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Deerlake Middle School

"I believe in this program. It works. If implemented correctly, it can improve math scores, guaranteed."
—John "Jackie" Pons, Principal, Deerlake Middle School

Highlights

• Received an "A" in school performance for five consecutive years
• Made AYP for the past four years
• Scored over 500 in total FCAT points for four consecutive years
• Scored 523 points on the FCAT in 2002–2003, making it the top public middle school in Florida and the only public secondary school in Leon County to score over 500
• The only public secondary school in the state of Florida awarded NCLB Blue Ribbon status and one of only 12 public middle schools in the nation.

Profile

Principal John "Jackie" Pons receiving the 2005 Blue Ribbon Commendation Award from United States Congressman, Allen Boyd.

Deerlake Middle School lies in the suburbs north of Tallahassee in the Leon County School District. Serving grades six through eight, the school enrolls 1,350 students. The community has an ethnic make up of:  81 percent Caucasian, 13 percent African American, 3 percent Hispanic, and 3 percent Asian. The majority of the student population comes from middle to high income socioeconomic backgrounds, with seven percent of students receiving free and reduced price lunches.

Goals

Deerlake Middle School needed to prepare its students for the FCAT and Stanford 9 and also wanted to address all performance levels of the FCAT—not just Level 1. Focusing across all curriculum groups throughout the school was also a goal. Ultimately, Deerlake wanted to leverage SuccessMaker through all school groups—even to those students earning high school credits—because of the program's proven effective instruction in algebra and other higher level skills.

Solution

In 1999, Deerlake implemented SuccessMaker for their math program, and then included the reading program in 2001. Because SuccesssMaker focuses on and builds upon students' basic skills, the school began by having all children performing below the 50th percentile participate in an extra daily math period.  It provided 25 minutes of direct instruction with a certified math teacher and incorporated the remaining class time on SuccessMaker. Says Principal Jackie Pons, "We have a certified math teacher running our lab, which makes it really successful. She gets their [the students'] skill levels up, knows what teachers are teaching, and gets kids prepared to succeed in math classes."

Deerlake has also leveraged SuccessMaker's assessment capabilities to help isolate strands, identify student weaknesses, and provide highly targeted instruction. After working with the software to identify areas of improvement, students return to the classroom and the certified math teacher works with them to further develop individual and basic skills.

An Integrated Approach.  By grouping students according to their performance levels and by providing efficient, targeted attention, Deerlake utilizes a creative, results-oriented approach. Students performing above the 50th percentile attend the lab twice a month with their math teachers, rotating so that every student in the school has an opportunity to use the program.  Students performing below the 50th percentile use the program daily.

A Successful Implementation Model.  "One of the problems is that principals don't understand how to incorporate an implementation model. We have a plan that ensures kids are successful," says Pons. "I believe in this program. It works. If implemented correctly, it can improve math scores, guaranteed."

Prioritizing SuccessMaker as a key part of the school's instructional strategy has proven highly valuable, but it has also taken a serious commitment to ensure the program is allotted enough time in the school day. According to Pons, "Students must have time to go into the lab to work with SuccessMaker and to work with a teacher who understands the current implementation model."

Deerlake has formulated its implementation model based on in-depth data analysis, and has focused the goals of moving students up through FCAT levels and improving the norm. While seemingly simple, the key elements identified for success include:

• A highly professional staff: a certified math teacher to staff the lab
• Proven technology: lab workstations with SuccessMaker courseware
• Adequate space: enough for computers either in a lab or in the classrooms
• A data-driven strategy: for Deerlake, this means at least 25 minutes per day or more for each student on the system followed by direct instruction that links specifically to a student's areas of need
• Training/professional development: to ensure maximum success, all teachers are trained on the system usage and understand how to produce and leverage report data.

Pons understands the high value of training and how it benefits both students and teachers: "One of the things we enjoy most about SuccessMaker is the training component. Our teachers feel the training opportunities are presented in a way that makes it easy for them to understand and implement the program. The implementation model of this product is the key to its success in any school."

Results

Deerlake's plans for success are yielding great results. As Pons points out, "We are one of the highest performing middle schools in the state of Florida. In 1998, we had 56 percent of our students at level 3 or above. Last year, we had 92 percent of our students at level 3 or above and had the highest standardized test scores on the state's FCAT."

Data indicates that performance is on the rise since implementing the SuccessMaker program, with the school scoring over 500 on the FCAT total in 2005. Since 1999, average scores in both math and reading have risen substantially. In 2005, Deerlake's reading scores on the FCAT averaged 33 percent higher than national averages, and math scores averaged 34 percent higher.

FCAT Performance: Deerlake vs. National Average

"We are very proud of our Pearson Digital Learning's SuccessMaker product. It has been a vital part of the success we have experienced here at Deerlake," says Pons.

Based on the success Deerlake has demonstrated, the Leon County School District has moved forward with the implementation of SuccessMaker Enterprise at 20 elementary schools and three additional middle schools.

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