I have been working very closely with the Standards Plus program for several years now, first in my role as Assistant Superintendent of San Jose Unified School District and now in my role as the Assistant Superintendent of C & I in Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto, CA. Various colleagues and I conferred when I first arrived in RCSD last year and felt that RCSD needed some focused strategies and some “quick wins” in student achievement for the district. RCSD administrators and teachers needed to begin to believe in their accountability and reform work. Dennis Parker, Charlotte Knox and Michelle Karns advised me to confer with Angela Turner and work to implement the Standards Plus system in the district. After an introductory in-service with the administrators and literacy coordinator of the district, I was able to convince them that the reading and math intervention classes were perfect for piloting this system. We began serious implementation after the Winter Holiday break in January 2010.

This focused effort paid off very well in terms of student performance. Both the curriculum and Standards Plus helped move about 80% of the students in FBB at least one level and beyond. You can see this in our API data. We did not reach AYP in any of the schools but we cracked into the 700 club and hoping to get our first 800 school next year. We actually moved about 20 students out of the intervention curriculum because they moved into the proficiency band. More and more school administrators and teachers watched the progress of the students in intervention classes with great interest. Teachers were learning the grade level standards as they began teaching them through this series of mini-lessons. Teachers were also using the program and trying to refine their standards based approaches. More and more schools in the districts signed on after our test results came in August.

Rosa G. Molina, Assistant Superintendent of C & I

Ravenswood City School District

We made all of our goals. I am attributing it to Standards Plus. It is the one thing we did differently with curriculum.

Ann Buxton, Principal

Rosamond Elementary

Southern Kern Unified

Standards Plus is working really well for us. Our Scores are going up by leaps and bounds. Last year (2007-2008) our API went up 36 points. This year (2008-2009) we made gains in every single sub group. [34 API point gain for 2008-2009]

Jeff Varner, Principal

Parkside Elementary

Pittsburg USD

The teachers at our school love Standards Plus, and really pushed to continue using the program in spite of budget cuts.

Amanda Brannon

Richmond Elementary

Sierra Sands USD

Fantastic! Where has this program been during my 18 years of teaching?

Cindy Donovan

Dickson Elementary

Chino Valley USD

Standards Plus is our key focus to implement effective strategies to improve student learning. We have beenimplementing for about three years.

Umar Baba, Principal

Rosecrans Elementary

Compton Unified

It is my pleasure to recommend the Standards Plus English Language Arts and Mathematics programs to otherprincipals considering the implementation of a standards-based intervention which focuses, intensely, on the CA academic content standards.

Following the first year of implementation, my school realized a 37 point gain in our API score, breaking the 800 benchmark for the first time. This increase in student achievement can be directly attributed to the teachers’ comfort with the components of the Standards Plus program, as well as the comprehensible focus of the program and compatibility with our core curriculum resources.

I highly encourage all administrators to examine the program and consider the adoption of this standards-based prevention and intervention for their school. It has really made a significant difference in the academic achievementof my students, at all grade levels. I would be happy to personally recommend this program to anyone whomight require additional information.

William Mannion, Ed.D., Principal

Cameron Elementary

West Covina USD

Standards Plus has been a great supplemental tool to enhance our standards based instruction in the classrooms.  This is the second school I’ve ordered the materials for teachers and they love it! The lessons are simple to the point and come with assessments aligned with the CST.

Al Rosell, Principal

Willow Glen Elementary School

San Jose USD

We use the Standards Plus ELA as a grade level intervention and we love it.  The students learn the standards and apply them in a CST format and also are able to learn test taking strategies because they are able to write, underline, etc in their books and tests.

Shannon Taylor, 5th grade teacher

Mojave Vista

Victor ESD

I can say that we are very pleased with the results and our teachers are very eager to implement the focal standards we have purchased for both our After School Intervention programs and our Summer School. We serve approximately 1,500 students in our ASP programs during the school year and approximately 1,000 for Summer School.

Roberto Serrato, Coordinator of Ed. Options

Ceres USD

I believe Standards Plus makes a big difference in filling in the skills that student’s have missed and the lessons are building blocks in both LA & Math.

Helen Herd, Principal

Shasta Lake School

Gateway USD

 

• Standards Plus has proven to be a highly effective means of daily “best practices.”  
• Standards Plus provides an instructional daily framework for ensuring uncompromised excellence for all students.
• My students and teachers experience “powerful content”, “powerful teaching”, and “powerful results” on a daily basis through the use of Standards Plus.

