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Letter Head: Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Phone number 916-319-0800

Back to P-16 Council Meetings - General Session - P-16 Council

Essential Questions for P-16 Council Subcommittees
Listed below you will find the questions for each group’s work. The bullets in each question are jumping off points for each group to begin their work. We hope that you will be innovative and whenever possible "think outside the box."

Each committee will need to consider how the following "cross-cutting issues" could affect—or be affected by—committee suggestions. In other words, how would proposed answers to the essential questions affect these areas…or what would have to happen in these areas in order to accomplish committee goals?

  • Governance
  • Communications
  • Resources
  • Use of data
  • Delivery systems
  • Curriculum
  • Teacher training
  • Sustainability
  • Scalability (of successful school-based or other local programs) 
  • Implications for kindergarten through grade eight
  • Potential Obstacles
  • English Learners

Essential Questions

Relevance

  1. How can we make achievement of standards matter to students?

    • What are some examples of assessments that successfully provide incentives to students for performance (e.g., states where scholarships or other "rewards" are associated with performance on state standards-based tests, such as Indiana, Maine)?

      • Why are these assessments successful, and which models could be replicated/encouraged in California?
      • Which aspects of the CSU Early Assessment Program are working well and which aspects need to be refined?

    • Where are academically rigorous CTE programs functioning effectively to keep high school students engaged?

      • Why are these programs successful, and which aspects could be encouraged in California?

    • Where are local colleges and universities working with kindergarten through grade twelve districts to refine articulation across the sectors (e.g., El Paso, Northern Kentucky)?

      • Why are these programs successful, and which aspects could be encouraged in California?

    • How can businesses play a role in keeping high school students engaged?
Rigor
  1. How can we provide all students the opportunity to master rigorous work- and college-ready curricula?

    • What are some examples of programs that provide ALL students with the opportunity to master rigorous work- and college-ready curricula (e.g., State Scholars Initiative, Washoe LEA in Nevada, L.A., San Jose, career academies, AP and IB)?

      • Why are these "curricula" successful, and which models could be replicated/encouraged in California?
      • Is there a way to blend traditional A-G (or other "college prep" curricula) with more "applied" curricula, such as CTE? How can business play a role in this work?
Relationships
  1. How can we work to ensure that all students develop a sense of community while they are in high school?

    • How can we obviate the likelihood that high school students will fall into gang or other counterproductive sub-cultures in high school communities?

    • What are some examples of programs or products that successfully build personal relationships between teachers and students and between students and community groups or individuals.

      • Why are these models successful, and which aspects could be replicated/encouraged in California?
      • Are high schools working with middle and elementary schools to identify incoming at risk students? If so, how are they working with these students and their family members as they enter high school to get them off on the right foot?

    • How can the issue of supporting a student’s culture be implemented to support the development of a sense of community?
Process/Implementation
  1. How can we address critical, short-term "triage" problem of ninth graders entering high school unprepared to master essential content and skills?

    • What are some examples of programs that successfully remediate incoming high school students (e.g., Talent Development model, LIPP and YES College Prep models, Princeton Review’s remedial math program)?

      • Why are these models successful, and which aspects could be replicated/encouraged in California?
      • Are high schools working with middle and elementary schools to clarify expectations?
      • What does current research say about how to address the adolescent literacy problem?

  2. How can we ensure that all students and parents are deeply aware of stakes (at the back end) and therefore importance of academic choices (at the front end)?

    • What are some examples of states or districts that have successfully communicated to parents and students about the importance of academic choices (e.g., KY, AVID, College Summit, State Scholars Initiative) and job and career oriented alternatives?

      • Why are these models successful, and which models could be replicated/encouraged in California?

Essential Questions for P-16 Council Subcommittees (PDF; 59KB; 3pp.)

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