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“It’s Being Done.” Academic Success in Unexpected Schools (Chenoweth, 2007)

“Make no mistake – every school described in this book has accomplished something admirable. They are taking in children who are considered ‘hard to teach’ by many in the education world, and with thoughtful hard work they are producing academic success. They could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by falling back on the tired old excuses that many other schools use –that ‘these kids’ can’t be expected to do much academically because they are poor, because their parents don’t support their education, because their home lives are chaotic, because they don’t speak English at home, because they didn’t get the proper foundation at earlier ages, because they don’t eat breakfast, because they don’t have a culture of academic achievement, or any of a number of other excuses. At none of the schools included in this book did I hear any of that kind of language. The teachers and administrators know that the children in their schools can learn, and they know that it is up to them to figure out how to teach their students.”

“My general theory is that improvement is never an accident.”

WHAT ‘IT’S BEING DONE’ SCHOOLS DO THAT IS DIFFERENT

“THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET.”

WCPSS Evaluation and Research Effectiveness Studies

Effective Practices (Elementary)	Effective Practices (Middle)	Effective Practices (Algebra I Study)	Effective Practices (Biology Study)
Exibit high expectations	Focus more on how to address needs and less on barriers	Plan with other teachers	Focus on Biology
Exibit positive attitudes about meeting the needs with the resources available	Conduct more informal administrative visits to classrooms	Use an instructional plan aligned to the Standard Course of Study, exibit concern about pacing	Use data
Establish effective administrative allocation of resources	Exibit positive attitudes and attend training	Use spiraled curriculum with new material, and emphasize problem solving	Study/ plan with each other
Participate in formal and informal collaboration to help students	Use resources such as assessment data, extra adults, technology, and pacing guides	Had a positive attitude toward student performance	Focus student time on Standard Course of Study goals
Use teacher-led instruction		Created a structured/positive classroom culture	Maximized student time; resisted other duties

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Success Stories

What Works?

WCPSS Evaluation and Research Effectiveness Studies