Lawrence Supt. Randy Weseman likes what he sees at Wakarusa Valley, New York and Hillcrest schools.
Those three elementary schools have found ways to help students excel on state standardized tests in reading, writing and math. Their programs are models for how to achieve success year after year.
Hillcrest school has a program that focuses students on 10 problem-solving strategies that help them become successful with math. Many successful programs, however, are not being used districtwide in Lawrence schools.
According to Weseman, the results show what is possible with renewed focus on the basics.
So why aren't the successful programs being shared by all the schools, and all their students?
"I'm trying to move us to the core," Weseman said. "We've got to get teachers working on teams and focused on the core."
The successful programs in reading, writing and math at New York, Wakarusa Valley and Hillcrest were profiled in "The 3Rs: Basics of Excellence," a three part-series that appeared in the Journal-World and on 6News last week.
While other Lawrence schools do well in core subjects, a majority struggle with at least one of the 3Rs.
Incoherent message
Scott Morgan, the Lawrence school board's vice president, said that was due in part to the school board and district administration's fractured marching orders to principals and teachers about classroom priorities.
"We send out so dang many signals as to what the focus should be," he said. "It should come as no surprise there are inconsistencies."
He said an array of programs and activities, well-intentioned but time-consuming, divert educators from basics of reading, writing and math.
Problems transferring academic success from building to building also have to do with human nature.
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"Getting people to do things differently is incredibly difficult," said Janice Nicklaus, the district's executive director of instruction and professional development.
Even with the best approach, she said, scholastic achievement is not a slam-dunk. The district is enrolling more and more ill-prepared children, she said.
"There are no guarantees," Nicklaus said. "There are probabilities."
Fixing the equation
The district already is crafting a more effective approach to math instruction, said Tom Christie, the district's executive director of curriculum.
In February, Christie said, the district's new math coordinator will propose to the school board an overhaul of the math program in kindergarten through eighth-grade. It won't be cheap: Textbooks alone could cost $600,000.
The goal is to correct flaws the district identified in 1988, but did little to fix, and rediscovered in a 2001 survey of teachers.
"Before I took this job I heard a lot of grumbling about mathematics in the district," said Lynda Allen, math and science coordinator. "Math has not really had a focus districtwide for a long time."
Allen, who assumed responsibility for math coordination in July, said weaknesses in elementary school math include:
Lack of a textbook or standard packet of materials for kindergarten through second grade, which places new teachers at a disadvantage. In other grades, the curriculum sequence is not orderly.
District academic goals don't correspond to state curriculum benchmarks or state assessments.
Communication is insufficient among teachers at different grade levels and among different schools.
Hillcrest, 1045 Hilltop Drive, is the only district school to reach the state's standard of excellence on the Kansas Math Assessment in back-to-back years.
The school does well because teachers took the initiative to link what is taught in classes with what is tested on state exams. Faculty from kindergarten through sixth grade committed to the same system of instruction. And they place a premium on communication. Kindergarten teachers know the needs of first-grade teachers, and so on.
"As a staff, we really have spent a lot of time sitting down and making sure there are no gaps," said Lisa Melton, a Hillcrest fourth-grade teacher.
Turning a page
The district's disjointed approach to reading instruction is no less controversial.
Leni Salkind, a Lawrence school board member, said part of the district's problem was that some classroom teachers refused to implement programs adopted by the board. For example, not all staff have warmed to the "Soar to Success" supplemental reading program for low-achieving students. The program started in 1999.
"It's not a choice whether you buy into the reading initiative," Salkind said.
A bookcase full of teaching programs for reading is on school shelves. These schemes may all be worthwhile, but there's no way to be certain. A district report says no mechanism is in place to measure the worth of programs and materials used to teach reading in Lawrence elementary schools.
Other problems identified by the district:
Poor articulation of expectations and requirements of the district's overall reading initiative.
Teachers, especially in kindergarten through second grade, lack training in district literacy programs.
Students with reading problems aren't systematically assessed to find why they lack skills and to allow informed remedies.
One result is 21.9 percent of Lawrence's third-graders read below grade level. And among second-graders reading below grade level, 23.6 percent are considered "nonreaders."
At New York School, first- and second-graders performed at the highest levels in the district on standardized reading tests. The school enrolls the district's highest percentage of low-income students.
Teachers at New York have shared their innovative ideas about reading instruction with staff at other schools, but there have been no takers so far.
"You have to be willing to put ego aside and work for the kids," said Kim Gamble, a New York kindergarten teacher.
Writing a new chapter
For 10 years, the district has championed the Six Trait Analytic Writing Model to teach elementary students to be writers. But delivery of the program has been hit-or-miss.
"There is variation in the way staff approach teaching writing," Weseman said.
Teachers at Wakarusa Valley, the district's top-rated elementary on the latest state writing exam, have always been passionate followers of the method. New teachers at the school join the team by embracing the approach.
But teacher training in the six-trait model isn't uniform in the district, Weseman said.
"We have not had the opportunity to train all of our staff," he said. "We need additional time and resources to be able to accomplish our staff-development goals."
Teaching children to write is easier said than done, Weseman said.
"There are many variables at play," he said. "Students come to our classrooms with varying levels of abilities, academic backgrounds and life experiences."
It's in this arena that Wakarusa Valley has another advantage. Located southwest of Lawrence in a rural setting, the school's enrollment is among the most stable in the district. By the time students reach sixth grade at Wakarusa Valley, the basics of writing ought to be second-nature.
Even students appreciate the consistent message.
"It does depend on the plan," said sixth-grader Logan Keasling, 11. "If you don't have a plan, your writing is not going to be very good."
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