A College Going Culture…

What is that exactly? Well, we’re learning, along with the courageous teachers who have chosen to take on the challenging task of convincing kids who never thought they could, that they can, and that they should. 

Our curiosity has been sparked by our partnership with two Washington state high schools, both of which have been involved in our College Prepared Project. As we began our support to Bellingham’s Options High School under a grant from the College Spark Foundation, our intended outcome was increased cognitive demand for their students in preparation for success in whatever post-secondary option they might choose. Many of Options’ students had never experienced tasks that demanded intellectual rigor. 90% struggle with drug abuse, 65% are victims of physical or sexual abuse, and 22% are homeless; 100% engage in risky behaviors. If there was ever a group of students who had never considered themselves college material, this was likely to be them. Our theory of change throughout the College Prepared Project has been that if we engage kids with relevant, worthy tasks, and provide the necessary scaffolding to be successful with those tasks, they will meet the demands of rigorous academic work. And our theory of action with Options High School was to build the capacity of Options teachers to create and support highly engaging, relevant, and rigorous tasks. Abeo Coach and Partner Chris Hoyos introduced critical reflective questions for teachers to be asking, such as What is the level of cognitive demand for these students? Who’s doing all the work, the teacher or the students? What can the students do – or need to do for themselves? How does the classroom environment support and expect intellectual rigor? 

Our ah-ha, and that of our colleagues at Options, was that intellectual rigor, while important, was only one aspect of the teaching and learning system that needed attention. Early in the project Options teachers realized that their students needed to be immersed in a college-going culture as well as rigorous work. Options students were now being given rigorous academic tasks, but they also experienced inconsistent expectations regarding their behavior and were not used to being held accountable for high quality work. Options teachers began to wonder if informal and sloppy language in the classroom might be working against increased task and instructional rigor. 

So the staff went on a field trip to Tacoma’s Lincoln High School, a long time partner of Abeo’s with a few more years under their belt in successfully supporting historically underperforming populations toward college preparedness. There they witnessed kids doing very rigorous work within much tighter student expectations than were present at Options. The staff began to wonder if an unintended consequence of the compassion they felt for their students was a reinforcement of low expectations and underperformance. So the staff began to address this across classrooms with students, adding rigor to the relationships among students and teachers. They discovered an immediate shift in behavior and the overall tone of the school…and students began to respond to the increased amount of intellectual press. 

Knowing that it’s important still doesn’t explain what a college going culture is, exactly. Options teachers have been documenting their journey and the strategies they’ve put into place to promote what they term is a “culture focused on intellectual development.” Students now agree to be respectful, be responsible, and be present . They know that they are expected to treat their teachers and each other with dignity, acceptance, and kindness. As learners, students are required to be physically and mentally present each and every day. And staff have made commitments as well, to contribute, communicate, and be consistent . They have also articulated attributes of a college-going culture so that each day staff and students are able to understand what they are expected to exhibit:  academic curiosity, self-control, delayed gratification, respect for the knowledge of their teachers, perseverance, work ethic, and excitement for learning. 

Using language that conveys college-in-mind for every student is one of the big ideas they picked up from their visit to Lincoln High School. Sara Ketelsen, a math teacher at Lincoln High School’s Lincoln Center summarizes the importance of language in establishing a culture: 

“I once heard a visitor say they have never heard the word ‘college’ said as frequently as it is said within Lincoln Center. I take that as a compliment. We work tirelessly to change the focus of the conversation from “Am I doing enough to graduate from Lincoln High School?” to “Am I doing enough to succeed in college?” This changes the heart of what we do. The competition or the drive is no longer “my classmates” or “my neighborhood” or even “Tacoma;” the competition is the rest of the high school educational world—and that is the mindset we are trying to instill in students and teachers alike. We aim to be as good as or better than the best.” 

So our learning at Abeo, and one we feel critical to share with our colleagues, all of whom are equally invested in finding post-secondary success for every student, is that the visible role of adult beliefs in a building – how the way adults talk with each other – influences its culture. And particularly important, a college going culture must extend to the students in how adults talk with students, how students talk with each other, and how the school’s internal expectations support and press on students…and adults. 

We’ve appreciated the opportunity to learn with the teachers at Options and Lincoln High Schools. We believe that the shifts made in terms of cultural expectations and cognitive demands for students have created a positive trajectory toward the results we are all seeking – strong college preparation and success, with options for all students. 

 Harriette Thurber Rasmussen is a coach and partner with Abeo School Change.