multilingual families.
Facilitate discussions with parents about ways they can get and remain involved in their
childrens educational experiences and support the school.
Provide information to parents about instructional/intervention/support program options
for students.
Build effective home school relationships between families and schools by building on
the strengths our students and families bring to our district and embrace parents as
academic partners.

Develop brief What to Expect videos in multiple languages for parents so they know
details that are typically only known by parents with older children. Publish these videos
through Schoology and school websites at timelines congruent with need (e.g. what to
expect for conferences published 10-days prior to conferences)
Provide learning activities that parents can complete with their children which
demonstrate an understanding that the home and community promote students learning
and skills development.
Create parent/community centers at each elementary school to serve as an information
hub for parents, students and community stakeholders, which will disseminate
information and coordinate parent engagement efforts.
Overhaul the Robbinsdale Area Schools elementary report card and approach to
teacher-parent conferences to better inform parents of students progress and mastery of
state standards.
Collaborate with Research, Evaluation and Assessment to identify students in the lowest
35% for literacy and mathematics intervention and targeted services.
Monitor students academic progress and grade level proficiency on content area
standards at each school on a quarterly basis.
Monitor student discipline data on a monthly basis and implement strategies to reduce
referrals and suspension.
Identify at-risk students based on academics, attendance, and attitude (behavior) A3,
intervene early and sustain intervention until it is no longer needed.
Focus attention on the elementary school to middle school transition.
Transitioning to middle school is an adjustment for which elementary students must be prepared
early. It is important to note that middle school is not the same as elementary school.
Correspondingly, fifth graders must be readied psychologically for schooling that will take place
in a much larger facility with many more people. They will enter middle school after being at
the top of the hierarchy of students and move to the bottom in sixth grade. The increase in the

number of students and being in the lowest grade can cause an entering sixth grader to feel
overwhelmed. Understanding this, a key indicator of a successful middle school experience is a
positive transition from elementary school.
A positive transition from elementary school to middle school is a key predictor of a successful
middle school experience. Incoming sixth graders to Plymouth, Robbinsdale, and Sandburg
middle schools will experience learning in a much larger facility. All incoming 6th graders
experience more frequent transitions, in the presence of many more students, and lead by
multiple teachers. Without preparation and support, this increase in scale can create anxiety for
some students entering sixth grade. . With that in mind, fifth graders will be readied for
differences they will experience in grade six and sixth graders will be supported as needed until
they acclimate to middle school.
Host dialogue sessions to allow parents and students to learn about each middle school
program and ask questions.
Schedule a meet for middle school counselors and 5th grade teachers to discuss the
middle school registration and information process.
Collaborate with middle school staff to provide information to fifth grade students and
families, including sixth grade courses, registration process, co-curricular opportunities,
etc.
Schedule opportunities for fifth grade students and families to visit their assigned middle
school prior to the start of sixth grade. This includes the annual 5th grade to 6th grade
Parent Information Night hosted in January.
Purposefully use WEB and Advisory to support new sixth graders in the transition.
Provide opportunities for 5th and 6th grade teachers to plan intentional vertical alignment
and matriculation
We will raise both academic achievement and middle school readiness rates by engaging
students in rigorous core academic instruction and special programs that will prepare them for
middle schools and lay the foundation for college and career readiness. Our work will be
purposeful to ensure students understand that college and successful entry into high-paying
career fields is possible. Actions that we will take include:
Align all academic content to grade level Minnesota Academic Standards.

Assess all entering kindergarten students for kindergarten readiness.

