Anderson Park Elementary Recognized for Improved Student Performance by Atlanta Public Schools

The administration, faculty, staff, and students of Anderson Park Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia, are minding their P's and Q's. These letters represent their efforts - and the results of those efforts - to improve student performance.

United by a Purpose
Under the leadership of Dr. Beverly Hall, Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools (APS), every facility in the district began restructuring its curriculum during the summer of 2001 in order to become standards-based. Modern Red has provided staff development for this district initiative for all APS schools. In addition, each school has adopted a reform design that addresses that site's specific needs and goals.

After deciding to continue their partnership with MRSH, the educators at Anderson Park find themselves unified by a common purpose - mastery of every standard by every child. And more specifically, during the 2002-2003 school year, this school identified seven targets for improvement in the areas of reading and language arts, mathematics, and attendance.

Equipped with a Plan
Recognizing the need for a plan in order to accomplish their purpose, they began with the scope and sequence developed in their earlier training, revising and tweaking it until their instructional goals were clearly aligned with Georgia's standards, the QCC's. They then designed thematic instructional units to equip their students with the knowledge and skills appropriate for each grade level. They worked with MRSH trainers to utilize a variety of teaching and learning strategies and then carefully constructed rubrics and assessments, which are given regularly and are performance-based in nature. These provide the needed feedback to identify student progress toward the learning goals and enable the teachers to work collaboratively to address areas of continuing need and make necessary adjustments in the instructional plan. Dr. Bernice Clarke, the principal at Anderson Park, noted that once the plan was clearly laid out, the results they hoped for were not far behind.

Challenged by Questions
Dr. Clarke strongly feels that the school is moving in the right direction with Modern Red SchoolHouse. The answer to the teachers' most commonly asked question, "Will the results be worth all this effort?" can be found by examining test data from the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) given annually to Georgia's students.

Remember their seven target areas for student performance? Anderson Park met five of them! Their first objective was to decrease the percentage of students not meeting the standards on the reading portion of the CRCT, and they did just that - from 52% below standard in 2001-2002 to 35% below in 2002-2003.

They also met their second goal, which was to increase the percentage of students exceeding the standards on the reading portion of the test. They went from 7% exceeding the standards in the first year to 22% exceeding the standards last year.

Their third goal was to decrease the percentage of students not meeting the standards in language arts, and they dropped from 50% to 29%, meeting goal number three.

Number four was also met, increasing the percentage of students exceeding the standards in language arts from 4% to 14%.

In mathematics, they met goal number five by decreasing the percentage not meeting the standards from 73% to 47%, and while they did not quite meet their target of 9% of their students exceeding the standards in mathematics, they did show an increase from 0% to 4%. Their seventh priority area was attendance, and they fell short of their projected goal of 33% of students being absent 10 days or more, showing a decrease from 46% to 36%.

Dr. Clarke affirms that the different strategies and the thematic units really helped with the turnaround in student learning. "If you could see the faces of our students while working on their projects," she says, "...so involved and excited." In one such unit, called "Me, Myself, My Life," the children studied cultural differences among countries. They expanded their original plan to a school-wide one that was project-based and involved foods from different lands. By sampling and talking about the foods from a country, even first grade students were able to increase their vocabulary, improve their understanding of different peoples, and hone their writing skills.

Anderson Park is an inner city school with a student population that is presently 100% African-American. Most are from single parent families with a high mobility rate. The principal suggests that frequent assessment and the common thread that the thematic units bring to the curriculum have directly impacted their continuing success. She states, "I think Modern Red SchoolHouse is just what we needed in terms of providing the kind of instruction our students need." As learning increases and test scores rise, Dr. Clarke sees more and more teachers getting on board. "I can see the enthusiasm rise."

Another question at the forefront for Anderson Park impacts its very existence. This is a school that the district has considered closing - sending the children to merge with another school. This is not what the neighborhood wants, and the recent student improvement has provided a large morale boost for parents and staff. MRSH site manager, Joyce Pully, reports that during the last board meeting, "...school board members determined that they should consider the advisement of the parents. This is evidence of good communication among the stakeholders. The school is the anchor for the community, and parents recognize it as a vital, family-oriented institution."

Qualified for Recognition
The improved student performance at Anderson Park resulted in an invitation to be honored at the Superintendent's Convocation, an annual event instigated by Dr. Hall and held at the Phillips Arena. The overall purpose is celebratory and includes student performances, a keynote speaker, and presentation of awards to deserving schools. At this year's Convocation, held on October 13, 2003, Anderson Park Elementary School was recognized for having met 70-79% of their district goals. In addition to certificates and public recognition, each certified employee was awarded a cash prize of $500.00, and each non-certified employee received $250.00, proving that hard work really does pay off!

In addition, teachers from Anderson Park will be presenting at the 2004 MRSH National Educators' Conference in Orlando, Florida, in February.

And what about those P's and Q's? Following their plan has definitely made a difference for the teachers and students at Anderson Park. No question about it.

January 2004