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.
Story posted January 3, 2011
Results:
• Alabama is among the top states in improving its graduation rate - nearly 7% over the past six years (nationally, the graduation rate has increased approximately 3% over the past seven years)
School districts across the country are working hard to stem the dropout crisis by developing multifaceted programs that involve teachers, parents, and community agencies. Given the myriad of reasons that students decide to leave school - from poor academic performance and student-teacher conflicts to teen pregnancy and family issues - the use of graduation coaches has proven effective in increasing the number of high school graduates and in preparing the next generation of students for the world of work, particularly in the state of Alabama. ...
Story posted December 9, 2010
Results:
• In both 2009 and 2010, Alcott's students outperformed their peers in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District
• In 2010, Alcott's fifth-graders outperformed their peers across the state in reading, math and science
Louisa May Alcott serves a challenging population: 100 percent of students are economically disadvantaged and about a third are designated as special education. Students often enroll with emotional and social problems, difficult family issues and low academic achievement. But thanks to an outstanding faculty and staff, these hurdles are by no means insurmountable. On the 2009 state assessment, Alcott students outperformed Cleveland students in general: 77 percent scored proficient in reading, compared with 49 percent districtwide. Similarly, 75 percent of Alcott students were proficient in math, compared with 41 percent of students who were proficient districtwide. The results for special needs students were just as impressive—in both math and reading, Alcott students significantly outperformed their peers districtwide.
Regional superintendent Cliff Hayes Jr. has lauded the leadership of the school, noting its “culture of ‘we.’”¹ Alcott principal Eileen Stull is known for consensus building and collaboration, as well as her open-door policy for continued conversations about curriculum and instruction. Yet Stull is hesitant to take credit; she attributes the school’s success to students’ families and her staff. She says, “Honestly, I have the most fabulous teachers here.”² Parents appreciate the community atmosphere, saying that Stull seems to ...
Leveraging Resources to Transform a Struggling School
Story posted November 17, 2010
Results:
• Once the lowest performing elementary school in its district, now one of the highest
• Over the past five years, the school has shown significant growth on every state test administered
John Muir Elementary is the oldest of the Merced City Schools. Just five years ago, we were the lowest performing elementary school in the district. Today, we are one of the highest.
Our school serves about 500 children in preschool through Grade 5. 86% of our students receive free or reduced price lunch. Most live in rentals, low cost apartments and multi-family dwellings within walking distance of school; however, approximately 200 children are bused to Muir daily from the “unhoused” Loughborough area.
Our families are not only stricken by poverty, but they also experience generational gangs, drug use and violence. We have an abundance of grandparents struggling to parent their children’s children and students in and out of foster care.
Yet we at John Muir believe our students can learn, and we work to develop relationships with our students and families so they believe that as well. And we celebrate our students. We celebrate Perfect Attendance, growth on formative assessments and ...
Leveling the Playing Field in Rural South Dakota
Story posted November 3, 2010
Results:
• 91.11% graduation rate, better than the state average
• Performance of high school students, and Native American students at the middle and high school levels, exceeds that of their peers statewide on standardized assessments
• Steadily increasing retention of Native American students at the high school level
We hear a lot about urban schools—their performance, the challenges they face, how we can make them better. We don’t hear nearly as much about rural schools, despite the fact that almost half of our public schools are rural and about a third of America's students attend these schools.
Rural schools face challenges similar to urban schools (such as poverty and high mobility rates), as well as unique challenges related to attracting and retaining staff, capacity to apply for large competitive grants, access (or lack thereof) to providers of supplemental educational services and more.
But there are a number of successful schools and districts that are overcoming these challenges and helping rural students meet their potential. South Dakota’s Wagner School District is one such place. The district, located next to the Yankton Sioux Reservation, has one school that serves grades pre-K through 12. Its diverse student population is overwhelmingly poor. It has a high mobility rate.
Yet students in Wagner graduate at a higher rate than others in South Dakota. And Native American and high school students outperform their peers across the state on standardized assessments.
Critical to the district’s success is technology. By embracing initiatives ranging from a one-to-one laptop program to online AP courses to iPod touches that help differentiate instruction for kindergarteners, this district is truly using technology to enhance student learning.
Wagner Superintendent Susan Smit recently told us more about this remarkable district.
Wagner: A Rural, Diverse District
Public School Insights: Tell me about the Wagner School District.
Smit: Wagner is located in rural South Dakota, along the Missouri River at the base of the state. It’s a beautiful part of the United States.
We get federal impact aid under Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. We're right next to the Yankton Sioux Reservation, which is a checkerboard reservation. It was one land mass at one time, but pieces have been sold by different entities through the years and now it's a checkerboard. One piece of land may be reservation, the piece next to it may not be.
We're a rural community with changing demographics and a diverse population. The two primary demographics are Native American and ...
