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Story posted January, 2008
Story updated January, 2011

Results: 

• Test scores have consistently improved in most categories from 2007-2010
• Nationally recognized in 2003 for success in closing achievement gaps

Located in an impoverished, highly transient part of Orlando, Florida, Rolling Hills Elementary School often gains or loses as many as 40 of its 750 students every week. But the school's principal, who had once repeated kindergarten at his parents' request, helped create a more stable and successful learning environment for his school's students, in part, by providing many students with the opportunity to get on grade level by offering consistent and relevant interventions and allowing a few students to be retained.

With assessment scores in reading, math, and writing all below the 33 percent mark, Rolling Hills received a "D" from the state education department in 1997 and a warning that it was in danger of becoming one of Florida's first failing schools. While Rolling Hill's overwhelmingly poor and minority students often came to school unprepared to learn and struggled to catch up to grade-level expectations, the notion of holding students back to provide additional remediation was "frowned upon," says Principal Patrick Galatowitsch.

After Galatowitsch outlined a new series of expectations, more than 100 students from all grade levels were held back at the end of the 1996-97 school year. "We expected children to perform at a certain level before going on to the next grade," he says. "We used retention as a way to help them get back on track and back on grade level, so that they could function effectively in school."

To address the transient nature of Rolling Hills' student body, teachers have focused on consistency both within their own classrooms and with each other. They also now meet with their counterparts in lower grades to discuss their expectations of what students should know before advancing to the next level. "We wanted to make sure that students entering the school are entering into a continuum," Galatowitsch says.

In the earliest grades, Rolling Hills invested heavily in literacy curricula and programs, including computer-based tutorials which help track student progress. Bolstered by Florida's voluntary pre-Kindergarten law, Rolling Hills emphasized its pre-K program, adding new classes at the beginning of the 2006-07 school year. "The sooner we can get students in the school and start working with them, the more chance they have to do well," Galatowitsch says.

Rolling Hills has gone from a "D" to a "B" rating and has met Florida achievement standards for five years running, improvements mirrored in the experience of individual students. "We have students that go from being D and F students to being on Honor Roll," Galatowitsch says. Discipline and attendance problems have also improved.

In 2003, President George Bush and U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige recognized Rolling Hills for its success in closing achievement gaps. The following year, it was one of six schools nationwide to earn Fordham University's National School Change Award.

A willingness to provide research-based interventions for students coupled with stronger, more consistent instruction have increased achievement, even with a challenging, highly transient student population. "We are just going to have to realize that there are real challenges for our students, and we're going to have to work that much harder to make sure students succeed," Galatowitsch says.

Classroom teachers play a key role in developing curricula, and are given the time and resources needed to succeed. "[Galatowitsch] sees teachers as classroom experts," one first-grade teacher says. He also takes a personal tack to professional development, investigating best practices and teaching a weekly instructional strategies class in which 85 percent of Rolling Hills teachers participate.

Story updates, 2011: Test scores continue to improve in the school, despite consistently serving a socioeconomically-disadvantaged majority--in 2010 86% of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, compared to 46% state-wide.

Further details about this story can be found in our sources:
National Association of Elementary School Principals, "Aligning Expectations and Practices to Ensure Success", April 2006 
(Note: This report is also available on the Foundation for Child Development website)

Elizabeth Randall, for Orlando Weekly, "Defending Public Schools", December 2005

For additional information, please contact:
Lukeshia Miller
Assistant Principal, Rolling Hills Elementary
Orlando, FL
407-296-6530 ext. 2235
lukeshia.miller@ocps.net

Photos courtesy of http://www.rollinghills.ocps.net/directory.htm