End of Summer Success Stories Summary
A roundup of success stories recently published by Public School Insights is far overdue. Here's a list of eleven inspiring new stories we've posted in the past few months:
- Working together, parents and teachers help students thrive at a Delaware middle school. 8/13/2009
- An Idaho middle school gives students a second chance at success. 8/6/2009
- The relentless pursuit of excellence pays off at a Texas middle school. 7/30/3009
- A personalized approach helps turn around a Washington high school. 7/24/2009
- An Alabama middle school is beating the demographic odds. 7/16/2009
- A Texas high school turns nonreaders to readers. 7/7/2009
- Small academics help students make the grade at a New Jersey high school. 6/9/2009
- Access to college becomes a reality for every student in a Texas school district. 5/19/2009
- A commitment to character education supports school improvement in a Missouri school district. 5/7/2009
- A Washington school district brings college to the high school. 4/30/2009
- Teacher collaboration leads to student success at a Pennsylvania middle school. 4/17/2009
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The views expressed in this website's interviews do not necessarily represent those of the Learning First Alliance or its members.
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Featured Story
Banishing Anonymity
A middle school consolidation left students, staff members, and the community angry and disjointed. No one felt any joy in coming to a middle school that was housed in a former high school. The hallways and classrooms were out of proportion with the students, and the 900-student school was an extreme change for the rural area.
The closing of many of the area’s manufacturing plants and subsequent rising unemployment rates compounded the difficulties—unemployment in the area is the highest in the Commonwealth of Virginia at 20%, with almost 50% of the students eligible for meal subsidies. The board of education, supported by the community, recognized that an effort had to be made to provide a quality education for every student.
After a challenging first year of consolidation, the staff, led by principal Moriah Dollarhite, embraced the idea of grade-level teams, breaking the school into small groups to create camaraderie and school spirit. Content teams were also created to monitor instruction and ensure that all lessons were tied to the state learning standards. And finally, a lead teacher team, representing all content areas and including a differentiated learning coach, was formed to work with the administrators to guide the transformation. That group meets almost daily and has its finger on the pulse of every facet of the school. Today, the school performs well--and everyone enjoys coming to school. Read more...
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