{"id":327605,"date":"2010-02-20T15:31:18","date_gmt":"2010-02-20T20:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/?p=5899"},"modified":"2010-02-20T15:31:18","modified_gmt":"2010-02-20T20:31:18","slug":"climate-culture-fuel-student-success-at-rich-east-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/327605","title":{"rendered":"Climate, culture fuel student success at Rich East High School"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5900\" title=\"Rich East billboard\" src=\"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/media\/Rich-East-billboard-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>Creating a school culture of success for all students is a challenge for high schools in even the most affluent areas.\u00a0 The challenges are multiplied in some of the financially struggling areas in Chicago\u2019s south suburbs.<\/p>\n<p>But progress can be made.\u00a0 The students, teachers, support professionals and administrators at Rich East High School in Park Forest are proving it every day. (<a href=\"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/video\/progress-and-teamwork-at-rich-east-high-school\/\">Watch the accompanying video<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>In the last two years, school improvement and student success at Rich East have been profound and measurable.\u00a0 Test scores are way up.\u00a0 The atmosphere in the school is one of achievement and success.\u00a0 Teachers, support staff and administration are united in their goal to make sure each student achieves and that Rich East is recognized for its high standards.<\/p>\n<p>Progress so far is more than encouraging.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2007, less than 40 percent of students were making AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) in reading.\u00a0 In 2009, the percentage rose to 60.2 percent.\u00a0 In the same time period, math scores climbed to more than 55 percent from 33 percent achieving AYP.<\/li>\n<li>Most recent test scores in math and reading for \u201ceconomically disadvantaged\u201d students are also keeping pace with the achievement levels for all students.<\/li>\n<li>In 2009, Rich East reading and math scores exceeded state averages \u2013 most notable when more than 70 percent of all students at Rich East are in free and reduced lunch programs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve developed a culture of pride in our school,\u201d says Don Hagemaster, a chemistry teacher and IEA region chair who has been at Rich East for five years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur principal is absolutely supportive of teachers.\u00a0 He cares about the kids and wants teachers to have what they need to succeed.\u00a0 The entire staff knows he\u2019s going to do everything he can to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5901\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 310px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5901  \" title=\"Rich East people\" src=\"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/media\/Rich-East-people-300x233.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"233\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Don Hagemaster, teacher, and Mark Kramer, principal, say working together helps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Principal Mark Kramer came to the school at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year.\u00a0 He says a great staff of teachers, support professionals and administrators was already in place on his arrival.\u00a0 His immediate focus turned to fostering a positive school climate \u2013 creating an entire school culture of high expectations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t change instruction overnight,\u201d says Kramer, \u201cbut you can change school climate.\u00a0 We started by making sure students were in class when they were supposed to be.\u00a0 We did hall sweeps and got them in class.\u00a0 We made it clear to the students that classes would start on time, that they needed to be there, that their achievement was important to us, and that they had to be present in class in order to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kramer also credits the entire staff for setting high academic standards and holding themselves as well as students accountable for achieving goals.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Zaban, a veteran math teacher, contends that a supportive principal has been a key to school success.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe (the principal) cares about us.\u00a0 He certainly cares about the kids.\u00a0 He\u2019s very accessible to the faculty and the student body.\u00a0 He asked the question: \u2018What can we do for you to make it better?\u2019 When we told him some of the things we needed, if he could, he got them for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Others at the school cite a variety of specific programs that have contributed to student achievement progress:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alignment of curriculum with state standards.<\/li>\n<li>Accountability standards for students and staff.<\/li>\n<li>Consistent standards for discipline.<\/li>\n<li>Mentoring for newer teachers.<\/li>\n<li>Advanced use of technology.<\/li>\n<li>Gender-based structures for freshman academies.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday programs for students, parents and community members.<\/li>\n<li>Corporate-sponsored mentorship programs for students.<\/li>\n<li>Rising membership in school booster club.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of these established programs plays an important role in student success.<\/p>\n<p>Math teacher Stacy Dunn cites curriculum alignment and teamwork as key contributors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve really come together with our curriculum and made it a district-wide curriculum,\u201d says Dunn.\u00a0 \u201cWe work together and focus on our Prairie State Achievement Exams.\u00a0 We align our curriculum to that.\u00a0 That involves working with other teachers and having professional learning communities where we bounce ideas off of each other.\u00a0 We\u2019ve also seen a change in the climate in our building.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>English teacher Kamaelah Jones says camaraderie at Rich East has fostered a learning atmosphere throughout the school.\u00a0 The students recognize it and appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a really strong bond and that has a lot to do with our success,\u201d says Jones.\u00a0 \u201cOur students do want to accomplish, they do want to do things.\u00a0 They want to go beyond where they are right now.\u00a0 We help make that happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems like we are at a point now where we can really see the light.\u00a0 I am just excited to see what the end will be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Principal Kramer agrees.\u00a0 He also cites the education association in the building as a positive contributor to school atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAssociation leaders stay in touch about school issues,\u201d he says.\u00a0 \u201cBut we don\u2019t see much separation of administration and teachers.\u00a0 It\u2019s the teacher in the classroom that makes education happen.\u00a0 As an administrator, I\u2019m there to support that and make sure they have everything they need.\u00a0 That\u2019s what counts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Creating a school culture of success for all students is a challenge for high schools in even the most affluent areas.\u00a0 The challenges are multiplied in some of the financially struggling areas in Chicago\u2019s south suburbs. But progress can be made.\u00a0 The students, teachers, support professionals and administrators at Rich East High School in Park [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4159,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-327605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}