Principal, staff could be cut in Oak Hill reform
HIGH POINT — Poor academic performance might cost one local school dozens of jobs.
School district officials say they want to apply for a federal grant to help turn around Oak Hill Elementary. But to win the grant, the district might have to replace the principal and half of the teachers.
The Obama administration announced late last year that it would provide states with millions of dollars to help reform their lowest-performing schools. But to receive the grant, school districts must agree to one of four drastic overhauls:
* Close the school and send the students to better-performing schools.
* Hand the school over to a charter school organization.
* Reform the school, including replacing the principal and extending the school day and teacher planning time.
* Replace the principal and half the teachers.
Districts could receive between $50,000 and $2 million for school reform.
Oak Hill is one of the lowest-performing schools in the state and one of 10 Guilford County Schools designated by the state as low performing.
Oak Hill has plenty of challenges. Nearly half of the student body speaks English as a second language, and more than 92 percent live in poverty. Only about 24 percent of students scored proficient in reading on state exams last year, and 39 percent were proficient in math. Those scores were a slight improvement over the previous year.
Oak Hill Principal Sara Roberts said she is willing to step aside if she’s asked, but she questions the grant criteria’s equitableness. She noted this year’s test data won’t be available before the grant applications are due.
“I want what’s best for the school and the kids, and if the federal government thinks that’s what’s best, then I’m willing to move on to another school or another position, but it is kind of shocking,” she said.
Roberts and regional superintendent Angelo Kidd met with teachers Tuesday afternoon. She said the teachers are worried about their jobs, and she has tried to reassure them.
Beth Folger, the district’s chief academic officer, said Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green and his staff have not decided which reform model they will recommend to the Guilford County Board of Education, but she said something must be done at the school.
“If we keep doing what we’re doing right now, we already know the results we’re going to get,” she said. “Something has to change. This school has been low performing for too long.”
Folger said the district may get input from parents and teachers on how to move forward with Oak Hill.
Tijuana Hayes, president of the Guilford County Association of Educators, said the association opposes any model that would mean firing teachers.
“There are many factors that go into why a child is not performing, not just how a particular child did on a particular test,” Hayes said. “The community can no longer stand on the sideline and point fingers at the teachers.”
School districts that opt to replace principals and staff could choose to move those employees to other schools, according to officials.
But school board member Garth Hebert said the district must be cautious about replacing or firing teachers at low-performing schools, especially those like Oak Hill with significant challenges. It may make it even harder to find teachers to work in those schools, he said.
“Using the principal and teachers as a scapegoat for a school that nobody can fix is reprehensible,” Hebert said.
Hebert supports firing employees who aren’t getting the job done but said he doesn’t think that’s fair in the case of Oak Hill.
Guilford County Schools could apply for the same grant for special needs schools McIver Education Center and Gateway Education Center. However, Folger said there has been no discussion yet on recommending that to the school board.
School districts must submit applications with their reform model selection by April 30. The state will announce grant recipients by the end of June.
Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com
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