AFT redesign project points the way for school improvement in Mass. 

The Ingalls School in Lynn, Mass., needed to change teaching and learning. Identified by the state as a school in need of improvement, Ingalls staff took action and joined with four other Lynn schools in the AFT’s Redesigning Schools To Raise Achievement (RSRA) project.

The efforts of the staff in redesigning their curriculum and allotting time differently have resulted in increased test scores, fewer discipline problems, reduced special education referrals and increased attendance.

Since 1998, RSRA has helped districts around the country build the capacity and partnerships that are so crucial in raising student achievement. Training of-fered through the AFT’s Effective Leadership for Academic Achievement is a key component of RSRA, and it was a springboard for improvement when staff and administrators at Ingalls launched their improvement plan this school year.

As a means of moving to real standards-based instruction, staff agreed to reorganize into teams that have specialists in subject areas. Now early elementary grade level teams have a math and language arts specialist. By specializing, teachers become experts in the state standards for that subject.

In addition, teachers redesigned the school day to reflect an increased emphasis on literacy, math and science.

Walking through the Ingalls school, visitors can identify the standards the students are striving for in each classroom. Displays of student work in the hallways demonstrate the students’ work in meeting the standards.

AFT executive vice president Antonia Cortese visited schools in Lynn, Mass., this spring and came away impressed with the level of mutual respect and coopera-tion among administrators and staff.  The district exemplifies “the role that the AFT’s RSRA program plays in building a union-administrative team around a mis-sion to improve schools,” she observed.