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Welcome! This new Learning First Alliance website presents a fresh, 21st century vision for public schools, with real examples of what is working in all kinds of public schools and districts. see how public schools - maybe even yours -- are pursuing imaginative strategies to helping students succeed.
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You might want to put your kids through art school after all.
Best-selling author Dan Pink's prediction that the MFA could become the next MBA is sure to kindle joy in the hearts of underfed visual arts majors everywhere, but it also has profound implications for K-12 public schools. Right-brained skills are becoming an increasingly important ticket to success in the post-information age, Pink argues in his book A Whole New Mind.
Public schools will have to do much more to promote such skills, he suggested, at a time when employers can easily automate or outsource traditional left-brained activities.
In a phone interview last week, Pink spoke with me at length about this new state of affairs, and he gave me a rare preview of his upcoming projects.
Here’s a thumbnail sketch of what Pink told me…. ...
No one slips by Lee Ann Galusha.
As a teacher at Chenega Bay School in Alaska’s remote Chugach school district, she knows where each of her students, mostly native Aleutian islanders, is on a trajectory towards mastery of standards. That’s because demonstrated performance on a variety of measures—and not grade levels or Carnegie units—determines student progress. The results of this strategy have been astonishing, earning Chugach a national reputation for student achievement gains that place it far ahead of districts with much wealthier students. (Click here for PublicSchoolInsights.org’s story on the district)
To find out more about this system, PublicSchoolInsights.org spoke with Galusha last week.
Here’s what we learned….
The Basic Overview: ...
Success Stories
Viers Mill Elementary School: Success for the Long Haul
Story posted November 9, 2009. Results updated February 27, 2013. Note: You can read more about Viers Mill at http://www.learningfirst.org/collaboration-viers-mill.
Results:
- In 2012, over 95% of 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students met proficiency standards on state reading tests
- In 2012, over 98% of 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students met proficiency standards on state math tests
- In all instances, the school outperformed the state despite serving a higher percentange of students in poverty
If you're looking for a Cinderella story, get to know the people at Viers Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland:
One of the [paraeducators] who had been here a long time said, "you know, they used to call this place 'slumville.'" Now, she says "the President's visiting here...." He came to our school for the work we did. He didn't just happen to show up.... It was the apotheosis of my entire career.... The President of the United States--the President of the United states!--is in our cafeteria...because of the work that went on in this building....
That's Susan Freiman, Viers Mill's staff development teacher, describing President Obama's surprise visit to the school last month. She worked hard with her colleagues to turn the once struggling elementary school into a national exemplar where almost every student is proficient on state tests. That is no mean feat for a school where most students are from low-income families and ...
Taft Information Technology High School: New Strategies Create Graduation Turnaround
Story posted March 1, 2011. Results updated January 22, 2013
Results:
- In 2011, 10th graders outperformed the state in proficiency rates in both reading and math. In reading, proficiency was at 93.4% compared to 85.1% in the state, and 93.3% for math compared to 78.7% in the state.
- In 2011, 11th graders scored 100% proficient in both reading and math; statewide, proficiency levels were 93.5% for reading and 88.1% for math.
- Graduation rates went from only 18% less than a decade ago to 91% in 2010.
- In 2010, Taft was named a Blue Ribbon School to recognize it's new discipline strategies, increased personal attention to students, and stellar graduation improvement
Nearly a decade ago, Taft Information Technology High School graduated only 18 percent 
of its students, struggled with student discipline, and offered only limited extracurricular activities. Today it is an entirely different—and greatly improved—model school. In fact, Taft was named a 2010 Blue Ribbon School. A radical restructuring led to Taft’s success. A new principal, new discipline strategies, and more attention paid to individual students (teachers now compose individual education plans) have contributed to a higher graduation rate. Last year, Taft’s graduation rate was 95 percent.
Anthony Smith, the current principal and a Taft alumnus, has reinstituted a broad array of extracurricular activities, including football and basketball teams, and the band. Smith has also continued technological improvements and investments at the school.
Don Ellis, who has taught mostly government and economics, has witnessed the school’s transformation firsthand. When he arrived at Taft 27 years ago, a housing project surrounded the school; at that time, students’ problems were often those associated with poverty, such as ...
Story posted December 17, 2012.
Results:
- Six years ago, the school—which enrolls 475 students in grades 6–8, 69% of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch—was one of the lowest performing middle schools in Kentucky; today the students outperform 90% of the students in the state.
- West Carter has met AYP the last three years; continued overall growth; and as of 2010, ranked in the top 10% of the 327 middle schools in Kentucky.
No student has been retained at West Carter Middle School in Olive Hill, KY, in the last five years. Staff members proudly point to that fact as evidence that their decision to not permit zeros is working. That’s a bit misleading, because coupled with the no-zero policy were a number of programmatic initiatives and supports that allowed all students to meet state standards and demonstrate significant academic growth. Six years ago, the school—which enrolls 475 students in grades 6–8, 69% of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch—was one of the lowest performing middle schools in Kentucky; today the students outperform 90% of the students in the state. ...
