Report to the Community: March
2003
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Contents
Introduction
Important Initiatives Under
Way
What Schools Are
Doing
Next Steps
What You Can Do |
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“We have to
get better and more explicit about talking and doing things
differently around race. We have to invade this intimate sort of
space out there...If we don't confront race and culture, we are not
going to get from here to there.”
Joseph
Olchefske, Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools
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What
Schools Are Doing
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Achievement levels of black and
other minority students have risen as a result of hiring more
minority teachers and offering more educational incentives, such
as: homework centers in elementary schools, mentoring programs in
middle schools and cultural diversity discussions in the high
schools.
Efforts to close the
achievement gap are under way at schools across the district. Here
is a sampling of what some of the schools are
doing.
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| At Kimball
Elementary, where 303 of the school’s
513 students belong to families that speak a language other than
English, Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) results
have been steadily improving for the past two years. Almost all of
the school’s staff has gone through an extensive training
program. Since the training, Kimball students have been more
motivated to learn, there is increased collaboration among teachers
and more parent involvement. |
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| John Muir Elementary
School has adopted the three
Rs: Relevancy, Rigor and Relationship. The school's staff is
reading: “Race Matters” and “We Can’t Teach
What We Don’t Know.” The school also has embraced
literacy training for teachers and has adopted a peer mediation
program. The school also has lowered its class size for
kindergarten to 19 or less. Principal Carmen Chan said the key to
eliminating the achievement gap is hiring teachers who are
passionate about teaching. |
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| At Madrona K-8, WASL test
scores have risen 10 percent across the board just in the last
year. Principal Rickie Malone attributes her school’s success
with hard work of students, tutors and her “dream
team’’ of teachers and a literacy coach. In a
partnership with the University of Washington, college students
provide after-school tutoring for 4th and 7th graders to help
prepare them for the statewide tests. The school hosts weekly,
inspirational pep talks, “spirit weeks” and other ways
to inspire students. The school’s transformation plan
includes literacy, disciple and school climate. |
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Thurgood Marshall’s
test scores have gone from the lowest in the district to among the
highest. The school has gone from zero percent meeting standards on
state tests to more than 50 percent in most areas meeting
standards. Principal Ben Wright attributes the jump in scores to
the many innovative programs offered at his school. Among them are
grouping students in ability groups to provide individual
instruction.
The school
also extended its school day 30 minutes to give students and
teachers more time to become proficient in the district’s
academic standards. To curb discipline problems, the students are
separated by gender -- a program that began two years ago. The
school used to average 30 suspensions a year. So far this year,
there have been no suspensions. The school also has a
child-centered program that includes weekly Monday morning
goal-setting assemblies, and classroom discussions on a daily basis
to help students develop active listening and problem solving
skills. The school also has extensive tutoring programs to increase
reading comprehension and math skills. Fourth-graders have posted
impressive gains in the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.
From 2000 to 2001, those meeting the state reading standard jumped
from 27 percent to 51 percent; in math, from 13 percent to 35
percent.
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| Reading
skills at M. L. King
Elementary have risen dramatically since
new incentive programs were instituted two years ago. Curriculum
changes also have boosted the reading skills of first- and
second-graders. Principal Barry Dorsey brought in more
instructional aides, encouraged more individual instruction and
introduced a school-wide mentoring program. The school also adopted
a program to give reading tests three times a year. Since those
tests began two years ago, the school has seen steady increases in
reading scores. |
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Montlake Elementary
School set up mentors for
each student of color in order to address academic and emotional
needs. Teachers met with one to two students informally. The school
also formed full faculty study groups to examine the issue of
equity and other issues involving diversity. Referrals have gone
down and efforts have been made to develop personal relationships
with parents of kids with challenging behaviors.
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| Most of the district’s
middle schools participate in a state-funded GEAR UP program, which
is aimed at encouraging students to develop their leadership skills
and plan for higher education. Denny Middle School hosts
a GEAR UP site. The Gaining
Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergrad Programs (GEAR UP)
allows students to earn money for higher education. They earn
credits through community service, tutoring, participating in
school clubs or serving on school committees. The program motivates
students to think about higher education and encourages them to
become more active in their school. Through a five-year $15.5
million federal grant, the state provides tutoring, career and
college information, and scholarships to 1,200 at-risk students and
early outreach activities to thousands of other students across the
state. GEAR UP is a partnership of the Higher Education
Coordinating Board, the Office of the Governor and the University
of Washington. |
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| At Madison Middle
School, teachers were added
to the staff to work with small groups of students and give more
detailed feedback on student work. The idea is to create a more
intimate learning environment. The school is divided into two
interdisciplinary-teaching teams per grade level with five teachers
per team. The school also has developed a Challenge Curriculum,
making an honors level designation available to all students in all
subjects and grade levels, based on the application of higher level
thinking skills. Student intervention, service learning and
school-to-work programs are examples of initiatives used to keep
students involved and connected with school. |
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| At Garfield High School,
several innovation ways to narrow the gap are under way. The most
recent is that Carl Mack, president-elect of the Seattle branch of
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) teaches a course on African American History. In addition,
Intervention specialists coordinate mentors and tutoring for
students who need to improve academic achievement. The school began
an African American scholars program that takes students through
two years worth of math in their freshman year. The school also has
adopted the Advancement Via Individual Determination program in
which students learn individual study skills. The school also
recently purchased more computers and academic software that
includes assessment tools for students. Garfield staff is examining
ways that successful teachers of African American students reach
out to and connect with their students. Teachers examine their own
practices, and have held a series of “book talk”
conversations about problems, issues, and questions of race and
schooling. As a result, Garfield students take top honors in state
and national tests and competitions, offer in-kind services and
share resources locally, nationally, and internationally, and reach
out to others in the Central Area community. |
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| Nathan Hale High School
creates an intimate, sensitive environment to help all students
succeed. The "small school" approach emphasizes scholastic
standards and strong bonds between teachers and students. The
school also has a Critical Friends Group. The entire staff is
reading: “You Can’t Teach What You Don’t
Know” and discussing it at the meetings. |
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| At Nova 9-12, teachers
each work one a one-on-one with approximately 22 students to build
relationships and address student learning needs. The school
participated in a 1.5-day training with Youth Undoing
Institutionalized Racism and students are continuing to work with
the group. In addition, one teacher and student are teaming up to
teach an African American History class. At Nova, where classes are
ungraded, students say one of the big motivators to work hard is
the personal interest teachers take in them and their work. When
students don't do well, teachers notice and talk to them about it.
Each student meets weekly with a "core group" of students and their
faculty adviser, or coordinator. Coordinators meet individually
with core group members at least once a month. |
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| Our goal is to
eliminate the achievement gap between students of different ethnic
groups by 2005. |
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| *Outside
link. |
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| Updated April 4,
2003 |
