SOMERS - Presenters at a Racine Unified retreat Monday asked educators what children have in common with assorted hard candies.

The answers came back loud and clear: They're all shapes and sizes, some are broken, some stick together and some are wrapped perfectly while others have odd crinkles.

"That's the way our kids are," said Eileen Mangan Stull, a presenter from Louisa May Alcott Elementary School in Cleveland, Ohio, which has successfully closed its achievement gap.

This sweets-filled presentation addressed closing achievement gaps at schools with similar ethnic and economic demographics to Racine Unified. Staff from three schools across the country that closed achievement gaps by raising test scores told Racine educators how they did it Monday at the district's annual data and leadership retreat, held this year at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Alcott Elementary used staff teamwork and student learning groups to improve achievement on state tests from proficiency levels in the single digits 12 years ago to 88 percent proficiency in 2008, said Laurie Maldonado, Alcott first-grade teacher and a presenter Monday.

Repetition

Practice makes perfect so key subjects are taught daily at Alcott with repeated exercises.

Students have daily math problems that employ critical thinking. They do repetitive sound exercises to learn to read and are evaluated on fluency and accuracy with mistakes corrected instantly.

In all of Alcott's grades, students are divided into different comprehension levels for two-hour literacy blocks focused on reading and language.

Even kindergarten students have a two-hour block where they rotate around doing small group work and worksheets, Maldonado said.

School cultureAlcott starts every day with a morning assembly, singing of the school song and a pride cheer.

"I say, 'Who are the smartest kids in the United States of America?' and they yell, 'We are!'" Mangan Stull said.

She uses things like pride cheers to create a community feeling within the school that helps students respect each other like family. Such methods have decreased fighting and the presence of police at the school, Maldonado said.

Teamwork

Before these different teaching methods were implemented, staff toured schools around the country to get ideas.

"It's important to research and choose a direction together," Maldonado said. "We did road trips. We went to cities. We saw these programs."

Staff also joined together to write grants and received one for a total of $75,000, which paid for Direct Instruction materials and teaching coaches who worked side by side with teachers, Mangan Stull said.

She left Racine educators with bags of candy filled with Nerds, Smarties, Dum Dums suckers and Milk Duds, which Mangan Stull said demonstrated the varied types of children that all need a teacher's understanding and time.