Utica Community Schools' Efforts Drive SAT Preparation Readiness

Dr. Christine Johns is an experienced academic leader who serves as superintendent of Utica Community Schools (UCS) in Michigan. Committed to preparing students for competitive college and career environments, superintendent Dr. Christine Johns has overseen efforts surrounding Michigan’s recent transition from the American College Test (ACT) to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

The shift was set in place by the Michigan Department of Education, which mandated that, starting with the class of 2016, high school juniors must take the SAT. This followed a determination that the SAT aligned better than the ACT with the state’s academic standards.

Starting in 2015, school administrators coordinated with UCS educators to ensure that they engaged with CollegeBoard training materials. By reviewing sample exams of the newly revised SAT, teachers were able to define optimal testing strategies and transmit this to students.

Students are already on track for SAT success, as they take the PSAT in 10th grade to familiarize themselves with the test structure and materials and define skills they must improve to attain admittance into college. Parents were also encouraged to get involved, and more than 500 attended a district-led SAT awareness meeting.                            

AVID at Three UCS Secondary Schools

Dr. Christine Johns serves as superintendent of Utica Community School (UCS). Students within the UCS system have been performing above state and national averages. Three of the secondary schools that Dr. Christine Johns oversees as superintendent offer the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program.

AVID was started by Mary Catherine Swanson in 1980. It is now a global nonprofit organization with a guiding principle of having students adhere to the highest standards while providing the necessary academic and social assistance. AVID methodology believes students will rise to the occasion.

Annually, AVID programs provide training to over 30,000 educators, who learn to use proven techniques to prepare students to achieve success in high school, college, and in a chosen career. There is emphasis on traditionally underrepresented students in higher education.

While the AVID College Readiness System is intended for elementary, secondary, and higher education, a school district may implement independently the part that it needs.

Ninety-nine percent of students under the AVID system graduate from high school on time.

The Educator Micro-Credentials Initiative of Digital Promise

Multi-awarded Dr. Christine Johns is the superintendent of Utica Community Schools, which is the second-largest school district in Michigan. Superintendent Dr. Christine Johns, who earned her PhD from Harvard University, is among only 40 invited national educators to take part in Digital Promise.

Digital Promise involves the collaboration of education leaders, learning technology developers, and researchers, in using technology and research to provide better learning opportunities for all Americans. This independent, bipartisan, nonprofit organization has a number of undertakings, including its educator micro-credential initiative.

While educators are learning new skills on a regular basis, it is usually only at the start of their careers that they earn credentials. Hence, Digital Promise is establishing a coalition among educators and partners to create a micro-credential system the will recognize teachers who have mastered certain skills in the course of their career. This will give America’s educational system the capability to regularly identify and disseminate the best practices of the country’s educators and will encourage all teachers to improve their existing skills as well as learn new ones.