Numbers Indicate Beat the Odds Institute's Principles for Success Making Positive Impact in Maricopa County Public School Classrooms

PHOENIX - July 24, 2009 - Preliminary data is in and the numbers are encouraging - Maricopa County students appear to be "beating the odds" thanks to the incorporation of the Beat the Odds Institute's Principles of Success inside county classrooms.

The 2006 research study "Why Some Schools with Latino Children Beat the Odds ...and Others Don't" discussed how K-12 schools can successfully educate students under adverse circumstances by adopting the right attitude, plan and leadership model. Since 2007, the Beat the Odds Institute has implemented the study's principles in a growing number of Maricopa County classrooms.

Benchmark analyses following the first year of implementation suggest the Beat the Odds program is having a positive impact. Consider:

• Twenty-one percent of participating schools showed a significantly larger improvement in AIMS math and reading scores in the 2007-08 school year compared to their previous year's change in scores.
• A number of participating schools showed year-to-year improvements in reading and math that were significantly larger than other schools within their district.

While the Beat the Odds Institute acknowledged one year of data from the initial 25 schools in the program didn't provide conclusive results, it did say the numbers represented, "...an important first step."

That feeling is apparently shared by educators statewide. The number of participating Maricopa County schools more than doubled during the program's second year (25 to 59). In addition, the 2009-10 academic year will mark the first time the program will expand outside Maricopa County to include schools in Whiteriver and the Tucson area.

As of June 30th more than 80 schools were enrolled in the Beat the Odds program for the upcoming academic year. That number is expected to increase by the start of classes in August.

To learn more about the Beat the Odds Institute, please visit: http://www.beattheoddsinstitute.org.