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Bethune Elementary School

"The SuccessMaker program has enhanced achievement in reading and math through daily practice. This curriculum provides self-motivated progress, and the students look forward to each SuccessMaker session."
     Julie Ball, Second Grade Teacher, Bethune Elementary School

Highlights

• Bethune Elementary has been eligible for the District's Quality Performance Award the past two years. These are schools whose achievement exceeds expectations despite their high percentage of poverty and non-English speakers.
• Bethune shows a consistent increase the last three years in quality education gains according to a 2000-2001 Minneapolis Public Schools report.

School/District Profile

Bethune Elementary school is located in a low-income area of Minneapolis, and is part of the Minneapolis School District 1. The school enrolls approximately 480 students. The ethnic population of Bethune is fifty-six percent African-American, forty-one percent Hmong (Asian), and three percent other. Ninety-five percent of the students receive free or reduced-price lunch. Bethune Elementary spans from pre-school to grade five.

Challenge

The challenge to Bethune Elementary, as a predominantly low-income, non-English speaking school, was to increase student gains in reading and math.

Site Goals

Achieve one or more year, accelerated gains in reading and math.

Solution

Bethune Elementary has two SuccessMaker labs, each with 30 stations. All students were selected to use the program in grades one through five from September 2000 - June 2001, for 25 minutes a day, five days a week. Kindergarten students also used the program from January 2001 - June 2001 for 25 minutes a day, five days a week. According to Valeri Linder, a fourth grade teacher, "Students are on task for 25 minutes, feeling successful at both reading and math because it is at their level. It is excellent for the teacher too! We see exactly what they understand and what needs more attention."

Off-line interventions are provided in lab to address weak areas as they occur. The classroom teacher reviews the concepts or skills with the help of manipulatives, worksheets, or other tools. Student/teacher conferencing ensures comprehension, and SuccessMaker worksheets are run weekly to support the school's improvement plan.

Students in grades three through five record daily session scores and explore averages in classroom math activities. "My students and I love going to the SuccessMaker lab. The students keep track of their scores daily. They love to see the progress." says Diane Walker, a fourth grade teacher at Bethune.

Julie Ball, a second grade teacher says, "I have seen my students' progress reports on a monthly basis. The students and I cannot wait to see their growth each month. The SuccessMaker program is a welcome addition to our curriculum".

Bethune has come up with some creative ways to reward successful students through positive reinforcement:

• Students earn points in lab based on achievement and behavior. When 25 points are accumulated, students can draw from a prize box.
• A certificate is given to every student that receives a session score of 100%.
• The curriculum coordinator determines when students are meeting their target levels with SuccessMaker. The student is then recognized with a trophy, and the student's name is added to a Bethune SuccessMaker plaque.

Results

A district report has been compiled for the last three years by Minneapolis Public Schools. The results for Bethune show a consistent increase in achievement:

Many schools in the Minneapolis District, including Bethune Elementary, have a high percentage of students who live in poverty and do not speak English. Poverty and limited English language skills can greatly affect academic achievement. Research shows that many students who live at or below poverty level do not enter school as prepared to learn as those above poverty level.

Non-English speakers are challenged to learn not only the subject matter, but the language as well.

Using SuccessMaker, Bethune elementary has exceeded performance goals and as a result has received the District's Quality Performance Award two years in a row. Additionally, Bethune is a "Beat the Odds School" because it has achieved results despite its high percentage of poverty and non-English speakers.

With the help of SuccessMaker, Bethune Elementary has managed to increase student achievement despite poverty and language issues in the school. The success the students feel can be summed up in the words of Tammi Lesney, a first grade teacher at Bethune, "My kids love going to the SuccessMaker lab because they always feel a sense of accomplishment and success. If we are working on a skill in the classroom, I always have at least one student who says 'Hey, I did that in my SuccessMaker lab!'"

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