How a London school is changing learning in Cedar Rapids

As elementary school principals we are aware of schools that have been successful in raising achievement to exceptional levels. We know it can happen and we been a part of high performing school teams, yet we had never visited a school faced with multiple challenges that had succeeded in getting students to perform at high levels.

When we were offered the opportunity to tour a school that had improved from (in the school administrator's words), 'failing in every aspect to being in the top percentile of schools in the UK in achievement”, we jumped at it. Our goal was to observe, ask questions, and to try to unlock the secrets to this success and to determine if what they are doing at St. George's of Battersea in London, England could be replicated in schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

St. George's is a public primary school in the heart of London England. Surrounded by heavy industry and urban housing, the building has approximately 62 percent deprivation (a low-income measurement). Just over a decade ago, the staff, students, and families described the school of 180 students as 'failing and chaotic.” Behavior issues had become overwhelming and very little learning was taking place. The school had been placed on 'Special Measures,” a designation denoting low scores on national exams (similar to a School In Need of Assistance designation from the U.S. No Child Left Behind legislation). In 2004, new leadership and the willingness of staff and families to make changes, started St. George's on a journey of transformation from one of the lowest performing schools in the UK to one of the highest. We wanted to visit the school to learn more about how the leadership, staff, and community succeeded in getting all students to proficient reading levels and how they are sustaining that success.

Several factors struck us as we immersed ourselves into the school-day at St. George's. The first was the unshakable belief shared by staff that all

students would learn at high levels, taking on the positive mind-set of 'how?” and not 'if.” It was in asking 'how?” that St. George's began to find the answers to what needed to change to make sure that all students could learn at high levels.

CLARITY AND CONSISTENCY

Research clearly indicates that the success of students is interrelated with expert teaching. Leadership at St. George's found ways to build and coach the expertise of their teaching staff. But this didn't end with teachers. It was extended to and expected of every staff member in the building, including cafeteria and custodial staff. Each staff member - regardless of their role in the school - knew what was being taught and how they could help reinforce this teaching.

St. George's Teaching and Learning Handbook detailed every procedure of the school from how reading and writing is taught to how teachers prepare students for recess time. There is no gray area for teachers or students as to what the expectations are, and no confusion between teachers or from one grade level to the next. The handbook clearly defines St. George's values and as a result, there is no opportunity to veer away from the mission and goals.

Leadership at St. George's sought out the best instructional strategies in reading, writing, and mathematics. Their reading instruction includes a focused instructional routine for teaching phonics that includes how to write the sounds (letters) with correct formation. Protocols for teaching comprehension, vocabulary and fluency are detailed, clear and alike across grade levels. While the content changes, the way it is taught remains the same. As a result, students are not asked to learn a new approach from year to year or from teacher to teacher. An example of this is the marking system that teachers use to review written work. A missing capital letter is marked with a circle around the letter whether you are in Kindergarten or fifth grade. This system never changes. While some students handle change easily, others struggle to learn new routines from one year to the next, often losing valuable instructional time.

FOCUS ON ORAL LANGUAGE

St. George's also recognizes the importance of oral language as a necessary skill. Students may come to school with limited vocabulary and responded in one word answers. As a school they developed a system where teachers and students are expected to respond using complete sentences. When a student doesn't respond in a complete sentence, the teacher models the correct response followed by the student repeating it correctly. The purpose is not to admonish students for speaking incorrectly, but to use oral language to expand student vocabulary. While emphasizing the use of language in this way is a beginning step in improving oral language and vocabulary, St. George's also adopted a writing program that focuses on using oral language to develop stories. Students rehearse their stories orally several times and receive feedback before putting pencil to paper. In this way, students are more engaged in their writing, better understand the purpose, and are more at ease with the writing process, thereby producing richer pieces of writing. Science and social studies topics are integrated into all parts of the learning day and, because students are reading and writing at high levels, they access information more easily and hone their skills of critiquing information.

DIGNITY AND INTEGRITY

Scores at St. George's have improved greatly over the past 12 years since this practice began. Interestingly, however, the transformation didn't begin with an eye on improving achievement. St. George's was desperate to end a cycle of chaos. Their journey began with a goal of creating a school where the importance of living a life of dignity and integrity is at the forefront. The overarching idea was that one should maintain his or her dignity at all times. This emphasis continues. Acts that cause an individual to behave in an undignified manner are addressed immediately, and students tap specific strategies to restore their dignity. Restitution or making it right again by apologizing or fixing the damage is one such strategy. In addition, students learn that integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking. The emphasis on dignity and integrity helped St. George's transform from chaos to calm. They are proud to follow their calm school code: speak nicely, listen carefully, act kindly, move calmly.

St. George's may seem rigid and routine. The contrary is actually true. Students at St. George's are joyful in their learning as are their teachers. In this case the adage, 'Success breeds success” is quite true. Our learning trip to London was thought-provoking, challenging, and inspiring. The educational systems there and in Cedar Rapids have many similarities, as well as differences. The work to replicate the success of St. George's will be challenging but it is possible. The teaching protocols and routines that we witnessed there are well defined and focused, but not extraordinary. The work the students are doing, however, is truly extraordinary. Our task now ... move from asking 'if” to asking 'how?”

This learning trip was financed through the Special Projects Fund of the Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation.

' Angi Hoyer is Principal at Arthur Elementary School in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. Joy Long is Principal at Garfield Elementary School in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. Comments: ahoyer@cr.k12.ia.us or jolong@cr.k12.ia.us