At George Hersey Robertson Elementary School, educators and school leaders have worked hard to achieve a balance of consistent instructional practices and flexibility, allowing opportunities for teacher creativity and student choice. As one educator notes, “our writing kind of went from prescriptive one size fits all … and kind of teacher centered … and then… Continue Reading Video: George Hersey Robertson School
Central Magnet School, (Murfreesboro, TN). For the past eight years, as part of graduation requirements, Central Magnet School requires student to complete a Senior Thesis. The Senior Thesis is an interdisciplinary project where seniors synthesize what they have learned, demonstrate college level scholarship, and develop and complete an original process or product that contributes to… Continue Reading Three Approaches to Senior Theses
Clayton High School, (Clayton MO). The Conferenced Writing Program (CWP) at Clayton High School is a hallmark of the school’s college preparatory education. The CWP takes an individualized approach to writing that helps teachers maintain high writing standards based on the Missouri Learning Standards. Each year, all students write ten compositions and meet individually with… Continue Reading Conferenced Writing Program
Challenge Center School, (Sioux Falls, SD). The Challenge Center offers an accelerated, enriched curriculum to high ability students in grades two through five. In English language arts, the school focuses on three writing genres: personal/fictional narratives, opinion, and informative. Each day, students have multiple opportunities to write. For example, students share their rough drafts, poems,… Continue Reading Developing Great Writers!
Nikki Bowen and Meredith Anderson, the principals of Uncommon Schools Excellence Girls Charter School (Brooklyn, NY), are committed to changing history. Anderson, the middle school principal explains, “We know that all students can be successful, and that, in particular, girls can achieve.” In a nation that hasn’t traditionally held high expectations for girls, especially girls… Continue Reading Interview: Creating Tomorrow’s Fierce Females
Blackshear Elementary Fine Arts Academy Austin Independent School District Austin, TX In 2011, Blackshear Elementary School (Austin, TX) was labeled in need of improvement. Today, under the inspired leadership of Principal Betty Jenkins, who arrived in 2012, Blackshear is a jewel of the Austin Independent School District, the state’s first elementary level fine arts academy… Continue Reading Books and Ballet: A Turnaround Success Becomes A Fine Arts Academy: Blackshear Elementary School
Tibby Elementary School Compton Unified School District Compton, CA When Principal Ontrece Ellerbe arrived at Tibby, the data showed students were considerably more successful in math than ELA, leading Ellerbe and her team to conclude that the problem wasn’t with the students, but with the teaching. Through intensive professional development, coaching, and professional learning communities,… Continue Reading Evidence, Example, Elaboration: Developing Student Writers: Tibby Elementary School
Austin Independent School District Austin, Texas In only five years, J. Walter Graham Elementary School, a Title I school on the east side of Austin, Texas, went from slipping toward academic unacceptability to “one of the best elementary schools in the state of Texas,” in the words of education researcher Ed Fuller of Penn State… Continue Reading Show Up, Work Hard, Read: J. Walter Graham Elementary School
Rocky Mount, VA Instructional coach Teresa Sanders and colleagues describe how the adoption of a rigorous, intensive Word Study program to teach decoding and understanding words has propelled student achievement to high levels. An integral part of the core English Language Arts curriculum from Kindergarten through fifth grade, Word Study practices at Rocky Mount are… Continue Reading How Words Work: Word Study across the Grades: Rocky Mount Elementary School
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Charlotte, NC Students are chosen for Piedmont (and all CMS magnet schools) through an open lottery. Principal Dee Gardner, formerly Piedmont’s schoolwide Instructional Coach, describes how Piedmont students learn to apply Argumentative Literacy, an element of the Common Core curriculum, in all subjects, even music. Teachers David Milligan and Megan Whiting illustrate a… Continue Reading An Argument for Learning: Piedmont Open Middle School