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“It’s Being Done.” Academic Success in Unexpected Schools (Chenoweth, 2007) #5 THEY USE TIME WISELY |
THEY LEVERAGE AS MANY RESOURCES FROM THE COMMUNITY AS POSSIBLE.THEY EXPAND THE TIME STUDENTS – PARTICULARLY STRUGGLING STUDENTS – HAVE IN SCHOOL.THEY MAKE SURE THAT THE KIDS WHO STRUGGLE THE MOST HAVE THE BEST INSTRUCTION.“Every third-period class, from physical education to English, does one math problem from a previous WASL exam every Monday and Tuesday. In the beginning lead teacher Nyberg would tape a mini lesson to be broadcast to the television in each classroom to explain the problem after the students worked on it, but he realized that ‘sent the wrong message.’ Because the state says that this math is something every citizen should be able to do, it was disconcerting for students to think that some of their teachers couldn’t do it. So now each teacher does the mini math lesson…” “Any student who is two or more years below grade level in reading is automatically enrolled in ‘Second Shot Reading’, a program developed by a Granger teacher…..In the program, students are given what are considered ‘high-motivation’ stories, and teachers work with them on analyzing and writing about the stories. Some of the early stories are very short – not more than a paragraph or two – but usually pose an ethical dilemma or present some other problem that students can discuss…The idea is to practice reading and writing.” “In the 2004-2005 school year, Granger High School instituted a ‘no failing’ rule. Students whose grades fall below a C are required to get extra help until they bring their grades up…….Students are given the opportunity to retake tests and quizzes until they get a C or better……..All his students are capable, he <Principal Esparza> said. ‘They need to be motivated.’” “Another example of the ethos of transparency and shared information is the line of big posters in the hallway listing every student who ‘owes’ the school academic time and how much time is owed. The idea is that any student who has an absence must make up that time, either before school, after school, or on Saturday. If a student is late to class by 15 minutes, that student owes .25 hours of academic time………..students must put in the time they lose due to absences. “…the school has put in place a plan to identify specific weaknesses of individual students and provide them with extra help during advisory periods. If, for example, a student is weak in measurement, he or she will be provided with a work packet on measurement and with tutoring during advisory periods by either a senior who is particularly good in measurement or a specially trained paraprofessional.” “…an afterschool program in which the high-value-added teachers worked with the students who scored in the bottom quintile of reading, thus closely focusing the best teachers on the kids who needed them most. Teachers applied for these positions by showing their value-added scores.” “…structural changes, including going to a year-round calendar, a decision agreed to by both the teachers and the parents. The school has four nine-week sessions separated by intersessions…which focus on some hoppy or interest of the teachers who teach them. Topics include basket weaving, dancing,…Children sign up for something that appeals to them, and then spend the balance of the day getting additional help in reading or math, depending on what teachers have identified as the child’s weakness.” “Breakfast at Hardy starts at 7:30 a.m. in the morning…but a voluntary “early morning math” class starts at 6:30…” “a two-hour uninterrupted block of time to literacy and another 90 minutes to math…” “The yearlong schedule….nine-week chunks, three-week intersessions, and a five-week summer break. That intersession time is used not only to catch students up but also to propel them forward, since teachers use the time to preview future lessons.” “That is why she has a homework club after school to help kids with their homework, and why she works to make sure that all the instruction the children need is offered at school. Most of the children’s families cannot support instruction, so she makes sure the school does.” “…150 volunteers…coordinated by a paid staff member…are given particular lessons and topics to cover when they work with their students…the volunteer corps…” “Time is as structured as space. Each class has a 90 minute math block…and a two-hour literacy block.” “Time is carefully husbanded. Hours and minutes are not to be wasted, as they were in the past.” Plato reading stations “…students who need small-group tutoring in either reading or math get off the buses first, grab their breakfast, and go immediately to tutoring…the school has carved out about 30 minutes for students to get some special attention. “Instruction is not constantly interrupted.” “Those children who are not proficient in meeting state standards have an individual program designed for them, which state calls an AIP (Academic Improvement Plan), designed by the teachers and approved by Shirley and the parents who are given packets of information about how they can help their children improve. Those packets have been well received, said Shirley, who added ‘So many of our parents failed in their school experience’ that they welcome specific assistance in helping their children succeed.” “But most students first enter University Park in the summer before seventh grade, when they attend a three-week before-school session….mini running record on each student…Those students who need help with the basics, such as decoding, get help after school from an elementary-level reading teacher… ‘the most critical thing is to get kids to practice reading’. “Hummings informed her that multistep problems would be included in the packet of work students would be expected to do over spring break.” “The basic schedule of the school is that each grade spends two uninterrupted hours a day on ‘literacy’….In each classroom, the structure of the literacy block is similar: Teachers will introduce some new concept or skill to the whole class and then work with small groups on any areas of weakness the students have, while other students rotate through ‘centers’ that include a vocabulary development center, a writing c enter, and a listening/speaking center. Students are expected to read at least 30 minutes a day on their own in school and another 30 minutes a day at home, and the school uses the Accelerated Reader program as a way to keep track of students’ reading.” “One option is to refer students to START (Start Today and Reach for Tomorrow), a program specifically designed to support students who are identified as at risk of failure or dropping out….Another option is to schedule students into an ‘academic intervention’ class during the last period of the day. Students who don’t need the extra instruction are expected to read independently during that period…. ‘Nobody falls through the cracks’. “Such careful scheduling is based on the idea, propounded by superintendent Coletti, that all students can reach standards if given good instruction, but some need extra time to reach them, and it is up to schools to provide that extra time.” “As with instruction for students with disabilities, instruction for students with limited English proficiency is provided as part of classroom instruction…” “In addition, Achievement Plus funds afterschool programs and summer-school programs tied to the instruction provided during the school day and year.”
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