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FOR RELEASE
August 27, 1999
Contact:
John Emekli or Melinda Malico
(202) 401-3026
SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS RECOGNIZED FOR OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley today named three schools and four school districts as winners of the U.S. Department of Education's National Awards Program for Model Professional Development for their efforts to improve teachers' knowledge and skills and raise student achievement.
Award recipients are Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Ga.; Spring Woods Senior High School in Houston and Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, both in Texas; Wherry Elementary School in Albuquerque, N.M.; Olathe District Schools (USD233) in Olathe, Kan.; Edmonds School District in Lynwood, Wash.; and Norman Public Schools in Norman, Okla.
"These outstanding honorees are equipping teachers with the skills and expertise needed so that all of today's youth will achieve educational excellence," Riley said. "Teachers tell us they need more tools to help them meet the challenges of today's modern classrooms. These award winners are models for what can be done nationwide to give teachers the best possible learning opportunities."
Established in 1996, the National Awards Program recognizes comprehensive efforts that improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement and are consistent with a set of principles for professional development that are based on the best available research and exemplary practice. These professional development programs can serve as models for schools and districts as they design strategies to improve teachers' skills and knowledge of subject matter and as they demonstrate to their communities that investing in professional development pays off in significant improvements in student achievement.
"We must do more to professionalize teaching," Riley said. "As we ask more and more of today's teachers we must provide the necessary supports to enable them to teach to high standards. High quality professional development is one critical component to meeting this challenge."
Eligibility for the awards program is open to public and private schools and districts. The department's regional laboratories coordinated a rigorous review process that included a first round of evaluation by a non-federal panel of experts, comprehensive site visits of the most promising applicants, and final review by a blue ribbon panel. The panel made recommendations to Riley, who selected the final honorees. This year's awardees will be honored by Riley at the Improving America's Schools Conference in Tampa, Fla. in October 1999.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Following are summary descriptions of the honorees.
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Sprayberry High School, Marietta, Georgia
Sprayberry is a suburban high school outside of Atlanta that opened in 1952 to serve a principally rural community; however, the school population is now drawn from more middle class neighborhoods. The past six years have seen a sizeable influx of ethnically diverse families, many of whom speak English as a second language.
Over the past seven years Sprayberry High School has been transformed from an average school to a school of excellence. The basic vehicle for change at Sprayberry has been the adoption of site-based management that made teachers and the administration equal partners in school improvement. Sprayberry High School's teachers are now empowered to assume leadership roles in designing their own professional development. Sprayberry set goals and created a staff development plan by: 1) disaggregating data to identify areas of need; 2) investigating current educational studies to select research-based strategies for improving instruction; 3) designing staff development programs to train teachers in best practices for improving student performance, and; 4) conducting on-going reviews of progress.
Consistent improvement in the SAT and Georgia High School Exit Exam scores reflect the success of Sprayberry's staff development program. In seven years the SAT composite score has grown from 1004 to 1025, well above the national average. The Exit Exam has seen consistent gains in four out of five areas, despite changing demographics. The combination of focus on teaching to improve critical thinking skills and the infusion of technology into both instruction and student-centered activities has led to across-the-board gains for all achievement levels and ethnic groups.
Contact Information:
Sprayberry High School
Lorrie Richards, Assistant Principal
2525 Sandy Plains Road
Marietta, Georgia 30062
(770) 509-6111
(770) 509-6114 (fax)
richardl@mail.sprayberry.high.cobb.k12.ga.us
Spring Woods Senior High School, Houston, Texas
Spring Woods is a large urban high school in Houston, Texas. In the past few years the student population has greatly diversified and changed the instructional and professional development needs of the school.
Spring Woods High School reviewed their campus (AEIS) data and surveyed students and parents to determine how to meet the unique instructional and motivational needs of its culturally diverse student population. They established a "schoolwide leadership cadre" comprised of representatives from all disciplines and grade levels as well as parents and administrators to study whole school change. The resulting professional development plan established these goals: more inclusive, relevant, and challenging instructional practices; enhanced communication and learning among adults that is collaborative and job-embedded; and, parent involvement that encourages diverse representation and participation in meaningful decisions and activities.
The cadre has helped to create a professional development initiative based on a motivational framework for culturally responsive teaching and learning. While the framework includes new teaching strategies, it also serves as a template for recognizing existing strengths in an educator's instructional practice and providing clues for developing those strengths. With the understanding that motivation is inseparable from culture, the framework provides four basic conditions that, when consistently present in learning, elicit the motivation of all adults and students. The four conditions are: 1) establish inclusion; 2) develop a positive attitude; 3) enhance meaning by offering challenging and engaging learning; and, 4) engender competence.
