Dear Dr. Dzialo,
Oklahoma City Public Schools is in the process of implementing Great Expectations at all 54 elementary schools. Our District has a two decade history of elementary schools experiencing great academics and school culture improvement due to the careful implementation of GE.
In the 2010-2011 school year, OKCPS implemented GE at 27 of our elementary schools. The results were amazing! We have increased language and math scores and a significant reduction in long term suspension. This year, we are implementing GE at 27 more elementary schools.
I believe that the careful implementation of Great Expectations will have a significant impact on OKCPS, and I recommend that other schools districts consider such a positive and pro-active reform.
Thank you for the supports and opportunities presented by Great Expectations.
Sincerely,
Karl Springer
Superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools
January 21, 2011
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to express my support of implementing the Great Expectations program in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). The research and science behind the program, coupled with the results from our neighboring district, Spring ISD, indicate that Great Expectations positively influences student achievement and the learning environment.
HISD believes that this program offers a valuable solution to everyday challenges such as school climate, student engagement, and shared visions all of which contribute to the HISD Core Values, especially those of Common Decency, Focus on Results and Excellence, and Student Learning is the Main Thing. Administrators and student-support staff at Reynolds Elementary School have already been trained in the program and we are committed to extending that training to the full staff at Reynolds and at least two or three additional campuses over the next three years and then use that success to further expand the program throughout the district.
HISD is committed to offering such innovative and research-based program to the benefit of our students and we look forward to the development and expansion of Great Expectations across our district. I support this program and solicit your full support and consideration.
Sincerely,
Terry B. Grier Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
I cannot communicate the value that Great Expectations has added to MacArthur Middle School’s students, teachers, and parents. The Life Principles and Eight Expectations of G.E. have been a guiding force for the past 7 years in this school community. During this time we have seen a complete transformation in the culture of our school. I believe students feel respected and valued by the adults in the building, and this has created a reciprocal respect to the teachers. This modeling of respect has also caused students to become respectful to one another.
Teacher attitudes have been critically affected through Great Expectations. A culture of responsibility thrives at Mac Middle School that did not exist prior to implementation. Teachers take ownership of student learning in a way that they go beyond simply teaching the material and leaving it to the students to get it. Our teachers believe that if it’s important enough to teach, it’s important enough to learn and they are willing to do whatever is necessary to get students to learn. So, G.E. has changed the old mind set of “I taught it. I can't help it if they didn't get it.”
Being a G.E. Model School has also developed a climate of great responsibility for our students. The students truly believe that the adults are here to advocate for and help them, rather than being here to “catch them doing something wrong”. Once they began to believe this, students began to better trust the adults and believe what is taking place in the classroom really is important to their future. G.E. has helped us to be future focused and goal oriented, and when students believe what they are doing today is important to them tomorrow, they begin to take more responsibility for their behavior, attitudes, and learning.
The evidence that leads me to these conclusions can be found in our achievement scores, discipline referrals, student attendance, and student comments. Since 2005 we have seen an increase of an average of 9 percentage points in all but two CRT areas, and scores in those two areas have remain constant. Student referrals have decreased from 558 in 2008-9 to 378 in 2010-11, and the in-school-suspension program was discontinued in 2009-10 due to the low numbers of students assigned to the program.
The professional development provided to our staff by Great Expectations, and the ability to have a mentor on site to continually update new staff has been invaluable. Great Expectations is an overarching model on to which we have been able to hang every instructional and classroom management strategy utilized within our school, and the loss of funding and scholarships for Great Expectations would be very detrimental to the community of MacArthur Middle School.
Mark Mattingly
Principal
MacArthur Middle School
510 NE 45th
Lawton, OK 73507
580.353.5111
www.lilmac.org
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Candice Hodde, Teacher, Frederick High School
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