CHALLENGE: Bolstering achievement for early elementary learners Theodore Roosevelt Elementary in Houston has a long history of academic success, even when faced with what appear to be demographic challenges: 90 percent of their students are at poverty level and 40 percent are English Language Learners (ELL). The school is also home to a Vanguard magnet program for gifted and talented learners that enriches the education of those students through project-based learning. When STAAR scores took a sudden and dramatic downturn among their third grade students last year, the school’s leadership, including principal Yolanda Rodriguez and instructional specialist Rodolfo Ramos, realized they needed a new approach. One that—in the face of diverse abilities and changing state

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