Chief Academic Officer Terry Edwards talks about how Everett Public Schools has dramatically improved graduation rates over the past seven years.
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.
Story posted April 2, 2009
Results:
• Consistently makes adequate yearly progress as defined by No Child Left Behind
• Received an "A" on the New York City grading rubric, which is based on student progress and performance as well as parent, teacher and student opinions of the school
In 1996, then-New York City Schools’ Chancellor Rudy Crew created a “Chancellor’s District,” a non-geographic improvement zone of chronically underperforming schools. His goal was to increase those schools’ instructional capacity and academic outcomes. Beginning with 10 schools and growing to 58 schools by 2002 (the final year of the initiative), these schools were under direct control of the chancellor and received a number of capacity-building interventions.
East Harlem’s P.S. 30, Hernandez-Hughes Learning Academy entered the Chancellor’s district in 1999. P.S. 30 serves 395 kindergarten through sixth-grade students who are mostly African-American or Latino, with 76% eligible for free or reduced price lunch. For the prior decade, the school had performed poorly on standardized assessments and was in danger of being closed for failing to meet New York State academic standards. But after ...
A Cinderella Story: The Spirit of Excellence
Story posted March 26, 2009. Results updated July 23, 2010.
Results:
• In 2010, 89.8% and 72% of 6th graders scored at or above proficient on state reading and math tests, respectively, up from 63% and 54% in 2004
• In 2010, 8th grade African-Americans students proficiency rates exceeded those of both the school and the state as a whole on state math and science assements
Everyone loves a Cinderella story. When Newport Mill Middle School opened its doors in 2002, folks wondered how students would fare. The school is located in the section of Montgomery County, Maryland, that is most affected by poverty, mobility, and language diversity. The verdict is in: One of the highest-performing middle schools in the county, Newport Mill has demonstrated the remarkable power of the Spirit of Excellence.
Tiger Pride: Fueling the Character Education Initiative
An important aspect of the school’s success is its emphasis on ...
Transforming School Culture the Waterloo Way
Story posted March 19, 2009
Results:
• Over 80% of students met or exceeded state mathematics standards in 2008, compared to 49% in 2003
• School consistently makes Adequate Yearly Progress in all areas
• Serious disciplinary offenses (as defined by No Child Left Behind) fell 71% (79 to 23) between 2004-2005 and 2006-2007
• First recipient of the New York State School of Character Award and a 2008 National School of Character
Just eight years ago, Waterloo Middle School, located in the heart of New York’s scenic Finger Lakes region, was anything but an educational beacon. The story of its transformation from a school struggling with disciplinary and academic problems into an award-winning model school is proof that committed teamwork can revolutionize school culture.
Principal Mike Ferrara recalls his first impression of Waterloo: “I knew immediately that the school I was now in charge of was in very serious condition. Staff morale was very low, student achievement was not a priority of the students or community, and school management was a serious problem.” ...
Feinstein Elementary School Cooks Up Success
Story posted February 26, 2009. Results updated April 1, 2010.
Results:
• Between fall 2005 and fall 2009, the percent of students scoring proficient or better in mathematics on the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) more than doubled, increasing from 14% to 31%
• In fall 2009, 52% of students scored proficient or better in reading on the NECAP, up from 29% in fall 2005
Named after philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein, who is said to have established the first-ever public high school with community service as its theme, Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary at Broad Street in Providence, Rhode Island, serves a largely Hispanic population, many of whom have emigrated from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Of the nearly 400 children enrolled, 90 percent qualify for subsidized meals, an indicator of the school's poverty level.
To serve these students, Principal Christine Riley and her staff came up with a recipe for student success:
1. Use large measures of data-driven instruction, research-based teaching practices and ...
Taylor Ray Elementary Beats the Odds, Achieving Near-Perfect Proficiency
Story posted February 26, 2009. Results updated August 31, 2010.
