Neal P. Thao, CEO and Founder of Noble Academy
While fears about a growing and unshakable achievement gap regularly plague Minnesota’s schools, Minneapolis Hmong charter school Noble Academy strives to overcome the gap and inspire students to make great gains in their education.
CEO and Principal Neal P. Thao draws his conviction that all students can succeed from his early experiences as a teacher in Minneapolis. “Back in 1997, I had a student who came back to me and said, ‘Because of your help and words of encouragement, I’m in a pharmacist program and about to graduate.’ I was very moved, and I decided [that] maybe this was my gift.”
Although Thao had attended school in Minnesota and Wisconsin to become an engineer, he decided that he could do more for the community as an educator. “The Hmong community came to this country almost thirty years ago. [I’m] one of the few people who has had the privilege to go to college and I feel obligated to give back to the community.”
After attaining his administrative license from St. Mary’s University in 2006, Thao realized that a new approach to education was necessary for the community. “I conducted some surveys during the Hmong New Year and Hmong soccer tournament,” he said, and the results ultimately convinced him that a school that tailored itself to meet the specific needs of its students would serve the community best.
Thao then sent his proposal for a charter school to the Minnesota Department of Education. The school was sanctioned in October of 2006 and opened in the fall of 2007 with 200 students. After a mere four years in existence, student enrollment has steadily increased to approximately 500 students. The school’s focus on cultural awareness, technological literacy, and maintaining personalized attention for each student helps to keep enrollment numbers strong. Thao’s years of teaching in Minneapolis have also developed a community of alumni that are able to enroll their children at his school. “I have quite a few of my students who have their kids at Noble Academy because they trust me,” Thao explained.
Noble Academy uses technology such as smartboards and teacher laptops, not only to teach the students at school, but also as a way to connect to parents and families. “Teachers have their own blogs,” Thao commented, “[students] will have homework and assignments, and the teachers upload that information. On the Noble Academy website (www.NobleAcademy.us), parents have access to their student’s profiles and [are able to] really look at their child’s progress.”
Because the school assesses the students six times throughout the year, they are able to develop data-driven, personalized plans for each student. “Every single student has their own plan,” said Thao. The data is used during each assessment period to decide whether or not the student is making the appropriate gains for their grade level, and to determine if intervention is needed. Thao also believes that in cultural identity: if his students are fluent in their first language, their second language tends to come to them much easier: “The cultural support offered from the school helps my students better citizens,” said Thao.
Thao also has high expectations of his staff, who are encouraged to get to know their students beyond what standard assessments reveal. “I expect my teachers to do a home visit [with their individual students],” said Thao, “they visit the students and parents at home to help them understand who the students are and where they’re coming from.”
The school’s unique approach has yielded positive results for students, said Thao: “We have found success in being consistent with high expectations for students and parents. I’ve seen kids step up to the plate and make huge gains.” According to Thao, a 3-point gain from each consecutive assessment to another is normal for schools in the U.S., but he expects, and sees, his students make gains of at least 9 points. Also, the success that Noble Academy alumni have found at other establishments for post-secondary education further demonstrates the effectiveness of Noble Academy’s methods. “Some students graduated from here and got straight A’s,” Thao stated, “parents are very satisfied with that.”
Despite the many examples of success, Thao hopes to better his school’s performance in special education. “One thing we need to improve and concentrate on is math. Everyone is making the [state] standard except for the specialty group. But everyone else made their standards. My focus right now is to work with the specialty group to help them pass the state standards.”
But Thao knows his school is on the right track, adding that he would like to see Noble Academy become a 90-90-90 school, where “90% [of students] are free and reduced-lunch qualified, 90% are ESL learners, and 90% are on top.”
“My biggest dream is to educate these kids,” Thao says. “One of my dreams that will hopefully happen is sending one of my kids to the moon.”
By Teresa Townsend
