BTO SUCCESS STORY: CORDOVA MIDDLE SCHOOL

At the end of the fall 2008 quarter, signs with the number 322 appeared seemingly everywhere on the Cordova Middle School campus. Students, teachers and parents were asking each other, “What does it mean?”

 

After a week of speculation, Principal Greg Gunn solved the mystery during the morning announcements: 322 was the number of students reading at or above their grade level. This meant that one-third of the total student population was proficient in reading.

 

The principal encouraged the students and challenged them to work toward a much higher number. He then set about ensuring that everyone understood how they could contribute to and support the effort.

 

It was an important turning point for the school. At the end of the second quarter, half of the student population was reading at or above grade level  an increase of 153 students in just one quarter.

School Overview

Phoenix’ Cordova Middle School in the Alhambra Elementary School District serves 950 students in grades four through eight. Much of its student population is low income and about 35 percent of its students are English Language Learners (ELL). An additional 10 percent of students were previously classified as ELL.

 

It 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. Beat the Odds helps K-12 principals with predominantly low-income student populations implement research findings that have led to better than expected individual student achievement.

 

The Beat the Odds keys to success include establishing a clear bottom line for student achievement and assessing students early and often to gauge progress.

Awareness and Understanding

One of the first steps the school took to increase student achievement was to establish Cordova’s clear bottom line. It set an ambitious goal: increase the number of students reading at or above a proficient level on the AIMS test to 71 percent of all students, and 59 percent of ELL students.

 

The next step was to drive it down into the school’s day-to-day operations where it would be observable and actionable by students, teachers, staff and parents.

 

One priority was to raise awareness among teachers, instructional assistants and other staff regarding each student’s academic performance. “Everyone who sees the student during the day knows where that student is and where they need to be moved to,” said Principal Gunn. Teachers are accountable for their classroom data through sharing and reviewing the data at monthly grade level meetings that focus upon the target and the action steps necessary on a daily basis at the classroom level to reach the target.

 

A weekly staff newsletter keeps the clear bottom line of 71 percent proficiency in reading at the forefront. It does this by recognizing individual teachers’ achievements in increasing academic performance and celebrating school-wide successes. The school also holds quarterly achievement assemblies for faculty, staff and students.

 

At the assemblies, the principal discusses the school’s progress toward the clear bottom line. By presenting the data in bar graphs, everyone can quickly see the progress the school is making in reading and math each quarter, compared to the beginning of the school year and the previous quarter. These bar graphs are posted throughout the school for all stakeholders to see.

 

Students are then called upon to offer ideas regarding how they and their peers can help the school reach its clear bottom line. The answers range from “take better notes in class” to “come to school every day.” According to Principal Gunn, the exercise helps the students to transfer an abstract concept to concrete actions that produce results.

 

After the assembly, students return to their homeroom to write a letter to their parents. They state their current academic performance (i.e., whether they are meeting the math and reading standards, approaching the standards, falling far below them or exceeding them). They note their most recent test scores plus their goal for the next quarter.

 

In a one-on-one conversation with their teacher, students discuss action steps, such as attending tutoring, that will help them to reach their goal. Students return the letters to the school with their parents’ signatures.

Gaining Parental Support

Cordova Middle School also communicates with parents through a monthly newsletter and monthly booster club meetings. Through these, parents are kept apprised of the school’s progress towards its student achievement goals. The newsletter and meeting presentations repeatedly emphasize that the school is looking for a steady increase in the student achievement numbers each quarter.

 

The school also loans parents academic board games and provides them with activities they can do with their children at home to teach and reinforce science, math and reading skills.

 

“They can see we want all of the students to move forward, that we have specific goals for them, and have a safety net in place when students are not being successful,” Principal Gunn said.

Engaging Students

Much of the students’ motivation comes from within. “Kids want to be part of this number and see it increase,” the principal said. To help leverage that desire for inclusion, the school launched the Hot Cheetos Club. When students meet or exceed the math or reading standard on a test they get a ticket, which they can exchange for a small bag of Hot Cheetos. At the end of the second quarter of the 2008-2009 school year, the school gave away 587 bags of the zesty snack.

 

Principal Gunn commented, “Some of the students who didn’t make their goal came up to me and said, ‘I didn’t get Hot Cheetos this time but I’m going to get it next time.’

 

“It doesn’t embarrass them because the students really rally around each other,” he added. “There’s caring among the students. They realize we’re in this together and we’re stronger together than we are alone.”