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.

Principal Jeff Sprout said, when it comes to increasing students’ academic performance, “We scratch for every bit of it.” In addition to having grade level classes in which reading proficiency spans more than 12 grades, Montebello’s student population is 94 percent low-income and 93 percent minority. This includes refugees from war-torn countries who have never attended school before. The student population also is highly mobile. Forty percent of the school’s students move into, or out of, Montebello during the year.

Despite these enormous obstacles, the school has developed a reading program in which many students progress more than one grade level during the academic year. Principal Jeff Sprout credits the exemplary dedication of his teachers and the school’s practice of three Beat the Odds principles:

          Built-to-suit instruction and interventions,

          Ongoing assessment, and

          Finding a good program and sticking with it.

Beat the Odds

The Beat the Odds framework began as a research study that addressed the question, "What does it take to get great results in schools with mostly low-income, minority students?" The findings, published in 2006, pointed to six keys, or principles, for success.

The Beat the Odds Institute was founded by Dr. Lattie Coor under the umbrella of the Center for the Future of Arizona to implement the results of the research study in Arizona schools. The institute, in turn, developed the Beat the Odds School Partners Program to provide training, assistance and support to K-12 principals in applying the six keys for success. Principal Sprout is a Beat the Odds program mentor.

Built to Suit

Many schools in the Alhambra School District, which includes Montebello School, use a leveled reading program called Success for All (SFA) in grades K-8. All students are tested quarterly and placed in reading groups with other students who are at a similar proficiency, rather than grouping them by grade or homeroom class. During the day, students receive reading instruction just beyond their current skill level.

Seventh grade teacher Denise Ruiz said, “The program is not a one-size-fits-all like most reading programs. Since they are leveled according to their reading ability, students reading below level, as well as above, are challenged to reach a higher reading level. I think that is what students like best about the program. It gives them all an opportunity to be successful.”

“Within a couple of days a new student can jump right into a place where he or she can learn,” Principal Sprout said. “We see kids that were never taught to read just explode out of the gate.”

Ongoing Assessment

Assessment not only puts students in the right place from the start, but keeps students moving forward during the year. “If they progress, we’ll pop them up to the next reading level,” said Principal Sprout.

Quarterly tests include an AIMS predictive assessment and a test on the material taught in the classroom during the quarter. Montebello also uses DIBELS to assess fluency, the SRI test, and teacher-developed weekly assessments. Teachers also make informal daily assessments.

The data gives the school’s educators a crystal-clear picture of how their students are doing. “I can tell you within three or four percent how our ELL students for each grade level will do on AIMS, how the Hispanic students will do, and how those who have been students at the school for the full year versus those who haven’t will do,” said Principal Sprout.

The assessments also identify students who would benefit from Montebello’s after-school tutoring program. About one-quarter (350) of the school’s 1,332 K-8 students participated in the after-school program during the 2008-2009 school year.

Colleen O’Toole, who oversees the after-school tutoring program, said it provides smaller group instruction, extended time on needed skills, different reading programs and an opportunity to receive instruction from other teachers.

About 60 percent of the students receiving tutoring are on the verge of meeting the state standard for reading proficiency. The after-school program provides the little extra nudge these students need to succeed.

Sticking with the Program

Using a leveled reading program in middle school has become widespread in the Alhambra School District during the past seven years. Montebello School is in the third year of using SFA in grades K-3, and in the second year of implementation in grades 4-8.

During the first year of implementation, teacher Denise Ruiz saw her entire sixth grade class move up one grade level in just two months (one quarter). This year she is teaching a seventh grade class that began the year reading at the eighth grade level. A spring assessment showed that the majority of students are now reading on average between a ninth and eleventh grade level.

“I love to see how the students are able to progress and grow,” she said. “To see a struggling reader become confident in their abilities and become an engaged and active reader is the best part of this program.”

School-wide, Principal Sprout said reading scores on AIMS have improved and today more students are reading on grade level. “When you have a wide range of ability levels like we do, a program like SFA is very effective,” he commented. “It provides a clear progression of what the student needs. Honestly, you will find people who like and do not like SFA, but it’s the one we’ve chosen and stuck with. It works for us.”