Results:
• In 2010, more than 99% of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders met state proficiency standards in math, and more than 94% of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders did so in reading
• In 2010, 100% of 5th graders met state proficiency standards in science
• For the past four years, student proficiency rates have been at or above 88% in all subjects tested (reading, writing, math, and science)--and with one exception, at or above 93%
The numbers tell the odds facing Taylor Ray, a largely Hispanic elementary school in Rosenberg, Texas, 25 miles southwest of Houston: Three-fourths of its 701 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch; more than one-quarter are English language learners; 13 percent have special needs; and nearly one in five transfer each year.
But the numbers also confirm that the school is thriving: According to preliminary 2008 adequate yearly progress (AYP) data, a remarkable 98 percent of ...
Story posted February 5, 2009
Results:
• School-wide increases in reading and math test scores for the past three years
• In mathematics, the school has outperformed the district for the past two years, even though it serves a significantly higher portion of free and reduced-price lunch students
For decades, the Payne Phalen neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota, housed generations of immigrants and provided solid factory jobs. However, between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, the neighborhood lost more than 2,500 industrial jobs, and between 1980 and 1990, child poverty increased by 800 percent, according to the U.S. Census.
In the late 1990s, the city of St. Paul began efforts to revitalize the neighborhood through housing and business investment initiatives. As a part of this revitalization, St. Paul Public Schools decided to build a new elementary school where a high school had long stood empty. In partnership with ...
Stuart Elementary Handles Children, Community with Care
Story posted January 29, 2009
Results:
• In 2008, more than 90% of students in grades 3-5 met or exceeded state standards in reading, math, and science (95%, 93% and 94%, respectively)
• Named a Title I Distinguished School for three years running
"Today, class, we're going to cover SOL 3.1, scientific investigations," says Frenishee Smith, a third-grade teacher at J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School in Richmond, Va., referring to Virginia's Standards of Learning. "What do you have on your body that helps you make observations?"
"Your brain," answers one student.
"Exactly, because your brain tells everything what to do. That's our computer. What else?"
After each student called upon names the five different senses, Smith pulls out from her desk drawer an empty food can covered with a black sock and little colored pom-poms. "Before we go on, I want to introduce you to my field can," she says, which is met with ...
Story posted January 22, 2009
Results:
• This Title 1 school consistently scores around or above state averages on standardized tests in all subjects at all grade levels, with the exception of one subgroup
Although it opened only six years ago, Skyview Elementary School in scenic Lizella, Georgia, has already gained a reputation as an educational star. As a member of the National Basic Schools Network, which focuses on the four building blocks of community, curriculum, climate, and character, Skyview has a sound framework. But it is the passion, dedication, and wonderful vision of its dedicated former and present staff that has made this Title I school, where 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, soar to great heights in academics and character. ...
Bridging the Gap Between Preschool and Kindergarten
Story posted January 13, 2009
Results:
• More than 50% of entering kindergarteners know the alphabet, up from 4% seven years ago
• Only 2.1% of kindergarteners needed specialized educational services in May 2008, down from 12% in 2002
• 73% of first graders were reading at grade level in 2008, up from 52% in 2002
Through an innovative partnership between the Bremerton (Washington) School District, Head Start, and community preschools and childcare centers, more than 50 percent of youngsters in this small urban school district start kindergarten knowing the alphabet.
But that wasn’t always the case. Just seven years ago, only 4 percent of Bremerton’s incoming kindergarteners knew their letters, compared to 60 percent of children nationwide. Bremerton’s students, 59 percent of whom come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, were behind the academic curve even before they stepped into a classroom. ...
A School that Works for Children
Story posted January 5, 2009. Results updated December 16, 2009.
Results:
• The school has made adequate yearly progress for each of the last seven years and is rated "effective" by the Ohio Department of Education
• In 2009, the school outperformed the district in every tested subject at every tested grade level and the state in every tested subject grades 3 - 7 and in 8th grade reading (while serving a more disadvantaged population than the state as a whole)
Eleven years ago, the administration of Toledo Public Schools and the Toledo Federation of Teachers embarked on a campaign to create innovative district schools that meet the needs of parents and the community. As a part of that campaign, they worked together to open Grove Patterson Academy, a school offering a combination of nontraditional programs proven to support student achievement. ...
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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!
