Success story
SUN PHOTO BY MERAB-MICHAL FAVORITE
Sometimes students are more likely to remember their vocabulary words by working with them in different ways,
SUN PHOTO BY MERAB-MICHAL FAVORTE
At Neil Armstrong Elementary School, teachers practice a differentiated learning pattern where they work with different groups of students based on their performance.
PORT CHARLOTTE — Teachers Sonia Sifrit and Phebe Westby are on opposite sides of the classroom. Each instructor is seated at a table and surrounded by a group of third graders who are working diligently on their lesson of the day. One group suffers learning disabilities, the other is highly advanced, but to an outsider entering the room for the first time, it is difficult to determine which is which.
Neil Armstrong Elementary School is one of the top-performing schools in Charlotte County, but it has some of the most restrictive demographics. Over
25 percent of students are considered disabled, while nearly 78 percent receive free or reduced lunch.
