Published: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Marysville schools’ scores mandate change
Marysville School District officials learn that low standardized test results at Tulalip Elementary School and Totem Middle School will require overhauls to get federal aid.
MARYSVILLE — Low test scores and new federal regulations are forcing big changes on at least two campuses in the Marysville School District.
Tulalip Elementary School and Totem Middle School appear on a state list of low-performing schools that must make major overhauls if they are going to receive federal funds to get better.
The list of 45 to 50 Washington schools has not been released, but district officials confirmed they have been told those two schools are on it.
To qualify for three-year grants of between $50,000 and $2 million annually, schools must choose one of several federal options that shake up the status quo.
They can replace the principal and at least half the staff, close the campus and transfer students to higher performing schools, or, under an option known as transformation, pledge to reform the entire instructional environment and get rid of the principal.
District officials will recommend to the Marysville School Board the transformation option for Tulalip, but will not have to remove the principal because she is in her first year at the school. Under the model, the school must revise its teacher evaluation system, increase community engagement and provide more time for students to learn.
District leaders broke the news to teachers at Totem on Friday afternoon. Totem apparently was added to the list late and the district didn’t learn about its inclusion until Thursday.
“We are still exploring which model best fits the needs of the students at Totem,” Assistant Superintendent Gail Miller said Friday evening.
“Teachers were shocked, there was a bit of disbelief and discussion about the transformation they have already made,” Miller said. “I didn’t experience anger and there wasn’t any blame. Their biggest worry was for their principal.”
District and school officials said the new federal rules are creating a mix of urgency and anxiety for the schools on the list.
“If there is some real money behind this, this could work out to be what we all want, which is an improvement in student learning,” Superintendent Larry Nyland said.
Stories about individual schools ending up on low-performing lists have trickled out across the state and the country.
A school board in Rhode Island voted to dismiss the entire faculty at a high school as part of a turnaround plan. Tacoma plans to close one school and overhaul three others, and a popular principal in Longview has retired to avoid being fired.
Officials reached from most of the other Snohomish County districts said none of their schools are on the list.
Schools ended up on the list in large part based on reading and math scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning for the past three years. The state examined both overall results and improvement.
Arden Watson, president of the Marysville Education Association, said the new federal rules could result in good teachers leaving schools that need them most.
“It’s very likely with the stress of this you might be driving great teachers from their schools,” she said.
David Cort has been at Tulalip Elementary School for more than a decade. The third-grade teacher has learned the Lushootseed language once commonly spoken among local Indian tribes to share with his students. About three-quarters of the students at Tulalip are Indian children; more than 80 percent qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch based on family income.
With a son in college and two other children at home, Cort reluctantly plans to transfer from Tulalip to a position with more job security at another school. His decision boiled down to what was best for his family.
“It makes me sad,” he said.
Colleague Michelle Hookland, who teaches a classroom of second- and third-graders, said she hopes the extra federal grant money can help but she’s cautious.
“The hardest thing is there are just so many unknowns,” she said.
Principal Chris Sampley said it will take a community effort.
“We really do have to reach out to the parents,” she said.
Second-grade teacher Chelsea Craig plans to stick around. She’s a Tulalip tribal member who attended Tulalip Elementary just like her mom. She also has brought her own children to the campus even though it is not their neighborhood school.
Craig said the district has supported school improvement efforts while respecting the culture on the campus, but she knows the school lags behind others. She hopes the outside pressure will lead to improvement.
“The school system hasn’t been effective for our population, our students,” she said. “This forces it to zero in on making changes. Now is the time we can do some healing and make some changes. We have been here for thousands of years and we are not going anywhere.”
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
Tulalip Elementary School and Totem Middle School appear on a state list of low-performing schools that must make major overhauls if they are going to receive federal funds to get better.
The list of 45 to 50 Washington schools has not been released, but district officials confirmed they have been told those two schools are on it.
To qualify for three-year grants of between $50,000 and $2 million annually, schools must choose one of several federal options that shake up the status quo.
They can replace the principal and at least half the staff, close the campus and transfer students to higher performing schools, or, under an option known as transformation, pledge to reform the entire instructional environment and get rid of the principal.
District officials will recommend to the Marysville School Board the transformation option for Tulalip, but will not have to remove the principal because she is in her first year at the school. Under the model, the school must revise its teacher evaluation system, increase community engagement and provide more time for students to learn.
District leaders broke the news to teachers at Totem on Friday afternoon. Totem apparently was added to the list late and the district didn’t learn about its inclusion until Thursday.
“We are still exploring which model best fits the needs of the students at Totem,” Assistant Superintendent Gail Miller said Friday evening.
“Teachers were shocked, there was a bit of disbelief and discussion about the transformation they have already made,” Miller said. “I didn’t experience anger and there wasn’t any blame. Their biggest worry was for their principal.”
District and school officials said the new federal rules are creating a mix of urgency and anxiety for the schools on the list.
“If there is some real money behind this, this could work out to be what we all want, which is an improvement in student learning,” Superintendent Larry Nyland said.
Stories about individual schools ending up on low-performing lists have trickled out across the state and the country.
A school board in Rhode Island voted to dismiss the entire faculty at a high school as part of a turnaround plan. Tacoma plans to close one school and overhaul three others, and a popular principal in Longview has retired to avoid being fired.
Officials reached from most of the other Snohomish County districts said none of their schools are on the list.
Schools ended up on the list in large part based on reading and math scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning for the past three years. The state examined both overall results and improvement.
Arden Watson, president of the Marysville Education Association, said the new federal rules could result in good teachers leaving schools that need them most.
“It’s very likely with the stress of this you might be driving great teachers from their schools,” she said.
David Cort has been at Tulalip Elementary School for more than a decade. The third-grade teacher has learned the Lushootseed language once commonly spoken among local Indian tribes to share with his students. About three-quarters of the students at Tulalip are Indian children; more than 80 percent qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch based on family income.
With a son in college and two other children at home, Cort reluctantly plans to transfer from Tulalip to a position with more job security at another school. His decision boiled down to what was best for his family.
“It makes me sad,” he said.
Colleague Michelle Hookland, who teaches a classroom of second- and third-graders, said she hopes the extra federal grant money can help but she’s cautious.
“The hardest thing is there are just so many unknowns,” she said.
Principal Chris Sampley said it will take a community effort.
“We really do have to reach out to the parents,” she said.
Second-grade teacher Chelsea Craig plans to stick around. She’s a Tulalip tribal member who attended Tulalip Elementary just like her mom. She also has brought her own children to the campus even though it is not their neighborhood school.
Craig said the district has supported school improvement efforts while respecting the culture on the campus, but she knows the school lags behind others. She hopes the outside pressure will lead to improvement.
“The school system hasn’t been effective for our population, our students,” she said. “This forces it to zero in on making changes. Now is the time we can do some healing and make some changes. We have been here for thousands of years and we are not going anywhere.”
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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