BTO Success Story: Washington High School

"Principals help schools succeed when they stay focused on the things that truly improve schools and keep pushing ahead, no matter what the roadblocks."
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BTO Success Story: James W. Rice Primary School

James W. Rice Primary School has added another outstanding achievement to its long list of accomplishments. It is one of only three Arizona schools to win the gold award and be named a "Beat the Odds School."
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BTO Success Story: Emerson Elementary

Statistically speaking, odds are against schools like Emerson Elementary. Seven years ago the school was labeled "underperforming" and in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Corrective Action just one year ago.
That was then. This is now.
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BTO Success Story: Franklin Police & Fire High School

Students who aspire to a career in public safety receive a rigorous and disciplined education at Franklin Police & Fire High School in Phoenix.
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BTO Success Story: Burk Elementary School

Burk Elementary School's student performance improved from an average C to an excellent A in one year, earning distinction for the biggest grade improvement in the Gilbert Public Schools District.
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BTO Success Story: Kofa High School

Since becoming a Beat the Odds Partner School, Gina Thompson, principal of Kofa High School, has spearheaded proactive, decisive action to improve student achievement and accomplish measurable outcomes.

With her leadership, Kofa High School is recognized as a "Performing Plus" school, which means it exceeds state performance goals based upon the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test. Her school's reading scores improved a significant seven percent in one school year.
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BTO Success Story: Pima Elementary School

One of the Beat the Odds Institute's Six Keys To Success is a Strong and Steady Principal: Leaders are focused on those things that truly improve student achievement and they keep pushing ahead, no matter what the roadblocks. Joseph Jacobo, principal at Pima Elementary School, exemplifies leadership that earned his school a Bronze Beat the Odds achievement award in its second year of participation.
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BTO Success Story: Barry Goldwater High School

Schools with high-poverty, high-minority student populations know that to beat the odds academically they must use test data to drive improvement in the classroom.

Arizona schools participating in the Beat the Odds program's professional development training recently were introduced to a highly effective but relatively little-known data-analysis tool called the Pareto chart. According to Principal Mike Andersen of Phoenix's Barry Goldwater High School (Deer Valley Unified School District), the Pareto chart quickly had a profound impact on his school.

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BTO Success Story: Copper King Elementary School

When Molly Watson became principal of Copper King Elementary School (Pendergast Elementary District), she faced daunting challenges. The scores in every grade level in reading, math and writing had dropped in the year prior. The school had just been labeled "underperforming" by the state. At the same time, she became a Beat the Odds School Partner. In the next three years, the school dramatically improved its students' academic performance by focusing on the BTO principles of collaborative solutions, built-to-suit interventions and finding what works and sticking with it.
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BTO Success Story: Echo Mountain Primary School

One of the insights that Principal Cindy Daniels gained when she became a Beat the Odds School Partner was that creating a more collaborative culture could improve Echo Mountain Primary School's performance. Three years later, the school has made major strides in increasing the role of the staff and leadership team in its decision making and problem solving.
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BTO Success Story: San Luis High School

Transitioning from assistant principal to principal can be challenging, as Francesca Rodriguez learned during her first year as principal of San Luis High School (Yuma Union High School District). The training she received through Beat the Odds helped her to find a balance between reassuring her staff that their work will make a difference in the lives of their students, while having conversations, when necessary, to improve teaching and student learning.
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BTO Success Story: Sevilla Primary School

Mandi Caudill, principal at Sevilla Primary in Alhambra School District, knows that flexibility is the key to developing programs that ensure the needs of every student are met. In fulfilling the district mission, which is to provide students with the knowledge and skills for continued academic excellence through high quality programs, services and support, the staff at Sevilla Primary has focused on the BTO concept "build to suit" by finding ways to customize instruction and develop interventions to fit the needs of each child.
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BTO Success Story: Chaparral Middle School

When John Benavidez became principal three years ago, he knew that a “one size fits all” approach to education was not working for the students at Chaparral Middle School. After empowering teachers to recognize the needs of each student and become masters of instruction in the classroom, Chaparral has improved its school label from underperforming to performing plus in only two years.
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BTO Success Story: Scales Technology Academy

At the end of his first year as principal of Scales Technology Academy, David Diokno received the disheartening news that his school ranked last of the 18 schools in the Tempe Unified District, based on student standardized test scores. By applying the Beat the Odds principles of ongoing, data-driven assessment and sticking with the program, the school advanced nine places – from 18th to ninth – in less than four years.
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BTO Success Story: Apollo Middle School

