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The Impossible is Possible-
One School's Story
One day Christina Supe received a call from a
school in Pomona. Struggling to get students to
proficient and advanced levels on California’s
Standards Tests, Vejar Elementary School was in
Program Improvement and headed toward
sanctions. Only 14% of fourth graders were
proficient or advanced on the language arts portion
of the CSTs. They needed help with writing- and
overall student achievement. And, things needed to
turn around quickly.
The first day of training during the 2003-2004
school year, the Vejar staff gathered for a one hour
staff meeting to get an overview of how to teach
writing. The staff was engaged and excited to see
that it is possible to have amazingly proficient writers
who are high achieving in every school- including
their own.
The administrators at Vejar knew it would be
important to continue working on writing instruction
with their teachers in order to benefit the students,
so a rigorous calendar for the remainder of the
school year was set up. Get Ahead Writing provided
an additional 14 days of training to the school over
the course of just a few months. During the summer
following the first school year, teachers returned for
an optional day of training on classroom
environments, establishing a writing wall for
evidence of student growth, and more.
Since 2003, Get Ahead Writing has spent more
than 300 hours at Vejar working with teachers of all
grades on improving writing instruction by providing
demonstrations, coaching, follow-up training, follow-
up coaching, feedback, and one-on-one support.
When we began five years ago, only 14% of Vejar’s
4th graders were proficient or advanced on the
CSTs. Recently, the kindergarteners of 2003 were
4th graders and took the state assessments. Vejar
now has 57% of 4th graders meeting or exceeding
state standards- a 43 point increase in five school
years!
Vejar has made it! They have exited Program
Improvement and one of the top ten schools in their
district at the 4th grade level. Congratulations, Vejar!
One School's Story
One day Christina Supe received a call from a
school in Pomona. Struggling to get students to
proficient and advanced levels on California’s
Standards Tests, Vejar Elementary School was in
Program Improvement and headed toward
sanctions. Only 14% of fourth graders were
proficient or advanced on the language arts portion
of the CSTs. They needed help with writing- and
overall student achievement. And, things needed to
turn around quickly.
The first day of training during the 2003-2004
school year, the Vejar staff gathered for a one hour
staff meeting to get an overview of how to teach
writing. The staff was engaged and excited to see
that it is possible to have amazingly proficient writers
who are high achieving in every school- including
their own.
The administrators at Vejar knew it would be
important to continue working on writing instruction
with their teachers in order to benefit the students,
so a rigorous calendar for the remainder of the
school year was set up. Get Ahead Writing provided
an additional 14 days of training to the school over
the course of just a few months. During the summer
following the first school year, teachers returned for
an optional day of training on classroom
environments, establishing a writing wall for
evidence of student growth, and more.
Since 2003, Get Ahead Writing has spent more
than 300 hours at Vejar working with teachers of all
grades on improving writing instruction by providing
demonstrations, coaching, follow-up training, follow-
up coaching, feedback, and one-on-one support.
When we began five years ago, only 14% of Vejar’s
4th graders were proficient or advanced on the
CSTs. Recently, the kindergarteners of 2003 were
4th graders and took the state assessments. Vejar
now has 57% of 4th graders meeting or exceeding
state standards- a 43 point increase in five school
years!
Vejar has made it! They have exited Program
Improvement and one of the top ten schools in their
district at the 4th grade level. Congratulations, Vejar!
| Ranked #25 out of 26 schools in 2003, Vejar is now in the top ten in PUSD in Language Arts CSTs at the 4th grade level! |