YOUNGSTOWN SCHOOLS Targeting pupils' needs

The program is available in third through eighth grade.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Educators in the 17 elementary, middle and junior high schools in Youngstown city schools have a new tool in their belts to help pupils improve scores on state proficiency tests.
Following the Leaders, an initiative based in Washington, D.C., has granted the district membership in a computer-based program that helps teachers determine the skill level of each pupil and target tutoring programs to each child's specific needs.
Youngstown is the site of 17 of the 23 schools across the state selected to participate in the program. It is also the largest district in the nation granted the software, said Jerome Parm, the district's administrative specialist for data analysis and supervisor of intervention programs. He said Youngstown needed the help and Following the Leaders was interested because the district is beginning to show promise.
"We've been very busy over the last year," Parm said. "We're very pleased that they were able to accept us. We're starting to see the fruits of all the hard work of all the staff ... and I think Following the Leaders saw our potential."
Has helped 500 schools
Following the Leaders is a nationwide initiative of the Education Leaders Council and its partners. The program is in its second year and has assisted 500 schools in 11 states. Support has come from $3.5 million in federal funds in 2002-03 and $10 million this year, said Kimberly Tulp of the Education Leaders Council.
"Youngstown has the greatest concentration of schools in Ohio," Tulp said. "They've really made a commitment to using the resources in the bulk of their schools."
In Youngstown, the program first will be used to enhance reading and math skills of pupils in extended-day and summer school programs but is also available to any teacher in grades three through eight, Parm said. And classroom teachers and extended-day teachers are able to communicate easily through the system, an alliance that Parm said is a key ingredient for pupil success.
Assessment, tutoring
The software that is used is the Princeton Review's Homeroom assessment program and Achievement Technology Inc.'s SkillsTutor instructional program. They allow educators to give pre- and post-tests to pupils to see at what skill level they begin and how they progress. Tutoring lessons are then assigned to help fill in the gaps.
Teachers and pupils interact with the curriculum via computer, Tulp explained, but teachers can also create printed forms of materials if necessary, and youngsters can access lessons from home. Resources can be used on a number of scales -- from the testing of an individual pupil to testing of the entire district, Tulp said.
Parm said building principals, systems operators and some teachers have been trained to use the programs. Schools can access tools from the Internet and are provided training and support, Tulp added.
Besides the New York City-based Princeton Review and Achievement Technology of Newton, Mass., other partners in the program are AccountabilityWorks in Washington, D.C., the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Dayton and the Milken Family Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif.