Principal, Teachers Take Robert Hill Lane Elementary to Next Level

A little more than two years ago, Robert Hill Lane Elementary School in Monterey Park could be called mediocre. Test scores were average, students held their own, and teachers, while competent, were not highly motivated.

In the year 2000 however, Robert Hill Lane has taken on a different profile. Test scores are on the rise, teachers are enthusiastic, students are excited about learning, parent involvement is at an all-time high, it became a California Distinguished School for the first time, and has received an LAEP Excellence Award for its outstanding achievements. So what was the driving force that turned this school from average to exceptional? Many believe it was mainly due to Principal Sue Wong's strong leadership.

"Sue Wong brought in a work ethic," said Susanna Poulin, a 25-year teaching veteran who has seen the school accomplish some great things the past two years under Wong's leadership. "She's big on collaboration and she's not afraid to bring in new ideas."

A small school, Robert Hill Lane is nestled next to sprawling East Los Angeles College. It serves 350 students, more than 90 percent of whom are Hispanic. Its 24 teachers have clear expectations for what students will know, understand and be able to do at each grade level, communicating with each other as much as possible. During weekly grade-level planning periods, teachers review district and state standards for the core curriculum, discuss best practices, share successes and failures, and develop strategies for enhancing the instructional program.

"The teachers here really make the time for articulation," Wong said. "Before school, after school - many teachers here work on their own time, working with students and parents. They make a lot of phone calls, send home a lot of notes. They spend time looking at curriculum, standards, school wide trends, weaknesses and strengths of students. We do this to make sure there is some type of alignment between pre-K and kindergarten and so forth."

The school has developed a grade-level analysis of strengths and weaknesses based on analysis of the Stanford 9 grade-level performance summary, individual student reports and computer generated rosters detailing gains and declines in individual students' results. Teachers use the grade-level analysis, the Stanford 9 Planning Guide Course of Study and state frameworks to develop long- and short-term teaching plans aligned with district and state standards and Stanford 9 objectives.

Last year, all teachers worked with the Achievement Council to review state content standards, develop lessons that are standards-based, and review the multiple intelligences and their impact on learning. Intervention programs are used to assist students including a Saturday School, after school tutoring and individualized tutoring for kindergarten students.

"Our focus has definitely been on literacy and reading instruction," Wong said.

The results have been impressive. The Stanford 9 mean percentile rose from 48 percent in 1997-98 to 61 percent in 1998-99. The percent of all students at or above grade level in reading and math rose from 48 percent in 1997-98 to 59 percent in 1998-99. The percent of third graders reading at grade level rose from 54 percent in 1997-98 to 79 percent in 1998-99 and the percent of students who gained proficiency in English rose from 9 percent in 1997-98 to 13 percent in 1998-99.

"Collaboration is very important and the key to a lot of the school's success," Poulin said. "Being a teacher is very insular and it's easy to get locked into your own classroom. But to be successful you have to be part of a team."

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