Turnaround Team Picks Up the Pace in Kentucky, p. 1
The new principal and the teachers (half of whom are new) at one of Kentucky’s worst schools (ranking among the bottom ten in performance) are feeling pressure to turn things around. Their effort is part of a national $3.5 billion effort by the Secretary of Education to fix the nation’s most chronically underperforming schools. In Spring 2010, before the turnaround effort began at the high school, just 4.7% scored proficient or better in math and under ¼ of students scored proficient or better in reading. Faculty efforts to turn things around have emphasized both the academic and the personal, showing students that teachers are passionate (critical to motivating teenagers), but also caring and patient. The faculty are asking students to do new and different things, with high expectations in all classes and a stress on literacy regardless of subject matter. The teachers have been aided by a trio of turnaround staff from the state education department, each of whom spends 3-4 hours a day in classrooms or meeting with staff.
There was some initial resistance on the part of students, especially seniors, but they soon got used to things. Attendance has improved. There have been efforts to communicate and build relationships with students as a well as among teaching staff. A “data wall” accessible to teachers in the classroom and only visible to them holds information about each student, including their faces and test scores. In what is called a “name and claim” intervention, teachers each take on two or three failing students and give them extra attention, including a series of specific interventions. There is a concern that moving too quickly as they step up the pace of curriculum and instruction will leave some kids behind. Teachers try to balance the faster pace by pulling students aside if they don’t master concepts and by giving them needed extra help. Teachers feel that there is a new sense of community at the school, with departments working together for the first time in years.
This is really cool. I like how teachers are directly responsible for certain students. It also forces teachers to be aware of what is going on in other classrooms besides their own. I would like to learn more about the "data wall" and what information is available. I wonder if it has information about learning styles and back ground information? Hopefully this is something that every school can use.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Josh's comments about this article, but I also can't help but wonder about the level of stress this whole process creates for all of the educators involved. The article indicates that the principal's job is on the line if the school doesn't make the necessary improvements. I wonder how many of the educators would also be replaced if that happened.
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