Principles of Practice

The principles of practice to guide the development of student supports are simply that: a guide. The right set of practices will vary for each school depending on resources, leadership, students' academic preparation, and a multitude of challenges. One model of support for all schools does not exist, but this set of principles can help inform and direct key decisions about which supports are most appropriate for your school.

The What, How, and Why of Student Supports

This guide is intended to help principals, teachers, counselors, school district leaders, and community and postsecondary partners to conceptualize, implement, and expand their system(s) of student supports. In addition, local, state, and national policymakers and funders can use the guide as they consider comprehensive approaches to college readiness.

Creating and implementing comprehensive supports that meet the needs of every student in a school is a complex, intensive endeavor. This guide aims to clarify the process by providing a range of practical examples and suggestions.

Each of the eight principles in this guide includes correlating information on

  • WHAT strategies secondary schools should implement to best support students;
  • HOW secondary schools should go about implementing these student supports, based on examples from the experiences of several schools in the Woodrow Wilson Early College Network; and
  • WHY, based on the research, secondary schools should implement these student supports.

The What: Principles of Practice

Each "What" section of the guide describes the specific supports involved in each correlating principle of practice. Specifically, the guide relies upon a definition of supports crafted by Weinstein and White (2011): Supports for learning and healthy development are defined as those policies, resources, programs, and practices that address the intellectual, physical, psychological, and social needs of children and youth so that all students can successfully complete a challenging educational curriculum through a two-year or four-year postsecondary program, preparing them for productive and healthy lives.

Type of Support

Example

Policies
  • Extended school day
  • Extended school year

Resources
  • Social worker on staff
  • Student health services

Programs
  • AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)
  • Group counseling
  • Entrance exam test prep
  • College campus visits

Practices
  • Early identification, support, and intervention for struggling students
  • Secondary and postsecondary faculty collaboration

Grounded in this definition, each key principle has been developed and/or demonstrated by faculty and staff at early college schools in the Woodrow Wilson Early College Network and supported by research. The principles offer educators a way to think about supports differently — shifting from a deficit-based, counselor-led, ad hoc set of programs toward a system of student supports that is principal- and teacher-led, data-driven and research-informed, collaborative, and professional development-focused.

The How: Examples, Tools, and Self-Reflection Questions

Each "How" section includes examples of how schools from the Woodrow Wilson Early College Network have put the principles into practice. This section also features links to relevant tools and resources. In addition, a set of self-reflection questions help practitioners assess how their schools currently support each principle of practice. These questions can help your staff start conversations to assess where you are, where you want to go, and how to get there.

For more information about the schools highlighted in this report, view the list of school partnerships in the Woodrow Wilson Early College Network.

The Why: Evidence Supporting the Principles

Each "Why" section highlights key research supporting each principle, drawn from findings across a body of work:

  • Two literature reviews that independently examined research on student support as applied to schools in general (Grubb & Anyon, 2010), and specifically to high-expectations settings such as early college schools (Weinstein & White, 2011)
  • A research study that examined the ways in which academically vulnerable students benefit from non-academic support (Karp, 2011)
  • A conceptual model for thinking about student support prepared by CAL Prep’s principal, one of the original early college schools in the Woodrow Wilson Network (Reed, 2010)
  • A broad study of student supports in the national early college school network, conducted with principals of 26 early college schools across the country (Jaeger & Venezia, 2011)

Summary of Contributing Projects


First Principle