What Does a Whole Child Education Look Like?

A whole child education is something that everyone agrees about in principle but few can articulate in detail. What exactly does it mean to say students should be "healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged?"

ASCD Express is looking for short, 600 to 1,000-word essays on the theme "What Does a Whole Child Education Look Like?"We welcome articles that illustrate the elements of a whole child education and show how the interplay of different areas in a child's schooling can be addressed through thoughtful planning for classroom and school activities.

 Guidelines for submissions are here. Please send us your submissions by December 19, 2011.

Learning with Disabilities

Schools have made great strides in mainstreaming and accommodating students with a variety of learning disabilities, but is it enough? Schools are referring more children to special education, but it's unclear whether that's because of an increase of children with real issues; schools getting better at diagnosing them; or, in some cases, educators and parents making mistaken assessments.

ASCD Express is looking for short, 600 to 1,000-word essays on the theme "Learning with Disabilities." We're looking for stories about how schools are successfully working with students who have disabilities, whether they involve autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or deficits in social and emotional areas. We hope to feature programs and schools that have succeeded in putting the needs of the child first, which includes successfully integrating students into the life of the school and meeting such students' needs as learners.

Guidelines for submissions are here. Please send us your submissions by October 12, 2011.

"Our Best PD Was Teacher-Chosen"

During a focus group at ASCD's 2011 Annual Conference, an Ohio principal reflects on what makes professional development (PD) work.

I think that the most beneficial versus least beneficial professional development has been whether it is chosen and directed by teacher choice as opposed to administrative choice. That takes some planning to get teachers together to make those decisions, but teachers should never walk into professional development and not know what it's about. Too often, teachers just know, "I have to come in for PD on this day, this the topic, and this is the presenter."

Teachers should have some decision and choice about PD, because then it's going to be more meaningful and they're going to be more committed. They're out there spreading the word: You've got to come to this because it's going to be about what we need. The best PD experiences in our district were the ones chosen by teachers, and quite honestly, the worst ones were chosen by me.

 

Who chooses PD in your school or district? Does that influence its effectiveness?

Finding the Answers Embedded in Our Own Work

The ASCD Annual Conference offers many things, but for me it is the opportunity to visit with educators from all over the world. In one of these interactions, the conversation revolved around a line from Mike Schmoker's new book Focus. On page 17, Schmoker writes,

"It is critical that schools learn the lesson that 'best practice' in effective organizations is rarely new practice. On the contrary, the most effective actions are 'well-known practices,' with the extra dimension that they (are) reinforced and carried out reliably."

For me, discussing this passage with colleagues provoked an "Aha!" moment: Perhaps we should look at the simplicity of doing what works well and do it with consistency, reinforcement, and diligence.

How many of us continue to look for the magic bullet to raise student learning and assessment scores? How many of us spend thousands of dollars on programs, technology, or professional development that occur over a very short time period with little follow-up or follow-through?

Maybe Schmoker's idea of doing what works and doing it well is the magic bullet we need. Have we really looked at instruction to find what works and what does not? Have we consulted the literature to see which strategies are supported by research as being effective? Are we consistent with communicating expectations for the implementation of research-based, effective, instructional strategies? Do we effectively monitor the use of the identified strategies and hold everyone accountable for implementation? Do we celebrate the classrooms that model what is expected?

Perhaps something as simple and cost-effective as making the changes needed to answer these questions in the affirmative is the place to start.

Post submitted by teacher and 2011 ASCD Annual Conference Scholar Nancy Cech.

What Did You Take With You?

With ASCD's 2011 Annual Conference a few weeks behind us, what's stuck with you?

In keynote sessions, we explored broad themes like making change when change is difficult, getting in touch with your creative and imaginative self, and reigniting your passion for meaningful work. Breakout sessions were ideally opportunities to explore these ideas in more nuanced, strategic ways.

What's one thing that you learned, or that intrigued you most, at Annual Conference? What face-to-face connections did you make with other educators, and how will you carry those with you?

Post submitted by ASCD Annual Conference Scholar cofacilitator and New City School Head of School Tom Hoerr.

When Students Learn How to Learn, They "Get It"

Why some students "get it" and others don't when it comes to learning is a problem that many educators face at some point. Betty K. Garner offered practical tips as her Annual Conference audience learned how to get their students to "got it."