Descriptive data from classroom observations, lesson plans, interviews, institute feedback, and a shared instructional vocabulary indicate increased use of culturally responsive instructional strategies, skills, and behaviors. Climate surveys, increased student attendance, and decreased dropout rates and discipline referral data show improved student behavior and attitudes.
TASS Math scores have increased from 22.2% to a proficiency level of 77.3%. In addition, instructional improvements in English, and Social Studies contributed to an increase in Reading scores of 23.1% with 86% of students achieving passing scores. TASS Writing Scores have also improved 10.9% to reach 85.2% passing. Although students who are Hispanic and economically disadvantaged are among the lowest performing students, both groups have steadily increased their passing rates of the TASS over the past five years.
Contact Information:
Spring Woods Senior High School
Eloise Hambright-Brown, Ed.D., Director, Accelerated and Compensatory Education
900 Westview, Room S104
Houston, TX 77055
(713) 365-5585
(713) 365-5597 (fax)
hambrige@spring-branch.isd.tenet.edu
Carroll Independent School District, Southlake, Texas
Carroll ISD is a small but rapidly expanding suburban district with an annual growth rate for the past two years of roughly 15%. While Carroll ISD may not be as ethnically diverse as other districts, teachers are faced with a wide range of academic diversity. Therefore, professional development activities are designed to improve achievement for all students by focusing on problem solving, critical thinking, strategic learning, self evaluation, and love of learning.
Carroll ISD's STAR model for professional development is based on continuous improvement at the individual, campus, and district levels. It is a cohesive plan that begins with pre-service and includes veteran teachers, administrators, university faculty, parents, business, and community partners. Major goals include: 1) improving teacher preparation and induction; 2) providing support for novice teachers; 3) enhancing the mentoring and coaching process; 4) supporting administrators as instructional leaders; and 5) including parents and community members as partners in learning so that student achievement is improved.
All site-based teams are trained in data analysis, goal setting and staff development planning. Each campus submits a yearly professional development plan indicating objectives, activities, estimated costs, the model of staff development used, measures of success, and other additional needs. Over the past 5 years, test scores have continued to rise as a result of this focus on data analysis. There has been an increase in the number of students taking AP courses and increased scores on AP exams. SAT and ACT scores have also continued to rise, as well as the state criterion referenced test- TASS. The scores of special needs students also continue to go up. Carroll ISD examines data each year and focuses professional development efforts around these areas of need.
Contact Information:
Caroll Independent School District
Nancy Rindone, Director of Staff and Program Development
1201 North Carroll Avenue
Southlake, TX 76092
(817) 329-2934
(817) 251-5064 (fax)
amiller@tenet.edu
Wherry Elementary School, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Wherry Elementary is a K-5 public school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, situated on Kirtland Airforce Base, but drawing two-thirds of its 645 students from outside of the Base. The student population is diverse with 15% classified as Limited English Proficient. In addition, 15% are also recipients of special education services.
The professional development program at Wherry Elementary is predicated on their principal's belief that teacher expertise is the single most important factor impacting student achievement. To initiate their program Wherry teachers examined their students' low achievement on standardized measures in literacy and decided to focus their professional improvement on research pertaining to literacy development, assessments that guide instruction, and proven teaching strategies. They made time for professional development activities by voluntarily lengthening the school day by ten minutes, freeing full days throughout the year. Study groups, monthly mini-inservices, and individual consultations provide additional support. Teachers continually review student data and conduct needs assessments to determine next learning steps.
Teachers speak openly of how dramatically their instructional practices have changed since they began their efforts in 1994. In an anonymous survey to determine the extent of literacy instructional strategy usage, teachers reported significant use of new strategies. Teachers are more willing to be observed by colleagues, and willingly give up prep time in order to fund professional development.
Between 1994 and 1998, standardized test scores in literacy have risen from 33% to 57%, writing assessment scores have risen from 2.02 to 2.96 (on a 1-6 scale), and teachers report (and the principal observes) dramatic changes in the way instruction is delivered.
Contact Information:
Wherry Elementary School
Rita Martinez, Principal
Building 25000- Kirtland AFB
Albuquerque, NM 87116
(505) 266-0093
(505) 260-2025 (fax)
margaret1949@hotmail.com
Olathe District Schools (USD233), Olathe, Kansas
Continuous inquiry and improvement are embedded into the culture of the Olathe Unified School District (USD233), a large suburban school district outside of Kansas City that serves 19,613 students. USD233 has received numerous accolades, including earning, for three consecutive years, a Gold Medal ranking from Expansion Management Magazine for being one of the best public school districts in the nation. The U.S. Department of Education has also identified twelve schools in USD233 as Blue Ribbon Schools. USD233 believes that their professional development program, in place since the early 90's, is the primary reason for their success.
