***Turtle Hook Middle School*** is one of two middle schools in the
Uniondale School District in Nassau County, New York (Long Island). An
unincorporated village in the town of Hempstead, Uniondale is one of
three towns that make up Nassau County. The school's administration and
staff talk proudly of their community, which they describe as still
fulfilling the American Dream through hard work, a belief in education,
and a "lot of heart."

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="3.5368055555555555in"
height="3.0902777777777777in"}According to the 2000 U.S. Census,
Uniondale's median household income is \$61,410. The community is about
half African American, a quarter Hispanic, and a quarter Caucasian, with
small numbers of other racial and ethnic groups. The village's black
community includes a large number of immigrants from the Caribbean.
School staff members describe parents as caring and supportive of their
children, but without much time to be directly involved with the school;
most families are headed by two working parents. In recent times, the
community has experienced a growth in gang-related activities, causing
concern and eliciting greater attention on prevention strategies and
security measures.

Uniondale Free School District comprises five elementary schools, two
middle schools, and one high school. The district administration
includes a newly appointed Superintendent of Schools, an acting
Assistant Superintendent for instruction, an Assistant Superintendent
for business, a cadre of 20 directors and supervisors, and six
administrative assistants. The district benefits from unusually high tax
revenues generated by local businesses: per pupil expenditures exceed
\$16,000, and teacher salaries are higher than surrounding towns,
enabling the district to attract a sizable pool of qualified applicants.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="4.029861111111111in"
height="2.272222222222222in"} In 2002-2003, Turtle Hook Middle School
enrolled 728 students in grades 6-8. Students come from four feeder
schools in the district. Enrollment data from 2001-2002 show that 68% of
the students were African American, 30% were Hispanic, and 3% Caucasian.
Forty-one percent (41%) of the students were considered low-income: 9%
were enrolled in special education. Not quite 7% of students were
classified as limited English proficient. The performance profile of
Turtle Hook students has changed markedly in recent years. In May 2000,
42% of 8^th^ graders scored at the lowest level (1 = serious
deficiencies) on the state assessment in mathematics, and only 5% met
the standards (level 3). In May 2003, only 7% of 8^th^ graders tested at
level 1 in math, while 69% met the standard (level 3). Although
improvement gains in English language arts were less dramatic, in May
2000, 64% of Turtle Hook 8^th^ graders were performing below standard
(levels 1 and 2), in January of 2003, over half (54%) met or exceeded
the standards (levels 3 and 4).

The staff at Turtle Hook Middle School includes two full-time
administrators, a principal and assistant principal, 68 full-time and
seven part-time classroom teachers, five full-time and one part time
special resource teachers, one full-time and seven part-time
paraprofessionals, and six support staff. This year a new principal
replaced the previous one, who helped to plan and implement the school's
middle school model in 1999/2000.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.7159722222222222in"
height="2.1868055555555554in"} Turtle Hook has an active Parent Teacher
Association and partnerships with two major local companies. Steinway
and Sons piano company donates materials and involves students in
on-site learning activities at the Steinway manufacturing plant.
Wal-Mart has supported the school through grant monies.

Two factors were instrumental in Turtle Hook's notable turnaround: a)
well-aligned district and school curricula, coupled with a range of
student supports, and (b) the design and implementation of a middle
school model.

Seven years ago, a district curriculum audit pointed to the need for an
aligned and coherent curriculum. With low math scores defining the most
critical need, the district set out to create and implement a
district-wide math curriculum, followed by uniform core curricula in all
content areas, linked to district-wide final exams to provide ongoing
assessment data. It also developed pacing charts in all major content
areas, providing consistency across the district and reinforcing content
and skills across grades. The curricula are thus "back loaded" from the
state tests and "paced" so that important concepts and skills are
sequenced and built upon year by year. This helps the district ensure
that all students have the same opportunities for learning. Teachers
described it as highly successful.

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="3.45625in" height="3.1354166666666665in"}
Pacing charts in mathematics provide teachers with key ideas for each
chapter as well as vocabulary, available technology, customized
instruction, and support for classroom activities. Each chapter is then
"paced" by order and number of days. The literacy pacing document is
thematically based and includes the topic and literature used, the
objective, instructional materials, suggested learning activities, and
assessments. An eighth grade teacher stated, "The pacing charts are good
because they keep kids from different schools from having different
skills and concepts. It also means no repetition." A sixth grade teacher
said the pacing charts insure "Ownership for kids at all grade levels,
not just certain grade levels." Teachers talked about how the pacing
charts are used during common planning time to examine "where are we
this week?" and "where do we see all of our students?" based on common
test data. The principal and directors review plan books for coherency.

