BEAT THE ODDS Success STORIES
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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