Focus on TUSD - March 2007

Hollinger and Pueblo Gardens "Best-in-Class"
Hollinger and Pueblo Gardens Elementary schools are among 20 of Arizona's "best-in-class" schools that will be highlighted at an upcoming conference. The "Determined to Succeed," conference will introduce benchmarking as a school improvement tool. It is sponsored by the Arizona Department of Education in conjunction with Arizona State University.

The conference, set for March 26-27 in Tempe at the Sheraton Airport Hotel, 1600 S. 52nd St., is open to all K-12 educators.

The 20 best-in-class schools, which include district and charter schools, were identified in a study by Prism Decision Systems LLC that analyzed three years of AIMS assessment results for Arizona schools in grades three, eight and 10.

Those schools that had the highest performance for their levels of poverty and English-language learners were considered benchmark schools.

"Arizona educators want to know what higher performing schools are doing, so they can reproduce those effective practices in their schools," said Arizona schools chief Tom Horne.

"Benchmarking is an improvement discipline that will provide us the framework to do just that. It allows Arizona schools to find peers with similar demographics whose students are making significant gains in academic performance," he said.

The 20 schools will present the programs, strategies and practices that contribute to their success and offer insights to lower performing schools with similar characteristics. These schools represent diverse urban, suburban, and rural demographics with wide ranges of poverty and English language learner populations.

All Arizona schools with complete data sets over a selected three-year span were included in the study. Final participation included 801 third-grade, 415 eighth-grade, and 377 10th-grade schools. More than 90 of these schools received benchmark status and 20 were then selected to present best practices at the conference.
The deadline to apply for the conference is Thursday, March 22. The cost is $175.

For more about the Determined to Succeed conference, go to www.ade.az.gov under "hot topics" or call 1-602-364-2066.

In addition to Hollinger and Pueblo Gardens, "best-in-class" schools and their districts are:

• Alhambra Elementary: Alhambra Traditional School.
• Balsz Elementary: Balsz Elementary.
• Chandler Unified: John M. Anderson Elementary.
• Charter: Arizona School for the Arts (Phoenix) and Luz Academy (Tucson).
• Douglas Unified: Stevenson Elementary.
• Glendale Elementary: Horizon Elementary.
• Glendale Union: Glendale, Sunnyslope and Washington high schools.
• Hyder Elementary: Dateland Elementary.
• Paradise Valley Unified: Larkspur Elementary.
• Phoenix Elementary: Silvestre S. Herrera School.
• Scottsdale Unified: Anasazi Elementary, Arcadia High and Cheyenne Traditional.
• Sedona-Oak Creek Unified: Big Park Community School.
• Wilson Elementary: Wilson Elementary School.

TUSD - Proud Supporter of Small Classes

Unless otherwise noted, all photos in the March issue by Jes Ruvalcaba of Communications & Media Relations.

The deadline to submit material for the April Focus is Friday, April 6. The Focus will be published Friday, April 13. Email submissions to Chyrl Hill Lander or Sharon Dunham in the Communications & Media Relations Department or use the Focus Online Submission Form.