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The secret to success is doing things schoolwide [because] you will never change with just one teacher doing things.... You need the entire school and parents together.... You need to learn what works and what doesn't.
-- Principal, Snively Elementary School
Through a schoolwide project that began in 1989, teachers, parents, and administrators revamped Snively Elementary School to provide learning experiences that help all students meet higher standards of achievement and embrace parents in the education process. The project introduced interdisciplinary, thematic instruction using a curriculum written by teachers; established an alternative assessment process; extended the school year; and reduced class size in all grades. Snively emphasizes collaboration and became the focus of community activity through adult education, community health services and recreational facilities, home visits, and rewards for parent volunteers.
A districtwide committee meets annually to oversee the Chapter 1 program. The school operates under site-based management, with the Chapter 1 program coordinated by the Effective School Team (EST) that governs decision making at Snively.
The decision to give teachers broad authority under the schoolwide program is strongly supported by the district Chapter 1 director, who states: "Give the money to teachers and let them do with kids what is needed.... They know the needs, but frequently we don't ask them for ideas." But the same administrator cautions that successful schoolwides require a clear structure and long-term planning: "Schoolwide needs to be thought out.... It must still reach the Chapter 1 children."
The program also includes "Step Ahead Days," during which students apply their learning to real-life situations. At the beginning of a unit on economics, each class adopts a particular role: job interviewing, production, or bartering. The classes work with each other so that all students learn about each role and understand the concepts before actually studying the subject. Sometimes, classes save the exercise until the end of the unit; after a unit on the American Revolution, classes representing different states reenacted historical scenes. Other projects include a unit on transportation (which included a visit to the school by a helicopter), a Medieval festival, and visits to businesses.
Teachers revise the curriculum constantly to ensure that it is consistent with high academic expectations and is appropriate for students. The Chapter 1 director says teachers are so committed to their collaboration that they work on Saturdays and on their own time to develop new ideas. "When you have teachers revise the curriculum, they have ownership because it was developed based upon needs they perceived," she says. "This is what makes it work."
Snively offers two early-intervention prekindergarten programs funded by the state and in 1993-94 will add two more programs funded by Head Start. A state-funded program, First Start, supports two regular and two portable classrooms and two parent educators; one portable operates as a family resource center to help families with children below the age of two. The school also has reading development program called "Early Discovery," which is targeted to students identified by teachers and testing at the end of kindergarten. Students begin the program in first grade, leaving the class for half an hour each day for individual instruction; each semester, the Early Discovery teacher helps a different set of students. The program has been so successful that the school plans to expand it to the second and third grades.
Planning and Design. Eight years ago, Polk County officials considered closing Snively-which some school planners described as "the dirtiest and worst school in the district." The Chapter 1 program was "a nightmare," with participants in grades 4-6 grouped into one class to receive Chapter 1 services all day long. But community pressure forced the district to keep the school open. Under the leadership of a new principal in 1988, teachers and administrators developed a schoolwide project plan to improve the entire school. The district office provided technical assistance and fostered communication between Snively staff and other schoolwide projects.
Faculty, parents, and community representatives on Snively's EST met frequently for six months to plan the project. Teachers rewrote the curriculum to follow an interdisciplinary, thematic unit approach and visited parents at home to solicit support for the new project. The school used Chapter 1 funds to hire additional teachers, pay for professional development, and purchase new materials. The new staff reduced the teacher-student ratio to 1:18 for primary grades and 1:20 for upper grades, achieving a class size that teachers believed would better serve the needs of all students. After noticing a lack of recreational opportunities for local children-and crowded summer tutoring programs at a nearby church-administrators used an RJR Nabisco Foundation Grant to extend the school year through July. (The Nabisco grant was obtained after planning had begun for the schoolwide project, but both were implemented in 1989.)
Snively's schoolwide project promotes continuous professional development based on teachers' needs and interests, multiple roles for teachers, shared decision making, and consultant and peer support. With implementation of the schoolwide project, teachers began meeting one day each month to collaborate on planning.
Cultural Inclusiveness. An English as a Second Language (ESL) program features one full-time teacher and three paraprofessionals. All Snively teachers, except for the most recently hired, have ESL training. ESL students participate in a two-hour pullout program every day; when these students are in the regular classroom, they are assisted by an ESL aide. Special education is conducted in two resource rooms.
Unit-related field trips also help students understand other cultures. A visit to St. Augustine shows students Spain's role in Florida's history. Disney's Epcot Center provides a glimpse of many cultures, including Mexico and its rich artistic heritage. A trip to a Spanish restaurant in Tampa enables both Anglo and Hispanic students and parents to experience Spanish food and atmosphere. In addition, Snively's library has a growing collection of books in Spanish, including works by Latin American authors and biographies of Latino leaders. Those books are among the most popular in the library. ESL students celebrate their heritage with a presentation of posadas and a pinata during the winter holidays; for Cinco de Mayo, they present an exhibit to teach other students about the holiday. They also organize a popular tortilla-making contest. Teachers receive training in cultural differences through inservice classes and professional literature. Evening school programs often feature Mexican songs and music, which increase parent involvement and attendance.
Parent and Community Involvement. Strong community outreach and parent participation guide Snively's program. Every teacher visits the home of every child he or she teaches, allowing open communication with each family and better assessment of individual needs. Parents are encouraged to become involved in all aspects of the school, including an adult education program, and are motivated to participate in the school by a coupon-redemption program in which they earn coupons-redeemable for food, clothing, or household items at the school-operated family center-by attending their child's class, participating on field trips, or other volunteer efforts. According to the principal, between 60 and 70 service clubs, businesses, and agencies have adopted the school, with many donating surplus items that parents can purchase with their coupons. Last year, parents volunteered more than 5,000 times at the school-an average of 10 times per student. Parents also receive a monthly calendar of school activities.
Snively offers free GED/ABE classes for adults in the community, which drew 130 students last year. More than 100 adults also participated in an ESL class, and some recent adult graduates are now planning to attend college. "All we ask is for parents to be an active participant with their child," says the principal. "This has encouraged them to go to GED and ABE [adult basic education] and to understand the importance of school."
Snively's other efforts to become what the principal calls "the ultimate community school" include providing a state-funded community clinic that offers immunizations, physical exams, and other services by state health department workers. The Community Aggressive Reclamation Effort (CARE), a state-funded program that targets local communities with severe needs, also has designated Snively as the location for a new community recreation center that will include a park with restrooms, lights, and playing fields.
Snively Elementary School
1004 Snively Avenue
Winter Haven, FL 33880
(813) 291-5325
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