NIU study gives public schools prescription
for academic success despite all odds

by Mark McGowan

Public schools can succeed no matter the odds or obstacles, says a Northern Illinois University researcher.

Of course, it’s not easy.

The obstacles can include a high percentage of children from low-income homes, parents who themselves fell short at school, a disinterested community, an inadequate curriculum and – perhaps the most difficult challenge to overcome – a culture that accepts failure.

But ultimate triumph starts with a dynamic principal who steps outside the office and creates a positive environment where everyone truly believes that success is possible for all students. It takes a winning team of teachers that puts students first and dedicates itself to continuous improvement and, if necessary, change. It flourishes with teachers, administrators, students and parents who work as active partners.

Penny Billman’s study, “Mission Possible: Achieving and Maintaining Academic Improvement,” identifies six critical ingredients to keep good schools on track and to help struggling schools turn around.

The report was released today in conjunction with the Illinois State Board of Education’s unveiling of the Illinois Honor Roll – www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu – a joint project with NIU that recognizes schools making the grade. Findings are based on interviews with 79 principals whose schools were lauded in 2002 and 2003 for keeping pace with the tough mandates of the federal “No Child Left Behind” legislation.

Billman says the report, which also is available online at www.p20.niu.edu, will benefit schools in Illinois and across the country. Although the six prongs of her prescription are common among all the examined schools, each building’s solutions were unique and local in flavor.

“We had 100 schools we could look at to learn what they did to reach the levels of academic improvement that schools all over the country will have to reach … (and) we learned that it takes a whole-school attitude that every child can and will succeed,” Billman says. Even “students are much more aware that they’re learning very specific things, and that it’s important that they learn these things. Many classrooms now have Illinois state standards on the wall.”

Principals of schools in high-poverty areas will find the report valuable, she says, as the so-called “achievement gap” between students from affluent and poor settings becomes more critical. Eighty percent of all new jobs require post-secondary education, forcing students to meet or exceed standards if they are to succeed in college and the workplace.

“For years, there was just an attitude of, ‘Oh, children from these socio-economic groups just have so much to overcome,’ ” she says. “Now schools are saying, ‘We can overcome that.’ Socio-economic status is not an excuse not to succeed.”

Billman’s report recommends these six components for a winning school:

• Create a climate focused on the students.
• Build leadership within the school to support ongoing improvement.
• Establish a quality teaching team.
• Deliver instruction based on individual student needs.
• Involve parents and the community.
• Provide resources and supports to support improvement.

“The most important action is that schools really did establish a climate that focused on each individual student and expected all children to perform at the level they could perform at – and they held the standards high,” Billman says. “The principals told me, ‘It seems like common sense – but it really is what we did.’ That positive learning environment is helping individual students achieve.”

Nonetheless, Billman says, the action “changed the whole philosophy of what teaching is all about. It wasn’t just up to the students to ‘get it.’ It meant a continuous improvement of instruction. All of the schools had a commitment to do whatever it took to help each child reach high standards.”

Principals also changed the way schools are managed, abandoning the traditional “top-down” method for a teamwork approach that empowers teachers and holds them accountable for collaborating across grade levels. For example, third-grade teachers work with their colleagues teaching kindergarten, first grade and second grade to make sure that children will know what is expected by third grade.

Meanwhile, “principals became much more concerned about hiring excellent teachers who fit the school culture and the team structure,” she says. “So much depends on the teachers, not only their ability to teach students but their ability to work together as a team, looking for ways to improve the whole school.”

Teachers also are conscious to align the curriculum to the Illinois state standards – “Each of the schools that won these awards really worked at that,” Billman says – and to conduct frequent assessments to make sure students were learning.

“Instead of just waiting for the yearly exam, or maybe twice-yearly, maybe they’re testing weekly so they can quickly identify any student falling behind and intervene,” she says. “Schools are also extending reading time and offering after-school and tutoring programs to catch students who are beginning to fall behind as soon as they can.”

The support components often require creativity.

Some schools involve all staff, including bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers, in the job of teaching the children. One principal near Chicago strived to greet as many parents as possible each morning as they dropped off their children for school. Many schools organized nighttime events for family reading activities, while one principal made sure every parent had a public library card to enable reading at home.

Meanwhile, she says, principals in districts that cannot afford professional development are staying current on the latest research by purchasing books on their own and sharing them with the teachers during lunchtime and staff meetings.

Now they can read “Mission Possible.”

“I’ve presented twice so far, to the Illinois superintendents’ conference and the Illinois Title I conference for reading teachers,” she says, adding she will continue to spread the word nationwide.

“Mission Possible: Achieving and Maintaining Academic Improvement” is available online at www.p20.niu.edu.

3-14-05