Scores reveal surprise gap

You have to look long and hard to find a success story like Childs Elementary School. In fact, you have to look long and hard to find Childs at all.

Through a parking lot in south suburban Robbins, past a line of trailers, overshadowed by a junior high that shares the same address and hemmed in by chain-link fences, the tiny school is all but hidden.

Its population, too, is one that often gets overlooked: 93 percent of its pupils come from low-income homes, 98 percent are African-American and just more than a quarter of the student body moves in or out during the school year.

But Childs boasts one number that puts it head and shoulders above the crowd. This year, as last year, more than 70 percent of its 3rd graders met or exceeded standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests.

That puts Childs in an elite club–only 10 other high-poverty elementary schools in the state topped the 70 percent passing mark.

Because income level is the single most reliable predictor of test scores, Childs is bucking a powerful trend. Even in its community, the school’s success sets it apart–four of the district’s other five schools, while improving this year, were on the state’s 2001 academic warning list because of low test scores.

There is no single, magic reason for Childs’ success. Instead school officials credit qualities that seem simple, but can be elusive: a strong principal. dedicated teachers, high expectations, mule-headed determination.

As one Posen-Robbins school board member put it, at the start of each year the Childs staff has all the reasons in the world to fail. Many of the children attend no preschool. Some move in and out of school as their parents look for jobs or affordable housing. And many parents have a lingering mistrust of schools from their own experience.

Before the children arrive each morning, custodians clean up empty beer bottles and small plastic bags–apparently leftovers of the local drug trade–from the grassy area surrounding the school. The outline of graffiti, long since washed away but not entirely erased, blemishes the boxy white building. Vandals destroyed the playground equipment. The swish of cars speeding by on the nearby Tri-State Tollway is constant.

But inside the building, the floors shine. Illustrated student essays lend color to the white cinderblock walls. The school is just one hallway, with nine classrooms, a small gym that doubles as a cafeteria, a bare-bones office and a small computer lab with 1970s-style striped carpeting.

Success stories like Childs’ turn on factors that are hard to quantify, such as high expectations from teachers and peers, said Pedro Noguera, a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

“It’s the intangibles,” Noguera said. “Those are the things that end up making the difference.”

Residents and school officials say Principal Louise Dennis, in her 33rd year with the district, works hard to level the playing field for her pupils.

“She says `My kids can do this,'” said Robbins Mayor Irene Brodie. “And her teachers exude that type of disposition too.”

Just before 8:30 one recent morning, the pupils, most of whom live close enough to walk, are lined up outside the building. The bell rings and the pupils file in one by one, stopping by the desk of teacher Leythette Timmons, at her “Tardy Station,” for their handshake, high five or hug.

As the minutes tick closer to the tardy bell, kids can be seen running at full speed toward the school, their backpacks swaying behind them, their small faces scrunched up with concern.

Timmons smiles as they rush in before the bell. “On time, way to go!” she cheers. Those who don’t make it are reminded that they must stay after school.

Then the day begins, hours of lessons that focus on phonics, math drills and the mechanics of writing.

Kindergartners will be taught to tell stories to their teacher in a paragraph format so they begin to understand the structure of language. Each year, teachers build on that until the pupils are writing full compositions on the computer. Children participate in an accelerated reading program that allows the pupil to select and be tested on a book matched to his reading level.

Dennis strives for class sizes of around 20 pupils. This year, as the pupil population grew, administrators converted the school library into a classroom, spreading the small stock of books among the classes.

Anchored by a few longtime teachers, the school does struggle at times with staff turnover. Childs has had years when test scores lagged, and those have been usually years when the staffing wasn’t as stable, Dennis said.

This year, in an emotional decision, two longtime teachers left for jobs with better pay. Dennis said she understood why they needed to leave but still is concerned about the disruption caused by the changes.

The school has added to its after-school programs to boost this year’s 3rd graders, who are a little behind because of some staffing problems the year they were in 1st grade, Dennis said.

With many of the children being raised only by their mothers, Dennis was happy to add a male teacher and role model to her all-female staff this year. “I wanted to be in a school just like this,” said first-year teacher Travis Keller.

Keller said he was surprised by how well the kids responded to him, a young white guy.

“The biggest thing that surprised me was that it was so easy to get them motivated,” even during times when some are dealing with difficult situations at home, Keller said.

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Longtime teacher Ezella Henry said the parent factor is also crucial to the school’s success. She has taught the parents of a number of her pupils and says she gets support from them as classroom volunteers.

At various times, the school has offered after-school family literacy programs that bring parents into the school and offer tips on how to better support their children’s learning.

Dennis encourages teachers to visit homes if parents do not respond to letters or calls.

“Some parents didn’t have such a good experience in school, so you have to make it an OK place to visit,” Dennis said.

Besides sharing their expectations with parents, the teachers also make clear to pupils what the state believes they should know.

In one classroom, a board lists the activities for the day and the state standard that each lesson is targeting. Every Monday, teachers hand in a lesson plan that outlines how their activities relate to the standards.

“It’s not so much teaching to the test, but teaching to the standards of Illinois,” she said.

In a 2nd-grade class one recent morning, pupils drill together through flashcards. “Every 2nd grader in Illinois should know these words,” Keller says.

One small boy kneeling on the carpet pipes in with, “And every 2nd grader in Cook County.”

“And in Cook County,” the teacher confirms with a smile.

But to Dennis and the staff here, what’s most important is that the 16 pupils in this room on this day know them.

She said, “We’ve proven to the world these kids can do this.”