1. “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
AGAINST THE ODDS
By
Dr. Anael Alston
Dr. Larry Aronstein

2. ELA Percentage Passing
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2006 2007 2008 2009
Grade
Grade
Grade

3. Glen Cove City School District
Who are we?
§ 2900 students K-12 located on the North
Shore of Nassau County Long Island,
New York
§ Serve a diverse student population: 38%
Euro-American, 16% African-American,
42% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 1% other.
§ 50% of our population live in poverty
(qualify for free and reduced lunch).

4. Glen Cove City School District
Who are we?
§ Landing Elementary School - named
2010 National Blue Ribbon School
of Excellence
§ Robert M. Finley Middle School –
named 1 of 10 schools in America
as an NASSP “Breakthrough
School”

5. ELA Percentage Passing
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2006 2007 2008 2009
Grade
Grade
Grade

6. 2006-2009 ELA Scores

7. Math Percentage Passing
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2006 2007 2008 2009
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8

8. What did we do?

9. Innovative Professional Development Series
1. 1.5 periods of ELA and Math
for ALL students 6-8
2. UbD: GrantWiggins K-12
3. Differentiation of Instruction K-12
4. Readers andWritersWorkshop K-8

10. What Accurate Data does…
§ Allows for understanding information to
make decisions
§ Should come from many sources
§ Negates the myths
§ Give multiple views of historical, current
and future conditions
§ Must be used in the context of learning
and teaching for ALL students
Data…

11. 2006-2009 Math Scores

13. Year African American Hispanic White Year African American Hispanic White
05-06 36% 30% 71% 05-06 44% 54% 79%
06-07 63% 71% 80% 06-07 46% 65% 83%
07-08 78% 70% 86% 07-08 69% 59% 81%
08-09 57% 82% 98% 08-09 78% 89% 95%
Year African American Hispanic White Year African American Hispanic White
05-06 32% 38% 70% 05-06 41% 47% 79%
06-07 68% 58% 91% 06-07 56% 46% 86%
07-08 75% 81% 86% 07-08 67% 70% 86%
08-09 88% 86% 95% 08-09 73% 74% 91%
Year African American Hispanic White Year African American Hispanic White
05-06 26% 31% 61% 05-06 21% 28% 67%
06-07 38% 36% 71% 06-07 58% 58% 88%
07-08 70% 67% 91% 07-08 56% 49% 82%
08-09 81% 84% 92% 08-09 81% 68% 82%
NYS Math Assessment NYS ELA Assessment
Percentage of Students Scoring 3-4 (passing) on Assessments by Ethnic Group
6th Grade
7th Grade
NYS Math Assessment NYS ELA Assessment
NYS Math Assessment NYS ELA Assessment
Robert M. Finley School Gap Closing Results
8th Grade

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and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.

19. What are our
beliefs?

20. We Have No Control
We Can Influence
In Our
Control

21. Beliefs (continued)
§ Poverty is no excuse for a lack
of academic achievement.

22. Beliefs (continued)
§ We believe in the 3R’s
Rigor, Relevance, and
Relationships

23. Beliefs (continued)
We based our practice on
four pillars of instruction
§ Differentiation of Instruction
§ Teaching for Understanding
§ Understanding by Design
§ Inquiry

24. The principles and actions
behind the
Essential Elements
EE # 7 Professional learning and staff
development for all staff that are ongoing,
planned, purposeful, and collaboratively
developed.
§ “You get what you get!”
§ “Hire the BEST!”
§ “Know who you are, know where you are,
look around, then plan and do”.

25. Post College Ready Cut Scores
NYS ELA Assessments
Grades 2009-2010 2009-2010
using 08/09
Cut Scores
Grade 6 57% Passing 77% Passing
Grade 7 51% Passing 81% Passing
Grade 8 53% Passing 65% Passing

26. Post College Ready Cut Scores
NYS Math Assessments
Grades 2009-2010 2009-2010
using 08/09
Cut Scores
Grade 6 62% Passing 86% Passing
Grade 7 64% Passing 88% Passing
Grade 8 64% Passing 92% Passing

27. How to get in touch with
us:
§ Via e-mail: DrAAlston@gmail.com
§ Twitter: @DrAAlston
§ Via e-mail: Larryaronstein@yahoo.com