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.
Exceptional Children Performing Exceptionally Well: A Conversation with Principal Cindy Goodman
Story posted February 18, 2010; Story updated July 24, 2012.
Results:
• In 2011, 73% of students with disabilities passed both the state math and reading tests, compared with 42.1% of such students at the district level and 34.4% at the state level
• Made Adequate Yearly Progress every year since 2002-2003
North Carolina’s Laurel Hill Elementary School is a model school. Its rural, diverse and high-poverty student population consistently exceeds state targets on standardized test scores, and the school has made AYP each year since 2003. It has also been recognized for its great working conditions.
But getting there wasn’t easy. In the early 2000s, one challenge stood out: The school failed to make AYP because of the performance of its students with disabilities (known in North Carolina as its 
“exceptional children”). Rather than throw up their hands at the daunting task of educating special education students, staff at Laurel Hill made lemonade out of lemons. They took the opportunity to study their school and its structure, revise its schedule and move to full inclusion. The result? A Blue Ribbon school that can confidently say it is meeting the needs of all its children. Principal Cindy Goodman* recently told us about the school and its journey.
Public School Insights: How would you describe Laurel Hill Elementary?
Goodman: Laurel Hill is a pre-K through fifth grade community school. We have about 500 students and are located in an extremely rural community. We have a very nice facility, which is about 11 years old.
We have an outstanding staff that holds our children to very high standards for behavior, for academics…just high standards in general.
Public School Insights: What kind of population does the school serve?
Goodman: Our community, the little town of Laurel Hill, is located in Scotland County, North Carolina. The county currently has, and for a good while has had, the highest unemployment rate in the state. So it is a very poor area. Between ...
A Community Re-Captures Its Students
Story posted February 10, 2010
Results:
• In only three years the school has re-captured at least 150 students who had dropped out or needed alternative schedules to graduate 
• Six years ago, as a K-8 school, 84% of students never made it to 10th grade; as a preK-12 school, staff anticipates an unofficial high school graduation rate exceeding 70%*
The Appalachian community of Lower Price Hill lies in an industrial area along the Ohio River, where homes are interspersed with factories and environmental quality is very poor. More than a quarter of residents are illiterate.
A few years ago, the community’s Oyler Elementary School was in danger of closing due to decreasing enrollment and poor academic outcomes. Initially local families were reluctant to intervene to save the school, but by using a variety of community engagement strategies, Cincinnati Public Schools Consultant Darlene Kamine mobilized residents. They created a new vision for a new school—a Community Learning Center. This effort was supported by ...
Getting Buy-In from Everyone in the System
A profile of Prince George's County Public Schools, Maryland
Story posted December 22, 2009
Results:
• Attendance at district welcoming events has increased from 500 parents to 20,000 parents in only three years
• In 2008-2009, the district logged over 70,000 instances of fathers' involvement in nonsports-related events
• District staff have observed that schools with higher family participation rates show greater gains in AYP
There is widespread consensus that family engagement is a critical ingredient for children’s school success “from cradle to career.” Research suggests that family engagement promotes a range of benefits for students, including improved school readiness, higher student achievement, better social skills and behavior, and increased likelihood of high school graduation.
Even though it is clear that family participation in education matters, many schools and districts struggle to develop engagement strategies that work. There are, however, a number of districts across the country that are actively working to develop comprehensive, systemic family engagement approaches that stress shared responsibility, involve a full range of school and district personnel in designing and implementing strategies, and deliberately link family engagement to student learning. One such district is Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland.
Prince George’s County represents a diverse district, serving a student population that is 73% African-American and 18.5% Hispanic, and where more than 50% of elementary and middle school students receive free or reduced price lunch. The district is particularly strong at creating “demand parents” who can navigate the educational system and demand the best from ...
Opening the Door for a New Generation of Students
Story posted December 16, 2009
Results:
• Over 90% graduation rate
• 85% college-going rate
Built in 1898, John Spry School has served kindergarten through eighth-grade children from southwest Chicago’s Little Village community, where the majority of the population is bilingual, for many years. But historically many of Spry’s students would graduate in the 8th grade, get a job to help support their families, and never complete high school.
In 2003, former principal of Spry, Dr. Carlos Azcoitia, approached the District CEO about adding a high school to Spry, creating a comprehensive community school from preschool through secondary school. After getting the go-ahead, Azcoitia met with community members, parents, the local school council, teachers, and students to discuss the design of a shared community building with an innovative, “no failure” high school. Today, Spry’s Community Links High School, which serves a student population that is 100% Hispanic and over 93% free or reduced price lunch, is opening new doors for the area’s children.
Committing to Post-Secondary Success
As a public, neighborhood school, Spry’s Community Links High School (CLHS) provides a unique opportunity for students and families from the community who are committed to success. Spry has designed a ...
Story posted November 5, 2009
Results:
• Native American math performance increased from 1080 to 1397(on Oklahoma's API scale of 1500) over the past two years
• Native American reading performance increased from 1059 to 1272 over that time
• Native American families feel more connected to the district
Bruce Belanger seems to be caught in the “wow effect.” When he speaks of the rapidly mounting success among Native Americans in Weatherford Public Schools (WPS), it’s hard for him to keep his enthusiasm from boiling over.
As director of special education, federal programs and testing at WPS, it falls to Belanger to find ways to improve student achievement. And for the past two years, good things just keep rolling in for Native American families in the district.
Central to this success are two related initiatives: a Native American Task Force (formed in October 2007) and a Community Conversation program funded by a National Education Association grant from the Public Engagement Project/ Family School Community Partnership, implemented with ...
