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The Wing Institute gave its 2009 Ernie Wing Award for Excellence in Evidence-based Education to two organizations and their founders in recognition of their work in developing, implementing, and sustaining a "data-based decision making organization and culture" designed to provide state-of-the-art educational services. The awards were given to:

Ken Traupmann Ph.D., Suzanne Fitch Ph.D., and The Institute for Effective Education
Kent Johnson Ph.D and Morningside Academy

The Institute for Effective Education is a world-class educational program, achieving unparalleled outcomes with student performance, staff development, and applied research. They have demonstrated that all students can learn, and that an educational culture can be built that is reinforcing, learner-centered, data based, and inclusive. They have continually exhibited a commitment to the community and dissemination of best practices through partnering with public schools, universities, and other community agencies. Their positive impact on student lives and their community has been dramatic.

Morningside Academy has an equally long list of achievements. They have gained international recognition for their work in researching, developing and implementing state-of-the-art reading curriculums: direct instruction and precision teaching. They have formal partnerships with schools and agencies throughout the United States, Canada, and South Africa, working in over 100 sites to implement instructional programs in reading, reasoning, math, writing, thinking, and study skills. The programs they operate in Seattle (Morningside Academy) produce extraordinary results for their students.

As much as this award recognizes the excellence of the Institute for Effective Education and Morningside Academy, it also highlights the sustainability of their efforts, outcomes and success over the past 25 years. "What is truly extraordinary is the length of time they both have maintained the highest levels of quality services, ethical standards, and community partnership," noted Randy Keyworth, Executive Director of the Wing Institute. "Their commitment to performance based outcomes, continuous improvement, and the advancement of the science of effective education has built a culture whose success will continue well into the future. They are truly a unique and exceptional organizations!"

The Ernie Wing Award, given annually by the Wing Institute, was named after Ernie Wing, an educator and special education advocate who championed the cause of evidence-based education in California. The award honors excellence in one or more of the critical areas necessary to build an evidence-based culture: efficacy research, effectiveness research, implementation, and progress monitoring. Nominations are accepted from the Wing Institute's knowledge network, an inter-disciplinary group of education stakeholders from across the nation.

The Wing Institute is a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting evidence-based education. Its goal is to be a "catalyst" supporting individuals and organizations engaged in evidence-based education across disciplines, geographic regions, and in "real world settings. It offers professional forums, an information clearinghouse, research, publications and a knowledge network.

Leland Teschler's Editorial: Not that hard to learn (From an engineering training magazine)

Original Publish Date : 10/7/2008

So our first annual How-To issue seems like a good time to examine whether there's a trick to picking up a skill quickly. And as it turns out, there is.

Meet Kent Johnson. He started a school in Seattle called the Morningside Academy. Many of its students have learning disabilities. So it is noteworthy that Morningside students advance in the skills where they have their greatest deficits by about 2.4 grade levels annually.

Morningside's methods don't just work with kids. In one case, academically deficient adults improved by two academic grade levels after about 18 hours of Morningside-inspired coaching.

The secret sauce that makes these results possible is a combination of two techniques that are generally absent from conventional schools: direct instruction and precision teaching. Direct instruction centers on brief sessions of learning in small steps. Precision teaching comes into play after a direct-instruction session. Here students practice repeatedly using the material they've just learned, accompanied by measurements of their accuracy and speed.

Morningside students don't just learn material, they "overlearn" it to the point of fluency: being able to respond accurately and fast. Nor can they proceed to the next task until they hit this high level of performance. The point of the exercise: Perform at a fluent rate, and you can retain the information for years even without using it regularly.

So what does a Morningside classroom look like? "It is a noisy, active place," says Morningside Principal Joanne Robbins. "Instruction is designed so people will be correct, so you hear a lot of accurate responsing. You also see a lot of partnered work and peer tutoring. Timers go off to mark the start and end of segments, and people give each other feedback after every few minutes, so the whole room is very active."

Don't get the idea that Morningside's approach only works with small groups. "When you peer tutor, you multiply the number of teachers you have," says Robbins. "We carefully teach how to partner and show students how to listen to one another. We can go as high as 50 pupils in a room with tremendous success."

Morningside has been teaching this way since 1980. Its methods have worked not just with the learning disabled, but also with nursing students, college kids, and youths on academic probation. Clearly its techniques are effective and have stood the test of time. So why don't other schools mimic its practices?

"That's a delicate question," admits Robbins. "Part of it may be that people are not familiar with the procedures....We also have a fundamental difference in philosophy [with other educators] that everyone can learn efficiently. And it requires great dedication."

