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Chief Napew School

"We are seeing the gains that we like to see. It has confirmed and supported our purchase of the software."
     Vince Hill, Teacher and Network Administrator, Chief Napew School

Highlights

• Chief Napew students achieved a single level grade gain and more, reporting as high as two plus grade gains for some students.
• Pearson Digital Learning SuccessMaker generates reports when needed, shows where the students are having difficulty, and provides teachers with the tools for intervention.
• The professional development has helped many teachers formulate their long-term educational objectives for their classes and raise expectations in the classroom.

School/District Profile

Chief Napew is a First Nations school located in northwest Saskatchewan near the town of Pierceland, enrolling 350 students. The reserve land which was assigned under Treaty Six in the 1870s covers approximately 4,700 hectares. The Big Island Lake Cree Nation community as of the February 2002 census has 793 members.

Challenge

Chief Napew school students have had a tremendous age/grade discrepancy. According to Vince Hill, Teacher and Network Administrator,"It hasn't been uncommon to find students working at two grades below the level at which they should be working."

Solution

Chief Napew implemented a network of 41 SuccessMaker licenses in 1998.

All Chief Napew School students from grade one to grade nine receive forty minutes of SuccessMaker instruction per day. Reading and math programming are the focus areas.

Chief Napew School also has a learning centre for adults to re-enter the educational process and upgrade their skills in preparation for GED equivalency and/or the Adult Grade Twelve Program. SuccessMaker has played a major role in helping this unique group of students achieve success.

Results

Initially the expectations for SuccessMaker were conservative. Mr. Hill wanted to see at least one grade gain for the first year for each student as a minimum.

Chief Napew students achieved the single grade level gain and more, reporting as high as two plus grade level gains from some students.

The SuccessMaker Management system provides information on the most critical steps of the process. It generates reports that show where students are having difficulty, and provides teachers with the tools for much needed intervention. Teachers then tailor their pedagogy to address these needs. Teachers are increasingly taking advantage of SuccessMaker's great potential.

Worksheets, generated to address individual areas of difficulty, provide supplementary tools for teachers.

According to Mr. Hill, some students "can't get enough of it." Nor can their parents, who "love it" and ask that their children have worksheets printed out for homework. Parents are readily able to see the advantages and want their children to achieve expected levels when they graduate.

Off-site training sessions and on-site refreshers continue to keep the teachers informed about what they can do with SuccessMaker. This has helped many teachers formulate their long-term educational objectives for their classes and raise expectations in the classroom.

Contact us for additional information on how Pearson Digital Learning can help you achieve results with SuccessMaker Enterprise.