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Story posted December, 2007

Results:
• 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.

For instance, take the school district's rigorous high school International Baccalaureate (IB) program, which is recognized by universities around the world. While the IB program was open to all students, few minority students participated, because teacher recommendations and prerequisite courses often discouraged them. Once the district discovered the problem, it began to phase out these impediments and introduce a more personalized approach to curriculum and instruction by eliminating tracking and introducing rigorous curriculum for all students in heterogeneous classes.

An innovative curriculum designed to meet each student's needs and assess individual student growth has personalized the educational experience. To meet the needs of struggling learners, the school district offers support classes every other day. The school district also enhanced its professional development for teachers, who now have a deeper understanding of the design and implementation of student-centered lessons. Through peer feedback, teachers now differentiate instruction for students by modifying lessons to suit different achievement levels, multiple intelligences and individual interests.

Although a gap still separates majority and minority students in IB enrollment, it is rapidly closing. After removing the tracking system for grades 6-9, the gap in attainment of the New York State Regents diploma nearly disappeared, with Rockville Centre's African American and Latino students far outpacing white students in New York as a whole. More than half of all African-American and Latino students are now taking IB English, IB History and IB Mathematics courses, and nearly a third of all minority students in the Class of 2009 are IB diploma candidates.

Even as the proportion of students taking IB courses has increased, the number of students excelling on IB examinations has skyrocketed. In 2002, 24 percent of the entire senior class passed the IB English exam. By 2006, 68 percent of the graduating class had. Performance on IB math courses showed a similar trend - 32 percent of the class of 2002 achieved a passing score or better on an IB Math exam; 70 percent scored at that level in 2006. Rockville Centre's experience demonstrates that high expectations for all students taught in heterogeneous detracked classes, coupled with strong individual support for each student, closes gaps.

Further details about this story can be found in our source:
Garrity, D. T. and Burris, C.C., "Rockville Centre makes strides in transforming high school instruction for heterogeneous student groupings",  The School Administrator, September 2007.

For additional information, please contact:
Delia Garrity
Rockville Centre School District Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
dtgarrity@gmail.com

Carol Burris
Principal of South Side High School, in Rockville Centre School District
cburris@rvcschools.org