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

Improving America's Schools: A Newsletter on Issues in School Reform - October 1996

Making Schoolwides Work for All Students

Schoolwide programs are built on the assumption that every aspect of the school's instructional system can and will challenge all students academically. The most successful schools begin with research-based models and rely on their staff to decide how to alter curriculum and instruction to accommodate students' strengths and needs.

Teachers make comprehensive changes, avoiding add-ons or simply replicating standard models. They change their curricula and teaching strategies by introducing intensive reading and mathematics instruction and reinforcing learning through social studies, science, and the arts. Upgraded instruction for students has these characteristics:

The strongest schoolwides change practices by restructuring traditional organizational arrangements to improve comprehensively the teaching every child receives (Levin, 1988; Slavin, Karweit, & Madden, 1989; Clay, 1972). Plans and strategies differ, but the most effective schools adopt instructional approaches used by teachers of gifted and talented students, modifying services to accommodate the individual circumstances of students who come from migrant families, Native American communities, or homes where English is not spoken. Often a specialist, a parent, or a tutor works with students within their regular class. Some students attend special classes or after-school, intersession, or summer programs to extend and deepen the quality of the basic instruction they receive. Improved educational resources, aligned with updated academic standards, are essential, as are modern curricula, textbooks, computers, scientific and mathematical tools, and technology (Millsap et al., 1992; Stringfield et al., 1996).

Schoolwides Adapt Research-Based Program Models to Suit Their Needs

Faculty at Philadelphia's Francis Scott Key Elementary School adapted Johns Hopkins University's highly structured Success for All (SFA) program to offer an array of whole language approaches to teaching. SFA's basal reader-based methods were converted to literature-based units that both teachers and students find more enjoyable; teachers have written their own SFA-style guides to young readers' favorite stories and developed student materials that support team learning. One fifth-grade teacher created an interdisciplinary unit based on From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a mystery about a child sleuth set in the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Her students studied tour guides and maps of New York to follow the hero's exploits, and used vocabulary activities that teach words in context and engage students in peer coaching.

Schoolwides commit to the success of all students in every academic subject. When necessary, they provide extra assistance to students who experience difficulty mastering any of the states' standards. Interdisciplinary teaching is a common theme; technology connects the classroom with new research, writing, and publication tools. For example, Snively Elementary, in Winter Haven, Florida, organizes all of its instruction around thematic units. Children study culture, civilization, history, and geography by researching and writing about the respective contributions that their own cultures have made to civilization. Snively students also tackle projects that yield visible results in their own school and community. One year, they connected academics to practical problems in the real world by engaging students in the planning to help build a seven-acre playground that doubles as a community park during non-school hours. Students applied their academic skills to draft designs and estimate the amount and costs of materials, and they then pitched in to assist with some of the construction. Lessons about community building and collaboration emerged besides the academic skills students gained.

Transform Learning and Teaching Using Technology

According to U.S. Department of Education Technology Director Linda Roberts, a big challenge for schoolwide programs will be to overcome their reliance on computers for drill and practice of basic skills and to learn to use them substantively. Schoolwide programs can create technology centers where computers, CD-ROM readers, laser disk players, fax machines, and video adapters are among the routine instructional tools teachers rely on. Computers purchased with state and local funds, as well as those obtained with federal funds, can be distributed throughout the school. With networked computers, access to Internet, and a library of research tools and production software, teachers see the range of instructional opportunities technology offers; they also have easy access to training that keeps their technology skills current. In kindergarten and first-grade classrooms, students read and write stories with computers, extending their understanding of how verbal language translates into written text. Upper-grade students hone their research skills with electronic research tools and word processing programs that enable them to conduct sophisticated studies and create formal presentations of their findings.

Some schoolwides allocate a portion of their ESEA funds to support technology specialists who are expert teachers as well as informed users of technology. Technology-savvy teachers with knowledge in the disciplines guide students to take advantage of the full capacity of modernized equipment and learning resources. They have the know-how to install and maintain computerized research and reference databases and to help students learn to use the available information to its full extent. At Cypress Creek Elementary School in Ruskin, Florida, teachers rely on technology as an instructional tool throughout the school day. Using computers, students research and write stories on a morning news show that they broadcast live each day to classrooms. The faculty sponsors a weekly broadcast in which students analyze and comment on school issues and events. At Snively, students become proficient Internet communicators and exchange information about common research projects with peers in other regions through electronic mail, sharing what they learn on the net and through live video.

