Here’s a tidbit that didn’t make it into my story today about tracking test scores. Principal Elizabeth Gillingham mentioned another benefit of the new computer system adopted by San Diego Unified, which makes it easier to track individual students over time and to compare test scores from different closes, while I was visiting her and her teachers at De Portola Middle School in Tierrasanta: Identifying at-risk kids for the De Portola “flood team.”
What the heck is that? Gillingham explained that De Portola began a program last year that targets kids with low grades and test scores with extra attention from five teachers who check in with the students throughout the day. They’re called a “flood team” because they “flood them with love,” Gillingham said. She said their new computer program helps them ferret out kids whose scores are worrisome and make sure they get that extra love.