The district's professional development process uses an informed, collaborative decision-making approach that respects and nurtures the intellectual and leadership capacity of their learning community. The organization as a whole- and each school individually- must evaluate current status and baseline data, establish goals, and develop school improvement (SIP) and building staff development (BSDP) plans to achieve desired outcomes. These five-year action plans include anticipated outcomes, research-based strategies, necessary resources, documentation of improvement, a monitoring timeline, and identification of professional growth opportunities.
Olathe Unified School District's focus on professional development has led to improvement in reading, math, and writing, and a narrowing in the gap between low and middle/high SES students, opposite their state trends. Year to year academic data for the ITBS, the Kansas Math assessment, and the ACT show an overall increase in math at all levels-elementary, junior high, and high school. This student data ultimately guides USD233's professional development decisions. Their comprehensive and constantly improving program has had a powerful impact on their ability to achieve their vision: "Students prepared for THEIR future."
Contact Information:
Olathe District Schools
Alison Banikowski, Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction
14160 Black Bob Road
Olathe, KS 66063-2000
(913) 780-8028
(913) 780-8007 (fax)
banikowski@mail.olathe.k12.ks.us
Edmonds School District, Lynnwood, Washington
The Edmonds School District is a diverse suburban district committed to data-based decision making in all areas including professional development.
Edmond's professional development is a district-wide change model that was originally created to restructure mathematics and was tested as part of a National Science Foundation grant. In the initial development of the model, Teacher Leaders were prepared and supported to work with their peers as facilitators of change. The model has since evolved to address all areas of teaching and learning and has been aligned with the district's performance-based, standards-based educational system.
All educators now have the opportunity to meet together to learn, discuss, and share new ideas and classroom experiences that go well beyond the typical one-shot training workshops. The plan addresses both district-wide and building goals while providing opportunities for individual professional growth. The plan provides opportunities to: 1) give and receive feedback; 2) engage in educational research and development; 3) synthesize new educational research; 4) recognize and stimulate exemplary professional performance; 5) pursue advanced degrees; 6) induct new employees; 7) develop new teaching skills; 8) make best use of new technologies; 9) teach other colleagues; and 10) use mentoring to enhance training.
Evaluations show that Teacher Leaders made substantial changes in their beliefs and practices including how they organized their classrooms, how they taught and how they observed, assessed, and recorded students performance. The support of Teacher Leaders has helped all teachers to make visible changes in their classrooms, in their use of materials, and in their teaching.
In addition, student performance data supports the effectiveness of the plan. Math RIT scores increased from 1995/96 to 1997/98 in every grade tested. CTBS results in Language, Reading, and Math have steadily improved over the past four years as well.
Contact Information:
Sally L. Harrison, Director of Standards and Assessment and Instructional Delivery
20420 68th Avenue West
Lynnwood, WA 98036
(425) 670-7137
(425) 670-7182 (fax)
HarrisonS@edmonds.wednet.edu
Norman Public Schools, Norman, Oklahoma
Professional development is not a program or an event, but a way of life for the staff at Norman Public Schools. Norman, Oklahoma is a community of approximately 100,000 built on a commitment to education shown through its support of the public schools, a major university, and other institutions related to education and training. With this professional emphasis, community expectations for student achievement at Norman are high, and involvement in the educational process is extensive. To meet these high expectations, in 1985, the Norman Schools raised the level of importance placed on professional development for all staff. As a result, the district created Decisions for Excellence, a framework for professional development targeted toward improved teaching and learning.
The Norman Public Schools supports research-based professional development, so Decisions for Excellence is consistently updated using current research and best practices. Decisions for Excellence currently has four major components: "Processes" for effecting change; "Procedures" for participatory decision making regarding teaching and learning; and the "Program" for improving instruction, all targeted toward the "Product" of student learning. Each component is supported with district resources and committed staffs to strengthen district direction, address school site improvement goals, and develop individual teachers and administrators as outstanding leaders dedicated to improving student achievement. The structure encourages decision-making at the level of need and provides flexibility as information and best practices become available.
Standardized test scores demonstrate how subject and method specific professional development has succeeded. The percentages of fifth grade students passing the state performance-based writing, math, and science assessments significantly increased between the years of 1995 and 1998. Similar gains were seen at the 8th and 11th grade levels. ACT test scores also demonstrate academic gains as the average composite score increased from 21.7% in 1992-93 to 22.8% in 1997-98. Evidence of success is also revealed in the decreased numbers of suspensions and absences.
Contact Information:
Norman Public Schools
Elaine Fulton Hale, Director of Staff Development
207 East Gray
Norman, OK 73069
(405) 366-5856
(405) 366-5853
okpdcn@onenet.net