Ensure students in grades K-2 score at a level associated with readiness/proficiency in

reading.
Ensure students in grades 3-5 meet or exceed mastery on all MCA assessments.
Integrate academic language development in all content areas.
Offer a cohesive and aligned PK-K literacy program with emphasis on:
o alphabet knowledge;
o phonological awareness;
o letter naming and letter sound fluency;
o listening and reading comprehension;
o writing letters or name;
o phonological memory;
o knowledge of print conventions and concepts;
o early decoding skills;
o oral language; and
o the ability to distinguish visually presented symbols.
Offer a structured balanced literacy program K-5 based upon the Daily 5/CAFE
framework and the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model that includes the following
components:
o Focused and explicit whole group, small group and 1:1 instruction based upon
best-practice strategies and Minnesota English Language Arts Academic
Standards
o Daily opportunities for student self-selected reading and writing
o Daily teacher read alouds using think alouds
o Multiple assessment measures, both formal and informal, including:
Universal screening tools;
Diagnostic assessments (e.g., Developmental Reading Assessment);
Common formative assessments;
Quarterly common summative assessments;
1:1 conferring observations.
Offer a cohesive and aligned PK-5 mathematics program that develops students
understanding of concepts and procedures through the use of the following research
based effective mathematics teaching practices1 :
o Establish mathematics goals to focus learning;.
o Implement tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving;
o Use and connect mathematical representations;
o Facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse;
o Pose purposeful questions;
o Build procedural fluency from conceptual understanding;
o Support productive struggle in learning mathematics;
o Elicit and use evidence of student thinking.
1
Principles to Actions, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2014

Engage students in an inquiry-oriented science program based on research based

effective practices for science and engineering2 the include:
o Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering);
o Developing and using models;
o Planning and carrying out investigations;
o Analyzing and interpreting data;
o Using mathematics and computational thinking;
o Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering);
o Engaging in argument from evidence;
o Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
Implement social studies instruction that helps students to understand, participate in, and
make informed decisions about their world. There should be emphasis placed on civics,
economics, geography, and history.
Offer visual and performing arts, physical education, health, social and emotional
learning, all to balance students learning experience and to focus on the whole child.
Engage students, PK - 5, in career and college exploration lessons.
Create common formative assessments and end of quarter summative exams that allow
teachers to determine whether students have mastered key academic standards.
Provide additional academic supports at each school site both within and outside of the
school day for those students who have not yet mastered grade level standards,
including learning labs, tutoring and Targeted Services.
In order to improve students academic performance and ensure students transition to middle
school at or above grade level, we must offer extended learning opportunities
Offer students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of grade level

standards.
Provide students with special tutoring from qualified personnel and/or providers
before and after school or on Saturdays to help them demonstrate mastery of grade
level standards.
Provide after school or Saturday academic English language development
opportunities for students just beginning to learn English using a project-based
learning approach or other innovative practices.
2
A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas, National Academy of
Sciences., 2012

Assess students at three week intervals to monitor their learning and offer strategic
intervention and additional support to students who are not yet demonstrating
mastery of academic standards during these intervals to ensure early intervention.
Provide acceleration, Targeted Services and additional academic resources for
students identified in need of these supports.

Middle School Plan

Focus on promotion/retention policy, flexibility and innovative educational alternative.
Explore the creation of Robbinsdale Area Virtual Academy (RAVA) that will allow
students to co-enroll for high school credit courses not offered on middle school
campuses.
Explore policy establishing a numerical score of 50% as the floor for a failing grade.
Investigate the possibility of offering global languages for all middle school
students.
Request change in policy for middle school students who take approved high school
courses and pass district standards-based course assessments to receive high school
core credit toward graduation for select high school courses.
Work with Highview, Adult Basic Education Program and Community/Technical
Colleges to design a comprehensive and cohesive program of study as a pathway to
college or career for high school English Learners who are long-term learners or
newcomers.
Develop a strong family engagement strategy.
Partners
Research makes clear that family engagement often decreases as students transition from
elementary school to middle and then to high school. However, research studies also show that
parents maintain a significant and positive influence on students choices and academic
achievement. Understanding this, we must engage and empower parents as academic partners to
ensure students success and improve their overall academic achievement. Therefore, we will:
Hold regular meetings, at a minimum of three times per school year, involving students,
parents, teachers, counselors and administrators to plan students academic and career
interest programs. Infinite Campus will be used to document meetings;
Facilitate discussions with parents and students about the value of experiences such as
engagement in civic groups and co-curricular activities and in the learning process,
including joint participation by parents and students. Infinite Campus will be used to
document discussions;
Provide information to parents about instructional/support program options, test
schedules, soft skills, and career interests in alignment with the legislative mandate that

