A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE                             Contact:  David W. Thomas April 19, 1995                                     (202) 401-1579

52 Schools that Beat the Odds Recognized by U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Education Secretary Richard W. Riley today recognized 52 schools in high-poverty areas across the nation for significantly improving academic achievement, attendance and discipline.

"These outstanding schools deserve our recognition because they have worked hard to help all of their students learn and succeed -- often overcoming substantial adversity," Riley said.

The schools were singled out for acknowledgement by the U.S. Department of Education's 11th annual Title I National Recognition Program.

This year, the recognition program focused on schoolwide projects, which involve boosting the achievement of all students in high-poverty schools, rather than targeting special help only to students identified as educationally disadvantaged.

"Title I is a critical investment," Riley said, "aimed at assuring that no child is denied a real opportunity for education because of the disadvantage that often comes with poverty. And when a school has a number of students entitled to Title I services, it just makes sense to operate the program schoolwide."

The Department changed the focus of Title I (formerly Chapter I) because research indicates that student achievement often falls behind unless special emphasis is placed on raising academic standards, improving teaching and involving parents in high-poverty schools.

Named for an important section in federal elementary and secondary education law, Title I provides funds to local schools to help improve basic and advanced skills of educationally disadvantaged students living in high-poverty areas.

The new Improving America's School Act encourages many more schools to adopt the schoolwide improvement approach. The act lowers the minimum poverty level at which a school can offer a schoolwide program from 75 to 60 percent for 1995-96 and to 50 percent in subsequent years. All of the schools recognized this year had poverty levels above 75 percent.

The award-winning projects have several elements in common:

Consistent focus on teaching and learning;
Significant parental and community involvement;
Comprehensive approach to helping students meet challenging standards;
And, ongoing and effective training of teachers and staff.

As part of the selection process, state education agencies nominated projects, and an independent national panel composed of researchers and educators evaluated their effectiveness in raising student achievement levels.

Test scores, grade promotions and courses completed, student self-assessment, teacher and parent ratings, as well as discipline and attendance, were reviewed to measure gains.

The 52 winners were selected from among 138 submissions from 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Awards will be presented May 2 in Anaheim, Calif., at a ceremony to be held during the annual meeting of the International Reading Association. A sourcebook describing the winning projects will be published later this year.