Rise Academy has been chosen as one of only two schools in Texas to be recognized with the prestigious National Title 1 Distinguished School Award. Selection for the Distinguished School Award is based on meeting high academic performance criteria and an 85% or higher low-income student population. Information about Rise Academy's educational philosophy will be provided to National Title 1 Association staff so these methods can be shared with other schools to help improve achievement for their students.

Rise Academy utilizes Reading Mastery Signature as its core literacy program in pre k-1. Rise Academy founder and director Richard Baumgartner gives credit to a dedicated staff, and also states, "More than anything else, Reading Mastery is a key to our success." He continues, "This award certainly validates the great progress we have made and motivates us to strive to be even better. With such recognition comes greater responsibility."

NIFDI sends its congratulations and best wishes for continued success!

For more information about Rise Academy visit their website. 

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was established by IES to summarize the research evidence on curricular programs. Yet, as many of you know, WWC conclusions often differ dramatically from those found in reviews and meta-analyses in the scholarly literature. As part of our attempt to understand why these differences appeared NIFDI requested, through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), information on concerns others had raised through a "quality review process" regarding WWC procedures and conclusions.

Staff researcher Tim Wood has recently released a NIFDI White Paper that summarizes the concerns expressed in 69 quality reviews. For instance, more than four-fifths of the people and organizations requesting reviews were concerned about misinterpretation of study findings. Over a third were concerned with both the exclusion and inclusion of relevant research. In addition to summarizing these concerns the white paper discusses general issues with accountability with the WWC and the FOIA process and presents a number of important policy recommendations. The full text of the white paper can be found pdf here . 

Last spring NIFDI and partner IDEA Public Charter Schools presented a session titled, ELL Education: Keys to Ensuring Early Literacy at the National Charter School Conference. The presentation was very well received and led us to create a condensed, video version of the presentation. This video highlights an academic preschool pilot project begun in Fall of 2014 at Pharr IDEA Academy in Pharr, Texas. In this pilot, students in this predominately ELL school were taught using Espanol to English and/or DISTAR Language prior to entering kindergarten.

It is a great demonstration of what can be done to help students gain the English Language skills they will need for future success. To see the video, click here. 

The Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP), operator of five conversion public charter schools in Baltimore, Maryland, is looking for a principal for their newest school, Frederick Elementary. The school will serve approximately 500 students, grades Pre-K-5 and is housed in a state-of-the-art new building and will utilize DI curriculum.

Frederick Elementary serves its neighborhood zone and receives support from BCP in program design, staffing, professional development, budget support, business management, partnership development and fundraising. BCP states, "The Principal we seek will be committed to and experienced in serving a diverse community with both strengths and challenges. This is a significant opportunity for a talented educator to make a significant contribution to the city and its students."

For full job details, visit this page.