SAGE Changes Everything

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.

Amy Thompson, an English as a Second Language instructor, works closely with 1st graders Xeepa Thao and Tanya Beyer at Oshkosh’s Webster-Stanley School.

“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 critically important and most recognized class size reduction element, which creates a student-teacher ratio of 15-1 in lower primary grades. Teachers say these smaller classes make a huge difference.
  
  “When you’re looking at 15 children, you can connect with them on a one-on-one basis every day and get to know them better,” said Webster-Stanley kindergarten teacher Lauren Flanagan.
  
  
• Rigorous curriculum. The school has written curriculum goals in reading, math and language arts to align with state and national standards and has even included Spanish in the kindergarten curriculum.
  
  “We are continuously raising goals and building on our success,” Vickman said.
  
  
• Staff development. SAGE has led to increased staff development discussions and programs focusing on curriculum and comprehensive assessment. It also has spawned increased staff participation in family involvement workshops, community outreach, and university research. One of the many outcomes of this increased focus on staff sharing and exploration has been development of a new student report card that directly reflects SAGE goals and objectives. Staff also are visiting other SAGE schools to share ideas.
  
  “Our collaborative planning sessions promote incredible teaming that allows all to see the big picture of our curriculum and how we build it from one grade to the next,” said reading teacher Annette Fitzgerald.
  
  “The team collaboration brought on by SAGE affects all of our professional development,” said SAGE teacher Marsha Fritz. “That’s probably the most valuable aspect of SAGE for me as a teacher. That’s the driving force of SAGE.”
  
  
• Family and Community Involvement. In addition to the before- and after-school programs already mentioned, the school has opened up a Kids Care Clinic and a Parent Center, developed a Sister School relationship with a Japanese school, is offering adult classes in English (primarily for Hmong parents), has “Getting to Know You” conferences for SAGE students and parents at the start of the year, and offers a variety of popular Parent and Child Together (PACT) Nights.
  
  “We try to do things that encourage family togetherness and family fun,” Fritz said.
  
  These include visits to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh planetarium and Oshkosh Public Library, technology nights, family read-ins, Early Literacy Nights, family sing-alongs, and YMCA fitness nights.

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.”

Personal Attention 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:

• Benefitted their children’s academic growth.
• Promoted their children’s social / emotional growth.
• Provided their children with additional or individual attention.
• Provided an enriched curriculum for their children.
• Increased family involvement associated in the school.

• “The class ratio of 15:1 is a real benefit for my child. The rate he’s able to learn is greater due to the more one-on-one interaction.”
• “Yes, my child reads a lot better than my other children.”
• “The smaller class size is wonderful! It allows for more hands-on learning and additional curriculum.”
• “I feel a connection and relationship to the staff and the educational process of my child.”
• “I believe the teachers have more control and can really make accurate assessments of each child’s activities.”

Posted March 1, 2000