Replicating ATS success — what are exact differences
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Anonymous
Right. Because ATS is a choice school. Because it's a self selecting group, that's about 75% of the success right there. |
Anonymous
We're not at ATS but this is the best list I've seen. It actually identifies things that I could see making a difference, vs. the standard "tuck in your shirts" and "cares about behavior" and "teaches citizenship" nonsense that people usually cite as the differences. (Nonsense because all APS schools care about behavior and teach citizenship). That said, #4 and #7 are the only two in the numbered list that I don't think are universal across APS, which begs the question of whether/how APS is implementing everything else differently from other schools. Requiring all students to play instruments, sing in choir, be part of safety patrol is different from other APS schools, and I could see it being a positive but am not sure that alone explains the differences. Maybe it is the cumulative impact of everything ATS does? (aside from tucked in t-shirts. that one is nonsensical. Then again, I don't tuck in my t-shirts either so maybe I just don't get it). My teacher friends who have taught at private and public say the biggest differences there are the number of involved parents. Maybe ATS just attracts more type A+++ than other schools too and their kids would do just as well anywhere. Just my speculation here. Carry on DCUM! |
Anonymous
DP. ATS has erased the achievement gap according to previous posts. Why shouldn't parents go to principals and ask would ATS's practices work here? Veteran teachers at our school don't know anything about ATS. I asked last year after reading about it. They said they don't know much about it. |
Anonymous
More than 75% I think. Probably 90%. There are some things that can be replicated, but you aren’t going to be able to fix the main ingredient for ATS’s success in narrowing the achievement gap. |
Anonymous
Every school should do weekly progress reports. I don't know how teachers find time to do them, but I learn so much about my kids and we deal with issues before they become problems for either the teacher or my kids. Weekly assembly is big part of the culture and creating community. The other things are about helping develop the whole student. Giving ALL kids leadership opportunities and opportunities to perform and speak in public. Good life skills. It used to be school uniforms, now it's tucked in shirts. All kinds of families are there but parent involvement is expected. 37% FRL. 34% EL with 24 different languages. 12% SWD and home to a countywide autism program and VPI classes. |
Anonymous
So does every other elementary school in the system. This is NOT what sets ATS apart. Every school in Arlington will say they have and set high expectations for all of its students. This is NOT what sets ATS apart. Each school in APS has its "unique" traditions and parties. This is NOT what sets ATS apart. Each school my children have attended, regardless of model project, discuss and emphasize character, community, and academic success. This is NOT what sets ATS apart. I don't know what specific thing it is that does set it apart; my kids didn't attend and I don't have direct experience. But I don't buy the "self-selection" argument. From my conversations with ATS parents I've known over the years, I think the "secret sauce" ingredients include: 1. holding every single student to the SAME HIGH standard - not a standard or goal individualized to each child. They believe and expect every student can and will meet those standards. 2. expecting and extracting each student's best efforts and best work - with those highest expectations and standards as the goal 3. every student taking up a musical instrument (music and brain development....scientific credibility, folks; as well as expanded opportunity or exposure v. schools where it's optional) 4. and apparently instructional methods employed, per AEM and DCUM commentaries (not shifting with the winds, sticking with something when it works) Here's one example of a significant difference from many years ago, OP: The summer reading program/goals at our kids' elementary school was 10 books. Summer reading expectations at ATS was (oh shoot, I forget if it was 25 or 50! someone else here surely knows?) Regardless, it was MORE THAN DOUBLE our school's. And the "reward" for the students meeting the goal at our school was a cookie party. At ATS, it was a field trip to the zoo. While it may have been a challenge for some kids to read ten books, it was nothing for most of the kids who actually did it. They were not significantly challenging those kids. Which brings us to another key difference between ATS and at least many of our other elementary schools: 5. demographics and resources Yes, yes, I know ATS has many low-income students and a diverse student body. But it is not the low-income levels of our Title I schools and is not the same level of ELL as those schools in particular. OP, I agree with others that taking this to your principal is a bad idea. This is something that people need to start pushing at Central office. I am wholeheartedly opposed to merely establishing a second ATS. Every school does not need to be ATS. Every school just needs to be as academically engaging as ATS at least seems to be. The biggest