Small Steps to Big Leaps: Urban Students Gain By Michael Casserly, Executive Director, Council of the Great City Schools Published in USA Today May 19, 1999 In a single year, Angie Lebron, a fifth grader at New York City's P.S. 130 in the Bronx, made a remarkable leap from struggling mathematics student to math whiz kid--proof of what urban students can accomplish when they receive the right kinds of support from federally funded programs. Two years ago, when Angie was a third grader, she scored at the 36th percentile in math on the California Achievement Test. Then she began participating in the 24 Game Jumping Levels math program, an intensive math improvement effort mounted by her school district with federal Title I funds. By the end of fourth grade, Angie's math scores had soared to the 90th percentile. A shy and determined Hispanic pupil, Angie has excelled in a school that enrolls many children from low-income families. Like thousands of other schools, P.S. 130 receives federal funds through a program called Title I, which aims to improve reading and math achievement among disadvantaged students, mostly in the elementary grades. In the earlier years of Title I, eligible students were typically pulled out of their regular classes for part of the school day and placed in separate, remedial reading and math groups. But now, as a result of changes to federal law made in 1994, the neediest schools have greater flexibility to design more effective "schoolwide" approaches that help all students reach higher standards. Urban schools have been in the vanguard of developing Title I strategies that combine a schoolwide approach with high academic standards. Big-city districts are using Title I funds to reduce class size, put research-based reforms into practice, provide professional development to teachers, conduct after-school and summer programs, and strengthen parental involvement. These approaches are paying off in the form of achievement gains among Title I students in urban schools. A recent study by the Council of the Great City Schools, Reform and Results: An Analysis of Title I in the Great City Schools, 1994-95 to 1997-98, documents this progress: Eighty-eight percent of urban school districts that provided test results reported gains in reading scores among Title I participants, and 83 percent showed gains in Title I math scores. Over 90 percent of urban school districts reported increased parental involvement in school planning and personnel and curriculum selection. San Francisco, Philadelphia, Memphis, Chicago, and Fort Worth are among the several districts that have seen encouraging achievement gains in math and reading in their Title I programs. For example, the percentage of fourth-grade students in the Fort Worth school district who passed a statewide reading exam increased from 36.6 percent in 1994-95 to 58.7 percent in 1996-97, to an impressive 73.3 percent in 1997-98. At a time when many Americans have lost faith in the government's ability to make positive change, this record of Title I achievement is a story that deserves attention. Citizens need to know that right in their own communities is a federally funded program that is working. Soon the Congress will be considering legislation to reauthorize the Title I program. Legislators ought to acknowledge the progress made in many urban schools in the past five years and keep those program features that have contributed to these gains, while continuing to find ways to accelerate improvement. But can we reasonably expect low-income schools to continue this upward trend? Jaded adults might take a lesson from Angie Lebron. After improving her test scores and her classroom work, Angie didn't rest on her laurels. Last June, she also beat out 60 other finalists to win the 4/5-grade division of the 24 Challenge Math competition for the entire New York City school system. Her first small steps led to an impressive leap. We can make the same leap. This message sponsored by the Computer Curriculum Corporation.