Located in Southampton, NY, Southampton High School is one of many Albert school partners in Suffolk County. The school has 610 students in grades 9-12, with a student-teacher ratio of 11 to 1. Accordingly to the latest reported state test scores, Southampton students earned a 92% proficiency in Reading and 95% in Math. Beyond the high test scores, Southampton leans into their motto of “anchoring the community,” fostering students both academically and personally each and every day.
After learning about Albert through Suffolk County colleagues, Instructional Technology Director Julieanne Purcell and Principal Brian Zahn, partnered together to lead teachers and students in a four week Albert pilot.
Both Zahn and Purcell have been pleased with recent test scores, however they wanted to provide their school community with additional resources. The aim was to find a technology solution that provided both teachers and students with rigorous content, supplemental practice, as well instant feedback for students in order to further incorporate data-driven instruction daily. Additionally, they provided teachers with the following goals to ensure a high level of Albert adoption and fidelity during their trial month:
Teachers found both short term and long term benefits of Albert during their trial period. Many teachers used Albert’s explanations to unpack roadblocks, and assignments to provide more “productive class and homework” according to Principal Zahn. Many teachers also used Albert’s “Assign-All” feature to emulate what portions of the AP® tests would be like come May.
Southampton’s most active teachers experimented with using Albert to increase small group instruction. Albert’s data analytics also allowed teachers to give students more personalized learning opportunities within the same class lessons.
According to AP® Psychology teacher Sean Zay, Albert was “more tactical than a review book.” He was pleased that Albert gave his students feedback “on what they know and what they should study,” which he hopes will help students earn college credit after taking the final exam in May.
In summary, Principal Zahn shared his reflections and hopes for Albert eloquently: “For me as a school leader, I believe that Albert will have a profound impact on student achievement as this system provides teachers with another tool that will engage learners and will help meet changing learning styles of the 21st century student.”
