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Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss
Life Monument Funds, Inc.
Yeshivot and Jewish Day Schools
New York, NY


Highlights

• Since Pearson Digital Learning SuccessMaker Enterprise was implemented, there has been a direct correlation between SuccessMaker use and increased scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) in Yeshivot and Jewish day schools.
• For the 2001-2002 school year, Yeshivot and Jewish day schools using SuccessMaker Enterprise scored higher on the ITBS than the average for the state of New York.
• Since implementing the program, teacher support for SuccessMaker Enterprise has grown, with feedback indicating that the system supports classroom instruction, contributes to academic proficiency, and allows students to work independently and stay motivated.
   

Profile

The Gruss Life Monument Funds, Inc. (Gruss Foundation) provides funding for Yeshivot and Jewish day schools in New York City and Long Island, New York.

In 2001-2002, the Gruss Foundation launched an initiative to improve secular education for 3,000 elementary school children in 15 Yeshivot and Jewish day schools in the New York City and Long Island areas. As part of the initiative, each school received a computer laboratory, the SuccessMaker Enterprise electronic courseware system, and support from a supervisor and two Education Program Liaisons (EPLs). In addition, each school provided an onsite lab manager.
 

Challenge/Goals

In Yeshivot and Jewish day schools, students spend between 10 and 20 hours a week on general studies, with the remainder of the week being dedicated to Judaic Hebrew studies. A program was needed during the challenging general studies time frame to maximize teaching and learning, and raise test scores in reading and math.
 

Solution

The Gruss Foundation identified software and sent requests for proposals to Yeshivot and Jewish day schools in the New York area. The foundation then reviewed proposals, visited the schools, and made its selections for funding. In September 2001, the Gruss Foundation placed 15 servers, 250 desktops with SuccessMaker courseware, and 450 site licenses in the schools. This courseware configuration included five Foundations courses in math and language arts: Initial Reading, Reading Readiness, Reader's Workshop, Spelling Skills, Math Concepts and Skills, and Exploreware courses in Math Investigations®, Reading Adventures Primary™, Reading Adventures™ and Reading Investigations™.

There are now a total of 41 labs with an average of 25 computers in each lab, and more than 9,000 students in kindergarten to fifth grade using the courseware. Students work on SuccessMaker Enterprise two times per week in math and reading for 40 minutes each session.

The labs are run by site managers, with staff development provided by the Gruss Education Center. Teachers, principals, and site managers were all trained on the SuccessMaker Enterprise courseware, and Staff Development helps teachers strategize based on reports generated from the courses. Four educational program liaisons work with the schools to assist in the program’s implementation. EPLs act as liaisons between the Gruss Education Center, Pearson Digital Learning, and participating schools. During the summer the EPLs prepared documentation for site managers, and received extensive training from Pearson Digital Learning on the program’s Exploreware courses.

Students working in a SuccessMaker Enterprise lab.

Several schools are incorporating SuccessMaker Enterprise into their teaching and producing very positive results.

Yeshiva of Flatbush is individualizing its instruction, and beginning to integrate the SuccessMaker curriculum with the traditional classroom curriculum.

At Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, West Hempstead, NY, "Teachers are very enthusiastic about SuccessMaker Enterprise", says educational program liaison Aryeh Majerowicz. "Many teachers are telling me they can accomplish more because of the software." Majerowicz says that many students who have been introduced to concepts in the lab are able to accomplish the skills in the classroom in one or two days, as opposed to the three or four classroom days needed in previous years.

Yeshiva K’tana of Queens held a Parents General Studies Teachers Night, and enrolled the parents on SuccessMaker Enterprise in the computer lab. According to Reva Bloch, educational program liaison, "The parents are very excited about the new program, and enjoyed a hands-on-experience of the programs their children are using in school. The parents are looking forward to seeing the application of this exciting new educational tool used for their children’s general studies program."

Rasha Grossman, general studies principal at Yeshiva K’tana, is also very excited about the program. "I’ve been involved in education for 30 years, and have taught grades 3-12, and I am so thrilled to see a program that encompasses all the reading and word attack skills in addition to the more sophisticated literary analytical skills. It is a pleasure to observe how exhaustively the creators of SuccessMaker have covered every facet of reading: word attack skills, vocabulary comprehension skills, literary analyses, and implicit definition of figurative language."
 

Results

Staff at Yeshivot and Jewish day schools wanted to see the effect SuccessMaker Enterprise had on students since its implementation in 2001. The Gruss Foundation took a control group of 15 schools using SuccessMaker and compared its results on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) with the general New York state ITBS scores. The difference was outstanding. The students in the control group raised their ITBS scores from the 2000-2001 to 2001-2002 school years by 10 percent, and exceeded the New York state average.

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