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.
Public School Success Stories
Across the Country, public schools and districts are transforming themselves to prepare students for success in a 21st-century democracy and global society. Take a look at what educators and communities are doing right now to meet this challenge.
Or tell us what's working in your own school or district.
In Burlington, Sustainability Drives School Success
Story posted January, 2008
Results:
• Engages students as spokespersons for sustainability efforts
• Builds self-confidence in a low-income community where students often feel they have little control over their lives
The Somali Bantu first-graders at Lawrence Barnes Elementary in Burlington were often silent in class. But that was before the students, who came to Vermont by way of a refugee camp in Kenya, met Speedy the Chicken.
Burlington is a haven for refugee resettlement, and nowhere is that seen more than at Barnes, where the school's 160 students speak 28 different languages. Virtually all come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and a district report found that Barnes has lower parental involvement and student achievement than its more affluent schools. With large numbers of English language learners and students with special needs, Barnes teachers recognized the need to connect the classroom with the outside world. "Our kids need hands-on learning experiences," says first-grade teacher Julie Brown. "When students are interested in and connected to the content, they're more likely to want to know more." ...
Innovative Character Education Leads to Safe, Supportive, and Successful School
Story posted January, 2008
Results:
• 74% drop in disciplinary referrals since the 2001 school year
• Met academic goals for all 29 student subgroups in 2005
A low-income community might seem an unlikely setting for an award winning public school. But St. Stephens Elementary is just such a school, thanks in large part to the safe, supportive learning environment school staff have worked hard to create.
St. Stephens Elementary enrolls 750 children, over half of whom participate in the free/reduced-lunch program, and more than half of whom are students of color.
Faced with such an economically, socially and ethnically diverse student population, the school has created a strong sense of family through an innovative character education program and a challenging academic curriculum. Children at St. Stephens know they are safe and loved. The school accepts and in fact celebrates their diversity. ...
Whole-Child Education Delivers Big Gains in Chugach
Story posted December, 2007
Results:
• Cut dropout rate nearly in half
• Students now consistently test above state averages in reading, writing and math
• More than two-thirds of graduates now go to college
How does an Alaska school district serving just 250 students, most of them living in remote areas accessible only by aircraft, receive the nation's highest Presidential honor for organizational performance? The answer: by pioneering a standards-based system of "whole child education" that adapts to students' individual needs and delivers big gains in student performance.
Chugach School District was chosen for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2001, just seven years after launching a comprehensive restructuring effort known as the Chugach Quality Schools Model (CQSM). The restructuring was a response by school district leaders to a plethora of challenges, including dismal test scores, high dropout rates, and the inability of graduates to hold jobs or become productive members of their communities. ...
Arts Integrated Curriculum Helps Students Overcome Challenges of Poverty
Story posted January, 2008
Results updated December, 2011
Results:
• In 2010, the school outperformed the state in every test at every grade level, despite serving a significantly higher percentage of students in poverty overall (74% compared to 30%)
• 100% of fourth grade students met proficiency scores in science and math in 2010
Woodrow Wilson is a pre-kindergarten to eighth grade school located in Union City, New Jersey. One of the most densely populated cities in the United States, Union City has a large immigrant population-90 percent of the students are Hispanic-and high rates of poverty. In fact, the city has the lowest median family income in the state, and 84 percent of the school's population is eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch. ...
In West Philly, Career Academies Drive Success
Story posted December, 2007
Results:
• Top honors multiple times at the Tour de Sol (a prestigious national green car competition)
• Increased numbers of college-bound students
West Philadelphia High School doesn't look like a place on the cutting edge of automotive technology "It's a true inner city high school," says teacher Simon Hauger. "Many of my students come from extraordinarily challenging social circumstances." But a groundbreaking career and technical education program has given students reasons to stay focused, including the opportunity to be part of a car-building competition that's trumped college students and automakers alike.
