Reforms Move through U-46 with the Help of a Federal Program, Schools across District Aim to Boost Student Achievement

Johnson, Anna, Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Byline: Anna Johnson Daily Herald Staff Writer

Though it was Saturday, teachers at Channing Memorial Elementary School arrived just before 8 a.m., got out of their cars and walked into the school.

Unlike school days, students didn't follow.

In fact, Channing teachers and administrators spent several Saturdays over the past few months alone in the building, working.

As part of a federally funded initiative, the Elgin school began implementing a movement first talked about years ago - Comprehensive School Reform.

Defined by the not-for-profit education organization New American Schools, the program is a systematic approach to reorganizing and revitalizing a whole school, as opposed to implementing individual programs piecemeal.

Schools throughout Elgin Area School District U-46 are at different stages of school reform. Some, like Channing, have already adopted a research-based reform program, while others are still investigating possibilities and a few have not yet begun the process.

In total, about 30 are at some point in the school reform process. Several more will begin actual implementation in the fall.

Once a school studies its needs and either develops its own or approves a custom-made reform model, it can begin receiving federal school reform grant money, which lasts up to three years.

For many schools such as Channing that have less than half or just over half of their students meeting state standards, Comprehensive School Reform is seen as part of the answer to improving student …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: Reforms Move through U-46 with the Help of a Federal Program, Schools across District Aim to Boost Student Achievement. Contributors: Johnson, Anna - Author. Newspaper title: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL). Publication date: June 10, 2002. Page number: 1. © 2009 Paddock Publications. COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group.

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