Frazier School District in Pennsylvania has gone from being one the state's worst school districts to one of its best - in only 11 years. How did this happen? Technology, integrated classwork, and test prep tutoring:
...although Fayette County remains the poorest in the state and among the nation's poorest and that Fayette has the greatest proportion of the state's rural children living in poverty, Frazier has emerged as an educational leader.
Thirty percent of the students live at or below the poverty level, although few of their parents are on welfare. Smeigh said that many Frazier parents work two minimum-wage jobs to survive.
...in 1992, district students scored near the bottom on standardized tests and combined SAT scores of 800 were the lowest in the state. No advanced placement courses were available and Frazier was placed on the state's "watch list" of districts in dire financial straits.
In 2002, the combined SAT scores averaged 992, higher than state averages. Eight advanced placement courses are available, and the district has received awards for making significant academic progress on standardized test scores.
In 1992, [the district] undertook a massive reorganization, a change [Superintendent Frederick Smeigh] calls "evolutionary, not revolutionary. We raised expectations among teachers and parents, creating an environment in which every child can learn and will want to learn."...
The district bases its curriculum on the state standards...In addition to aligning the curriculum with standards, Frazier has integrated technology in all aspects of education, including remedial learning, and strives to emphasize meaningful instruction, "to teach the way children learn."...
[Middle school principal Barbara] Mehalov summarized the district's efforts to help secondary students, which include summer math and reading tutorials, after-school tutoring in those subjects, and SAT preparation.
Middle-school students must take a computer class each year. Middle-school science is an integrated hands-on program. She emphasized the importance of class size. "Ninety-two percent of our classes have 26 students or less."
Posted by kswygert at December 9, 2003 11:01 AM