Fostering Connected School Communities: Creating Inclusive Pathways to Success

In this special episode of Designing Education, we're thrilled to welcome Krys Payne as our guest host. Krys is the Executive Director of the UChicago Network for College Success (NCS) and brings nearly 30 years of experience in education to her role. At NCS, Krys leads a team dedicated to equipping educators with evidence-based practices and research to positively impact key indicators that predict high school graduation and college success. 

Krys is joined by Megan Hougard, Chief of College and Career Success for Chicago Public Schools (CPS).  She plays a vital role in developing the district’s high school strategy. Her work ensures that CPS students have the necessary support to succeed beyond high school. Megan’s vision includes multiple postsecondary pathways, enabling students from every Chicago neighborhood to pursue careers aligned with their passions. 

In this fourth episode of our third season, Krys and Megan will engage in a conversation about building school communities where students feel connected every day and explore how educators can create pathways to success that are inclusive and impactful.  Join us for an insightful discussion that promises to inspire and inform educators and leaders alike. 

Transcript

Bob Balfanz (00:27):

Hello and welcome to season three of the Designing Education Podcast. We have a special episode today. Not only do we have a great guest, Megan Hougard, Chief of College and Career Success for the Chicago Public Schools, but a great guest host Krys Payne, Executive Director of the Network for College Success at the University of Chicago. We can't wait to hear their conversation, but before we start, we want to take a moment to remind you to subscribe to the Designing Education Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts. We're available on Spotify and Apple, just to name a few. Subscribe to the Designing Education podcast and never miss an episode.

Bob Balfanz (01:08):

Welcome to the Designing Education podcast series. I'm Dr. Robert Balfanz, Director of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University. In this episode, Megan Hougard, the Chief of College and Career Success for the Chicago Public Schools and our guest host, Krys Payne, the Executive Director of the Network for College Success, are going to engage in a conversation about building school communities where students are connected each and every day. It is the fourth episode of our third season of conversations we're having with education leaders, thinkers, and practitioners from across the country. We're talking with them about what it will take to create an education system that truly empowers all young people and sets them on a pathway to adult success. This season, we're doing a deep dive on student success systems. School connectedness is central to student success. School connectedness is the idea that I am cared about, welcome, and supported by adults and students in the school. It's also something that got weakened after the pandemic and continues to be so in its aftermath. So, we can't wait to hear Megan and Krys's insights on this critical topic. Welcome, Krys and Megan. It's wonderful to have you here today.

Bob Balfanz (02:19):

We start all our podcasts by asking our guests, and now our guest hosts, the same question: When you were in high school, what was a good day? Krys, we’ll start with you, our guest host. 

Krys Payne (02:33):

Thanks for asking. A good day for me was one in which I knew I was going to have English language arts with Mrs. Sharp. Um, I was gonna have Girls chorus or Madrigals with Mrs. Robertson, a day in which I knew I had study hall so that I could get a head start on my homework for the rest of the week. A bonus day was usually one in which we had butter cookies and peanut butter cookies served in the cafeteria, and any day was a good day when I saw at least one of my high school crushes. So that was a good day for me. 

Bob Balfanz (03:09):

You had a good map for a good day. You had lots of rich detail there. Megan, how about you?

Megan Hougard (03:16):

I'm not sure I can follow up Krys’s good day. I wonder where I went to high school after that. You know, I moved around a lot throughout high school, and so a good day for me really came down to did I have my group of people? Did I, Did I have my friends there? Did I have time with that teacher who would really, listened and gave me feedback, and I felt seen and felt heard, and the day where I felt like I could be calm at school because school really became an anchor for me, um, in my high school years.

Bob Balfanz (04:01):

I really like that. A place where you could be calm. That's a, that's a really nice way to put it. All right, thank you, Krys, it's all yours.

Krys Payne (04:09):

Thanks. So, as you know, joining me today is Megan Hougard, who's the Chief of College and Career Success at Chicago Public Schools.  Um she and her team ensure that students are prepared to walk into viable post-secondary pathways after high school. She brings over 20 years of teaching and administration experience to her role, and she's a proud parent of two Chicago public school graduates. Um, outside of that role, Megan also volunteers in our neighborhood, and she stays connected to former students as they pursue and blossom in fulfilling their careers fueled by their passions and their purpose. So, we are so happy to have you here with us today, Megan. Megan, let's dive right in. What motivates you as a district leader to focus on student connectedness?

