How does a school go about creating a caring community in which all students feel a sense of value and belonging? At Langley Park-McCormick Elementary school—a 4th-6th grade school in Hyattsville, Maryland—that goal is particularly daunting. Our 610 students come from 37 different countries and speak 25 languages, and almost 65 percent of our families are recent immigrants. We are also faced with a high mobility rate (65 percent) and unrelenting poverty: Some 87 percent of our students (including homeless children) qualify for free lunches, and only 18 percent of parents have earned a high school diploma.
Given these demographics, it is all the more vital that our students know that we care about them. Accordingly, we have implemented three strategies: looping, the creation of an exhibition center to highlight student work, and an attendance incentive program. These initiatives are not just quick fixes, but rather, thoughtful interventions designed to counter student apathy and anonymity.
Looping: The Benefits of Continuity
Each teacher at Langley Park-McCormick Elementary School follows a class from 4th through 6th grade. This looping practice has several benefits, the most obvious being stability. Immigrant and homeless children and families, in particular, rely heavily on their initial relationship with the classroom teacher. Over time, as teachers nurture relationships with children, they are able to identify individual students' strengths and weaknesses and tailor appropriate educational plans for them. Teachers lose no time every September determining student achievement levels, adjusting pacing, or establishing classroom rules.
As students who are English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOLs) adjust to their new school and become comfortable with their teacher, they develop confidence in practicing their newly acquired language. They also begin to share stories and customs from their countries, resulting in global understanding and respect among all the students. (In a multicultural setting such as ours, we celebrate diversity, not simply tolerate it.)
As the classroom teacher and students develop a rapport with one another, stereotypes dissolve; the teacher sees children as unique, multitalented individuals. This derails what is commonly a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Exhibition Center: Where Kids Can Shine
As children hone their talents, they display their best work in their portfolios and in our Langley Park-McCormick Exhibition Center—a living children's museum. The center gives all students an opportunity to show off their exemplary work. We created this unique learning environment last spring, when students, teachers, and community members worked together to transform a 32-by-26-foot classroom. Here, we stage one exhibit each quarter of the school year, with each one celebrating a particular cultural heritage, such as Hispanic or African-American.
The multidisciplinary displays in the center tell stories about their creators, including what they've been studying (the projects are woven into our curriculum) and how they interpret and understand the subject. A pair of 6th graders, for example, created a display based on their research into Brazil's exports and how they affect the U.S. economy, while a 5th grader designed a scale model of an American colonial village. Taking a different approach, a group of students who recently moved here from Russia (and were just beginning to master the English language) presented a play based on a Ukranian folk tale.
Projects like these inspire inquiry and creativity, as well as pride and self-esteem. We guide students in developing their individual or group projects, but they have many choices. In the end, each child's individual personality shines through.
The exhibition center would not have been possible without the help of our business partners in education, the state, and community members. For example, the Kahn Paper Company carpeted the room. Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) installed track lighting to put student work in the best light. And the Hecht Company, a local department store chain, donated glass display cases that would showcase delicate and authentic cultural artifacts. In addition, the Maryland Arts Council donated funds to build display panels. And teenagers from a nearby high school displayed their own carpentry skills by building wooden risers for our students to sit on when listening to guest lecturers.
The success of the Exhibition Center also depends greatly upon community involvement. Community members have generously loaned us items from their homelands that represent the cultural heritage we are celebrating that quarter. For example, our Hispanic display included maracas from Ecuador, an Andean wall hanging, a Spanish flamenco doll, and Mexican worry dolls.
Attendance Incentives: No Excuses
Our attendance incentive program is a program with an attitude—a positive attitude. We recognize that a significant number of kids are absent for reasons other than illness, but unlike many other schools, we make sure none of these students is lost in the crowd.
Each day we contact the families of students who are absent, speaking with them in a respectful, non-confrontational way. One refrain we hear daily is "I missed the bus!" If transportation is the problem, a staff member drives to the student's home and cheerfully brings the student to school.
Another common refrain is that the alarm clock is broken. In that case, we simply hand the family an alarm clock. If the excuse is a lack of proper clothing, we do what we can to supply the appropriate clothes or footwear. And if the family claims to have clothes but they just aren't clean, we bring them some soap powder and ask them to send the child to school when the washer/dryer cycle is completed.
We also gently counsel families on what to do to avoid missing a bus or to solve clothing problems before the school bell rings. When a student arrives late to school, we never chastise him or her. Instead, we escort the student to class. In short, we encourage regular attendance with a carrot, not a stick.
For this reason, we reward students for exemplary attendance. Each month, we issue a "100 percent card" to students who haven't missed a single day of school the previous month. This card entitles the student to an extra recess; the opportunity to eat at a specially decorated table in the cafeteria; and a school-related item, such as a ruler, pencil, or bookmark.
We also recognize individual classes for attendance. We announce over the public address system every class that has 100 percent attendance. We post prominently in the hallway a bar graph displaying each class's monthly attendance record. We also post the monthly certificates that our Chief Educational Administrator sends us for attendance rates of 94 percent or above. Every quarter, we honor the class with the best attendance record at our honor roll assembly, then treat class members to a skating party in the gymnasium. Staff members, too, are cited at honor roll assemblies if they've modeled perfect attendance for their students.
Although the overwhelming majority of our students respond to our positive approaches, a few students do not. The school board and county officials handle those with intractable truancy problems. But we, too, take extra—positive—steps for students who do not seem to respond to the attendance program.
Last year we established a Prompt and Present Club for the 27 students who had missed more than 15 days during the school year. We invited these children and their families to a barbeque party. We never mentioned poor attendance, saying only that members of this group would be specially rewarded each month if they helped our school achieve outstanding attendance records. The club has been meeting monthly to celebrate members who have achieved very high or perfect attendance. Most encouraging, most of these students have not only improved their attendance, but 40 percent of the club members have also attained perfect attendance!
Overcoming the Odds
In the 1994-95 school year, our overall attendance was 96 percent, earning our school the state of Maryland's Excellent attendance rating. In the 1995-96 school year, we surpassed that mark, attaining 96.9 percent.
Equally important, our three-pronged strategy has contributed to a warm, caring, and supportive learning environment for all of our children. It's worth mentioning that we have made all these strides with no extra staff, just extra dedication. And as we mentioned earlier, we are indebted as well to area business sponsors, who also understand that education is essential to lift this community out of its poverty.
