What is the Diploma Techical School?
The principal purpose of the School is to improve graduation rates in the area. We have a research-based design with a proven record of successful targeted intervention. The School information is detailed on this website.
In the community, the new School would be an independent and accredited open-enrollment public charter high school serving young people, ages 18 to 22, who are not on track to graduate from high school within four years or who have already left high school before earning a diploma. The school will have grades 9 through 12. If these young people have not had their 22nd birthday, they can enroll in our school. We refer to these young people our “targeted youth” or "out of school youth" or "disconnected youth". In the School model, we took the best practices from the other Charter Schools. Along with these best practices, we have applied controls and checks to ensure the school and its leaders stay focused on the targeted youth.
The school model is non-traditional because the classes convene primarily in the evenings between 3:00 and 10:00. And the school’s forty-week, year-round calendar has seven “semesters” condensed into six-week long or four-week long blocked sessions. This scheduling format allows students to complete and earn as many as 3 half-unit classes in just six weeks or 2 half-unit classes in just four weeks. Please refer to the sample bell schedule and the sample calendar in the Appendix. This schedule and calendar allows students re-enrolling in high school or students transferring from a traditional district the opportunity to fill the gaps in their high school transcript while mastering the course contents and earning a full Arkansas high school diploma in a shortened time. Our model school also works closely with area secondary career and technical schools, training centers and area colleges to offer skills training and concurrent credit college and technical classes. And we work with area employers, Youth Apprenticeship, Arkansas Career Education-ACE and other skills training programs to get jobs or internships for our students while they are enrolled in our school.
Our model will use technology rich methods to deliver the course content. One delivery method is the “Flipped Classroom”. In a Flipped Classroom, the course lectures are videotaped with each lecture aligned with specific Arkansas framework strands or national common core standard clusters. Then the classroom time with the teacher is spent on discussion of the video content, on inquiry-based learning, and solving “homework” questions and problems. This method ensures that all frameworks have been presented to the students and the content has been taught in the most effective, efficient and accountable manner using best practices.
Our school record shows a history of near-perfect student behavior and discipline. We have a reputation as being one of safest schools in the state. We use the book “Choosing Civility” as our foundation for our civility program of discipline and character education. The purpose of the School is to graduate 100% of our students using the US Department of Education adjusted cohort formula.
In the community, the new School would be an independent and accredited open-enrollment public charter high school serving young people, ages 18 to 22, who are not on track to graduate from high school within four years or who have already left high school before earning a diploma. The school will have grades 9 through 12. If these young people have not had their 22nd birthday, they can enroll in our school. We refer to these young people our “targeted youth” or "out of school youth" or "disconnected youth". In the School model, we took the best practices from the other Charter Schools. Along with these best practices, we have applied controls and checks to ensure the school and its leaders stay focused on the targeted youth.
The school model is non-traditional because the classes convene primarily in the evenings between 3:00 and 10:00. And the school’s forty-week, year-round calendar has seven “semesters” condensed into six-week long or four-week long blocked sessions. This scheduling format allows students to complete and earn as many as 3 half-unit classes in just six weeks or 2 half-unit classes in just four weeks. Please refer to the sample bell schedule and the sample calendar in the Appendix. This schedule and calendar allows students re-enrolling in high school or students transferring from a traditional district the opportunity to fill the gaps in their high school transcript while mastering the course contents and earning a full Arkansas high school diploma in a shortened time. Our model school also works closely with area secondary career and technical schools, training centers and area colleges to offer skills training and concurrent credit college and technical classes. And we work with area employers, Youth Apprenticeship, Arkansas Career Education-ACE and other skills training programs to get jobs or internships for our students while they are enrolled in our school.
Our model will use technology rich methods to deliver the course content. One delivery method is the “Flipped Classroom”. In a Flipped Classroom, the course lectures are videotaped with each lecture aligned with specific Arkansas framework strands or national common core standard clusters. Then the classroom time with the teacher is spent on discussion of the video content, on inquiry-based learning, and solving “homework” questions and problems. This method ensures that all frameworks have been presented to the students and the content has been taught in the most effective, efficient and accountable manner using best practices.
Our school record shows a history of near-perfect student behavior and discipline. We have a reputation as being one of safest schools in the state. We use the book “Choosing Civility” as our foundation for our civility program of discipline and character education. The purpose of the School is to graduate 100% of our students using the US Department of Education adjusted cohort formula.
Diploma Technical School Mission
The mission of the school is to graduate 100% of its students using the US Department of Education’s adjusted cohort formula. The School will:
(1) provide a completely safe environment for its students. Using the “Civility Project” philosophy, students and staff abide by the "25 Rules of Considerate Conduct" where there are no arguments, fights or disagreements at school and ensure that the school is a pleasant place to be,
(2) provide a school that will increase the graduation rate of the youth in the area. Raising the percentage of high school graduates in the area will improve conditions for economic growth. Removing these students from the traditional districts’ graduation formula’s denominator will improve their districts’ own 9th grade adjusted cohort graduation rates,
(3) increase the number of young people in the area with post secondary school and/or skills training. While a student at the Diploma Schools, students enroll in skills training at secondary centers and/or take concurrent credit college classes,
(4) increase the number of young people employed. While taking classes, students are encouraged to work a paying job, or youth apprenticeship or internship,
(5) provide a true community school with community partners. The community partners will be an integral part of the success of the school by offering assistance and/or mentoring to the students, and
(6) duplicate the model in communities across the state as either open-enrollment or conversion charter schools. Seeing the success of Diploma School-type will encourage other communities to embrace this model.
