Small Planet, Part 4
Flexible Flyers
When Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary opened in 1993, 50 non-English speakers enrolled. Six years later, with immigrants pouring in from Bosnia, Russia, and Ukraine, that number had swollen sixfold.
"There was this huge shift," says Thompson. "So people were hungry to find a process to make it work—to bring really diverse groups of kids together in a cohesive whole that made sense."
They're still ironing out the kinks. But that's one of the school's strengths: flexibility. The flexibility to adapt and adjust. To rethink decisions, tweak the system, constantly push for improvement.
"Every year in the spring," says Thompson, "we look at what's working, what's not working, what we need to focus on. Then we set goals for the next year. We didn't just fix it and go with it. Every year we revisit it."
Respond to this article
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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
