• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

March 5, 2014 Featured

Decreasing Our Drop-out Rate

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Jackie Parrish

I am a retired teacher who taught in middle school for 30 years. I have certifications in elementary education, reading, and math. I have spent most of my career teaching math to 7th and 8th graders in an urban setting. I have also presented staff development within my school and within my district. Although I am now retired I am still passionate about teaching math in ways that engage all students.
  • Schools Are Closed, But Educational Inequality Remains - May 8, 2020
  • Coronavirus: The Impact of School Closures - March 24, 2020
  • Standardized Testing's Negative Affect on Math Education - February 11, 2020
  • What Becoming a Math Teacher Leader Taught Me - November 14, 2019
  • Trauma in Schools – Teachers Are Asked to Handle Too Much - October 16, 2019
  • Teaching is Difficult When Administrative Support is Lacking - October 1, 2019
  • Teachers - Your Impact on Students is Greater Than You Know! - July 7, 2019
  • Columbine Shooting 20 Years Later – Our Children Are Still Dying - June 11, 2019
  • Empathy: The Key to Better Behavior in the Classroom - May 2, 2019
  • Mathematical Conversations Aid Problem Solving - April 17, 2017
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

In the U.S., one student drops out of school every 12 seconds.

Too often we assume that students drop out because they are disinterested or lazy. Maybe we should be looking at our traditional high schools to see if they may be the problem.

One model program that has been working since 1995 is Big Picture Learning. BPL was started in 1995 by Dennis Littky and Elliot Washor in Rhode Island. Both men had taught and been principals in public high schools. In 1995 they decided to make a change in how education and learning looked. Coincidentally, Rhode Island was looking at its educational system especially their vocational and technical programs. With the support of the community, BPL proposed a high school plan that would look very different than the traditional model. In 1996 the first Big Picture School (Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center) opened in Providence, Rhode Island. The first class started with 50 at risk students, most of whom were African American and Latino. These students would be educated in a very different facility and in a very different way than the traditional high school model.

The Program
1. Learning in the Real World (LTI)
Students work with mentors in the real world investigating subjects that interest them. The student will complete an authentic project that will benefit them as well as the mentor. This internship allows students to see how the world of work functions first hand. It also provides them with additional adult role models.

2. One student at a time (Personalization)
Students have their own individual learning plans which are updated quarterly. Parents, advisors and when possible mentors take part in these plans.

3. Authentic Assessment
Students complete exhibitions, portfolios, and journals are some of the assessments used. No grades are given but Big Picture has developed a system that can be used to translate these authentic assessments into a format that colleges will accept.

4. School Organization
Big Picture schools are small with advisories (ideally no more than 15 students). The principal and teachers are in constant communication with each other and the students. The community is used as a resource.

5. Advisory Structure
Advisories are small and stay with one advisor for their entire time in high school. This allows the advisor to mentor students, as well as get to really know them as individuals. The advisor not only supports students but facilitates an atmosphere in which the students support each other.

The Met now has 6 small high schools grouped together on an open campus. Parents and community members are encouraged to visit and support the students. The first class mentioned above graduated in 2000 with a 96 % graduation rate. In addition, 98% of these graduates were admitted to post secondary institutions. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has granted Big Picture several grants in support of their work to improve education.

For many, Big Picture Learning may sound like a very radical departure from what we normally think of as high school education. Considering that there are now at least 60 Big Picture schools across the United States and a number of international schools in places like the Netherlands, Israel and Australia, the Big Picture model might be one to consider for those who don’t succeed in a traditional high school.

For more information please check the Big Picture website.

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailThe Necessity of Failure: The Challenge of Assessments How To Increase Your Education Salary by $40K in 5 Years Working for My Public School Is Just Like Working for the Mob Default ThumbnailChicago Teachers Union -vs- Rahm
« Always. Ask. Questions. Always.
Week 5/6: iPad Rollout- Differentiation »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. We have over 45+ writers worldwide and boast over twelve million page views. We will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about improving public education through articles, events, and social media. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

Popular Posts

  • The Case for More Accountability: It's Time to Blame the Parents
  • Equity In TAG Implementation: Pull-Out Services Vs. Differentiated Instruction
  • Leggings At School? Here's 10 Reasons We Support This Clothing Choice
  • 5 Tips for Welcoming First-Time Virtual Students

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2023 The Educator's Room.

The owner of this website does not consent to the content on this website being used or downloaded by any third parties for the purposes of developing, training or operating artificial intelligence or other machine learning systems (“Artificial Intelligence Purposes”), except as authorized by the owner in writing (including written electronic communication). Absent such consent, users of this website, including any third parties accessing the website through automated systems, are prohibited from using any of the content on the website for Artificial Intelligence Purposes. Users or automated systems that fail to respect these choices will be considered to have breached The Educator's Room Agreement.  

We have included on the pages of this website a robots meta tag with the “noai” or “noimageai” directive in the head section of the HTML page. Please note that even if such directives are not present on any web page or content file, this website still does not grant consent to use any content for Artificial Intelligence Purposes unless such consent is expressly contained.