During the last five years, we’ve watched the faculty and students at Anna Booth Elementary in the Mobile County School District go from a failing school to a national award winner. With a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award hanging proudly in the school foyer, and a sixth Alabama State Department of Education Torchbearer Award announced just a few weeks ago, Anna Booth is a shining example of what can happen when an entire faculty commits to a change initiative to improve teaching and learning. Jennifer Pyron has covered the Anna Booth story for ABPC since 2006, and she updates us here.
by Jennifer Pyron
When the list of 2010 national Blue Ribbon Schools was released by the U.S. Department of Education last fall, Anna Booth Elementary sat proudly atop it. The school was one of only four in Alabama to earn the prestigious award, which recognizes schools that have made significant strides in closing the achievement gap, especially among disadvantaged and minority students.
It’s been a long road to the top for the students and faculty at Anna Booth. In 2003, the school was on the state watch list for poor performance. But Principal Lisa Williams and her dedicated faculty have weathered Hurricane Katrina, moved the school from worn out facilities in Bayou La Batre to its current location in Irvington, and completed seven years of intense implementation of the Alabama Reading First Initiative (ARFI).
In fact, Williams credits ARFI for the school’s transformation. I first met her in 2006, during their third year of implementation (before the school’s name change from Alba Elementary). “ARFI was the catalyst for everything we do here to improve teaching and learning—the data meetings, the double dipping, the collaboration,” she said then. “Finally, we have the tools to do what we’ve always known we could do!”
During that visit, I listened in awe as teachers detailed phenomenal changes in their students’ achievement and in their own classroom practices. Many described the culture of the school as “intense,” and there was indeed a palpable intensity in the air as teachers worked together tirelessly in teams to provide a jam-packed day of instruction, intervention and powerful learning.
“Our methods may be intense but we know they’re working,” said Williams. “We’re never going to arrive at a stopping point because we always have new students, new challenges. This is just the way we’ll do instruction from here on out.”
The result of this laser-like focus has been a total shift in culture, from benevolent low expectations for struggling students to very high expectations and soaring achievement—in a school where one third of students are English Language Learners and 90% meet federal poverty guidelines. The change has been so complete, in fact, that Anna Booth is a perennial winner of the coveted Alabama Torchbearer School award for beating the achievement gap and was one of six schools to receive the National School Change Award in 2007.
Another visit, three years later
I went back to Anna Booth in 2009, and believe it or not, the atmosphere was even more intense than it had been in 2006. With every year of success, the faculty became even more committed and energized. During that interview, Lisa identified seven key factors that led to their success:
1. Implementation of Reading First and the Alabama Reading Initiative
– job-embedded professional development (on-going and data-driven)
– a research-based comprehensive reading program
– a defined and intensive intervention plan with targeted, small-group instruction
– use of effective assessment tools/instruments
– data-driven instruction and planning
– data meetings: strong focused collaboration
– strategic, effective scheduling
2. Data Meetings—The school implemented a process designed to provide a collaborative forum for analyzing student data for the purpose of making instructional decisions and planning professional development.
3. School Climate—A change in school climate resulted in an engaging, empowering school culture with evidence of a pervasive belief in students’ capabilities, student and staff self efficacy, and dedicated staff members who exhibit professionalism, cohesiveness, and collaborative effort.
4. Standards-based PD—Anna Booth has job-embedded professional development, based on NSDC (now Learning Forward) standards, that is on-going and data driven, focusing on what students need to know and what educators need to be able to do to ensure student success.
5. Intervention—A structured intervention plan tailored to student needs and supported by a staggered school day that allows for optimal utilization of time and human resources.
6. Aligned Curriculum & Assessment—Every teacher offers effective instruction that is aligned with standards, curriculum maps, and regular classroom, district, and state assessments.
7. A Long-Range Vision—Structured school improvement plans and processes ensure constancy of focus and continuous improvement
“Every day at Anna Booth Elementary, there is still a sense of urgency,” Williams said two years ago. “It’s the glue that holds everything together. At every meeting, we engage in conversations about the challenges of preparing our students for today’s global economy. We examine our role as elementary school teachers in ensuring that our students graduate from high school and can compete—not just with other kids in the district or in the state—but globally.”
With national funding for Reading First eliminated in 2009-10, Williams and her faculty faced a real challenge — sustaining the momentum and intensity they had achieved. At the time, Williams wasn’t worried. “Absolutely not. We have the keys to success, and we are going to sustain our success. It’s too important to these students and to this community.
“I’ve learned a great lesson,” she continued. “Real success is accurate information sustained over time. It’s sustainable when it’s taken for granted. And that’s what’s happened here. Our culture, the intensity, it’s all internalized now. We just do it.”
Fast forward to 2010-11
Williams and her staff have continued to “just do it,” and now they have a national Blue Ribbon Award to show for it (video). I recently caught up with Williams to discuss the award and what it means to her, her faculty, the students and the community at large.
“[The award] communicates to others what we already known,” she said in an email exchange. “Our students have the ability, self efficacy, and work ethic required to perform at high levels and compete on a national level. Our students are as capable as any students in the nation; and, with effective instruction and support, their performance represents their great potential.”
Williams pointed out that the Anna Booth community has experienced more than its share of difficulties: Hurricane Katrina, the recent oil spill, and the instability of the seafood industry upon which the community relies for income. She sees the Blue Ribbon Award as proof that “our community is resilient. [We are] a community of hardworking individuals with a strong work ethic who persevere in times of adversity. This work ethic and resiliency is evident in the community’s children.”
When asked how the school has sustained its success over the years, Williams refers back to the seven key factors she shared with me in 2009. “As a school team, we agree that those seven factors increase student achievement. We protect the integrity and fidelity of those factors and ensure continued intense implementation of each component: day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year.”
Equally important, she said, is the continued belief that “we are continuous learners who realize we will never arrive at a stopping point. We continue to engage in collaborative professional study to refine and strengthen our instruction with our driving force being a deep, intense determination to meet the needs of all students.”
Williams told me she’s looking forward to watching “the rest of the story” (to quote Paul Harvey), as the students of Anna Booth move forward thorough middle school, graduate from high school and postsecondary institutions and begin contributing to their community, state and nation. “I have no doubt these children will possess the necessary skills and knowledge to be competitive in today’s global job market,” said Williams.
I don’t doubt it either, and we at the A+ Best Practices Center look forward to continuing our conversation with Anna Booth’s effective educators in the years to come.
