Josh Smith is principal of a middle school in a network of public charter schools called West Denver Prep. Charter schools are publicly funded but not operated the same as traditional public schools. Mr. Smith says he likes to show his students this graph so they can see their school's progress.
Many of his students have parents who do not speak English. He likes to play word games with his students, like having them expand their vocabulary by finding another way to say "I’m good."
JOSH SMITH: "Good morning, Daisy."
STUDENT: "Good morning, Mr. Smith."
JOSH SMITH: "How are you this morning?"
STUDENT: "Phenomenal."
JOSH SMITH: "Phenomenal! I love it."
Eighth grader Juan Soltero says games like these, and studying hard, have helped raise his expectations for himself. He says he wants to be an electrical engineer.
JUAN SOLTERO: "The teachers, they really want you to learn. They really do love you. They give you support and talk you through things. It’s not just about academics. You have to be comfortable in learning so you can just stick it in your head."
On average, students enter sixth grade at West Denver Prep performing below grade level. But three years later, most are outperforming other students across the state.
The new assessment method shows that, each year, the average West Denver Prep student learns more math than ninety-four percent of all the students in Colorado. Reading and writing scores also show growth.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25