Class act: Day Creek Intermediate PACKs an academic punch
In 2004, Day Creek Intermediate School in San Bernardino County’s Etiwanda Elementary School District opened its doors and embarked on an audacious experiment.
Led by its then-principal, Terry Embleton, Day Creek added four periods of specialized instruction in English and mathematics to an already-crowded school week. The enrichment program, called Bridging the Achievement Gap by Personally Achieving Character and Knowledge—or PACK—is designed to close the achievement gap and reverse a disturbing trend of declining achievement among middle school students.
By shaving minutes off passing periods, Day Creek delivers these additional instructional periods to its 1,200 sixth- through eighth-grade students without extending the length of the school day. However, the additional classes do mean more preparation time for teachers.
“When he interviewed teachers about coming to Day Creek, Principal Embleton made sure they knew what the expectations were,” says Etiwanda Superintendent Shawn Judson.
Students are assigned to PACK classes based on their grades and standardized test scores. Two days each week are devoted to math instruction, two to English-language arts, and one focuses on character education. PACK placements are tailored to individual student needs: A student can receive instruction at an advanced level in math for two days, and focus on fundamentals in English on the other two.
“I’m glad my kids have the opportunity for this type of very positive type of enrichment,” says Judson, who is himself a Day Creek parent.
The results have been dramatic. Overall achievement for Day Creek improved from 58 percent proficient in English in 2005 to 83 percent proficient in 2010, and from 61 percent proficient in math in 2005 to 86 percent proficient in 2010.
The program has also sharply reduced the achievement gap between different student subgroups. In 2010, 81 percent of the school’s white students scored proficient in English, compared with 83 percent of African-American students and 81 percent of Hispanic students. That same year, 87 percent of Day Creek’s white students scored proficient in math, compared with 88 percent of African-American students and 82 percent of Hispanics.
After viewing Day Creek’s “shining example,” Judson believes schools across the state are taking notice of this program, which has won two Distinguished School commendations from the state and a Golden Bell Award from CSBA last year.
—Carol Brydolf