Hartford schools make gains

Two years ago, the teachers and school administration in Hartford (Conn.) public schools took a big risk. The district traditionally ranked dead last in state assessments of student achievement, and almost every elementary school in the district was on the state's list of low-performing schools. The situation was unacceptable, educators and administrators agreed. Rather than pointing fingers or whitewashing the problem, both sides committed to join forces, to improve student achievement based on additional resources and supports for students and teachers, better communication with frontline educators and implementation of a school improvement strategy that had at its heart a research-proven reading program.

In January, the first signs that those risks were being rewarded came when Connecticut announced the latest round of student scores. Test scores in Hartford schools had surged since the district implemented the Success for All early reading program in almost every elementary school. The percentage of students meeting the state's goal in reading increased 11 percent in fourth grade, 7 percent in sixth grade and 12 percent in eighth. In math, the gains were 13 percent, 21 percent and 11 percent, respectively. So impressive were the gains that nine out of 11 elementary schools in the district scored high enough to be removed from the state's list of low-performing schools.

"There is a lot of excitement about the results," says Hartford Federation of Teachers president Cheryl Daniels. "The real proof of the pudding will be next year," when the full impact of the districtwide reading program, Success for All, is felt. Daniels anticipates that scores once again will rise dramatically.

The gains, Daniels stresses, are a testament to the dedication of educators in the classroom. "Reforming an entire system is extremely difficult," she says. "It was important to get our members to 'buy in' to the reforms."

Additional supports and resources--such as summer school, afterschool programs and additional materials for classroom teachers--played a vital role in the recent improvement.

Information was key. The local has spent the last two years holding regular updates for members through union meetings, site-based visits and an education reform newsletter. The union also made it possible for community and executive board members to visit other communities to see total school reform in action. Additionally, administrators, educators and union leaders from Hartford attended the union's 1999 Quality Educational Standards in Teaching (QuEST) conference as a team. That helped generate new ideas and foster cooperation among administrators and educators.

American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO - 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW - Washington, DC 20001