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Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

The school system’s industry is education, not construction

Now that all the hoopla over the Bibb County ELOST is over, it’s time for the Bibb County School Board to get busy — and we don’t mean busy building buildings.

Before Tuesday’s election, no one wanted to jeopardize the outcome of the ELOST by out-and-out criticism of the state of our educational progress, or lack thereof. The system, and a small smattering of registered voters, 5.3 percent, was rightly concerned that the process of improving facilities would continue. The administration is rightfully proud of what its accomplished over the past decade. The facilities have won awards and have been brought on line generally on schedule and on budget.

But let’s be clear: The Board of Education’s main job is not construction. Its main focus must always be on constructing young minds for the 21st century challenges they will face. That job has been far from successful.

GRADUATION RATE

In 2008, Bibb County failed to graduate 683 students. In 2009, that figure was 577. In 2009, only one school in the system, according to the Georgia Department of Education, had a graduation rate above 70 percent (Hutchings with 71.2 percent of 104 seniors). We must give the system credit; each of the high schools improved graduation rates, however, none but Hutchings exceeded 67.3 percent. Using almost any schools grading curve, that would be an “F.”

No business can be deeemed successful with a 32.7 percent failure rate.

PROGRAMS IN JEOPARDY

Signature programs such as the International Baccalaureate at Central are in trouble. The acclaimed auto program at Hutchings under Sonny Reeves is gasping for students, and while four of seven middle schools eventually made Adequate Yearly Progress, there are three middle schools, Bloomfield, Ballard Hudson and Appling, that show a disturbing trend that does not bode well for increasing graduation success.

ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS

If you go the Georgia Department of Education’s Web site to look at the district’s AYP statistics, don’t concentrate on the number of students say, at Bloomfield, who didn’t meet the basic level of math performance, 52.3 percent, look at the percentage of students who placed in the math advanced/exceeds category (only 3.1 percent). At Ballard Hudson, the percentage was better, 6.0 percent, with Appling at 4.5 percent. Compare those figures with the four Bibb middle schools that made AYP: Howard at 23.6 percent, Rutland, 11.6 percent, Miller, 11.1 percent and Weaver at 7.7 percent.

For comparison’s sake, Houston County’s Northside Middle had the lowest percentage of students in the advance/exceeds math category at 16.8 percent. The other seven middle schools ranged from 22.9 percent to 45.3 percent. Six of those schools had a higher percentage of advanced/exceeds math students than Bibb’s most proficient school. Keep in mind that even with rejiggering statistics, none of the Bibb system’s high schools made adequate yearly progress last school year.

DISCIPLINE

The old adage, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch, is still true. Bibb’s discipline issues from dress code to much more serious problems, such as the two incidents of students bringing guns to school this year, take instructional time away from those who are inclined to learn. Frequent lockdowns point to a ticking timebomb.

The way the system handles discipline issues, not only of students but of administrators, such as Appling’s principal R.J. Stevenson, undermines the culture of teaching and sucks a teacher’s joy right out of them. For the most part, teachers are defenseless. The Ombudsman program installed this year is overwhelmed by the serious issues students present. The alternative schools are simply holding tanks for future dropouts.

While the district’s leaders are in the cross-hairs, our community shares much of the blame for the present state of educational affairs. We have accepted the premise that new buildings translate to higher levels of educational success. Facilities contribute, but are not the determining factor. Put students in a dilapidated classroom with nothing more than a chalkboard and a great teacher, and watch education happen.

Just graduating isn’t enough in this age of technology. We must demand more rigor and more from our teachers and administrators. The scope of work is clear. With the ELOST out of the way, this community is poised to accept no more excuses.

— Charles E. Richardson/for the Editorial Board