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High school success is cultivated by ensuring that students are on-track to graduate as early in their high school careers as 9th grade. Indeed, students who fail a course or whose attendance falls to unacceptably low levels in 9^th grade have greatly diminished chances of making it over the high school finish line.

In this Spotlight on Quality webinar, Increasing 9th Grade Success and High School Graduation in Chicago, leaders of the UChicago Network for College Success (NCS) discuss how they focused their improvement efforts on freshman success to move the needle on high school graduation rates. Consider this: NCS dramatically increased the number of 9th-grade students in their network schools, especially Black and Latinx students and students from low-income families, that were on-track to graduate by nearly 20 percentage points from 72% in 2010 to 91% in 2019, and this on-track achievement in 9th grade translated into an average graduation rate that grew from 71% in 2013 to 84% in 2019.

Through a presentation and a panel discussion that follows, NCS leaders and practitioners on the ground share what they did and how they did it, including:

• Applying improvement methods and principles to translate foundational research findings into practical tools and insights
• Iteratively constructing practical theories and measurements into improvement process indicators
• Focusing on variation and redoubling efforts to address disparities
• Designing Freshman Success Teams that operate at the intersection of student supports and high-quality instruction

Presenters and Panelists

Presenters

• Eliza Moeller, Director of Research and Continuous Improvement, Network for College Success, The University of Chicago
• Quinton Keith, Director of Data and Continuous Improvement, Network for College Success, The University of Chicago

Panelists

• Adelric McCain, Director of Equity and Impact, Network for College Success, The University of Chicago
• Lauren Perez Pietruszka, Freshman Success Coach, Network for College Success, The University of Chicago
• Heather Pavona, Director of Admissions and On-Track Coordinator, Hancock High School

Moderator

• Ash Vasudeva, Vice President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

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