Will link research-based teaching, student data collection with classroom instruction

The Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis has received $2.3 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support coaching for Indianapolis Public Schools teachers and administrators and improve instruction in the district’s new small high schools.

Last year, the school district dissolved its five comprehensive high schools and created on those campuses a total of 21 smaller, autonomous schools to raise academic achievement and graduation rates. CELL’s ongoing support of these schools will include new professional development opportunities for school staff based on research-proven teaching methods and data analysis, and avenues for greater student participation through a youth leadership development program involving AmeriCorps volunteers. IPS has committed an additional $2.5 million internally to these initiatives.

“This grant reflects great confidence in Superintendent Eugene White’s leadership and the progress that has occurred over the past three years with CELL’s support,” said Lynne Weisenbach, executive director of CELL. “The financial commitment that IPS is making is an indication of the high priority the superintendent has placed on academic achievement and high school completion.”

The district will provide a half day every month to allow the entire staff of each small school the opportunity for intense on-site professional development. Teachers and academic leaders will learn how to monitor every student’s academic progress and use the data to guide their teaching. Staff also will receive ongoing coaching to better engage students, keep them in school and raise academic achievement.

Attendance at transformed high schools has increased in the past year, while discipline referrals have declined. Responses to a student survey indicate students feel more connected to staff members, a sign that one benefit of small schools – stronger relationships between students and staff – appears to be taking root.

“Last year, IPS focused on getting the structure of small schools right,” said Superintendent Eugene G. White. “This year, our effort is to provide rigorous coursework that will challenge and stretch our students.”

CELL has been working with IPS since 2003, when it received a grant of $11.3 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help establish new start-up high schools throughout Marion County (10 are now open) while assisting IPS in converting its large high schools to smaller, more personal schools that could provide rigorous instruction and monitor student progress more easily. The new grant extends that work with IPS through June 2008.

With this grant, as with previous funding, CELL will leverage resources across the city to raise achievement and graduation rates through ongoing support from the mayor’s office, and from the education faculty at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, who serve as coaches along with University of Indianapolis faculty. In addition to sharing expertise, faculty are taking their experiences back to the university level to ensure that new teachers are fully prepared for the challenges of a rapidly changing society.

More information about CELL: http://cell.uindy.edu
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: http://gatesfoundation.org