Garner started the session by asking the audience to close their eyes and think of a "beautiful thought," a practice she uses in the classroom. This allows endorphins to be released and gets students to use their imaginations and be creative. Getting students relaxed and creative can help them learn in other areas.

"When do we ask kids to wonder? When do we ask kids to reflect?," asked Garner about this practice. "This allows students to be still for a few minutes. . . . It's a valuable tool."

Throughout the session, she said that sensory input, visualization, reflective awareness, and prior knowledge will develop cognitive structures that ensure students know how to learn by themselves, what Garner calls "metability."

Garner asked attendees how many teachers have spent hours on a lesson that students completed in a matter of minutes. Many could relate. We need to stop doing all the work, said Garner. "Learning is created by the learner." This, she stressed, is the most important takeaway from the session. "What we do equips students with the ability to learn how to learn."

For more information from this session, please check out Garner's handout.

How to Work Interventions into Classroom Lessons

The gap in vocabulary, reading, and comprehension starts long before children arrive at school. Children are often not learning the words they need to at home, and that makes reading teachers out of educators at all levels, said educator and author Jim Grant during a session at the ASCD Annual Conference.

That's become especially important in math, where more word problems are now part of the curriculum and tests, he said.

Fitting interventions for struggling students into everyday teaching doesn't have to be hard, Grant said. He offered classroom-tested, time-saving tips and strategies that allow educators to administer high-quality interventions in the classroom for students from poor backgrounds.

Among some of the strategies he shared for both reading and math:

• Make cold calls in the classroom, but don't give students the ability to opt out of answering. Call on another student, and then loop back to that first student to make sure they picked up the answer.
• Use mind maps to help students organize their thoughts for crucial words. These include a definition in the student's own words, a drawing, and antonyms and synonyms.
• Make time during sustained silent reading to work with struggling students while other students are reading on their own.
• Create a checklist for students to edit their work that has them check for capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage.
• Borrow heavily from the Singapore Math teaching method, which emphasizes number bonds and immerses children in numbers. He highlighted activities common to Singapore Math that include having students take photos that show a certain number of objects, human number lines, math scavenger hunts, and visual aids.
• Don't make students go through an entire worksheet before checking for understanding. Giving students five questions can let you know whether they've understood a concept or if they need more help.
• Give students multiple opportunities to show proficiency by returning worksheets for students to fix the problems that weren't correct.
• Before students come up to your desk, encourage them to find the answers on the posters in the room so they don't always rely on you.

For more information, visit Grant's website.

Post submitted by SmartBrief education editor Amy Dominello.

What Would You Tell Congress in Ten Minutes?

You've got 10 minutes to make your case to a member of Congress about an important education initiative. Would you be able to make your case succinctly and effectively?

Probably not without some practice, as a Montgomery County, Md., principal found out. Marc Cohen shared his experience in an ASCD Annual Conference session on how he went from novice to an effective advocate for education, with the help of training from ASCD's legislative staff.

Cohen, winner of the 2009 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award, let himself be videotaped as he embarked on his advocacy journey. This video of Cohen speaking with Rep. Chris Van Hollen shows his mistakes—going too long and not staying on target. But in one day of meeting with congressional lawmakers and their staff, he got better.

Cohen said lawmakers value educators' voices. "We are practitioners," he said. "They want to hear from us."

Here are some tips from Cohen and the ASCD staff on how you can become an educator advocate:

• Do your homework. Research the issue and know where your lawmaker stands. Anticipate tough questions, and know your lawmaker's background.
• Set clear goals, and have reasonable expectations.
• Think locally. Focus on the lawmakers where you live or work. Share local examples and stories that bring to life what you're saying.
• Know your key messages, and keep it succinct. Develop two to three key messages. Accentuate the positive and avoid acronyms and jargon. Be able to boil down your message to a two-minute "elevator speech." When you do have a lot of time, don't feel like you have to fill it up.
• Begin the process early. Starting early allows you to help shape legislation, rather than reacting to it.
• Establish relationships. Be prepared to talk to legislative aides and realize that doing so can still be effective. Cohen related being disappointed about speaking to a senator's aide—rather than the senator—but he found it be his most productive meeting from a day on Capitol Hill and still keeps in touch with the aide.
• Respect. Know that not everyone will agree with you or share your passion.
• Follow up. Send a thank-you note and follow-up with additional information. Continue to be a resource for the lawmaker and their staff.

For more information, check out ASCD's Action Center and the 2011 ASCD Legislative Agenda.

