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.
Together We Can: Schools and Communities Join Forces for Mobile's Children
Story posted January, 2008
Results:
• District made Adequate Yearly Progress in 2007
• 85 of 100 schools met Adequate Yearly Progress in 2007, a 215% jump from 2002
Often the hardest part of school reform is taking the long-view of things. Action plans get written but fail to move from goal setting to actual practice. The Mobile Area Education Foundation (MAEF) understood these shortcomings. MAEF set out on a multi-year quest to ensure that its efforts to engage the community in creating a school improvement plan translated into effective action and better education for all Mobile's children.
After four decades of inadequate funding, Mobile County's 100 schools serving 65,000 students were crumbling, and student performance was among the worst in the nation. In 2001, after an intense public engagement effort, voters responded in an action unprecedented in 40 years-they approved a property tax tied to public education. But the voters had not written a blank check: They expected results. ...
Consistency is Key to Improvement in Orlando
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. ...
"A Place for Everyone": Frankford Elementary
Story posted January, 2008. Results updated August 3, 2009.
Results:
• On average, 90% of students in grades 2-5 met or exceeded State Standards in reading and math on Delaware’s annual assessment (DSTP) in 2009
• 2009 performance highlights include 97% of 3rd graders and 94% of 4th graders passing the DSTP math test 
(compared to 79% and 77%, respectively, for the state as a whole)
The Frankford Elementary School motto is "A Place for Everyone." And, over the years, the school has proven that everyone can succeed if provided with individualized attention to meet specific learning needs.
Frankford Elementary sits in a small, rural community just ten miles from Bethany Beach, a summer vacation resort. Despite the school's proximity to expensive beach homes, most of the school's students come from low-income households. Seventy-eight percent of Frankford students qualify for free or reduced lunches. The student body is 43% Hispanic, 29% White and 26% African American. ...
Building Bridges for Student Success
Story posted Jaunary, 2008
Results:
• More than 90% of parents whose children attend this program report that their children do better in school and learn new things because of the program
Students in Genesee County, Michigan have no excuse to be "home alone" after school. A countywide afterschool initiative called Bridges to the Future enrolls more than 17,000 youngsters in safe, organized activities that are designed to support in-school learning - with a healthy emphasis on kid-centered fun.
Genesee County, home to the city of Flint, has seen its share of tough times in recent years, due to a declining economy, increasing poverty, and rising levels of violence and crime. Bridges to the Future is providing the county's students with the attention and the caring they need to rise above these trends and see the way to success. ...
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." ...
Transformation Helps Close the Gap, Inspires Performance
Story posted December, 2007
Results:
• Rapidly closing gap between majority and minority students in IB enrollment
• 68% of the class of 2006 passed the IB English exam (up from 24% in 2002) and 70% passed the math exam (up from 32% in 2002)
• Nearly eliminated gap between majority and minority students in attainment on the New York State Regents diploma
How does a poor minority student fare in a wealthy, predominantly white school? Thanks to Rockville Centre School District's personal approach, very well. But that hasn't always been the case. In this suburban Long Island school district, nearly 77 percent of the students are white and live in upper-middle-class households. Twenty percent of the students are African American or Latino, many of whom are poor and live in subsidized housing. Several years ago, Rockville Centre uncovered a disturbing gap in educational achievement between wealthy white students and poor minority students despite the appearance of equal access to education. ...
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. ...
A Revolutionary Course in Boston
Story posted January, 2008
Results:
• Students produce a 40-plus-page research paper they present to the class and to the community
• Urban youth are civically engaged, voice their opinions and act on their convictions
Seniors at the Boston Community Leadership Academy have taken the notion of "action learning" to a new level. One of 20 public "pilot schools" in the city, BCLA launched the senior Capstone Project in 2006-2007 to engage graduating students in a rigorous program of historical study, participatory research, community internships and writing.
As a pilot school, the 367-student Boston Community Leadership Academy is free to create its own curriculum and a unique school mission. BCLA's mission - to develop students as community leaders - became the basis for the 2007 Capstone course: "Lead, Act and Change: Youth Empowerment and Possibility in a Democratic Society."
BCLA history teacher James Liou designed the course. He said the goal was to create "the academic capstone for our BCLA seniors, as well as to serve as the core evidence that they've met the mission of the school." ...
Personalization Leads to Success in Port Chester
Story posted December, 2007
Results:
• Students now score on a par with wealthier neighbors on state assessments in English, and exceed them slightly in math
Surrounded by its much wealthier Westchester County neighbors, Port Chester, NY is a lower middle-class island in a privileged sea. Its middle school is home to about 800 students in grades six through eight. Latino students make up 68% of population, while African Americans and Whites make up 11% and 21% respectively. Sixty-five percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. But close attention to the needs of each individual student helps Port Chester Middle School keep pace with the county's wealthiest schools. ...
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. ...
SIGN UP
Sign up for our e-newsletter on public school success.
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!
