April 7, 2002 - Dal
NEW YORK TIMES
Per
migliorare il rendimento degli alunni e sfidare le teorie sulla razza ( i
bianchi, rispetto ai neri e agli ispanici hanno in generale
punteggi più elevati nella risoluzione dei test standard), una scuola
elementare dello Stato di New York, la Lincoln Elementary
School, usa "particolari" sistemi
didattici: attenzione e affetto verso gli studenti da parte degli
insegnanti e il gioco degli scacchi nelle attività curriculari.
Using
Love, and Chess Lessons, to Defy Theories on Race and Test Scores.
By
LISA W. FODERARO
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y.,
April 4 — When New York State released elementary and middle school test
scores last week that were seen through the prism of race and ethnicity for
the first time, the results were disheartening. The achievement gap between
whites and minorities was more like a canyon, existing across the demographic
spectrum, from wealthy suburbs to big cities.
But
some districts and schools defied assumptions about race and income, leading
educators to ask what those schools are doing differently.
One
such school is Lincoln Elementary School, here in southern Westchester
County. Half of the school's 800 students are black and close to half are eligible
for a free or reduced lunch, but performance was high and the gap between
blacks and whites was negligible. On the fourth-grade English test, 85
percent of black students met state standards compared with 88 percent of
white students. On the math exam, 89 percent of black students met the
standards, while 98 percent of white students did.
Students
deemed "economically disadvantaged" — by virtue of their qualifying
for a free lunch — actually did slightly better on both the English and math
tests than those students who were not from low-income families.
The
school, like others in Mount Vernon, outperformed some of the elite public
schools in the county, even though annual per-pupil spending in the Mount
Vernon school district is $11,000, while in some of the most affluent
districts in the county, per-pupil spending reaches $18,000.
So
what's the secret? There are several, it seems, some at Lincoln, some districtwide. Perhaps at the top of the list at Lincoln
is George C. Albano, the principal.
"He
is not going to allow a single poor teacher in his school — it's as simple as
that," said Ronald O. Ross, the district superintendent. "Children
will perform directly in proportion to whether they believe that the teacher
loves and respects them. If they think you love them, they'll walk through a
wall for you."
Mr.
Albano, Lincoln's principal for 22 years, obsesses
over hiring decisions. He says he tries to snag the best and brightest
teachers by networking with professional organizations
and arts groups in the county, and by asking for suggestions from the 17
members of his extended family who work in education. Recent victories
include an opera singer (and Juilliard graduate) to
teach music, and a children's book illustrator (and Yale graduate) to teach
art.
Throughout
the corridors and classrooms of Lincoln, the largest of Mount Vernon's 11 elementary schools, one detects an enthusiasm
for learning. Classical music fills the hallways, along with riotously colorful displays of students' writing and artwork.
Once
a week, the students get a lesson in chess with a visiting master — a
$125,000 schoolwide tutorial paid for by a
Greenwich, Conn., banker impressed by the Lincoln
chess team three years ago. As they do across the district, students begin
writing in kindergarten, and after first grade everyone is expected to write
in a journal each night.
Portly,
affable and peripatetic, Mr. Albano talks about
love the way other educators might talk about lesson plans. "If you love
children, if you have high expectations, it will work," he said. "I
greet the children in the morning. I might tell a girl, `I love the way Mommy
fixed your hair.' It's little things. You make them feel special."
The
similar performances of white and black students did not surprise Mr. Albano. "What it simply shows is that every
youngster, no matter who they are, is treated the same," he said.
The
test results of black and white students at Lincoln stand in stark contrast
to those statewide. On last year's fourth-grade
English test, for instance, 74 percent of white students across the state met
the standards, compared with 39 percent of black students and 40 percent of
Hispanic students. Disregarding race, 76 percent of children who do not
qualify for a free lunch passed the test, while only 42 percent of children
who receive lunch assistance passed.
Over
all, the Mount Vernon school district, where about 85 percent of the 10,200
students are black and Hispanic, also demonstrated smaller gaps between
blacks and whites than the statewide averages.
While the district found itself the target of criticism this week after a
routine audit raised questions about financial irregularities, the test
scores have nonetheless been good news.
On
the 2000-2001 fourth-grade English test, 71 percent of black students in the
district met standards, compared with 88 percent of whites. (The state did
not break out the performance of Hispanic students for English.) In math, 79
percent of black students and 65 percent of Hispanic students met the
standards, compared with 95 percent of whites.
The
district was singled out last year by state officials for its tremendous
improvement since the state tests were first given in 1999. Three years ago,
for example, a third of all the fourth graders passed the English test, Mr.
Ross said. Two years ago, half did. Last year, three-quarters did.
"Mount
Vernon shows that neither race nor poverty works as an excuse for low
performance," said Richard P. Mills, the state's education commissioner.
"Ron Ross doesn't seem to make excuses for anything. He is entirely
focused on lifting the performance of the children."
Here
is where some of the other secrets to the district's overall success come
into focus. In response to the state assessment, the district hired a
consultant to standardize what should be taught in
each grade and doubled the budget for professional development.
As
an another example, Mr. Mills cited Mount Vernon's
initiative last year to spur students to read. The New York State Board of
Regents requires elementary students to read a minimum of 25 books a year,
but Mr. Ross raised the bar. "He said, `My kids are geniuses, so they'll
read 50 books," ' recalled Mr. Mills, "and they believed him."
The
district used the carrot approach, giving out 168 bicycles, paid for with
donations, to those students who managed to read at least 50 books. And then
there are those journals.
"What
Ron Ross did is not terribly complicated and, in fact, it's within the grasp
of any school," Mr. Mills said. "He simply concentrated on the
standards and he helped his colleagues, teachers and principals look at what
they were doing and helped bring practical supports to bear on the
problem."
It
was a routine audit by the State Education Department that reported a number
of financial irregularities and other problems. Among the findings were the
district's misrepresentation of its dropout rate and the wrongful use of
taxpayer money to mail nonschool-related material.
Mr.
Ross, who arrived here four years ago after working in New York City and on
Long Island, defended the district's practices. "There is nothing in
there to comment on except to say that we have finished in the black every
single year and our bond rating has gone up," Mr. Ross said. He added that
discrepancies in the dropout rate resulted from the district's inability to
track the comings and goings of foreign-born students.
A
tall, slender man with a preference for double-breasted suits, Mr. Ross
expressed hope that the audit would not distract from the lesson Mount Vernon
had to offer other low-income districts — that the state's standards could be
used to improve education.
Since
the inception of the state tests in the fourth and eighth grades, some of the
wealthiest districts in Westchester County have criticized
the exams, saying they force schools to "teach to the test,"
thereby stifling creativity. Scores of families in Scarsdale
even boycotted the eighth-grade tests last year. But Mr. Ross and Mr. Albano believe that the state standards leave room for
innovation.
"The
standards are more sophisticated than in the past and the tests are no longer
`yes or no' and A, B, C or D," Mr. Albano
said. "You have to gather data and analyze
information and use critical-thinking skills. That's why introducing an
activity like chess to all the children makes so much sense."
Of
the chess lessons, Mr. Ross said, "It's the quiet, the discipline and
the challenge of exercising the mind."
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