Build Self-Concept and Cultural Pride

Lisa Delpit (1995, p. 93) documented the "importance of context" as a mechanism for connecting academic achievement to cultural sensitivity and pride. Schools that celebrate the cultural influences in their community instill in students the pride and confidence they need to become competent achievers. "Think about the difference between learning to play chess from your grandfather or learning from a book," Delpit suggests (1995, p. 96). Schools that make room for each student's individuality take time to embed what is to be learned into a familiar vernacular so that students can enrich their learning through a context they know.

On-Line Learning Inspires Creativity

At Atchison Middle School in Atchison, Kansas, students have on-line pen pals in Salinas, California, and in Buffalo, New York. As participants in "Scrapbook, USA," a writing project hosted by America On-Line, these students exchange essays with students in partner schools to learn about different cultures, cities, and schools through the eyes of their peers. Atchison's students have highlighted their on-line activities in student-produced videos that are screened on the local cable television station. Another community project that hones students' computer skills is a weekly visit by senior citizens who come to the school for student-led computer training. Students show the seniors how to access and browse the Internet and how to use Internet features, such as scanning photos and graphics into their messages.

Curricula, instruction, and schoolwide activities at the J.S. Chick Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri, focus on building students' self-concept as learners and community members through cultural and racial pride. The school's principal emphasizes the importance of teaching students--98 percent of whom are African American--to "see themselves at the center of society, rather than [as outsiders] looking in." Teachers organize the core curriculum into thematic units that correspond to African principles such as unity, self-determination, creativity, and collective work and responsibility. Within each unit, students' academic work in every subject is infused with explorations of the contributions of African and African-American cultures. Chick students also help run a weekly community produce market, which gives them first-hand experience in business and allows them to contribute to the community.

Extend and Enrich Learning Time

Schoolwide programs often increase the amount and quality of learning time--for example, by providing an extended school year or before- and after-school and summer programs. Before and after school programs and summer academies can provide students year-round exploratory opportunities that develop the knowledge they need to achieve the state's standards. At McNair Elementary School in North Charleston, South Carolina, 100 students in grades K-3 who scored poorly on the district's tests spent six weeks during the summer studying science, including space, marine life, and conservation, all topics they would be addressing again during the school year. Weekly field trips engaged students in hands-on learning.

Staff at Mary Ford Elementary School in Charleston, South Carolina, have used the flexibility they gained by becoming a schoolwide program to use "parallel block scheduling," thereby reducing the interruptions of the old schedule and accelerating learning in long blocks of reading and mathematics instruction. Small groups of students in grades 1-5 work in "extension centers" on challenging activities. They write and produce plays, read stories and create interpretive dance, and tackle algebra problems with manipulatives. The school also extends kindergarten from a two-and-a-half-hour day to a full school day.

Mary Ford's schoolwide also reaches out to parents of preschool-age children. Under the aegis of the schoolwide program, three-year-olds and four-year-olds with language difficulties have access to an individualized extended pre-kindergarten. A "Preschool PTA" for parents of five-year-olds meets monthly for hands-on workshops that help parents prepare their children for school, teaching them techniques for reading and playing together. The schoolwide program also used a state grant to set up a lending library of developmentally appropriate books, games, and toys that parents can take home to use with their children.

References

Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools. (1995, September).
Successful school restructuring: A report to the public and educators. Madison, WI: Author.

Clay, M. (1972).
Reading: The patterning of complex behavior. Auckland, New Zealand: Heinemann.

Delpit, L. (1995).
Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: The New York Press.

Edmonds, R. (1979).
Effective schools for the urban poor. Educational Leadership, 39, pp. 15-27.

Education Trust. (1996).
A new chance: Making the most of Title I. Washington, DC: Author.

Fiester, L., & Marzke, C. (1996).
An idea book: Linking local health centers with Title I schools. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Fullan, M. (1993).
Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. New York: The Falmer Press.

Funkhouser, J., Fiester, L., O'Brien, E., & Weiner, L. (1995).
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Herman, J. L., & Winters, L. (1992).
Tracking your school's success: A guide to sensible evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

Laguarda, K., Hightower, A., Leighton, M., Tarr, H., Weiner, L., & Youngs, P. (1995).
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Levin, H. M. (1988).
Accelerated schools for at-risk students. New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Policy Research in Education.

Millsap, M. A., Turnbull, B., Moss, M., Brigham, N., Gamse, B., & Marks, E. (1992).
The Chapter I implementation study (interim report). Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates, Inc.

Pechman, E., & Fiester, L. (1994).
An idea book: Implementing schoolwide projects. Washington, DC: U.S.Department of Education, Planning and Evaluation Service.

Slavin, R., Karweit, N. L., & Madden, N. (1989).
Effective programs for students at risk. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Stringfield, S., Millsap, M. A., Scott, E., & Herman, R. (1996).
The three year effects of 10 promising programs on the academic achievement of students placed at risk. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University.

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