Student Supports
Many St. Mary’s students come from families that face multiple challenges. The principal and several teachers have dual certification as school guidance counselors. However, recognizing that some students require professional counseling in order to focus on academics, and given pressures on parents’ time and resources, the Board and administration arranged to locate a professional counselor… Continue Reading Counseling for Students: St. Mary’s Charter School
“Wrap-around services”–before, after, and summer school programs–help allay concerns for parents with heavy work schedules and transportation constraints. Teachers staff the wrap-around services because they see the results in the classroom. Students receive homework help or targeted tutoring, followed by enrichment activities. “So many students stay after school and come during the summer, even the… Continue Reading Extended Learning Time: St. Mary’s Charter 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