In The Opportunity Makers, TNTP analyze seven elementary and middle schools that help their disadvantaged students catch up academically. Test scores show students gain at least 1.3 years of learning in one year -- and that these schools maintained those results for a decade.
These schools focus on on creating a sense of belonging, "delivering consistently good teaching and grade-level content for all students" and "building a unified instructional program" and setting clear priorities.
Trajectory-changing schools are consistent from one classroom to another, reports TNTP. They rely "on a strong shared curriculum, structured collaboration, and focused feedback."
"Leaders invest in a few focused initiatives, creating clarity for staff, students, and caregivers alike," rather than trying to do everything.
These schools "gave students extra instruction to fill knowledge gaps and extra practice to solidify their skills," writes Jill Barshay in her story on "the habits of 7 highly effective schools." These "intervention blocks" are offered at many schools in low-income communities. What's different in the gap-closing schools is that "the intervention blocks were connected to what students were learning in their main classrooms." Specialists, tutors and aides had time to collaborate with the main classroom teacher.
Adopting a high-quality, knowledge-building curriculum makes it "easier to achieve consistent and coherent instruction," writes Natalie Wexler on Minding the Gap. "If teachers are left to create their own curriculum — which happens more often than non-educators might think — or if they’re expected to use ineffective curriculum, students are more likely to get a patchwork, ineffective approach that prevents them from developing to their full potential."
Children growing up in poverty have fewer "opportunities" to develop their potential, concludes a new study, writes Jackier Mader in the Hechinger Report. Those with more opportunities -- a "hiqh-quality" home environment, good child care or elementary teaching, adequate family income, living in a middle-class neighborhood and/or participating in sports, music or clubs -- go farther in school and earn more as young adults.
When I was researching for my book, Our School, about a San Jose charter school, I talked to a student who said his single mother, an immigrant from Mexico, had "signed me up for everything" when a new community center opened. While his old elementary-school friends were getting in trouble, he was playing soccer and volunteering through a"leadership" program. Then his mother signed him up for the charter school, Downtown College Prep. It had "college" in the name.
"All my old friends have dropped out by now," he said. "They're in gangs, getting locked up . . . " He was working on his college applications.
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