Park Elementary pupils making the grade

     By Sonya Padgett
     View staff writer
      Linda Goodman, principal of John S. Park Elementary, 931 Franklin Ave., started the new school year in a way a lot of administrators dream about.
      Pupils' scores on the Clark County School District's Curriculum Based Assessment test have increased, with reading up an average of 10 percent for every grade level. Math scores are in the mail, but they're expected to be even better, Goodman said.
      The higher test scores indicate teachers and administrators are doing something right at the at-risk elementary school, which at one time had some of the lowest scores in the district, Goodman said.
      "We try not to consider ourselves an at-risk school even though we fall into that category," Goodman said.
      Park draws many pupils from the Naked City, a low income neighborhood near the Stratosphere Tower, Goodman said.
      While not all of Park pupils are from lower-income families, those who are present some challenges that ultimately affect the whole school if they aren't addressed, Goodman said.
      "It's a tougher school to (work at) because sometimes our kids come with bellies that aren't full, they're tired and their hair isn't combed," Goodman said.
      Seven years ago, with scores in a downward spiral, the school district decided to reform Park and instituted the Accelerated Schools program, a national program for at-risk schools out of Stanford University. It follows the idea that schools with high achievement are site-based managed, Goodman said, which means that teachers have the opportunity to share in the management of the school.
      "It comes down to empowerment of teachers. It puts the major decisions involving education into teachers' hands," Goodman said.
      The new management style has helped increase test scores and enhanced learning, assistant principal Corean Mayorga said.
      "It's really helpful to have teacher input," Mayorga said.
      Another important factor in better tests scores is the Accelerated Language Program, which gives English and Spanish speakers the opportunity to be immersed in both languages, Goodman said.
      At least 50 percent of the 950 Park pupils have a native language other than English, Mayorga said, and the majority of those speak Spanish.
      The 4-year-old ALP program combines an English class and teacher with a Spanish class and teacher, Goodman said.
      The pupils sit at the same tables and receive their lessons in both languages. While the purpose of the bilingual program is to teach kids English, Goodman said, Park's philosophy is to build on pupils' strengths.
      Combining the kids in this way allows both English and Spanish speakers to use their language skills to help enhance learning for other kids, Goodman said.
      It's apparently paying off, Mayorga said, as reading scores were the highest in ALP classes.
      "We're thrilled that our reading scores are up. There was a 10 percent increase at every grade level," Goodman said.
      One third grade class had a 30 percent increase in reading scores, Mayorga said.
      Goodman is very encouraged by the test results and is confident that Park will have another good year.
      She is also pleased to know that community members are beginning to realize that because Park has many low-income families, they don't have the economic base to buy extras that other schools have.
      "Because our families are low income, it's hard for us to generate funds from our neighborhoods. Parents don't have an extra $3 to buy wrapping paper" and often can't purchase the extras that many children take for granted, Goodman said.
      That's why teachers and administrators alike were thrilled to receive 950 gifts from Costco Wholesale, 222 S. Martin Luther King Blvd., in August.
      The business donated backpacks for every pupil, after third grade teacher Suzanne Whiddon wrote letters to several businesses asking for donations.
      The packs were filled with anything a child could want or need in elementary school: pencils, paper, crayons, rulers, markers, pens and candy bars.
      "There are kids in the school whose parents didn't have the means to buy backpacks," Goodman said.
      Ted Sniezuk, manager of Costco is happy that they could help out. The company, he said, likes to do things like this.
      "We feel that we're part of the community; we've been here 13 years and we want to give something back. We want to contribute to our neighborhoods but it's not something we necessarily want to get praised for," he added.
      Support from neighborhood businesses and organizations like the Northwest Kiwanis Club, whose members donate their time and books every year, and the Las Vegas Rotary Club, makes it easier for administrators and teachers to ensure Park's pupils get the most out of school, Goodman said.