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Story posted December, 2007. Results updated October 23, 2012.

Results:

• Outperforms state averages in all subjects across all grade levels, despite serving a higher percentage of low-income students.
• Baldwin's school rating based on state test scores rose from 493 in 1999 to 858 in 2012 (the statewide goal is 800)
  
• Standardized test scores continue to improve - for example, from 2011 to 2012, 5th grade ELA proficiency rates increased from 49% to 69%; science rates increased 56% to 78% and math rates increased from 67% to 91%.

Baldwin Academy Principal Bonnie Wilson refers to her school as a "beacon of light" for the surrounding community in the San Gabriel Valley of California. Today, Baldwin's light is shining brighter than ever thanks to a high level of support for staff, plus extensive collaboration among teachers at all levels.

"We believe that if kids aren't where we want them to be or aren't making the kind of progress we'd like, it's because we haven't figured out as professionals how to get them there," Wilson said in an interview with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).

With 896 students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, Baldwin Academy backs up the high expectations it sets for professionals with a culture that tells teachers, "We've got your back." So-called "roving substitutes" offer Baldwin teachers time to visit other classrooms so they can observe and learn from their colleagues. Teachers also use the time to compare notes about individual students, or to collaborate on key instructional issues and lesson plans. Wilson herself often covers teachers' classrooms when they want to observe classes. "There is a lot of sharing ideas," Wilson told the NAESP.

Wilson views collaboration and coordination among teachers as the keys to improving performance among Baldwin's students, who are predominantly Hispanic and from low-income homes. The "all-for-one" spirit starts in the earliest grades. Head Start teachers and teachers in the school's pre-K program regularly collaborate to share instructional methods and coordinate lesson plans. These discussions often include kindergarten teachers, too. Baldwin also makes a point to involve pre-K teachers in training with other primary teachers whenever possible. Pre-K and kindergarten teachers, for example, recently combined for early literacy and math training.

Baldwin ensures that teachers have the information they need to support every student's progress by requiring formative assessments for all students three times a year. The assessments cover even pre-K students, whose results are shared with the school's kindergarten teachers so they have a strong sense of their incoming students' proficiencies and needs. Baldwin also creates individual transitional education plans for pre-K students with learning or physical disabilities. And, thanks to the involvement of kindergarten teachers in the process, students requiring special attention and services can get the help they need at the beginning of their kindergarten year.

A similar focus on early identification and action to address special learning needs prevails throughout the grades at Baldwin. At the start of each year, for example, the school identifies the lowest-scoring 25 percent of students based on pre-assessments and starts weekly meetings with parents to outline intervention plans and progress goals.

Thanks to the hard work of the school's professional staff, student scores at Baldwin have shown a marked improvement. Baldwin's school rating based on state test scores rose from 493 in 1999 to 816 in 2006/2007 - an increase of more than 65 percent. Because of its achievements, Baldwin Academy has been recognized as a California Distinguished School and recently was named a Title I Achieving School three years in a row by the U.S. Department of Education. Wilson was named National Distinguished Principal of the Year by the NAESP.

2012 Update: While Wilson is no longer principal at Baldwin, the school continues on its upward trajectory. In 2012, the school outperformed the state on standardized assessments in all subjects across all grade levels, despite serving a higher percentage of low-income students. Their Academic Performance Index score has risen from 493 in 1999 to 858 in 2012 (the statewide goal is 800), and standardized test scores continue to improve - for example, from 2011 to 2012, 5th grade ELA proficiency rates increased from 49% to 69%; science rates increased 56% to 78% and math rates increased from 67% to 91%. See more results on Greatschools.org.

Further details about this story can be found in our sources:
National Association of Elementary School Principals, "Ensure Everyone Travels the Path of High Expectations", April 2006

Schools Moving Up, "Ideas in Action: Baldwin Academy", December 2007

For additional information, please contact:
Bonnie Wilson
Principal, Baldwin Academy
La Puente, CA
bwilson@hlpusd.k12.ca.us

Photos courtesy of Baldwin Academy