Megan Hougard (04:58):

Well, I got to see some of my former students this weekend for their 15th year school event and their reunion. And seeing those students really brought back to me, why did I start as a teacher in the first place? They are adults, they're parents, they're quite a few of them are teachers. And, that question really brings me back to what is it about being a teacher and having that beautiful experience of learning alongside your students, that then I want to see lifted up to the district level. And it's hard. The, you know, you move away from the classroom, you move into a different levels of leadership and keep thinking about the, what we have in that classroom that we did so well, how do we really elevate that,  to a district scale and a large scale when we talk about Chicago Public Schools, and thinking about what policies do we need in place? What, what are the, all of the things that could become barriers for all students experiencing connectedness within schools? 

Krys Payne (06:13):

I hear you on that. You know, and as you talk about your student membership, uh, we know that Chicago Public Schools has students from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, so that adds some layers to uh, your work. You know, understanding that, what, steps are you and your team taking then to ensure that these students from such diverse backgrounds and experiences are in schools that are designed to serve them, and that they are connected to their schools?

Megan Hougard (06:45):

I think the first step, and I appreciate the district context and the city context in which I work, so we as a district have named this as a priority. We have said all students deserve connectedness and well-being. It's one of our five priorities that we focus on across the district. All schools focus on it, and we've lined up policy and practice underneath connectedness and well-being. So, thinking about, it's not an intervention strategy, it's not a, if something happens, it is saying, this is our baseline of expectation, so we can then adjust and address where there's student needs not being met, but not that there's something deficit or lacking in certain students or student groups.

Krys Payne (07:38):

I appreciate that, Megan. And so, when you start to talk about, um, adults, I'm thinking, you know, having adults who share student-centered mindsets, who build strong relationships with students, that those things are key. So how do you continue then to develop the adults in the building to develop these trusting and developmentally appropriate relationships with students?

Megan Hougard (08:05):

Through every way you can, I think is the answer. I,I do center my work in our equity framework as a, as a district. So inclusive partnerships for us includes the adults in practice, it includes students, it includes communities, and it really embraces the work of targeted universalism that says, you know, identify who is not accessing what you want for all young people in this case talk to those young people, talk to the adults and identify what is our responsibility in, in addressing those needs. Um, and I think that mindset shift around inclusive partnerships is a really important piece. And then I would also say as a district, we've shifted from a traditional performance policy that is always saying, you know, this is what schools are not doing um, or classrooms, or here's what students are not performing to - It's a mouthful - continuous improvement and data transparency. And that really is saying, what do we expect to see, but then what are we doing at a district to support those practices? And can we all see that in one ecosystem? And, and that is really more of a, a co-creation and a partnership strategy across the, all the adults in the ecosystem.

Krys Payne (09:46):

Beautiful. Because I hear, I hear you, you speaking of adults, but, and as you're speaking of adults, you're also talking about raising up the voices of young people, you know, so that they are seen, and they are held, and they are honored. In your experience, Megan, where have you seen some schools experiencing snags in their journey toward co-creating, like you talked about earlier, co-creating these schools where these students are heard and held and honored?

Megan Hougard (10:16):

I'm gonna think about an example of a school that I really feel just embodies this and led by a leader who believes this to her core. I think at, when, when we as leaders are so passionate and feel the urgency, we can get ahead a little bit without thinking about all the um, adult capacity and all of the, all of the pieces of our being that we need to address. And so, I think in the school setting, really setting collective vision and purpose together from the onset is important. I think then saying this is a process, so what tools are we using? We have had a great partnership with University of Chicago, with Network for College Success, with the Consortium for School Research. We have a lot of data available to use as feedback, but we've kind of lived in more of the autopsy of, of data. And so I, I think where I've seen school leaders do this well is saying, what, what data do we have that is feedback for us, to continue to be really thoughtful and listening and listening in multiple ways. 

