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Ahtahkakoop First Nation School

Profile

Ahtahkakoop First Nation School is located in a rural area of Shell Lake, Saskatchewan, northwest of Prince Albert.  The school enrolls 336 students in kindergarten through grade twelve on the Ahtahkakoop Reserve.  The population is mainly aboriginal students and the language spoken is Cree.  The Reserve has a population of 1,200 residents.

Challenge

Ahtahkakoop School wanted to improve its reading, language arts and math skills among students in grades one through eight.  Long term goals for the students consist of obtaining jobs and contributing to their community.

Solution

Ahtahkakoop implemented the Pearson Digital Learning SuccessMaker courseware in September of 2000.

The students selected to use SuccessMaker are those falling behind academically due to attendance issues, personal problems, and other special needs.

The lab setting includes eight to ten students per grade level at one time, and one class per grade level using SuccessMaker.  Each session is thirty minutes, three times a day.  The students take SuccessMaker courses in English, reading, math and spelling.

The students at Ahtahkakoop determine the speed of their growth and work at their own level.  For example, six children from grade five may be using SuccessMaker, each at a different level customized to the student’s particular learning ability. 

Results

At Ahtahkakoop, there is a strong correlation between the amount of time SuccessMaker is used and the gains being made.  For instance, one student at the school was improving on a consistent basis using SuccessMaker for two hours a day.  Due to a change in his schedule, he was only able to use SuccessMaker for half that time, and gains were not as prominent. 

• SuccessMaker Math Concepts & Skills report for 2002 indicates that students ranging from grades one through eight made an average of a full year in just 32 hours of instruction.
• A student with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome has soared almost three grade levels using SuccessMaker in less than a year and a half.
• At 2002 report for a SuccessMaker’s Spelling Skills course details how students in grades two through eight all began at an enrollment level of 2.  After 27 hours of SucessMaker use, the average gain made was almost a full year.
• Students in grades four through six using SuccessMaker Reader’s Workshop began at an enrollment level of 2.8. After 26 hours of instruction, the student had already increased their achievement by 1.5 years.

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