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

Implementing Schoolwide Projects - May 1994

Coordinating Services to Promote Learning

Lingelbach Elementary School
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Overview

Since 1988-89, when Lingelbach Elementary School implemented a Chapter 1 schoolwide project, student learning has been enriched by a combination of support and educational services. The project's philosophy--that every child must have the opportunity and appropriate support to succeed in school--is backed by a commitment that students will achieve high academic standards through an interdisciplinary, thematic curriculum; a unified language arts program; emphasis on higher order thinking skills and whole language; cooperative learning; and parent involvement. The school seeks to provide a strong, content-based program for all students. Regularly scheduled meetings enable pairs, teams, and school-level groups of staff and parents to discuss each child's learning and monitor his or her progress. The result has been steadily climbing standardized test scores and demonstrated task performance.

School Context

Lingelbach enrolls about 400 students; approximately 99 percent are African American (compared with 65 percent districtwide), and 78 percent receive free or reduced-price meals. The school offers two Head Start classes and two full-day kindergartens and serves grades 1-5. The student mobility rate was high when the schoolwide project started, because of nearby shelters for homeless and abused people and apartment buildings rented on a monthly basis. The large shelters have since closed, but Lingelbach continues to serve a large homeless population.

Major Program Features

Academic focus. Lingelbach teachers gear their ambitious academic program to students at different achievement levels, using cooperative learning and in-class assistance from support teachers and aides to ensure that students attain proficiency in core subjects. Using the Communication Arts Network, students learn reading, writing, and language arts by publishing literary magazines and producing video programs. Teachers use whole language approaches in language arts and invite parents to monthly "author teas," where students read aloud their creative writing. Lingelbach is Philadelphia's pilot site for the Reading Recovery program, in which a specially trained teacher works individually with first-grade students who have trouble reading. In mathematics, the use of manipulatives improves concept learning, problem-solving strategies, conflict resolution, and higher-order thinking skills as well as verbal articulation. A math specialist and program support teacher help students develop computer knowledge.

School documents state that "success is achieved by creating reasons and needs for learning through the arts." In pursuit of this philosophy, children create videotapes, books, poems, museums, a collaborative literary magazine, and a school newspaper. Other special programs include violin lessons, which begin in kindergarten. A National Endowment for the Arts grant supports learning through the arts and architecture, and computers are used in each classroom promote growth in critical thinking.

Planning and design. Lingelbach teachers and parents designed the schoolwide project in 1987-88 through consensus, in an attempt to combat low achievement, low grades, and poor attendance among students. The planners met regularly until the program was implemented in 1988-89 and continue to meet to diagnose the program's changing status and make adjustments. At the suggestion of teachers and parents, the project included smaller classes and extra teachers to provide special instruction, enrichment, and reinforcement for transient students. The staff, parents, and school leaders meet weekly and monthly to evaluate the project's progress toward its goals.

Using daily informal discussions, reduced class sizes, and classroom aides, teachers work with students in regular classes to promote achievement. Lingelbach coordinates its services through project team and grade meetings, with the goal of preventing early school failure. In addition, teachers of students with severe problems meet with the school psychologist, the principal, resource teachers, and other specialists on a Pupil Support Committee. This committee designs individual programs for at-risk students and follows their progress carefully, adjusting services as changing circumstances require. An afterschool "homework club," supervised by teachers and aides, gives homeless and latchkey children a safe and orderly place to complete assignments. A support teacher monitors attendance, advises and supports teachers, and tutors the lowest-achieving students.

Professional environment. Staff development is provided at the school (at least 20 hours each year) and also districtwide (10 hours each school year), to improve teachers' knowledge of whole language teaching, assertive discipline, and cooperative learning. Staff members assess their own needs and formulate a staff development schedule with the principal. Staff development activities often include the entire staff; classroom assistants also attend school- site and district-level training sessions twice a year. Topics are decided by grade groups at staff meetings, cross-grade articulation meetings, and leadership team meetings.

Parent and community involvement. Lingelbach's partnerships with community groups and institutions add breadth and depth to its regular programs. Faculty and students from the University of Pennsylvania worked with Lingelbach teachers to devise new strategies for literature-based reading instruction. Drexel University helps develop and implement plans for using computers to promote growth in students' critical thinking skills. Senior citizens' groups send volunteers to the school each week to tutor and read aloud to students. A nearby church has adopted the school, providing before- and after-school care for students at a nominal cost. Cable companies provide facilities for film editing of student productions. A bookstore owner, formerly a middle school principal, has taught the kindergartners about cuneiform writing and helped them create their own books of hieroglyphics. Through her efforts, the kindergarten viewed a cuneiform display shown only to selected audiences. She also has helped the school collect multicultural fairy tales.

Parents participate on committees and attend monthly meetings for updates on school programs. In addition, the school sponsors a parent coordinator who, during home visits to families, advises on parenting and homework assistance.

Evidence of Success

Since the schoolwide project began, Lingelbach's students' scores on standardized tests have improved almost 18 NCE points in math and 9 in reading. The number of children who qualify for Chapter 1 services academically has decreased almost 13 percent. The percent of children earning A's, B's, and C's has increased, while the number earning D's and F's has decreased. Attendance has increased on average from 85 percent to 93 percent.

Lingelbach Elementary School
6340 Wayne Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 951-4001
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