Autonomy and team interviews for new teachers get results Withrow has achieved a 95.8 percent graduation rate—a 40 percentage point increase in the five years since the school opened. Sharing what works across subject areas appears to help. by Wendy A. Hoke Cincinnati—Science teachers probably never thought they could learn much about teaching their subject from English teachers, but at Withrow University High School, all teachers share ideas and teaching strategies across content areas.
Sharon Johnson, principal at Withrow University High School in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood, believes that high student achievement is tied not only to rigor, but also to the way a school organizes its staffing.
Withrow is organized in teams based on grade level and subject area, with department heads who work to raise the academic bar and then share those standards and expectations with all members of the staff.
For example, the English department may set a rubric score for short and extended written responses. That rubric is then shared with all departments across content areas—math, science, social studies, etc.  The Instructional Leadership Team (ILT), the governing group for the school, will plan professional development to teach what an accepted written response looks like whether that written response is for science, social studies or English.
“We do a lot of collaboration and I believe that is critical to making the school a success,” says Johnson, who has led the school for seven years. And that begins with having a staff composed of individuals who believe that all students can learn, she says.
Apparently, it’s working: Withrow’s graduation rate is 95.8 percent, the highest of any Cincinnati Public School.  Though situated in one of the city’s tonier neighborhoods, it draws students from the entire city. A district school of choice, it enrolls 785 students in grades 9 to 12. Student enrollment is about 92 percent African-American; about 50 percent receive free or reduced-price lunch.
 Prior to 2002, Withrow University was one of the city’s large comprehensive neighborhood high schools. Failure rates were high, with only half of the students graduating. The district moved to restructure the large high schools into smaller schools. With the funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Withrow was one of the first to be restructured.
Autonomy is crucial
From the beginning, the district gave Johnson the autonomy to create a vision for this new, smaller school that allowed her the freedom to do things differently—without static from the union. “We don’t get a lot of union pushback. Why mess with something that’s working,” says Diana Crawford, Withrow’s Lead Teacher responsible for some administration and teaching.
The Cincinnati Federation of Teachers encourages schools to try new things across the board, from teaching to hiring, says union president Tim Kraus. At a school like Withrow, where teachers work together on a daily basis, the freedom to choose instructors based on compatibility, rather than on tenure, is vital. “We’re trying to get the best match, particularly in a team situation, however we can,” Kraus notes.
As a result, explains Johnson,  “I was able to handpick a team of people involved in choosing the staff of Withrow. We developed our own standard of excellence and asked teachers we interviewed to bring in excellent student work from their schools. The difference in the two standards was amazing. There were those who were close and we knew we could work with them. But it would take too much time to build up those who did not perform as high.”
Withrow is now known for its intensive interview process and Johnson admits that she asks a lot of her staff.
During the interview process, which includes a team of teachers from the subject area and/or grade level, prospective teachers are asked to share examples of excellent student work; talk openly about the number of students they have failed from year to year; demonstrate how they would introduce a specific lesson to the class; reveal their openness to wearing uniform colors; and discern their comfort level with the number of visitors in and out of the building, according to Crawford.
At the end of the interview, which can last two to three hours, the teaching team will discuss the candidate’s responses and qualifications. “We’ve been working together long enough that there’s not a lot of disagreement,” explains Crawford.
Teams raise expectations
Getting teachers to trust each other was just as important as setting high academic expectations. Johnson calls her school an extended family of staff, students, parents and supporters. She gave them opportunities to develop the trust necessary to build a comfort level with sharing best practices or asking for help.
It starts with a professional development retreat to Camp Joy, about 45 minutes outside Cincinnati in Clarksville. The goal is engaging in activities that help to identify teachers  with leadership potential in the building. The entire staff has taken trips together, using Gates Foundation money, to visit other schools with similar demographics. That includes Frederick Douglass High School in New York City, which is known for its success in getting urban and low-income students to college. The high school exposes kids early by offering the PSAT as early as 7th grade. “We went back twice to talk to the teachers and absorb what worked. We modeled lesson plans on what worked and how it was delivered,” Johnson explains.
Other professional development has focused on: co-teaching and collaboration, discipline and classroom management, team building, math strategies and ACT/SAT preparation, and writing across the curriculum. For example, developing a rubric for short- and long-written responses that is used for all subject areas.
Collaboration and team-building are helpful when the school has had to face unexpected changes such as budget cuts. “Last year we had to cut some staff and that certainly makes a difference in what we do. We had a solid 10th- grade team that now has to pick up some 9th-grade classes, too.”
That could impact team structure just as class size starts to inch upward with increasing enrollment. Withrow was designed to have 100 students per grade level, but demand for this school of choice has caused that number to move closer to 200 students per grade. Class size averages between 23-25 students. Johnson would like to see every class with a maximum of 20 students. Instead, she and her staff rely on the team structure they created.
Every child enrolled is monitored by a team of teachers that meets weekly to discuss student progress and share any concerns or suggestions that may either improve relationships with that student or provide successful learning strategies unique to him or her. Teams are required to submit agendas and meeting minutes to Crawford to ensure accountability. Team time is built into the school day and regular e-mail correspondence promotes an on-going exchange of information.
“Teams are responsible for resolving problems. Ms. Johnson counts on them,” says Crawford. “But she will step in if a problem escalates.”
Students focus on the work
Dedication, commitment, responsibility and consistency are keys to Withrow University’s success, says Johnson, and she expects the staff to demonstrate those qualities from the first day of school onward.
“You need to have every member of the staff on the same page, not just the principal,” says Crawford.
“[Ms. Johnson] sent kids home on the first day if they were not in uniform,” she adds. “We have a lot of good things here to emulate, but it’s a lot of hard work. [Teachers] have to really believe that every child can learn because here we do we whatever it takes.”
Johnson agrees. “Our teachers are not wiling to give up.”  That dedication is felt by Withrow students.
“Ms. Johnson cares. She expects us to come in here correct, but she will not leave you hanging,” says senior Jaleesa Andrews, who plans to study music education next year in college.
“Everyone is focused on the work,” says sophomore Barry Alvarado, whose family chose the school because of its academics. “The goal is to go to college. The teachers are strict because they care and they want us to go far.”­­­­­