Eliminating the Gap: Insights from a School of Poverty that Changed Achievement for all Students

1. Eliminating the Gap: Insights from a School of Poverty that Changed Achievement for all Students Clara Sale-Davis Principal, Freeport Intermediate School Freeport, Texas Jerry Valentine Director, Middle Level Leadership Center University of Missouri www.MLLC.org

3. Ethnic Distribution African American 13% Hispanic 55% White 31% Enrollment (7 & 8) - 619 Freeport Intermediate School 77% Mobility At Risk LEP 5.5% 22.3 45% Economically Disadvantaged We can teach all children.

4. FREEPORT INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

5. Freeport Intermediate Goal: Student assessment results show NO significant difference in performance between any student groups.

6. FREEPORT 10-Year ComparisonsPercentage of FIS Students Passing TAAS/TAKS Summed Across Grades 7-8

7. FIS 10 YEAR WRITING COMPARISON 100 100 99 98.6 97.6 100 97 96.9 96.3 96.1 98 95.7 95.7 95.5 95.1 95 94.7 97 93.7 97 93.3 93 95 92 91.2 96 92 96 95.4 95.4 89 90 89 92.8 90 85 85 86 85 80 79 83 78 80 74 75 77 75 72 71 71 74 73 70 69 67 68 67 68 65 60 62 61 59 55 50 45 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 AllStudents A. American Hispanic White Eco.Dis.

8. FIS 10 YEAR READING COMPARISON 98 99.4 98.3 98.1 99.4 98.7 98.8 98.1 97.8 100 97.4 96.5 96.2 96.2 96 95.6 95 94.3 94 93 99.1 92 95 94 92 91.5 97.7 95 92 96.8 90.5 91 90 90 88 93 88 88.8 83 85 82 82 80 81 80 80 76 75 75 72 70 64 70 65 63 65 63 59 64 60 61 54 55 50 52 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 All Students A. American Hispanic White Eco. Dis.

9. FIS 10 YEAR MATH COMPARISON 99.4 99.4 99 99 100 99.1 98.9 98.7 98.6 96 100 96 95 99 95.7 94.6 96 99 95 95 93.3 93.2 91.8 96 92 90 95 99.5 99.1 97 99 89 86.2 90 95 94.9 84 91 77 80 71 70 69 70 68 66 60 55 49 56 50 46 49 46 40 40 36 36 45 33 30 22 20 20 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 AllStudents A. American Hispanic White Eco. Dis.

10. Strategy ASSESSMENT After the instructional focus has been taught, an assessment is administered to identify mastery/non-mastery students.

11. “Assessment isn’t something that comes at the end of a unit to find out what students learned; rather it is today’s means of understanding how to modify tomorrow’s instruction.” - Tomlinson(1999) - The Differentiated Classroom

12. “Assessment always has more to do with helping students grow than with cataloging their mistakes.” - Tomlinson (1999) -The Differentiated Classroom

13. We added a step! Celebrate Success!

14. Instructional Leadership: WHATEVER IT TAKES! Dancing with the Stars Celebrating Student Success

15. Can You SING? I Believe I Can Fly! Rigor, Relevance-FUN Veteran's Day 2005 Hometown Heroes Can You Dance?

16. Let's Celebrate! 7 West Apaches 8 West Cherokees 8 East Mayans 7 East Karankawas

17. Let's Play! Most Improved "Professional" Learning Community

18. Working Together at FIS

19. Estamos Aprendiendo Inglés en FIS

20. FIS: Out of This WORLD!

21. FREEPORT INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

22. Implications from the Freeport Intermediate School’s Story • What stands out about FIS—more specifically… • Why have they eliminated the achievement gap? • What sets this school apart from thousands of others who want to eliminate the achievement gap? • How is The Work at FIS so different from the work in other schools?

23. The Work of transition of the school began with the New Principal • Personal Characteristics • Personable, charismatic, friendly • Strong-willed, determined, stubborn • Fair, consistent • Knows Best Educational Practice • Curriculum/Instruction/Assessment • Young Adolescents • ML Programs and Practices • Change/Improvement Processes

24. The Work of change moved to teacher leaders and eventually to the whole faculty and community… • Collective Self-Efficacy • They believed they could make a difference • They then learned they could make a difference • They now know they can make a difference • Collective Commitment • Belief and hard work produced initial successes • Initial successes evolved into a deeper level of commitment • From more successes total commitment evolved • Collective High Expectations for All • From small successes came understanding that all students could be successful • Now the staff will not accept failure • If you don’t fit, find another place to work.

25. Key Areas of The Work:Curriculum/Standards • State Curriculum Standards accepted as essentials for students • School curriculum aligned with standards • School curriculum is the TAUGHT curriculum • Teachers peer-monitor taught curriculum • Principals monitor taught curriculum

26. Key Areas of The Work:Instruction/Assessment Cycle • Teachers teach aggressively to the curriculum • Formative “common unit assessments” • Re-teach, maintenance, enrichment • Continuous collaboration among teachers about instruction to meet student needs

27. Key Areas of The Work:Organizational Structures • Established a macro-process for change • FIS’s 8-step process • Becomes concrete “design” to guide work • Helps everyone see the “Big Picture” • Established Interdisciplinary Team Structure • Team identity and personality • Team commitment to students • Team member collaboration for students • Team proximity for grouping flexibility

28. Key Areas of The Work: Organizational Structures • Created the Flexibility to Meet Needs • Non-English speaking classes • In-school suspension learning packets • Double-time for math • Double-time for language arts • Team Time for Academic Excellence class period • Parent Education • Established a Faculty War Room • Center of faculty problem solving, goal setting, and planning • Data is pervasive throughout the room • Goals/Objectives are pervasive throughout the room • Faculty-wide collaboration is constant year-round

29. Outcome of The Work:A New Culture characterized by… • Commitment to individual student success • Determination to succeed • Willingness to work hard • High expectations of self and others • High expectations for student academic performance • Collaboration for learning • Caring

30. Outcome of the The Work:A New Climate characterized by… • Positive teacher-teacher relationships • Positive teacher-student relationships • Positive teacher-principal relationships • Trust • Respect • Collegiality

31. Bottom line for Freeport Intermediate School: • The students of Freeport Intermediate School would still be receiving a below par education without the changes over the past decade… • The weaker teachers who would still be there today are now teaching elsewhere or not teaching… • FIS would not have changed and maintained without the Principal taking an aggressive stand for excellence… • The principal stepped up…and then the teachers stepped up…

32. Eliminating the Gap: Insights from a School of Poverty that Changed Achievement for all Students Clara Sale-Davis Principal, Freeport Intermediate School Freeport, Texas Jerry Valentine Director, Middle Level Leadership Center University of Missouri www.MLLC.org

33. Electronic Copy of this Presentation This presentation will be available on-line next week at www.MLLC.org, the web site of the Middle Level Leadership Center. If you have difficulty downloading it, email Jerry Valentine at ValentineJ@missouri.edu or call the Center at (573) 882-0944 for an electronic copy. Clara’s email is CSale-Davis@brazosportisd.net Her phone is (979) 730-7241, ask for Carla, Clara’s assistant/secretary.