Albertson Foundation rewards 361 schools- Winners will split $1.2 million for successes

Third-grade teacher Linda Hess wants chapter books for her high-performing readers at Meridian Elementary School.

Bill Roberts
The Idaho Statesman

Michaline Bruyninckx, a sixth-grade instructor at Whittier Elementary in Boise, wants software to help her students who struggle with basic math facts.

Both may get their wish.

The pair are among teachers at 361 Idaho schools who learned Wednesday that their schools will share in $1.2 million from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation as a one-time reward for producing students who showed strong academic growth during the 2002-2003 school year.

Schools received between $500 and $14,500.

“This is a huge chunk of change for us,” said Bruyninckx, who found out late Wednesday that Whittier Elementary will get $540.

Albertson Foundation offered the incentive to Idaho schools and teachers in second through ninth grades as a way to focus interest on the state´s new Idaho Standards Achievement Test, which is used to measure how well students meet state education standards.

“We wanted to convey to these people that positive reinforcement is better than negative reinforcement,” said Craig Olson, foundation president. “It´s one way of providing resources and encouraging teachers to keep up the good work.”

The foundation also recently spent about $500,000 educating teachers across the state on the Idaho Standards Achievement Test and ways to use the tests data to improve instruction.

Since the 1990s, the foundation has been a major player in Idaho education, providing money for computers, reading programs and staff training. In recent years, however, the foundation has had to be more selective, as steep drops in the value of its stock holdings limited how much cash it has had to hand out.

Some educators said they appreciated the foundation´s gesture to reward teachers but questioned whether it would provide significant help for schools hoping for continual student improvement that extends beyond a single year.

“If indeed they are focusing attention on the importance of the test and continual improvement, this action alone didn´t do that,” said Stan Olson, Boise School District superintendent.

But Christine Donnell, Meridian School District superintendent, said the incentive program should not go beyond one year.

Making the program permanent could, she said, “put more pressure on teachers than what they are experiencing” if it became a permanent competition for extra dollars, she said.

About half of the state´s 650 schools eligible to compete for the incentive awards earned cash for showing student growth. But it is not clear how many of the 650 schools competed for the dollars.

An analysis of the Albertson Foundation´s incentive plan also showed that half the students included in the program from across the state met individual growth goals. But among eighth- and ninth-graders, only about one-third met individual goals in math. “It is something we ought to target,” Craig Olson said.

The foundation´s Olson likened the incentive program to a parent who gives his kid five bucks for getting A´s on his report card — except that the Albertson money must be used to purchase education supplies and better training for faculty and staff. No staff or students received any cash.

Rewards were paid to public, private and charter schools for students in second through ninth grades if at least 55 percent of the students in an entire grade at a school met growth targets.

Treasure Valley School districts received $249,230. Here´s the breakdown:

• Boise: $31,090.

• Nampa: $48,585.

• Meridian: $169,555.

The amount of money districts received increased if more than 55 percent of the students met academic targets in a grade level. The number of students in the grade also affected how much schools received.

One of the big winners was Meridian Elementary School, which received $11,335. The school has gone from being one of Meridian District´s lowest-performing schools to one of its highest — despite a student population in which nearly seven out of 10 kids come from low-income homes. Income is often an indicator of poor school performance.

“Those teachers give their all,” said Julie Cowger, who has children in kindergarten, fourth and fifth grades at Meridian Elementary. “Last year they put a lot into getting (my children) up to grade level.”

Meridian Elementary revamped its education program in the past year by focusing on student weaknesses and creating more time for teachers to work on specific student needs.

Results showed up in the ISATs, in which between 60 and 90 percent of the students met their academic goals, well above the districtwide average.

The ISAT is designed to give instructors quick feedback on student performance to help them focus their instruction with individual students.

“We have teachers with the ability and skill to look at testing to (improve) instruction,” Meridian Elementary Principal Byron Yankey said.

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