Students at Lake Labish listen intently during morning reading block. Photo by Jay Reiter.
SALEM, Oregon—
Talk to the students at Lake Labish Elementary, and one thing becomes clear: This year, school has been different. It's different in a lot of ways, say the kids, but nowhere is the change more noticeable than in reading class."Last year it was just read on your own," explains a fifth-grader named J.C. "It was funner, but we didn't learn as much. Now they are asking us more questions about the stories, so we understand better."
"We answer questions and do summaries," adds classmate Eder.
"The way we understand more is that we do them on our own, so we have to think more. We think about the main idea and stuff," Zelina chimes in.
"Yeah," Eder nods in agreement. "We learn about the books."
These savvy students are right. At this tiny school tucked into the rolling fields and farms on the outskirts of Salem, reading class is different. As one of 20 Oregon schools selected to participate in the federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program (CSRD), Lake Labish is rethinking staff roles, revamping programs, and recharging classrooms one subject at a time. Reading is only the beginning.
A longtime Title I school with subpar student performance, dismal test scores, and 70 percent high-poverty students, Lake Labish is no stranger to school improvement efforts. Multiage, blended classrooms, mandatory uniforms, and a modified schedule testify to a school that is continually striving to meet its students' needs. But the CSRD program's additional funds and its comprehensive approach -- which revitalizes the entire school instead of prescribing piecemeal changes -- are giving Lake Labish a much-needed jolt of adrenaline to power it down the improvement path.
"To me, that's the difference," says Principal Ana Biffle. "CSRD steps up the rigor. Before, we might have been headed down this path, but it was at a more self-proclaimed pace and really with the direction of the district. Now I think the stakes are higher. If you look at human nature, there is a certain sense of direction and focus that sometimes doesn't come until we get put in a situation where it's fish or cut bait."
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