Story posted July, 2008
Story updated December 17, 2012.
Results:
• In 2012, 87% of 7th graders scored proficient or above on the state standardized reading test, 11 points higher than for the state as a whole. 86% of 8th graders scored proficient, up 23 points from the state.
• In 2012, 94% of 6th graders scored at proficient or above compared to 85% for the state.
• 4th graders scored above their state peers in proficiency in both math and reading in 2012 - 93% in math and 92% in reading - compared to those in the state at 88% and 85% respectively.
When visitors step inside Pocomoke Middle School, they are immediately surrounded by a profound sense of pride and high expectations. Students are actively engaged in instruction, the classroom walls are covered with student work, and the halls are lined with pictures of students demonstrating success. ...
Story Posted November 27, 2012.
Results:
- In 2004, only 55% of students graduated; in 2011, 86% of students did
- Four years ago, just 54% of students were proficient and 20% were advanced on the science graduation test; in 2011, 22% were proficient and 75% were advanced (all tested areas show a similar trajectory)
- Ten years ago, the school was among the failing high schools in Georgia; by 2011, it was among the top 10% of high schools in the state for student achievement in every area
Results matter. Whether in a classroom or on an athletic field, student achievement drives the success that builds pride in the community and the school. As results improve, the bar keeps getting higher. Nowhere is this truer than at Pierce County High School in rural southeast Georgia. The school’s 965 students, almost half of whom are from economically disadvantaged families, have demonstrated what a focus on student learning can accomplish. In 2004, the school ranked at the bottom of the state in students passing the high school graduation tests, and only 55% of the students graduated. In 2011, 86% of the students graduated and the school ranked 17th in the state on the graduation exams.
Although that is a significant accomplishment, seeing how the level of student proficiency has increased is even more striking. On the science graduation test four years ago, 54% of the students were proficient and 20% were advanced. In 2011, 22% were proficient and 75% were advanced. All the tested areas demonstrated a similar trajectory. The decision to not ...
Story posted September 25, 2012
Results:
- During the 2009-2010 school year, 12 percent of Totem Middle School’s eighth-graders took algebra; now, 83 percent take algebra, with 100 percent projected for the 2012-2013 school year.
- At Totem, a $10,000 grant secured by MEA through NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign helped the school install a new laptop computer lab.
- School staff are receiving training on parental engagement.
- Data teams were created at schools receiving school improvement grants, with data from assessments shared with the students so they can see their progress as well as used by educators.
What does a strong public school system look like? It’s hard to envision with today’s political and economic climate, but America can provide a great public education for every child. The National Education Association (NEA) and its members know where to start.
Last December, NEA laid out its Leading the Profession Action Agenda, incorporating proven best practices in education from thousands of teachers around the country and input from the independent Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching, created by NEA in 2010 to examine the teaching profession and make recommendations on maximizing teacher and teaching effectiveness. This year, NEA expanded that vision by introducing five domains of education quality: the quality of the professional, the profession, the schools, education policy and the union.
So what does all that look like in practice? In Marysville, Washington, educators in three schools supported by NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign (PSC) are planting the seeds for sustainable education reform in ...
Every year the American School Board Journal (with the National School Boards Association and Sodexo) recognizes excellent school district leadership with the Magna Awards. The following district is a 2012 winner.
Story posted June 26, 2012
Results:
- Johnston County Schools’ dropout rate has steadily declined, from a high of 5.39 percent in 2006-07 to 3.19 percent in 2010-11 and the raw numbers dropped from 465 to 213.
- The district’s graduation rate increased over the same period from 72.8 percent to 78.7 percent in 2010-11.
- The program has brought together community groups
and support for at-risk students is rapidly gaining momentum.
DISTRICT DILEMMA
Johnston County is one of the fastest-growing school districts in North Carolina. The makeup of the student population is changing dramatically, reflecting an increase in students with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Students also come from diverse economic backgrounds: Eighteen percent of the county’s children live in poverty and 40 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunches. Of the more than 32,000 students enrolled in Johnston County Schools, an estimated one third exhibit at-risk characteristics. Many students do not fit the “traditional” student mold and lack family support. The district’s dropout rate has exceeded the state average, and school leaders were concerned that the rapid growth of the district could accelerate the dropout problem.
SOLUTION
GRADUATE! provides personalized educational experiences to high school dropouts in a separate educational setting, allowing them to earn their diplomas. Supports include online and face-to-face courses, tutoring, mentoring, career and job coaching, housing, and mental health services. This initiative is ...
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A VISION FOR GREAT SCHOOLS
On this website, educators, parents and policymakers from coast to coast are sharing what's already working in public schools--and sparking a national conversation about how to make it work for children in every school. Join the conversation!
