Keith L. Ware Elementary School

Fort Riley, KS

Friday,

November 9, 2007

9:45 AM – 11:00 AM

Session 20: The Battle for Achievement

Centered in the middle of the nation’s War Fighting Center of Fort Riley, Kansas, Keith L. Ware Elementary has a 65 percent mobility rate, and 79 percent of the students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch. Low test scores placed Ware on the state list of schools in need of improvement in 1999. Today it is one of the highest achieving schools in the state. The Ware Elementary administrative staff will demonstrate how a school can become an award winning institution with sustained academic excellence. A belief system coupled with a vision and plan for implementation is the cornerstone of the sustained improvements and performance experienced by these students of military families. The challenges have not changed, but academic excellence has been achieved for the past five years.

School Contact Information:

Keith L. Ware Elementary School

6795 Thomas Avenue

Fort Riley, KS 66442

Deb Gustafson, Principal

Tel: 785-717-4600

Osmond A. Church School, P.S./M.S. 124

Queens, NY

Friday,

November 9, 2007

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM

Session 32: Setting New Standards for Excellence

Teachers and administrators at Osmond A. Church, P.S./M.S. 124 in Queens, New York talk frankly about how they guided this racially diverse, overwhelmingly low income school from mediocre performance in the 1990s to today, when the school has achieved some of the highest proficiency rates not only in New York City but in New York State. Topics will include how Osmond A. Church handles school atmosphere issues, student needs, and parent engagement, as well as how it helps teachers provide excellent instruction tied to a deep, rich curriculum. This is an excellent opportunity to hear teachers and administrators from a school that is setting new standards of excellence within the largest school district in the country.

School Contact Information:

Osmond A. Church School, P.S./M.S. 124

129-15 150 Avenue

Queens, NY 11420

Valarie Lewis, Principal

Tel: 718-529-2580

Lockhart Junior High School

Lockhart, TX

Friday,

November 9, 2007

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM

Session 31: Our Motto: “100 Percent Success, Every Child, Every Time”

From the school schedule—which has built-in “rescue classes” and tutorials, as well as regular times for teachers to meet—to the careful attention to achievement data that

show how each student is doing, faculty and administrators at Lockhart Junior High School work hard to match their actions to their motto, “100 percent Success, Every Child, Every Time.” The student body is more than 50 percent Hispanic and more than 50 percent low-income. Hear how careful data analysis, hiring practices, and instruction aligned to the state’s curriculum have propelled this Texas school into rates of proficiency usually associated with much wealthier schools.

School Contact Information:

Lockhart Junior High School

1015 City Line Road

Lockhart, TX 78644

Susan Brooks, Principal

Tel: 512-398-0770

North Star Academy Charter School of Newark

Newark, NJ

Friday,

November 9, 2007

9:45 AM – 11:00 AM

Session 22: Using Data-Driven Instruction To Help All Students Learn

Starting with morning meetings and ending with afternoon detention for any student who doesn’t turn in homework, every day at North Star Academy Charter School is carefully structured to ensure that students understand what is expected of them and what they need to learn and do to meet those expectations. Hear how passionate and

thoughtful educators use student achievement data to help students who enter as low performing fifth graders to learn the knowledge and skills they need not only to meet state standards but to graduate and go on to four-year colleges. This session promises to be a lively discussion of the kinds of things that schools can do to help all students achieve.

School Contact Information:

North Star Academy Charter

School of Newark

Downtown Campus

10 Washington Place

Newark, NJ 07102

Paul Bambrick-Santoyo,

Managing Director

Tel: 973-642-0101