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Professional Collaboration
Success Stories
Transforming a School Step by Step
Story posted April 7, 2010. Results updated July 23, 2010.
Results:
• In 2010, the school performed around or above state averages on both reading and math assessments, despite serving a significantly more disadvantaged student population
• The school has made Adequate Yearly Progress each of the past four years
When Melissa Glee-Woodard became principal of Maryland’s Lewisdale Elementary School four years ago, it was struggling. The school was in the dreaded “school improvement” process because of the performance of multiple subgroups of students, and it needed change.
Change is what it got. But not the dramatic “fire-all-teachers” change that has been making the papers. Rather, Glee-Woodard inspired teachers, parents and students with a new vision. The staff began focusing on student data in a meaningful way. Targeted professional development addressed areas of weakness in the instructional program. And new summer programs ensured that students kept their academic success going even when school was not technically in session.
As a result, Lewisdale has made AYP every year Glee-Woodard has been principal. The National Association of Elementary School Principals recently honored her for her transformational leadership.
She joined us for a conversation about the school and its journey.
Public School Insights: How would you describe Lewisdale?
Glee-Woodard: Lewisdale Elementary School is located in an urban setting in Prince George's County, Maryland. We are in the backyard of the University of Maryland, College Park. It is a working-class neighborhood. 80% of our students are ...
A Village Route to Early Childhood Education
Story posted February 23, 2010
Results:
• Participants outperform their peers on fall DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) testing in kindergarten
• Significant academic and social gains are seen at the individual level
In the 1990s, we at Davenport Community Schools noticed a trend: Children were coming to kindergarten unprepared to learn. A troublingly low number of our district’s children (more than half of whom receive free or reduced price lunch) had preschool experience. Recognizing the importance of early childhood education in ensuring students are ready to succeed in school and life, we developed the Children’s Village.
The Structure
Children’s Village, launched in 1998, includes formal preschool classes and all-day, year-round programming serving children from six weeks to five years old at five sites. We encourage participation by families of all economic and social backgrounds. Services are in great demand—we have a waiting list of hundreds of families.
Funding this model was a significant challenge. We historically had two targeted sources of ...
Exceptional Children Performing Exceptionally Well: A Conversation with Principal Cindy Goodman
Story posted February 18, 2010; Story updated July 24, 2012.
Results:
• In 2011, 73% of students with disabilities passed both the state math and reading tests, compared with 42.1% of such students at the district level and 34.4% at the state level
• Made Adequate Yearly Progress every year since 2002-2003
North Carolina’s Laurel Hill Elementary School is a model school. Its rural, diverse and high-poverty student population consistently exceeds state targets on standardized test scores, and the school has made AYP each year since 2003. It has also been recognized for its great working conditions.
But getting there wasn’t easy. In the early 2000s, one challenge stood out: The school failed to make AYP because of the performance of its students with disabilities (known in North Carolina as its 
“exceptional children”). Rather than throw up their hands at the daunting task of educating special education students, staff at Laurel Hill made lemonade out of lemons. They took the opportunity to study their school and its structure, revise its schedule and move to full inclusion. The result? A Blue Ribbon school that can confidently say it is meeting the needs of all its children. Principal Cindy Goodman* recently told us about the school and its journey.
Public School Insights: How would you describe Laurel Hill Elementary?
Goodman: Laurel Hill is a pre-K through fifth grade community school. We have about 500 students and are located in an extremely rural community. We have a very nice facility, which is about 11 years old.
We have an outstanding staff that holds our children to very high standards for behavior, for academics…just high standards in general.
Public School Insights: What kind of population does the school serve?
Goodman: Our community, the little town of Laurel Hill, is located in Scotland County, North Carolina. The county currently has, and for a good while has had, the highest unemployment rate in the state. So it is a very poor area. Between ...
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 27, 2009. Results updated April 1, 2010.
Results:
• Math proficiency grew from nearly 20 percentage points below the state average in 2006 to the state average in 2009
• Reading proficiency grew over 15
percentage points between 2004 and 2009, staying consistently above the state average
• Named a 2008 National Title I Distinguished School based on "exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years"
According to the numbers, Central Elementary School in Roundup, Montana, seems to fit the currently fashionable definition of a “turnaround” school. After many years of below-average test scores, the school has recently made double-digit gains in the number of its students meeting proficiency on the statewide assessment. In true turnaround fashion, that improvement appears to have happened in a very short period of time.
As recently as the 2005–2006 school year, for example, Central’s math score was nearly 20 percentage points below the state average. In the following school year that proficiency rate went up by 16 percent, and by 2007–2008 the school was six points higher than the state average in math. Meanwhile, the school’s reading score, while consistently above the state average, also rose by ...
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 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 ...
Catching Kids Up: A Math Club Success Story
Story posted April 17, 2009
Results:
• Most participants make significant gains in both district benchmark testing and class grades
• Students report greater interest in and understanding of math
• Teachers report increases in participants' attention to instruction and class participation
At Mechanicsburg Middle School, we recognized the need to help our lowest-achieving math students improve their skills. In addition, because many of these students had low confidence in their abilities based on past failures in Math, we knew we needed to provide a model that not only would be academically beneficial but also give the students an opportunity to view Math in a new light. Using collective teaching strengths, we created a model that has resulted in higher performance and an overall love of ...
Feinstein Elementary School Cooks Up Success
Story posted February 26, 2009. Results updated April 1, 2010.
Results:
• Between fall 2005 and fall 2009, the percent of students scoring proficient or better in mathematics on the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) more than doubled, increasing from 14% to 31%
• In fall 2009, 52% of students scored proficient or better in reading on the NECAP, up from 29% in fall 2005
Named after philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein, who is said to have established the first-ever public high school with community service as its theme, Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary at Broad Street in Providence, Rhode Island, serves a largely Hispanic population, many of whom have emigrated from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Of the nearly 400 children enrolled, 90 percent qualify for subsidized meals, an indicator of the school's poverty level.
To serve these students, Principal Christine Riley and her staff came up with a recipe for student success:
1. Use large measures of data-driven instruction, research-based teaching practices and ...
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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!
