A new report by LFA and Grunwald Associates, with support from AT&T, examines how parents perceive the value of mobile devices, how they see their children using mobiles, and what they think of the possibilities for mobile learning.
Personal Attention
Success Stories
A Community Re-Captures Its Students
Story posted February 10, 2010
Results:
• In only three years the school has re-captured at least 150 students who had dropped out or needed alternative schedules to graduate 
• Six years ago, as a K-8 school, 84% of students never made it to 10th grade; as a preK-12 school, staff anticipates an unofficial high school graduation rate exceeding 70%*
The Appalachian community of Lower Price Hill lies in an industrial area along the Ohio River, where homes are interspersed with factories and environmental quality is very poor. More than a quarter of residents are illiterate.
A few years ago, the community’s Oyler Elementary School was in danger of closing due to decreasing enrollment and poor academic outcomes. Initially local families were reluctant to intervene to save the school, but by using a variety of community engagement strategies, Cincinnati Public Schools Consultant Darlene Kamine mobilized residents. They created a new vision for a new school—a Community Learning Center. This effort was supported by ...
Story posted September 3, 2009. Results updated August 27, 2010.
Results:
• 97.5% graduation rate in 2009, compared to 83% for the state as a whole
• 85% college acceptance rate in 2008, with at least 70% attending
“A college education is the key to a bright future." That's the message that Principal Sharon Johnson sends to prospective students in an introductory letter. "It's also a serious commitment that requires focus, preparation, and support," she continues. "Join us and reach for your college dreams!" With that introduction and the school motto--"Where every student is college bound"--there is no mistaking the goal for graduates of Withrow University High School in Cincinnati, OH.
Here, high expectations mean that every student is expected to attend college or a postsecondary program. In fact, all seniors must apply to the University of Cincinnati and are expected to complete four college applications before winter break. Even the school's architecture, which bears a likeness to a university campus, seems to echo the message that if a student can buckle down and focus, then the future will indeed be bright.
Since the opening of the school in 2002, Johnson has been steadfast in her belief that creating an atmosphere of success and high expectations is key to helping students achieve their college dreams. While most students arrive at Withrow lacking in some skills, the school quickly begins to ...
Story posted August 13, 2009
Results:
• Dramatic improvement in student scores on state standardized tests--a 15% gain in reading and 14% gain in math over a three year period in which overall state performance remained fairly stable
• Most demographic subgroups significantly improved, narrowing achievement gaps
When Stephanie Smith became the principal of Seaford (DE) Middle School four years ago, she was told to accept the fact that the school would never be able to change its status as a school that needed to improve. She didn't accept that. In fact, Smith took the incident as a personal challenge, disdaining the very thought of setting low expectations. To improve performance levels, she set the expectations high.
Her defiance paid off: [in 2007] the school [was] rated "commendable" and the staff members, students, and parents are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. 
Student achievement has improved, the school climate is more positive, and the school reaches out to parents and the community.
Early in her principalship, Smith accepted a $25,000 grant from the Wallace Foundation to train her staff members in the tenets of distributive leadership. She admits that she momentarily thought to herself: "Wait a minute, I just got the job and now you want me to let the teachers run the show?" But she knew no other style of leadership, and ...
Story posted August 6, 2009. Results updated August 2012.
Results:
- In 2012, Vallivue was recognized as a NASSP Breakthrough School.
- In 2011, 87% of 6th graders reached or exceeded proficiency in reading, up from 73% in 2008
- 57% of 7th graders did so in science, up from 35% in 2008
- 80% of 8th graders did so in language useage, exceeding the state average of 71%
- In math, the percentage of 8th graders scoring at or above proficient exceeded the state average of 80% by 10 points, reaching their all time high (so far) of 90% [math proficiency rates hovered around 50% prior to 2005]
On any given day in one of Debbie Watkins’s seventh-grade math classes you might find a student standing under a giant lightbulb, calling a parent, family member, or guardian on an old white telephone attached to the wall. Occasionally, the 
entire class will turn to watch the student make the call. Other times they barely notice, it’s become so commonplace.
It may sound like a punishment, but it’s actually a unique reward. A student gets to turn the light bulb on when they’ve finally demonstrated mastery of a difficult concept, typically one that has been causing them grief for several weeks. Then they get to call an adult of their choosing to share the good news.
It’s a small victory—one little step on the ladder of improvement—but the phone calls can be emotional moments. Once in a great while a student chokes back tears. Other times, they high-five or strut to the phone as if ...
Story posted July 30, 2009. Results updated August 31, 2010.
Results:
• In 2010, more than 84% of 6th, 7th and 8th graders met state reading standards, outperforming the state as a whole in 6th and 8th grades
• The school continues to show improvement in math test scores, with the proficiency rate increasing at least six percentage points in all grade levels--and fifteen percentage points at the 8th grade level--over the past four years
Relentless is the word that staff members at Stelle Claughton Middle School in Houston, TX, use to describe how they operate: "We don't give up on our students, their families, or our own commitment. We recognize that our own attitudes, choices, and behaviors toward our
students and about their learning have the greatest impact on their achieving excellence."
