Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 1, 1994 Page: 6
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On Creating an Environment Where All Students Learn:
A Conversation with Al Mamary
by Ron BrandtThe Johnson City school system has had outcome-based
education for years. What's been the effect on student
achievement?
Well, let's start with what most people think of first:
standardized tests. Now, all of our schools are Chapter I
schools; we're the lowest socioeconomic school district in
this area. And we have a large number of non-English-
speaking students, representing 17 different languages. As
recently as a year ago, on the revised California Achieve-
ment Test, our 8th grade students were at the 12.9 level in
mathematics and 11.8 in reading.
That's remarkable.
There's much more. New York State gives a very special
diploma-the Regents diploma-to students who take speci-
fied sequences of courses in math, science, foreign lan-
guages, and so on. In the state as a whole, approximately 34
percent of its graduates earn this diploma. In Johnson City,
the average is from 48 percent to 78 percent.
I think the Advanced Placement results are also
pretty significant. Again, you wouldn't necessarily expect
it in our kind of setting. In 1972, nobody in our district took
the AP exams. Now, between 25 and 35 percent of the
seniors take at least one AP exam, which shows that they are
enrolling in these demanding courses. Last year, for ex-
ample, 111 out of 189 students took an exam, and 104 of
them got grades of 3, 4, or 5.
Other indicators?
Our vandalism budget is approximately $200 a year. Our
dropout rate has fallen to 3 percent. There's much more. For
example, our state exam, the Regents. In Math I, which is
mostly algebra, 93 percent of our kids passed. The state
average is 73, and the county is 76. Over 80 percent of our
kids are enrolled in Algebra I or higher in 9th grade.
You've been talking about "our kids," but actually you
recently retiredfrom Johnson City. Still, you were a leader
there for many years.Twenty-one years. I went there as assistant superintendent
and then was superintendent for 11 years.
And how would you explain this impressive success story?
Well, I think success comes from the kind of environment
you create. We started by trying to create an environment
where everybody was considered in partnership with the
operation.
The Johnson City schools live by three principles.
Here's the first one: all staff members will be involved in
every major decision. The second idea is that we will
always strive for 100 percent agreement, even if we have to
go back many times. And third, we have an agreement that
everybody will live by the agreements until we change
them-and agreements should be changed now and then.
Back in 1972, I said that a position in this district is
not power. Instead, we said knowledge is power, using
knowledge is power. We said-and we meant it-that we
are co-workers and co-learners and co-doers. And I think
that is why the district is where it is today.
What you're saying is surprising. I would have expected
you to talk about your emphasis on student performance
and the steps you took to achieve specific outcomes.
Well, we'll get to that, because that's important, too. But
first you have to create the environment-an environment
that says people are important, that we're not going to
blame one another, that there's no humiliation and coer-
cion.
Okay, what other factors would explain your success?
Continuity of administration is a major factor of the suc-
cess. As you know, John Champlain was the superinten-
dent responsible for starting the entire change in Johnson
City. He brought me with him as assistant superintendent
of schools for curriculum and instruction. When I retired,
Larry Rowe, who had been a teacher, principal, and assis-
tant superintendent in Johnson City, became superinten-
dent.
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Tarleton State University. Effective Schools Project. Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 1, 1994, periodical, 1994; Stephenville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201678/m1/6/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Tarleton State University.