Judging by the Phoenix school's recent ranking as Arizona's 2005 Distinguished Title I School, it's a message the inner-city pupils are taking to heart. Only 36 schools nationwide earned the award, which requires academic gains over several years, including spikes in Measure of Academic Progress test scores and in state assessments, such as Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards test.
Only 10 of Arizona's nearly 1,100 Title I schools made the cut to apply for the award because of the state's rigorous criteria. Shaw is the first Phoenix Elementary School District campus to earn the honor.
School officials credit
implementation of research-based reading and
math programs, mandatory tutoring, better
alignment to state standards, parent-teacher
partnerships and outreach to businesses for
pupils' progress.
For the 585-pupil school, where 99 percent of
the students are minorities - many of them poor
and/or English-language learners - the award
screams "validation." It's especially welcome in
a state that ranks at the bottom when it comes
to minority student achievement, district
officials said. For example, Arizona's Latino
dropout rate is more than double the national
rate, estimated at about 15 percent.
"Shaw proves that minority children can learn
when there is focus in the classroom and good
leadership," said Phoenix Elementary's
Superintendent René X. Díaz, alluding to Shaw's
Johnson.
Much has changed since Johnson arrived at the
school a decade ago, to find students barely
speaking English.
"I'm a fan of bilingual-ed programs that work. I
think they're wonderful," Johnson said. "But
Shaw basically had a monolingual Spanish
program, which left the kids at a disadvantage.
I made a conscious effort to correct that."
Raising the achievement bar for disadvantaged
students is the basis for Title I, which at
$12.3 billion, is the largest federal-aid
program in K-12 education. It annually pours
more than $221 million into Arizona schools.
Phoenix Elementary schools receive about $7.1
million each year.
At Shaw, the funds help pay for "Success for
All," an innovative reading program where pupils
start the day with a nearly two-hour reading
block and read for 20 minutes daily at home.
Parents or teachers sign off on the after-school
reading assignments.
A glance inside Shaw classrooms during first
period finds pupils engaged in lively readings
of Do Stars Have Points? which retells
man's first trip into space, to the traditional
Tortoise and the Hare tale.
"What's a moral?" asks teacher Paula Seeley of
her multilevel reading group.
"Something that teaches you a good lesson,"
responds third-grader Edith Balderas, eliciting
a thumbs-up from her classmates.
Soon they're huddled in groups of two, a
cooperative teaching approach that bolsters
reading fluency.
Shaw's pupils are grouped by reading level,
regardless of their actual grade standings.
They're tested every two months and reassigned
according to their progress, said Mary Ellen
Phillip, Shaw's language arts facilitator.
"It's a very effective approach because in every
(traditional) classroom, there are kids that are
advanced or struggling, and grouping them by
levels works to their strengths and challenges
them," she said.
Shaw's parents hail the school's multifaceted
approach to teaching.
"I'm so glad my kids come here because they
think of innovative ways of keeping them
engaged," said Yesenia Quintanilla, a school
volunteer whose sons Angel and Gerardo attend
Shaw. "Isn't that what learning is all about?"
Reach the reporter at
mel.melendez@arizonarepublic.com or (602)
444-8212.