Teaching for Mastery

Because the district knows that successful learning begins with teachers who have the skills and experiences necessary to be effective in the classroom, it began reform efforts with implementation of the Teaching for Mastery staff development program. Instead of allowing teachers to continue their annual planning work in isolation, this training provides time for collaboration on grade-level work plans that “begin with the end in mind.” Teachers spend time reflecting on district and state standards, and then create their annual lesson plans, based on desired student learning outcomes for the entire year.

Literacy FIRST!

Even before the Bush Administration coined the term “Reading First,” Woodburn School District was looking at best practices in literacy development for English-only students and English Language Learners. A product of teacher-led research, WSD’s Literacy First! Program focuses on reading, writing and oral language development at the elementary level. Students, in grades K through fifth, spend 90 minutes a day in Reading class, and then teachers interweave the practice of literacy skills into the other content areas. Students receive a concentrated block of time devoted to developing their skills, along with additional literacy support throughout the day.

Inquiry Based Mathematics

Two years ago the district began reviewing available Math curricula – a year ahead of ODE’s recommended adoption schedule. Administrators and teachers alike found district Math test scores too low to wait for the actual adoption cycle to come around, so they moved forward early. Again, using the lens of the Strategic Plan, the committee looked at programs that would benefit ALL students; they used specific criteria to rate their choices, including only looking at materials that were endorsed by the National Science Foundation and provided in Spanish. What the district chose was a comprehensive, standards-based Math curriculum that encourages students to use critical thinking, collaboration and discussion as a means to identify multiple solutions to problems, instead of just rote memorization of algorithms.

English Transition Program

For the district’s 2,900 English Language Learners, which compose nearly 67 percent of total student population, the teachers and administrators began implementation of what’s called the English Transition Program in 1997. English Language Learners of Russian and Hispanic descent are taught in their native language first and then “transitioned” over time into English. In it’s purest elementary level form, the program starts with Kindergarten students learning language arts and other content in their native language for 80 percent of their school day. Conversely, they spend the majority of their school day in English by fifth-grade. The district also has a host of options for English Language Learners who are new to the district at the secondary level, including content area classes offered in native language, sheltered content area classes and English language classes.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Program

As a means to raise expectations for all students, Woodburn High School applied to and was approved by the International Baccalaureate Organization of Geneva, Switzerland, to provide students with a rigorous, world-renowned diploma option. After a year of preparation, students began taking classes toward the diploma in 2002. The program benefits students by offering liberal arts coursework that utilizes the best of what Woodburn High School already has, in tandem with additional theory classes that result in students gaining a deeper understanding of how what they are learning relates to the larger world.