Post submitted by Smartbrief education editor Amy Dominello.

Why I'm Advocating for Direct Vocabulary Instruction

There is an incredible shift in our student population across the United States. Over the past 20 years, the population of English language learners (ELLs) has increased by 160 percent, whereas the general population only shows a 20 percent increase. Sadly, 66 percent of this ELL population are living 200 percent below poverty level. "We can't keep teaching the same way," says Judie Haynes, author of Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas.

In their ASCD Annual Conference session, Haynes and her coauthor Debbie Zacarian shared research about "academic separation lines," another way of describing the range of educational experiences of ELLs, from literacy-oriented to non-literacy-oriented to culturally disrupted homes.

For a broader and more comprehensive understanding of how to teach ELLs that takes into account this diversity, Haynes and Zacarian presented the following strategies for content-area instruction:

• Determine overarching unit objective, daily content and language objectives, and key content vocabulary
• Connect to background knowledge
• Provide comprehensible input
• Provide direct vocabulary instruction
• Make lessons visual
• Use cooperative learning
• Ensure homework and assessments reflect activities done in class

Incorporating the Understanding by Design model, tiered vocabulary instruction, and research on language acquisition, Haynes and Zacarian explained how these strategies are crucial for creating a high-quality learning environment for English language learners.

As the ESOL support teacher at a K–8 school, one of my roles is to help teachers find strategies to help their English language learners show growth among their peers. The presenters talked about the vocabulary gap, referencing work by Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2002). Most native English speakers understand Tier 1 words (one- or two-syllable everyday words) and Tier 2 words (more sophisticated, including transitional words and phrases). On the other hand, Tier 3 words, which are multisyllabic and typically content-area–specific, may be difficult or new to many children. 

For English language learners, explicitly teaching Tier 1 and 2 words is crucial to closing the achievement gap and getting ELLs to a place where they can access Tier 3 words, as well. 

Do you go beyond teaching the vocabulary list provided with the textbook lesson? Are you trying to close the achievement gap for your English language learners by providing instruction that helps to develop their everyday vocabulary?

Providing direct vocabulary instruction is a strategy that I will share with my teachers. How are you supporting the educators in your school to provide a high-quality learning environment for your students?

Post submitted by Alina Davis, an ESOL K–8 resource teacher in Orlando, Fla., and a 2010 ASCD Emerging Leader.

The Flat World and Education

The United States needs to make significant changes in how it invests in and structures its education system, said Stanford University education professor and author Linda Darling-Hammond in a speech at the ASCD Annual Conference that was equal parts wake-up call and motivational speech for educators.

Darling-Hammond, in her John Dewey Society Memorial Lecture, said American education remains mired in an antiquated system that does not serve the majority of students who will go on to knowledge-based jobs.

Teaching in the 21st century should enable learning, Darling-Hammond said. It should be collaborative and hands-on, lead to a higher level of understanding, and teach students how to draw conclusions. Today's students are inundated with information, and they need to learn inquiry skills in order to succeed, she said.

However, Darling-Hammond said the U.S. education system is not set up to assess and develop that type of teaching, which requires a deep toolbox.

Another major concern is the lack of equity among schools, Darling-Hammond said. Students of color have many fewer school resources, and no other industrialized nation in the world allows so much childhood poverty without major safety nets, she added.

Darling-Hammond said the achievement gap began to close in the 1970s due to investment in social programs, but that funding stream dried up in the 1980s, leading to the achievement gap between minority and white students that we have today.

"It's not that we don't know how to close the achievement gap; it's that we haven't had the funds in place,” she said. "The equity issue is the Achilles' heel for the U.S."

Darling-Hammond said teacher preparation is also uneven and unfunded. She said policies must be in place that support the development of expertise among teachers—not the firing of teachers. Aspiring educators need to be better prepared, thoughtful evaluations must be created, and highly variable value-added measures should be used only with caution.

Educators must also work to create conditions that support powerful teaching and address the changing expectations for learning, including redesigning how schools function.

"There's so much for us to do," she said.

Post submitted by SmartBrief education editor Amy Dominello.

Does Your School Have Good PR?

Do you have a public relations team at your school? If you have teachers, staff, students, and parents, then you do. In the Sunday Annual Conference session, "Marketing Your School: Strategies That Promote Communication, Collaboration, and Consistency," Russ Claus and Liz Dunham, of the Department of Defense Education Activity Schools, shared the importance of using this public relations team.

