El+Canguro+Group

=**Accelerated Schools**=


 * I. Teaching/Learning philosophy for Accelerated Schools**

The objective of the Accelerated Schools program is to help students overcome their challenges and improve academically, by creating a unique learning program for each child. This program helps young students move from failure to success by helping them to create attainable goals and accomplishments. Accelerated schools consist of intensive learning techniques, emphasizing hands-on activities. This will eventually lead to better grades and a positive self esteem.

The Accelerated Schools Program is currently used in over 1.000 elementary and middle schools where they hope to set high expectations of improving grades for the teachers and students. The philosophy of the Accelerated School Program is to treat every student as “gifted”, and engage the teachers, students, parents and the community to generate a “powerful learning” experience in selecting a curriculum that is more challenging and interactive for students.


 * II. Research, Experience, and Results Supporting this Program**

Accelerated Schools have been extensively studied, which is also one of the most successful school improvement models in the nation. Research shows that Accelerated Schools leads to a major improvement in student achievement and academic improvement.

Research studies documented many students who were at risk of academic failure because they lacked the experiences they needed in their homes and communities. These studies done in the Accelerated Schools were being compared to schools with more advantaged students. This resulted in educators and families being uninspiring to their students and children and also had low expectations of their students to do well. This was viewed as contributing to an "achievement gap" for at-risk students, which led to failure.**

Below are examples of changes and improved academic achievement at accelerated elementary, middle, and high schools. ** 


 * **School Name /** Subject Area |||| **Year/** Score ||
 * **Milwaukee Education Center (WI)** || **2000-2001** || **2002-2003** ||
 * Percent proficient math || 4 || 35 ||
 * Percent proficient reading || 28 || 60 ||
 * **Bell Middle School ( WI )** || **2000-2001** || **2002-2003** ||
 * Percent proficient math || 6 || 38 ||
 * Percent proficient reading || 37 || 62 ||
 * **Academy of Accelerated Learning ( WI )** || **2000-2001** || **2002-2003** ||
 * Percent proficient math || 31 || 68 ||
 * Percent proficient reading || 39 || 67 ||
 * **Custer Elementary School ( WA )** || **2000-2001** || **2002-2003** ||
 * Percent proficient math || 33 || 69 ||
 * Percent proficient reading || 43 || 76 ||
 * **Taft Elementary ( OR )** || **2000-2001** || **2002-2003** ||
 * Percent proficient math || 58 || 72 ||
 * Percent proficient reading || 63 || 72 ||
 * **Ben Martin Elementary ( NC )** || **2000-2001** || **2002-2003** ||
 * Percent proficient math || 80.1 || 93 ||
 * Percent proficient reading || 88 || 90 ||
 * **West Smithfield Elementary ( NC )** || **2000-2001** || **2002-2003** ||
 * Percent proficient math || 71 || 91 ||
 * Percent proficient reading || 72 || 78 ||
 * **Web Academy HS ( NC )** || **2000-2001** || **2002-2003** ||
 * Percent proficient English I || 9 || 70 ||
 * Percent proficient Algebra I || 37 || 50 ||
 * Percent proficient Algebra II || 35 || 52 ||
 * Percent proficient Geometry || 12 || 32 ||


 * **III. Key Components of the Program

Each Accelerated School uses an integration of curriculum, resources, and instruction that is unique to their individual needs, strengths, and vision to create a climate of powerful learning. This program is inclusive, authentic, interactive, continuous, and learner-centered. It is recognized that students are diverse in intelligence and learning styles, and assessment is used to differentiate instruction. All students are included in challenging education experiences that build on their individual strengths and interests. Instruction is authentic in that it depicts real life, and community and family are integrated into the curriculum. Students interact and collaborate together to form a social environment in the classroom. Knowledge is continuous and is built upon as learning progresses. High expectations are set for all students and they are encouraged to take ownership of their own education. ** 