For Apollo Middle School Principal Ray Chavez, collaboration is about more than engaging the teachers and students. It's about community involvement, as well. Chavez is one of 84 principals participating in the Beat the Odds program during the 2010-2011 school year. Collaborative solutions, where problem solving is shared and pushed down through the ranks, is one of the six BTO keys to raising student academic performance.
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BTO Success Story: Westwind Primary School

For nearly a decade, Danelia Williams dreamed of becoming a school principal so she could make a difference in student learning and expand kids' options for the future. Three years ago, her dream came true when she was promoted to principal of Westwind Primary School in Phoenix's Pendergast Elementary School District. Her dream came with its share of challenges, however. Principal Williams received the support she needed from her district and the Beat the Odds Institute.
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BTO Success Story: Echo Mountain Primary

Involving parents as partners in student academic achievement is a challenge for schools with large populations of low-income, minority and English language learner students. It also can be especially fruitful, as evidenced by Echo Mountain Primary in the Paradise Valley Unified School District. It is one of 84 schools that participated in the Beat the Odds program during the 2009-2010 academic year.
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BTO Success Story: Estes Elementary School

When Nancy Paddock became principal of Estes Elementary School four years ago, she seemingly was on familiar ground. Yet she found herself in uncharted waters due to a number of changes taking place within the school and surrounding community. Principal Paddock led the school through these challenges by focusing upon continuous improvement of student learning, creatively maximizing resources, and honoring teacher input.
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BTO Success Story: Andalucia Primary School

Collaboration is vital to improving student achievement, yet many teachers are reluctant to engage in teamwork. Andalucia Primary School Principal Jaime Camacho has learned how to successfully address teachers' concerns and advance student achievement. She is one of 84 principals participating in the Beat the Odds program during the 2009-2010 school year. Principals are taught how to incorporate into the operation of their schools six elements–including collaboration–that research has shown to be associated with successful minority schools.
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BTO Success Story: J.B. Sutton Elementary School

Two years ago, J.B. Sutton Elementary School was labeled "underperforming" by the state. In addition, it failed to achieve annual yearly progress (AYP) on its federal No Child Left Behind goals. One year later, the school jumped two levels from underperforming to performing plus and made AYP. A focus on student data, frequent assessments, plus build-to-suit instruction and interventions made the difference.
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BTO Success Story: Metro Tech High School

Metro Tech High School is proud of its students’ academic achievement, and rightfully so. The majority of its students (70 percent) meet or exceed the state average on the AIMS test. In addition, the school’s sophomores outscored the state average in math last year. Not content to rest on its laurels, the school has established an even more ambitious goal: Prepare every student for college and career. According to Principal Kate McDonald, the school’s clear bottom line is to make sure students are proficient on college readiness standards, and not just proficient on AIMS. “There is a big difference between the two,” she said.
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BTO Success Story: Lauffer Middle School

Tucson’s Billy Lane Lauffer Middle School has discovered the power of collaboration and is leveraging it at the student, teacher and administrative level to develop a more rigorous curriculum that actively engages students in learning. As a result, Lauffer’s AIMS and school benchmark scores have continuously improved since the school opened in fall 2004.
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BTO Success Story: Holdeman Elementary School

Customizing instruction to each student’s needs is a challenge for teachers under the best of circumstances. Wendy Reeck, principal at Holdeman Elementary School in Tempe, says it is essential, but especially challenging, for schools like hers. Holdeman draws its student population from ethnically diverse, predominantly low-income communities with highly mobile residents.
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BTO Success Story: 39 Arizona Schools Honored with Beat the Odds Awards

Schools that beat the odds know the magic is within the school, but they also know it takes more than a magic wand to attain better than expected academic improvement. Phoenix's Larry C. Kennedy Elementary School was among the schools recognized in October 2009 by the Beat the Odds Institute.
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BTO Success Story: Peralta Elementary School

Many schools are tempted to try one program after another to increase student academic performance. Peralta Elementary School in Phoenix recently discovered the wisdom of sticking with a good program, making it better and better. In the most recent school year (2008-2009), Peralta improved its AZ LEARNS designation by two levels—from “underperforming” to “performing plus.”
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BTO Success Story: School Principals, AIMS Scores Provide Encouraging Evidence of Program Impact

Recently completed analyses of the first-year cohort’s AIMS scores indicate that some Beat the Odds School Partners have already increased their rate of improvement in reading and math scores. In addition, a number of schools showed improvements in reading and math that were significantly larger than their district’s improvement.
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BTO Success Story: Parents as Partners