More than 80 percent of West Philadelphia's overwhelmingly African American student population comes from disadvantaged backgrounds. Four in ten don't graduate, prompting school officials to find hands-on, relevant ways to reach at-risk students. ...
School in Harlem Proves College is Attainable for Everyone
Story posted January, 2008
Story updated January, 2011
Results:
• Graduation rate averages over 95% for the past 11 years.
• 100% graduation rate in 2010.
For too many young women growing up in the neighborhoods of East Harlem, college is at best a remote prospect. But The Young Women's Leadership School has dramatically changed the odds for some of East Harlem's most vulnerable students. The Young Women's Leadership School (TYWLS) is an all-girls public school serving grades 7 through 12 in East Harlem, New York City. It enrolls young women who too often face extreme disadvantages: 98% are students or color and a full 84% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Girls in these circumstances often struggle during adolescence to fulfill their academic potential. ...
Incorporating the Arts and Closing the Gap
Story posted Jaunary, 2008
Results:
• Rapidly closing the gap separating black and economically disadvantaged students from their peers
Mary B. Austin Elementary's reputation precedes it. More than 80 percent of its students transfer into the Mobile, Alabama, school from outside its boundaries, in part because of a curriculum that fuses the arts with student achievement and a focus on making sure every student gets the help he or she needs.
The school's reputation stands on the academic performance of its students, just over half of whom are African American and nearly half of whom are economically disadvantaged. But while Austin Elementary students fare better on state standardized tests than their counterparts elsewhere in the city and state, closer examination of test results revealed that black male students needed additional help.
Budget cuts had also reduced the amount of music instruction at the elementary levels. "They did not have the manpower to offer what they realized was a balanced education," says Sarah Wright, the Mobile Symphony's education director. ...
Goals 2000 and Beyond: Helping ELL Students Succeed
Story posted December, 2007
Results:
• Even the district's lowest-performing school gained nearly 248 points in California's academic performance index between 1999 and 2005
Given that the majority of their students were English language learners from low-income homes, teachers in the Livingston Union School District thought they "weren't doing so badly," Superintendent Henry M. Escobar recalls. But when they saw their results on California's first annual academic performance index in 1999 -"absolutely dismal," Escobar says, and among the state's lowest - they knew things had to change. District leaders believed that to narrow the gaps in student achievement, they had to change the culture in their schools. The key to doing that, they argued, was recognizing that teachers would need extra support to help their predominately poor, Hispanic students reach high expectations. "Our teachers are the heart of our program," Escobar says. ...
Individualized Language Arts Helps English Language Learners Succeed
Story posted December, 2007
Results:
• Among top 2% of California schools in narrowing the achievement gap separating disadvantaged and Hispanic students from their peers
• 172 point increase in the California academic progress index since 2000
Sparked by the rarest of rarities - affordable housing in Southern California - and its proximity to the Mexican border, Frank Wright Middle School in Imperial has grown from 367 students in 2001 to nearly 800, adding sixth grade and moving to a new facility in the process. More than 70 percent of the student population is Hispanic, and nearly one in four are English language learners.
The addition of sixth grade for the 2006-07 school year did more than just increase Wright's student population. It also required a new approach to middle school, and better outcomes for English language learners. "It's clear that student success...begins with preparation during the middle school grades, which are a critical, pivotal point in the educational career of each student," says State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. ...
The Miracle on 1401 Ridgewood School Road: Transforming Ridgewood Middle School
Story posted December, 2007
Results:
• 70% drop in disciplinary referrals
• 0% retention rate the last two years
• Dramatic improvements in test scores (one of Missouri's Top Ten Most Improved Schools in four of the last five years)
Stymied by crumbling facilities, poor achievement and a general malaise, Ridgewood Middle School in Arnold, Missouri faced serious challenges in transforming the school into a safe and exciting place to learn. Angry parents regularly called the school about the poor conditions, and many demanded transfers. School administrators and teachers were equally discouraged by a rowdy and apparently apathetic student body. ...
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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!
