Sacajawea Middle School Receives $30,000 Grant For Work to Close Achievement Gap
Sacajawea Middle School was recently identified by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction as a role model for other schools because of their progress in closing the achievement gap.
The School to School Program pairs schools that have shown evidence of improving their achievement gaps (lead schools) with schools that are striving to do so (partner schools). Sacajawea was identified as one of three lead middle schools in Washington State after a multi-step evaluation by OSPI that included reviewing three years of WASL scores in reading, writing and math.
As a lead school, Sacajawea will partner with Hudtloff Middle School in the Clover Park School District to discuss successful strategies for closing the achievement gap and ways to improve practices at both schools. For their participation in the program, Sacajawea will receive $30,000 to fund additional staff hours, transportation, materials and parent engagement events.
“We were very honored to be selected,” said Sacajawea principal David Brower, who credits the success to school-wide collaboration and an intense focus on each student as an individual.
“We really did it by focusing on each and every kid in the classroom. Not teaching to the group, but assessing where each kid is and then creating a plan to get that kid, that student, to where they need to be,” Brower said. “The reality is, there’s no strategy that works for one entire group of kids. It’s really about finding out what each kid needs and it’s hard work. It’s not work for the timid.”
A strong base of community mentors has been another tool for success at Sacajawea, Brower said. There are currently 96 Sacajawea students who work regularly with mentors from Federal Way Communities in Schools and the Federal Way Boys and Girls Club.
Brower said he looks forward to working with staff at Hudtloff, a middle school with a similar demographic to Sacajawea, where 63 percent of students are non-white and more than half qualify for free or reduced lunch. Brower said that Sacajawea will benefit from the partnership through an in-depth examination of strategies that are working and not working to close the achievement gap at both schools.
For more information about the School to School program, visit http://www.k12.wa.us/CISL/K-12/SchooltoSchool.aspx
Posted: November 18, 2010