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Story posted July 8, 2010

Results:
• Black, Hispanic, ELL and economically disadvantaged students consistently outperform their peers across the state on standardized reading and writing arts tests
• Emphasis on equity and teacher collaboration has created a positive school environment
• Named a 2010 Breakthrough School by NASSP

Entering the lobby of Park View High School in Sterling, VA is like entering another world. The diversity in the student body is reflected in flags from 63 of the 80 countries that are represented in the student population and in a special project for Hispanic Heritage Month, which covers the walls of an entire hallway.

The school walls, hallways, and stairwells are a celebration of outstanding achievement, featuring students’ academic work, photos of high achievers on Virginia state tests, student honors and trophies, class murals, paintings, sculptures, and other artwork. Diversity is also reflected among class officers and student representatives and by a notable sense of friendship among different cultures and races.

Evidence of the commitment to supporting all students is abundant. In the ESL Department, which works with 20% of the 1,200 students in the school, there are eight teachers, nine assistants, a dedicated counselor, and a parent liaison. An equity facilitation team that is composed of counselors and classroom teachers provides basic equity training to help teachers create culturally responsive classrooms. One of the school’s goals is to provide equal access and ...

Story posted June 18, 2010

Results:
• The intervention moved students at the 50th percentile up to or near the 75th, and students at the 25th up to or near the 50th
• While the intervention ends in 5th grade, positive effects continue to be seen in middle-school test scores

An innovative program out of Boston College is making a big difference for children in 11 Boston elementary schools. City Connects (CCNX) works with the schools to link each child to a "tailored set of intervention, prevention and enrichment services located in the community."

Its efforts have gone a good distance towards closing achievement gaps between the low-income children in the program and children who meet state averages. CCNX's results offer powerful support for what should be common sense: When we address the challenges poor students face both within and beyond schools, they flourish.

A rigorous study (PDF) of the program's outcomes tells a pretty stunning story:

• The beneficial impact of BCNX [the former name of CCNX] on student growth in academic achievement (across grades 1 to 5) was, on average, approximately three times the harmful impact of poverty.
• By the end of grade 5, achievement differences between BCNX and comparison students indicated that the BCNX intervention moves students at the 50th percentile up to or near the 75th percentile, and the students at the 25th percentile up to or near the 50th.
• For multiple outcomes, the treatment effects were largest for students at greatest risk for academic failure. For example, English language learners experienced the largest treatment benefits on literacy outcomes, by third grade demonstrating similar report card scores to those proficient in English in comparison schools. In fact,as a result of BCNX, there was no longer an achievement gap between these students.
• After grade 5, the lasting positive effects ofthe BCNX intervention can be seen in middle-school MCAS scores. The size ofthe positive effect of BCNX ranged from approximately 50% to 130% as large as the negative effects of poverty on these scores.¹

We recently caught up with two of the program's leaders: Dr. Mary Walsh, its Executive Director, and Patrice DiNatale, its Director of Practice.

Public School Insights: What is City Connects?

Walsh: City Connects is a systemic, evidence-based approach to school-based student support. It involves assessing, in conversation with teachers and other school staff, each child in the school at the beginning of the school year and then developing a tailored student support plan based on that student's strengths and needs in four areas: academic, social emotional/behavioral, health and family.

That support plan involves accessing services, supports, resources and enrichment for the child, both school-based resources as well as, and importantly, community resources. A trained professional with a Master’s degree—either ...

Story posted June 10, 2010

Results:
• In 2009, the school outperformed the state as a whole on reading and math tests at every grade level tested, despite serving a significantly higher percentage of students in poverty
• 100% of seventh grade students met or exceeded state standards in math in 2009
• Named a 2010 Breakthrough School by the National Association of Secondary School Principals

It is no accident that the staff at Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School adopted a central tenet of Breaking Ranks in the Middle—to banish anonymity by creating a personalized learning environment for all of its students. The school was created six years ago when the four middle schools in Henry County, VA, were consolidated into two middle schools.

The consolidation left the students, the 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 ...

Story posted May 20, 2010

Results:
• In 2009, the school outperformed the state as a whole in third, fourth and fifth grade math, social studies and English language arts, despite serving a higher percentage of children in poverty
• A general trend is that more than 75% of third, fourth and fifth grade students meet or exceed proficiency standards on state tests, which is a  high percent
• 10% of fifth graders were accepted into a district middle school for high achievers in 2009, which is a very high percent

Louisiana’s Greenlawn Terrace Elementary is a small school achieving big things. It is one of the top-performing schools in its district, a feat made even more impressive given the high rate of poverty of its student population. In fact, the school was recently named a High-Performing High-Poverty School by the Louisiana Department of Education, one of a very few neighborhood schools in the greater New Orleans area to receive the honor.

We recently spoke with members of the Greenlawn community to learn how they do it. Two major themes emerged: their school environment, which is caring and safe for students, parents and staff, and their focus on data.

Principal Katherine “Kitty” Croft, special education teacher and department chair Marguerite Hymel and Title I extension teacher Amy Lang told us more.

Public School Insights: How would you describe Greenlawn Terrace Elementary?

Croft: At Greenlawn, everyone in the school, from the custodial staff to the principal, shares the same vision.

I have been at the school almost 25 years, and that stability, of course, adds to what goes on here. And we are a small neighborhood school, with about 370 students. But when I first came, this was a large school. We were almost 700 children. I took home the yearbook so I could memorize the teachers. But now we are a small, suburban school tucked in Kenner, Louisiana, behind a very busy street. I love it.

Our population…When I first came to the school it was about 66% white, 33% black. Today it is about 41% white, 33% black and 25% Hispanic. We have always been a Title I school, which means that we are always “at-risk.” We have right now about 85% free or reduced price lunch students.

I have always loved psychometry. I figured when I was in graduate school that there would always be ...