The relentless pursuit of excellence is everywhere in the school, and it reflects Principal Delic Loyde's approach to staff members, students, and instruction. No detail, no matter how small, is overlooked. A few years ago, when the school missed its attendance target by a 10th of a percent, Loyde stressed to the faculty that the number represented only a few students and that every adult had a responsibility to ensure that every student was at school every day. The target was never missed again and ...
Story posted July 24, 2009
Results:
• In 2008, 92% of 10th graders met or exceeded state standards in reading, 65% did so in math and 84% did so in writing, compared to 63%, 42% and 54%, respectively, in 2005 (well surpassing state gains over that time of 8%, 2% and 12%, respectively)
• Precalculus enrollment jumped from 10 students eight years ago to 50 last year, with 23 continuing to calculus
It’s the start of the school year. A senior student and his mother are meeting with Chelan High School principal Barry Depaoli in his office. The student is not on track to graduate.
“Francisco, let me tell you my dream,” the mother says to her son. “My dream is to see you in your cap and gown on the stage.”
Depaoli smiles at the student. “Your mother loves you more than anybody else in the world. Now you know her dream. If that doesn’t motivate you, something’s wrong.” The student nods, and Depaoli goes to work. He arranges for additional tutoring and instructional support from Francisco’s teachers. He suggests to classified staff that ...
Two Years to Big Reading Gains
Story posted July 7, 2009
Results:
• 75% of participating low and non-readers passed the 2007 Texas state reading test after one year in the program
Many high school teachers and administrators think that reading instruction belongs in the lower grades. But according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2007), only 31% of eighth graders read at or above the proficient level, meaning that many are entering high school unprepared for its advanced textbook reading and language requirements.
When Chapin High School in El Paso, TX, opened in 2000, about 25% of its students were nonreaders, and most of them came to the school after years of failure, completely unmotivated to become readers. Some of the freshmen were already parents, and because the school sits on the border between the United States and Mexico, we also had a large population of non-English speakers. We needed a way to reach those nonreaders and bring them up to grade level. Our solution? A two-year reading lab program.
Money, Money, Money
A reading lab and reading teachers are not traditionally accepted expenses for a high school, so we had to figure out how to fund the program. We were able to ...
Small Academies Help Students Make the Grade
Story posted June 9, 2009
Results:
• Disciplinary referrals are down 27% since the transition
• Over the past three years, 90% of freshman passed English, up from 76% prior to the transition
• The freshman dropout rate declined from 14% in 2005 to an average of 8% over the past three years
At the end of the 2004–2005 academic year, Bridgeton High School in southern New Jersey closed its doors as a traditional high school. On September 1, 2005, the school, which serves a largely minority and economically disadvantaged student body, welcomed back its 1,100 students, teachers, administrators, and parents to a totally new system of education. Rededicated as a Talent Development High School (TDHS), what used to be one large school is now divided into smaller learning communities known as career academies. With this change, Bridgeton started on the road to ...
Parent/Teacher Collaboration Leads to “Students for Success”
Story posted April 9, 2009
Results:
• 50% of regular participants improved at least one letter grade in an academic subject during the program's first full year
• In collaboration with other FHS campus-wide efforts, Students for Success helped contribute to a 30-point increase (more than a 4% improvement) in school API (California's method of measuring school growth and performance) during the second year of implementation
Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, CA, is nothing if not diverse. The student population is 40% Hispanic, 25% Caucasian, 17% Asian, and 12% Filipino—to name just the four most prevalent ethnicities. The school is also socioeconomically diverse, with student families ranging from affluent to economically disadvantaged. In addition, 28% of students are English Language Learners and 10% are enrolled in special education courses.
Such diversity offers many benefits, but it also presents challenges. One enormous challenge is the large variance in academic support students get at home. While many students ...
Taylor Ray Elementary Beats the Odds, Achieving Near-Perfect Proficiency
Story posted February 26, 2009. Results updated August 31, 2010.
Results:
• In 2010, more than 99% of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders met state proficiency standards in math, and more than 94% of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders did so in reading
• In 2010, 100% of 5th graders met state proficiency standards in science
• For the past four years, student proficiency rates have been at or above 88% in all subjects tested (reading, writing, math, and science)--and with one exception, at or above 93%
The numbers tell the odds facing Taylor Ray, a largely Hispanic elementary school in Rosenberg, Texas, 25 miles southwest of Houston: Three-fourths of its 701 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch; more than one-quarter are English language learners; 13 percent have special needs; and nearly one in five transfer each year.
But the numbers also confirm that the school is thriving: According to preliminary 2008 adequate yearly progress (AYP) data, a remarkable 98 percent of ...
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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!
