Success for All Foundation Honors Edwin Loe Elementary for "Outstanding Student Success"

BALTIMORE and NEW TOWN, N.D., Feb. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Success for All Foundation a whole school improvement model designed to help schools thrive and achieve high levels of student success, gave the second annual "Dr. Robert Slavin Success for All Award" to Edwin Loe Elementary, located in New Town, North Dakota.

This award is given to a district or school that has achieved outstanding student success using the Success for All Whole-school Model for Improvement. Recipients demonstrate commitment to a high fidelity of program implementation for the research-proven strategies in Success for All, and a relentless focus on improving student achievement.

The award was presented to Edwin Loe during the opening keynote address at Success for All Foundation's Experienced Sites Conference held in Palm Springs, CA.

Edwin Loe Elementary started working with Success for All in 2019, and quickly achieved great results because of their commitment to the model. This school and team has embraced all the components of Success for All and has been relentless in making sure every student has every opportunity to be successful by setting high implementation standards for all teachers, staff, and students. Within two years of implementing Success for All, the school was released from the North Dakota list of schools needing improvement – which they had been on for 15 years. As a result of this success the district has decided to expand the model to middle and high school. They will begin implementation of The Reading Edge 2^nd Edition for middle school and implement cooperative learning processes school-wide in high school so that every student has the opportunity to be successful.

"One of the highlights for this school was getting off of the target school list in North Dakota which they had been on for 15 years. In 2019, they had 28% of students on grade level, today they have 71% on grade level," said Barb Haxby-Brady, an SFA board member. "Also, due to the success of their kids they are bringing on the middle school to do reading edge."

"The key to their success is they teach reading with urgency," said Jenell Bear, Principal of Edwin Loe Elementary. "Success has been due to a schoolwide commitment to all parts of the program. Everyone in the building knows how students are doing and everyone takes a reading group. This has allowed them to have much smaller class sizes and concentration on teaching reading to smaller groups of children. Buy in from the staff has been terrific. They come to meetings knowing their student data and are ready to brainstorm about what to do to increase reading and performance. Not just during SFA, but throughout the whole day."

When asked why she choose SFA, she said, "I chose SFA because of the cooperative learning piece, and it wasn't just a reading program. It encompasses all areas of the child. The attendance, the behavior, the culture of our school. It wasn't just a program, it was a whole school change, which was huge for us we really needed that."

"The fact that it is science of reading based has been huge for us this year," said Laura Schmidt, SFA Facilitator.

Nancy Madden, Cofounder and CEO of Success for All, said, "Edwin Loe's commitment to the implementation the Success for All improvement model is what makes their work so powerful. What is most impressive is the ownership of every member of the school community in the process of growth. The principal, facilitator, and teachers meet regularly to set measurable goals for growth, identify the strategies and actions they will use, and celebrate their progress together. Teachers take on responsibility for schoolwide improvement by participating in committees focused on strengthening attendance, positive school climate, and parent involvement. Students also set goals using classroom data, and challenge and support each other to improve. Everyone is working hard to use all of the tools available in Success for All to enhance students' growth. The level of shared accountability for success is tremendous – and clearly working!"

All students watched the program via a live video.

"They were very proud of this moment and they are excited to continue with SFA and have more students on or above grade level," said Principal Bear.

About Success For All Foundation

Founded in 1987, and based in Baltimore, Success For All Foundation's mission is to develop and disseminate research–proven educational programs to ensure that all students, from all backgrounds, achieve at the highest academic levels.

For information, go to https://www.successforall.org

Media Contact:
Makayla McDonald
(410) 616-2394
[email protected]

SOURCE Success for All Foundation