Using the fifth grade spring 1999 Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) scores, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation's 1999 Georgia Elementary School Report Card for Parents, ranks Anna K. Davie fifth-graders:The data are conclusive.
Using the fifth grade spring 1999 Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) scores, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation's 1999 Georgia Elementary School Report Card for Parents, ranks Anna K. Davie fifth-graders:
* 1,034 out of all 1,065 public elementary schools in the state of Georgia, and
* 156 out of 158 elementary schools in 21 counties in Northwest Georgia.
Using the fifth grade spring 2000 ITBS scores, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation's 2000 Georgia Elementary School Report Card for Parents, ranks Anna K. Davie fifth-graders:
* 1,076 out of all 1,086 public elementary schools in the state of Georgia, and
* 157 out of 157 elementary schools in 21 counties in Northwest Georgia.
Table 1 shows Anna K. Davie ranks last among the area (Rome City and Floyd County) elementary schools in both the third grade and fifth grade rankings.
Overkill? I really don't think so.
You may follow the School Report Card links at the Georgia Department of Education web site and find that the inner-city students attending Anna K. Davie Elementary School are predominately poor (94.7% are eligible to receive free/reduced lunches) and black (90.9%). By and large they are performing very poorly academically.
I agree with the December 6, 1998, editorial when it states:
It is unacceptable that so many students - for whatever reason - can't at least be equal to the average child in a state that ranks 49th nationally in educational accomplishments.
I have contacted the Rome City Schools administrative offices and the Education Committee of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce and shared with them my concern that so many young children are being left behind (the editorial's words). I was assured that there are valid reasons why these particular students are performing poorly - poverty (over 90% are on free lunch), lack of parental support (parents are uneducated and therefore can not give the children the support they need at home), rough home and neighborhood environment, etc., etc.
I agree wholeheartedly with the November 11, 1998, editorial when it states:
Their family incomes can only be changed with difficulty; their race or ethnic heritages can't be changed at all. What can be changed is the quality and intensity of what they are receiving in the classroom.
There it is: What can be - and may I add needs to be - changed is the quality and intensity of what they are receiving in the classroom.
Do we believe the black children in south Rome can learn if they are taught or do we believe it is a hopeless situation based on poverty, lack of parental support, and yes - race?
The plan I propose for fixing the crisis situation which presently exists in south Rome calls for the establishment of a nonsectarian, independent, coeducational day school - a new school for the students of south Rome. Presently the students in south Rome have no real alternative but to attend Anna K. Davie. The school I envision would:
believe all children - regardless of race, ethnic heritages, or family income - can learn, learn well, and have fun learning, though it would be hard work;
believe that self esteem derives from achievement;
believe all children learn best when taught a systematic, sequencial and cumulative curriculum which sets high standards and builds steadily from year to year;
teach a core body of knowledge that is solid, sequenced, specific and shared; (For a detailed explanation of what I have in mind please see the Core Knowledge Foundation web site. Follow the link About Core Knowledge. Let me add here that I do not believe there is anything magical about the Core Knowledge Sequence. It is simply an excellent curriculum sequence that I believe would work well with our poorer-performing, inner-city students in South Rome.)
have high expectations for students and faculty;
emphasize accountability - the teachers and administrators would be held accountable for what their students learn and be judged on the basis of the results they produce.
I agree with the principle upon which the Philanthropy Roundtable is founded. Their Statement of Purpose states in part:
The Roundtable is founded on the principle that voluntary private action offers the best means of addressing many of society's needs, and that a vibrant private sector is critical to creating the wealth that makes philanthropy possible.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines philanthropy as:
1: goodwill to fellow men; especially: active effort to promote human welfare
I can think of no better way to show goodwill toward the students in south Rome, and promote their human welfare, than to provide them with a good education. What we are talking about here is not welfare in the sense of a free government hand-out. What we are talking about is promoting human welfare - providing the children in south Rome with an education that will prepare them to be successful in middle school, high school, college (if they should so choose) and life.
Rome prides itself - and rightly so - in being the medical capital of northwest Georgia. Our medical personnel and facilities - our clinics and our two hospitals - are superb. There is not - nor would we accept - mediocre-to-poor medical treatment in our medical facilities.
Why do we accept mediocre-to-extremely-poor educational results in some of our schools?
My Plan on How to Fix It... calls for a nonsectarian, independent, coeducational day school - a school where the poor black students of south Rome - those who choose to attend the school - would be philanthropically supported by private vouchers. Please see Jennifer A. Grossman's How Philanthropy is Revolutionising Education for a lucid expose on how philanthropy is making real educational choice available to many low-income families - families that otherwise would have no choice.
In her article, Jennifer Grossman writes:
Private scholarship programs prove that competition works. Far from "destroying" public education, competition forces public schools into making long-overdue repairs. And it offers poor parents the choices they desperately need.
We have the resources here in the city of Rome to provide all of our children with an excellent education. We have many good schools, both public and private. Many of our parents have a choice as to where their children attend school. The parents and students in south Rome effectively have no choice. Philanthropy would give them a choice.
Ideas have consequences. Do we believe the black children in south Rome can learn, learn well, and enjoy learning if they are taught effectively, or do we really believe it is a hopeless situation based on poverty, lack of parental support, and race?
The need is there. The potential is there. If this plan sounds good to you I invite you to join me in making educational choice an option for the parents and students in south Rome. For more information on how you can join in this philanthropic effort - this effort to actively provide educational choice to the students in south Rome - please contact Fred Zobrist.
To view a lucid report profiling seven principals from around the United States who prove that all children can excel academically regardless of race, income level, or family background, see The Heritage Foundation's No Excuses: Seven Principals of Low-Income Schools Who Set the Standard for High Achievement. Samuel Casey Carter is the author of the report.
No Excuses: Lessons from 21 High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools by Samuel Casey Carter, is a report examining the common practices of twenty-one principals of low-income schools who set the standard for high achievement. The lessons uncovered in these case-studies provide an invaluable resource for anyone interested in providing increased educational opportunities for low-income children.
