Model school Huff outpaces peers
Even with the odds seemingly against it, Huff Elementary School in Elgin has proven that innovation and dedication can level the playing field.
Huff, a 87.8 percent high-poverty and 88.2 percent minority school, was selected Tuesday as one of the country's 10 model elementary schools by New York-based International Center for Leadership in Education.
"Quite frankly, equity does not mean equal," Huff Principal Shawn Smith said.
According to Illinois State Report Cards, from 2005-07, Huff has improved math scores by 33 percent, science scores by 19 percent and reading scores by 9 percent.
The school has twice been recognized as an Illinois Honor Roll school and has made an appearance on both the Discovery and Learning channels.
In the school's proposal to the educational leadership center, five key components to its success were identified.
They include: Designing instruction around individual students' data; extensive after-school programs; an emphasis on technology; a host of community partnerships; and instituting positive behavioral programs.
Far ahead of many other elementary schools in Elgin Area School District U-46, Huff first started using Positive Behavior Intervention and Support programs two years ago, said first-grade teacher Stephanie LeMaire, who leads the program.
Developed at the University of Oregon in 1994, the program will be implemented at all elementary and middle schools in U-46 next fall. Addressing social-emotional behavior in some capacity is a state requirement for the 2008-2009 school year.
Because of its high poverty rate, Huff is eligible for federal Title I funding. The school has used that funding for its two computer labs, the likes of which "you just don't find in other elementary schools," Smith said.
Substantial grants from the U.S. Tennis Association, Lowe's and the Grand Victoria Casino Foundation have allowed Huff to offer after-school activities ranging from photography to tennis to reading intervention, Smith said.
Smith said he has "a lot of energy to try new things."
The real credit, he said, should go to his staff of 70. "Every initiative we've done has been by teacher-led teams. It's been the teachers that have really stepped up to the plate."
The 10 model schools will share their best practices at the 16th annual Model Schools Conference June 22 to 25 in Orlando, Fla.
Along with Smith, Huff technology teacher Garrett Seaman and technology and intervention teacher Nicholas Gaines will together deliver three presentations over the course of the conference.