Tohatchi elementary rises above the rest by Zuzana Zelenakova

Tohatchi Elementary School is a place in New Mexico where about 220 children are getting education. Vast majority of the kids attending the school are Navajo and most of them are classified as economically disadvantaged. Traveling many miles each morning to get to school is daily routine for them. Several years ago Tohatchi Elementary was a sad example of low proficiency school and in 2006 it was ranked 410th out of the state´s 431 schools. That was a clear sign that complex systemic change is needed. School´s quest for improvement has begun at that point. Much of the credit for accomplishment of this mission belongs to principal George Bickert, who just came to ! the office in that period. "I do think several staff members thought I was crazy, but I believed in the faculty and staff that we had, and more importantly I believed in our students and parents," he said. "Know your students. Everybody around the country is struggling with English language learners and students with disabilities, but you need to know what categories your students fit into and find out what your students need," he commented on the fact that approximately 80 percent of children at school belong to the category English Language Learners. George Bickert managed to attract children to learning as he made the whole education process fun and healthy competition that children are always fond of. Those students who had the best results in weekly tests were announced on Monday morning and classes that achieved 100 percent proficiency were awarded pizza party. After some time parents became aware of the improvements too. Teachers became truly accessible to parents, w! ho gained insight into their children´s school progress t! hrough w eekly tests and homework brought home. “I think we'll continue making AYP (adequate yearly progress) and just move farther and farther along that road," says the new principal Vanessa Holly about maintaining what was gained through hard work and lot of optimism and dedication.

related story (sgx15603): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091012/ap_on_re_us/us_improving...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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