“DISD's Spruce High School tutoring kids over break to prepare for TAKS (Dallas Morning News)” plus 1 more |
| DISD's Spruce High School tutoring kids over break to prepare for TAKS (Dallas Morning News) Posted: 17 Mar 2010 12:39 AM PDT On a day when thousands of students across Texas were on spring break, 87 students at Spruce High School were in class Tuesday for intense tutoring in math and science. With more testing looming in April, passing state achievement tests is crucial for the Dallas high school, a chronically failing school that faces closure or takeover if too few students pass state tests this year. In the last two years, the school has undergone a dramatic overhaul to bring students up to standards. When it reorganized in 2008-09, only ninth- and 12th-graders remained at the school. The school replaced the vast majority of administrators and teachers, sent hundreds of students to other schools to create smaller, more personal learning environments, reduced class sizes and ramped up tutoring and other intense academic efforts. On Tuesday, Spruce Assistant Principal Ravindra Kamat led a lively discussion on percentages, probability and statistics with 10 students in Room 110. In nearly empty classrooms elsewhere in the building, ninth- and 10th-grade students brushed up on algebra, math problem-solving and key science concepts that will be on next month's tests. Lucy Hakemack, the new principal brought in to turn the school around, has added prayer to the equation. "I ask God for it, and ... pray for it," she said about passing standards this year. Even with the extra effort, past history says the road for Spruce will be tough. To meet state requirements, certain percentages of all of the school's students must pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills and graduate. The required passing rates vary by subject. Spruce has failed to meet state academic standards every year since 2005 and was the only high school in Texas in 2009 that was labeled "academically unacceptable" for a fifth year in a row. Only two other schools were in that category of failure: Pearce Middle School in Austin, which was ordered closed before the beginning of this school year, and Powell Point Elementary in southeast Texas, which is expected to close in the fall because the state revoked the accreditation of its parent district. The situation has been so dire that the state could have closed Spruce in 2009-10, or placed it under so-called "alternative management," such as a nonprofit or another school district. Robert Scott, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, waived the alternative management for this school year, because the school met test score requirements but fell short on graduation rates. State law allows such waivers for one year and indicates that Scott would have to order closure or alternative management for next year if Spruce fails to meet academic standards following this spring's testing. However, the Texas Education Agency is rewriting rules on how the state intervenes in cases of failing schools. "How Spruce High School in Dallas ISD will be affected in the 2010 accountability ratings is unknown at this point. We do not know their performance level or what their data will show," said TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson. She added, "The commissioner takes low-performing campuses very seriously," and has ordered three campuses to close in the past. At Spruce, principal Hakemack's desk is covered with data sheets on student performance. She carefully tracks how students do on practice tests, to predict how close they are to meeting standards. Her data helped determine which students should be brought in for "Spring Break Camp" this week. She said the students who came are likely to meet the bar if they get extra help. Still, Hakemack acknowledges being nervous, particularly about math. When Spruce reorganized with only ninth- and 12th-graders, there were fewer tests with the 10th and 11th-graders attending school elsewhere. And the school met the test score thresholds. This year, Spruce has 10th-graders, who must take state achievement tests in English language arts, math, science and social studies. Hakemack has been focusing on instilling confidence in the kids, holding major assemblies to motivate them to improve. For too long, the kids have been made to feel like they can't succeed, she said, and she has been trying to change that mindset. "She has proven to these children that she cares. She's proven to these children that they can learn and they are willing to learn," said art teacher Ernest Ice, who reported for duty over spring break to staff the student sign-in table and to direct students to classrooms. Dallas ISD Trustee Nancy Bingham, whose trustee district includes Spruce, said she is confident the school can make it and shouldn't be closed. "They are not regressing, they are making improvements," she said. "I think they deserve to have a neighborhood school. And they deserve a neighborhood school that is making progress." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Local program provides college tutors for children (The BG News) Posted: 17 Mar 2010 04:04 AM PDT  © 2010 BG Views, All Rights Reserved Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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