When I became the principal of Fuller Elementary in Chicago, there were certain groups of students – particularly our male students – who were noticeably lagging behind their peers. My team and I knew it was important to close this student achievement gap, engage all students in the learning process, and better prepare our students for success on their state tests, in later grades, and beyond.
Our turnaround story is one that is still in process; however, we have already made great strides using a multi-faceted approach. Here are three ways we are working to drive student achievement and make our improvement goals a reality.
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Build a data culture
Data is so powerful in driving change in the classroom – from the way teachers teach to the way students learn. We started really delving into performance data to determine how groups of students were performing on grade-level standards. This allowed teachers to then individualize their instruction accordingly to meet the varied learning needs of all students.
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