Erick E. Witherspoon , Principal

Lena M. Preston Elementary

Rialto USD

We are using the math portion in our after school program. The group leaders have been trained and are now familiar with the materials. This allows the program to meet grant guidelines requiring inclusion of California State Standards. The page a day format fits perfectly into the schedule. We are very pleased with the results so far and look forward to increased scores on the CST due to the addition of Standards Plus.

Todd Clark, Principal

Buckeye Academy of the Arts

Gateway USD

Standards Plus is great.  It helps students learn the standards they must know for the CST.

Ann Buxton, Principal

Rosamond Elementary

Southern Kern USD

Standards Plus was well received by my staff.  It filled the gaps in the core with lessons that gave more practice on those standards on which we were focusing.

Angela Brantley, Former Principal

Myers Elementary

Rialto USD

We have been using both Language Arts and Math Standards Plus for the last 3 years and our test scores have steadily risen.

Leanne Hargus, Principal

Westpark Elementary

Southern Kern USD

My staff has been very positive with Standards Plus. The fact that comes with coaching included is a wonderful. The teachers have found that the lessons are short, not meant to be taught to mastery and they are right on standards and formatted to the CST.  Last year, using Standard Plus our API went up 40 points and this due in no small part to Standards Plus.

Linda Wilkenson, Principal

Bannon Creek Elementary

Natomas USD

The two grade levels that used Standards Plus regularly, 3^rd and 4^th received the highest Math scores in the district – 82% and 88%.  The teachers found Standards Plus to be helpful as they disaggregate their data and plan for future instruction.

Ryan Galles, Principal

Sierra House Elementary

Lake Tahoe USD

After using the 3rd and 4th grade additions of Standards Plus for Language Arts, I am pleased with both its contents and results.  The directions are well written, leaving out any guesswork for the students. Examples are straightforward and easy to understand. Rules are uncomplicated, making it simple to remember. The overhead sheets contain just enough information, and can be followed by the students with ease. I am impressed with how this program is helping my 27 students.

Thank you for the opportunity of letting me utilize such a fine program.

Laurie Majors, Special Education Instructional Assistant

Lake Arrowhead Elementary

Rim of the World USD

Standards Plus is quick and so easy to use.  The lessons do not take long and It supports everything teachers do in the classroom.

Debbie Wogen, Principal

Lake Arrowhead Elementary

Rim of the World USD

Standards Plus: S is for simple, T is for teacher, A is for accessible to all, N is for Not hard to implement, D is for Do it or else, A is for All should be doing the program, R is for remedial help, D is for no dittos to make, S is for Success! PLUS a whole lot more!

Debbie Radleigh, Teacher

Lake Arrowhead Elementary

Rim of the World USD

Standards Plus has improved teachers application of positive test taking strategies. Students respond to test taking strategies in a positive way.  Standards Plus fit into the daily schedule because they are short and to the point.  We worked with the Blue Print and the weighted standards for our after school intervention.  Parents, teachers and students are happy with Standards Plus.

Jenelle Terrano, Bridge Coordinator

Christopher Dena Elementary

Los Angeles USD

We have been using Standards Plus for three years now, and are committed to its continued use.  We have found that if used with students consistently, the program reinforces skills they have already learned and provides much-needed state testing preparation.

Ann Wicklund, Principal

Alvin Elementary School

Santa Maria-Bonita School District

Teachers note that students have a better grasp of the grade level academic vocabulary and a clearer picture of how students are doing related to the standards.

Jaymi Abusham, Principal

Banyan Elementary School

Alta Loma School District

Standards plus helped build core curriculum as well as fill in those gaps with the 4^th grade State Writing Exam. The lessons on paragraph building, narratives, type of passages, finding main ideas and themes were invaluable to teaching Response to Literature writing. The students enjoy the lessons and look forward to them daily.

Ellen Campbell, Fourth grade teacher

Carnelian Elementary School

Alta Loma School District

Standards Plus is a quick easy way to keep not only the LA standards fresh in students’ minds, but also the ever important test taking strategies.  When they use the strategies regularly they are more likely to use them on tests.

Barb De Witt, Third grade teacher

Carnelian Elementary School

Alta Loma School District

A few of our teachers piloted the Language Arts Standards Plus Program last year and they felt it was a great tool to help our students practice the grade level standards. They raved about it so much that other grade levels requested the program as well.

Joan Sanders, Principal

Carnelian Elementary School

Alta Loma School District

Standards Plus has been working for us in a very positive way.  I get good feedback from our teachers on the ease of use and our benchmark assessment results are showing improvement over past years.

Jeffrey Hunt, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Carter G. Woodson Charter School

Agape Corporation - Fresno

Standards Plus creates not only accountability for grade level standards but also takes into consideration students attention span. I have seen a direct line between improved achievement and the use of Standards Plus. The lessons become routine and students easily engage in the short, 10 – 12 minute lessons.

