Focus on three schools proves effective: Minnesota: St. Paul Public Schools.

Achievement Plus was formed in 1997 when the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation teamed with St. Paul Public Schools, the City of St. Paul and Ramsey County in an unprecedented public-private partnership that would form the basis for a broad community outreach in support of public education. The overriding goal was to improve student academic achievement.

The Achievement Plus partners raised more than $52 million in public and private funds to launch an initiative that would help implement reforms across the entire school district and result in St. Paul Public Schools being named the 2005 recipient of the Civic Star Award for Minnesota.

The immediate focus of the program was on transforming two inner-city schools and creating a third based on lessons learned from the other two. The schools are now called Dayton's Bluff Achievement Plus Elementary School, Monroe Achievement Plus Community School and John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary School. The three schools, which have become national models, are the foundation of a comprehensive education reform effort that has provided training and other guidance for other elementary schools in the district. Key components of successful reform have been:

* A standards-based curriculum emphasizing high expectations, student-driven work, individual and group instruction and extensive professional development for teachers.

* Learning activities that extend after school and reinforce school-day instruction and standards and that also provide enrichment activities not available during the school day.

* Access to needed social services and learning opportunities at the school and in the community.

Community involvement and support have been critical to the initiative's success. From the beginning, school district and Achievement Plus leaders were determined to reconnect the schools and community to help children and families reduce barriers to learning.

The three schools serve more than 1,300 students, and each school has high levels of mobility and diversity in terms of demographics and socioeconomic status.

More than 90 percent of the students at Dayton's Bluff and Johnson qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. In addition, many of the students come from homes where English is not spoken, and many of those students are receiving English language services.

Achievement Plus has made possible the renovation and expansion of school facilities, making the buildings more inviting. Johnson Elementary was completely renovated.

Expanded family services under the program are also helping to stabilize neighborhoods and make the schools places where community members gather, especially at Johnson and Dayton's Bluff. Family resource centers at those two schools provide a wide range of resources to provide parent education and to help families meet their basic needs. School-community partnerships have led to on-site support, including health and dental services, mental health counseling and referrals, tutoring and services addressing other basic needs.

Among the three schools, Achievement Plus is engaged in more than 40 carefully designed community partnerships.

A comprehensive, independent evaluation measures the progress of the program toward its goals. One measurable development is the rise in standardized test scores, particularly at Dayton's Bluff and Johnson.

For more information, contact Superintendent Patricia A. Harvey at St. Paul Public Schools, 360 Colborne St., St. Paul, Minn. 55102, or call [phone]. Harvey's e-mail address is [e-mail].