There are three main principles of Accelerated Schools. They are: 1) Unity of Purpose: The school staff, parents, and students come to agreement on the common goals of the school and how they will be reached. 2) Empowerment with Responsibility: All members of the school community are given the capacity to make key decisions to implement change and be accountable for results. 3) Building on Strengths: There is a commitment to identifying and taking advantage of everyone’s existing strengths.    
 * **Equity** - Accommodations are provided so that all students can learn and have access to a high quality education.
 * **Participation** - Everyone is informed and students, parents, the school staff, and community members are invited to participate in the Accelerated Schools transformation process. Everyone's ideas count.
 * **Communication and Collaboration** - The entire school community collaboratively works toward a shared purpose by meeting, talking, and learning from each other's experiences.
 * **Community Spirit** - The school staff, parents, students, district employees and local community members build connections to serve all students.
 * **Reflection** - In transforming the school, the school community takes time to reflect, to do research, to work together and to share ideas.
 * **Experimentation** - The school community explores, designs, tests and implements programs as a result of communicating about and reflecting upon the school's challenges.
 * **Trust** - Teachers, parents, support staff, administrators, district office, community members, and students come to believe in each other, support one another and focus on each other's strengths.
 * **Risk-taking** - The school community promotes a safe environment for informed risk- taking.
 * **Community expertise** - The resources necessary for excellence are found within the school community.
 * **Respect** - Each member of the school community shows regard for the work of other by being open to diverse ideas and points of view.


 * IV. The Teachers Role in Accelerated Schools

The role of the teacher in Accelerated Schools is to act as a facilitator and a guide as students help plan their own instruction and critique their own and others work. The teacher should believe in the unlimited potential of their students and set high expectations for each and every one of them. The teacher is constantly assessing students strengths and interests in order to design learning activities that mirror them. **

Childrens lives are engaged in this program by educators considering the needs of at-risk students and more priviledge students. Accelerated schools hold at-risk students to the same standards as regular students. Instead of being separated from the class and taught in a remedial class with a slower approach, these at-risk children are taught at the same pace and have deadlines just as the mainstream students do. Since the focus is put on the acceleration of all students, at-risk students are able to feel more included,able to have equal oppurtunities as their peers, and focus more on their academic strengths rather than their weaknesses.
 * V.** **Childrens' Roles in Accelerated Schools**

The 'child's role' in co-constructing the curriculum is that they are learning through their own experiences with hands on activities to come to their own conclusions rather than just searching to find a specific answer. The student is encouraged to learn constructively by interacting with other students and collaborating together in order to understand the relevancy of what they are studying. This approach helps the student see that they can think critically and problem solve by themselves and learn what is necessary in the process.

With more responsibility given to the students in the Accelerated Schools model, they will be the ones to choose topics for in-class discussions. Active debate allows for the emergence of new ideas and an accelerated classroom would be the perfect breeding ground for students to open each others eyes to theories or points of view that they otherwise would not be aware of. The accelerated model places faith in the students, trusting them to set high expectations and meet those expectations themselves. Learning must be engaging and challenging and as Dewey said, students must be active subjects in their learning; therefore, there is nobody more equipped to choose the topics of discussion in the classroom than the students.
 * VI. Classroom Discussions and Relationships**

The community plays a large and important role in the Accelerated Schools model. Emphasis is placed on the relationships between the school, students, parents and community. An accelerated school displays a true democratic society; one where everyone's ideas are valued and are expected to prompt new ones. The community helps make any decisions regarding the curriculum, instruction and materials used in the classroom. In order for the school to run smoothly, the relationship between the community and the school must be solid. In the classroom, with students working so closely with their peers on achieving set goals, strong relationships are bound to be forged. This cohesiveness is only natural when students work together, help each other, and learn from each other.

