A new building, a new attitude, a new approach to education. That's the "news" at Franklin Elementary School in Salt Lake District.
The school's concentrated effort to increase student achievement, against great odds, has earned Franklin state recognition and nomination as a Promising Site in the U.S. Department of Education's Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program. The schools selected for national demonstration status will be announced sometime this month.
"We're very proud of what we're doing," said principal Dahlia Cordova. But Franklin's success isn't measured in terms of recognition in the education community or the prospect of being a national example of school reform. It's in the little upward increments shown in test scores, daily attendance in the mid-to-high-90 percent range, signs of growing retention of students, an increase in parental involvement, more limited-English students learning the language faster.
The bottom line as Cordova sees it: "This is a place where kids want to be. They're more involved now in their own education."
Demographic statistics in the Franklin near-westside neighborhood all auger against school success: near 90 percent of its families live below the poverty level (with 97 percent of the students eligible for reduced or free lunch, the school has initiated a universal free meal program for all its students); 40 percent of the students come from single-parent homes; 87 percent live in homes in which English is not the primary language (68 percent are Hispanic, but in all, seven non-English languages are spoken in Franklin's neighborhood); student turnover is close to 60 percent per year; the neighborhood is affected by drugs, gangs and crime.
These have long been recognized as factors that affect the ability of students to learn. At Franklin, the depth of the challenges has tended to show up as very low test scores — in some academic areas below the 10th percentile, while 50 is the national norm.
When reform became the objective, however, the Franklin school community realized that there was no easy cure. Anything done toward improving the school's outcomes would have to work around its realities.
The process began with a minutely thorough analysis. Nine educational components were subjected to study, Cordova said. Based on what they learned, Franklin made some profound changes in its approach to education.
"We reformed everything we do," she said.
Among those reforms:
To address the language problem, Franklin's teachers commited to pursuing endorsment in English as a second language. By the end of the first year, 50 percent of the faculty had earned the endorsement and by the end of next year, all hope they will be prepared to assist non-English speakers in their classrooms — meaning children do not have to be taken out of the classroom for ESL instruction.
Based on a thorough review of curriculum reform possibilities, including team visits to schools that were implementing "New American School Designs," the school chose the Success for All model. The SFA logo blooms everywhere in the new school (students moved in last October), and no innovation is considered that can't be filtered through the SFA philosophy. The program encompasses comprehensive reading and math programs, early learning (Franklin has all-day kindergarten and a preschool program), frequent assessment, tutoring, family support, instruction in social skills and site-based management.
Heavy emphasis on reading called for adjustment of recess, lunch and class schedules to safeguard a 90-minute uninterrupted reading block for every student each day. "The goal is to have every student reading at grade level," Cordova said. That goal is still ahead, "but the gap is narrowing." At the end of the first full year of implementation, the number of students in grades one to six reading at grade level had risen from 10 percent to nearly 30 percent. Every certified member of the faculty, including the librarian, ESL specialists, resource teachers and SFA facilitators, is expected to teach reading. Children in the primary grades and grades four to six are grouped by ability so no one is left to straggle along behind classmates.
Every child in grades three through six has at least 30 minutes of computer time daily. Each classroom has three to five computers, and teachers design "learning centers" around them so children have access on a consistent basis.
The school makes an effort to analyze and meet children's needs for such things as medical and dental attention, eyeglasses and other items that affect learning, referring families to established community resources.
More time is available. The school day begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. to give teachers more time for planning and preparing. The school is on a year-round schedule, and off-track programs offer continuity for children.
Parent involvement has been encouraged by opening the school early and late, maintaining close contact with homes and having frequent conferences regarding a child's progress. For instance, a "Second Cup of Coffee" informal time in the early morning encourages parents who work to begin the day with their child. A translator is always available for parents who don't speak English, and school communications go home in the parent's language. Classes are available for adults who wish to learn English. About 98 percent of Franklin's students have a parent attend parent/teacher conferences.
Getting children to school regularly is a priority. Three workers check on absent students each day, encouraging attendance and tracking individual situations that interfere with education.
Cordova believes the effort is paying off. The school has become a rallying point for an increase in community pride, she believes. Some families try to find ways to solve problems that don't require frequent moves. About 150 of Franklin's current students are children who have moved outside the boundaries but continue to come to the school under the state's open-enrollment provision.
Franklin's reforms come with a price tag. Teacher training, new curriculum, longer hours, extra services, the intensity of a program that meets the needs — all require financing. The money has come through Salt Lake District's participation in the Eccles/Annenberg Challenge. In 1996, American philanthropist Walter F. Annenberg announced a multimillion-
dollar contribution to education, aimed at jump-starting reform in some of the country's large urban school districts.
Salt Lake District received $4 million. The George S. and Dolores Dor Eccles Foundation contributed a $2.5 million match and the R. Harold Burton Foundation another $1 million. The district kicked in $3 million. By the end of the five-year life of the grant, the total additional support will mount to $12 million. The foundation is still soliciting contributions to meet the final $1.5 million commitment.
Cordova is not above scrounging and begging to supplement Franklin's share of the district's Annenberg-related funds. Any source that will add to her ability to strengthen the students and families in her neighborhood is welcome, she said.
As she strides the halls of her handsome new building, a grapefruit-size wad of clanking keys announcing her passing, she sees the progress that has been made over three years. But she is also aware of the challenge to maintain the momentum that has been built.
"Our teachers see and value our success, and they have the impetus to keep going. We don't want to go back to what we had before."
E-MAIL: tvanleer@desnews.com