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HIGH POINT —To get to Oak Hill Elementary in High Point, you pass shuttered factories, empty storefronts and worn-down neighborhoods of homes with plywood where windows once were.

That’s one reason teachers at Oak Hill refer to their school as a diamond in the rough.

Some education officials believe that only drastic reforms can restore the struggling school’s luster. Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green is expected to recommend the district apply for a federal grant that could be worth as much as $2 million to help reform the school.

Among the steps being considered: closing Oak Hill, turning it over to a group like a charter school, removing its principal or replacing at least half of its teachers.

The district can apply for the grant because Oak Hill made a list of the nation’s worst performing schools.

Oak Hill teachers were stunned when they found out.

“My heart dropped,” Jennifer McClinton said. “I could not believe we were one of the lowest. It kind of hurt because we’d been working so hard.”

McClinton teaches first grade at the school and, like many of her co-workers, she believes the reforms the school district already has implemented are getting good results, they just need to be given time and more support.

It isn’t clear how effective these broad reforms are, according to some education experts. It’s also unclear how much support the grant proposal and reform plans might get from the Guilford County Board of Education.

Board member Garth Hebert said the Oak Hill staff should not be blamed for the school’s lack of success. He wants a plan from district officials that does not make them scapegoats.

Oak Hill is one of 10 Guilford County Schools designated by the state as low performing. Only about 24 percent of its 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.

Nearly half of the student body speaks English as a second language, and more than 98 percent live in poverty.

School board Chairman Alan Duncan said he has never been comfortable with some of the consequences for schools under No Child Left Behind, the federal program that sets mandates and provides funding for schools like Oak Hill.

“On the other hand, if we have a consistently low-performing school, we need to get a handle on what the issues are and what are the best approaches,” he said.

Duncan said he could support meaningful reform in those schools so long as there is a deep understanding of the challenges they face. He also said the faculty at Oak Hill should not blamed for a lack of effort, saying most likely would do well at another Guilford County school.

“I have no doubt that the principal and the staff are working very hard on behalf of their students,” he said.

Principal Sara Roberts has said she is willing to step aside if asked but doesn’t want to go.

Efforts to reach school board member Carlvena Foster, whose district includes Oak Hill, were unsuccessful.

The school reform debate has heated up in recent years with the implementation of No Child Left Behind under President George W. Bush and now with initiatives such as the reform grant from the Obama administration.

The Central Falls School District in Rhode Island announced last month it would replace every teacher at its lowest performing high school. The district intends to apply for the same type of grant that Guilford County may pursue. President Barack Obama supported Central Falls’ decision.

Amos Quick, school board vice-chairman, said these schools must be turned around but there isn’t time for experimentation.

“I think that everyone is looking at reform or trying a lot of reform ideas out,” Quick said. “Unfortunately, a lot of these ideas have a punitive aspect to them and blame has to be placed somewhere. It is the duty of our system that we teach our students to learn, and when that doesn’t happen, it’s the student’s that suffer.”

Some experts caution that broad reforms may not be the solution. Betty Epanchin, associate dean of teacher education at UNCG’s School of Education, said school reforms are necessary in many cases but the problems are complicated with few simple solutions.

“What’s been more effective is working with people to teach them the skills they don’t have and supporting them so they can become more capable,” Epanchin said.

Schools may need to target individual teachers and students for reform, Epanchin said, to get to the root cause of why things aren’t working.

Research has shown that poverty and limited language proficiency are hurdles for students, Epanchin said, but they aren’t impossible hurdles.

“They (successful schools) have high expectations. The teachers feel secure in trying what they feel is best for the kids,” she said. “You’ll find that the teachers talk a lot among themselves and support each other.”

Oak Hill teachers say that sort of thing is going on at the school, and they praise the reform efforts the district installed this year. Students are grouped by their reading, writing and math skills to create a grade-level class. Students who show growth are moved to the higher performing class. If they need more help, they’re moved back.

The teachers say they’ve moved more children up than back.

Julie Van Arsdale said her daughter Skye is learning and doing well. She loves her teachers, and Van Arsdale said she doesn’t want to see them taken out of the school.

“Skye is so smart and that’s because of what they do,” she said.

Van Arsdale makes time to talk with Skye’s teacher every Friday when she comes to have lunch with her. That’s the kind of involvement the teachers say is needed but almost impossible for many of their students’ parents.

“Most of the families I work with want to see their children get a good education and value a good education, but they can’t help them,” said Melissa Peace, a fourth-grade teacher.

Parent support is essential to successful school reform, Epanchin said. She noted that not every student at the school is failing; some, like Skye, are succeeding.

“The successful schools have really found a way to connect with their families,” she said. “It doesn’t mean they have to be there at the school bringing cupcakes to you, but they need to feel valued.”

Oak Hill parents and teachers will have a chance to weigh in on the debate Tuesday. District officials are scheduled to meet with teachers in the afternoon and then with parents at

6:30 p.m. District officials said they expect to make a recommendation to the school board in April.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com