Description of School

Geneva City School District, more than forty miles from the nearest metropolitan cities of Rochester, Ithaca, or Syracuse, serves approximately 2500 students, and would be a "typical" rural district were it not for the pockets of urban poverty within the region. Geneva has the highest percentage of low income families in Ontario County -- more than 95% of the county's low income housing is located in the city of Geneva.

Demographics

Student Racial/Ethnic Composition:

73% White (not of Hispanic origin)

15% African American (not of Hispanic origin)

9% Hispanic

1% American Indian or Alaska Native

1% Asian or Pacific Islander

LEP Students: 3%

Qualify for Free/Reduced Price Lunch: 41%

Receive Special Education Services: 20%

Background and Goals

In 1993, recognizing that it had an aging teaching force and a changing student population, the district decided to devote substantial time and energies to long-term professional development strategies. After the initial wariness of teachers to accept a set of new programs, the faculty members in the district's schools have become believers as the district's support and empowerment have produced success with students.

Professional Development Design and Implementation

• Financial Support. The district requires forty-five hours of professional development for each staff member, and it commits to support this requirement with quality programs aimed to increase student achievement. The district invests 2% of its budget in professional development, based on the decisions of the Administrative Council and input from teachers. The funds support training by experts, peer coaching, semi-monthly study groups, group reflection on practices, and release time and summer training sessions. These district programs, which incorporate conversations among teachers, model the culture of teaching and learning they hope to replicate in the individual schools.

• Proven Links to Student Improvement. Before a professional development program is adopted or endorsed by the district, the program must be proven to align with the district standards and demonstrate that it produces results. For example, a program for grades 1-5 was planned and piloted for over two years, and after the school psychologist found that the students involved in the program had higher academic gains than the control group, the district adopted it. On the other hand, after extensive review, a pre-first grade program tested did not meet its intended goals, and was dropped.

• Teacher-driven improvement programs. Grade level and content area teams, which include teachers in the district, regularly work together writing curriculum, developing benchmarks, creating interdisciplinary units, and developing strategies to meet the needs of students who have difficulties.

Objective Evidence of Success

The district found that once children were identified and entered the Title I program, few were able to obtain the requisite scores to leave the program. Teachers piloted a number of computer-assisted instructional programs, and after adopting one they felt was most appropriate for their students in 1994-95, there has been a dramatic rise in exit rates. In 1995-96, 70% of the 244 Title I students had raised their achievement scores enough to leave the program. Of the 72 students remaining in the program, 36 exited the program during the 1996-97 year, and only 31 students have re-entered the program. In math, 77% of the students have left the program and have not re-entered. For all students district-wide, the percent of students passing the New York State third grade reading exam had been declining from 1993 to 1996. After an analysis of student needs and implementation of a new professional development program, 99% of all students (including special education students) passed the exam in 1997.

Contact Information

Geneva City Schools
Edward Wright
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
649 South Exchange Street
Geneva, NY 14456
(315) 781-0494
(315) 781-4128
pokey@ipix.net

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