Andy Stenson, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction

Lucia Mar USD

In times of budget cuts, Standards Plus was the one thing that the teachers insisted on keeping because it works.  Teachers believe in it.

Amanda Branson

Richmond Elementary

Sierra Sands School District

Great, we really like the short 15 minute structure and it provides an opportunity for re-teaching concepts from the core curriculum. Standards Plus, is great. You can use the lesson anytime. They are short, to the point and students enjoy them.

Suzanne Bonsall, Standards Plus Contact

Horace Mann Elementary

Beverly Hills USD

Standards Plus is absolutely teacher friendly – they enjoy using the materials.

We had great training, making it easy to use.

Standards Plus keeps us on track with hitting the essential standards.

Steve Baum, Principal

Twin Oaks Elementary

San Marcos USD

I have been discussing our strategies for improvement with San Mateo COE and letting them know how we have used SP as one of the successful improvement strategies in most of the district’s classrooms.

Maria Molina, Assistant Superintendent

Ravenswood City SD

Standards Plus is a great program, and we use both Language Arts and Math as a supplemental program. We are a program improvement school, but we continue to see our scores climb. Last year our first year with Standards Plus we gained 19 API points, and this year we gained 11!

Leanne Hargus, Principal

Westpark Elementary School

Southern Kern USD

Standards Plus really helped our school meet its goals. We purchased it last year for third grade. Only 37% of our third graders were proficient or advanced. After implementing Standards Plus we had 68% of our third graders scored proficient or advanced. We also used it last year in tutoring. Our school scores increased nicely. This year we are using Standards Plus in all classes K-5 for Language Arts and Math.

Mary Branca, Principal

Ocean View Elementary

For several years, Proctor had reached a plateau varying between 865-875. Once we implemented Standards Plus materials, we jumped to 903. We are most excited about the progress that our Far Below Basic to Basic students are making.

Arline Lillak, Principal

Proctor Elementary School

Standards Plus is an incredible program. It effectively provides students with standards based materials that they can be successful with. The program is easy to use, and teachers love it. It targets standards head on. Cleminson School’s API scores are the highest in El Monte School District. I attribute this in part to Standards Plus. The program leaves nothing to chance and is a great supplement to our district curriculum. We love it!

Eric Hansen, Principal

Cleminson Elementary School

We have purchased Standards Plus for all grade levels and use it all year for test taking practice and to monitor whether our students have mastered grade level standards. It has made a significant impact on the increase we have made.

Bonnie Wilson, Principal

Baldwin Academy California Distinguished School, Title I (3Years) Nominee for National Blue Ribbon

We implemented the program last year as an after school program. The teachers saw such growth they started using it in their classrooms as well. This school year all teachers in grades 2-5 are using the program in their regular classrooms.

Liz Burr, Principal

Sullivan Creek School

I am constantly amazed how just the quick 10-15 minute lessons carry over throughout the day and across so many subject areas.

Lorie Morris, Teacher

Fontana USD

All classes grades 2-5 use Standards Plus lessons daily, and give weekly assessments, September through May. Grade level teams collaborate to align Standards Plus lessons to grade level instructional pacing calendars for language arts and math, selecting monthly focus areas based on students’ area of need. Weekly Standards Plus assessment data is used to help determine the level of student mastery and to plan reteaching and intervention.

Kathryne Meade, Principal

Grandview Elementary

As a relatively high performing elementary school (API 879), Discovery had been looking for those types of instructional strategies or materials that would move us to the next level in student achievement. We had decided that there were areas of our curriculum that did not match the essential standards closely enough to facilitate student learning at both the level of rigor and repetition that the standards demanded.

The implementation of Standards Plus at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year has eased many burdens for us:

1. It allows the teachers to feel confident that each standard is being addressed at the level of rigor that is demanded
2. It allows teachers to spend time in instruction rather than searching for or developing extra materials to meet essential standards that are not covered by the current texts
3. It provides immediate feedback to both students and teachers about student understanding of identified objectives

Staff members also feel that the Test Taking Strategies component of Standards Plus has had a huge impact on student achievement. These strategies, taught over the course of the school year, have given students skills that will affect their immediate and long-term educational future.

Mary Westendorf, Principal

Discovery Elementary School

Standards Plus focuses my instruction and enhances student learning.

Bev Matheson, Teacher

Dorothy Grant Elementary

I have used Standards Plus in my classroom for years. The lessons are teacher friendly, and to the point. I wouldn’t want to teach without it.

Jeanne Morris, Teacher