CENTENNIAL SCHOOLS PROGRAM
Description & Evaluation
The Centennial Schools Program is no longer in operation. It has been superseded by the Schools for the 21st Century Program, which incorporates most of its features. In fact, Centennial Schools is the "foundation" of the new program. This "archival" page contains: Governor Leavitt's 1993 and 1996 announcements of the initial and modified Centennial Schools programs, respectively; the last official descriptions of these programs by USOE staff responsible for their administration; and executive summaries for the first three annual evaluation studies (school years 1993-94 through 1995-96). All of the studies were conducted by the Western Institute for Research and Evaluation with Adrian Van Mondfrans as the principal investigator. A 1996 legislative audit of the program is also separately available.
Description
Announcement of Centennial Schools
Governor Mike Leavitt
June 25, 1993
On January 18 of this year, in my State of the State address, I called for one of the most important initiatives of my administration. I asked the schools of this state to participate in a bottoms-up restructuring called Centennial Schools. My goal in issuing this challenge was for schools to rethink what they are doing from focusing on the process of education to focusing on student outcomes. In celebration of our state’s 100th birthday in 1996, I want Utah to have schools where educational success is measured not by the amount of time spent in the classroom, but on whether students learn the skills they need for productive lives. I am here today to tell you that everything that has happened since January 18 has exceeded my expectations, and that we are well on our way to that Centennial goal.
Teachers, principals, school board members, local and statewide administrators, parents, and community leaders have all come together in a very short time frame to design bold, innovative proposals to restructure their schools. Today, I will announce schools that have stretched their thinking far enough to be declared Utah’s 1993-94 Centennial Schools. These schools exhibit the following characteristics:
These schools have been chosen through a rigorous application process that has involved countless hours of effort on their part and scrupulous review by the Centennial Selection Committee. More than 185 schools applied. Eighty-five schools have been selected and will be named today. Another 15 schools came close to being selected, but failed to meet the criteria in one way or another. They have been given the opportunity to resubmit their applications this summer. They still have a chance of being designated Centennial Schools this fall.
Nearly $2 million is being allocated to the Centennial Schools. Nearly $600,000 remains. Some of this money may be allocated to the 15 schools that reapply. Or it may be used in next year’s Centennial School program. We are measuring are results not by the amount of money that we spend, but on the quality of the schools that were designated as Centennial Schools.
Some important notes about changing public education:
Every school that applied for Centennial status should be congratulated for being willing to change. Many schools that were not chosen this year can continue to stretch their thinking and rework their proposals so they have a shot at Centennial status next year.
I want to commend Jay Taggart, Corrine Hill, Scott Bean, the entire selection committee, Rep. Rob Bishop, who sponsored the Centennial School bill, local and state school boards, teachers, parents and principals who are willing to rethink public education.
Description of Centennial Schools Program
Utah State Office of Education
Enacted into law through H.B. 100 by the 1993 Legislature, the Centennial Schools Program embodies Governor Leavitt's goal to move Utah's public schools to a whole new level of performance. The Centennial Schools program commemorates Utah's 100th birthday, which occurred in 1996. The Centennial School Law was scheduled to expire on June 30, 1996, but was extended by the 1996 Legislature until June 30, 2000.
The Centennial Schools Program is designed to foster:
(A) Defines performance goals for students and the means for evaluating those goals,
(B) Establishes strategies to involve business and industry with the school,
(C) Focuses on the totality of the student through the involvement of other local or state agencies,
(D) Provides for the extensive involvement of parents in the development of personalized education/occupation plans for each student, and
(E) Includes the basics of education as well as higher learning skills in new designs to improve learning.
Over 600 Utah schools applied for Centennial School status during the first five years of the program. Special committees reviewed the applications and submitted the names of recommended schools to the Governor's Office and State Board of Education for approval. The first group of 98 Centennial Schools was named in 1993; 93 additional schools were added in 1994; 72 more schools were approved in 1995; 69 schools received Centennial School status in 1996; and 62 more in 1997. It is anticipated that up to 75 new Centennial Schools will be added in 1998. Each designated Centennial School receives special grant funds based on its size.
Announcement of Modified Centennial Schools
Governor Mike Leavitt
September 13, 1996
Governor Mike Leavitt announced that 10 Utah schools have been named as Modified Centennial Schools.
“This takes our Centennial Schools program another important step forward. It provides maximum local control and flexibility to schools to help students reach their highest level of performance,” Leavitt said.