Story posted September 3, 2009. Results updated August 27, 2010.
Results:
• 97.5% graduation rate in 2009, compared to 83% for the state as a whole
• 85% college acceptance rate in 2008, with at least 70% attending
“A college education is the key to a bright future." That's the message that Principal Sharon Johnson sends to prospective students in an introductory letter. "It's also a serious commitment that requires focus, preparation, and support," she continues. "Join us and reach for your college dreams!" With that introduction and the school motto--"Where every student is college bound"--there is no mistaking the goal for graduates of Withrow University High School in Cincinnati, OH.
Here, high expectations mean that every student is expected to attend college or a postsecondary program. In fact, all seniors must apply to the University of Cincinnati and are expected to complete four college applications before winter break. Even the school's architecture, which bears a likeness to a university campus, seems to echo the message that if a student can buckle down and focus, then the future will indeed be bright.
Since the opening of the school in 2002, Johnson has been steadfast in her belief that creating an atmosphere of success and high expectations is key to helping students achieve their college dreams. While most students arrive at Withrow lacking in some skills, the school quickly begins to ...
Story posted August 20, 2009
Results:
• In 2008, 73% of students met or exceeded state proficiency standards in mathematics, up from 35% in 2004 (statewide proficiency rose only 4% over that time)
• Reading proficiency increased 19% between 2004 and 2008 (statewide proficiency saw only slight improvement over that time)
Even before the advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Mountain View Elementary was cast as a struggling school. In 2000, only about 20 percent of the Title I school’s third-graders read at grade level. “It was our highest need school in the sense of the highest poverty rate, a very high mobility rate, and very low student performance,” remembers Carol Comeau, who became Anchorage School District’s superintendent that year. “Even though they worked really, really hard, it was just a low-performing school overall.”
In the infancy of NCLB, Mountain View continued to post some of the district’s lowest scores and was labeled “in need of improvement” after not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two consecutive years. But, change was afoot in this older one-story building. A charismatic leader, committed staff, additional district and federal funding, and an emphasis on direct instruction in reading helped the school start turning around.
Reading proficiency went from 29 percentage points below the state average in 2003–2004 to ...
Story posted August 13, 2009
Results:
• Dramatic improvement in student scores on state standardized tests--a 15% gain in reading and 14% gain in math over a three year period in which overall state performance remained fairly stable
• Most demographic subgroups significantly improved, narrowing achievement gaps
When Stephanie Smith became the principal of Seaford (DE) Middle School four years ago, she was told to accept the fact that the school would never be able to change its status as a school that needed to improve. She didn't accept that. In fact, Smith took the incident as a personal challenge, disdaining the very thought of setting low expectations. To improve performance levels, she set the expectations high.
Her defiance paid off: [in 2007] the school [was] rated "commendable" and the staff members, students, and parents are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. 
Student achievement has improved, the school climate is more positive, and the school reaches out to parents and the community.
Early in her principalship, Smith accepted a $25,000 grant from the Wallace Foundation to train her staff members in the tenets of distributive leadership. She admits that she momentarily thought to herself: "Wait a minute, I just got the job and now you want me to let the teachers run the show?" But she knew no other style of leadership, and ...
Story posted August 6, 2009. Results updated August 2012.
Results:
- In 2012, Vallivue was recognized as a NASSP Breakthrough School.
- In 2011, 87% of 6th graders reached or exceeded proficiency in reading, up from 73% in 2008
- 57% of 7th graders did so in science, up from 35% in 2008
- 80% of 8th graders did so in language useage, exceeding the state average of 71%
- In math, the percentage of 8th graders scoring at or above proficient exceeded the state average of 80% by 10 points, reaching their all time high (so far) of 90% [math proficiency rates hovered around 50% prior to 2005]
On any given day in one of Debbie Watkins’s seventh-grade math classes you might find a student standing under a giant lightbulb, calling a parent, family member, or guardian on an old white telephone attached to the wall. Occasionally, the 
entire class will turn to watch the student make the call. Other times they barely notice, it’s become so commonplace.
It may sound like a punishment, but it’s actually a unique reward. A student gets to turn the light bulb on when they’ve finally demonstrated mastery of a difficult concept, typically one that has been causing them grief for several weeks. Then they get to call an adult of their choosing to share the good news.
It’s a small victory—one little step on the ladder of improvement—but the phone calls can be emotional moments. Once in a great while a student chokes back tears. Other times, they high-five or strut to the phone as if ...
Story posted July 30, 2009. Results updated August 31, 2010.
Results:
• In 2010, more than 84% of 6th, 7th and 8th graders met state reading standards, outperforming the state as a whole in 6th and 8th grades
• The school continues to show improvement in math test scores, with the proficiency rate increasing at least six percentage points in all grade levels--and fifteen percentage points at the 8th grade level--over the past four years
Relentless is the word that staff members at Stelle Claughton Middle School in Houston, TX, use to describe how they operate: "We don't give up on our students, their families, or our own commitment. We recognize that our own attitudes, choices, and behaviors toward our
students and about their learning have the greatest impact on their achieving excellence."
The relentless pursuit of excellence is everywhere in the school, and it reflects Principal Delic Loyde's approach to staff members, students, and instruction. No detail, no matter how small, is overlooked. A few years ago, when the school missed its attendance target by a 10th of a percent, Loyde stressed to the faculty that the number represented only a few students and that every adult had a responsibility to ensure that every student was at school every day. The target was never missed again and ...
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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!
