Imagine a school where 90 percent of students qualify for a free
and reduced lunch, 90 percent are minorities and 90 percent of
students met or exceeded state academic standards in reading.
Imagine a school where 90 percent of students qualify for a free and reduced lunch, 90 percent are minorities and 90 percent of students met or exceeded state academic standards in reading. Those numbers didn’t come to Dr. Douglas Reeves, author of “High Performance in High Poverty Schools: 90/90/90 and Beyond,” in a dream – they are tried-and-true practices used by schools all over the country. Reeves has seen it work time and time again.
“There’s 30 years of research of success in high-poverty, high-minority schools,” said Reeves, who is an author of 17 books on education, and a consultant and founder of The Leadership and Learning Center. “The truth is, it can be done and it is being done now. People used to say minorities and women couldn’t be lawyers or judges … I hope they don’t say that anymore.”
Reeves found that five characteristics were common among 90/90/90 schools – focus on academic achievement, clear curriculum choices, frequent assessment of student progress with multiple opportunities for improvement, emphasis on nonfiction writing and collaborative scoring of student work.
Morgan Hill Unified School District is looking at Reeves work among other similar “best practices” to improve test scores at all schools, particularly Jackson Elementary, which must make changes due to its failure to meet testing standards.
“I think when I brought up the 90/90/90 schools, what I tried to share was that there are really sound strategies that are going to help our kids. They would help at Jackson, at the dependent charter, at all sites,” Superintendent Dr. Wes Smith said.
Jackson Elementary is entering year 5 of Program Improvement, a distinction that forces the school and district to go through a metamorphosis by next school year. Now, Jackson has two key ideas nailed down: A longer school day so children who need extra help can get it and more time dedicated to teacher collaboration and assessment.
In March, a dependent charter school for English language learners was pitched to the school board, which requested more information but were generally enthused by the idea of a school that would immerse children in English skills. The charter would utilize Barrett Elementary’s vacant campus and the school board would oversee its progress, not the state government which typically makes decisions for independent charter schools.
Jackson’s low test scores, which have improved since last year, are deemed insufficient by No Child Left Behind – seemingly Jackson’s Achilles heel. In several public meetings, Jackson staff have pointed out that NCLB standards were “impossible” because of the 2012 deadline that 100 percent of students must score proficient in math and English portions on the state test. Reeves advises to not be discouraged by NCLB because it’s not fading fast. Parents and teachers shouldn’t look at 2012 as the light at the end of the tunnel or to President Barack Obama’s administration for any relief from strict testing requirements.
“No Child Left Behind is a piece of accountability. It’s not all of accountability. Really good school systems essentially say we’ll see you and raise you, we’ll tell you about our reading and math scores, we also want to tell our communities all the other things we’re doing,” Reeves said. “Really good school systems don’t just think accountability is for students … but it’s for adults. So what are the teachers and leaders doing?”
Jackson Principal Garry Dudley will present a detailed plan at its school site council meeting at 6:30 p.m. today in the library – in it will include the two big goals Jackson’s team has developed: More collaboration time for teachers and development for in-class strategies and more time dedicated to students who would benefit from more focused attention. Smith has shared the 90/90/90 schools research with principals and his cabinet and said he will also present it at an upcoming meeting with some administration and teachers. Smith also pointed to Joseph Johnson’s “Lessons Learned from Successful Schools” that emphasizes focus, not accepting excuses, collaboration and “ensuring that everyone at the school feels values and appreciated.”
“I wouldn’t limit it to the charter. I look at where we’re going,” Smith said. “These strategies and successes will guide my thinking in all things, for the good of the whole district.”
Reeves made it clear that 90/90/90 strategies are neither new nor should they be viewed as a product – the practices are inexpensive and replicable for any school with a heap of data from inner-city urban schools, suburban schools and rural schools. The results are consistent – all children were still poor and their economic opportunities did not improve – but more than 90 percent continue to meet or exceed state standards.
“They should feel results,” Reeves said when asked if a year is a reasonable time frame for change. “This idea that it takes five years to get results is not true. If they’re willing to do what’s necessary. And that means spending three hours on literacy every day, spending time on reading and on writing, especially non-fiction, every day.”
A school that is improving using Reeves’ philosophies can be found nearby in Watsonville at Landmark Elementary, part of Pajaro valley Unified School District, that has about 800 students, 95 percent of whom are minorities, 63 percent English language learners and 81 percent eligible for free and reduced lunch; their demographics mirror several schools in MHUSD.
Landmark’s English language arts results for the STAR test indicate that students who attended the school consecutively from 2006 to 2009 showed a rise in proficiency from 17 percent to 26 percent. Across the board, English scores have risen since Landmark made changes to its strategies. The school found that agreed-upon assessments for students, done frequently, made a drastic difference in achievement. Landmark teachers’ collaborative discussions “have evolved into a very deep and meaningful dialogue about expectations and academic rigor,” written in 12-page outline of Landmark’s successes. “This, in turn, has led to highly effective decision making regarding teaching practices.”
Collaboration works, Reeves said, as does shifting the repercussions for students who submit poor work or no work at all.
“The biggest 90/90/90 practice is the consequence for student failure is not an ‘F’ or zero, the consequence of failure is more work. Because what they’ve learned from many prior years is that if you don’t turn your work in, even if you did a bad job on it, you get an ‘F’ or a zero then that’s actually a reward, that just means you don’t have to do any more,” Reeves said. “At 90/90/90 schools, kids work harder because the consequence of not doing work or the consequence of doing poor work is that you’re required to do it. If there’s a secret, it’s hard work.
For those working on the dependent charter school idea and Jackson’s staff, Smith said it’s not that they lacking innovation, but rather they’re looking at what works.
“We want to bring people together … and talk about what we can we do to maximize our skills and keep the kids achieving,” Smith said.
Reeves lent his support to Morgan Hill Unified.
“I congratulate the community on being willing to undertake a tough challenge. It’s not easy when things get hard,” he said.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
- A focus on academic achievement
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Clear curriculum choices
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Frequent assessment of student progress with multiple opportunities for improvement
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An emphasis on nonfiction writing
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Collaborative scoring of student work
Source: “High Performance in High Poverty Schools: 90/90/90 and Beyond” by Dr. Douglas Reeves
