A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE:

News Media Contact: David Thomas (202) 401-1576

Program Contact: Sharon Horn (202) 219-2203

May 18, 1998

"Unless we invest in teachers and their learning, and ensure that teachers are equipped to teach to higher standards and to meet the challenges of today's classrooms, we will never reach our education goals, " said Riley. "Honoring these schools fits with this Administration's continuing effort to ensure a talented, dedicated and well-prepared teacher in every classroom. We must make sure that teachers have the training and support to teach to high standards. That is what these exemplary programs are doing with great success."

Those receiving the award include Ganado Intermediate School in Ganado, Arizona; Montview Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado; Shallowford Falls Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia; Hungerford School, Staten Island; International High School at LaGuardia College, Long Island City; Geneva City Schools District, Geneva, all in New York; and H.D. Hilley Elementary School in El Paso and Lewisville Independent School District in Lewisville, both in Texas.

The exemplary programs are being recognized under the U.S. Department of Education's

National Awards Program for Model Professional Development, now in its second year. To be recognized, schools and districts demonstrate that their professional development programs result in improved teacher effectiveness and student learning and are consistent with a set of principles for professional development that are based on the best available research and exemplary practice. The professional development programs can serve as models for schools and districts as they design strategies to improve teachers' skills and knowledge of subject matter.

Developing the skills of teachers and principals plays a critical role in school improvement. High-quality programs include rigorous subject matter content, effective teaching strategies and school- and district-based supports that ensure the career-long development of teachers.

Eligibility is open to public and private schools and districts. The department's regional laboratories coordinated a rigorous review process that included a first round of evaluation by a non-federal panel of experts, comprehensive site visits of the most promising applicants, and final review by a seven-member blue ribbon panel. The panel made recommendations to the secretary, who selected the final honorees.

Each of the recognized programs will receive a privately funded monetary award to be used to support professional development activities and to help share strategies and lessons learned with others. The William R. Kenan Fund, United Parcel Service Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, Toyota USA, Inc. and GlaxoWellcome, Inc. are funding the monetary awards.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Summaries of the exemplary projects follow.

Shallowford Falls Elementary School, Marietta, Georgia

Shallowford Falls Elementary School is a good school determined to get even better. Teachers believe that the success of their own classrooms depends on the success of all of the other classrooms. The entire faculty, in consultation with parents and the community, establish school goals. The professional development program emphasizes improving the entire instructional program, with a focus on literacy throughout the curriculum. All staff are included in professional development activities, and teachers have gradually taken ownership of and responsibility for school improvement efforts. Staff teams meet regularly to examine individual teacher needs and determine the best ways to address those needs.

Professional development activities include overnight staff retreats and small, focused study groups. Teachers try new practices in their classrooms and then examine the results with other teachers. The school has a very low teacher turnover rate in part because new staff are hired through an interview process that involves teachers. Veteran teachers also help new staff members incorporate effective strategies into their practice.

Shallowford Falls' focus on professional development, along with adoption of student achievement goals based on their staff=s analysis of student data, has led to impressive results. On the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the school's third-and fifth-graders have significantly increased their scores in reading, language and mathematics over the past three years.

Montview Elementary School, Aurora, Colorado

 At Montview Elementary School, teachers see themselves as lifelong learners with an individual and collective responsibility to improve student achievement. A strong, coherent professional development plan enables them to accomplish this goal.

Because Montview engages in site-based decision making, teachers are integral to all planning and decisions. The school's goal is to ensure success for all children by expanding teachers' understanding of how children learn. When Montview began its restructuring efforts five years ago, the school decided to focus on improving student literacy. Teachers participate in summer learning institutes and four school-based in-service days each year, but they also have regular opportunities for observation, coaching, reflection and dialogue. Teachers polish their skills through weekly coaching sessions with a teacher leader. On a quarterly basis, each teacher discusses the progress of his or her students with a leadership team made up of an administrator, the teacher's peer "coach," and a team of specialists.

 Montview's professional development efforts help the school to meet the learning needs of a diverse and highly transient student population that includes a high concentration of low-income families. Between 1995 and 1997, student scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills increased in reading, language and math. The Riverside Integrated Language Arts Performance Assessment also showed increases for all students and a virtual elimination of performance gaps between Caucasian students and both Hispanic and African-American students. Teachers report growth in their abilities to assess student progress in reading and writing, to diagnose, to plan, and to support students' learning needs more effectively.

Lewisville Independent School District, Lewisville, Texas

The goal of the Lewisville Independent School District is to provide a learning environment that allows all students to reach their full educational potential. The district believes that the most critical factor in reaching this goal is providing well-prepared teachers who function as learners and teachers. That is why Lewisville has designed and implemented a professional development program that is based on student needs, grounded in research and focused on success for all students.

The district and its schools develop goals through a comprehensive planning process that includes the analysis of state-level achievement data. A team structure allows teachers to help set school goals, and professional development focuses on reaching these goals. All employees in the district are included in the district's professional development program. Staff members attend eight day-long professional development activities each year, in addition to other opportunities. The district also develops leadership capacity among its teachers by allowing teacher leaders to play leadership roles with their peers instead of bringing in outside experts. Evaluation focuses on evidence that the newly learned strategies are being used and that student achievement is increasing.

 Lewisville's investment in staff development results in positive results for its students. Teachers are learning how to analyze individual results from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test to match their instructional strategies to individual student needs. Between 1995 and 1997, scores on the reading, mathematics, and writing tests improved at all grade levels, and the achievement gaps between Hispanic, African American, and white students narrowed.

