We’ve Achieved Real Success with SIG Schools
Below are data for two schools that engaged the Institute’s services after receiving school improvement grants. The first is Grant High School, which was a Priority School several years ago, but is now ranked in the 92nd percentile statewide. Former Grant Public Schools superintendent Scott Bogner says: “The first year, we did not contract with the Institute. It wasn’t until the second year that we actually did that, and it was the best thing we could have ever done, because the structure that was brought to our improvement efforts was life-changing.”
Current Superintendent Jonathan Whan credits IEE’s coaches with respectfully but vigorously engaging Grant’s teachers in two-way discussions of better ways to teach, adding: “The more tools you have in your toolbox, the old saying [goes], the better carpenter you are. They help our teachers sharpen their tools.” You can hear more of Grant’s story in the videos posted below.
The second school is Lee High School (three of its students are pictured above). IEE began work with Lee during Lee’s first year with a school improvement grant, and the school’s progress has proved significant and sustainable. As Lee High School Principal Kathryn Curry says, “The changes that IEE has helped us to make are now embedded into what we do every day.” Math teacher Regina Grube asserts “we would not be where we are today without IEE” and points to a revolution in teamwork. “In addition to the standards-based grading shift they helped us implement — which was huge! — IEE pulled all of us together into one cohesive unit. We are working as an entire team focused on the success of the entire school.”
Both Grant and Lee have been identified as Rewards Schools and Beating the Odds Schools by the Michigan Department of Education.
In this brief video clip, former Grant Public Schools Superintendent Scott Bogner explains what school improvement meant to him—and to one of the students in his district. In 2011-2012, Grant High School’s average composite ACT score was 20.3. The school’s remarkable story was recently published by the JSD Learning Forward Journal in an article by IEE Executive Director Sherry Lambertson.
Our Services
IEE provides professional learning and instructional coaching services to primary and secondary schools. Our model is an on-the-ground, in-the-building approach to school reform. As your school’s service provider, we will have a team of experienced educators working directly with your school’s leadership team and district personnel to develop a program that meets the needs of your school.
Comprehensive programs include on-site coaching a minimum of three to four days per week. Our coaching teams include a leadership coach, a math coach, and an ELA coach. Ongoing, job-embedded professional development is a key component of our success with schools.
At Grant High School and Lee High School, we provided focused professional development based on the schools’ identified needs and placed instructional coaches in the schools at least three days per week. To learn more about the service packages we offer, click here.
We are an approved SIG provider. We can help you …
- Improve school achievement reports
- Influence individual subgroups
- Close achievement gaps.
What Our School Partners Are Saying
IEE works with—and succeeds with—both SIG and non-SIG schools. In this eight-and-a-half minute video, you’ll hear a variety of our school partners discuss our approach and our impact on their school communities.