Claus talked about how first impressions are everything. When someone walks into the main office what do they see, hear, and feel? The tone should be inviting. The presenters gave the following suggestions:

• Living room lighting
• Plasma screen TV to display kids' work
• Seating area with comfy chairs and books to read
• Teachers and staff who are trained to be welcoming

Dunham also said that PR moves out into the hallways and around the school. Having children's work on display, visible and approachable administrators, positive gossip, and regular team-building activities were a few suggestions.

Taking the time to build connections outside school is another way to sell your school. Make phone calls home that are optimistic and encouraging. Share exciting events and learning experiences when you have conversations with people in the community. When someone asks you about your school, share its awesomeness instead of its challenges. Make a lasting impression.

I think every school strives to emulate a positive aura. In my school, the children's artwork is hanging in the office, and there are murals in the hallway. The principal is visible, cheerfully interacting with the students and other guests. The PTA parents involve the community in our events and advertise on Facebook. While there is room for improvement, I think our school is a welcoming place.

How are you marketing your school?

Post submitted by Alina Davis, an ESOL K–8 resource teacher in Orlando, Fla., and a 2010 ASCD Emerging Leader.

How to End the Homework Wars

Want to know how to end the battles between teachers and parents over homework?

Cathy Vatterott, an associate professor of education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and author of the ASCD book Rethinking Homework, says ending tensions over homework requires teachers to assign reasonable amounts of homework, and not just busy work. It should enhance learning and students should be able to do it on their own.

"Parents should not have to help students with homework," she said during a session at the ASCD Annual Conference.

She offered five tips for engaging parents in the homework process.

1. Establish homework guidelines for your classroom or school. Vatterott suggests determining how long homework should take to complete and ensuring that students are able to do it on their own. She also suggests that incomplete homework not jeopardize a student's grade and that no homework be assigned during weekends and breaks.

2. Work with parents to create guidelines--rather than expectations or demands--for parental support.

3. Establish methods of parent-teacher communication. Tell parents how you prefer to be contacted and ask what methods work best for them. Allow for feedback from parents about homework.

4. Teach parents what they need to know about homework, including explaining why certain assignments are needed and why it's acceptable to not have homework.

5. Give parents options. Differentiate homework. Allow opt-outs for parents who want less homework and optional challenge activities for parents who want more homework.

Vatterott also suggested some parent-friendly homework practices, including the following:

• Limit the number of subjects in which homework is assigned each night.

• Give out weekly homework packets instead of daily homework.

• Go bookless.

• Kill the reading log.

• Leave projects at school.

The handouts from Vatterott's session will be available on her website in the coming days.

Post submitted by SmartBrief education editor Amy Dominello.

Reducing the Overhead

How are some school districts managing instructional improvement? According to professor and management guru William Ouchi in his session "The Secret of Total Student Load," they're doing it by putting their principals in charge of the school budget and hiring more teachers.

Some numbers first. In many traditional schools—that is, centralized schools in which the principal has little power over staffing and budgeting—the total number of students that a teacher must interact with is dizzying. For example, a teacher who teaches five classes of 30 students each has a total student load of 150. In some school districts, like Los Angeles, the total student load is as high as 250. How can a teacher possibly address the needs of so many students all at the same time?

And here's another provocative number: 44. That’s the percentage, in traditional schools, of non-classroom-based staff. As Ouchi pointed out, no business could function with that kind of administrative overhead.

Some school districts in the United States and Canada have found a way to kill two birds with one stone. They've decentralized their schools, empowering individual principals to make those hard decisions about staffing, budgeting, curriculum, and scheduling. These principals reduced the size of the administrative staff and hired more fully credentialed teachers. By doing so, they were able to reduce total student load to 80, which now enables their teachers to interact meaningfully with individual students. It's no surprise that student achievement dramatically improved as a result.

Post submitted by Educational Leadership senior associate editor Amy Azzam.

From Jaime Escalante to KIPP

During his presentation today, Washington Post education journalist Jay Mathews drew a line, and a distinction, between the work of lauded math educator Jaime Escalante and the KIPP charter school program founders Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg.

Escalante, whose unconventional teaching style was made famous in the movie Stand and Deliver, believed that anyone willing to work hard could succeed in advanced-placement classes. During his tenure at Garfield High, the troubled east L.A. school was a beacon for math achievement for Mexican Americans. In 1987, 26 percent of all Mexican Americans passing the AP Calculus test in the entire United States were Garfield High students. But although Escalante changed the lives of his students, he wasn't able to change the system.