During the 2008-2009 academic year, the Beat the Odds Institute provided a unique training program to parent liaisons from 15 school districts. They emerged with the skills and the understanding needed to guide parents in becoming actively engaged in their children's learning.
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BTO Success Story: Montebello School

How do Arizona teachers meet individual students' academic needs when their students' reading proficiency in one grade ranges from college level to not knowing the sounds of individual letters? Phoenix's Montebello School in the Alhambra School District found the answer lies in dedicated teachers, frequent assessment, and finding a good built-to-suit program and sticking with it.
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BTO Success Story: Cordova Middle School

When Cordova Middle School (Alhambra Elementary School District) established reading proficiency goals that everyone in the school could understand and support, it discovered the power of having a clear bottom line for student achievement. At the end of the second quarter, 475 students were reading at or above grade level, up from 322 students at the end of the first quarter — an increase of 153 students.
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BTO Success Story: Copper Canyon High School

When teachers at Copper Canyon High School in Glendale began collaborating on lesson plans and classroom activities, their creativity and individuality blossomed. So did their students’ test scores. The school, part of the Tolleson Union High School District, is one of 59 Maricopa County schools participating in the Beat the Odds School Partners Program a school-based initiative of the Center for the Future of Arizona. A culture of collaboration is one of the six Beat the Odds keys to improving individual student achievement.
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BTO Success Story: Gililland Middle School

One of the ways that successful schools achieve better than expected academic results is by using data to increase each student’s achievement. During the 2007-2008 school year, Gililland Middle School students for the first time took an active role in charting their progress, which resulted in outstanding increases in student test scores. Students are continuing to graph their goals and test results during the 2008-2009 academic year.
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Nine Valley Schools Honored For School Improvement Efforts By Beat The Odds Institute

Nine metro Phoenix-area schools have reached the first milestone on the road to becoming a “Beat the Odds School” — one in which student academic achievement exceeds expectations.
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BTO Success Story: George Smith Junior High School

When George Smith Junior High School received its students’ standardized test scores at the end of its first year of operation, the passing scores were disappointing. Rather than make excuses, the school responded by taking responsibility for each student’s performance, no matter what. Eight years later, the percentage of students passing its annual standardized tests has risen from the 20s and 30s to the high 70s and low 80s.
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Interview with Beat the Odds Director Marjorie Kaplan: Increasing Student Achievement Among Diverse Student Populations

In the following interview, Dr. Kaplan discusses how educators can attain higher levels of student achievement despite increasingly diverse student populations.
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BTO Success Story: Sevilla West Middle School

Beat the Odds Mentor Kathy Davis has created a high-performing school in which teachers willingly take ownership of their students’ assessment scores, despite obstacles to learning that are beyond their control. The result is a school whose academic performance, year after year, improves and surpasses that of other surrounding schools.
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BTO Success Story: Larry C. Kennedy Elementary School

Many Arizona schools are facing major staffing challenges due to a critical shortage of teachers. As Baby Boomers retire, competition to attract and retain teachers is expected to intensify. Larry C. Kennedy Elementary School’s Beat the Odds culture has not only been conducive to attracting Gen Y teachers, but also has enabled them to quickly make meaningful contributions.
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BTO Success Story: Washington Elementary School

When Dave McNeil became principal of Washington Elementary School in fall 2005, he faced a number of challenges. Addressing them would require changes to the school’s culture, as well as to how educators performed their jobs. Working closely with his teachers, Principal McNeil used a simple idea to create a blank slate and achieve monumental change, working within the Beat the Odds framework.
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High Stakes Testing: Keys To Success

Ongoing student assessment is common practice at schools that have implemented the Beat the Odds principles. But even these schools can get the jitters around high stakes testing. Read how the Beat the Odds School Partners prepare their schools for success.
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Beat the Odds Mentor Jeff Sprout Wins Rodel Exemplary Principal Award

Beat the Odds Mentor Jeff Sprout has received a Rodel Exemplary Principal Award, which recognizes exceptional leaders in high-needs schools. The honor was presented by the Rodel Charitable Foundation of Arizona, in partnership with Social Venture Partners Arizona. The following interview with Jeff appeared in the April 13, 2008 edition of The Arizona Republic.
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BTO Success Story: Excelencia Elementary School

One of the most daunting tasks that school principals face is transforming a staff of individual teachers into a high-performing collaborative team known as a professional learning community or PLC. Despite their hard work, many schools’ efforts result only in “collaboration light.” Principal Damon Twist shares how Phoenix’ Excelencia Elementary School in central Phoenix achieved the real thing.
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