What does it really take for an elementary school to maintain a “C” grade when its students are moving from shelter to shelter, dealing with trauma, and starting the year academically behind?
C.A. Weis Elementary recently made headlines when it maintained its “C” grade despite a staggering 60-point drop in test scores. But behind those numbers lies a story of resilience, community partnership, and the complex realities facing inner-city education.
- “78% of our students are economically disadvantaged,” Escambia County Superintendent Keith Leonard revealed in a recent podcast interview. The statistic puts into perspective the mountain that schools like Weis climb daily. Located in the 32505 zip code, Weis serves families from homeless and domestic abuse shelters, where education often takes a backseat to survival.
The transient nature of the student population creates unique challenges. Teachers start the year with 18 students and rarely finish with the same 18, essentially preparing a revolving door of students for state tests. Some children arrive so far behind academically that staff must test them to determine what grade level they can handle.
A Community United
Yet Weis isn’t fighting this battle alone. As a Community Partnership School, it’s armed with resources most schools can only dream of: full-time mental health counselors, after-school programs, family engagement activities, and wrap-around services connecting families with everything from healthcare to rent assistance.
- “It takes a community, and whether it be the Children’s Trust, Escambia County School District, Children’s Home Society, United Way, all these different partners, I don’t want to leave anybody out; they’re all critical,” said Leonard. “And I’m really beginning to see, and I think you are too, that unity among all of those different groups with common ground and common goals to make certain we get where we need to be for these students and the young people here in our community.”
Perhaps the most telling measure of success isn’t found in test scores at all. Out-of-school suspensions have dropped by more than 88% since 2016. The school hosted 99 family events last year, with hundreds attending multiple times. Four parents earned their GEDs through programs offered at the school.
The Long Game
“Sustainability is one of the most difficult things to continue,” Leonard acknowledged during his interview. “This is not easy work, but you’re going to have 2,500 teachers show up. They’re already here.”
The full story reveals how a simple alarm clock donation solved one student’s chronic tardiness, how the school celebrates families as they stabilize and move on, and why maintaining a “C” grade represents a victory when you understand the starting point…