The school uses multiple assessments to set new goals or adjust
instruction. To address gaps in the district curricula, the Uniondale
district content directors conduct annual item analyses of the TONYSS
(test of NY state standards). They study examples from the state to
determine how students should be performing and where to set

targets for Uniondale students. Principals receive these data for
building planning, and the content directors work with subject area
teachers by grade, using disaggregated data to analyze where the
teachers' students will need support or enrichment in the coming year.
The teachers and school also look at quarterly, mid-term, and final
exams that the district developed or adapted from the standards aligned
textbooks adopted by the district. The teachers can add open-ended
response questions through use of a software program the district
provides. All assessments are aligned not only to the state standards
but also to the state tests. Sixth grade teachers said that they also
look at teacher-created tests. The disaggregated data allow teachers to
"get to know students before you teach them," according to a sixth grade
teacher.

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="3.44375in" height="2.7805555555555554in"}
Turtle Hook offers students numerous structures and strategies for
success. The English Language Arts class is scheduled as a double block,
for example, giving teachers and students more concentrated time to
focus on literacy. Students who scored in the ones or low twos on the
state tests may take Academic Instruction Service classes in reading and
in math. Teachers also tailor instruction to student needs. A sixth
grade teacher said, "We don't always do whole group instruction. We have
students share with partners, work in cooperative groups, and we also do
flexible grouping." Teachers said they gave students choice, used
graphic organizers, made reading strategies transparent, and taught
note-taking.

During an observer's visit, two eighth grade classroom teachers began a
comprehension lesson by asking "what do we do when we begin a reading
passage?" "Skim first," students replied, "highlight key words," and
"look at the action." After the students used these strategies, the
teachers directed them to "look back over the key words you have
underlined and answer the questions below," and prompted students to
"look at what words you used to answer" each question. In the ensuing
dialogue, students reviewed the key information and talked about what
that evidence showed. They also discussed how some of these strategies
were helpful to them.

Sixth grade students described cooperative groups as a way of learning
and sharing ideas, reporting that they learned social skills and how to
work with other people. One student noted, "before, when I worked by
myself I had things my own way," and went on to reflect on how he
negotiates with others now. Sixth grade students also

discussed reading strategies that helped them, such as "we take notes
and picture stuff in our head." About homework, they said, "we get a lot
. . . but it helps you not to forget what you just learned."

Every day after first period, teachers conduct an advisory period with a
planned curriculum that reinforces learning strategies and teaches study
skills. On Fridays, the period is extended five minutes to accommodate
the Second Step program, a violence prevention program that teaches
anger management and social skills. Students work together (sometimes in
role-plays) to solve problems. A sixth grade student said that the
Second Step program helped him understand that "I can't make
assumptions."

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="3.7423611111111112in" height="2.21875in"}
Another support for students is the Learning Academy, a twice-weekly
hour-and-a-half program which runs ten weeks. Teachers apply to teach at
the Academy, offered to students who made high twos and threes on state
tests. Homework centers are also available, enabling students to work
with teachers after school. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings
before school, National Honor Society students voluntarily tutor
students who would like help from a peer. Students seeking even more
support can go to the computer lab, where a software program gives them
a diagnostic test, then generates an individual remedial skill program.
Some of these students may also have an aide. Students report that
teachers are always available and that they feel supported because
guidance counselors stay with them the three years they are at Turtle
Hook.

One teacher summed up the student support at Turtle Hook by noting that
it's "at the kids' convenience, not the teachers'." Teachers are helped
in their success because they are supported by the principal and
district content directors. The academic subject directors meet with
teachers and discuss student progress based on assessments, and pacing
of the curriculum. Directors meet with teachers once a month and the
principal and content directors use the curriculum pacing charts when
they are doing a classroom observation. Academic subject directors also
supervise teachers.

Four years ago, the district moved to a middle school concept for sixth
through eight graders. The previous principal at Turtle Hook was
responsible for developing and implementing this model. The
implementation of student and teacher teams, along with other components
of the model, has provided an important structural system for faculty
collaboration and problem-solving. The current principal, in his first
year at Turtle Hook, works to focus his efforts on supporting and
building on the successful work of the school to date by developing and
fine tuning systems of accountability and focusing on classroom
instruction. He routinely reviews teacher lesson plans and exams in
order to ensure consistency in setting clear learning expectations for
students.

> ![](media/image7.jpeg){width="3.866535433070866in"
> height="1.852755905511811in"} Teachers at Turtle Hook meet as teams
> daily. Four days a week, grade level teams meet; the fifth day,
> content area teachers meet and plan for particular content area
> issues. Each team is led by a teacher, who organizes agendas and
> facilitates the meetings. Agendas include reviewing results from
> student assessments, planning for individual student needs, meetings
> with parents, sharing and co-planning curricular and instructional
> strategies,

and organizing school events. Sixth grade teachers said the common
planning time allows them to be consistent in their approach with
students, as evidenced by the messages students receive, their homework,
and follow-up at home. Teachers share materials and approaches and
discuss "everything." This consistency holds from classroom to classroom
across the school. The math team meets weekly to prepare for upcoming
chapters---discussing methods and "tricks or short cuts that work for
kids."