Krys Payne (11:39):

Yeah. I, I believe and agree with you that having that holistic, actionable, real time data is important and that the conditions are just as important as the processes and the outcomes. Megan, I have one more question for you. How is the focus evolving? Because you talked about having the equity framework, you've talked about, um, student connectedness being a foundation, an expectation for all students across all of your schools. Where are you going next with this?

Megan Hougard (12:17):

I've been really focused on the graduate profile and thinking about how are we giving space for students to practice all of the skills and strategies that they need to have when they leave us in high school.  We’ve done a great job of focusing on college pathways. There's a huge infrastructure around this. We've got concrete post-secondary plan requirements called Learn, Plan, Succeed. We've built out a lot of supports and strategies around post-secondary.  We haven't flexed that muscle as much around non-college pathways, and even around the experiences that you need to be successful as an independent adult. I think that the experiences that we, I think used to assume everyone had around going away to camp or spending time on a college campus, or even going down south to stay with your grandparents have become less and less. So, thinking about how do we build those experiences and we create safe practice because the stakes are so high and they're especially high for young people who are going to be treated a certain way based on their race, based on their social connections so how do we create the space for practice within the structure that we have to support young people now?

Krys Payne (14:02):

Wonderful. I'm hearing, as you're speaking, like focusing not only on, building competencies, but also building agency and integrated identity so that these young folks who graduate from your schools graduate as whole human beings ready to take on the world. So, I have one more question before I let you go. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to districts and schools who are embarking on improving their connection with students?

Megan Hougard (14:38):

That's a great question. I think I would think about student agency at the front end.

Speaker 5 (14:48):

At the very start. We talk a lot about student voice, and we think a lot about democratic practices and participation. And in many places, our students don't have the ability to make decisions around their own education. And I think that it's a both/and. We need student voice. We need to focus on democracy now more than ever. And, young people need to have decision-making power properly informed and supported and all the advising structures, but that I think would go back to my question of like what I would want to work on –  is how do we build in student agency in every step on the front end so that’s also where those young people are practicing. 

Krys Payne (15:49):

Well, Megan, thank you so much for joining me and graciously sharing from your experience. It's been a pleasure spending time with you today.  

Megan Hougard (15:59):

And you are an excellent guest host. Thank you so much.

Bob Balfanz (16:15):

Thank you Megan and Krys.  This has been a great conversation. Is there anything else you'd like to tell our audience or is there websites or resources they could explore?

Krys Payne (16:31):

Absolutely. There's an article on the Grad Partnership website at gradpartnership.org entitled, Centering School Connectedness. Say that three times fast. And then there's also a research brief called Strengthening School Connectedness to Increase Student Success on the ED Research for Action website at edresearchforaction.org.

Megan Hougard (16:56):

I'd like to also thank you, Dr. Balfanz.  We actually used your framework and your research in developing our district level strategy. And so, when you look at all of our materials around the instructional core and the center of the core is around student connectedness, focused on identity, relationships, and community. So, you'll, you'll notice your trademark on that.

Bob Balfanz (17:24):

That's wonderful to hear. And I'm so excited that you're making it live for such an important and large, school community.  So in closing, today, we had a great discussion about how school communities, can be created where all students feel connected. And this is essential work because there are clear signs as seen, for example, in the high rates of chronic absenteeism, that the pandemic really impacted this. And it's those impacts of the pandemic are ongoing, right? They're gonna be with us for a while, and so we cannot assume all our students believe there are adults in school who know and care about them, have supportive peer groups, engage in meaningful activities, and feel welcome for who they are. Today, we learned, however, there are clear things that schools and districts can do to help turn that around and create conditions where everyone feels connected every day. We look forward to continuing to learn from the work of Chicago Public Schools and the Network for College Success, as they both seek to make connecting students to school an essential feature of what schools do.

Bob Balfanz (18:29):

As we close, we want to ask you to please subscribe to the Designing Education Podcast to stay up to date on all the revolutionary work happening in education as we heard today. If you're enjoying the show, leave us a five-star review. Also, please share the show with a friend or colleague or on social media. This has been Robert Balfanz from the Everyone Graduate Center, thanking our guest host, Krys Payne.  I invite you to listen to our other episodes of our Designing education series, wherever you listen to podcasts.  Onward and be well.