Imagine This: Community Involvement Raises School Performance

[Conan71]

We've batted this topic around forever on this board about throwing more money at education, school vouchers for low income students to go to private schools, etc.  I've consistently mentioned that the real solutions lie within a community which cares about education and there being spiritual solutions to issues like parental apathy.  Sounds like I'm not too far off base in my premises.  I am keeping in mind that there was extensive re-investment in the school by the district by essentially building a new school on the site. This story seems to illistrate pretty well what happens when people are willing to take an active role in a community.

"The west Tulsa neighborhood around Eugene Field Elementary School, bounded by the Arkansas River, oil refineries and railroad tracks, has a poverty rate of some 95 percent, said Cindi Hemm, school principal.

Nearly all of her students come from three large low-income apartment complexes in the neighborhood. Three-fourths of them have a family member in prison, and 95 percent of their parents have not graduated from high school.

But Hemm said a flood of volunteers is transforming the school and the neighborhood.

"When I came here eight years ago, we only had 170 students," she said. "The neighborhood was in decline."

Since then, she said, the student population has more than doubled to 430 students as word has spread about the good things going on in the neighborhood, and requests for transfers into the school have gone up.

"The kids are happy, well-behaved and clean," she said. "We have wonderful programs."

Eugene Field's standardized test scores were abysmal when Hemm arrived. They now score well above Tulsa Public Schools and Oklahoma averages in math, science, reading and social studies.

Leading the way have been members of First United Methodist Church in downtown Tulsa.

Other churches have pitched in, Hemm said, but members of First United Methodist "have just wrapped us up. They're having a huge influence here."

It started with a mentoring program developed 15 years ago by Don and Emily Renberg. Now, more than 250 mentors, 150 of them from First Methodist, meet one-on-one with students every week, she said."

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100804_18_A1_Jordan571478&archive=yes

[Hoss]

We've batted this topic around forever on this board about throwing more money at education, school vouchers for low income students to go to private schools, etc.  I've consistently mentioned that the real solutions lie within a community which cares about education and there being spiritual solutions to issues like parental apathy.  Sounds like I'm not too far off base in my premises.  I am keeping in mind that there was extensive re-investment in the school by the district by essentially building a new school on the site. This story seems to illistrate pretty well what happens when people are willing to take an active role in a community.

"The west Tulsa neighborhood around Eugene Field Elementary School, bounded by the Arkansas River, oil refineries and railroad tracks, has a poverty rate of some 95 percent, said Cindi Hemm, school principal.

Nearly all of her students come from three large low-income apartment complexes in the neighborhood. Three-fourths of them have a family member in prison, and 95 percent of their parents have not graduated from high school.

But Hemm said a flood of volunteers is transforming the school and the neighborhood.

"When I came here eight years ago, we only had 170 students," she said. "The neighborhood was in decline."

Since then, she said, the student population has more than doubled to 430 students as word has spread about the good things going on in the neighborhood, and requests for transfers into the school have gone up.

"The kids are happy, well-behaved and clean," she said. "We have wonderful programs."

Eugene Field's standardized test scores were abysmal when Hemm arrived. They now score well above Tulsa Public Schools and Oklahoma averages in math, science, reading and social studies.

Leading the way have been members of First United Methodist Church in downtown Tulsa.

Other churches have pitched in, Hemm said, but members of First United Methodist "have just wrapped us up. They're having a huge influence here."

It started with a mentoring program developed 15 years ago by Don and Emily Renberg. Now, more than 250 mentors, 150 of them from First Methodist, meet one-on-one with students every week, she said."

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100804_18_A1_Jordan571478&archive=yes

Read that today in the print version.  I worked just around the corner from them from 1994 to 2002 (the now defunct Bender Direct Mail, which was just north of Rodger's Litho on South Jackson) and I can attest to how decrepid the neighborhood was just back then.  I haven't been over there much lately, but might make a venture out there this weekend to have a look.  Good for them.  I wish more areas like this would get people involved to make a difference.

I can remember one day the TPD locking us in our business for about three hours because of a bomb scare at the Section 8 apartments across the street from us...easily the wackiest thing at a place of employment that ever happened to me.

