Kermit R. Booker Elementary School

For the 2005-2006 school year, Kermit R. Booker Elementary School in Clark County Nevada did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as required by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and was designated as “In Need of Improvement” for English Language Arts. Booker’s 5th grade scores on the Nevada Writing Proficiency Exam were low and the school had set a goal of increasing writing proficiency across the whole school.

For 2006-2007, Booker Elementary made AYP with an “Exemplary” designation. Booker’s principal, Dr. Beverly Mathis, credits the work of the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) with Booker’s success, and TeachFirst with providing the PLCs with the focus, structure, and support they needed.

Booker Elementary had embraced the PLC model as a professional development strategy in 2003, but had not successfully implemented the PLC model across the whole school. TeachFirst was brought in to support PLC implementation and help the school meet their goals.

In alignment with their school-wide goals, the staff chose writing as the focus of their PLC conversations. PLCs met monthly and facilitators used TeachFirst’s instructional conversations to meet the specific needs of each grade level. TeachFirst helped Booker’s staff stay focused on their objectives while creating a culture of collaboration and support.

As a result, Booker ES saw an increase of 15% in their 5th grade writing scores on the Nevada Writing Proficiency Exam this year. This single success has had a ripple effect. In addition to making AYP, Booker was named as one of four new Empowerment Schools* for the 2007-2008 school year.

Booker’s success has inspired other schools in Clark County to engage TeachFirst to support them with implementing PLCs and creating a culture of effective teaching and learning.

*According to the Clark County School District:
Empowerment Schools were instituted in the CCSD in 2006-07 as part of the newly formed Superintendent Schools’ Region. They provide the principal, teachers and other staff with greater decision making authority and fewer central mandates. They have greater latitude in setting proposed improvement goals, along with increased independence over such things asbudget authority, selection of staff, curriculum, professional development, longer instructional day and year, scheduling and performance incentives.