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Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
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Find a professional development program to improve the academic success of all their students.
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Educators promote learning about learning through the common language of neurodevelopmental constructs.
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Grades 3, 4 & 5 achieved almost 95% proficiency in reading and math. Recognized as an Honor School of Excellence and provided financial rewards to the staff.
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THE SCHOOLS ATTUNED PROGRAM
SUCCESS STORY
KITTY HAWK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
“With the Schools Attuned Program, we spend more time looking for strengths rather than weaknesses. It helps us keep focused on bringing out the best in students.”
-- Bruce Shepard, Assistant Principal, Kitty Hawk Elementary
Fast Facts:
Demographics: K-5 public school with 708 students and 50 teachers
Number of Educators Participating in the Schools Attuned Program: As of October 2004, 28 teachers and one administrator.
Delivery Channel: Schools Attuned Program, North Carolina. Since 1998, teams of public school educators throughout the state have participated in the Schools Attuned professional development Program due to funding from the North Carolina General Assembly. The state pays each educator's tuition of $1,500 and the individual pays a $50 non-refundable registration fee. As of June 30, 2004, more than 2,050 North Carolina educators have participated.
School or Institution Philosophy: Kitty Hawk Elementary School seeks to create a challenging learning environment that encourages high expectations for success through developmentally appropriate instruction that allows for individual differences and learning styles.
Challenges: Dare Country Board of Education was in search of a professional development program that would challenge its high performing schools to continue to improve the academic success of all their students.
Action: After researching several professional development programs and learning more about Dr. Levine’s philosophy, the Dare County Board of Education knew that the Schools Attuned Program was the best fit for their district. The philosophy of the Schools Attuned Program supports the belief that all students can be successful once they understand their learning strengths and weaknesses.
Within 2 years, 60% of the Dare County educators have had the opportunity to participate in the Schools Attuned Program through the North Carolina state funded program. The goal is to have 100% of all educators from Dare County participate in the Schools Attuned Program within the next few years.
Implementation: Kitty Hawk Elementary School uses a comprehensive approach to meet individual student needs.
- Educators promote learning about learning through the common language of neurodevelopmental constructs.
- Teachers try a wide range of classroom strategies to meet a student’s individual needs, based on observations of breakdown points that they learned about in the Schools Attuned Program, before referral to the student assistance team for consultation.
- The student assistance team is comprised of an increasing number of Schools Attuned Program participants, including staff from all grade levels, resource teachers, a counselor, psychologist and administrator.
- Educator-parent working relationships are fostered by early contacts, at least three during the first two weeks of school.
- Parents are also involved with the school through committees, parent-teacher association meetings, open house evenings, and discussion groups on learning about learning.
- Community relationships are further enhanced through strong volunteer efforts in the classroom, as volunteers work with students at multiple levels and learn about neurodevelopmental principles from the staff.
- New staffers who have not yet participated in the Schools Attuned Program are exposed to the constructs through viewing Developing Minds videos, observing model lessons in the classroom, discussion groups, mentoring arrangements and exploring the Schools Attuned Program materials in the professional development library.
Impact: To date, Kitty Hawk Elementary has experienced these results:
- In 2003, students in grades 3, 4 and 5 achieved almost 95% proficiency in reading and math.
- The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction recognized Kitty Hawk Elementary as an Honor School of Excellence and provided financial rewards to the staff.
- Exceptional and regular education children were successful in making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and passing end of year tests.
- Parents have a positive view of Kitty Hawk’s teachers and administration and work well with school staff throughout the year due to the focus on student’s strengths and the overall involvement between parent, teacher and student.
- Teachers are motivated and enthusiastic about the program, because they see a direct correlation between the strategies they learned in the Program and their students’ academic success.
- Teachers now have a common language to share with their colleagues and can communicate more effectively with each other.
The Schools Attuned® Program is a comprehensive professional development and service delivery program that offers K-12 educators new methods for recognizing, understanding, and managing students with differences in learning. The Schools Attuned Program embraces the philosophy and principles of All Kinds of Minds, a non-profit Institute that helps students who struggle with learning measurably improve their success in school and life by providing programs that integrate educational, scientific, and clinical expertise.
For more information about the Schools Attuned Program and All Kinds of Minds, visit
www.allkindsofminds.org.
SCHOOLS ATTUNED® and ALL KINDS OF MINDS® are registered marks of All Kinds of Minds © 2005
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