Central elementary schools hit state marks

Middle schools fall short of making AYP

Overall, 87.5 percent of central area elementary schools, including Thomas G. Pullen K-8 Arts Focus School, made Adequate Yearly Progress, whereas only two out of five middle schools—including Pullen's seventh- and eighth-graders—made AYP. AYP is an annual benchmark for improvement on state tests in math and reading—the Maryland School Assessments for elementary and middle schools and the High School Assessments for high schools.

AYP results are further broken down into subgroups including race, students who receive free and reduced lunches and those enrolled in special education. Schools failing to make AYP for two years in a row are placed in School Improvement status, meaning they must come up with long term plans to address subjects students need the most assistance with. Schools that continue to perform poorly and remain in School Improvement status are required to notify parents of nearby schools they can transfer children to if they are displeased with school performance.

Four central area schools — Capitol Heights' Bradbury Heights, Cheverly's Gladys Noon Spellman, Landover's William Paca and Seat Pleasant elementary schools — exited school improvement by making AYP two years in a row.

Bradbury Heights Principal Denise Lynch attributed part of her students' success to having teachers specialize in the subjects they are strongest in and moving students around to those teachers for their specific needs. Lynch said typically one teacher has to cover everything from language arts to math to social studies, and if a teacher feels less comfortable with a particular subject, the student might be less exposed to it.

"That's no disrespect or fault of teaching, but it's the way that instruction and the way training [are] developed for elementary teachers," Lynch said. "What we've been able to do is give them that reign to focus on one and two content areas."

Schools eligible to exit the school improvement list if they make AYP in the 2008-2009 school year are Columbia Park, Cora L. Rice and John Carroll elementary schools in Landover, Robert R. Gray Elementary, William W. Hall Elementary and Walker Mill Middle schools in Capitol Heights and District Heights' Francis Scott Key Elementary.

Elementary schools that did not make AYP this year are Carmody Hills and John Eager Howard elementary schools in Capitol Heights, Glenarden's Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary and District Heights' Thomas Claggett Elementary.

G. James Gholson and Kenmoor middle schools in Landover and New Carrollton's Charles Carroll Middle School did not make AYP. Charles Carroll had the most subgroups who did not make AYP in both math and reading: students receiving free and reduced meals, special education students, students with limited English proficiency, and African-American and Hispanic students.

Because the special education subgroup failed to make AYP for both reading and math, John Eager Howard's Principal Herman Whaley said this school year they will mainstream special education students into general education classes and use a co-teaching model where a class is taught by both a special education and general education teacher.

"They'll have a sense of belonging to the school and it's great way where the teachers can really plan together, look at the individual skills and the data and not just help the special education students but the students in general education," he said.

Whaley said students who are struggling will be tracked throughout the school year and after-school tutoring will be available to students seeking additional help.

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net.