Different Ways of Knowing School Cited by The Education Trust

“Our school was on the state’s needs-improvement list. With more than ten different languages and cultures represented in our school, we were looking for a partner to implement an improvement plan that would help us focus our needs around our English language learners and translate that work into successful practices with all students. We needed more effective, schoolwide strategies to allow our increasingly diverse student population to meet the Oregon state content and performance standards, so we selected Different Ways of Knowing.”

“I saw students becoming learners and not just gaining knowledge they needed for a test. I saw teachers trying new things, taking new steps in their professional development, and working together to build commitment, focus, and accountability into their daily professional practice. Our reading scores on the state tests increased from 54 percent of third grade students meeting and exceeding standards in 2001 to 76 percent in 2002. And third grade students enrolled continuously at Jason Lee from 2000 to 2002 showed an 11-point gain in the state reading assessment compared to a 9.6 percent district gain.”

Christine Bogdanow, Principal, Jason Lee Elementary School, Portland Public Schools, Oregon