International High School at LaGuardia Community College Long Island City, New York

 International High School (IHS) at LaGuardia Community College engages everybody in learning, not just the students. With a high concentration of students from low-income families as well as recent immigrants who speak 37 different languages, the school has succeeded in narrowing the achievement gap between students with limited English proficiency and those who are native-born.

 At IHS, the faculty and student body are organized into six interdisciplinary instructional teams. Each team's schedule includes three hours of weekly meeting time, and teachers on the same team observe and coach each other; share best practices; develop, evaluate and revise curricula; and jointly devise interventions for students who need extra support. While collegial professional development in instructional teams is central, professional development is also focused at individual, school, and multi-school levels.

 The school's professional development efforts have resulted in student success. Student achievement far exceeds that of other limited English proficient students in New York City and compares favorably with more advantaged public schools in the city. In recent years, graduation and attendance rates have increased, and the college acceptance rate exceeds 90 percent each year. In addition, IHS students learn to master English more quickly than do similar students in the city.

Hungerford School, Staten Island, New York

 At Hungerford School, professional development enables teachers, teacher aides, speech, occupational and physical therapists, guidance counselors, administrators and parents to create improved learning opportunities for all students. The school serves a special needs population that includes students classified as medically fragile and severely and profoundly retarded.

 Among the school's priorities is an annual assessment of student needs designed to guide the school's professional development efforts. Faculty and staff can take advantage of mentoring and site visit opportunities because of a school policy that provides both release time for teachers and experienced substitutes. Teachers are provided one professional development period each day. The schools is designated as a Professional Development Laboratory site for the district, hosting teachers and staff from other schools for on-site training. Based on recent assessments of student and teacher needs, many professional development activities have focused on effective strategies for using technology to teach special needs children.

 Hungerford's emphasis on professional development has paid off in student success. The school has seen an 18 percent increase in the number of students participating in general education and a 30 percent increase in the number of students placed at community-based work sites.

H.D. Hilley Elementary School, El Paso, Texas

At H.D. Hilley Elementary School, support from the school district, partnerships with outside organizations, and a focus on both students and teachers as learners contributes to the success of the school's professional development. With a population in which 96 percent of the students qualify for free-or reduced-price lunch and many students are limited English proficient, H.D. Hilley's recent scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills have increased substantially. For example, between 1995 and 1997, the proportion of third-graders mastering all objectives on the test increased from 30 to 48 percent.

 H.D. Hilley has been able to achieve these improvements in large part because a school improvement team -- comprised of teachers, parents, community members and administrators -- determines school improvement goals and how the school will target its professional development resources. Multi-grade level teams involving all the teachers in the school develop strategies to support the goals, and all professional development efforts are linked to these goals. Teams of teachers meet regularly to identify, secure and assess their professional development. Teachers believe that improving student learning is the ultimate measure of success.

 To involve the community, H.D. Hilley sponsors an active parent outreach center run by parents. Collaboration with the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence, the College of Education at the University of El Paso, and the National Science Foundation-funded Urban Systemic Initiative supports the school's professional development activities and commitment to academic excellence.

Geneva City Schools, Geneva, New York

 The culture at Geneva City Schools is one in which professional growth is emphasized and teachers and staff learn from each other. The district sets aside a substantial amount -- 2 percent -- of funds for professional development.

 Leaders at the district and school levels use data on students and continuous input from teachers to guide investments of time and money for professional development. Forty-five hours of professional development are required annually for all professional staff members. Student results are used to identify areas of needed improvement, target professional development efforts, hold teachers accountable, and monitor school and district progress on a continual basis.

 The investment in professional development is paying off. Teachers have been working to reverse three years of declining scores on the state reading exam, and in 1997, 99 percent of third-graders, including students with special needs, passed. Grade six reading scores have also improved. In addition, professional development has led to greater understanding of strategies that work to meet the needs of a diverse group of students. Recently, the proportion of students who drop out has declined substantially. Teachers report that as they improve their teaching, students are earning higher test scores, are more motivated to learn, and are more self-disciplined.

Ganado Intermediate School, Ganado, Arizona

At Ganado Intermediate School, where nearly all students are Navajo, 64 percent have limited English proficiency, and more than 90 percent qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, faculty and staff are succeeding in efforts to improve student achievement by improving teacher effectiveness.

Concerned about low student scores on achievement tests, Ganado embarked on a school improvement plan several years ago which allows teachers, parents and others to help make decisions on how to improve learning. Ganado formed partnerships with six colleges and universities, modified schedules to provide uninterrupted blocks of team planning time, and improved instruction and assessment for English as a second language (ESL) learners. They also integrated learning with the Navajo philosophy of education in order to align the curriculum with local values.

One key to Ganado's staff development program is the Career Ladder, in which individual teachers create three-year professional development plans in consultation with the principal and the grade level team teachers. The plan focuses on student achievement and states specific criteria for success. Because the faculty and staff also focus on outreach to parents, parent participation reached 100 percent last year, up from very low participation just five years ago.

 The investment in professional development has paid off in a number of ways. Over the past five years, Ganado has seen significant gains in student achievement on standardized tests, while maintaining a commitment to include special education students in their test results. Test scores reveal that students with limited English proficiency have made gains in reading and writing, and the achievement gap between boys and girls in the school is narrowing.

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