each students have a personal learning plan or Individual Learning Plan (ILP),
Robbinsdale Area Schools;
Establish and maintain parent/community centers at each middle school to serve as an
information hub for parents, students and community stakeholders, which will
disseminate information and coordinate parent engagement efforts; and
Revise the Robbinsdale Area Schools middle school report card to better inform parents
of students progress toward meeting course standards.
Develop brief What to Expect videos for parents so they can know details that are
typically only known to parents with older children. Publish these videos through
Schoology and school websites at timelines congruent with need (e.g. what to expect for
conferences published 10-days prior to conferences)
On all documents that communicate standardized test results to parents, we will connect
standardized scores that parents are less familiar (e.g. MAP, MCA) to standardized
scores which parents are more familiar (e.g. ACT).
35% for targeted literacy and mathematics intervention.
Require middle school counselors to create and update students Individual Learning
Plans.
Work with Technology to monitor the creation and updates to Individual Learning Plans.
Monitor quarterly and semester failure reports at each school.
Monitor quarterly unit recovery completion rates.
Monitor monthly discipline (e.g. suspension) reports and implement strategies to reduce
suspension.
Identify at-risk students based on academics, attendance, and attitude (behavior) A3,
intervene early and sustain intervention until it is no longer needed.

Focus attention on the elementary to middle school transition and the middle school to
high school transition.
A smooth transition from elementary to middle school is just as important as the transition from
middle school to high school. Both transition periods are vital to students social and academic
success. The old saying the way you start is the way you finish, is so apropos to stress the
importance of these times. Middle school staff must collaborate with elementary and high
school staffs to ensure fifth graders and eighth graders easily transition and acclimate to their
new learning environments. Hence, we will:
Ensure each middle school has an effective sixth grade transition program including an
advisory period.
Use WEB and advisory to support new sixth graders in the transition.
Assign all sixth graders adult mentors to advise them throughout middle school, assist
them and their parents in setting career and education goals, and help find the necessary
assistance they need to meet high school course standards.
Provide middle school transition lessons as an integral part of 6th grade advisory.
Attend dialog sessions to allow parents and students to hear specifics about each middle
school program and ask questions.
Provide information to fifth graders and their families early, including sixth grade
courses, registration process, co-curricular opportunities, etc.
Schedule opportunities for fifth graders and their parents to visit prior to the start of sixth
grade.
Host dialog sessions to allow parents and students to hear specifics about each high
school program and ask questions.
Collaborate with high school staff to provide information to 8th graders and their families
early, including ninth grade courses, registration process, co-curricular opportunities, etc.
Schedule opportunities for eighth graders and their parents to visit their assigned high
school prior to the start of ninth grade.
Build a student-centered master schedule that allows for more time in critical subjects so
that students are engaged in literacy and mathematics intervention courses as necessary.
Continue to support co-teaching or pair EL classes with content classes to accelerate
English language development for students at higher levels of English language
proficiency.
Implement web-based intuitive literacy and mathematics intervention programs that
individualize support for each student.

We will invest considerable effort into raising academic achievement and high school
readiness/middle school completion rates by engaging students rigorous and relevant core
academic courses that will prepare them for high school and allow them to continue on the path
to college and career readiness. Furthermore, students will become more confident in their
awareness that they are being prepared to make an informed decision after high school in
relation to college and career. Therefore, we will:
Align all academic courses to state standards.

