Program Improvement (K-12)
Great Challenge
The educational landscape changed significantly on January 8, 2002 when No Child Left Behind was signed in to law. The law sets ambitious targets for educational achievement, especially for raising the achievement levels of disadvantaged children. NCLB also provides some resources for addressing the very big challenge that the law creates (though most members of the educational community would say not nearly enough). And, as anyone working in a Program Improvement school can tell you, there are significant sanctions for schools and school leadership if improvement cannot be demonstrated.
Big Opportunity
Fortunately, there is help available. RT Fisher & Associates sees every great challenge as a big opportunity, and we have made it our mission to assist schools in creating remediation and enhancement programs that reach the hardest to reach students and their families. Our staff has a wealth of experience working with underperforming students and with designing programs that provide the support and motivation that those students need and deserve.
One Size Fits Some
Every student, and every student body, is different. That is why the RT Fisher approach is to work closely with school administrators and staff to understand the dynamics of your specific situation, to look at your available resources and limitations, and to create an improvement plan that is completely customized to insure success for your students. Canned programs just don't work. Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.
Making Your Team Better
Very often schools have a great untapped resource on their campuses that can help to implement an improvement plan, and to do so quite cost-effectively. It has been our experience that many paraprofessional staff members, given proper training and tools make excellent tutors and coaches for students who need additional help. There is the added bonus, of course, that these staff members will be on campus helping students long after the RT Fisher staff has gone home.
Valuable Bonus
Because RT Fisher and Associates has been certified by the California Department of Education to conduct the paraprofessional training required by NCLB, we have been able to create paraprofessional training programs that serve a dual purpose. We begin with an online assessment and then design a training that both prepares your staff to be an integral part of the after-school or Saturday tutoring program, and moves them toward their fully-qualified certification.
Cultural Context
RT Fisher & Associates specializes in reaching students who feel less at home in today's educational environment, including students from economically challenged families and those traditionally underrepresented in California higher educational systems. Our staff mirrors the ethnic and cultural diversity that we see in our California classrooms, and they are sensitive to the social and cultural milieu that informs and affects the educational process.
Research Spells it Out
We are confident in our ability to produce results, because the research-based methods that we employ are proven winners. For example, we know that research shows that spelling knowledge is a powerful tool for writing, and that it positively affects vocabulary development, reading comprehension, reading rate, and fluency. Thus, spelling is a key building block for our language arts curriculum.
Weapons of Math Instruction
Many students find math intolerable, because they don't see the relevance and they aren't having any fun. The Math Success component of our program uses interactive, interesting, and productive activities that are aligned with California State Standards, engage student learners, and help build their understanding and proficiency in grade appropriate math.
Learning to Learn
One component that is built in to every customized program that RT Fisher creates is what we call Strategic Tutoring. Each part of the curriculum is designed to teach students strategies for learning how to learn. Research shows that the use of strategic tutoring not only assists student with short-term support but also gives them powerful strategies that help them perform independently in their traditional school classrooms. This includes explicit instruction in time management, assignment prioritization and completion, as well as test taking and preparation skills.
The Parent Trap
We strongly encourage the inclusion of a parent component in any custom tutoring program. This will look different in different school settings, but some kind of an aggressive family outreach protocol is critical for program success. RT Fisher has considerable experience and expertise in these types of grass roots efforts, and we will work right alongside your staff to help get and keep parents involved in the education of their children.
Getting Started
We don't deserve to be working with your students unless we can convince you that we can design a program for your school that meets your improvement objectives, and does so within the framework of the resources that you have available. That's why we offer a no-cost, no-obligation initial consultation so that we can learn more about your particular situation and so that you can learn more about our services. If you like what you hear, we will prepare a detailed Action Plan and budget for your review. If that plan and budget meets the needs of your school, we'll be pleased to be your new partners in helping you to meet both the letter and the spirit of No Child Left Behind.
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."
– William Butler Yeats
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT | TRAINING TRAINERS | OUTREACH
EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE PLANNING | PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT (K-12)
