WHEN YOU USE THE VENTURES INITIATIVE AND FOCUS™ SYSTEM
IN YOUR SCHOOL, YOU EXPERIENCE DRAMATIC RESULTS
WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR!
In rural Alabama and Urban Washington, DC
High schools in both regions demonstrated increased student enrollment in algebra and calculus, with higher passing rates. One teacher said, "My perception of teaching has certainly changed to a concept that teaching must be student-centered and not teacher-oriented."
In New Haven, Connecticut
High school students in five separate academic groups, from the least to the most advanced, demonstrated improvements in reading, writing, and mathematics within one year, and the school's accreditation status was reinstated in less than 16 months.
In New York City
After VESC™ provided a three-day citywide literacy workshop, as part of the Chancellor's Project Read Initiative, three districts invited VESC™ to provide professional development workshops for their schools; a university associated with the Project requested "training for trainers"; and, three schools formed immediate contracts with VESC™ for further on-site professional development.
In New Orleans and Eunice, Louisiana
After the initial phase of professional development, teachers in four elementary schools experienced dramatic changes in their classroom environments and vast improvements in student participation and group learning. One teacher observed: "Student-oriented instruction has students participating more, thinking more -- instead of just giving us feedback."
In the Delta Region of Arkansas
In one Arkansas high school, student ACT scores increased from 16.33 to 20.78 in one year, to surpass the statewide mean and meet the nationwide mean for that year.
AND, THE RESULTS ARE SUSTAINED
Nationwide
An outside evaluation report of a network of 39 urban and rural schools enrolling 4,000 largely minority students concluded: 1) retention to graduation rates had risen from 40% to 95%; 2) 98% of the students were accepted by selective four-year colleges; 3) 46% majored in science; and 4) applications to medical school were accepted at a rate 14% higher than those of nonparticipants.
Schoolwide initiatives were also introduced to a network of more than 80 urban and rural K-12 schools across the nation. Most schools institutionalized and adapted VESC™'s approach to meet their needs, and continued to employ VESC™ methods and strategies for many years. Students from one school concluded they now "learn from other students faster and have more fun."
In the Delta Region of Arkansas
A network of rural high schools/middle schools saw immediate and continuous increases over three years in enrollment and passing rates, after low-level, nonacademic courses were replaced with challenging college-preparatory courses across the disciplines. For example, algebra II enrollment grew from 191 to 499; geometry, from 209 to 401; calculus, from 0 to 10; physical science, from 259 to 492; biology, from 200 to 561; and physics, from 51 to 144 -- and the passing rates were high. Calculus was the first College Board-sponsored Advanced Placement course offered: 43 students enrolled and 100% passed.
In New York City
A five-year involvement, as the academic component of a unique school-to-work initiative in New York City, "produced many positive changes in nine elementary, intermediate, and high schools," according to an outside evaluator. VESC™, he said, has "promoted lasting changes in the educational practices of the teachers."
Three New York City high schools, threatened with closure or reorganization due to poor student performance in the early 80s, ranked amongst the City's top high schools throughout the 1990s. Two were recognized as "Outstanding American High Schools" by “US News and World Report”, which examined more than 1,000 schools in six metro areas. One also won “Redbook” magazine's fifth annual America's Best High Schools Project Award for significant improvement in student performance. The principal said that the VESC™ program was the catalyst for moving the school "from an average academic comprehensive high school to the 'School of Choice' for all Bronx students" and provided "many indirect benefits to the school as a whole." They achieved the highest attendance rate and the lowest annual dropout rate (2.5%) in the borough. Students receiving Regents-endorsed diplomas rose 265% in five years, second only to one of the city's top schools in the borough. More than 500 students enrolled in College Board-sponsored AP college-level courses, triple the number of past emrollments. The four-year graduation rate, 11.8% rose to 65.5%, surpassing the citywide rate, and college admissions exceeded 95%.
In Louisiana
In one elementary school, all teachers, K-4, participated in sustained professional development, which led to major changes in instruction in almost every classroom. As a result, student scores improved in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies at the different grade levels and, in spite of the introduction of new testing instruments, often exceeded district and state scores. The principal said, "Our choice of VESC™ to help us make this dramatic transition has proven to be a wise one."
In Rural Alabama
As an extension of our previous initiatives among a network of Alabama schools, interdisciplinary project learning was implemented schoolwide at the 11th grade-level in one high school. Student projects focused on establishing a solid waste disposal facility with an education center in the community and a districtwide comprehensive high school. Designed to meet necessary benchmarks and standards, the projects incorporated science, math, language arts, and social studies, and were facilitated by teachers, counselors, and community specialists in environmental protection, earth science, design, architecture, engineering, and construction. The results were outstanding. The students became highly motivated, high-achieving, self-directed learners, with firsthand experience in how to apply the content and skills learned, in their daily lives and in the workplace.
On the Navajo Reservation
An Arizona high school chemistry teacher observed that his students were very reluctant to talk before they began to tackle their Problem-Based Learning (PBL) assignment to study water quality on their reservation. PBL quickly brought them into the community and soon they were "talking to engineers and technicians, collecting data from actual water samples and getting involved with real people on the job."
"Ventures" students nationwide also gathered on the Navajo reservation to learn about science and medicine, Native American culture and history, and each other. They cloned transformed bacteria in the school laboratory, remodeled molecules, and quickly became "DNA literate" using the same techniques as award-winning scientists. "Before, the knowledge was just in my head, just terms memorized," said one of the students. "Now, it's in my fingers, my whole self. Now I understand more than just know." This high school had just one section of chemistry and two physics students each year; soon, 80 students were enrolled in chemistry, 30 were taking physics as an elective, and the school district was inspired to design a similar program for its lower grades. One counselor exclaimed: "The things that have been accomplished this year by the students have been more than tremendous, they've been just miraculous."