The Basic Schools Network
Dr. Mary Ellen Bafumo, Director

 Addendum Statement

 As the Basic School Network awaits the results of its three year pilot school evaluation, preliminary results are overwhelmingly positive.

• 4 schools were identified as exemplary for their standardized test score achievement:

  1. David Cox Road Elementary, Charlotte, North Carolina
  2. Jackson-Keller Elementary, San Antonio, Texas
  3. Public School 7, New York City, New York
  4. Willard Model School, Norfolk, Virginia

• Willard Model School students, predominantly African-American, had test scores that surpassed the national norm for non-minority students
• Public School 7, in New York's Spanish Harlem, was removed from the State's SURR list (school under registration review) in the 1 1/2 years it has been a Basic School, - a fraction of the normal time for improvement. The New York Times ran a headline about P.S. 7's news. Principal Robert Negron noted,"Our progress would not have been possible without our model of excellence, The Basic School."
• Irving Weber Elementary Teacher, Gina Rau, received a national award from the Subaru Corporation for the service project she conducted with her classes.
• Clinton Kelly Elementary in Portland, Oregon was cited by the U.S. Department of Education for its model parent involvement program - "Kelly House."
• Prairie Star Elementary in Leawood, Kansas and Mantua Elementary in Fairfax, Virginia have consistently had high test scores among their student populations.
• State Departments of Education in California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York and Texas are interested in the Basic School as a model for their schools in need of improvement.
• Evaluation results show that the Basic School has these positive effects:

  1. Provides schools with a common language and focus
  2. Is responsive to diversity, is open and flexible
  3. Creates cohesiveness, reduces teacher isolation
  4. Involves and empowers teachers, parents, students, communities
  5. Creates an exemplary culture in the school
  6. Provides intangibles (caring culture) that improve test scores, discipline, absentee rates

Schools interested in renewal can be assured that the activities of the Network were developed using years of research on effective schools and best educational practices. The research base for the Basic School Network's four priorities for school renewal are extensively documented in Ernest L. Boyer's report, The Basic School: A Community for Learning, available through Jossey-Bass, Inc. Primary researchers and practitioners whose work informed the concepts in the report are listed below. A reading of any of their works demonstrates rigorous scholarship and deep engagement in practice.

Research Base

Community: Thomas Sergiovanni.

Curriculum: James L. Bean, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Susan Drake

Climate: Robert Slavin, David and Robert Johnson

Character: Thomas Lickona, Kevin Ryan, Eric Schaps

Parent Involvement: Joyce Epstein

Pilot schools in the Basic School Network completed extensive parent, teacher, principal surveys to collect base-line data in year one of the project and for two years after that. Results showed progress in each of the four priorities for renewal. Some pertinent results are listed below.

Survey Data 1995-1997

• high ratings for parent-teacher, teacher-student relations
• the school's climate is respectful and welcoming to children, parents, teachers
• teachers are perceived as knowledgeable, skilled role models for children
• many programs exist to meet the social, emotional & learning needs of children
• high levels of teacher satisfaction
• high levels of parent satisfaction
• high use of community resources to expand learning opportunities
• many business partnerships to enhance resources in the school
• classrooms that are well supplied with learning resources
• increasing levels of technology use in classrooms