To qualify as a Modified Centennial School, the school must demonstrate widespread parental and school staff support. It also must have completed or be in its third year as a Centennial School. Each of the selected schools will have a team of directors that consist of an equal number of school employees and parents or guardians of students attending that school.
Directors may request and receive waivers from the state or local board of education for any rule or policy that prevents or inhibits the school from achieving its performance goals. This allows the school autonomy to make local decisions for the students, faculty, staff and patrons of schools regarding teacher employment, student performance, school calendars, budgeting practices and faculty inservice.
Governor Leavitt introduced Centennial Schools at the beginning of his administration to increase parent involvement, local control and student performance. The Modified Centennial School program will run at least three years and will then be evaluated to determine the success of student performance goals.
Description of Modified Centennial Schools Program
Utah State Office of Education
In September 1996, the Utah State Board of Education approved 10 Modified Centennial Schools in six school districts to make bold, unprecedented changes in the way they operate and deliver education. experienced risk takes, they had already spent three years as Centennial Schools implementing their strategic plans, interagency collaboration, business partnerships, technology integration, and other reforms.
In 1997-98, these second year Modified Centennial Schools will receive 66 percent of their original grant award of $5,000 plus $20 per student. Utilizing broad fiscal flexibility, some of these schools are also able to tap into energy, substitute teacher, custodial, and lunch supervision funds. In each of them, teachers, parents, and other school and community leaders are working together in new and productive ways to empower students to succeed.
By law, each Modified Centennial School must elect its own board of school directors, composed of an equal number of school employees and parents (or guardians) of students, to make decisions to improve student performance, set measurable performance goals, and identify specific assessment methods to evaluate student performance. The schools also request waivers of state or district rules or policies that impede their progress.
During 1997-98, the five elementary schools, three junior high schools, and two high schools [listed below] will be held increasingly accountable by their constituencies as well as by state education and government leaders for the results they have pledged to accomplish.
Evaluation
First Year, 1993-94
This first-year evaluation of the three-year Centennial Schools Program
provides only preliminary information based on interviews, questionnaires, site visits,
and program audits. This information is subject to change and indicates general
directions rather than specific strengths or weaknesses in the program as a whole and in
individual schools.
Participating district superintendents identified parent/business/community involvement, technology implementation, curriculum changes, and SEOP planning as the primary focus of their Centennial plans. Other elements most districts emphasized were class structure and grading practice changes, teacher training and planning, student affective behavior.
Ninety-five per cent of the superintendents felt positive or very positive about the Centennial Schools Program. Most said it was empowering participating schools to make meaningful site-based decisions other than those on building maintenance, busing, school food service, and personnel issues. They also said Centennial funding was stimulating creativity and attracting more stakeholders.
Centennial principals identified increased parental involvement, better teacher-parent communication, more inservice/staff development, new assessment tools, community/business involvement, technology literacy, SEOP planning, and curriculum realignment as the changes in their schools most likely to bring about important, long-term benefits.
Sixty-six percent of elementary and middle/junior high principals credited the Centennial program with the enhanced use and integration of technology in teaching and learning going on in their classrooms. They pointed to lack of time for teachers to carry out their plans and resistance to changes in use of budgets, teacher time, and the school calendar as problems.
The majority of teachers felt their efforts to implement Centennial changes were effective and made an important improvement in the quality of the education they deliver. High school teachers who said Centennial activities were being dominated by a few aggressive teachers also conceded that at the same time their own opinions were taken seriously and were well represented.
Both teachers and parents expressed concerns about the extent and nature of the decision-making power they have and would like to have. This raises questions about the need for teachers with teamwork skills and the three-way relationship of principal, teacher, and parent. Seventy-seven percent of Centennial teachers said the school council should negotiate for them with their district.
Over half of the Centennial teachers perceived parent involvement to be limited to only a few parents and felt more should be included. All teachers said their foremost hope for the Centennial program was that it would result in better educational opportunities for students. Other expectations were for greater availability of inservice training and a wider decision-making network.
Teachers said the Centennial program was having a positive impact on the overall success of school projects, parent satisfaction with school services, the principal's satisfaction with teacher performance, and their own satisfaction with opportunities for personal as well as professional growth. Inadequate salaries and low prestige were continuing concerns.
