Leadership in Charter Schools A Case Study of Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy

This case study seeks to identify the leadership practices in a high performing charter school in order to determine specific practices that are effective, especially when educating minority and underprivileged students. This study is partnered with Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy (BVP), a mayoral charter school system consisting of six schools grades k-12. BVP is performing significantly statistically better than neighboring districts as well as Rhode Island schools as a whole. This research explores the leadership approaches and practices used to drive the success achieved by BVP. The data collected for this study derives from interviews with school administrators, faculty, and staff, observations of Board and Cabinet meetings, as well as various scholarly sources. The results include a strong focus on Autonomy and Best Practices, a People oriented approach, Learning by doing and seeing, and Managing change and controversy

Early college placement testing: Outcomes and impacts of the Early ACCUPLACER partnership

The Early ACCUPLACER Program was administered in partnership between the University of Alaska (UAA) and Anchorage School District (ASD) between 2006 and 2013. Using the UAA placement test (ACCUPLACER) as an instructional tool, the program intended to help students understand the differences between high school graduation requirements and college-level coursework. Test scores were used to advise students to take more rigorous high school curricula so they would be better prepared for the academic expectations of the college environment. In its seven years of operation, the program served thousands of ASD students. This report reviews Early ACCUPLACER test scores and subsequent academic performance for high school juniors and seniors who tested in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years. The data show that, at the time of testing, many of those high school students’ test scores would place them into developmental classes in college. This analysis was unable to examine high school transcripts to see whether or not students heeded advice to take additional and more rigorous high school courses; however, by following the participants who subsequently attended college in the UA system1, the data show: • Students who participated in the program did not exhibit substantively higher college placement test scores than other incoming students who did not receive the intervention. • Most students who participated in the program performed better on the test at the time of college matriculation than when they took it in high school, but the increases in performance, on average, were not large enough to change their recommended course placements. For approximately a quarter of students, test performance decreased between high school and college. • Upon matriculation, more students needed developmental coursework in math than in English or reading. • Upon attending college, between two-thirds and three-quarters of the Early ACCUPLACER program participants performed well enough in their first year to meet eligibility requirements for federal financial aid. • Persistence rates for Early ACCUPLACER participants were slightly higher than the overall UAA rates; however they were similar to other recent high school graduates, who tend to have higher persistence rates than nontraditional-aged students. The data suggest that the program did not significantly impact the college readiness or later college performance for its participants who later attended UA. However, the data and literature suggest opportunities to use high school-college partnerships as part of a robust outreach agenda. Recommendations include evaluating the relationship between high school course-taking behavior and college readiness, and broadening the definition of “college readiness” to include other attributes known to promote success.Executive Summary / Introduction / Method / Findings / Discussing / Recommendations / Conclusion / Reference

Quiet Clean Short-haul Experimental Engine (QCSEE) main reduction gears detailed design report

Lightweight turbine engines with geared slower speed fans are considered. The design of two similar but different gear ratio, minimum weight, epicyclic star configuration main reduction gears for the under the wing (UTW) and over the wing (OTW) engines is discussed. The UTW engine reduction gear has a ratio of 2.465:1 and a 100% power design rating of 9885 kW (13,256 hp) at 3143 rpm fan speed. The OTW engine reduction gear has a ratio of 2.062:1 and a 100% power design rating of 12813 kW (17183 hp) at 3861 rpm fan speed. Details of configuration, stresses, deflections, and lubrication are presented

Good collaborations: A case study of the Health Information Technology partnership

The Health Information Technology grant was a collaborative partnership between the Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC), the University of Alaska Community & Technical College (UAA CTC) and the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) to establish the infrastructure for a distance-delivered Occupational Endorsement in Health Information Technology. This document describes a case study research project that explored the activities of the collaboration, specifically as they pertain to student services and outcomes. Student eligibility criteria included: Alaska Native, low-income, GED or high school diploma, and a 10th grade TABE test score; many of the student participants exhibited demographic characteristics that placed them at high risk for noncompletion. Ultimately, 10 of 25 (40%) completed the credential, and of these graduates, five are continuing their postsecondary studies for an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. These success rates that exceed national averages for community college students prompted the team to explore the program elements that contributed to student success. A qualitative case study collected interview data from student completers, program staff, and faculty. It also reviewed program documents, and included visits to the physical spaces where the program was delivered. Tangible or material resources that contributed to the program’s success included stipends for student tuition and fees plus hourly compensation for time spent in class; the provision of laptops; adequate technology; staff and services that supported college transitions, social and personal needs, and academic success; a face-to-face kickoff event; and a cohort model. Qualitative aspects of the program that fostered success include staff commitment and positive attitude; clear roles for partners with a distributed workload; alignment of program objectives to each of the partners’ missions; communication; and student perseverance. Program elements that need to be revised, expanded, or improved prior to a second iteration include course sequencing, recruitment, technology, class times, and additional stipends. Opportunities for additional programming include industry involvement, career exploration, options for students who “change majors” or decide that the HIT field is not a good fit for their interests, job seeking and career planning support, additional attention to college readiness and soft skills, and incorporation of Alaska Native culture. A review of program elements that worked and need improvement identified opportunities to better align theory and philosophy, and to strengthen communication between staff and faculty who have complementary responsibilities to one another and to students. These discussions are recommended in order to develop more intentional and focused recruiting, to strengthen communication, and to develop a more culturally responsive curriculum. Though the program does not yet present itself as a best practice model, the program strengths and lessons learned were used to develop considerations for other programs and partnerships wishing to develop similar delivery methods.Office of Vocational and Adult Education Community &Technical College, University of Alaska AnchorageIntroduction / Health Information Technology / The credential / Employment landscape / Partners / Structure / Timeline & Schedule / Student Cohort / Outcomes / Method, participation, and analysis / Findings / What worked: The tangibles / What worked: the intangibles / What didn't work / Opportunities / Discussion / Philosophical -Student success / Theoretical: frameworks / Recommendations / Recruitment / Communication / Curriculum / Replication / Conclusion / References / Appendix: Considerations for replicatio