Ensure students in grades 6 - 8 meet or exceed mastery on all MCA assessments.
Require all students to complete:
o three language arts courses that include consistently reading on-level books and
text of various types, receiving weekly feedback on writing, conducting
investigative studies, completing work that requires critical thinking and research;
o three mathematics courses at or above grade level;
o three science courses at grade level;
o three social studies classes at grade level; and
o additional exploratory courses in career and technical education, global
languages, physical education, health, visual and performing arts.
Create common formative assessments and quarterly summative assessments that
communicate to parents and teachers students mastery of the academic standards.
Provide students access to high-quality career and technical courses and opportunities
to explore careers in high-demand fields.
Aligns with Unified District Vision Goals #1, #3, and # 4: Implement Policies and
Practices that Open Pathways to Academic Excellence for All Students: Utilize culturally
responsive teaching and personalized learning for all students and Engage and empower
students by amplifying student voice
Exploring Career and Technical Education courses and researching careers of interest will
prepare middle school students to enter high school with a mindset that includes a focus on
post-secondary education, the workforce, and/or the armed services. Our aim is to prepare
students to think beyond high school.
Provide students with access to the Minnesota Career Information System (MCIS)
and assess their learning styles, employability, interests and skills.

Afford students the opportunity to research information on colleges, program

requirements for various occupations via the Minnesota Career Information System
(MCIS).
Ensure enrollment in exploratory Career and Technical Education courses.
Provide opportunities for students to explore career pathway options at high school,
Hennepin Technical College and Minneapolis Community and Technical College.
Create Individual Learning Plans in collaboration with each student.
To provide middle school students with the support they need to be successful and be high
school ready we must make every effort to ensure students pass their courses and are
successful on their state grade level assessments. Therefore, we will provide extended
learning opportunities for students to make-up and correct previously attempted work that
did not meet standard expectations so they remain on track academically.
Offer students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of course standards.

Provide students with special tutoring from their teachers, other personnel and/or
of course standards.
Assess students at three week intervals to monitor their learning and offer unit
recovery to students who are failing during these intervals so they do not fall too far
behind in core courses.
Provide acceleration, Targeted Services and additional academic resources to
students identified in need of these supports, including identified Students with
Limited or Interrupted Formal Schooling (SLIFE).

High School Plan

Focus on policy, flexibility and innovative educational alternatives.
Investigate the legality and possibilities of developing and implementing 8.5

programs for over-age middle school students to help them complete their middle
school academic requirements while earning high school credits and increase their
chances of graduating in a timely manner.
Explore waiver option that would allow more flexibility in scheduling students in a
combination traditional and virtual model that would better meet students work,
family and other obligations at traditional high schools as well as in our academic
alternative school.
Explore the creation of Robbinsdale Area Virtual Academy (RAVA) that will allow
students to co-enroll under a flexible scheduling option.
Work with Highview, Adult Basic Education Program and Community/Technical
Colleges to design a comprehensive and cohesive program of study as a pathway to
college or career for high school English Learners who are long-term learners or
newcomers.
Explore policy establishing a numerical score of 50% as the floor for a failing grade.
Develop a strong family engagement strategy.
Partners
Family engagement is one of the most accurate predictors of student success in school. Schools
must reach out to parents in an attempt to better understand the root causes of truancy, apathy,
and other issues that lead to student failure. This outreach is vital to encouraging family
involvement in the education of children. Engaging families means schools:
Hold regular meetings, at a minimum of three times per school year, involving students,
parents, teachers, counselors and administrators to plan students academic and career
programs. Infinite Campus will be used to document meetings;
Facilitate discussions with parents and students about the value of experiences such as
engagement in civic groups and co-curricular activities and in the learning process,
including joint participation by parents and students. Infinite Campus will be used to
document discussions;
Provide information to parents about the following:

