PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- What's the secret to improving performance at Philadelphia schools? Some of the principals at schools that showed recent growth say it's no secret at all.
Several schools made significant gains in the district's 1-100 rating called the School Progress Report. The SPR is an annual composite of test scores, progress, school climate, and college and career readiness.
At Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School in Roxborough, standardized test results remained flat - at nine percent - but the school earned high marks for progress toward graduation. Lankenau's overall SPR went from 42 to 58 percent last year. Principal Joshua Levinson says a key strategy there was building a culture of making sure kids got to school. "A lot of our kids leave their house at five in the morning to catch two or three SEPTA buses to get to their yellow school bus stop to get to Lankenau for a start time at 7:15," he said, "the earliest start time in the city." At Middle Years Alternative School in West Philadelphia, the SPR score went from 32 three years ago to 71 last year. Principal Shakae Dupre-Campbell says its was all about getting students involved in tracking their progress. "The running joke in our building is 'when you become 18 you'll understand,'" she said. "It's like a credit score. You need to know what your credit score is in order to make it better. So you need to know what your data is in order to make it better. You can't grow if you don't know."
Hartranft elementary in North Philadelphia saw its SPR score rise from seven - the score three years ago - to 47 last year.
Principal Jason Lytle credits teacher coaching and a program that encourages positive behavior. He also values the personal touch.
"I call each of my students by name. I check in on my teachers every day, 'How are you doing?' I talk to my parents in the schoolyard. Those simple things make you approachable and give you access in order to reach those goals and unify people towards a single mission," Lytle said.
Mitchell Elementary School Principal Stephanie Andrewlevich talked about a unique family feel among the students, teachers and staff at her school.
"One of the things that I would say about Mitchell that we're most proud of is we had zero staff turnover from last year to this year. That is truly a remarkable thing. We started at a three percent SPR and over two years we've gone up to 40," she said.
Overall, district scores have risen for three years in a row, up to 42. But a large majority of city schools remain in the bottom two performance tiers, with scores below 50.