Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/515703
Quote: "I think a big part of what we did was our collaboration. We were able to allow time once a week for teachers to collaborate and plan lessons and observe one another, providing each other with feedback," says teacher and literacy coach Evette Ramirez, whose position is funded by QEIA. What worked: Teachers spend hours every week in brainstorming sessions assessing student data, planning lessons together. In her literacy coach job, Ramirez helps model lessons for colleagues and promotes quality pro- fessional development. Having Principal Alex Cortes be a strong advocate for QEIA goals and her position mattered because "you can have the extra funds, but it's how you use them that matters." She says the principal "wants teachers supported so that they can be success- ful, and the students in turn can benefit from having the best teachers possible." What changed: Lauderbach Elementary was named a California Distinguished School in 2012 and was one of 56 Cali- fornia public schools to earn a Title I Aca- demic Achievement Award in 2013 from QEIA IN ACTION SMALLER CLASSES INSPIRE at Francisco Sepulveda Middle School in LA TRUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL INSPIRES PARENTS at Harmon Johnson Elementary in Sacramento West High School TRANSFORMS LEARNING CULTURE in Bakersfield Visit www.cta.org/QEIA to read more about these QEIA successes. the California Department of Education. Title I is the largest federal program for K-12 public schools and assists students living at or below the poverty line. The school also won a National Center for Urban School Transformation award. San Diego County: Award-winning Chula Vista school shines QEIA School: Lauderbach Elementary • DISTRICT: Chula Vista Elementary School District. • SUCCESS FACTOR: Teacher collaboration. • API SCORE IN 2013: 845. • STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS: 809 students; 91 percent Hispanic; about 85 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunch- es; 75 percent are English learners. Evette Ramirez 28 www.cta.org Feature