o Instructional/support program options

o Graduation requirements
o NCAA student athlete requirements
o Test schedules
o Postsecondary options and related costs
o Financial aid options
o Soft skills, and marketability in alignment with the Carl D. Perkins Vocational
and Technical Education Act of 2006
o Legislatively mandated personal learning plans or Individual Learning Plans
(ILPs)
Standardize parent/community centers at each high school to serve as an information hub
for parents, students and community stakeholders, which will disseminate information,
coordinate parent engagement efforts and community service opportunities for students;
and
Revamp the Robbinsdale Area Schools high school report card to better inform parents
of students progress toward graduation (i.e. attendance, credits earned, graduation status,
etc.).
Develop brief What to Expect videos for parents so they can know details that are
typically only known to parents with older children. Publish these videos through
Schoology and school websites at timelines congruent with need (e.g. what to expect for
conferences published 10-days prior to conferences)
On all documents that communicate standardized test results to parents, we will connect
standardized scores that parents are less familiar (e.g. MAP, MCA) to standardized
scores which parents are more familiar (e.g. ACT).
35% for targeted literacy and mathematics intervention in ninth and tenth grades.
Collaborate with Technology to systematize a process for tracking each cohort through
all four years of high school. This includes real time identification and verification of
cohort dropouts. Schools will seek documentation to prove or disprove the withdrawal
code.
Utilize Graduation Tracker in Infinite Campus effectively to track students progress
toward an on-time graduation.

Require high school counselors to complete and submit semester Graduation Status
Reports.
Require high school counselors to conduct semester transcript audits.
Require high school counselors to update students Individual Learning Plans.
Work with Technology to monitor updates to Individual Learning Plans.
Monitor quarterly and semester failure reports at each school.
Monitor quarterly credit and unit recovery completion rates.
Monitor monthly discipline (e.g. suspension) reports and implement strategies to reduce
suspension.
Identify at-risk students based on student and building specific triggers to intervene early
and prevent students from dropping out.
Focus attention on the middle grades to ninth-grade transition.
Ninth grade is a critical time for many students, particularly for students in marginalized groups
(Students of Color) and male students. Research suggests that 9th graders consistently report
feeling overwhelmed. Students who fail the 9th grade have less than a 50% chance of
graduating from high school. With this in mind there are a number of actions that we will take to
reduce the 9th grade failure rate and to help more students perform at grade level in core
academic courses by the end of their 9th grade year including:
Ensure each high school has an effective 9th grade transition program including an
advisory period.
Purposefully use Link Crew and advisory to support 9th graders.
Assign all 9th graders adult mentors to advise them throughout high school, assist them
and their parents in setting post-secondary career and education goals, and help find the
necessary assistance they need to meet high school graduation requirements.
Build a student-centered master schedule that allows for more time in critical subjects so
that students are afforded access to literacy and mathematics intervention courses as
necessary.
Implement web-based intuitive literacy and mathematics intervention programs that
individualize support for each student.
Focus on lowering the teacher student ratio in 9th grade core and intervention classes.
Select the most highly qualified teachers to provide instruction for 9th grade students as
well as create small learning communities of core academic teams who have a schedule
allowing them common planning time to create standards-aligned interesting,

challenging and engaging learning experiences for multi-readiness and diverse student
groups.
We will raise both academic achievement and high school graduation rates by enrolling students
in a rigorous core academic program that will prepare them equally for college and career. Our
work will be purposeful to ensure students see the connection between high school and their
futures. Actions that we will take include:
Require all students to complete:

o eight credits in college-preparatory English/Language Arts that includes
consistently reading on-level books and text of various types, receiving weekly
feedback on writing, conducting investigative studies, completing work that
requires critical thinking and preparing research reports;
o eight mathematics credits including, Geometry, High School Algebra, Algebra 2
and an additional mathematics course;
o eight science credits at the college-preparatory level;
o eight credits of social studies at the college-preparatory level; and
o additional courses in a planned sequence of Career and Technical Education,
physical education, global languages and other electives.
Encourage and expand Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and
PSEO/dual enrollment participation.
Continue to systematically recruit students from underrepresented student-groups for the
Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and PSEO/dual enrollment
participation until participation matches our school-wide demographics.
Align all academic courses to grade level and college and career readiness standards.
Create common formative assessments and quarterly summative assessments that
communicate to parents and teachers (including Career and Technical Education
teachers), student achievement on the academic standards.
Encourage students to take additional courses in mathematics and science or the social
studies beyond the required core OR complete a planned sequence of courses in a
career field.
Aligns with Unified District Vision Goals #1, #3, and # 4: Implement Policies and
Practices that Open Pathways to Academic Excellence for All Students: Utilize culturally

