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9486 in the collection
Looking at Two Different Schools
Ohanian Comment: The rhetorical question that opens this piece remains unanswered at the end.
Just what is the difference between a one-star and five-star school? At Normandale Hills Elementary in Bloomington, one of Minnesota's 52 five-star gems, and at one-star Maxfield Magnet Elementary in St. Paul, some differences are stark: test scores, poverty, parental involvement. Those are the kinds of things the state's new "report card" system looks at.
The stars provide a simple measuring stick. But in sparkling halls and classrooms, where quiet children walk in neat lines, where evangelistic principals inspire teachers, the difference is fuzzier. A visit to the schools shows that sometimes, school quality has little to do with teachers, principals or schools at all. Take a look.
On a recent Maxfield morning, Lynn Umphress crouched down to kiss her babies, right there in front of the breakfast lady.
Recently arrived from Washington state, Umphress picked Maxfield for her four children -- fourth-grader Julian and three kindergartners: the twins, Lutfee and Beverly, and Shante, 11 months older -- after hearing "nothing but good things" about the school.
No whispers of past academic probation or about Maxfield being one of the state's schools to receive one star in both reading and math. All Umphress knows is what she sees: children in their new school uniforms politely greeting visitors; teachers bending down to answer a first-grader's whispered question; a fourth-grade girl helpfully taking the hand, and breakfast tray, of a kindergartner on her way to a table.
What would make Maxfield a good school?
"What I most want out of Maxfield is to not only show my children honesty, but responsibility," Umphress said. "I want my younger ones to learn their A, B, Cs and 1, 2, 3s. And I want dedication from parents and staff."
As Umphress spoke, Assistant Principal Craig Guidry grabbed a wet towel and wiped down the breakfast tables and seats in the lunchroom. Guidry and Principal Zelma Wiley are starting their second year here, continuing what many hope will be a Maxfield renaissance. If that means wiping tables, wooing back parents or coaching teachers, so be it.
In the past, district and school officials admit, there was gloom. A revolving door of principals frustrated teachers and alienated the few parents who wanted to get involved. One teacher recalls a principal and a parent shouting at each other in the school lobby. Wiley and Guidry, who both jumped into education from other careers, expect to change that.
"We've got the tools to do the job," said Guidry, who grew up in the neighborhood. "Give us a couple years and we'll be moving up."
Meanwhile, Normandale Hills is already up there.
Clear differences
There are big differences between these two schools. There's student achievement: Last year, just 15 percent of Maxfield's students were considered above grade level in reading; 68 percent were below grade level. At Normandale Hills, a K-5 school, 86 percent were above grade level for reading and just 6 percent were below. Both schools improved over the year before.
There's money. The level of poverty, as measured by students who qualify for lunch subsidies, is 13 percent at Normandale Hills this year. At Maxfield, it's 92 percent.
There's demographics: Normandale Hills does not have enough minority students, special education students or students who qualify for free lunch to report their scores separately. The test scores of those subgroups are integral to determining whether a school is "underperforming" and thus not meeting annual goals. At Maxfield, there aren't enough high-achieving kids to make up for the low math scores by other students. Such differences can make a world of difference on the state report cards.
Parents step up
Harder-to-measure differences can be seen in Bloomington, where a train of backpack-toting children is chugging up Toledo Avenue to Normandale Hills. Moms and dads hover outside the doors until the bell rings, exchanging pleasantries or making after-school plans over to-go cups of coffee. When the bell rings, the children file inside; the parents turn for home or work.
Principal Tom Lee, in his ninth year here, nurtures the bond between his school and parents -- calling it one of the most important factors in his school's success. Parents last year logged more than 6,000 volunteer hours at the school, Lee said. And he suspects an equal number of volunteer hours weren't put on the books. Parents serve lunch, correct tests, teach art history; they started after-school programs for chess and Spanish. Parents helped forge the school's strategic plan.
"There are a lot of parents involved, and I think that's what made our school a five-star school. They're in there and they care," said Laura Schmit, a Normandale Hills parent who has spent countless hours organizing field trips and giving out library books.
"The parents who are single parents or who worry about food and shelter, they can't do this. They just can't," Schmit said.
