6 schools that make a difference: with the support of Focus on Results, these six schools beat the odds by using common sense strategies in a focused effort to improve student achievement.

A stained and crumpled fast-food wrapper blows aimlessly across the street and is caught on a rusted chain link fence. Behind the fence sits the elementary school's school marquee. The sign reads: "Congratulations Students, Staff and Parents! Governor's Award Assembly Today."

Rising behind the sign is a modest stucco school auditorium. Inside, we hear the excited voices of more than 500 elementary students. In front sit aunties, uncles, grandparents and cousins as well as mothers and fathers. Many, although tired from their day of work or anticipating the night shift ahead, beam with pride about what is about to unfold.

As the principal moves to the microphone the audience falls quiet. She thanks the staff, family members and, most importantly, students for their hard work. She reminds them that their high expectations and the belief that they could master rigorous academic work has paid off. Through their work they have demonstrated that when a school community comes together, great results can be achieved. Today is a day to celebrate and honor their work. She turns to her right and asks the governor to step forward to make a few remarks. Cameras snap as he strides across the stage.

Getting all students to proficiency

More and more schools in California and across the nation are showing that when school communities accept the possibility and responsibility of bringing all of their students to proficiency levels, they can do amazing things.

Six schools located in southern California--Martin Luther King and Harvey of Santa Ana Unified, Morrison Elementary of Norwalk La Mirada Unified, Feaster Edison of Chula Vista Elementary, Prospect of Orange Unified and Riverdale of Garden Grove Unified--know that the goal of improved student learning is ultimately the improvement of students' lives.

However, in some cases, schools that serve students of second-language families or students who receive free and reduced lunch have difficulty accepting the possibility and responsibility of getting all students to proficiency. They fret about "these kids." They wallow in a self-fulfilling prophecy of low expectations.

Not these schools. While these six schools have not yet completed their mission to get all students to proficiency, they are well on their way. With the support of Focus on Results, these schools have increased proficiency levels. Here are six places where kids are beating the odds and showing tremendous growth in student learning.

On average, at these schools nearly 80 percent of students are on free and reduced lunch, nearly 60 percent of students are learning English as a second language, parents' education level is high school or below and the average student population is 94 percent minority.

Yet, over the last five years, they have averaged nearly 200 points in growth on California's Academic Performance Index. In addition, half of these schools were eligible for the Governor's Performance Award of 2004. To be eligible for the award, schools must meet the following criteria:

* The schools must meet the schoolwide 5 percent annual growth target.

* All numerically significant ethnic and socio-economically disadvantaged subgroups at the schools must demonstrate comparable improvement.

* The schools demonstrate a minimum of five points growth.

* All numerically significant ethnic and socio-economically disadvantaged subgroups at the schools demonstrate a minimum of four points growth.

* Elementary and middle schools had at least 95 percent participation rates in the 2004 STAR.

What did these six schools do in common?

1. They developed a schoolwide focus on literacy. These schools helped their staff members focus their energies on improving instruction in one key area by using recent student learning data to develop an instructional focus. They figured out what instructional areas their students needed most support in, and then gave it to them.

2. They supported teachers to collaborate around issues of teaching and learning. They made time in teachers' days to work together as professionals to discuss teaching practices and instructional improvement. They developed a small set of evidence-based teaching practices that all staff implemented with conviction.

3. They provided targeted professional development for all staff. Every educator in a school, including the principal, is expected to become fluent in these techniques by providing focused professional learning experiences. Training was coupled with opportunities for regular practice, coaching and frequent building walk-throughs. Work sessions took place at school and in teachers' classrooms, not in an "edutainment" session with slick PowerPoint presentations and stale sticky buns.

4. They reallocated their resources around the improvement of teaching and learning in their focus. They made hard decisions about ensuring that the resources of time, people, talent, energy and money went to support classroom instruction in the focus area above all else. The schools honored the maxim that "the good is the eternal enemy of the best" and were not afraid to let go of some good things to focus on the best thing--students reading and thinking.

5. They involved families in supporting the schoolwide focus in literacy. They listened to families as equal partners in determining how the school could better support student learning. They asked parents to support students at home and hold them accountable for high expectations, conduct and learning.

6. They set measurable goals for student learning and used regular assessment measures to monitor and adjust instruction. Most importantly, they measured and set specific targets for student learning growth, helped teachers modify instruction based on what the students were learning, and charted and celebrated their focus on student learning results as proof of their success.

7. The principal provided ongoing leadership around the improvement in teaching and learning. Principals at these schools spent much of their day visiting classrooms and supporting teachers and students. They held high expectations for staff expertise and held staff accountable for follow-through of schoolwide agreements surrounding instruction

Belief, focus and dedication

This work did not cost more money. What it did require is a belief, focus and dedication to getting the job done. These six schools demonstrate the power of using some simple, common-sense strategies to focus the school and ultimately bring about schoolwide improvement. In some of these schools the entire district was involved in the focused effort. In other cases, a single school that returned to the common-sense principles outlined here turned things around.

Now is the time to begin this work. Our students deserve nothing less.

Amalia Cudeiro, Jeff Nelsen Jan Leight and Joe Palumbo are former principals and central office leaders who are currently senior executives with Focus on Results, an international consulting firm working with school districts dedicated to finding results-oriented solutions to the challenge of educating all students at high levels. They can be reached at www.focusonresults. net