[Conan71]

Read that today in the print version.  I worked just around the corner from them from 1994 to 2002 (the now defunct Bender Direct Mail, which was just north of Rodger's Litho on South Jackson) and I can attest to how decrepid the neighborhood was just back then.  I haven't been over there much lately, but might make a venture out there this weekend to have a look.  Good for them.  I wish more areas like this would get people involved to make a difference.

I can remember one day the TPD locking us in our business for about three hours because of a bomb scare at the Section 8 apartments across the street from us...easily the wackiest thing at a place of employment that ever happened to me.

They are even sprucing up the Section 8 housing. 

[custosnox]

My ex was living in Western Pines for the past several years with my kids and only recently moved over to this side of town.  My kids names are imprinted in the sidewalk outside of the school and they are known by every facutly member there.  As a joke, when the school was moving to the new location. some of the teachers snuck into Hemms office at the old school and spray painted "Houston was here" (Houston being my son) on the office wall.  Eugene Field has strived continually over the years to reach out to the children who attend there to help them succeed.  At one point my ex had moved out of the area into the neighborhood where Lindsey elementry was (this was the year before it turned into whatever they turned it into, a kids detention area or something), and Hemm jumped through hoops to make sure the kids continued going to Eugene Field, even though they were in a completly differant section of town.  This last year is when my ex moved, the youngest of our three wasn't able to finish her fifth grade year in Eugene Field, yet Hemm came to the school where she was attending during her graduation and even presented her with a gift and some money.  They really do go the extra mile for the sake of the children, and the mentors add another level of support for the kids there.  The day spring volunteers are also great with the more "difficult" kids.  As far as the church contributions, I wouldn't say it's putting spiritualality into the school at all.  In fact, no mention of religion is ever made (except in hemm's office).  Of course all of this is needed to counter the lack of parental involvment.  I was almost seen as a hero in the school because I was a parent who stayed involved.  I would get high fives from the staff as I walked down the hall, and countless referances to having a cot put in for me.  But other parents involvment were overwhelmingly uninvolvled.  Teachers loved the fact that they just had to threaten to call me to straighten them up.  As one of them told me "most kids you threaten to call the parents and they say that [the parents] wouldn't care, and [the kids] are right, the parents don't care".  So if taking the extra steps to become a part of the childrens lives can counter that level of apathy within the parents, it would be amazing what would happen in cases where the parents actually cared, even if uninvolved. 

We have often discussed on here how to get parents to get involved in school.  While we may not have an answer to that, yet, a school and a community willing to get more involved might help in spite of the involvment.

[swake]

Was there a "community organizer" involved?

[dbacks fan]

CMIIW, but wasn't there a story a couple of years ago about a grocery store of sorts in that area that had a barter system to help the residents get the food they need and give back time working in the store or helping out otherwise that gave the residents some type of a voucher?

[custosnox]

The store is still open.  I'm not sure how it works, but I believe some of the food even comes from the globel gardens at the school that the kids maintain.  

[Conan71]

Custo, thanks for adding your personal inside knowlege to the story.  It's been a great turn-around.

[TheArtist]

  I have said it before, your either gonna have to spend money to pay people to do something (usually via government), and or volunteer and do it yourself. But one way or the other its adding time/money to the equation.  Even then you have to be doing the right thing cant just throw time or money at it willy nilly.

  If the government isnt doing it and you dont want to pay more taxes to do it, this is one way (people at a church volunteering more of their time and money) to get it done.

  Its good to see people here stepping up and doing this.

[Townsend]

I saw some dirt work East of the Eugene Field.

Anyone know what's going in?

[Conan71]

I saw some dirt work East of the Eugene Field.

Anyone know what's going in?

Eugene's other field?

[Townsend]

Eugene's other field?

[AquaMan]

I am so glad to see that area show improvement. Nearby Clinton Middle School is brand new from the ground up and is well kept. Just down the street from Clinton is Pleasant Porter, a very old school, that is undergoing a complete facelift and expansion. West Tulsa has always had pride, now they have more to be proud of.

[guido911]

"poverty rate of some 95 percent"? WTH? That is a damnable embarrassment for this town.  But a miracle is happening in this school.

[Townsend]

"poverty rate of some 95 percent"? WTH? That is a damnable embarrassment for this town.  But a miracle is happening in this school.

The principal is a neat lady.