Customer Overview

Ask Vicki Wristel about her exact role as Associate Superintendent of the Bowling Green Independent School District, and she’ll just laugh – she wears a lot of hats. One of these is overseeing the district ESL program, which means Vicki must ensure compliance with state and federal laws even while increasing student achievement among English Learners. In an environment with limited resources and multiple responsibilities, Vicki realized she needed more than a good sense of humor. She needed software from Ellevation to support her work.

Inefficient Systems and Overburdened Teachers

Before Ellevation, Bowling Green managed all of its student information manually, which made it very difficult to update and share ESL data. When Vicki wanted to learn more about a specific English Learner, she was forced to toggle back and forth between her paper folder and the district’s online student information system. To monitor compliance, she traveled to each school in order to review individual student folders. Vicki needed to make sure her kids were not just mastering the language, but also mastering the content of the Common Core. For Vicki to be effective, she needed technology suited to the demands of ELs.

Monitoring Student Progress Successfully

Bowling Green implemented Ellevation in the Fall of 2013. Today, Vicki's team manages their student information accurately and efficiently. EL coaches love how easy it is to write consistent, professional student plans in order to help them monitor student progress. "We want to adjust instruction constantly, which you have to do if you're a good teacher," Vicki said. Understanding student data – from test scores to goals progress – allows Vicki's teachers to identify knowledge gaps and take action to better serve their kids. Without software from Ellevation, it would have been impossible to realize this goal. "We want to be accountable for student progress," Vicki said. And now she can.

Ellevation has added a new layer of professionalism to the work of Bowling Green's teachers. Switching to Ellevation's platform has not only protected the teachers' time and validated their work; it has given them greater potential for classroom impact.