responsive teaching and personalized learning for all students and Engage and empower
students by amplifying student voice
Student persistence in high school is positively influenced by relevant coursework that fits
with students interests. They seek relevance through understanding how their academic
courses relate to their interest area(s). This opens up vistas of future opportunities upon
which we can capitalize. We will take action to ensure students have access to rigorous and
engaging academic and quality career education. These actions include the following:
Expand students access to advanced-level academic courses such as PSEO/dual

enrollment, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate and receive credit
by paying or subsidizing the cost of their exams, books, and other fees;
Require high schools to provide students with choice and access to a wide range of
high-quality Career and Technical Education offerings that are coupled with four
years of mathematics and science;
Provide opportunities for students to attend Hennepin Technical College and
Minneapolis Community and Technical College to enroll in career pathways not
offered on Robbinsdale Area Schools campuses, where they are able to combine a
college-preparatory academic core with high-quality Career and Technical Education
studies; and
Offer more personalized approaches to learning via Robbinsdale Area Virtual
Academy and project-based learning in small learning groups.
Build partnerships with employers, the community, Hennepin Technical College and
Minneapolis Community and Technical College to provide students access to
high-quality career and technical studies in high-demand fields.
Revamping our Career and Technical Education program will prepare our students to enter
post-secondary institutions, the workforce, or a branch of the armed services with requisite
readiness knowledge and skills. Our aim is to prepare students to study beyond high school
in courses that have been designed to add value to their academic achievement.
To create partnerships with employers, the community, Hennepin Technical College and
Minneapolis Community and Technical College we will take the following actions:

Ensure that Career and Technical Education programs prepare students academically
for college and careers as measured by pathway completion rates and performance on
End-of-Pathway assessments.
Strengthen the academic focus of high school Career and Technical Education
courses by integrating academic and Career and Technical Education content to
ensure more students meet college and career readiness standards.
Collaborate with local businesses to provide potential job shadowing experiences and
engage students in professional presentations given by local business representatives
to students about potential career opportunities.
Provide opportunities for students to explore non-traditional career pathways and
options.
Provide opportunities for students with special needs to participate in career focused
training and development opportunities.
Use federal Perkins funds to continue the development of Career and Technical
Education pathways that articulate from high school to college.
In order to both raise achievement and encourage continued persistence through graduation,
we must make an extraordinary effort to ensure that our students pass their courses.
Additionally, alternative learning opportunities must be provided for students to recover
credit for courses previously failed so they remain on track for graduation with their cohort
of peers. There are a number of actions we will take to offer flexible credit earning and
recovery opportunities without lowering standards for students who struggle to remain in
school.
Offer students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of course standards.

Use technology to give students the option to take and retake courses necessary for
graduation during the school day and after regular school hours.
Provide students with special tutoring from their teachers, other personnel and/or
of course standards.
Assess students at three week intervals to monitor their learning and offer unit
recovery to students who are failing during these intervals so they do not fall too far
behind in core courses.

