Achieving success: Conejo Valley Unified School District

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Thoughts from the District Leadership...

"The beauty of SuccessMaker is that it allows the teachers to use the program as a tool to obtain reports that show where their students need help and where they're successful. Not only does the product help them move towards their targets, but it has a reporting feature that shows what skill levels need remediation and that is so important."

"SuccessMaker work very effectively for our English language learners. Kids feel very comfortable in this modality and I've seen tremendous gains by our students."

"I'm very pleased to report that after making the investment in SuccessMaker, not only the financial investment, but the investment of time, I can say with certainty that this product has helped drive our test scores up to help us meet state and national accountability. We have received numerous awards for Title I success, Blue Ribbon success, and California Distinguished School success. Our principals and teachers attribute part of that success to SuccessMaker and I'm very proud of that fact."

Former Superintendent Dr. Robert Fraisse

A Principal's Perspective...

"At Acacia Elementary, we started by using our Waterford program for our initial readers and our English language learners, in particular. They do very well in developing reading skills on Waterford and then they move right to SuccessMaker from there."

"SuccessMaker is a great tool for the classroom teacher. It allows for students at a higher level to achieve at a higher level. At the same time, it allows a student who is performing below standards to achieve at that level as well."

"Waterford is a very motivating program for young students. It is very interactive. There is a lot of singing and movement and it has a lot of characters. Our students thoroughly enjoy the program." "We are pleased to know that when we're using these programs, we're using viable programs. We're getting good results with it. It's reliable."

Jean Gordon
Principal
Acacia Elementary School

Home > Successes > Waterford / SuccessMaker > Conejo Valley Unified School District

Conejo Valley Unified School District
Thousand Oaks, California

Location

Whittier Elementary School is located four blocks from the west side of Chicago in Oak Park, Illinois. The school is a part of the Oak Park Elementary School District which is located 10 miles west of the Chicago Loop.

Conejo Valley Unified School District is located 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles, California, and serves a suburban, largely middle to upper middle-class community.
There are 22,456 students enrolled at Conejo Valley Unified School District in 29 school facilities.
Approximately 14 percent of the students receive a free and reduced price lunch.

The district serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Ethnic Breakdown

The ethnic makeup of the student population is approximately:
- 72 percent Caucasian
- 17 percent Hispanic
- 1 percent African American
- 8 percent Asian
- 1 percent Native American
- 1 percent Other

Challenges Presented

A priority for Conejo Valley Unified School District was to differentiate curriculum for all learners. The district wanted a digital solution and service that students would respond positively to and that could report student's progress.

Finding a sustainable company whose product was research-based and that would stand behind their product was another factor in their decision to partner with Pearson Digital Learning.

Solution — SuccessMaker® and Waterford Early Reading Program™

Conejo Valley Unified School District implemented Pearson Digital Learning's Waterford Early Reading Program in 2000 and SuccessMaker in 2003. Programs are funded by Title I, school improvement funds and grants.

The SuccessMaker program was piloted at Title I sites. Those test sites were so successful that additional sites were added. Ten elementary schools now have full curriculum site licenses and 10 sites have anywhere from 10 to 32 licenses. The Home School Component at two elementary schools and the Many Mansion Children Services Organization are currently in early implementation of the SuccessMaker program. In addition, two middle schools are using the program and, at one site, they have coordinated efforts with the Boys and Girls Club.

The rotation and weekly schedules vary utilizing both school labs and classroom stations, with the majority of schools running labs. Before and after school programs also use the SuccessMaker program and Conejo uses the SuccessMaker program for summer school intervention and enrichment.

Results

During the first year of implementation at Acacia Elementary School, English language learners (ELL) were selected to use the SuccessMaker program for one hour a day for two months prior to taking the state test. The school's test scores increased by 45 API points! Since implementation, there has been a continual rise in scores.

"In choosing the SuccessMaker software for our district, we were very pleased to choose a company like Pearson Digital Learning that has a lot of data and a lot of research-based work behind it. We're pleased to know that when we use the program, it is a viable program and we are getting good results with it. We see reliable gains that in our programs and our students are indeed matching the gains that we see on STAR testing, for example, or when we do benchmark assessments in the classroom," says Jean Gordon, Principal at Acacia Elementary School.

At the district level, the number of students identified as "below basic" has reduced by 60% over the last two years.

The district is moving forward with the implementation of best practices. All elementary schools have made an implementation plan with specific target populations focusing on results with SuccessMaker usage.

What the students are saying...

"SuccessMaker has helped me catch up on my math facts. It knows when to bring me on to the next level. My life in math will be a little easier now!"
— Angela

"I think it is good because I learn new things...SuccessMaker takes it to the extreme!"
— Ian

"It is helping me fully master the things I already know, like addition and subtraction facts. SuccessMaker also teaches me new skills such as division."
— Monica

"I like looking at my score to see how well I did. I like it because then I can try to improve my score the next time."
— Sunna

"I think SuccessMaker is a good computer program because you can go at your own pace."
— Ali

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