Differentiated Instruction
at Dresden Helps Students
Achieve Their Best Work
What is your level of effort?
What is the best that you can give?
These are questions asked of students daily at SCORE Prize winner Dresden Elementary, according to fourthgrade teacher Honey Cantrell. Students are encouraged to give “their absolute.” And in classrooms driven
by creative, engaging, and differentiated instruction, teachers know that students’ best work will vary highly
between individuals.
Dresden Elementary, serving grades PK-4 in Weakley County Schools in northwest Tennessee, has helped
its primarily low-income, rural population of students achieve remarkable results. The school posts high
three-year growth marks on the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS), and Dresden students
have met or outpaced statewide averages on Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) tests.
About 70 percent of Dresden’s students are economically disadvantaged.
“They want to be here and they want to learn, and that’s what we get out of them,” said Melanie Needham,
assistant principal and literacy leader. “We want Dresden Elementary to be a special place for kids. That’s
everybody’s philosophy, from the principal to the cleaning staff.”
Dresden educators have helped students succeed by empowering them to set and reach personalized learning goals. Starting with third-grade TCAP data, third- and fourth-grade students have data binders mapping
out student progress and identifying incremental goals. The binders include report cards, important assignments, STAR reading reports, and TCAP practice results. Using binders, rather than a data wall, helps students focus on individual progress rather than peer comparisons.
Students at Dresden receive highly individualized instruction. The school’s Response to Instruction and Intervention time, referred to as “Paw Power” in honor of Dresden’s lion mascot, provides 45 minutes each day to
work on individual academic needs. The lowest 20 percent of academic achievers, as well as special education students, receive specialized instruction. Higher performers receive enrichment, like small-group reading lessons for students in grades K-2. Third- and fourth-grade enrichment students rotate between areas of
need, including intensive math lessons, novel studies, and keyboarding and computer skills. The small-group
instruction is made possible by help throughout the building. Lessons are taught by staff members including
counselors, media specialists, and a physical education teacher with two decades of experience teaching
middle school math.
While the school has had intervention services in place for years, “Paw Power” debuted in Fall 2014. Ms.
Needham said both lower and higher achieving students are making gains, and school leaders are hopeful for
more TCAP improvements.
Differentiation strategies are also in play in every classroom throughout the day. Teaching is creative and
3