More than three quarters of parents said they had met the school principal and that conferences with teachers gave them a good picture of their student's academic progress. But only 12 percent said they felt like equal partners with the school staff in making educational decisions in the best interest of their child. They felt teachers listened to them but then still made their own decisions.
Overall guidelines of the study also indicate the following preliminary conclusions:
As time goes on, school administrators and teachers are slowly but surely becoming more comfortable with the site-based decision-making process and getting used to implementing it as "business as usual."
Awareness of individual school and community needs and cumulative knowledge of the school decision-making committee are major factors affecting the degree to which a Centennial school's strategic plan embodies the state plan.
Over half the superintendents said the successful Centennial programs in their schools would continue after funding stops. Some principals reported that Centennial status had enhanced their success in winning other grants.
Sixty-two percent of Centennial principals said they had underestimated the length of time it takes to establish a school council or decision-making committee and to deliver inservice training.
At over two-thirds of the Centennial schools, teachers who had dealt with past school reform initiatives were successfully using their vision, leadership skills, and experience to adapt the Centennial program to their needs.
All successful Centennial schools have the following in common: a knowledgeable, capable, and enthusiastic principal; commitment to intensive inservice training; and willingness of the whole faculty to be mentors, and coaches.
In general, Centennial schools commended the openness, helpfulness, and supportive assistance and encouragement of State Office of Education staff liaisons. At the same time, they desire more autonomy to modify state goals to fit their own local situations.
Second Year, 1994-95
The second year evaluation of the three year Centennial Schools Program
provides important insights and recommendations that pertain to the goals, progress,
benefits, concerns, and overall success of Utah's 190 participating 1994-95 Centennial
Schools. Findings are based on 10 case studies and 31 program reviews of selected
Centennial Schools, and from surveys of 135 principals and of more than 4,600 teachers and
parents associated with Centennial Schools throughout the state.
A high level of parent involvement, both at home and through volunteer services, is the boosting the confidence of Centennial Schools to be innovative. Approximately 96 percent of parents surveyed say they talk to their children regularly about school activities, attend at least one conference with teachers during the current school year, and view the conference as useful. More parents this year than last believe they have a constructive, collaborative relationship with their child's teachers.
Over 90 percent of teachers feel more strongly this year than last year that they are making a powerful impact for good on the lives of students and are taking advantage of professional growth opportunities whenever possible. However, a significant number of teachers continue to be concerned about teacher cooperation and unity, inadequate salaries, community respect and appreciation for their efforts, autonomy over what they teach, and involvement in school governance.
Seventy three (73) percent of this year's surveyed teachers, compared to 65 percent last year, expect their district to support their Centennial School's strategic plan. But slightly more feel the district should not be informed about all decisions made that affect their own Centennial program. All but one or two evaluated schools are clearly governing their projects in a site based manner, a discovery regarded as extremely hopeful for the long term success of shared decision making.
All case study schools are collaborating with at least one institution of higher education not only in teacher training but also in joint research, inservice training, and curriculum development. These schools also reported considerable collaboration with public and private agencies including hospitals, health and social service department, courts, task forces, and aid societies. Some secondary schools are working with over 100 business partners in a variety of ways.
Nearly every case study school cited interagency collaboration, teacher inservice, strategic planning, technology integration, attitude improvement, or other processes as a means to bring about change rather than focusing on the intellectual, emotional, behavioral, and performance outcomes of students. The evaluators explain this by noting that respondents believe the underlying purpose for all they do, including programs and processes, is to improve education for students.
When asked about their Student Education Plans, elementary principals said the process is slowly but surely placing responsibility for learning on the shoulders of students. They also said active involvement gave parents greater empathy for the school's challenges. The evaluators fell the Student Education Occupation Plan process of large secondary school needs more creative solutions, since even small group advisory periods do not assure that the advisor knows enough to advise parents or colleagues effectively regarding a given student.
Greater teacher satisfaction was expressed in their growing Centennial School role and in the freedom to try, fail, restructure, and try again. This is a new attitude for many teachers. However, evaluators caution that while such positive perceptions are very promising, the overall lasting impact of the Centennial program is still unknown, since very little substantive, in depth outcome data has been collected thus far to yield meaningful, credible conclusions.
A majority of Centennial Schools funding is being invested in inservice training at all case study schools, particularly to prepare teachers to use new approaches and technologies. Nine of the ten case study schools are deeply involved with computers and with forming a schoolwide technology network. The quality and quantity of computer education is increasing in elementary schools. Secondary schools are developing added uses such as curriculum integration, Internet and email, and multimedia applications.
