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As Michigan struggles financially and many school districts face cutbacks, school administrators and staff have created and implemented a system that has dramatically enhanced student performance without requiring additional funds, materials or staff. Dubbed "Leap Frog" because students may move in, out and among various groups, elementary school principal Fred Sitkins explained that support staff travel to each grade level for two 30-minute sessions throughout the day creating student-teacher ratios sometimes as low as 3 to 1. In these sessions, students who may be struggling with reading comprehension or vocabulary are given additional time and specific attention. Teaching is shared among the staff, providing small group instruction in areas most beneficial to the participating students. Each grade level has two scheduled Leap Frog periods per day, the second focusing on math skills.

"Learning is a function of time," Sitkins said. "With this program, students receive a second dose of instruction. It's like an elementary school version of a SWAT team. We target specific areas of difficulty for intense focus and work toward eliminating discrepancies between students without placing them in a particular group for their educational career."

Since implementing the program in the fall of 2005, the results have been striking. Tracking their progress throughout the school year and beginning with 53 percent of the students working at or above standard and 47 percent below, by the spring semester the percentages had adjusted to as high as 80/20. The number of students scoring below average on the district's assessment was reduced by half.

"The combination of Leap Frog periods and after-school support have produced the greatest academic gains we have ever experienced," Sitkins said. "This program has also provided the opportunity for enrichment periods for students who are performing above grade level and traditionally under served."

The award for exemplary school programs was presented on May14 during the regular meeting of the Board of Education.