All of the stories published in Changing Schools (Volume 1,
Number 2) are now available on MiddleWeb. If you'd like to order a hard
copy of our newspaper about Louisville middle grades reform, you
can order it here for the price of postage.
Here are the stories published in the paper edition of Volume 1,
Number 2:
JCPS's strategy to retool
middle schools relies on educators' willingness to grow -- The Focused
Reporting Project team examines the Louisville school system's strategy
to improve its middle schools. The middle schools' poor performance on 1996
state testing (note) has
"pumped new life into JCPS's promise to pursue standards-based reform,"
the team found. "The crisis sharpened the focus of district leaders
and softened resistance to reform in the schools."
"Teacher cadre" leaders
will help spearhead middle school reform -- For the next year the Louisville
schools will encourage middle grades teachers to redesign their lessons
around state and district academic standards and use "authentic assessments"
linked to those goals to analyze individual student progress throughout
the school year. To implement this strategy, the middle grades leadership
team is creating a "teacher leadership cadre" -- a pair of teachers
from each middle school who will be expected to develop and spread expert
knowledge about standards and assessment in their own buildings. Can it
work?
Clark Fellows add their expertise
to JCPS's middle school reform mix -- Five master middle school teachers
help lead Louisville's standards-based reform efforts.
"The Flood of '97"
-- Here's one veteran teacher's early experiment with authentic assessment,
including student assignments, a description of the standards covered, a
scoring guide, and an example of student work.
The Highs and Lows of Parent-Teacher
Conferences -- The Jefferson County Public Schools' increasingly popular
parent-teacher conferences could be the perfect place to build partnerships
that support higher academic standards. But first the district must establish
clear guidelines for their purpose and content. This story profiles several
conferences, some more successful than others. A sidebar offers some parent
conference tips for teachers.
Middle school leadership duo
pushes high-stakes reform agenda -- JCPS middle school advocate Sandy
Ledford and Clark Projects director Sherry DeMarsh have day-to-day responsibility
for inplementing the district's middle school reform agenda. "In the
past, some people saw the whole KIRIS thing as a game," Ledford says
in this interview with the two reform leaders. "Now there's an understanding
that it's not a game and we can't just slip by."
Principals challenged
to be "captains of school reform" -- If Louisville expects
its middle school principals to be leaders of standards-based reform, "we
need the same information our teachers are getting, so we can turyly be
partners in solving some of our curriculum and instruction problems,"
says Johnson Traditional School principal Linda Miller. But as she and others
acknowledge, many principals are behind the curve. They hope the district's
new professional development plan will make the difference.
The Sporting Life --
Are high standards and high expectations just too much to ask of some kids?
Not if they get enough attention and motivation, say the organizers of "Sports
Club," a public-private venture that's turning around the lives of
hundreds of JCPS middle schoolers.
Adults "make the
connection" with Louisville's young teens -- More than 1,000 community
volunteers learned something about the dreams and fears of Louisville's
7th graders during conversations about school, career aspirations, and "the
real world."
ORDER THE NEWSPRINT EDITION
To receive a copy of the newsprint version of Changing Schools in Louisville,
send a self-addressed envelope with $1.01 postage to Kevin Kirkwood, The
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, 250 Park Avenue, Suite 900, New York, NY
10177. Ask for "Changing Schools in Louisville, No. 2."
Back to the Table of Contents for Changing
Schools in Louisville.