Beach Elementary, Fruitport Community Schools
Fruitport schools hold a very special place in my heart. They have been EBLI champions, starting at Beach Elementary, for almost a decade and they are the district that has implemented EBLI with fidelity for the longest period of time. They have reaped the rewards of doing so and I have learned so much from working with them. Julie, the principal at Beach, is an intense lifelong learner and over the years has been adept at playing devil’s advocate by challenging me, intensely and deeply, to verify and defend all that I teach and request of her and her staff. She also quite likes a good debate! Julie is an example of the amazingly dedicated, motivated, hard-working administration and staff at Fruitport and their focus on doing what is best for their students. This is a district that should be emulated by all who are not just striving for excellence but are willing to put in the necessary effort to attain it. It is a privilege to be associated with them.
“In 2008 our scores were the lowest in Muskegon county and the last few years we have been scoring at the top in the county.”
“Our Kindergarten scores went from about 50% of students reaching benchmark to 90-100% reaching benchmark.”
“The number of students in Special Education for reading has dropped significantly.”
“We are proud to be a Rewards School.” (A Rewards School is one that is outperforming other schools in Michigan in achievement and growth, or is performing better than other schools with a similar student population.)
The story of EBLI at Beach Elementary and in Fruitport Community Schools provides a wonderful example of systematically planned, whole school, and district wide success. Watch the video above to hear from the Curriculum Director, and to learn how the administration and teachers mindfully utilize EBLI in their daily practice and long term planning process. You can view the Fruitport Schools website here.
Julie VanBergen, Principal at Beach Elementary since 2008, was trained in EBLI in 2003 when she was the Title I teacher at Elbridge Elementary school in Hart, Michigan. Wendy Somers, formerly the principal at Elbridge, later became the Curriculum Director at Fruitport. Both were highly skeptical of EBLI when it was first implemented in Elbridge. However, their mindset quickly changed when they started to see astounding student gains. Both were instrumental in bringing EBLI to Fruitport.
