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Urban
Success Stories
Taft Information Technology High School: New Strategies Create Graduation Turnaround
Story posted March 1, 2011. Results updated January 22, 2013
Results:
- In 2011, 10th graders outperformed the state in proficiency rates in both reading and math. In reading, proficiency was at 93.4% compared to 85.1% in the state, and 93.3% for math compared to 78.7% in the state.
- In 2011, 11th graders scored 100% proficient in both reading and math; statewide, proficiency levels were 93.5% for reading and 88.1% for math.
- Graduation rates went from only 18% less than a decade ago to 91% in 2010.
- In 2010, Taft was named a Blue Ribbon School to recognize it's new discipline strategies, increased personal attention to students, and stellar graduation improvement
Nearly a decade ago, Taft Information Technology High School graduated only 18 percent 
of its students, struggled with student discipline, and offered only limited extracurricular activities. Today it is an entirely different—and greatly improved—model school. In fact, Taft was named a 2010 Blue Ribbon School. A radical restructuring led to Taft’s success. A new principal, new discipline strategies, and more attention paid to individual students (teachers now compose individual education plans) have contributed to a higher graduation rate. Last year, Taft’s graduation rate was 95 percent.
Anthony Smith, the current principal and a Taft alumnus, has reinstituted a broad array of extracurricular activities, including football and basketball teams, and the band. Smith has also continued technological improvements and investments at the school.
Don Ellis, who has taught mostly government and economics, has witnessed the school’s transformation firsthand. When he arrived at Taft 27 years ago, a housing project surrounded the school; at that time, students’ problems were often those associated with poverty, such as ...
Story posted September 25, 2008. Results updated January 22, 2012.
RESULTS
• While serving a student population that is 97% free or reduced price lunch, the school outperformed the state in math in grades 4 through 8 in 2011.
• In English/Language Arts, the school outperformed the state in grades 4 through 7 in 2011.
• One highlight: 83% of 8th graders met or exceeded state standards in math, compared with just 60% statewide in 2011.
Osmond A. Church Elementary School, otherwise known as PS / MS 124, sits so close to John F. Kennedy Airport that some at the school refer to it as "Hanger 12." It is appropriate, then, that achievement scores have "taken off" in recent years and continue to soar within all subgroup populations.
How has this been accomplished, one might ask? It began in 1999 when the school applied to New York State for a Comprehensive School Reform Grant. The school community chose to embrace E.D. Hirsch's "Core Knowledge Program," which was developed on the basis of scientific research. ...
A Partnership Focused on Leadership
Story posted August 11, 2011
Results:
- Thanks to enhanced literacy skills and the efforts of a highly effective graduation coach, the class of 2010 had an impressive 95% graduation rate, compared to 66% six years ago
- Elementary students have made great strides in both reading and math performance over the past few years: 94% in reading, 97% in math on the 2011 Alabama Reading and Math Test (ARMT).
- Schools have a new atmosphere of collaboration and respect among administrators, teachers, and students
Sandwiched between interstates, industrial plants and a 2.3-mile Birmingham International runway sits the small urban community of Tarrant, Alabama. Tarrant City serves about 1300 students in four schools: elementary (K-3), intermediate (4-6), middle (7-9) and high (10-12). Many of Tarrant’s children grow up in poverty, live in substandard Section 8 housing, and breathe air tainted by industrial pollution. The district has one of the highest eligibility rates for free or reduced-price lunch in the Birmingham metro area.
The city has an aging population with little space to develop new middle-class homes. Over the past decade and a half, Tarrant has experienced a dramatic demographic shift as traditional blue-collar and industrial employment began to disappear and ...
Story posted July 25, 2011
Results:
- Over the past five years, the percent of students meeting or exceeding standards on the ISAT has consistently increased
- The number of students in honors courses is steadily increasing: In the 2009-10 school, 62% of the student body was enrolled in one or more honors class [34% of whom were Black and 37% of whom were low income]
- Attendance at parent-teacher conferences and other contacts are above 90%
Franklin Middle School is located in the heart of an economically challenged neighborhood in the small urban city of Champaign in central Illinois. Though staffed by dedicated adults and attended by hardworking students, Franklin is recovering from a difficult past.
