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Also as a result of implementing the schoolwide project design, the school expanded its Reading Recovery program by hiring two additional staff members trained and certified in the program. The emphasis in Reading Recovery is on "recovering" attitudes and skills that promote independent reading. Hazelwood tests all incoming first graders on their reading, and Reading Recovery teachers work with them as needed in small groups of four students.
Chapter 1 funds also support two program adjuncts: a Parent/Teacher Resource Center that houses resources teachers use in daily lesson planning, instructional materials, and take-home educational resources; and a comprehensive intergenerational literacy program that includes GED and parenting training as well as instructional components for preschool children. The Parent/Teacher Resource Center uses parent assistants to help organize and prepare materials for all teachers to support their lessons and promotes a broader distribution of educational materials. Before the schoolwide project began, math manipulatives and special reading materials were available only to Chapter 1 staff; now, through the center, they are available to every teacher or instructional assistant.
Planning and design. Hazelwood's staff decided during the 1990-91 school year to adopt a Chapter 1 schoolwide model, after rejecting the option on two previous occasions. The district Chapter 1 coordinator attributes the decision to the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990, which established a statewide context for school restructuring and reform, and to the leadership and vision of a new principal. A planning committee that included teachers from each instructional team and professional group in the school designed and implemented the schoolwide model. Every Chapter 1 teacher and instructional assistant also served on the committee; according to the principal, this was crucial to winning support "because their roles were going to change so drastically." The district provided inservice training on the schoolwide program, policies, and practices, and the committee held brainstorming sessions throughout the year, planning and submitting proposals to the faculty for review. The committee controlled decisions regarding staff assignments under the schoolwide project, and had discretion over the portion of the school budget designated for materials and resources, such as math manipulatives, that were not previously available to all students. The schoolwide project was implemented in the fall of 1991.
The design of Hazelwood's Chapter 1 schoolwide project reflects the integration of both state-level systemic reform initiatives--most notably, KERA--and the district's reform and restructuring efforts, which emphasize school restructuring, parental choice, site-based management, and professional development through a special child development project and the Gheens Academy. "Hazelwood uses the schoolwide as a nice umbrella for pulling everything together, including the restructuring efforts of KERA--site-based management, authentic assessment, and parent inclusion," observed the district's Chapter 1 coordinator.
Organizational/management structure. The staff's decision to implement a schoolwide project significantly changed the school's organization. First, it reduced class size from an average of 28 to between 16 and 18 students and eliminated the pullout program, increasing program integration. According to the principal,
There is no longer any discontinuity of the program.... This is particularly important because between 93 percent and 95 percent of our students are at risk. They bring a lot of social [and] emotional baggage with them. Sometimes you need to address those needs before you can even think about academics. Now, under the schoolwide, we're given a lot of leverage to meet the needs of that child.
Teachers and instructional assistants who had previously operated the Chapter 1 program are now part of the regular staff. All teachers belong to teams, and primary-level classes are ungraded. As one classroom teacher says, "Now I am the Chapter 1 teacher who has to see to it that [disadvantaged students'] needs are met, and I can do now because of the smaller class size."
Professional environment. The primary vehicle for staff development in the district is the Gheens Academy, established ten years ago by a foundation grant. The Academy is a "clearinghouse" for staff development, enabling teachers and schools to form partnerships with diverse groups including the University of Louisville Center for Excellence; the National Education Associates Learning Lab Network; the Coalition of Essential Schools; and the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching. Hazelwood's instructional teams decide which of these professional development activities are of interest to the staff, and Gheens offers inservice training. Programs of particular interest have been those that support the primary program, help teachers develop thematic curriculum units, and promote site-based decision making. In addition, Hazelwood's Reading Recovery teachers receive extensive assistance from a year-long course at the University of Louisville, followed by a year of close district supervision and evaluation.
Parent and community involvement and supplementary resources. Through its Parent/Teacher Resource Center, Hazelwood offers the Peer Mediation Program. The program, developed by the school counselor and two teachers, is based on a "social problem-solving model." Students who observe or are confronted by physical, psychological, or emotional problems have the option of "working it out together" or having the issue mediated by a trained peer. A consultant hired with Chapter 1 resources conducted the initial teacher preparation and presented the program to the first group of student mediators. The school now sponsors its own mediation workshop. "Before [the program], this really was a school where kids resolved conflicts by meeting each other after school," says the district Chapter 1 coordinator. "Now kids are learning to resolve conflicts in a non- violent way. If we've saved...one child from being beaten up, it was worth it."
Chapter 1 funds also provide partial support for the comprehensive intergenerational literacy program, developed in cooperation with the district's Child Development Project and a grant from the Kenan Literacy Foundation. While maintaining a focus on adult education, Hazelwood provides GED preparation classes, parenting classes, and other educational and health services to parents. Parents also are encouraged to serve as teacher assistants and organize and oversee outreach programs such as Adopt-a-Kid, Shoe-a-Kid, and Clothe-a-Kid.
Hazelwood's principal reports a drastic decrease in the number of disciplinary referrals since the schoolwide project was implemented, and the district Chapter 1 coordinator adds that the overall climate of the school has improved with the elimination of the pullout programs:
Formerly, all of our Chapter 1 activities were conducted through pullout programs. [Chapter 1] kids with problems were out in the halls moving from one pullout to the next, and we had a lot of problems there. Children were being labeled as Chapter 1 and were resenting that labeling. Now, if you asked [students], I don't think they could tell you a lot about Chapter 1 per se, but they'll tell you how great Hazelwood is. And when they move, they move with a purpose, within the instructional program.
Hazelwood Elementary School
1325 Bluegrass Avenue
Louisville, KY 40215
(502) 473-8264
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