At Maxfield, family liaison Windy Ross said just 43 people "consistently volunteered" last year. While much has been done to improve relations with parents, she said most of the effort goes into just getting kids to class. Ross tracks attendance, calls families, visits homes. As a result, average daily attendance has improved from 79 percent four years ago to 89 percent last year. At Normandale Hills, it is 96 percent.
Wiley, Maxfield's principal, said some parents just don't realize how important they are. "When I look at a kindergarten student, it is very possible he has a mother who is just 19 years old," she said.
The music room
Little, physically, seems to separate the two schools. One is in middle-to upper-middle-class west Bloomington; one is in the inner city of St. Paul. In both schools, halls are clean and carpeted, rooms are bright and big. Normandale Hills has a jazzy media center small colleges might envy, but Maxfield's media center also is new and stocked with books and computers.
Still, the difference that money can make jumps out in the music room.
Jeff Zupfer's music classroom is filled with drums, tambourines, cymbals, xylophones, a piano, keyboard and acoustic guitar -- courtesy of the Normandale Hills Parent-Teacher Association. The place bursts with color and sound.
At Maxfield, a couple dozen worn instruments are stuffed into three or four laundry baskets; a keyboard floor pad makes musical notes -- or animal sounds -- when stepped on. Wiley expects the school's after-school string ensemble, started with a $25,000 grant last year, to resume this fall.
Inside the classrooms
It's a good idea to just watch the teachers work sometimes. Gauge their energy. Is the class orderly? Do questions get answered? This is where Maxfield and Normandale Hills seem most similar. If school quality is measured by the passion and discipline of teachers, Normandale Hills and Maxfield seem more akin than contrasting.
At Normandale Hills, 25 fourth-graders zip through 70 + 40, 80 + 90 and 600 + 500, led by an energetic Hans Olson in a Krispy Kreme hat. They draw rays and line segments, right angles and vertices. When a student asks a question, Olson calls him "Professor" and encourages him to use a loud, clear voice. Another student, frustrated with his work, begins to cry quietly. Olson bends close for a few minutes and the tears go away.
Normandale Hills is filled with teachers who say they wouldn't work anyplace else, many who haven't worked anyplace else.
It's popular with students, too. Although it's a neighborhood school, 25 percent of its 450 students come from outside the attendance area. The school's Amigo program, which groups students of different grade levels with a team of teachers, attracts families, Lee said. That's important -- even for five-star schools -- at a time when schools have to compete for students.
Maxfield can boast committed teachers, too: Mark Irvin, who uses his own battle with dyslexia to inspire sixth-graders to rise above their problems; Kamille Wells, a fourth-grade teacher who is studying the impact of a nurturing school community on student achievement.
And if discipline were measured on a school report card, Maxfield would have five stars. By the third day of school, Leslie Silas' second-graders already have memorized, "Yes, Ms. Silas" and "No, Ms. Silas." They know the Pledge of Allegiance, the Maxfield Pledge and the lifelong skill of keeping their hands to themselves and their feet quiet.
Silas, a 1982 graduate of St. Paul Central High School who attended Maxfield in the 1970s, said her dream was to return home and teach. She is starting her fifth year at Maxfield. "We can make a difference here," she said.
It won't be easy. Of the 20 children on Silas' class list, just 14 came to school that day. In addition, more than 15 percent of Maxfield's students receive special education services, and many of those children have severe emotional and behavioral disabilities.
Still, Wiley said, expectations are growing. Certainly, parents and teachers say, it feels different at Maxfield.
In an effort to rev up a gifted and talented program, Maxfield teacher Lori Schmidt will work with 80 kids who are at or near grade level -- not just the 25 who were considered gifted last year.
Whether Maxfield's test scores climb enough to raise its star rating remains to be seen. Enrollment is up, teacher turnover is down. The school district is pouring attention into Maxfield, using data to find the key to improvement. Hope, for the first time in years, is rising.
But can you really turn a school like Maxfield into a school like Normandale Hills? Can committed teachers, focused leadership and solid curriculum overcome student poverty, special education challenges and poor attendance -- things that schools can't control?
Wiley expects they will.
"We're getting there," Wiley said. "I know what a good school looks like. And I want that for these kids."
— James Walsh
What's' Star Quality
Star Tribune
2003-10-06
http://www2.startribune.com/stories/1592/4139055.html
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