Join the conversation

...about what is working in our public schools.

Suburban

Success Stories

A Sunny Day in Multnomah County: The SUN Community Schools Story

Diana Hall, SUN Community Schools, Multnomah County, Oregon

Story posted April, 2008. Updated December, 2011.

Results:

  • SUN1web.jpg75 percent of participating students showed an increase in state reading scores, and 77 percent did so in math
  • More than 80 percent of participating seniors graduated, compared to less than 60 percent for the district
  • SUN schools served nearly 18,000 youth and about 3,700 adults in enrolled programming in 2009-2010

Young people have a voice in Multnomah County, Oregon, which includes the city of Portland.  When the county began planning a community school initiative, not only did young people contribute ideas, they also named it.  The name they chose, Schools Uniting Neighborhoods, or SUN schools, reflects the belief that schools, working with their communities can do more than just teach math and reading, they transform neighborhoods and help young people succeed. ...

Transformation Helps Close the Gap, Inspires Performance

Delia Garrity and Carol Burris, Rockville Centre School District, New York

Story posted December, 2007

rockville centre logoweb.jpgResults:
• 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. ...

Syndicate content