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

Elementary Schools

A Beacon of Excellence

OVERVIEW

Since becoming a schoolwide program in 1993-94, P.S. 172 has implemented a literacy-focused curriculum, coordinated through intensive professional development, to help all students achieve high standards. According to principal Jack Spatola, "By becoming a schoolwide project, we do not target a specific group of children; instead we assist the struggling students by strengthening the entire school."

P.S. 172 combines funds from Goals 2000, the Bilingual Education Act, state comprehensive and compensatory education, and Title I to accomplish schoolwide success. In addition, P.S. 172 received a three-year New York Partnership for Arts and Education/Annenberg grant to integrate the arts and the academic curriculum, along with a $1,500 grant from the New York State Assembly to purchase additional instructional materials. Since 1997, P.S. 172 has also joined forces with other schools in Community School District 15 to pilot locally adapted standards developed by the New Standards Project.

P.S. 172 serves a predominantly low-income, minority population, including 25% of LEP students.

Grade Levels K-6 Number of Students (1997-98) 1,181 Schoolwide Since 1993-94 Racial/Ethnic Composition 76%   Hispanic 13%   White 8%   Asian/Other 3%   African American

VISION, LEADERSHIP, AND DECISION MAKING

"Our vision is to make sure all kids are challenged at the maximum level," explained Spatola. Over the past 10 years, P.S. 172 has adopted a continuous improvement model to better meet the needs of its linguistically and ethnically diverse students. P.S. 172 uses its Site-based Development Team (SDT) of 17 members, representing administration, parents, teachers, the guidance counselor, community members, classroom aides, and support staff, to evaluate school activities and to address stakeholder concerns and set attainable higher education standards. Teachers and parents also contribute to decisionmaking through school subcommittees on parent involvement, health and safety issues, technology concerns, and library services.

Listening to teachers ensured staff ownership of the reform effort.

Consensus-based decisionmaking has helped P.S. 172 articulate and implement its schoolwide plan, reported assistant principal Tina Volpe. Before P.S. 172 became a schoolwide program, teachers, counselors, and service providers could meet and discuss school issues, but they had no decision-making authority. Volpe notes that increasing teachers' voices in school operations generated staff ownership of the whole-school reform effort: "What teachers do in their classroom is no longer dictated, [so] they can create a program that meets the unique needs of their students. In schoolwides, the pyramid has been reversed and the principal is no longer at the top telling teachers what to do, but at the bottom supporting them."

To write and renew the yearly schoolwide plan at P.S. 172, the SDT annually solicits ideas from parents and staff through surveys prepared in both English and Spanish. Teachers in monthly grade-level meetings also make suggestions regarding school operations. Each spring, the SDT integrates this information into its final Comprehensive Educational Plan and presents the revised schoolwide plan to parents at a PTA meeting. To be implemented, the plan must be approved by more than 75 percent of all staff and parents.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE RESULTS

Data from these varied assessments determine students' placement into small learning groups and into their regular grade-level classrooms. By concentrating on the achievement record, learning style, and personal needs of every child, teachers can balance classroom assignments so that each classroom serves equal numbers of students at every skill level.

Since 1994-95, P.S. 172's third- and sixth-grade reading and mathematics scores on the New York State assessments have exceeded district and city averages and have been well above the scores for their peers attending area schools. The SDT and teachers analyze standardized test results each spring to identify each student's academic needs; the principal then reviews the scores to gain an overview of progress. In addition, the school disseminates students' scores in English and Spanish to parents annually.

RESEARCH-BASED REFORM STRATEGIES

Literacy and the developmental learning needs of students who are not proficient in English are two central schoolwide concerns for P.S. 172. In kindergarten, the High Scope curriculum encourages hands-on learning and guides children through lessons containing language, mathematics, and critical thinking experiences. According to Volpe, this program is especially effective for students whose understanding of English is limited because it helps structure their day while incorporating the flexibility and movement that kindergartners need. High Scope's method teaches children to plan, execute, and review their activities and gives them the opportunity to pursue their own emerging interests.

P.S. 172 meets the needs of all students through its emphasis on literacy and assessment-driven planning.

The school's literacy program incorporates various successful approaches across the grades. The teachers in kindergarten through second grade use Open Court materials, a phonics-based reading program that has helped students who are acquiring English and who need to build their vocabulary. Intensive collaboration among primary and intermediate teachers gives primary students access to reading anthologies made up of both classic and contemporary literature. The reading program is supplemented, throughout the grades, by a writing component. Students' original writings are bound and catalogued so that they can be shared with others. Novels available in each classroom broaden students' reading choices after third grade. Teachers also use creative dramatics and puppetry to bring literature to life.

