THE STRATTON STORY

Champaign’s Stratton Elementary is a remarkable school, but that was not always the case. Less than 10 years ago, Stratton was a school that was under-enrolled and struggling to improve. By recruiting great teachers and administrators—and giving them the tools, training and time they needed to be effective—Stratton has flourished. In the last five years, the school has been named an Academic Improvement Winner, Spotlight School and Blue Ribbon Award Nominee. Moreover, it has moved from having 38 percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards in 2002 to 78 percent of students at that same level today.

How did Stratton achieve such remarkable results? One big change was to offer a longer school day. The school offered teachers a $5,000 raise in exchange for an additional hour. That extra hour was also an opportunity for students to pursue what the school calls “Investigative Learning.” Students tell teachers what topics they’d like to explore and the teachers help guide them to use that interest in ways that extend the curriculum. The longer day also offered sent a message to the community that the “new Stratton” was going to be making a determined effort to improve student achievement.

From there, the school built an incredible team of well-prepared teachers, hiring strong leaders who understood the students’ needs, and engaging the community through open communication.

Before hiring a candidate, Principal Orlando Thomas observes them as they participate in a classroom to ensure that it’s a fit for both the teacher and the school. But Thomas knows that simply hiring great teachers is not enough. “We provide teachers with the data they need on each of their students so that they can track the student’s past performance and predict areas in which the student needs to focus to meet goals,” Thomas explained. “This allows the teacher to effectively target resources such as reading specialists or math software to those children who need it.”

At Stratton, the teachers get the time and the training they need to be as effective as possible in the classroom (the school buys each teacher their own computer to help support the effort). By including art, music and gym in the curriculum, Thomas provides teachers with more time for planning. “I work directly with the teachers on planning and spend time in the classroom with them to provide as much support as possible,” he noted. Through the efficient use of funding and the support of the school district, he ensures that professional development is available to teachers and that they have the resources and supplies they need to be effective.

Communication and openness have allowed Stratton to engage parents and the community, which has led to the availability of additional resources for the school and strong support where it’s needed. The school’s processes, data and budget are all made available to parents and the community. “By sharing our budget, for example, with parents, they are able to see exactly what we have to work with and can provide additional support to the school,” Thomas noted. He also strives to keep the surrounding community informed of the school’s progress and offers its facilities to community organizations to keep them engaged in Stratton’s success.

Teacher quality, accountability, innovation, district support and community engagement have all contributed to the success of the school. “We believe that schools can improve and students can improve, but only if the school and the district work as a team to focus on the real issues in an open way,” Thomas said.