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Building a sense of community has created a climate for learning at Ralph Bunche Elementary in Compton. First thing each morning, the entire student body meets on the playground to recite affirmations about being college-bound. Here Nickia Ross talks with some of her fifth-graders, including T-Erica Boykin and Success Carter. |
In an effort to live up to her name, fifth-grader Success Carter thinks about her future constantly. “I want to go to UCLA and then to culinary arts school,” she says with a faraway look. “I think about it a lot.”
Keeping students like Success focused on the future — and college — is just one of the ways that teachers at Ralph Bunche Elementary School are closing the achievement gap at this K-5 campus in the Compton Unified School District.
All classrooms in the school are named after universities and decorated with pictures of the school and its mascot. Success’s classroom is named after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Each classroom — even kindergarten — has a “goal wall” where students post essays on what they want for their futures — short-term and long-term — and just exactly how they plan to make that happen.
For example, fifth-grader Marquice Tarver’s goals include attending Emory University in Georgia, becoming a criminal lawyer and “reading more books now to help me get into law school so I will be ready to read all those law books.”
“We set high expectations for our kids, and our kids have set high expectations for themselves,” says fifth-grade teacher Nickia Ross. “Our kids will tell you they are going to college when they grow up and what college they would like to go to. We take them to visit a different college every year.”
Strategies used at Bunche Elementary are paying off in dividends: the Title I school had an API score of 868 last year, offering proof that demographics are not destiny, say Compton Education Association members. One hundred percent of the students live at the poverty level. Half are African American and the rest are Latino. Nearly half are English language learners. And a full 93 percent of the school’s Latino fourth-graders scored proficient or above in math, compared with fewer than half of their Latino peers in the state.
While the school is a shining example of inner-city success, CEA members insist that what is happening at Bunche is nothing special, and could be happening at every school that is willing to put out the extra effort.
Teachers say the school’s turnaround coincided with the arrival of Principal Mikara Solomon seven years ago. At that time the district was under state receivership, and the state-appointed administrator hired what came to be known as “kid principals.”
When Bunche Elementary set a 70 percent proficiency goal, some teachers said out loud, “You’ve got to be kidding.” Some even left to teach elsewhere. But those who shared the vision that all Bunche children could succeed felt a renewed commitment. There is very little turnover at the site now.
“I think, for the most part, we have a vision of what our school should be or what we would like it to look like,” says third-grade teacher Andrea Nunn. “I think we have good buy-in from everyone. Many of us go above the standards, especially when teaching vocabulary. I don’t talk down to my students or dumb things down. They can do as well as any kid anywhere. If we don’t set high expectations, we set them up to fail. Poverty shouldn’t be an excuse. They still have a mind.”
“We make no excuses for these kids whatsoever,” says first-grade teacher Gerardo Corona. “We can’t pity these kids just because they’re from Compton. It’s not fair to the kids, their parents or the community.”
Building a sense of community has created a climate for learning at Bunche Elementary. The entire student body meets every morning on the playground for the Pledge of Allegiance and the reciting of daily affirmations about being “college-bound” before filing into classrooms and settling down to work.
Discipline is strictly enforced. Students wear uniforms and have “behavior sheets” to let parents know whether or not they’re following the rules. If students behave well, they get a star or smiley face on their sheet; those who misbehave get an X on theirs.
“My children know there are consequences for not following the rules in my classroom,” says Corona. “I staple behavior sheets to their homework for parents to sign and return the following day. It really does work if parents can see how their children are behaving every day.”
The staff has worked hard to get parents more involved in the education of their children. In addition to the PTA and the school site council, the school sponsors a Math Night for each grade level at which parents learn how to engage their children with hands-on activities. There is also a Literacy Night for each grade level and age-appropriate workshops on how parents can help their children with homework. Through the Reading is Fundamental program, books are sent home two or three times a year.
Positive incentives motivate students at Bunche. For good behavior, which includes turning in homework, arriving in uniform (including a tie for the boys) and showing kindness to other children, they earn “Bear Bucks” emblazoned with the school’s mascot. Every month the school’s store opens for business, allowing students to cash in their hard-earned reward money for books and school supplies.
In addition, each classroom picks a Student of the Month who best exhibits the character trait being emphasized in classrooms that month.
On Fridays, students take a skill test on standards covered during the week so teachers can monitor their progress. Students who score 80 percent or higher are honored at assemblies, and their names are printed in the school’s weekly bulletin.
“Kids definitely try harder because they want to see their name in lights,” says kindergarten teacher Patrice West, adding that teachers set their own goals to increase the number of students who will be declared proficient on standardized tests. Teachers say they “collaborate like crazy,” meeting every Wednesday for two hours for grade-level meetings or staff development, in addition to leadership meetings twice a month for grade-level chairs.
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We make no excuses for these kids whatsoever,’ says first-grade teacher Gerardo Corona. ‘We can’t pity these kids just because they’re from Compton.’ |
Teachers designed the weekly skill tests for every grade level to help them target after-school intervention to those who need it. Most of the teachers work after school in the tutoring program or stay late to help children with their homework. Because so many students are excelling, there will be more emphasis on after-school enrichment programs this year, including science and technology.
“No one leaves at 2:45 unless they have a doctor appointment,” says Angella Martinez, a resource teacher at the school. “We all work pretty late here. We’re like a family, and this school is a great place to be. When I come onto the campus I feel like I’m at home, and we want the kids to feel like that when they come here, too.”
“I work hard and enjoy every minute of it,” says West, who has taught at the school 12 years. “We work hard so that our children can achieve, and that’s what they are doing. It’s not easy, but that’s what we’re here for.”
