‘No excuses here.’ How 4 Chattahoochee Valley schools increased achievement in schools
As she considered what this national award means for her school, Meadowlane Elementary third-grade teacher Krystle Walton not only noted their hard work has paid off but also why it matters to the students.
“The whole point is to get them ready for college, ready for life,” she said. “We’re taking the steps to give them the tools they need in order to make it and be successful and productive members of society.”
And those steps have brought this Phenix City school a rare honor.
Meadowlane is one of 73 U.S. schools to be named a 2019 Distinguished School by the National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators, formerly the National Title I Association. ESEA is the acronym for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The Distinguished Schools will be recognized during the Feb. 4-7 National ESEA Conference in Atlanta.
Title I federal funding is given for schoolwide use if at least 40% of a school’s students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Three other Columbus area Title I schools received 2019 awards on the state level: Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts and Wynnton Arts Academy in Muscogee County, and Park Elementary in Harris County.
Phenix City
Meadowlane’s national honor is in the category for closing the achievement gap between student groups. To win this award, a school must have a poverty rate of at least 90% and demonstrate an overall improvement rate of at least 90% on the state’s standardized tests, including at least 65% in reading and math combined, for two consecutive years.
All of which has boosted Meadowlane’s score on the 100-point Alabama state report card from a D (69) in 2017 to a B (83) in 2019.
“We’re shooting for the A,” principal Aretha McDonald said during the celebration Thursday in the school’s cafeteria.
She and Walton mentioned the following factors in Meadowlane’s success:
- Data-driven instruction. That means teachers use tests and other assessments throughout the year to determine how to best help their students.
- Setting goals and tracking progress. Students in grades 3-5 have WIN (What I Need) Time the first half hour every school day, when they work on assignments designed to strengthen weaknesses.
- Asking open-ended questions to encourage students to express themselves and apply their knowledge instead of just memorizing facts.
- Infusing technology into the lessons — and even teaching computer coding in elementary school.
When she started teaching at Meadowlane six years ago, Walton’s classroom had six iPads and a few desktop computers. Now, each of her 21 students is assigned a Chromebook or an iPad.
“We know we’re in a world where the jobs they’re going to have in the future are going to be based on computers,” Walton said.
Students work independently at their own pace. They also try to solve problems in small groups to learn collaboration along with the curriculum.
Meadowlane is the eighth national Distinguished School in Alabama since the award’s inception in 1996; Georgia has had seven.
“Today, Meadowlane, you stand on top of the state,” Phenix City Schools superintendent Randy Wilkes told the assembly. “… You’re a beacon to the state. You’re a beacon to the nation. You’ve demonstrated that, regardless of your socioeconomic status, that you can dream, and you have dreamed, and you have achieved. … You’ve not let the conditions of life dictate who you are and who you can be. There are no excuses here at Meadowlane.”
Phenix City Mayor Eddie Lowe, who attended Meadowlane more than 45 years ago, told the assembly, “The school system is only as good as the city municipality, and the city municipality is only as good as the school system. This is a big, big deal.”
McDonald credited the students for their hard work and the system administrators, board members and parents for their support. She also thanked her family and colleagues.
And the superintendent praised McDonald, in her fifth year as Meadowlane’s principal. She is effective in public and private settings, Wilkes said.
“She can lead a parade,” he said, “and she can lead a data meeting.”
Muscogee County
Rainey-McCullers, with students in grades 6-12, earned its Title I Achievement Award from the Georgia Department of Education for having state test scores in the top 5% among Title I schools receiving targeted assistance.
Targeted assistance means they must use that federal money to help students with a demonstrated academic need instead of students schoolwide.
Wynnton is a Title I Reward School for improving its state tests scores at a rate that ranks among the top 10% of Title I schools in Georgia the past two years.
MCSD’s communications office didn’t respond before deadline to the L-E’s request for comment from the principals about how they achieved this success.
Harris County
Park also is a 2019 Title I Reward School.
Dave Dennie, HCSD’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, was interim principal at Park from spring to summer 2019, when Park improved its score on the 100-point College and Career Ready Performance Index from 65.2 in 2018 to 81.4 in 2019.
Dennie listed the following initiatives for helping Park improve:
- All teachers were trained and continue to train on small-group reading and math instruction.
- An instructional coach helped teachers implement a guided reading program, gave individual coaching to teachers, modeled and co-taught lessons, developed intervention schedules with tutors, collaborated with other schools for professional development, and compiled and analyzed assessment data.
- Students in grades 1-4 worked on typing skills three times per week for 15 minutes each session. The state tests are taken on computers nowadays.
- Students in grades 3-4 perform writing exercises that are graded based on more rigorous standards. Teachers give them feedback electronically via Google Classroom.
- Teachers are continually trained to collect and analyze assessment data so they can differentiate their lessons and individualize their instruction.
- Retired teachers are used as tutors.
- The HCSD Mobile Learning Lab’s monthly neighborhood visits bridge the learning gap between school and home.
- Parents support teachers.
“We really appreciate them going with the flow and sticking with the process,” Dennie said. “It is through their hard work and dedication that this was possible.”