This school community conveys a palpable sense of the respect all
community members have for one another. "There is a professional
etiquette here---everyone pulls together," a teacher observed. Staff
members see each other as resources to solve problems on behalf of kids.
Teachers spoke of the collegial atmosphere within which they work.

As one said, "we are relentless with the children. . . we get right to
work." Another added, "no one is afraid to give and no one is afraid to
take." One relatively new teacher said, "This is the professional
environment I was looking for and I am happy I found it." A veteran
teacher stated "I don't have a problem being a 24-year veteran and
learning from my younger counterparts."

This collaborative work ethic and practice gives students clear and
consistent messages about what is expected of them and confirms their
knowledge that they have support across the school. The president of the
school's PTA said the "kids give us 100% because they know that we are
there for them." A teacher said "we are involved in the kids' lives---we
treat these kids like our own and they respond to us." Students
interviewed appreciated the staff for setting high expectations and
enforcing rules. "We know how much teachers care. They go the extra mile
for us," one student said. Another noted, "the new principal helps a
lot---he expects a lot of us."

> ![](media/image8.jpeg){width="2.589763779527559in"
> height="2.2688976377952756in"} According to an 8^th^ grade AIS
> (Academic Instruction Service) Literacy teacher, extracurricular
> activities, which are open to all students include not only the usual
> offerings (sports, band, and orchestra) but also year book,
> international life, and fashion and talent shows. Both students and
> teachers talked enthusiastically ab out their involvement in one or
> more of these activities. Asked what she liked about the school, one
> sixth grader said, "they have contests, a talent show and dances" and
> added with pride, "I help out with the dances." Students were not just
> involved with extra curricular activities; many served as student
> lunch monitors during their own lunch periods. The PTA president
> praised the involvement of not only parents, but the entire community
> through partnerships and volunteering.

The successful collaboration embodied in the middle school operation at
Turtle has contributed to a sense of efficacy and respect. "All children
*must* learn," not "all children *can* learn," is the expectation Turtle
Hook staff members hold; the school's main goal is that "our students
are successful." Turtle Hook is described by everyone as

a family. The hallway across from the school office is covered with
yellow and green paper turtles. Each yellow turtle has the name of a PTA
member and each green turtle has the name of a school staff member. The
principal called the turtles "a symbol of the Turtle Hook Family." This
sense of family is the result of different factors all working together.

![](media/image9.jpeg){width="4.176388888888889in"
height="2.8631944444444444in"}Interviewed as a group, eighth grade
teachers were asked to think of a metaphor or an artifact that
demonstrated what they believed made Turtle Hook successful with
students. One began, "an artifact would be a picture of the staff
because" they put in extra time with students. Another added, "people at
the school are a family. We take care of each other and we take care of
kids." The metaphor "would be an extended hand because we are involved
in kids' lives," added another, "it would be children coming together to
take that hand because we treat our students as we would treat our own
kids." Another teacher suggested "a globe of the world because students
and staff are culturally diverse but while we are here we have one value
(respect). Diversity is celebrated, not just tolerated." One sixth grade
teacher described this climate as "we have a job to do, let's do it
together and without ego trips." Another sixth grade teacher said it
differently by saying, "We all have a desire to do something great for
kids and we do it like a family."

Sixth grade students reported that at Turtle Hook, "Students do work,
they don't run the halls." Quick to describe the school as strict, they
were also quick to say that everyone in the school wanted what was best
for them. Eighth grade students said, "Teachers do more work than we
do." They stated that teachers "prepare meals for us and tell us 'don't
let it get cold.'" They explained that this meant that they had to work
hard too. The eighth grade students also stated that "the new principal
helps us too. He tells us that we 'should focus because this is your
life.'" These students said the message to them overall was that life
was more than just about "fitting in." Turtle Hook holds high
expectations for all of its students, not just some. One 8^th^ grade
student said, "Teachers really care for us, and if they can care then I
can care."

![](media/image10.jpeg){width="2.1256944444444446in"
height="2.3715277777777777in"}

This climate of high expectations was evident in an eighth grade
Academic Instruction Service (for students who have scored ones or low
twos on the TONYSS) reading class. Asking higher order questions, the
teacher urged, "let's take this discussion of theme to another level,"
and modeled the next level of the discussion. She demonstrated that she
believed in the students and, in an unthreatening manner, let them know
she wouldn't let them off the hook. Students in this class were actively
engaged in the discussion and appeared comfortable and confident of
their contributions.

Teachers all talked about how they feel respected at the school and by
the district, concluding that this gave them a sense of confidence and
empowerment. The district curriculum directors substantively involve
teachers in curriculum and assessment design, setting a tone, they said,
that motivates staff, gives them confidence, and allows for
collaboration.

![](media/image11.jpeg){width="5.491732283464567in"
height="2.3145669291338584in"}