Eugene Field waits on state test results, new school building
David Schulte World Staff Writer
04/20/2005
Tulsa World (Final Home Edition), Page ZW1 of Community

In the north entrance of Eugene Field Elementary School, a bulletin board has been placed to remind students of their two-year mission: to be removed from the state's School Improvement List.

Before school even started at Tulsa Public Schools, five west Tulsa schools were notified in August that they did not meet the state's requirements for attendance and test scores in reading and math.

Those schools were Eugene Field Elementary School, 1116 W. 22nd St.; Clinton Middle School, 2224 W. 41st St.; Academy Central, 1789 W. Seminole St.; Madison Middle School, 4132 W. Cameron St. and Mark Twain Elementary School, 541 S. 43rd West Ave.

The news was especially bad for Eugene Field because its students had the lowest scores on standardized tests in the district. Last year, students scored 219 in reading, with a score of 768 or above needed to meet the state's requirement.

They scored 301 in math with a score of 790 or above needed.

To be removed from the School Improvement List, a school must meet the state's requirements for test scores and attendance, or show 10 percent improvement in every category, for two consecutive years.

Cindi Hemm, principal at Eugene Field, is confident that her students will show significant improvement from a year ago once the test results for this year are received.

"In the past, we hoped we would do well on the test," Hemm said. "Now, we know we will do well."

One positive sign for the school is improved attendance compared to a year ago. Last year the school failed to achieve the 91 percent requirement.

With three-quarters of the academic year complete, the school's attendance rate was 93 percent, Hemm said.

Clinton and Madison's attendance rates were also below the state's requirement last year.

Laura Undernehr, principal at Clinton, said the school's attendance for this year is still slightly less than 91 percent, but was optimistic that the school could reach the state's requirement before school ends in June.

"Right now, we're making individual phone calls for when they are late or tardy," Undernehr said.

She even visits with parents whose children are frequently absent from school.

R.P. Ashanti-Alexander, Madison principal, said attendance at the school is slightly above the 91 percent mark, but it has fluctuated within the past two months because of student illnesses.

Better attendance at Eugene Field should help improve students' test scores because they have received more classroom instruction, Hemm said.

"Attendance is so important on a job, in school and in life," Hemm said. "If you're late, you miss out."

Eugene Field has also added other programs and teaching strategies to help students perform better on tests.

Grant money was used for assistance from TargetTeach, an educational consulting firm from Scottsdale, Ariz., that identified specific areas in reading and math where students scored low last year.

Representatives from TargetTeach visited more than 20 schools in the district, including Eugene Field and Madison since January, with students taking practice tests that are similar to the state's standardized tests.

"It's given us some immediate data to adjust teaching so we can make sure students are where they need to be," Ashanti-Alexander said.

Da-Ce Beaty, fifth-grade teacher at Eugene Field, said the education firm analyzed last year's test results to determine what type of questions and problems students had difficulty with.

For example, a student may have trouble solving addition problems, but the program analyzed data to see if it was with adding fractions or decimals.

One of Beaty's students, Kristin Dugan, said her scores on practice tests significantly increased since January.

"My first test was 56, since then I have been up as high as 89," Dugan said.

Other students showed similar improvement.

The school has kept records of students' practice tests that show third-, fourth- and fifth-graders' reading and math scores having tripled since January.

Josie Marroquin, fifth-grader, said she felt confident about scoring well on the tests.

"I'm not as nervous because we have been reviewing," she said.

Boosting students' confidence can go a long way in helping students score well, Undernehr said.

"Motivation is a big part," she said. "If a kid is not motivated, they will not score well."

New school's capacity called into question by officials

School officials differ on whether the new Eugene Field Elementary School building in west Tulsa will be large enough to hold a recent increase in student enrollment.

The new Eugene Elementary School is under construction just west of the existing building at 1116 W. 22nd St.

It is expected to open in the fall.

Voters in 2001 approved to build a $5.5 million school to replace the existing building that was built in 1922. The cost for the new school has since risen to $6.4 million due inflation and the rising cost of steel, said Gary Percefull, school board member of Tulsa Public Schools who represents west Tulsa.

Within the past two years, enrollment at Eugene Field has increased from about 200 students to 325 students, said principal Cindi Hemm.

Since October the school has gained 35 new students and has stopped accepting transfers from other schools, she said.

Hemm and Bob LaBass, executive director of bond projects for Tulsa Public Schools, disagree on how many students the new school will hold once it is completed.

If the school utilizes every possible room, it could hold almost 400 students, LaBass said.

Hemm said the school would only hold 288 students, largely because not every room was designed to hold classes.

Percefull said the new school was designed to include many features that most Tulsa schools do not have including a medical clinic; an arts and crafts room; office for social workers; a community meeting room; four early childhood classes; and a clothes closet for children from low-income families.

He insisted that those features wouldn't be lost to accommodate the growth of enrollment.

"If we use every possible room, the building would hold 400 students, but we're not going to put every kid in every room," Percefull said.

All three school officials agree that the school was designed to accommodate growth, but no one anticipated the enrollment to increase so fast.

Because the district has limited funds to build the school, a new bond issue would be needed to build an addition for the school.

"Six years ago, you could not have told them that you would need it here, but we sure need it now," Hemm said.

She expects to have at least two mobile classrooms, commonly known as trailers, once the new building opens.

"We may have to start out with more with the way we're growing," Hemm said.

Percefull didn't rule out the possibility that trailers could be needed in the fall.

"It may be crowded on the day that it opens, but this is kind of a happy problem," he said.

"We may have to put trailers out, but it's going to be a new school with new school services."

He noted that just a few years ago the school's low enrollment had caused school officials to consider the possibility of closing the school.

"We've got to figure out where the population will stabilize over there," he said.

Percefull said the district needed to discuss with Hemm how to best use the available space at the new school.

Related Photos & Graphics

Da-Ce Beaty (right), fifth -grade teacher at Eugene Field Elementary School in west Tulsa, helps Helen Wright and Desiree Thompson with sample math and reading questions before taking the state’s standardized tests.
DAVID SCHULTE / Tulsa World

Hemm