Northern Lights: Success in Student Achievement and School Discipline at Northern Elementary School

This case study—a follow-up to Unintended Consequences: The Impact of Zero Tolerance and Other Exclusionary Policies on Kentucky Students, a statewide report issued last year by Building Block for Youth —demonstrates that closing the achievement gap can be accomplished while simultaneously maintaining discipline and reducing the number of children who are suspended from school.

Over the course of four years, Northern Elementary School in Fayette County, Kentucky, dramatically changed from one of the worst schools in the county public school system to one of the best:

• During the 1999-2000 school year, only 15% of the students were reading at grade level. This increased to 32% the next year, to 48% the next, to 62.5% in 2002, and to 81% in 2003.
• The number of incidents leading to suspensions dropped from 29 in 2000-2001 to 12 in 2002-03, a decline of almost 60%. During that same three-year period, the total number of children suspended went from 16 in 2000-01 to 7 in 2001-2002, a 56% reduction.

What happened at Northern Elementary School illustrates the importance of outstanding leadership, a different vision for students based on the adoption of core values, and a team of administrators and teachers with a passion for teaching children who had experienced repeated failure in school. Another important ingredient of Northern’s success was the ability to secure additional state and private funds to provide the academic and support services that many children need. In addition, the school discipline program carefully combines old-fashioned techniques with modern methods of providing child and family support programs.

This report sets forth principles and strategies that can be adopted by other schools in the district, throughout the state, and across the country.

Need help downloading a file or playing a clip? Click here.