Much in the same way that accelerated schools promote "collaboration and interaction" among the students, Montclair is not too far off the grid as these schools. In our classroom for example, students are given the chance to work with one another on projects such as Wiki's. We are able to bring our ideas and thoughts together on one page, "sharing" what we have read and "learned" from the information provided to us. We continue to grow not just as students, but as individuals as well. Projects such as these help us to work with one another, challenging both ourselves and our peers. It is not just a one way street in which the teacher teaches and the students sit back and learn. It is a very active enviorment for both parties, much in the same way that accelerated schools are.
 * Vll. "Shared Teaching and Learning" in our classroom**


 * Vlll. Benefit of Accelerated Model in our Classrooms**

I think the biggest benefit of incorporating the Accelerated Model into our classrooms is that the curriculum is centered around treating at risk children like students who are gifted and talented. The old "drill and kill" lessons are removed from the agenda along with worksheets that only cause the students to fall further behind. So many times, teachers find out that they are receving a student in their class who has special needs, so the teacher takes a cookie cutter approach to that child and any other student who demonstrates the same characteristics as the previous student. The Accelerated Model helps the teacher find out what the student's strenghts are and to work with them through said strength. As mentioned earlier, the interaction of peers and sharing of ideas is a key point in helping put children on the same page in understanding one another.

Founder of the Accelerated Model, Henry Levin noted in an article labeled "Accelerated Schools: Building on Success" the problem is that many schools have a mission statement, but no mission or a vision statement without a vision. If the teachers and administrators have a vision in their hearts and a belief that drives their daily behavior, then that is the first step into putting the school on the path of an Accelerated program. Too many times, administrators want to tackle every problem at once, the key is prioritizing and knowing what has to be focused on.


 * lX. Statistics**

Thomas Edison Elementary (Sacramento, California)
 * 1989 - 103 days of suspensions and 7 break-ins ; 3 years later after the accelerted program was put into practice, only 34 days of suspensions occured with no break-ins
 * Standardized test scores had risen for the entire sixth grade class in all three areas tested
 * 5 years after the first article was published about the Accelerated Program, there were 150 additional schools incorporating the Accelerated Program in 17 states.

Hollibrook Elementary School (Huston, Texas)
 * Enrolls more than 1,000 students, most of which are new immigrants from Central and South America. Roughly 90 percent of said immigrants come from families below the poverty line. In 1988, fifth-graders were about two years below grade level in reading and language arts; they were also below grade level in mathematics. Three years later, those same fifth-graders were slightly above grade level in their composite score and one year above grade level in mathematics.

Burnett Academy (San Jose, California)
 * Before 1990, was seen as a bottom of the barrel middle school. Enrollment was well below its expectancy capacity (in a system of school choice). Violence, gangs and low test scores were the main problems. Roughly 80 percent of the students were enrolled in remedial subjects. 2 to 3 years later, all eighth graders were enrolled in algebra and all seventh-graders in pre-algebra.

99th Street School (Los Angeles, California)
 * Enrolled around 700 students - two-thirds of whom are African American and one- third who are Hispanic. Among the 650 schools in Los Angeles, the 99th Street School was in the bottom 20th percentile in achievement in 1990-91. Gangs, vandalism, fighting, poor attendance, teacher turnover and low achievement were some of the problems plaguing the 99th Street School. But by 1992, reading scores had jumped from the 18th percentile to the 30th percentile - more than six times the average gain for the district, even after one of the worst urban riots in U.S. history. This jump was roughly 6 times more than what the average district did. Afterwards, students behavioral problems seemed to diminish and parents became more involved with their children's education.

**Questions or Comments**
[] [] [|http://www.tc.edu/accelerated/philosophy.] [|http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at600.htmhttp://www.answers.com/topic/accelerated-schools] http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&bquery=(accelerated+schools)+and+(criticism)&cli0=RV&clv0=Y&type=1&site=ehost-live http://eus.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/35/4/421 http://www.acceleratedschools.net/
 * GROUP MEMBERS:**

Jamie Fullam Briana McTique Allison Ruggeri Matthew Kimbell ||
 * Amanda Damato