EDC+503+Su13+-+Metro+Career+and+Tech+Center

**School and District Overview**
The Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (Met) operates an East Bay campus in the city of Newport. In addition to having one public middle school and two public high schools, there is K-8 private school in Newport that costs $20,000 per year and a private K-8 catholic school that cost approximately $6,000 per year. There is a private boarding high school that costs $50,000 per year. This leaves parents in Newport with different options depending on their income level.

The Met School is based on the Big Picture Learning model that began in Providence, Rhode Island and is now in over 80 schools across the country and around the world. Big Picture states that they are "dedicated to a fundamental redesign of education in the United States..." and creating ..." personalized learning environments that work in tandem with the real world of their greater community." They also discuss a focus on diversity and equity. ( [|www.bigpicture.org] )

Newport appears to be a fairly well off community. The average income is healthy and the high property taxes ensure that the schools receive significant funding. However, looking beneath the surface the data show the depth of poverty and need among some in the city. Rents are the second highest in Rhode Island, requiring a family of three living below the federal poverty threshold to pay over 80% of their income to housing. Many working poor and middle class families have left Newport as a result of the cost of housing and there has been a significant drop in the child population as a result. 34% of children who do live in Newport are participating in the SNAP program versus 28% in Rhode Island as a whole.(Kids Count, 2012) There is also a high student mobility rate - 18% in Newport versus 14% in the state as a whole. (Kids Count, 2012) This is likely to the tourist economy in Newport and the associated transient nature of the availability of work for families. There is also a very high rate of chid abuse and neglect compared to the state as a whole - 32% versus 14%. (Kids Count, 2012) Essentially, for those who are poor in Newport, they are poorer and more at risk than the poor in most other areas of the state. However, they remain more hidden due to Newport's reputation as a world class city and the overall demographics.

**Student Body Description and Student Achievement**
SurveyWorks does not disaggregate data for the Providence and Newport Met campuses so we only know the average. It is unknown why this is the case. It makes it very difficult to compare the East Bay Met School, located in Newport, RI to the traditional high school in Newport, Rogers High School or to the state as a whole. The Met's overall proficiency rates are significantly lower than statewide averages, for example, 16% versus 30% proficiency in math and 66% versus 76% proficiency in reading, but the data also shows that 64% of Met School students qualify for subsidized lunch versus 46% statewide. They also have a much higher percentage of non-white students, 52% versus 30% statewide. It would also seem from parent self reports on SurveyWorks that parents of Met School students are less likely to have completed college than students statewide. (InfoWorks, 2011-2012 and SurveyWorks 2011-2012)

The Met has a 30% chronic absenteeism rate versus 17% statewide but they have a lower drop out rate at 6.5% versus 17% statewide. The Met's four year graduation rate is slightly lower than the state as a whole (73% versus 77%) but it is comparable to the graduation rate for the district and the five year graduation rate is actually higher at 80% versus 77%, which is also true of the district as a whole which is at 81%. This could indicate that the Met is working with a more challenging population but that they are in fact sticking with them to ensure that they graduate. (InfoWorks, 2011-2012)

**Funding and Resources**
Since this is a state-run school it is unique in terms of how it is funded. Following is an overview of the funding structure from the 2012 SurveyWorks data.


 * District Property Value per Student ||= FY2009 ||= $ 378,009.90 ||= — ||
 * District Tax Rate per $1000.00 ||= FY2009 ||= $ 12.11 ||= — ||
 * District Per Pupil Expenditure ||= FY2009 ||= $ 15,305 ||= — ||
 * District Property Tax Capacity ||= FY2009 ||= $ 35 ||= — ||
 * District Tax Effort ||= FY2009 ||= $ 256 ||= — ||
 * District Median Family Income ||= FY2009 ||= $ 32,058 ||= — ||

It is unclear how SurveyWorks came to the numbers on district property value and district tax rate per student. It is possibly a state average or a Providence average. The student-teacher ratio at the Met is 1:10 versus 1:11 statewide, but this is an apples to oranges comparison as the whole teacher-student relationship looks very different at the Met than at a traditional high school. Students are able to participate in all the sports and other extracurricular activities offered at Rogers High School.

**Student Perceptions of the Met**
Students, in the 2012 SurveyWorks survey, rated the Met school much more highly than students did at other schools in the state on average. This could be in part because it is a school that students choose to go to, rather than one they are just placed in, but the data is so drastically different in terms of satisfaction that it seems there must be something else going on as well. Teacher practice receives high marks from students. The most marked difference is in student reports is on their own engagement in learning. 74% of Met students report that all or most of their teachers keep them interested in class versus 32% statewide. 81% of Met students say that that most or all of their teachers inspire them to do their best work versus 40% statewide. They also rate much higher in student perceptions of college and career readiness although when pressed about their plans they are only slightly more likely to attend college than the statewide average. The Met also scores much better from students on indicators of bullying and levels of teacher-student respect. 83% of students at the Met report that most or all of their teachers seem to care about them personally versus 36% statewide. (SurveyWorks, 2011-2012)

**Teacher Perceptions of the Met**
Teachers at the Met School, in the 2012 SurveyWorks survey, consistently rate teacher practices higher at the Met than teachers statewide rate their own school practices. They are significantly higher rated in the area of providing experiential learning opportunities. They are also much more highly rated in helping students develop coping skills than teachers statewide, which reflects the school's commitment to the whole child. They also rate more highly on teacher collaboration and educator relationships. (SurveyWorks, 2011-2012)

**Parent Perceptions of the Met**
Parents, in the 2012 SurveyWorks survey, rate the Met higher than parents on average rate schools statewide in the areas of keeping their child interested in what they are learning, college and career readiness and planning and school safety, climate, risk behaviors and discipline, learning opportunities, equity and respect. Literally in every category Met school parents seem happier with the environment than parents at schools statewide. However, these parents self report as less likely themselves to find time to help with homework at home compared with parents statewide, which could indicate that the families the youth the Met is serving are coming from are at higher risk. Nonetheless, they are more likely to participate in parent-teacher conferences than are parents statewide, which is likely related to their positive feelings toward the school and their own self report that they are more involved in decision making at the school than what parents report statewide. (SurveyWorks, 2011-2012)

**Summary and Trending**
In summary, it would seem that teachers, parents and students feel that the Met school offers a strong, supportive environment, much more so than is reported at other schools. They also ultimately seem to graduate more of their students overall than the state average. This would indicate that schools have something to learn from the Met in terms of the culture that is created there. However, when looking at test scores, if the NECAP can be taken as a representation of student learning, which is debatable, it would seem that the Met School could learn something from traditional schools about knowledge transmission and how to perform on the tests. (SurveyWorks, 2011-2012). However, the school has been improving, along with the rest of the state over the past five years on overall NECAP scores and reading and math scores. Science and writing scores have dropped slightly. Despite having a separate state charter, the Met School is still accountable to No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top standards (InfoWorks, 2011-2012). It would appear that given the increased opportunity for additional charter schools provided for in No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, there has been the opportunity, in cases like the Met, for significant improvements in organizational culture and parent, teacher and student satisfaction with these schools. However, in terms of increasing test scores, a school such as the Met seems to have benefitted only slightly from Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind.

Sources

Big Picture Learning. (2012). [|www.bigpicture.org]

Kids Count. // Fact Book 2012 //. [|www.rikidscount.gov]

Rhode Island Department of Education. InfoWorks. http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov

Rhode Island Department of Education. SurveyWorks 2011-2012. http://surveyworks.ride.ri.gov

United States Census Bureau. 2007-2011 // American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates //. [|www.factfinder.census.gov]