Improvements target middle schools

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Three-year program integrates math and language classes.

ByAMANDA GARRETT

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — The city school district is partnering with a national organization to improve the mathematics and literacy skills of its middle school pupils.

America's Choice is a New-York based company that works with districts nationwide to improve pupils' learning abilities.

The program will target the district's three middle schools and will focus on math and language arts classes, said Kathy Shook, executive director of teaching and learning.

The school board approved the three-year contract with the company last week.

"I'm 100 percent behind this program," board member Edward Bolino said. "We must improve our test scores, and this program gives us a good opportunity to do that."

The three-year program will cost $450,000 per year and will be financed by state and county grants and the district's school improvement fund, district Treasurer Angela J. Lewis said.

Representatives from America's Choice will train Warren teachers to align their curriculum with Ohio Content Standards and to integrate more than one subject into each class.

One of the reasons the district chose the program was that it follows Ohio Content Standards, Shook said. Each year, pupils are tested on the content standards, which are the basis of the Ohio Department of Education's Local District Report Cards.

"Our students were not performing well on math tests and we needed to respond to that," Shook said.

How middle schools fared

Although the district as a whole improved its ranking from academic watch to continuos improvement, the individual ratings for two out of three middle schools did not improve.

Warren Western Reserve Middle School and H.B. Turner Middle School were listed as being in academic watch, while East Middle School earned a ranking of continuous improvement.

America's Choice tailors its program to each district, Shook said. Warren's program will have a special focus on math skills.

Students who test two years below their grade level in math will be placed in special "ramp-up" classes, Shook said.

"The classes are very intensive," she said. "By the end of the year, students should be able to be completely caught up."

Regular math classes will prepare students by teaching pre-algebra in sixth and seventh grades. Pupils in eighth grade will receive instruction in algebra.

These classes will also focus on improving literacy by asking pupils to explain their problem-solving techniques.

The district found out about America's Choice from state school Superintendent Susan Tave Zelman, Shook said.

Shook said she was especially impressed by America's Choice research-based methods and its focus on the professional development of teachers.

"Our teachers have responded very positively to the training," she said.

"Sometimes, teachers can feel like they're on their own island because they work so independently. This program allows them to spend time together and plan what they are teaching in the classroom."

agarrett@vindy.com

Monday, September 25, 2006