Lessons from Two Alabama Schools

Today we came across an article on Education Week, (originally appearing in the Montgomery Advertiser) entitled, “It’s Elementary: K-6 Ideas Could Keep Students From Dropping Out of School Later.” The article spotlights two Alabama elementary schools in different neighborhoods. Both have poverty rates of more than 80 percent but both are also high performing schools, based on students’ scores on the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test. And both schools employ the same basic principles to ensure students are engaged and supported.

First, the educators in the school believe and promote the often repeated quote “every student can learn,” according to Tamara Winston, principal of T.S. Morris, one of the elementary schools mentioned in the article. “It starts with school leadership and teachers being on the same page,” she said, “that means using data about student performance to make decisions, having teachers mentor each other and collaborate on lesson plans.” 

School leaders also focus on having the “right” teachers in place, according to the article. Anthony Lewis, principal of E.D. Nixon, said, “having the right teachers on board is imperative and sometimes those teachers aren’t the ones with the most degrees or the most years in the classroom. Sometimes they are the teachers who are most willing to adapt their teaching style meet the needs of their students.”

Third, the school staff builds both community and parent support. According to the article both Lewis and Winston cite the importance of community involvement and state that they work hard to encourage parents to take an active role in their children’s education.

Finally, the principal and teachers at both schools make sure that the students are engaged. “There needs to be at least 12 minutes or more of cooperative learning,” Principal Lewis said in the article. “That means that teachers aren’t doing most of the talking. The students do most of the talking and that means that learning is taking place.”

Lewis also said he “wishes there would be some kind of bridge between the elementary and the middle schools that allow teachers at that level to use more of the same learning tools that elementary schools have.”

Focusing on middle schools and high schools alone will not solve the high school dropout problem. This is something Early Ed Watch has hit on before. Policymakers, district leaders, principals and teachers need to watch for signs earlier in children’s lives that might indicate whether they are getting the support they need to be successful in school. These conversations should focus on what can be done in elementary schools as well as in the years before students enter kindergarten.