AchieveTexasinAction
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RegionVIIIEducationServiceCenter
www.reg8.net
TheEducationServiceCenter(ESC)inRegionVIIIinMt.Pleasant
noticedaproblemafewyearsago.Alargepercentageof8th
BuildBuy-In
gradersinitsregion,whichcoversthenortheasterncornerof
Generally,clusterprogramsarebuiltby
Texas,werefailingthemathsectionoftheTAKS(Texas
workinggroupsorpartnerships
AssessmentofKnowledgeandSkills)exam.
representingeducation,employers,and
Togivetheincoming9thgradersaboost,theESCdeveloped
othercommunitystakeholders(seepage
Agricultural/AlgebraicExtensiveExploration—or A
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—an
16).Itiscriticalduringtheearlystagesof
innovativecoursethatexploresagriculturalissuesinalgebraic
systemredesigntoestablishbuy-infromall
terms,allowingstudentstoapplyclassroomlessonsinareal-
“Wecareabout
stakeholders.Thisisbestachievedby
worldcontext.Theclassisanexampleofhowclusterscan
makingthempartoftheprocessofprogram
integrateacademicandtechnicalknowledgeandskills.
ourkids’self-
design.Ifallstakeholdersfeeltheirconcerns
“Ourstudentsusealgebrainanumberofagriculturalareas
areheardandaddressed,thechancesof
fromanimalsciencetohorticulture,”saysSharonDerricks,
esteem.Mostof
gainingsupportaregreater.
CareerandTechnicalEducationSpecialistattheRegionVIII
thesestudents
Oneofthemostimportantelementsof
ServiceCenter.“Overall,wecover17agriculturalprojects,but
earlyprogramdevelopmentisstrong
wealsointroducethestudentstoalgebraapplicationsinafew
hadn’tpasseda
leadership.Foryourpartnershiporworking
otherareas,suchasautomotiverepairandwelding.”
mathtestbefore,
group,recruitleaderswhoarepassionate
Projectsarethecornerstoneofthecourseandlecturetime
aboutimprovingeducationandwho
islimitedtoprovideasmanyhands-onactivitiesaspossible. andnowthey’re
understandthebenefitsofcareerclusters.In
Oneclassprojectbringsstudentstoanareahorsefarmwhere
thebeginning,chooseco-chairsfrom
theymeasureandcompareShetlandponiesandregular-sized
participatingand
educationandbusiness.Leadersshouldbe
horses.
answering
responsibleforguidingthegrouptowarda
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isdesignedforstudentsconcurrentlyenrolledin
clearvisionfortheprogramanddeveloping
AlgebraI,anditrequirestwoteachers:acertifiedsecondary
questionsand
detailedplansforimplementation.
teacherwithmathexperienceandacertifiedagricultural
gettingexcited
scienceteacher.Theexpertiseofeachteacherstrengthensthe
SeekApprovalsfrom
students’understandingofboththemathematicsandits
aboutlearning.”
Policymakers
applicationintheagriculturalworld.TheESChopesthe
—Shar onDerricks,CTE
Inyourcommunity,implementingclusters
introductionofagriculturaltopicswillmotivatestudentstolater
Specialist,RegionVIII
mayrequireformalapprovalbytheschool
enrollinrelatedclassessuchasForestryandHorticulture.
EducationServiceCenter
board,superintendent,orsite-based
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takestheplaceofthestate’smandatedtutorialsfor
decision-makingcommittee.Itwillbe
9thgradersstrugglinginmath,and,accordingtotheESC,isanimprovementstrategythat
helpfultodeterminewhatrulesand
works.
regulationsneedtobefollowed.Astrong
“A
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isdoingagoodjobbecausethestudentsgetit,”Derrickssays.”Kidswillneed
clusterprogramcangenerallybeestablished
algebraineverythingtheydo,andwegivethemspecificexamplestoillustratethat.”
withincurrentrules.
Withanearly100percentsuccessrateofstudentspassing9thgradealgebra,A
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is
ThepowerofAchieveTexasisthatit
rapidlyexpanding.Beginningin2003withjustthreepilotschools,theprogramispresently
makessense.Developaclearvisionin
offeredin45schooldistricts.
partnershipwithcommunitystakeholders
Derrickssaysthatteacherprofessionaldevelopmentisthelargestfactorintheprogram’s
anditislikelythatotherswillrallyaround
success.Interestedagricultural,math,andscienceteachershavefouropportunitiesthroughout
theconceptofhelpingstudentsfindtheir
theschoolyeartoattendatotalof9daysoftraning,duringwhichtheycompleteanentireyear’s
individualroutetopersonaland
worthofprojects.“Itreallyisfuntowatchteachersgetexcitedduringthetraining,andthensee
professionalsuccess.
thestudentsgetexcitedduringclass,”saysDerricks.“Theyallputinalotofwork,andyoucan
seethattheyrecognizestudents’progress.”
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