Twenty-five years later, Mathews believes Levin and Feinberg are changing the system through KIPP charters. Adapting some of Escalante's methods, as well as the motivational style of mentor Harriet Bell, Mathews says the KIPP founders have mobilized a new generation of teachers, as well as reinvigorated established teachers, with their mission of education equity.

Mathews believes the system is changing because more people than ever before are acting on the belief that ability to learn is not limited by income or ethnicity. Do you see these systemic changes, too?

Creating a Culture of Redemption

What is one thing that teachers who achieved the greatest amount of student growth in an Alabama school district have in common?

They created a culture in the classroom that allowed for failure and mistakes to be a part of the learning process, according to Betty Winches, an assistant superintendent of Homewood City Schools, and Jodi Newton, an associate dean of education at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

The two collaborated on an analysis of what top teachers in the Homewood schools did to cultivate success. They found a culture of redemption was key and offered tips during a session at the ASCD Annual Conference for educators to replicate a similar culture in their schools.

Creating a culture of redemption incorporates five aspects:

• Combining rigorous standards with multiple ways for students to succeed. "[Teachers] were negotiable about how you got to the end goal, but not negotiable about the end goal," Winches said.
• Provide encouragement to students, but also accountability.
• Offer specific feedback. "Great teachers are clear about what needs to be accomplished next in order to be successful," Winches said.
• Share progress with students visually and in kid-friendly terms. Winches said students don't always know what their grades mean. "These teachers strive to eliminate confusion about performance," she said.
• Partner with students for success. Homewood City Schools establishes specific learning targets for each grade and sends home booklets at the beginning of the school year outlining what students will be expected to know by the end of the year.

Learn more about the district's learning targets.

Post submitted by SmartBrief education editor Amy Dominello.

Extreme Homeroom Makeover

Little things mean a lot when it comes to designing school spaces that can enhance student learning.

There are lots of little touches that can be done at little cost to improve learning environments, said Beth Hebert, the now-retired principal of Crow Island School in Winnetka, Ill. But it's also about making sure that classroom spaces are designed for little people, she said.

Hebert, who served as principal of the elementary school for 21 years, led an ASCD Annual Conference session on how school and classroom design can energize, support, and inspire learning. Architects frequently visited her school—a National Historic Landmark built in 1940—because of its unique design, which incorporated work rooms and access to outdoor spaces in the classrooms.

The interest in the school piqued her interest in the connections between the use of space and how well-designed spaces can improve learning for children. She stressed that doing so doesn't always cost money or require major renovations, citing the calming effect of softer lighting as one example.

Before embarking on a makeover, Hebert recommends understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your current space and getting multiple perspectives, including those of students and parents.

She also advocates that educators think about classroom design from the student's perspective: painting doors different colors so young students who can't read yet know where to go; making sure seats are the right size for the youngest students; and having wide hallways so students aren't bumping into one another.

Hebert also urged educators to look at the wide variety of resources available to make a case for change, including DesignShare, the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, and the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.

Post submitted by SmartBrief education editor Amy Dominello.

Can Educators Have a Work/Life Balance?

Does work make you stressed? Are you in so deep that you forget to eat, sleep, reflect, exercise, collaborate, and have fun? Then you need some advice from Mike Anderson. His Saturday session, "The Well-Balanced Teacher: How to Work Smarter and Stay Sane Inside the Classroom and Out" was dynamic and full of energy. (Find Well-Balanced Teacher resources here.)

As a 3rd and 4th grade classroom teacher, Anderson spent endless hours at school working on lesson plans, grading papers, and reviewing data. If you are a classroom teacher, this may sound familiar. All the time and energy that went into his classroom was removed from his personal life. So he asked himself and other teachers: "How do you balance being a really good teacher and a really good parent or spouse?"

Balance starts by looking at your needs in five key areas, said Anderson:

• Basic needs
• Belonging
• Significance
• Competence
• Fun 

We have to be healthy if we expect to have healthy students. Emotional, physical, and mental wellness are just as important for us as it is for our students. Are you taking care of yourself? How do you find balance? 

Post submitted by Alina Davis, an ESOL K–8 resource teacher in Orlando, Fla., and a 2010 ASCD Emerging Leader.