issue I have with the schools my kids have attended is the watering down of expectations, the lower level of intensity (versus what people describe at ATS). Students meeting expectations is "good enough" and they are not necessarily pushed (in general by the school - perhaps by some individual teachers) to push themselves beyond that. Again, I think this is a bigger issue at the highest FRL/ELL schools because the school's primary need is to get every student on grade level and they have far more students who need far more focus to get them there in the same amount of time. I'll add another one in the what distinguished ATS column: 6. Dress codes. People believe them to be sexist and racist. I don't think shirts have to be tucked in; but why is it sexist to require every student to have their butts and mid-sections covered? I'll be put in the sexist camp, but I don't think young girls need to have a lot of cleavage showing either. Not because it's their fault if some boy gets excited or assaults her; but because it is clearly unnecessary and inappropriate in the school setting. I'm not buying the "individual expression and proud of my body" crap. Teen girls are dressing the way they do specifically for the attention, whether from their friends or from the boys. And boys don't need to have their pants hanging off their asses either. Regardless of all of that, a real dress code (uniforms in particular) contribute to better focus on the purpose at hand: school. They take away other distracting nonsense and instill a sense of discipline and school pride. Dress codes don't have to be overly restrictive and can still allow for individual expression. |
Anonymous
This is an example of how a socioeconomically diverse school environment yields success for everyone. I just don't get why others don't see this, especially leadership. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
Clearly not, given we have other choice schools that are entirely "self-selected" and do not have the same outcomes. |
Anonymous
My eldest was at Tuckahoe and then she got into ATS the year after. Both ATS and Tuckahoe have very involved parents and Tuckahoe had more of a community feel (all the parents know each other... not the case at ATS). So when it comes to parental involvement, I don't think there is a lot of difference between ATS and other affluent North Arlington schools (I just say affluent North Arlington schools because my experience with neighborhood schools is limited to Tuckahoe so I'm extrapolating and thinking of the schools that are very much like Tuckahoe demographic wise.. i.e. Nottingham, Jamestown, Discovery etc.) |
Anonymous
If self-selection is the achievement gap fixer, why don't the other choice programs have the same effect? |
Anonymous
Those demographics are similar to Abingdon. FRM lower than abingdon which is a title 1 school but pretty close. |
Anonymous
I agree with this. There is a reason that clinical trials are randomized. Parents who don’t have the capacity to add an extra complication to their life, who are turned off by the focus on academics, who don’t care that much about elementary education, etc are not applying. Those things are not going to be measured by income, race, or disability status. That said, it sounds like some of the things they are doing could be helpful in other schools. The weekly reports and focus on academic basics, for example, would have been better for my kids. |
Anonymous
I just posted. We were at Tuckahoe but then switched to ATS. I see a lot of difference when it comes to 5. The kids in ATS are just more disciplined. Not sure why but there is less bad behavior in the classroom, less bullying (not to say that it was terrible in Tuckahoe). This year a student in third grade threw an eraser (I believe) across the room. It has been the talk of ATS lol. Things like this are so when they happen everyone - students, teachers, staff know about it. Number 1 and 2 are also different. So not sure about the self contained classrooms (it was the same in Tuckahoe.. maybe its different for the older grades?). But the way the instruction is delivered is different. In Tuckahoe its mostly small group instruction. At ATS they have time set aside for small group instruction but most of the time its the entire class doing the same thing together. Not sure which one is better but I think for my second child (who gets easily distracted) the entire class doing the same thing together seems to be a better fit. My eldest, who went to Tuckahoe and then ATS seems to be fine no matter what the method of instruction is. She's very focused and self motivated. As for 2, I don't know if it actually makes a difference but it seems to have an effect on the attitude of the teachers. In back to school night, my eldest daughter's teacher who taught in another Arlington school for two years and then moved to ATS, said that what we likes about ATS is that ATS cuts out the fluff. The fluff is nice according to her and makes you feel good but there are only a set number of hours in the day, so we need to focus on the basics. I think a teacher with that attitude about "fluff" is going to be a very different teacher than a teacher that embraces the "fluff" (not to say that its negative but that's what that ATS teacher called it). |
Anonymous
PP who had a kid in Tuckahoe but then switched to ATS. Yes to all of the above. |