7/31/2019 Academic Leagues Tiered Academic Support Edwards Middle

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Academic Leagues atClarence EdwardsMiddle School / Boston, MA

Once amongthe lowest-performingmiddle schools in

Boston, Clarence EdwardsMiddle School is now oneof the most successfulturnaround schools inMassachusetts. At EdwardsMiddle School, expanded-learning time has allowedfor a differentiated,data-driven approachto instruction that has

resulted in dramaticacademic gains. Duringthe past three years,eighth-grade students atEdwards Middle Schoolhave entirely closed theachievement gap withthe state in math, andthey have dramatically

narrowed the gap in English language arts (ELA)and science.

Edwards Middle School has deployed a two-part strategy for boosting student learningand achievementa simultaneous focus onstrengthening instruction in core academicclasses and augmenting and reinforcing thatlearning through a tiered, academic supportprogram which the school calls AcademicLeagues. Meeting one hour each day, Mondaythrough Thursday, Academic Leagues provideeach Edwards student with tailored academicsupport in math, ELA, or science. AcademicLeagues feature small class sizes of 15 studentsand are led by Edwards teachers. Within theLeagues, students are grouped with otherstudents who are showing comparableweaknesses and knowledge gaps, so that

teachers can target instruction specicallyto their needs. Academic Leagues are anopportunity to give students extra time andmore targeted instruction, explains StephanieCrement, special educator at Edwards. Here, Ireally have an opportunity to do interventionand to target a particular group of students whoneed a certain kind of focused intervention.

To design the Academic Leagues, Edwardsfaculty teams initially pored over the existingcurriculum and student assessment data toidentify strands and standards that they believed

were not receiving sufcient attention in coreclasses. They then structured the Leagues toaddress these standards. Within this framework,teachers prepare their own lesson plans basedon their students needs. A key component increating lessons for the Leagues is the analysis ofinterim assessment tests that Edwards studentstake four to ve times a year. When we look atstudent data, we can determine the support thatstudents need based on how they performedwithin a standard. Then we will group studentsaccordingly, based on their performances withinthe standards, explains Amrita Sahni, directorof instruction. The data also allows teachers to

adjust pacing and content based on the results.Each year, considerable planning goes intodeciding how to place students in specicAcademic Leagues. Students who struggle inmath are assigned to a Math League for all fourdays; students who struggle in ELA are assignedto an ELA League for all four days; and studentswho are procient in both ELA and math (aminority of the students) are placed in theScience League. When students are struggling inmultiple areas, or are severely underperformingin one area, the instructional leadership team iscreative in identifying the right set of supportsfor the student. While most students at Edwardsparticipate in an elective class of their choicefour days a week such as theatre, break-dancing, art, or footballsome students areasked to scale back their elective classes to twodays and participate in an additional academicsupport during their elective time. For example,a student who scored very low in math and ELAon last years state assessment might be assignedto a Math League four days a week, and then,in place of one of his two electives, might beassigned another class two days a week where heparticipates in the Read 180 curriculum designedspecically for students with very low literacy

skills. This arrangement still allows the studentto participate in at least one elective twice aweek, with the incentive to work extra hardin order to earn his way out of the additionalacademic support so that he can take a secondelective. During the elective time, Edwardsalso offers a special math acceleration class forstudents with very low math skills.

Clarence Edwards Middle School

Principal: Leo Flanagan

School schedule: 7:10am3:45pm

Additional time compared tosurrounding district: 135 min/day

Student PopulationGrades served: 68Number of students: 496Qualify for free/reduced lunch: 87%

Students Scoring At or Above Profcienton the Massachusetts ComprehensiveAssessment System Test in 2010(difference compared to surroundingdistrict)

ELA: 56% (+5%)

Math: 40% (+4%)

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