Stepping Up The Rigor, Part 3
Finding Answers Within Themselves

Staff spent the second half of the school year immersed in an extensive needs assessment—the most critical and challenging part of the application process. Using the nine key components of CSRD (see sidebar, Page 7) as a guide, they examined their current school improvement plan to identify where it was working and where it was falling short. They combed through test data and pored over performance detail, mined every classroom for the best books and materials, and met as a group to ask questions, voice concerns, and build enthusiasm.

"It forced us to take a look at ourselves in lots of different categories," Biffle explains. "Our instructional practices, our school climate, our divergent populations, how we were serving students, what we felt our shortcomings were, and what were our strengths. And out of that we came up with the key areas that we needed to focus on in our school."

Areas like reading surfaced, of course, but so did poor writing skills, weak math performance, widely varying teaching methodologies, and negligible parent involvement—all things the staff had long suspected but now, as a team, had confirmed.

So how is Lake Labish tackling these problems? The staff began by asking if they had the answer without a reform model, but they agreed that they needed some help. The CSRD program encourages schools to consider adopting well-researched reform models with solid evidence of success in turning low-performing schools around. These external reform models generally reorganize the entire school, often providing a new structure, materials, and extensive training and staff development. Implementing schoolwide models isn't cheap. But by blending CSRD funds and all categorical dollars —Title I, bilingual, migrant, and so forth—into one funding stream that feeds the entire school, schools can afford to sign on.

The school's CSRD core team—Biffle, Griffin, and kindergarten teacher Cindy Fetters—attended a district-sponsored showcase where different model developers explained their programs. Each team member was assigned a model or two to research, and then they presented their findings to the rest of the staff.

"Everybody, including both certified and classified staff, was there for the meeting," notes Fetters. "Because our staff is so small, we felt that everybody needed to be there to make the decision."

Getting 20 people to agree is not an easy task, but the staff voted unanimously to adopt a reform model called Success for All. No one was too surprised by the vote. The CSRD process takes time and tenacity. But by sticking with it, Lake Labish finally arrived at the answer. Because everyone participated and contributed, the entire staff believes Success for All is a good match for the school and is invested in the program.

Designed for prekindergarten through sixth-grade students, Success for All focuses on preventing reading problems before they have a chance to take root, and intervening swiftly when problems do arise. The model groups students by reading ability, assesses them every eight weeks, provides daily tutoring for first-graders, and emphasizes cooperative learning— all complements to Lake Labish's new reading program. It has a proven record of success with Title I students, and includes a program for English-language learners. It provides a schoolwide reading curriculum complete with aligned materials for every level, and a Family Support Team to increase parent involvement.

Critics of the model say it's too prescriptive and takes away teachers' freedom. But staff at Lake Labish aren't daunted. Fetters admits that she's not too excited about "being told how to say things and when to say them," but as a fairly new teacher, she feels she can use the guidance. And if Success For All helps her kids in reading, she believes it will help them in other subjects as well—subjects where she'll have more teaching freedom. Even Griffin, a veteran teacher who works with the school's strongest readers, welcomes Success for All's brass-tacks approach. He believes the school's old reading program was too general to move students along and significantly improve their reading. Says Griffin:

"Success for All is quite prescriptive. I can tire of it, and that's just the way it goes. But if students are learning to read, that's what I want. I want whatever is going to help them the most."

1 2 3 4

This document's URL is:

Home | Up & Coming | Programs & Projects: Northwest Education | People | Products & Publications | Topics

© 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

Date of Last Update: 9/28/01
Email Webmaster
Tel. 503.275.9500