|
Kirkman Park Elementary School did not make AYP in reading for the 2007-08 school year which places the school in the planning year for restructuring. This is the fifth consecutive year that Kirkman Park has not made AYP in reading. Therefore, a project team was assembled to determine an appropriate restructuring model for the school. The project team has examined programming options that will serve the dual function of addressing under-enrollment and declining student achievement (especially in reading) which requires action under NCLB federal sanctions.
If a Title I school does not make AYP in the same subject for five years, the school must continue taking corrective action measures, offering public school choice and supplemental educational services and develop an alternate governance (restructuring) plan, which must include one of the following:
- Reopen the school as a public charter school.
- Replace all or most of the staff responsible for the lack of progress.
- Enter into a contract with a private company to operate the school.
- Turn over operation and management of the school to the state.
- Implement other fundamental reforms approved by the state.
According to Title I Restructuring Guidelines, Option #5 provides flexibility to choose reform solutions that best meet the needs of the students and the community. According to the US Department of Education’s guidelines, an example of an acceptable initiative is to reconstitute the school into smaller autonomous learning communities, such as a school within-a-school model.
Enrollment has declined steadily at Kirkman Park over the past several years, and student achievement is a concern each year. Therefore, the project team reviewed the immersion magnet model to determine if it would meet the needs of the Kirkman Park community. Other possible options were reviewed and steps were determined as to how to best proceed with this process.
In order to gain insight from faculty, parents, and the community, a series of three town hall meetings were held. To begin dialogue, attendees were asked the same three questions that Superintendent Green asked of the community in his “Mo Wants to Know” campaign, but this time the questions were framed to apply to Kirkman Park. The questions asked were:
- What can we do at Kirkman Park to provide quality education for our students?
- In what areas do you think Kirkman Park could improve?
- How would you make Kirkman Park the best school in the county?
The first meeting was held at Daniel Brooks Housing Development on October 14, 2008. In addition to parents and community members, the meeting was attended by Ms. Brewington-McCormick, Ms. Gay Citty, Ms. Mayra Hayes, and many staff members from Kirkman Park. On October 18, 2008, a hot dog supper was held at Kirkman Park and childcare was provided. Parents participated in small breakout sessions and provided input. When the attendance roster was examined, it was determined that the majority of parents at this meeting were magnet parents. The last town hall meeting was held at New Beginnings Full Gospel Ministry, in High Point on November 17, 2008. This time questions were addressed in a whole group setting. The majority of attendees for this meeting were neighborhood parents. In addition to the town hall meetings, school staff convened on October 21 to provide input.
Feedback from these three meetings has been analyzed and the following conclusions reached:
- Magnet parents would like the school to continue to provide the full immersion option for their children.
- Neighborhood parents would like for the school to offer the traditional instructional model in which students are instructed in English. They expressed that they would like to have an option of having their children enroll in either full immersion or traditional classrooms just like the Jones Spanish Immersion model. They also expressed that while they want their children instructed in English, they would like for Spanish to be offered as an enrichment program where students receive Spanish instruction a minimum of twice a week.
- Neighborhood parents expressed their concern that their children were fluent in Spanish, but their academic performance is below average, and they do not have the skills needed in their native language.
As a result of the input received during the faculty and town hall meetings, it is the recommendation of the project team that Kirkman Park Spanish Immersion move to a school-within-a-school model for the 2009-10 school year. This option will allow parents in High Point to keep their children in the Immersion program, and it will likely attract more magnet students to Kirkman Park. In the current model at Kirkman Park, which is full immersion through 3rd grade, new families moving into the community often face situations whereby their children are attending different schools. In a scenario in which a family moves into the Kirkman Park attendance zone this school year and has a kindergartener, a third grader, and a fifth grader, two of the three children could enroll at Kirkman Park. The kindergartener could enroll as a new immersion student, and the fifth grader could also enroll at Kirkman Park, as 5th grade is still traditional. The 3rd grader would have to go to one of the opt-out sites for immersion if they have not been enrolled in an immersion program prior to moving to the Kirkman Park zone. Under the newly proposed model, the opt-out for immersion would no longer be necessary. Kirkman Park does have an attendance zone feeder pattern for duplicate magnet programs (see attached).
The proposed school-within-a-school model also allows neighborhood parents the option to enroll their children in traditional classrooms where the curriculum is delivered in English. One desired outcome of this model is that neighborhood parents who have opted-out of Kirkman Park would bring their children back to the school. When asked what would get their friends, family, and neighbors back to the school, the overwhelming response was instruction delivered in English. The second desired outcome of this model is improved student achievement which would remove the school from federal sanctions. The ultimate goal in this recommendation is student success.
Principals of Kirkman Park and Jones Spanish Immersion have already begun dialoguing and planning to create a partnership between the schools. Naquita Brewington-McCormick, Kirkman Park Principal; Kenya Donaldson, Kirkman Park Assistant Principal; and Gay Citty, Instructional Improvement Officer, visited Jones Spanish Immersion on November 20, 2008. After a Q&A session with the Bea Jones, Principal of Jones, classroom visitations were held with an emphasis on the literacy rotations. A follow-up conference was held with the two principals, Gay Citty, and Steve Oates (Instructional Improvement Officer for Jones Spanish Immersion) to facilitate discussion about establishing the partnership between the schools to create a sister-school type model. It was determined during this conference that the two schools would have a joint early release professional development session in March 2008. In addition, teachers from Kirkman Park will have a professional development day to visit a teacher at Jones in order to observe in their classroom, attend the applicable grade level meeting, and have the opportunity to dialogue with teacher(s). In the summer of 2009, a summer institute will be held that will be facilitated by the Jones staff who attended the CARLA (Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition) Institute in Minnesota last year. This institute at the University of Minnesota has offered a summer program for second language teachers since 1996. The institutes offered by CARLA reflect their commitment to connecting research with practice as well as their ongoing mission to share what they have learned with teachers and their second language learners. Linking research and theory with practical applications for the classroom, each institute includes discussion, theory-building, hands-on activities, and networking with colleagues. The Jones staff will present best practices they learned at the institute. Opportunities will be provided for the staff members from the two schools to work together to plan for the upcoming school year.
In providing this school-within-a-school model of smaller autonomous learning communities at Kirkman Park, it will be critical that the school be provided with the resources necessary to ensure the success of this reform model. In providing this model in both the Greensboro and High Point communities, it will be of utmost importance to ensure that equity for resources is provided. The following resources would be needed at Kirkman Park in order to implement a program that is equivalent to programming at Jones:
- Additional teacher assistants will be needed to support the program model. The number needed will be dependent on enrollment. (Current average teacher assistant salary is $27,920.00.)
- Additional core positions to support the model will include a minimum of two English positions to support the Immersion program and one Spanish teacher to support the traditional program. (Current average teacher salary is $51,066.40). Again, the exact number of core positions will be dependent on enrollment.
- A needs assessment of instructional supplies and materials will be conducted to ensure equitable resources at both Kirkman Park and Jones Elementary. From this needs assessment a gap analysis will inform us of the need.
We will continue to review the progress of our restructuring efforts in conjunction with the district facility use and magnet program reviews.
RECOMMENDATION: As a result of the project team’s work and input received from the parents and community members of Kirkman Park Elementary School, the administration recommends that Kirkman Park Spanish Immersion move to a school-within-a-school model beginning with the 2009-10 school year.
Attachment #1 - Elementary Magnet Assignment for Duplicate Programs
Attachment #2 - Presentation
|