"Making Connections," a multicultural literature-based program, introduces third- through sixth-graders to social studies and language arts in the context of the novels. In each unit of study, heterogeneously grouped students access theme-based, nonfiction books at all skill levels. The "Voyage of the Mimi" social studies and science program for fifth-graders uses a "multimodality" approach—computers, videos, writing, reading, and research. The Internet also gives students access to additional study materials. One class studied China for six weeks. Although the whole class read one novel about China together during the structured reading period, students each selected a library book appropriate to their reading level to use during social studies, language arts, and creative dramatics. According to Volpe, this permits students, even those who are experiencing reading difficulty, to learn grade-level content in the core subjects. "When kids struggle with reading, they often miss out on instruction in the other concept areas," she said. "This program is successful because we can order books on a particular topic that includes all achievement levels and allows flexibility so all kids can learn at their own pace." Reading multicultural literature in class exposes students to new ideas while affirming their home cultures. The program has been so successful that P.S. 172 teachers collaborated across grades to design their own campuswide guides for teaching novels.

To enhance their writing, second-graders participate in a writing program developed by Columbia University's Teacher's College. A schoolwide "author's program" has student groups in different grades read the same books and conduct cross-grade discussions of plot and characters. Between the primary and upper grades, students write letters to one another describing what they have read. Volpe notes that hearing about the book from an older or younger peer stimulates thought and allows students in different grades to learn from one another.

The P.S. 172 literacy program embraces both phonics and literacy by encouraging all students to read fiction and nonfiction available from in-class libraries. Students' writing is bound and catalogued so it can be readily shared with others.

The schoolwide program enabled P.S. 172 to reduce overcrowding by adopting flexible team teaching in grades three through six. One-third of the school's students participate each day in small group instruction in mathematics, science, and literature, while others are in flexible reading and mathematics groups, according to their assessed achievement levels. Teachers supplement these sessions with intensive skill development for struggling students. In addition, teaching teams offer "double doses" of instruction to students who have difficulty without requiring them to miss important activities in their regular classrooms.

Learning that takes place during the school day at P.S. 172 is reinforced in an after-school program that focuses on reading and theater arts, including creative dramatics and puppetry. This is particularly helpful to LEP students whose English-speaking skills are strengthened through songs, plays, and communication with other students.

THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY

Teachers at P.S. 172 are the basis of its success, according to Spatola; they "share the vision and make it a reality." The energetic P.S. 172 faculty includes both veteran and new teachers who are continually searching for ways to adapt and improve instruction. Jackie Mammolito, a master teacher and full-time staff development specialist, spends several days in classrooms with each new teacher, mentoring and helping them design instruction that uses their teaching style strengths to serve students well. She is also available to support seasoned teachers, demonstrating new or innovative instructional techniques and adapting instruction to fully support students' academic progress.

Professional development encourages teachers to learn from one another. Frequent grade-level and cross-grade discussions, in which teachers share their expectations and concerns about issues that arise in class, improve the coherence of instruction. In these discussions, staff members discuss their shared expectations for students and the issues that arise at each grade level. Throughout the year, teachers observe students and trade examples of their work, a process that increases continuity across classrooms.

Teacher-planned professional development emphasizes mentoring, cross-class observation, and integrating learning and the arts.

Teachers attend inservices offered by the school and district and take courses from area universities. In some cases, the universities come to the school. A faculty member from Columbia's Teacher's College offers demonstration lessons in writing in kindergarten, first-, and second-grade classrooms. Teachers from the other grades have release time to observe those lessons and to spend additional consultation time with the professor. The Greenwall Foundation, a private organization affiliated with New York's Center for Educational Change, provides mathematics and science assistance to teachers six times a year. In each visit, expert teachers conduct demonstration lessons, facilitate teacher workshops, observe in classrooms, and offer individualized faculty assistance. Funding from the New York City Partnership for the Arts and the Walter J. Annenberg Foundation brings teaching artists to P.S. 172 from the Center for Educational Change at Brooklyn College and from the Brooklyn Museum. Through the three-year program, artists demonstrate in each group of classrooms how teachers can incorporate the arts into their instruction. The grant also enables teachers to collaborate with local museums to bring lessons alive for students by borrowing historical and artistic artifacts that can be integrated into teaching and project work.

PARENT AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Parents have responded favorably to P.S. 172's transition to a schoolwide program. Attendance at PTA meetings has increased over the past several years, and many parents have become more active participants in their children's education. P.S. 172 sustains these relationships with newsletters, letters, and fliers about academic programs and school events, which are available to families in several languages. Routine school announcements and teachers' notes keep parents informed about their children's progress. After the first two weeks of school, teachers host Parent Teas to allow parents to visit their children's classrooms and meet their teachers. Parent/teacher conferences occur a minimum of twice each year, and, in addition, teachers schedule conferences whenever necessary.

Parents have responded favorably to P.S. 172's transition to a schoolwide program. Attendance at PTA meetings has increased over the past several years, and parents have become more active participants in their children's education.

School guidelines require teachers to inform parents immediately if a student scores below expectations on the state's standardized assessment. If promotion is doubtful, or if the child has been recommended for special services, a school support team including a psychologist, a guidance counselor, a social worker, and an educational evaluator interprets the child's needs to the family and offers any additional assistance that may be warranted. To encourage parent participation in the school, P.S. 172 holds annual education fairs to suggest how parents can help at home to ensure their children's academic success.

SUSTAINING CHANGE

-###-

[ Commitment to Teacher Development ]

[ A Standards-Based Arts-Integrated Schoolwide Curriculum ]