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Leads to new approaches in entire school
Yes, the SAGE program has clearly accomplished its goal of improving the performance of participating students at Webster-Stanley Elementary School in Oshkosh. But educators, parents and students will tell you it has done much, much more – not only for those students, but for staff and students throughout the school.
SAGE has led to a whole new way of thinking and spawned new approaches to learning, community involvement, and professional development at Webster-Stanley.
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“The whole school benefits from SAGE,” said principal Patti Vickman. “SAGE has really become a philosophy in terms of the school community working with parents and the outside community in partnership. Being a SAGE school gives us more leverage to try new things.”
Since Webster-Stanley embraced SAGE in 1998, staff have come together, discussing, exploring and implementing a variety of programs aimed at improving achievement, staff development, parental involvement and school-community relations.
It has opened up its library and computer lab after school, implemented a school breakfast program, developed a partnership program with the local Kiwanis Club, launched a Home School Nurturing Program, and opened the school up for meetings of the Refugee Women’s Network to serve the community’s Hmong population.
“SAGE got this started, but these programs benefit the whole community,” said school counselor Marjorie VandenBoogaard.
At Webster-Stanley, educators recognize that the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program has four components:
 Patti Vickman |
 Marjorie VandenBoogaard |
 Randy Knudtson |
The staff are proud of their accomplishments and have put together a PowerPoint presentation that gives an impressive overview of the SAGE program and the programs and activities it has generated.
The presentation includes comments from parents of SAGE students, including:
“SAGE has helped our son develop a sense of excitement about his educational experience – the faculty, the building, the extra events, the students and their families, and everyday classes.”
 At the core of the SAGE program is the reduced class sizes that allow teachers, teacher aides, and specialists to devote personal attention to the needs of students in the primary grades. Educators at Webster-Stanley Elementary School in Oshkosh say the program has worked wonders. Above, 1st-grade team teacher Kellie Helms gives a caring embrace to Davon Waters. – Photo by Bill Hurley |
“I hope (SAGE) is something that will continue. My child has developed a love for school and (has had) a positive experience that will be with her lifelong.”
“I felt a connection and relationship to the staff and the educational process of my child.”
Randy Knudtson said his son Wesley is enjoying 1st grade so much that he darts out of the car every morning to get into school.
“He’s rip-raring, ready to go,” Knudtson said. “And he shares his experiences when he comes home.”
Knudtson attributes Wesley’s positive school experience to an excellent staff and to the fact that SAGE allows the staff to give him extra attention.
“He was doing things at the end of the year (last year) I certainly would not have expected,” he said. Those included reading at a surprisingly high level.
As an involved parent, Knudtson appreciates the fact that Wesley’s teachers have time to talk with him.
“There’s so much opportunity for SAGE parents and families to be involved in students’ education,” he said. “Any time you have questions, the staff is very available.”
The success of SAGE at Webster-Stanley is not just anecdotal. Vickman said a variety of data, based on test results, show that Webster-Stanley students involved in the SAGE program are achieving at higher levels. The school is working with UW-Oshkosh to assess performance based on pre-tests and post-tests of Webster-Stanley’s SAGE students compared to those of a comparison group of non-SAGE students.
Consistently, the SAGE students, who started out a lower level, score better than the comparison students after just one year in the program.
With that kind of success, Vickman advises other schools to do whatever then can to get involved in the SAGE program. The application process is not terribly difficult, and staff at the Department of Public Instruction are extremely helpful, she said.
Vickman was the one who initiated the school’s interest in SAGE after hearing about the program at a DPI meeting. She took the issue to the school board, but once discussions started, it quickly became a schoolwide project.
“It was not a decision made by the administration,” VandenBoogaard said. “It was a decision made by the staff. As a staff, we said we were committed to this.”
The next step was for staff to visit SAGE schools in Green Bay, Beloit and Madison.
“That is what really sold the staff – seeing first-hand what a teacher can do with 15 students in a class and hearing it from the teacher’s perspective,” Vickman said.
Then the staff held meetings to discuss how best to implement SAGE at Webster-Stanley – examining such topics as space issues, curriculum writing and team teaching options.
Next, the school worked with DPI to complete application forms and finally a contract, which was approved by the state and the school board.
Two years later, support for the program is unanimous, and Vickman has this simple advice for any eligible school that is considering applying for the program next year:
“Go for it!”
Feedback
Last spring, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
evaluators surveyed Webster-Stanley families regarding their participation
in the SAGE program. One question asked families to describe how SAGE
has helped their children. The responses were overwhelming. Families said
SAGE:
Posted March 1, 2000