This is such a Cinderella Story! I was so excited to hear about McNair's climb into "AYP passing status" after so many years of hard work. Kudos go to the students and their focus and diligence and to their clever, creative, devoted principal, Susan Freeman. This school experienced a complete reconstruction four years ago, when not only was Principal Freeman hired, but 98% of the staff was replaced. They used gender-based group learning led by national expert in that field, Dr. Leonard Sax, which not only improved learning, but improved discipline as well. In addition, teachers use common planning periods and engage in professional learning activities three to four times per week. These people worked really hard and they achieved their goal - congratulations McNair Middle School!
To read about the changes and gutsy programs Principal Freeman employed to steer this turnaround, visit the homepage at DCSS right now as this is the current feature story. To download a pdf version of the story, click here.
Sounds great! Will this approach be a model that other middle schools can follow?
ReplyDeleteI believe that gender-based classes work better in middle school than the traditional classes. My children had this, and it improved both their images of themselves as capable students, but their leadership skills.
I hope so! This whole effort was brilliant!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for the McNair Community. Congraduation to the Strategic Planning Team at McNair!!!!! Your Vision and Your Dream has come true.
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