(1) provide a completely safe environment for its students. Using the “Civility Project” philosophy, students and staff abide by the "25 Rules of Considerate Conduct" where there are no arguments, fights or disagreements at school and ensure that the school is a pleasant place to be,
(2) provide a school that will increase the graduation rate of the youth in the area. Raising the percentage of high school graduates in the area will improve conditions for economic growth. Removing these students from the traditional districts’ graduation formula’s denominator will improve their districts’ own 9th grade adjusted cohort graduation rates,
(3) increase the number of young people in the area with post secondary school and/or skills training. While a student at the Diploma Schools, students enroll in skills training at secondary centers and/or take concurrent credit college classes,
(4) increase the number of young people employed. While taking classes, students are encouraged to work a paying job, or youth apprenticeship or internship,
(5) provide a true community school with community partners. The community partners will be an integral part of the success of the school by offering assistance and/or mentoring to the students, and
(6) duplicate the model in communities across the state as either open-enrollment or conversion charter schools. Seeing the success of Diploma School-type will encourage other communities to embrace this model.
Please contact us with your comments or questions
Diploma Technical School
P. O. Box 94
Osceola, Arkansas 72370
870-822-0574
P. O. Box 94
Osceola, Arkansas 72370
870-822-0574
Duplicating our Model
Since 2007, our non-profit corporation www.ocbainc.com has promised to make our school a model for duplication across the state. OCBA, Inc. would also like to see several conversion charters, designed like our School, open in high school facilities across Arkansas. If a conversion charter is not practical in an area, then an open-enrollment school would be started to serve the targeted youth is that area.
In June 2012, OCBA, Inc. will submit letters of intent to ADE for open-enrollment public schools. The schools will be called Diploma Technical Schools.
The original concept for this school was to be a conversion charter school. In 2003, two Osceola School District board members discussed the idea of a charter school to serve out of school and disconnected youth. The members presented the idea to other board members over the next two years hoping the Osceola District would research the idea for a conversion charter school. The idea never came to fruition because of the district’s administrators' concerns. These concerns include the following:
· Assuming that the out of school youth are weaker test takers, how would an influx of these students impact a district’s AYP?
· Assuming that the out of school youth are trouble makers, how would their presence affect school discipline?
· Assuming that the out of school youth are older and have more “life experiences”, how would parents of the traditional students feel about these students sitting in the classroom with their children?
· Concerning funding, several federal funds are not eligible for students over 18 years old. How would this funding source be made up?
· Remembering that these types of students miss a lot of school days, how would their enrollment affect the district’s attendance percentages?
· Considering the age of the out of school youth, how could the student handbook policies apply?
· Considering the energy that the teachers would have to provide for these students, how much of a drain would it put on the already overburdened teachers?
· Considering that Osceola School district already had one conversion charter school, would adding another conversion charter cause confusion?
OCBA, Inc, is dedicated to developing a model that addresses and eases these concerns. We feel that our most successful study, the Twilight “Full set of night classes or Twilight classes scheduled in six-week sessions” creates a model that can be duplicated on most high school campuses across the state. Since 2010, OCBA, Inc., has considered hosting seminars for school district representatives considering a Phoenix Collegiate-typeconversion school-type school on their high school campuses.
In June 2012, OCBA, Inc. will submit letters of intent to ADE for open-enrollment public schools. The schools will be called Diploma Technical Schools.
The original concept for this school was to be a conversion charter school. In 2003, two Osceola School District board members discussed the idea of a charter school to serve out of school and disconnected youth. The members presented the idea to other board members over the next two years hoping the Osceola District would research the idea for a conversion charter school. The idea never came to fruition because of the district’s administrators' concerns. These concerns include the following:
· Assuming that the out of school youth are weaker test takers, how would an influx of these students impact a district’s AYP?
· Assuming that the out of school youth are trouble makers, how would their presence affect school discipline?
· Assuming that the out of school youth are older and have more “life experiences”, how would parents of the traditional students feel about these students sitting in the classroom with their children?
· Concerning funding, several federal funds are not eligible for students over 18 years old. How would this funding source be made up?
· Remembering that these types of students miss a lot of school days, how would their enrollment affect the district’s attendance percentages?
· Considering the age of the out of school youth, how could the student handbook policies apply?
· Considering the energy that the teachers would have to provide for these students, how much of a drain would it put on the already overburdened teachers?
· Considering that Osceola School district already had one conversion charter school, would adding another conversion charter cause confusion?
OCBA, Inc, is dedicated to developing a model that addresses and eases these concerns. We feel that our most successful study, the Twilight “Full set of night classes or Twilight classes scheduled in six-week sessions” creates a model that can be duplicated on most high school campuses across the state. Since 2010, OCBA, Inc., has considered hosting seminars for school district representatives considering a Phoenix Collegiate-typeconversion school-type school on their high school campuses.