So it is unlikely you'll find Morningside's techniques in other institutions. But you can apply them yourself, says Robbins. Her advice: "Set a goal and collect data about how you're doing. Be a good observer, a good cheerleader, and keep a positive attitude. Though it can get complicated, you can make progress quickly if you set small, attainable goals you can reach in a predictable amount of time."

-- Leland Teschler, Editor

It's Back to School for Morningside Academy

Most people don't think "school bus" when they think South Lake Union, but they should--even though the bus is usually Metro rather than a big, yellow one. Every day during the school year some 80 to 100 children experience success in school at the Morningside Academy located in the heart of the SLU neighborhood.

The school serves children who have not learned to their potential at previous schools. Some children have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder or a mild learning disability that has affected their previous school experience. Some gifted children are also part of the Morningside mix.

"Kids who haven't been successful before in school are successful here," explained Dawn Oliver, Admissions Director.

Morningside Academy has been serving elementary through middle school plus ninth grade children for the past 28 years, for the past six years in the SLU neighborhood. Oliver said she expects that as new condominium and apartment homes in SLU become available, more children from the neighborhood will find their way to Morningside. Already some children who live on SLU houseboat homes are students at the school.

Oliver said the school is moving into increased participation in the community. The students attended the kickoff for Lake Union Park and also for the South Lake Union Friends and Neighbors group. Another step SLU is taking into "kid friendliness" is the renewal of Denny Park. "We're in the process of turning it into a good place for kids. There will be a play space just for children," said Oliver.

Morningside Academy is wedged solidly in the SLU neighborhood right next to the Discovery Center and opposite the new Whole Foods Complex. To find out more about Morningside, call Dawn Oliver at (206) 709-9500.

(Reprinted from SLUFAN newsletter, October 1, 2008)

Our annual Martin Luther King Day assembly was a resounding success! We raised over $450 for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Below are some pictures from the event (thanks to Dr. Geoffrey Hui for the photos!).

Morningside is preparing for ABA International's 2007 Conference. Here's what we'll be presenting:

Symposium 5/27/2007 1:30 PM- 2:50 PM America's Cup C EDC

Morningside Academy: What's New?
Chair: Joanne K. Robbins (Morningside Academy)
Discussant:

* Assessment: Reading Comprehension, Oral Reading Fluency, and
Vocabulary. HEATHER GRADA (Morningside Academy), Marianne Delgado
(Morningside Academy), Kent Johnson (Morningside Academy), Julian Gire
(Morningside Academy),

* Adding a Clinical Component to a Middle School Curriculum: Problem
Solving Planning System (PSPS). ADAM G. STRETZ (Morningside Academy),
Marianne Delgado (Morningside Academy), Kent Johnson (Morningside
Academy),

* Fluent Thinking Skills: Becoming an Active and Engaged Reader in a
Content Course. MEGAN KNIGHT (Morningside Academy), Joanne K. Robbins
(Morningside Academy),

* Prompting Question-Generating Behaviors; Promoting Number Writing
Fluency with Discrimination Training. JENNI REILLY (Morningside
Academy), Joanne K. Robbins (Morningside Academy), Julian Gire
(Morningside Academy), Erin Mitchell (Morningside Academy),

Seattle, WA—January 5, 2007—“You won’t see this type of teacher training anywhere else in the country,” commented Elizabeth Haughton, Curriculum Design Expert/Learning Specialist and guest lecturer, at the sixteenth annual Summer School Institute for teachers conducted by Seattle-based Morningside Teachers’ Academy (MTA). “We can’t forget that teachers are in the learning business. It’s rate of change and level of performance, frequency and fluency, that are important. This is a real opportunity to see Precision Teaching at its best.”

Morningside Executive Director Dr. Kent Johnson has been interviewed in Parent Map magazine. Parent Map named Dr. Johnson their "Hero" for September 2005.

We have posted some pictures from our 25th Anniversary event, "Celebrate Morningside," which was held on April 1, 2005. Click here to view them.

Seattle, WA—July 15, 2005—“You won’t see this type of teacher training anywhere else in the country,” commented Elizabeth Haughton, Curriculum Design Expert/Learning Specialist and guest lecturer, at the fourteenth annual Summer School Institute for teachers conducted by Seattle-based Morningside Teachers’ Academy (MTA). “We can’t forget that teachers are in the learning business. It’s rate of change and level of performance, frequency and fluency, that are important. This is a real opportunity to see Precision Teaching at its best.”

Dr. Kent Johnson and Dr. Elizabeth Street, co-authors of The Morningside Model of Generative Instruction, were profiled in the Spring 2005 issue of Central Washington University's Alumni Magazine.

Download the article to read more about their groundbreaking work at Morningside Academy and beyond.