The Flint Board of Education's Learning Improvement Committee on June 19 heard a report on implementation of the superintendent's vision for the district. Representatives from the five original Explorer Schools (Anderson, Freeman, Gundry, Pierson and Washington) made presentations.
Linda Caine-Smith, Deputy Superintendent for Administrative and Community Education Services, introduced the presenters with a cautionary note that this is the district's first year of full implementation of the prototype program begun in 1997. Caine-Smith said the district is operating in uncharted waters and an "implementation dip" might be expected. However, the district is committed to building a system of accountability and will be public about reporting progress, she said.
Several teachers from each school plus some parents joined their school principal in outlining accomplishments. Washington School this year held a science fair by learning communities and a Title One funded 4th grade science camp stressing MEAP objectives. Gundry School principal John Rhymes stressed the family atmosphere at his school. He said he has more students wanting to transfer in to Gundry than he has space available.
Roy Haney, paraprofessional attendance assistant at Pierson School, reported that Pierson achieved 90% attendance by making home calls and having students who are late report to the attendance office each day. (Mr. Haney's position has been eliminated for the 2000 - 2001 school year.)
All schools mentioned the involvement of one or more churches in their learning communities. Church members have provided tutoring for children in the school and at church sites.
Freeman principal Sandra Pillow said parents have expressed concern that their students remain in a particular learning community and now refer to their child's LC rather than a particular room.
Charts showing MEAP scores were presented indicating mixed results. Four of the five schools went down on their 4th grade reading tests while 3 of the 5 went up in math compared to 1999 scores. Representatives from Washington and Pierson said the drop in both reading and math scores at their buildings may be due to the loss of key experienced teachers this year.
School board president Randall Talifarro said there might be too much emphasis on MEAP scores. A positive environment and customer satisfaction should also be considered in judging school success, he said.
Linda Thompson, principal at Washington, noted some common impediments to progress including students coming to school unprepared, and lack of parental involvement in learning communities. Washington is distributing learning kits to families with pre-school children to help them be better prepared to enter kindergarten.
Following the presentation, board members had an opportunity to question school principals. Board member Ralph Arellano Jr. said he has heard cynicism about learning communities and wondered what the principals need to make progress. All stated they need "time to analyze the data."
Board member Ann Nichols asked the principals if, given the choice, they would stay with the new learning community delivery system or go back to the pre-explorer way of operating. Four of the five principals told the public assemblage (including their boss, Dr. James Ray) that they would not want to go back. One principal abstained.
Superintendent Ray said an extensive evaluation of the new delivery system is underway funded by a $400 thousand grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. He also said the district would be "implementing standards" in the fall to improve student achievement.