Concerns include: the time consuming burden of the year by year renewal process; notification of approval comes too late to use summer months as a planning resources; lack of training of proposal preparers to anticipate realistic funding needs; mid year or year to year change in school principals; reluctance to change among at least a few teachers at most schools; and tight district control that cripples a school's genuine site based power to control its destiny and undermines their mutual trust.
Recommendations include: full three year funding to provide enough time for each school to achieve its long term objectives; streamline the application process and extend the funding cycle; required guidance to motivate schools to conduct systematic, internal, formal self evaluations of their projects; encouragement to districts to provide Centennial Schools with true freedom to experiment; and differing elementary-secondary funding formulas that compensate for per pupil disparities.
Third Year, 1995-96
Findings in the third year evaluation of the Centennial School Program are
based on site visits and case studies of 15 schools; questionnaire responses by
principals, teachers, and parents at more than 60 schools; and interviews with exiting
principals, new principals, and teacher and parent members of Centennial School councils
from 23 elementary schools where the principal had changed midway through the school's
participation in the program.
All Centennial Schools are required to have a formally approved strategic plan. This plan helps them to focus on meaningful discussions, reflect on past accomplishments, identify future goals, bring order and energy to the tasks of innovation and reform, and create interactive learning communities nourished by openness and trust. The value of the strategic planning process grows more evident over time as whole school communities work together to change old ways and become better collaborators.
All responding principals said they have a board of school directors or council. At 32 of the case study schools, parent participation was rated as high. The variety of decisions the councils make about technology, curriculum, budget, and personnel is increasing. Clearly, the school councils are slowly but surely playing a more vital role in the important decisions affecting the school's overall ability to be successful. Earlier decisionmaking conflicts of councils with their districts and boards have largely disappeared.
Principal questionnaires and site visits indicated the Centennial Schools Program is providing urgently needed inservice which would otherwise not have been possible. Teaming, coping with gang violence, comprehensive guidance, and use of the Internet are just a few kinds of training widely held. In most schools, all teachers are involved in something over and above their own classroom assignments, and time has been allotted for them to work together to improve curriculum and pool their interests and talents.
Use of technology has taken a giant leap forward in classrooms, computer labs, and school offices becoming an indispensable facet of the school setting and supporting problem solving and risk taking as valid learning experiences. In most Centennial Schools, access to and the amount of technological equipment are greater than a year ago. As a result, the ability of students to use technology as an effective information gathering tool and to use word processing to prepare reports and conduct research has improved.
Most elementary schools in the case study are conducting between two and four Student Education Plan conferences per year and addressing the individual needs as well as the academic progress of each student. The quality and quantity of Student Education Occupation Plan (SEOP conferences at the secondary level are less certain. SEOPs worked best when advisory period teachers were directly involved. Most parents and two thirds of teachers surveyed said the conference are valuable.
Parents, teachers, and principals from all three evaluated groups perceived many of the same outcome from Centennial School funding. Among those most frequently mentioned were higher morale among teachers, administrators, and the community at large; clearer focus on goals agreed upon by all stakeholders; more emphasis on mastery of basic reading, writing, and math skills; more prestige in relation to other schools in the district; and increasingly fewer discipline problems in schools where better discipline had been a goal.
Where principals had changed in midstream through the Centennial Schools Program, parents, teachers, and the new principals were likely to be more hopeful about that future holds than exiting principals. Of the four groups, new principals were the most optimistic. Teacher felt ownership and did not think the change of principal would be an impediment. Parents thought the principal's role was crucial. In some case, the change ignited more communication and involvement than every before.
The positive attitudes of parents and teachers should be used to full advantage. These individuals could be motivated to conduit more formal evaluations at the schools they represent. Their enthusiasm and pride could fuel an indepth examination of what is going well and why and what needs to be improved and why. In human as well as professional terms, the Centennial Schools program has made a positive difference n the effective delivery of education and should be continued in some form.
Making evaluation an integral, ongoing part of Centennial School Program development and implementation is essential to continuing program progress and to keeping on track. More time is need for some schools to bring Centennial program objectives to fruition. A systematic process for conducting evaluations would be a substantial help to participating schools as they function with accountability to implement their plans and assess their accomplishments and their impact on student performance.