As a result of years of racial discord, segregation, and lawsuits, in January 2002, the Champaign Unit 4 School District adopted a judicial consent decree outlining an educational equity agreement. Key points included establishing processes for parental choice of schools and increased community involvement. ...
Stuart Elementary Handles Children, Community with Care
Story posted January 29, 2009.
Updated March 23, 2011.
Results:
• In 2010, more than 90% of students in grades 3-5 met or exceeded state standards in reading, math, and science
• Named a Title I Distinguished School for four 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 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 ...
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 ...
Transforming a School Step by Step
Story posted April 7, 2010. Results updated July 23, 2010.
Results:
• In 2010, the school performed around or above state averages on both reading and math assessments, despite serving a significantly more disadvantaged student population
• The school has made Adequate Yearly Progress each of the past four years
When Melissa Glee-Woodard became principal of Maryland’s Lewisdale Elementary School four years ago, it was struggling. The school was in the dreaded “school improvement” process because of the performance of multiple subgroups of students, and it needed change.
Change is what it got. But not the dramatic “fire-all-teachers” change that has been making the papers. Rather, Glee-Woodard inspired teachers, parents and students with a new vision. The staff began focusing on student data in a meaningful way. Targeted professional development addressed areas of weakness in the instructional program. And new summer programs ensured that students kept their academic success going even when school was not technically in session.
As a result, Lewisdale has made AYP every year Glee-Woodard has been principal. The National Association of Elementary School Principals recently honored her for her transformational leadership.
She joined us for a conversation about the school and its journey.
Public School Insights: How would you describe Lewisdale?
Glee-Woodard: Lewisdale Elementary School is located in an urban setting in Prince George's County, Maryland. We are in the backyard of the University of Maryland, College Park. It is a working-class neighborhood. 80% of our students are ...
Story posted March 17, 2010. Results updated August 27, 2010.
Results:
• One of the top-performing elementary schools in Detroit
• 3rd and 4th graders outperformed the state as a whole on both reading and math standardized tests--and 100% of them scored proficient or above on math tests
When Principal Theresa Mattison came to Carstens Elementary in 1997 “achievement was zero.” Student behavior was a problem. Some staff seemed uncommitted. As parent liaison Abby Phelps puts it, “This school was in the middle of chaos.”
Today Carstens is a beacon of light for the surrounding community. It is one of the top-performing schools in Detroit and in 2009 third graders at this school—where 98% of students are from high poverty homes—outscored the state as a whole on all tested subjects.
How did the school turn itself around? School staff points to the leadership of Dr. Mattison. Dr. Mattison points back to her incredible staff. And everyone recognizes the importance of meeting more than just the academic needs of students.
Members of the Carstens community recently told us the school’s story. In on the conversation were Principal Theresa Mattison, parent liaison Abby Phelps, school social worker Gail Nawrock, and teachers Barbara Haug, Vannessa Jones, Rebecca Kelly and Violet Kiricovski.*
Public School Insights: How would you describe Carstens Elementary?
Violet Kiricovski: Carstens shares the Comer philosophy. And we all work together. Teamwork really is our strong point.
Rebecca Kelly: The way I would describe Carstens is that it is actually more than a school. I just saw a presentation in which they described it as a “beacon of light.” And the parents, the families, the students and the businesses are all working together.
Abby Phelps: Carstens incorporates a city philosophy. We offer all services. We have it all.
Public School Insights: What kind of a population does the school serve?
Barbara Haug: We serve a deserving population. Statistically, they are considered high poverty—98% of them come from high poverty homes. And our population is about 98% African-American. But we do not think that statistics are something that describes somebody’s potential. It just describes the situation that needs to be considered when you look at the needs of the individual child or the children. What it boils down to is that they are children who deserve a ...
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