Should Public Schools Do More to Protect Themselves from Privatization?

Are public schools doing a good job of defending themselves during a time when critics are gaining momentum on voucher and charter-school efforts?

Not at all, said members of an ASCD annual conference panel presented by the Horace Mann League, a group that advocates for public education as one of the cornerstones of American democracy. "I think this is the biggest threat to education we've ever had," said Evelyn Blose-Holman, the superintendent of Bay Shore Schools in New York.

The panelists, all members of the group's board of directors, sought to discuss ways to protect schools from privatization and arm public education advocates with information to counter arguments for charters and vouchers. However, they also acknowledged that there needs to be tough discussions among educators about what public schools are doing right and wrong.

Gary Marx, president of the Center for Public Outreach, said educators must take the lead in the discussion, but they also need to listen to determine the areas in which public schools need to make improvements. "Today public education is too often illustrated by what we're against," he said.

James Harvey, the executive director of the National Superintendents Roundtable, offered three strategies for educators to respond to threats: do some hard thinking about the profession, effectively and proactively rebut lies about public schools, and develop a coherent political strategy.

He urged those in attendance to get involved in political campaigns and become proactive in sharing the positive aspects of public schools.

While some in the audience questioned how that was possible in a time when teachers are seen as having better pay and benefits than many of the parents of the children they teach, Harvey said surveys show that communities back public schools.

"No system is perfect, but public support is one of our greatest assets," he said.

Post submitted by SmartBrief education editor Amy Dominello.

Why Top-Down School Systems Don't Work

In the past 80 years, the number of school districts has shrunk from 127,000 to 16,000, but the number of students has grown from 25 million to 50 million.

That has created top-down systems that must be decentralized to allow for decision-making by principals, said UCLA professor William Ouchi, speaking during his Cawelti Leadership Lecture at the ASCD conference.

"Instead of serving schools, the central office tells them what to do," Ouchi said.

Schools, he argues, should be empowered and allowed to control their budgets, curriculum, staffing and schedule. "If you don't control any of these things, how can you be the instructional leader?" he asked. He cited several school districts that have done this successfully, including New York City and Edmonton, Alberta. In the Canadian city, 97% of education dollars are controlled by principals.

Ouchi argues that one key component schools must be able to control is total student load, or how many students a teacher has to get to know. The number of students a teacher has in their classroom over a course of the day affects how they teach, and a higher student load overburdens teachers.

One strategy Ouchi said that he's seen work is the blocking and coring of subjects to bring down the total student load. At Vanguard High School in New York City, English and history are taught in a block by one teacher, while math and science are taught in a block as well. That brings student load down dramatically and improves instruction, he said.

"Students know their teacher is available to talk to them one-on-one," Ouchi said.

Another key is allowing districts to focus on the development of effective principals, citing the New York City Leadership Academy for aspiring principals as an example.

Ouchi also advocates for a weighted student formula, which acknowledges that the cost of education can vary depending upon the student. Doing so creates equity and encourages schools to include a diverse array of students and classes, he said.

Post submitted by SmartBrief education editor Amy Dominello. Read more about Ouchi's work in this previous blog post.

Getting Everyone to Graduation (Parents, Too)

If you hand a high school transcript to a parent who's never had it explained to them, you're making a big leap that they're going to know why their kid's not on track to graduate, principal Ben Shuldiner said in his Saturday session "How to Get All Students to Graduate."

He and guidance counselor Sarah Kornhauser discussed the High School for Public Service's extensive outreach plan to the families of its 400 students. Founded in 2003, the school, where 90 percent of students are on free and reduced lunch, was recently named the number-one Title I school in New York State.

The school organizes several informative and fun parent outreach sessions throughout the four years of high school—from 8th grade orientation to 12th grade sessions on navigating FAFSA and other financial aid forms.

It's important to bring parents in early, give them the tools to navigate and decipher school-speak and processes, and make sure that parents and teachers are on the same page. Show respect for parents by bringing them in to the graduation goal as partners. We can't be successful without spelling out each and every part of the process to parents, Kornhauser said.

But what happens when, despite an entrenched college-going culture at the school, parents don't show up to 12th grade college-planning night or 10th and 11th grade on-track-to-graduate night?

"We love parents, we want them to be there, but don't wait for them," said Shuldiner. Parents shouldn't be an excuse for giving up on a kid. If parents can't be there, the kids should still be there.