About Dorothy Batson
Dorothy Batson is an educator dedicated to creating successful academic programs for Ohio students. She is currently director of language arts and reading for the Toledo Public School District and curriculum coordinator for two of Toledo's magnet elementary schools, Old West End Academy and Grove Patterson Academy. At Old West End Academy, Batson has helped to develop a highly effective curriculum, positioning the academy as one of the top schools in the district.

Having worked in the Toledo Public School District for thirty-three years and in education for thirty-six years, Batson is well versed in the challenges of the field and has served in various roles. She began teaching elementary school and junior high school in Mississippi, and then moved to Ohio, where she taught high school English for seventeen years. From there, she transitioned into administration, holding positions as dean, assistant principal, principal, and curriculum specialist.

About the District
The Toledo Public School District is the fourth-largest school district in Ohio, with approximately 28,000 students. It operates forty-one elementary schools, including the two magnet schools and two single-sex academies, seven middle schools, and nine high schools. In the past few years enrollment in the district has significantly decreased due to an increase in area charter schools as well the implementation of voucher programs. However, to offset these recent changes Toledo Public Schools applied for and was awarded a grant from the KnowledgeWorks Foundation in 2003 to restructure two of its high schools and bolster achievement for students through focused personal attention and rigorous coursework.

Although the district has been struggling with math and science, Batson reports that students are doing very well in language arts and reading because of the strong emphasis the district places on early reading and writing. "We push writing in all the schools from a very early age," said Batson. "We do a lot professional development in reading and writing, and the majority of reading materials are aligned to state standards and state tests."

Selecting an Effective Curriculum
Since Old West End Academy opened its doors five years ago, Batson has helped institute a solid framework for academic success. She serves as curriculum coordinator at the elementary school, a district-sponsored public school that operates on a separate protocol from the district's regular elementary schools. "The academy has some autonomy to decide how to organize their own infrastructure and curriculum," explained Batson.

When constructing the curriculum, Batson advocated for reading, science, and math programs that she believed would be the most effective for the student population, which is composed of predominately African American students. She also proposed implementation of the Direct Instruction teaching method for reading, a model that emphasizes carefully crafted lesson plans using clearly defined tasks and small learning increments. In addition, learning is based on ability at the elementary school, meaning students are encouraged to work at the level they are proficient in, in any subject. "Those students who are above grade level in reading, writing, or any such area, can take that subject at the appropriate grade, which is determined through testing," said Batson. "We may have a second-grader that's reading at a fifth-grade level, so that child may walk to a fifth-grade class for reading. We don't hold the kids back. We keep challenging them." Students are also looped in classes through grade five—remaining with one teacher for two school years—and teachers instruct across the curriculum. Class sizes are small, averaging twenty students per class.

Old West End Academy offers its students additional enrichment activities that are aligned to the school's standards-based curriculum. "Every field trip is geared toward matching a standard," said Batson. "We ask ourselves, what will the students learn when they go to the ball game? What will they learn when they go to the zoo or to the coastline?"

Strategies for Success
When developing the framework for Old West End Academy, Batson and administrators built in practices and programs aimed at creating an atmosphere conducive to learning. First, students at Old West End Academy receive more instructional hours than those at regular Toledo public schools. School days run longer, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the school year begins two weeks earlier than other schools in the district. This adds a total of 250 additional classroom hours. The school also boasts a 97 percent attendance rate, on average. Educators at Old West End Academy believe these are important factors that lead to higher academic achievement.

Parental involvement is also key to achievement. Parents are required to volunteer ten to twelve hours per year at the school, assisting their child's teacher in the classroom, working on reading with students, or providing office support. "These parents have taken ownership of the education of their children," said Batson. In addition, students are required to wear uniforms, a practice that Batson believes is helpful in focusing the students on their studies. "You come to school to learn, so you dress to learn," she said. "Wearing uniforms has made a difference in our students and in the way they act throughout the school day."

Assessment and Accountability
To regularly monitor progress, students at Old West End Academy are assessed every two weeks, on average, and teachers must meet certain benchmarks. For support, cadre leadership teams train teachers in leading curriculum, and an external coach works with any teacher who isn't meeting his or her goals. "We really hold teachers accountable for their students' learning," explained Batson.

Old West End Academy also has facilitators on special assignment, coaching teachers to overcome specific curriculum challenges and setting up professional development for them as needed. "They keep records for me to let me know if there's a concern or if we need certain materials," said Batson. The faculty is also approved to attend staff development three hours each week where they can work on grade- and subject-specific curriculum. In addition, teachers at Old West End Academy developed their own processes at the school, engaging them in procedures through a sense of ownership. "They put together their own handbook of how things work in the building and they hold everybody accountable," explained Batson.

Successful Results
Because of the initiatives that Batson and the faculty implemented at Old West End Academy, most students at the school perform two or more years above grade level and routinely score higher than other students on the Ohio Achievement Test and the district's standardized tests. Last year, the third-grade students were ranked first in the district for their writing scores and third in reading on the Ohio Achievement Test. Over the past three years, Old West End Academy has been ranked third out of forty-one elementary schools in the district in passing all subject areas of the Ohio state test. "Public education can work," said Batson. "You just have to have the right dynamics and components in there to make sure that it does."

Work in the Community
Batson also works hard to develop educational programs that complement her pursuits with the Toledo Public Schools. In particular, she gives her time to groups that help enrich professional development for teachers and that provide strong foundations for students personally. As chairperson of educational programs for Phi Delta Kappa, Batson works with educators to develop innovative teaching methodologies. This past year she organized one of the sorority’s national programs called Teach-A-Rama, an in-service for teachers in the Toledo area sponsored by McDougal Littell and featuring literacy expert Dr. Janet Allen. The in-service offered research-based methods for teachers working with students on reading comprehension in literacy and content classes. Presenters provided practical methods, detailed strategies, resources, and solutions for many of the literacy dilemmas that teachers face every day.

In the realm of higher education, Batson worked with educators at the University of Toledo who had established a mentoring program for male, African American freshmen to develop a similar program for female, African American students. MINIYA, meaning "much is expected of her" in Swahili, has been active for four years and engages 150 young women in a system where freshman contact a mentor weekly, and gather at monthly meetings to learn about relevant topics like managing finances, relationships, and study skills. The freshman participants are required to mentor incoming freshmen in subsequent years.

Conclusion
Overall, Batson's work in and outside the Toledo Public School District aims to further education. From setting high standards in the classroom to her efforts in the community, Batson sets students up for success in their lives. "I always encourage students, telling them they can achieve whatever they set their minds to," said Batson. "They really listen. As a teacher, you know kids have passed through you to be what they have become. You have made a difference in someone's life. That's always been important to me: to make a difference in some child's life."