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You
are here: Student Academic Progress: Making a Differenceby Hajara Rahim
This is my ninth year as principal at Van Asselt Elementary and my twentieth year with Seattle Public Schools. When I came to Van Asselt in 1995, we had a student population of 269 with 8 regular education classrooms, 3 special education self-contained classes and .5-resource room teacher and 1.0 ESL teacher. Our demographics were-70% F/R lunches; 30% -ESL; 65% Asian; 30% African-American; 5%-other. We have steadily grown over the years to a population of 425 students (to possibly 470 in 04-05) 82% F/R lunches; 75% ESL with 52% ELL; 70% Asian; 15% Hispanic; 15% African/ African-American.
The student academic progress Van Asselt has been able to achieve has taken several years. This is the first year that we have been able to meet the goal of NCLB although we have made steady progress each year. This is very challenging in that we have over 70% ESL students and families and 18% Special Education students. It has been a multi-pronged approach with many players.
The most important part was getting all teachers on the same page. This was accomplished with variety of sources all focused on student achievement: Washington State Standards, Seattle School District Student Standards, Teachers' Professional Practice Standards, SEA Teachers' Union contract negotiations, School Transformation supported by Gates Grants, and district-wide professional development for administrators and teachers.
As we continued to narrow our focus on interpreting school data and designing our school program to support identified needs, several issues came into full view. We needed:
1. To establish a school climate that made everyone feel valued as a contributing member. To accomplish this we:
- Engaged in staff team building strategies using personality profiles, small group and large group activities and discussions.
- Aligned our curriculum K-5 so that the curriculum materials, assessments and teaching strategies were consistent throughout the building.
- Held Monday Morning All School Assemblies where students are recognized for their accomplishment. School academic and behavioral expectations are constantly reinforced.
- Held school based professional development to support our Transformation Plan
- Restructured our BLT (Building Leadership Team) to ensure shared decision making and staff input into important issues
2. To focus on and monitor student achievement, we:
- Reviewed and disaggregated our State and District test scores (ITBS; WASL: DWA; DRA; WLPT) to view our overall progress and to identify students needing extra support
- Developed a Frequent Assessment Monitoring Plan which consist of K-5 Fall, Winter and Spring school based assessments in reading, math and writing to track individual student progress throughout the year
- Refined our SIT process (Student Intervention Team) to better support teachers and students needing additional attention or services through early identification (October) and follow-up.
- Identified students needing extra support for our after school program (Team Read for grades 2-3 and CLC for grades 4-5) with snacks and transportation home
- Held parent meetings, activities and conferences to inform parents about student standards, our Transformation Plan, how to help their child at home and to gather input as to how to better serve their child.
3. To improve our instruction through our Transformation Plan, we;
- Identified curriculum and instructional strategies with supportive professional development —Thinking Maps NSF; Project GLAD
- Aligned instructional strategies; curriculum units; grade level expectations and assessments K-5
- Hold grade level and cross level team meetings to discuss curriculum, student work, student progress; planning; professional development needs
- Hired two Literacy Block teachers to lower instructional groups size K-5
- Use our support staff to support classroom instruction for our ESL and Sp. Ed students.
My contributions to this effort were:
- To provide needed information and guide staff in the decision-making process. Without staff buy-in through the decision making process, a principal cannot get the support needed to make necessary changes.
- To create a climate where teachers, parents, and students feel like valued contributors. We, also, need have fun, recognize and celebrate our successes.
- To provide necessary support and resources for teachers to be able to do their jobs—teach students.
- To monitor classroom instruction and provide feedback to ensure that we are all on track and moving in the right direction.
- To minimize distractions
- To continually work on school climate and environmental issues that affect the spirit.
Hajara Rahim is the Principal of Van Asselt Elementary School in Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, New York and began teaching in NYC Public Schools in 1966 as an elementary teacher. She received her Master's Degree from Hunter College in Manhattan in 1976.
After moving to Seattle in 1978, she worked with Neighborhood Headstart as an Early Childhood Education Consultant from 1979-80. She accepted a position with Seattle Public Schools Special Programs from 1980-84 as an Early Childhood Education Consultant for the City of Seattle-- Headstart Program.
In 1984, she decided to return to the classroom as a Kindergarten teacher at Orca Alternative Elementary School because she missed working with the kids. There, under the leadership of Lawrence Jacobs, she experienced a very nurturing and supportive environment for staff, students and their families and developed many of the skills that helped shape her leadership style.
In 1992, she became Head Teacher (Assistant Principal) at Hawthorne Elementary under the mentorship of Principal John Morefield. Under his guidance and encouragement, she continued to develop and refine her leadership qualities. She enrolled in Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington and obtained her Administrative Credential in 1994.
In 1995, she began her current principalship at Van Asselt Elementary, which has shown much growth and change under her leadership.
She be contacted via email at hrahim@seattleschools.org.
© December 2003 New Horizons for Learning
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