Title I Schools Achieve!

Tapteal is a 550-student center of community life that defies any notion that some kids can’t become good readers. In 2010, the state acknowledged the success of its hardworking principal, Rhonda Pratt, and her staff with a Title I Distinguished School for Reading award. It’s not an easy award to get. Schools must meet Adequate Yearly Progress for two or more years in a row and be able to prove that what they’re doing is closing the achievement gap. The same year, the state also handed Tapteal a Title I Academic Achievement Award for reading strategies that get results. The secret of Tapteal’s bold success lies somewhere within the remarkable balance teachers create between nurture, innovation and research-based best practices.

At the core of the turnaround was a dramatic shift in attitude among the teaching staff led by Principal Robin Logan. “Once we committed to the idea that every student will meet standard,” says Logan “the rest was smart mechanics.” Indeed. The smart, resourceful and complex mechanics of the right learning model, effective teaching strategies, and strong curricula paced perfectly for teaching, learning and assessment. The easiest part of this breathtaking turnaround, says Logan, was the decision making. “Staff had only to ask — What is best for the student? — to figure out what to do.”

Diversity is not a phenomenon at Garfield — it is the norm in a dynamic learning community where each child stands at the center of a richly varied educational experience. And although core curricula have primacy, music, art and health/fitness are equal partners in the attention paid to the whole child. In 2010, Garfield received state recognition for academic achievement in math and reading with the Title I, Part A Academic Achievement Award. Many families in the local community depend on Garfield Elementary as the source of robust programs and resources for their children. These programs unlock opportunities for learning and engagement.