Alaska career pathways: A baseline analysis

This report details the findings from a 2013 statewide study of career pathways (CP) and programs of study (PoS) in secondary districts in Alaska. Twenty-seven of Alaska’s 54 districts provided data around the maturity of their CP/PoS, the availability of different CP/PoS, how career planning is addressed, and the availability of courses and PoS in the Health Sciences cluster. The differences between urban and rural communities are often noted in conversations around education, programming and policy in Alaska, and the data in this report reflect this established phenomenon. The contribution of this report is in helping to demystify and contextualize some of these known differences, and to make differentiated recommendations for moving forward.Acknowledgements / Executive summary / Introduction / Context for study / Method / Participation / Part I - Maturity of career pathway components / Part II - Available PoS within the career clusters / Part III Career planning / Part IV Health / Implications / Limitations / Recommendations / Conclusions / Reference

An evaluation plan of bus architectures and protocols using the NASA Ames intelligent redundant actuation system

Means for evaluating data bus architectures and protocols for highly integrated flight control system applications are needed. Described are the criteria and plans to do this by using the NASA/Ames Intelligent Redundant Actuation System (IRAS) experimental set-up. Candidate bus architectures differ from one another in terms of: topology, access control, message transfer schemes, message characteristics, initialization. data flow control, transmission rates, fault tolerance, and time synchronization. The evaluation criteria are developed relative to these features. A preliminary, analytical evaluation of four candidate busses (MIL-STD-1553B, DATAC, Ethernet, and HSIS) is described. A bus must be exercised in a real-time environment to evaluate its dynamic characteristics. A plan for real-time evaluation of these four busses using a combination of hardware and simulation techniques is presented

Morphometric differentiation in small juveniles of the pink spotted shrimp (Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis) and the southern pink shrimp (F. notialis) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

The morphometric and morphological characters of the rostrum have been widely used to identify penaeid shrimp species (Heales et al., 1985; Dall et al., 1990; Pendrey et al., 1999). In this setting, one of the constraints in studies of penaeid shrimp populations has been the uncertainty in the identification of early life history stages, especially in coastal nursery habitats, where recruits and juveniles dominate the population (Dall et al., 1990; Pérez-Castañeda and Defeo, 2001). In the western Atlantic Ocean, Pérez-Farfante (1969, 1970, 1971a) described diagnostic characters of the genus Farfantepenaeus that allowed identification of individuals in the range of 8−20 mm CL (carapace length) on the basis of the following morphological features: 1) changes in the structure of the petasma and thelycum; 2) absence or presence of distomarginal spines in the ventral costa of the petasma; 3) the ratio between the keel height and the sulcus width of the sixth abdominal somite; 4) the shape and position of the rostrum with respect to the segments and flagellum of the antennule; and 5) the ratio between rostrum length (RL) and carapace length (RL/CL). In addition, she classified Farfantepenaeus into two groups according to the shape and position of the rostrum with respect to the segments and flagellum of the antennule and the ratio RL/CL: 1) F. duorarum and F. notialis: short rostrum, straight distally, and the proximodorsal margin convex, usually extending anteriorly to the end of distal antennular segment, sometimes reaching to proximal one-fourth of broadened portion of lateral antennular flagellum, with RL/CL 0.80. Pérez-Farfante stressed that, for the recognition to species level of juveniles <10 mm CL, all the characters listed above should be considered because occasionally one alone may not prove to be diagnostic. However, the only characters that could be distinguished for small juveniles in the range 4−8 mm CL are those defined on the rostrum. Therefore, it has been almost impossible to identify and separate small specimens of Farfantepenaeus (Pérez-Farfante, 1970, 1971a; Pérez-Farfante and Kensley, 1997)

Salary & Benefits Schedule and Teacher Tenure Study

House Bill 278, passed by the legislature in spring 2014, instructed the Department of Administration to “present to the legislature a written proposal for a salary and benefits schedule for school districts, including an evaluation of, and recommendations for, teacher tenure” (Sec. 52). In order to meet this mandate, the Alaska Department of Administration contracted with the UAA Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) to produce the following deliverables: Develop geographic cost differentials for different school districts Develop base salary and benefit schedules for teachers and principals Describe superintendent duties, compensation, and responsibilities in Alaska districts Prepare a list of different benefit options school districts offer their employees and their associated costs Provide recommendations regarding teacher tenure policy Describe similarities and differences between the certified and classified labor markets in Alaska Each section of this report responds to a specific task or responsibility from this list.Alaska Department of Administration, State of AlaskaIntroduction / Report overview / Research activities / Context / The landscape of teachers in Alaska / Key findings / Recommendations / Methodology /Key informant interviews / Focus groups / Literature review / Teachers survey / District data compilation / Statistical analysis / Superintendent interviews / Base salary schedule and community salary differentials / Findings: Modeling salaries and differentials / Salary schedule development / Salary differentials estimation / Cost of living and the community salary differentials / Superintendent duties / Benefits / Tenure / Research tasks / Defining tenure / Tenure's historical origins / Current context for tenure / Empirical studies of tenure / Certified and classified labor markets / Summary and recommendations / teacher salary schedule / Teacher tenure / Final thought