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“As educators, we often look for the latest, greatest programs and buzz words, and trendy new resources. But I find myself increasingly impressed with schools like Johnson Elementary, who are able to achieve extraordinary results with ordinary resources.”—MIKE CARGILL, SUPERINTENDENT, BRYAN ISD
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If you can picture a group of students, parents, teachers, and administrators with the ultimate "can do" attitude, then you’re on your way to imagining what Johnson Elementary School in Bryan, Texas, is like. We believe there is no educational problem that we can’t solve. No matter what it is, we’ll find a way to overcome it, student by student, which has led to our campus theme: Innovate To Educate.
The Johnson campus, nestled in the City of Bryan’s family neighborhood known as The Oaks, is a newly-renovated, open concept facility with a dedicated staff, supportive PTO, and a diverse student population. From the oversized (4 ft.) pencil atop the brightly-colored marquee to the outdoor classroom/amphitheater, our instruction is as varied as our students. Visitors can quickly see the difference in attitude that has made Johnson a TEA Exemplary Campus and a four-time winner of the Diamond Shamrock "Hooray For Excellence" award.
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Johnson Elementary School (JES) in the Bryan Independent School District is noteworthy because of what this group of faculty, parents and students has been able to accomplish consistently over many years. It is easy to look at a school like JES, which consistently achieves exemplary standardized test results, and say, “This is a great school.” However, the most remarkable feature of JES is that its news-making programs, innovative techniques, and highly successful test scores have all been achieved with resources that most Americans would consider ordinary. The JES facility is small in comparison with most elementary school buildings. The school’s student population comes from working class families from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. The JES budget is average, and the majority of its resources, from technology to
curriculum, are those available to most schools in America. So JES becomes an exemplar for best practices in education, not because it represents some radical, costly experiment in education; rather, it is an example for other schools because its faculty has been able to achieve extraordinary results with ordinary resources
JES captures the spirit of the No Child Left Behind Act in its attitude to do whatever it takes to make sure each student succeeds. It is this attitude, rather than trendy programs, model facilities, and extra resources, which innovates and ensures academic success for every student. With this positive outlook on education, JES has indeed created a unique blend of a spiraling curriculum, instructional methods, and classroom management techniques that results in increased learning as reflected in assessment results. It is no surprise that these results attract attention. The school was recently featured on CNN for its Dual Language Program, an improved approach to bilingual education designed to help both English-speaking students and Spanish-speaking students become bilingual, biliterate and bicultural. The school continues to receive
accolades from the Texas Education Agency, as well as private organizations. Texas Monthly magazine ranked JES one of the top schools in Texas. Since the state implemented the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test in 2003, JES has been named to the Texas School Honor Roll three times by the Texas Business and Education Coalition and Just for Kids, which compares school test results among schools with similar student populations.
These results are the result of hard work. Rather than asking for extra resources, JES has asked itself for extra effort. For example, JES teachers in grades 1, 2, and 3 give each student a weekly fluency test in reading. These tests require an extremely time-consuming effort, but they help faculty catch reading problems early, assist in strategic grouping strategies and curriculum planning, and ultimately result in increased proficiency in all subjects. The JES commitment to faculty development extends to multiple areas, from technology and curriculum to detailed analysis of assessment results. Rather than adopting blanket instructional strategies, the JES faculty continually creates its own instructional mix, blended from the most useful elements of many different instructional ideas. The school’s increased use of academic
language in the classroom, its commitment to flexible small group structuring and tutoring, and its partnership with an active parent organization to fund hands-on classroom technology are examples of the JES determination to use whatever resources it has to ensure that no child is left behind.
JES is remarkable because its teachers, administrators, parents, and students understand the truth that there is no substitute for hard work, creativity, and commitment to learning. The best practices and educational examples demonstrated on this small, innovative campus are a testament to what can be accomplished, not just with the right resources, but with high expectations and commitment. JES will continue to use ordinary resources to achieve extraordinary results.
Let us know what you think!
Johnson Elementary School
3800 Oak Hill Drive
Bryan, TX 77802
(979) 209-1460
Fax (979) 209-1462
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