BTO SUCCESS STORY: WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (PHOENIX)

When Dave McNeil became principal of Washington Elementary School in fall 2005, he faced a number of challenges. The first was the Phoenix school’s size: 60 teachers and 1,100 pre-K - 6 students.

In addition, the school had evolved from a mostly Caucasian student population to one with a large number of English language learner (ELL) students. The school also had a large population of special education students.

Principal McNeil observed that teaching and testing practices varied widely from class to class and grade to grade. In addition, he sensed that the faculty had a wait-and-see attitude towards their new leader.

	Washington Elementary School teachers discuss their students' math  performance.

Creating Collaborative Teams
One of the things working in Principal McNeil’s favor was the school’s early release Wednesdays. He used the weekly work sessions to turn the group into a collaborative team that shared problem-solving responsibility for the school’s and the students’ success.

During the first half of the year, he listened and learned as he directed group discussions about strategies for increasing student academic performance.

In early February, the teachers tackled their first assignment as a collaborative team: developing school rules. He began the process by simply telling all of the teachers to create a "blank" bulletin board in the front of their classrooms.

The school rules were the first thing posted on the bulletin boards. "Leave room," he advised the teachers. "There’s more to come."

The school rules were:

•	Be respectful
•	Be responsible
•	Do your personal best

Focusing on Things within the School’s Control
In subsequent weeks, the team developed four core values and explored what it meant to live these values on a day-to-day basis. The core values also were posted on the now famous classroom bulletin boards. They provided teachers with daily reminders that everything they did had to reflect these values:

•	Everyone will believe all children can learn.
•	All teachers will use data to drive instruction.
•	All students will be involved in the learning process through active student engagement.
•	All staff will work in a positive, collaborative environment.

Creating a Clear Bottom Line
In subsequent work sessions, the team developed a new academic mission. "The existing mission was more of a vision statement than a mission," said Principal McNeil. "A mission has to be attainable and measurable."

After a great deal of discussion, a consensus was reached on a new mission:

We, the educators of Washington Elementary School, will ensure that 75% of our students will pass every formative assessment in math with a minimum score of 75% correct.

The mission includes the school’s ELL and special education student populations. The mission statement was the third item to be posted on the classroom bulletin boards.

	Bulletin boards keep students and teachers focused on what's most important.

Using Data to Drive Improvement
To measure progress towards attaining the mission required frequent assessment and data analysis. Principal McNeil introduced the idea of graphing each classroom’s performance as a way to measure the school’s progress.

Each test and every child’s score were graphed. Teachers brought their graphs to the Wednesday sessions where they were discussed in grade level groups.

Some teachers started using graphs in the classroom so that students could see the role they were playing in attaining the school’s mission.

"The data made the teachers examine how they were teaching and the results," said Principal McNeil. "There was a lot of reflection and dialogue regarding instructional activities. The Wednesday sessions evolved into sessions where there were really deep conversations about how the kids were doing."

Sticking with the Program
"By May, teachers began to see that doing the same thing across grade levels is better for the students and the teachers," said Principal McNeil. "We could quickly see when the kids weren’t getting something—like carrying a number—and do something about it."

The teachers created curriculum calendars for math at each grade level to guide math instruction in the first month of the 2006-2007 academic year.

They agreed upon:

•	What they would teach
•	Testing students on the same day
•	Using the same calendar for enrichment (re-teaching) activities
•	Putting the specific state math standards to be taught on the monthly calendar

A New School Year, A New Beginning
At the start of the 2006-2007 academic year, the school achieved commonality in the assessment of math, across all grades. Teachers could continue to teach math differently, but all of the students were given the same math test across grade levels, on the same day and with the same format (i.e., using the test format of Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards or AIMS).

In addition, all teachers began displaying graphs of their students’ performance on classroom bulletin boards. "Now I can walk through the classrooms, look at the bulletin boards and see how each class is doing," Principal McNeil said.

Also, students in grades 2 through 6 began graphing their individual academic performance. Principal McNeil remarked, "It provides teachers with an opportunity to begin a dialogue with the students in which they can say, ‘What do you need to do? What can I do better to help you?’"

Making It Better and Better
As a result of these changes, Washington Elementary School saw improvement in academic outcomes in math in all grade levels for 2006-07, compared with 2005-2006. Some grade levels improved more than others, which prompted the team to reflect upon this.

They noted that some grade levels were more "committed" early on but many other factors played a role. They agreed that continuous improvement of the steps they had already undertaken, which include good practices, quality instruction and self-reflection, is what is required to get the school to where it needs to be.

"Refining and retuning is what good teachers and schools do," commented Principal McNeil. "We are questioning everything we do to assure that we catch the students who are falling through the gaps."

As they continue to fine-tune their efforts in math, the school is preparing to expand its practices to include the subject of reading. Some teachers currently are graphing reading, with the plan that during the 2008-09 academic year, reading will be calendared and graphed at all grade levels, and discussed weekly in grade level teams.

Monumental Change from a Simple Idea
Coming into a new school and effecting major changes can meet with strong resistance. Principal McNeil used a clever way to manage this change in small increments, with teacher input all along the way. He created a "blank slate" figuratively and literally with the blank bulletin boards, which allowed needed changes to be made consistently over time. These changes have ultimately affected the overall success of his school and, more importantly, the success of his students.