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Success Stories

Individualized Language Arts Helps English Language Learners Succeed

Diego Lopez, Frank Wright Middle School, California

Story posted December, 2007

FrankW.jpg Results:
• Among top 2% of California schools in narrowing the achievement gap separating disadvantaged and Hispanic students from their peers
• 172 point increase in the California academic progress index since 2000

Sparked by the rarest of rarities - affordable housing in Southern California - and its proximity to the Mexican border, Frank Wright Middle School in Imperial has grown from 367 students in 2001 to nearly 800, adding sixth grade and moving to a new facility in the process. More than 70 percent of the student population is Hispanic, and nearly one in four are English language learners.

The addition of sixth grade for the 2006-07 school year did more than just increase Wright's student population. It also required a new approach to middle school, and better outcomes for English language learners. "It's clear that student success...begins with preparation during the middle school grades, which are a critical, pivotal point in the educational career of each student," says State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. ...

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