An Overnight Miracle, Seven Years in the Making
Story posted August 27, 2010
Results:
• On-time graduation rate is just under 84%, up from 53% seven years ago
• Extended graduation rate is just over 90%
• College-going rate is 54%, up from 17% in 2004
Seven years ago, Washington’s Everett School District awoke to a harsh reality. A change in how the state calculated graduation rates revealed that only 53% of the district’s students graduated on-time. Officials were shocked and embarrassed. They sprang into action.
Today, Everett’s on-time graduation rate is just under 84%. Its extended graduation rate is just over 90%. And the improvement has occurred across the board, in all ethnic groups and special populations.
To what do they credit their success? Getting a group of committed adults focused on the problem and meeting regularly to try to solve it. And they also moved from numbers to names—getting personal about who is not on track to graduate and what they can do about it. Everett’s Chief Academic Officer Terry Edwards recently told us more.
Public School Insights: Your district has recently gotten some press because of its improved graduation rates. Could you tell me a bit about the success you have had?
Edwards: It is something that I call “An overnight wonder that took seven years to get here.”
About seven years ago, in 2003-2004, the state of Washington changed how it calculated graduation rates. It moved from looking at the number of graduates in the senior class plus those who dropped out over the past four years to a cohort model, the on-time model that the federal government has adopted. This model looks at the number of kids who enter in ninth grade and the number who graduate four years later.
When we converted to that model, our district’s graduation rate was 53%. That was very hard for Everett to accept, because we had always believed that we were a very good school district and doing a good job. 53% was shocking and embarrassing. And it did not seem to follow what we perceived as reality. We did not see hundreds of children standing around on street corners in ...
Story posted August 18, 2010. For additional information and updated results, read the Learning First Alliance interview with St. Tammany Parish Public School System supervisior of administration John Swang.
Results:
• As of 2009, the district had saved more than 4.4 million dollars in energy costs and eliminated emissions of more than 53 million pounds of CO2
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that schools budgeted $7 billion for energy costs in 2001, but spent $8 billion. Since then, energy costs per student have been rising at more than six times the rate of inflation. In 2009, the American Association of School Administrators reported that rising energy costs are dramatically affecting district budgets nationwide, with significant negative impacts on student learning.
Over the last several years, energy costs for the St. Tammany Parish Public School System, with 54 schools and 35,000 students, have rapidly risen, creating great apprehension that important instructional and operational functions in schools would have to be reduced or eliminated. On average, the cost of energy was increasing by ...
Story posted August 3, 2010
Results:
• The eligibility of high school graduates for admission to California's public universities increased by 12 percent between 2004 and 2007
• The college-going rate increased from 35 percent to 62 percent over that same period
In California’s rural mountainous region of Shasta and Siskiyou counties, a problem emerged. Local students had low college-going rates, despite the comparatively low 13 percent poverty rate among the population, which was 90 percent white.
The communities are separated from the closest colleges by vast distances and mountain roads. The regional culture values strong family ties and intergenerational commitment to family farms or businesses, which came with an unspoken concern that once youngsters left for college, they might not return, stripping these isolated communities of an educated workforce. Many students in Shasta Union High School District never had set foot on a college campus.
The Shasta Partnership, launched by the Shasta County Office of Education, used grant-funded studies to determine how to increase interest in attending college and improve the college-going rate. The outcome is a program known as College OPTIONS, whose partners include the two county offices of education; the Shasta Union High School District; two regional community colleges; Chico State University; the University of California-Davis; and two private universities, National and ...
A Family-Oriented Learning Community
Story posted July 15, 2010. Story Updated March 21, 2012.
Results:
• In 2011, Ravenswood met or exceeded state and county proficiency rates in math, science and social studies; they are within 2% points for reading proficiency.
• Named a 2010 Breakthrough School by NASSP
Ravenswood (WV) Middle School is located on a quiet residential street, adjacent to the high school, the town library, and a community park in the small town of historic Ravenswood, WV (population 3,900). The unassuming exterior of the building belies the school’s record of continued academic growth and achievement and the warm, caring environment that it provides for the 344 middle school students in grades 6–8. The school has made adequate yearly progress for four consecutive years and was recognized as a West Virginia Exemplary School in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. In addition, it was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School in 2008.
The key to Ravenswood’s success becomes apparent within a few minutes of entering the building. Students, parents, community members, and graduates consistently confirm that the teachers care about and treat every student as an individual. When asked what makes Ravenswood stand out from other middle schools, a group of eighth-grade students agreed with the assessment of a peer who said, “It’s the teachers—they know us as individuals and care about each of us.” The district’s director of elementary and middle schools concurred, “Ravenswood addresses the needs of the whole child; they do whatever it takes to help their students succeed.” A school board member—a former principal in the district— expressed the belief that students respond to that caring when he said, “This is a Cadillac school; students want to go to school here.”
Principal Gary Higginbotham and Assistant Principal Sharon Carroll have worked with the staff and the community to establish a culture that exemplifies a family-oriented professional learning community. Teachers have a daily 45-minute team time built into their schedule—a best practice that ...
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 ...
When "City Connects" Helps the Whole Child, Achievement Gaps Shrink
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 ...
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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!