Offer alternative academic learning environments for students in need of flexible

schedules that allow for accelerated credit recovery in order to graduate from high
school.
Provide tutorial services and academic resources to high school student athletes to
ensure they are on track to graduate college eligible.
Implement a Dropout Recovery Program to invite students who have previously

disengaged to return to school.
Required high schools to develop and implement a dropout reengagement plan to

invite students who have left the system but are still within a 4-year or 5-year cohort
to return to school.
Ensure Highview Alternative Program allows priority enrollment for eligible
Robbinsdale Area Schools students returning to school.
Maximize the junior and senior year to get students ready for graduation and prepared
for college or career.
Research suggests that one in 10 students who make it to October of the senior year, fails to
graduate in the spring or at the end of the summer. Further, research indicates that many
students graduate from high school but do not enroll in college or earn an employer
recognized certificate or credential that has workplace value. Still other graduates enroll in
college but must take remedial literacy and mathematics courses before they can enroll in
college credit-bearing courses.
With the aforementioned in mind, there are several actions that we will take to strengthen the
work that we do with juniors and seniors to better prepare them for the transition from high
school to college and career.
Determine by the end of the 10th grade year which students meet college and career
readiness standards, and provide them with opportunities during the junior and senior
year to enroll in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and PSEO/dual
enrollment programs to earn both high school and college credit.

Identify students who plan to attend college but have not met college and career
readiness standards in ELA or mathematics by December of the 11th grade and enroll
them in SAT or ACT preparation courses on high school campuses or Accuplacer
preparation via the Robbinsdale Area Schools Adult Basic Education program to
assist students in meeting college admissions requirements.
Provide opportunities for students not planning to attend a 2-year or 4-year college or
university to enroll in a Career and Technical Education program at a Robbinsdale
high school or at Hennepin Technical College and Minneapolis Community and
Technical College leading to an employer recognized certification.
Ensure that counselors work to ensure that every student knows what he/she must do
to be college and career ready and that each student is vigorously taking the
necessary steps to graduate from high school on time.

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DRAFT

Timothy Gadson III, Ph.D.

December 29, 2016 Page | 2

Focus on policy and innovation.

Develop strong family engagement.

Focus on collecting and monitoring accurate data.

December 29, 2016 Page | 3

Identify at risk students based on academics and behavior (intervene early).

Focus attention on the Early Childhood to kindergarten transition.

Require all students to complete a rigorous academic core program.

Offer Pre-kindergarten - kindergarten literacy program with emphasis on:

December 29, 2016 Page | 4

Offer students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of developmentally

December 29, 2016 Page | 5

Elementary School Plan

December 29, 2016 Page | 6

Focus on policy and innovation.

Investigate possibilities to offer global language learning experiences for elementary

Develop strong family engagement.

December 29, 2016 Page | 7

Focus on collecting and monitoring accurate data.

Focus attention on the elementary school to middle school transition.

December 29, 2016 Page | 8

Require all students to complete a rigorous academic core program.

Align all academic content to grade level Minnesota Academic Standards.

December 29, 2016 Page | 9

Ensure students in grades K-2 score at a level associated with readiness/proficiency in

December 29, 2016 Page | 10

Engage students in an inquiry-oriented science program based on research based

Offer students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of grade level

December 29, 2016 Page | 11

December 29, 2016 Page | 12

Middle School Plan

December 29, 2016 Page | 13

Focus on promotion/retention policy, flexibility and innovative educational alternative.

Develop a strong family engagement strategy.

December 29, 2016 Page | 14

Focus on collecting and monitoring accurate data.

December 29, 2016 Page | 15

December 29, 2016 Page | 16

Require all students to complete a rigorous academic core program.

Align all academic courses to state standards.

December 29, 2016 Page | 17

Afford students the opportunity to research information on colleges, program

Offer students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of course standards.

December 29, 2016 Page | 18

High School Plan

December 29, 2016 Page | 19

Focus on policy, flexibility and innovative educational alternatives.

Investigate the legality and possibilities of developing and implementing 8.5

Develop a strong family engagement strategy.

December 29, 2016 Page | 20

o Instructional/support program options

Focus on collecting and monitoring accurate data.

December 29, 2016 Page | 21

Focus attention on the middle grades to ninth-grade transition.

December 29, 2016 Page | 22

Require all students to complete a rigorous academic core program.

Require all students to complete:

December 29, 2016 Page | 23

Expand students access to advanced-level academic courses such as PSEO/dual

December 29, 2016 Page | 24

Offer students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of course standards.