WCPSS Tackles Eliminating the Achievement Gap
June 6, 2008 - Eliminating the achievement gap is the number one recommendation of the curriculum management audit, an issue of discussion for the community Raising Achievement, Closing the Gap committee and is being tackled in schools now.The curriculum management audit, an intensive study by national education experts of instruction in WCPSS schools, provided the school system with a blueprint for improvement. It recommends a number of steps for eliminating the achievement gap.
“We already have nine out of ten students in grades three to eight reading at or above grade level,” said David Holdzkom, Assistant Superintendent for WCPSS Evaluation and Research. “On the one hand that sounds terrific. On the other hand, we could say we have one out of ten students not reading on grade level. Whose child are you willing to choose as the one in ten who doesn’t read on grade level? None of us is going to argue that our child ought to be the one that doesn’t learn to read. And if that’s right, then we ought to be able to support the effort that we expect all students to be able to read, to be able to do mathematics, to be successful learners.”
Raising Achievement, Closing the Gap
In a recent meeting of the Wake County Raising Achievement, Closing the Gap committee, members discussed eliminating the achievement gap.
“This is not just an issue for the school system, but for our community at large,” said Darryl Fisher, a member of the committee and senior director of WCPSS Prevention Services. “The community has to align all of our resources whether its the school system resources, the Wake County Human Services and we have to decide how are we going to communicate exactly what the gap is and then to have courage and commitment and consistency in terms of working together to eliminate the gap.”
“I think that all students do really want to have an opportunity to excel, but they have to be given the right environment,” said Andrea Moore, a member of the committee, parent and former educator. “They have to be provided with an educator who is truly excited to be there and believes in their progress and is going above and beyond to present the curriculum in a way that is engaging to that student.”
“We have a plethora of resources and we have identified through studies what an effective teacher does,” said Ruth Steidinger, committee member and WCPSS high school administrator. “The thing that we get bogged down in is not making some bold moves about implementing or requiring the implementation of things that we know work.”
Schools work for academic success
All WCPSS schools are working to address the needs of their community of students. As an example, we looked at what two schools considered as they studied their student testing data.
At Leesville Road High, Principal Stephen Gainey has worked with his faculty to develop a plan for 2008-09 that uses many of ideas the school has been refining. Gainey points to combination classes, PRIDE time and the school’s new English-as-a-Second-Language academy as steps they expect will make a difference for student academic success.
Leesville Road High uses block scheduling so that students take four 90 minute courses per semester. Teachers suggested that it may be helpful for some students to offer combination classes, pairing two classes of 45 minutes each for the entire school year. The school is pairing one of the five classes in which students are required to pass the End-of-Course exam to graduate with a second course.
“If a child has regular geometry and regular biology in a semester, we identify a group of about 30 students for each one of these sections,” said Dr. Gainey.” So if you had geometry and biology in one semester at non-honors level, one of your other two classes that semester could be this geometry biology combo. For half a period, the geometry teacher reinforces what’s going on in geometry. The other half of the period, there will be reinforcement of what’s going on in biology.”
Leesville Road High is using PRIDE time, a 20-minute block of time carved out of the school schedule to allow time for students to meet with adult advisors, to prepare for their graduation projects, and to attend re-teaching on some topics. Once a week, the time will be used for silent sustained reading.
“Most people feel that reading is an elementary school skill. But we are seeing more and more students at the high school level who are struggling with reading,” said Dr. Gainey. “Reading is a skill that permeates all of the school curriculum. We feel like it’s a life-long skill that will help students well past the days they are here.”
Leesville Road High is also creating an academy for English-as-a-Second-Language students. The program will focus on intensive language instruction, moving courses required for graduation later into the student’s school career when they are better prepared for academic success.
At Durant Road Elementary School, Principal Teresa Winstead says the school has large numbers of Academically Gifted students and English-as-a-Second-Language students.
Winstead says the school is challenging their successful Level IV students by helping them better understand the notion of scale scores.
“Just because a student is at Level IV doesn’t mean the student can’t show improvement,” said Winstead. “If you look at the way the scores are laid out for third, fourth and fifth grade, if you maintain the same scale score your percentile is going to drop. The expectation is that every year you are going to make a certain amount of growth.”
Winstead says it’s important all students in a teachers’ class are challenged to do their best.
In one classroom at Durant Road Elementary, Winstead has assigned two teachers who have completed training in an instructional strategy called Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP).
“The strategies are just really good sound instructional strategies,” said Winstead. “As a former Special Education teacher myself, the strategies that I’ve learned in the training are things that most teachers use in their classrooms. But it helps us keep focused on what it is we want the children to learn.”
The strategies provide visual reinforcement, so discussions are often accompanied with written material and images. This allows students to associate the words, images and discussion, providing multiple ways for them to recall the information.
The golden opportunity
WCPSS Chief Academic Officer Donna Hargens says the real focus on eliminating the gap and providing students academic success is to align efforts.
“We need to be working on the things that we know are research-based that we know work to raise achievement,” said Dr. Hargens. “Its about finding, doing and establishing a few key things that we can be doing and partnering together with everyone to work together – focusing on learning and aligning efforts.”
Dr. Hargens said she was heartened by what she heard when chairing the Raising Achievement, Closing the Gap meeting.
“It’s a question of do we have the will as a community to do it,” said Hargens. “Its very encouraging that people from different groups in the community know that it is possible.”
“Now is our one golden opportunity,” said Fisher. “If we can continue to work together and seize the moment, I think this something we can do.”
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