Inside the two Leon schools that are feeling the most pressure to perform well on FSA tests

Students start walking into Pineview Elementary School when doors open at 7:45 a.m. They head straight to the cafeteria for their free breakfast.

Kindergartners, first and second graders stay in the buzzing room, but third, fourth and fifth graders use the 30 minutes before school starts to get to work. They head to the computer lab, which fills up quickly or sprawl out in the library, noses buried in books labeled by reading level. Some go straight to class.

The bell rings at 8:15 a.m. — 15 minutes earlier than most other elementary schools — so they can tuck in more instruction time. 

“We try to make the best of the time we have here,” said Principal Carmen Conner.

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About four miles away at Oak Ridge Elementary School, students take advantage of the same opportunities. Students who need intensive help in math or reading go to morning lab.

In the library, some students sit at computers playing educational games. One runs up to Principal Jasmine Smith and shows off the book she’s reading about insects.

“Will you take a book home and read it over spring break?” asks Smith, who’s been principal there for two years. The student says she will.

Both south-side, low-income schools are in the hot seat when standardized testing, the major driver of school grades, starts today.

Pineview received Leon County’s only “F” when scores were released by the Florida Department of Education last summer. Oak Ridge received its third consecutive “D" grade.

The district had three options for Oak Ridge under state mandate — close the school, hand it over to a charter school or foot the bill for an external operator to offer services to help improve the school. It opted for an external operator, which will cost the district $50,000 if the school improves and $300,000 if it doesn’t.

If Pineview’s grade doesn’t improve, the district will find itself at the same crossroads. After three consecutive failing grades, schools are deemed “persistently low-performing” by the DOE. Pineview’s 2016-17 grade was a “C.”

For elementary schools, grades are made up of English, mathematics and science tests, learning gains for fourth and fifth-grade students, and English language proficiency progress.

“(The principals) know that based on this one test that if those schools do not improve their jobs and their careers are in jeopardy," said Superintendent Rocky Hanna.

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Addressing barriers

Just like at any other school in the district, students at Oak Ridge and Pineview face obstacles that affect their learning.

When students arrive for kindergarten, it’s the first time some of them have ever been in a classroom setting. At Pineview, somewhere between 30 and 50 percent have not had any preschool experience. Teachers have to compensate for skills not yet learned — everything from letter recognition to sharing — while also ensuring students are on track with state education standards.

“Those problems trickle down,” said Conner, who started at Pineview last May. “Looking at the data, it’s an uphill battle.”

It's a battle that continues as the children progress through elementary school.

The week before spring break, students at Pineview took a reading diagnostic test. Part of the data shows students on a scale of 0 to 5 with each number correlating to a grade level. Nearly every student in third grade showed growth.

One improved from a kindergarten to second-grade reading level. But, come state testing, those gains won’t matter because the student isn’t on a third-grade reading level.

"There are children who show tremendous gains and get caught up," said Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Gillian Gregory. "But when they get to third grade and aren't considered proficient, they count against the school grade."

Another obstacle the schools face is attendance. If students aren’t at school, they can’t learn.

At Oak Ridge, many of the school’s absences are kindergartners. But they aren’t the only ones who miss school. On any given day, about 30 of the school’s more than 500 students don’t show.

“On Fridays and Mondays, it’s at its highest,” Smith said. “We're encouraging parents to make sure their kids attend school.”

Pineview experiences the same problem. Of its roughly 360 students, on any given day anywhere from 35 to 40 students are absent. If it’s cold outside or raining, that number goes up.

In addition to absences, chronic tardiness plagues both schools. About 15-20 students arrive late each day, some as late as 45 minutes. Teachers keep snacks on hand for those who miss breakfast. 

'Dangle the carrot'

To entice students to come to school and be there on time, Pineview students receive points for arriving at school before the bell rings. Those points can be redeemed in a store Conner created filled with candy and toys. Starting in January, she started a drawing for parents whose students had perfect attendance.

Conner teased students that one day they would arrive at school for “The Best Day Ever,” but no one knew when it would happen. Then one day in November, the school was transformed to resemble a cruise ship. Students received Hawaiian leis when they stepped on to campus. The day was filled with educational games. Conner tells students they never know when it will happen again.

Oak Ridge battles its high absentee rate with reward events on Mondays and Fridays. Those who improve their reading diagnostic scores are invited to a STAR VIP party. 

When it comes to testing, Pineview is preparing students by making sure they’re in a mindset to do their best. Students are taught to read passages multiple times. Instructions for testing is read in the same manner as state exams.

Before taking the diagnostic reading test, Conner walked from room to room with a box of Fruit By The Foot snacks under her arm. She told students if they focused they would receive a treat. The conference room in her office is filled with other enticing sweets.

"Sometimes," she said, "you've got to dangle the carrot."

Both schools also work to engage students and their parents with special programs. Pineview has literacy nights. One was game-night themed where BINGO winners took home books.

“They do a lot of activities in school,” said Erick Gonzalez, a single dad of a kindergartner and fifth grader. “For what they have, they’re doing an excellent job. I don’t think they could do any better.”

Oak Ridge recently had a SNOW — science, numeracy, observation and wonder — day. Students participated in science, technology, engineering and technology challenges. Real snow was brought in for students to play in.

“Watching them participate in STEM challenges and working together, seeing them demonstrate some of those soft skills we want children and adults to have was great,” Smith said. “But also the laughter and the giggles and the fun — those are things that you remember about school and that’s what I want our children to think about when they think about Oak Ridge.”

More than a grade

The data that Conner has been analyzing since the beginning of the year shows her students have the ability to meet proficiency on the Florida Standards Assessments tests, she said. But they only reflect a snapshot of the school.

“The school grade that we currently have does not define who the teachers are, who the students are,” she said. “They’re really smart kids that are sponges and are ready to learn and our teachers are super dedicated to what they do.”

Both Conner and Smith will work to make sure their students feel ready when they sit down to start their tests. The cafeteria staff is working to provide a breakfast and lunch that won’t make students tired. 

“You get caught up in the school grades and you have to remember there are kids involved and it’s about them,” Smith said. “There’s a tremendous amount of pressure, but we feel prepared.”

State standardized testing is one of the biggest factors in determining school grades, but top Leon County officials say it it's not the only measure of a school's success.  

"In 2019, schooling is so much more than reading, writing, math, science and social studies," said Gregory, who in her district job works closely with the struggling schools. "Schools do so much more. And none of that is ever captured."

Gregory understands the need for public schools to be held accountable but is critical of "these arbitrary lines in the sand."

"It misrepresents the good work being done at each of our schools   — and that’s true of a school that’s a historically 'A' school or a school that’s struggling," she said.

Superintendent Hanna hopes lawmakers will re-evaluate school grades. He's been lobbying lawmakers this legislative session to include an evaluation of third-grade retention rates. 

Until things change, he said district schools are doing their best. 

"Administrators and teachers at these schools are pouring their heart and soul into the profession as they work with these kids every day," Hanna said. "They remain positive and hopeful that when it comes time for these kids to perform on the assessment they’ll be ready to perform at the highest level."

Contact Ashley White at adwhite@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.