PC school honored by state
By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Phil Campbell Elementary School was honored this week after taking part in a rural schools study conducted by state agencies.
The study was a joint effort between the department of education and the department of agriculture.
Ten schools statewide were chosen so educators could get a better grasp of what these rural schools were doing to be so successful.
The steady decline of rural Alabama has been well documented. For example, 22 rural counties had fewer employees in 2006 than in 2001 and of the 20 counties with the lowest average wage in 2005, 19 of them were rural.
There are 73 county and city school systems in rural Alabama. They had 231,694 students in the 1997-98 school year. Today the number is 221,309, according to state records.
Ten years ago, 53 percent of Alabama's rural students received free or reduced lunches. Today, it is 60.5 percent.
Alabama Department of Education data shows that students who qualify for free-reduced lunches score significantly lower on reading and math than non-poverty students.
The Center for Rural Alabama reviewed test scores for rural schools across the state for the 2006-07 school year in order to locate high-poverty schools where students perform at a high level.
Reading and math scores for each grade in a school were noted and compared to the statewide average for Level 4 for that subject and grade. An average school score was determined and measured against the state average.
Data from more than 200 rural schools in 56 counties was entered on a spreadsheet and ranked. In making the final determination, weight was also given to the number of grades reviewed in a school and the school's free-reduced lunch percentage.
This process identified 10 schools from throughout the state with test scores significantly higher than the state averages. They range from 67.8 percent free-reduced lunches to 99.8 percent. Student populations range from 99 percent black to 100 percent white.
The schools are: Calcedeaver Elementary in Mount Vernon; Dutton Elementary in Jackson County; Ervin Elementary in Wilcox County; Fruithurst Elementary in Cleburne County; Harlan Elementary in Covington County; Huxford Elementary in Escambia County; Meek Elementary in Winston County; Southern Choctaw Elementary in Choctaw County; Turner Elementary in Perry County; and Phil Campbell Elementary School.
"If six out of 10 of our kids have a strike against them already, how do we turn out a work force," asked Larry Lee, director of the Center for Rural Alabama.
"That's why we wanted to take a look at this and see how these schools are doing so well."
The study found that the schools all had several things in common, such as teachers and principals that set high standards for them and students, motivated faculty and high community and parental involvement.
"I am so proud of our teachers, staff, students and our community for making us successful," principal Jackie Ergle said.
"It takes us all working together as a team."
Lee said that a school's performance level is a direct result of its leadership and its community.
"It all goes back to a culture of expectations and all of these schools have principals and teachers who believe that each child can and should be successful," Lee said.
