Oh, the Places They’ll Go How a Springdale principal has made her elementary’s “whole child” approach a model for the nation’s poorest schools

Oh, the Places They’ll Go

How a Springdale principal has made her elementary’s “whole child” approach a model for the nation’s poorest schools

BY BONNIE BAUMAN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MEREDITH MASHBURN

APRIL 2015

By all appearances, Jones Elementary School in Springdale is typical of any public school in the United States. The playground buzzes with the energy emanating from dozens of unleashed kindergartners through fifth-graders. Interior walls display primary-colored signage and student work in a variety of shapes and sizes. Caricatures of a team mascot—a jaguar, in this case—abound.

But Jones isn’t a typical public elementary school. That its students face some overwhelming challenges—98.5 percent of students come from families that live at or below the poverty line, and for 80 percent, English is not their primary language—is not what sets it apart. What makes the school unique is what it has done to overcome these challenges.

Case in point: This school year, the school launched Parent University, a program that offers free night classes to parents on topics such as computer literacy and gang-awareness training. Another relatively recent initiative is the school’s home library project, whereby every child at Jones gets 20 to 40 new books per school year to keep at home—an idea first hatched when a teacher realized many of the students in his class didn't own a single book. Older programs, such as the school’s free daily breakfast and its on-site health and wellness center, highlight how Jones has tackled student problems such as hunger and access to basic health care.

Behind each one of these initiatives is Melissa Fink, who launched these programs and more in both her previous role as assistant principal and in her current one as principal. Fink believes that poverty is not destiny, as she’s been known to say, and that every child can succeed at high levels. It’s a lofty notion, but no one can accuse her of not being realistic about the challenges her students face.

“Poverty, hunger, not having adequate clothing or health care, safety issues—these are the barriers our students are up against,” she says. “If you’re hungry, you’re not going to learn. If you’re worried about what’s going to happen to mom while you’re in school, you’re not going to learn.”

The many programs Fink and her faculty have instituted to remove those barriers are paying off, and not just anecdotally. Today, the numbers tell the story: Eight years ago, only 26 percent of the kids at Jones could read at their grade level. Today, that number is 73 percent. The school’s successes have even caught the attention of the nation’s capital. Earlier this year, U.S. Department of Education representatives visited Jones with a film crew in tow to interview Fink and other school faculty for a video series highlighting schools that are role models for the rest of the nation.

We caught up with Fink during a hectic week of standardized testing to hear more about the school’s successes and on where it’s headed next.

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That’s a pretty significant jump in literacy improvement these past eight years. Looking back, what were the biggest factors contributing to the increase?

One of the biggest factors was instilling a culture of collaboration among the faculty. For so long, teachers shut their doors and just kind of did their own thing. What we found at Jones over the years is that when teachers get together, when they collaborate and talk about their students, that’s when we can really see a change. For instance, it’s not uncommon for a fifth-grade teacher to check out a first-grade reading class. In fact, that’s something that happens here on a regular basis. Sometimes we get kids in the fifth grade who are struggling readers because they’re missing the reading foundational skills that are taught in the first grade. And fifth-grade teachers don’t have the experience working with kids on those basics, so they’ll look to their colleagues in the first grade for guidance.

In addition to focusing on academic improvement, you've been recognized for focusing on the well-being of students. Can you give me some specific examples of how you do that?

We started our health and wellness center about six or seven years ago. Having the center helps us support our parents in providing medical care for the students. We have a full-time nurse practitioner on staff, as well as two mental-health specialists and a nurse. Thanks to the work they do, new kids who are uninsured can get their vaccines here at school instead of having to go to the health department in Fayetteville, which was a strain on parents who didn't have transportation or couldn't take time off from work. The nurse practitioner can also treat chronic illnesses, such as asthma or diabetes.

In the past, if we had a kid who came down with an illness—strep throat or an ear infection, say—we’d have to call mom or dad and have them come and pick up the child. A lot of time they wouldn't have transportation, or they wouldn't have insurance to get their child the proper medical care. Three or four days would pass, and if the child didn't come back to school or we didn't hear from the parents, we’d go knock on their door. Often we’d find that the parent hadn't taken the child to the doctor for whatever reason, be it financial or a lack of transportation. And we’d have to load the kid in my car or the school nurse’s car and take him or her to the emergency room.

Was your approach a radical change for the school? Were district folks a bit gun-shy at first?

Yes, it was a radical change, but no, district members were not gun-shy—not at all. Jones is what it is today because we have such a supportive district and superintendent, not to mention our entire community just wraps its arms around us. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to raise a school. I think what [the school district members] have come to realize over the years is that because of the socioeconomic challenges our kids face, many of the approaches we take to successfully educate our kids will have to look different from those taken at other schools. There are simply a lot of services we have to provide our kids to remove those barriers to learning. And they get that.

Can you give me an example of a child whose life was impacted by the programs in place here at Jones?

We had a student who started second grade not being able to read. Because of his struggles with reading, he was frustrated and acted out a lot. He came from a two-parent family where Mom managed a restaurant, but Dad was unemployed. We were really concerned about his struggles with reading, but Dad was frustrated with the reading homework we sent home. You see, Dad was illiterate, and I think he was frustrated that he couldn’t help. So there was a lot of tension in the home, and between home and school. So we wondered, “How can we help this child without creating problems for him at home?” And we came up with the idea of finding him a homework buddy here at school.

He worked on his reading with our librarian assistant every day after school, and steadily, his reading began to improve. In the third grade, he had a teacher who was very involved in the home library project. She was very intuitive about what his interests were—he was crazy about Harry Potter, so she made sure he was picking books in the same genre. When most kids go home over the summer break, they regress in their reading and English skills. But when he came back and started the fourth grade after the summer break, not only was there no regression in these areas, his reading score actually improved by 10 points. A big jump! So I called him into my office, and I asked him why he thought he’d made such an improvement, and he said it was because he read all summer long. He said he read every book he had in his home library. I asked him who had helped him. And he said, “My dad did!” He said he and his dad would set daily reading goals. For instance, his dad would say, “I want you to read 10 pages today.” But, he admitted, once he started to read his book, he couldn’t put it down. This child went from a child who could barely read and had a lot of anger issues in second grade to a confident and self-possessed kid who is now a voracious reader in fourth grade.

How have other schools in the district reacted to the success you’re having here at Jones?

It’s not uncommon for other schools in the district and in the state to come and observe what is going on in our school. For instance, we have several teachers here whose classrooms are model classrooms for the nation, especially in math. But we ourselves are eager to learn from the successes of our counterparts in the state, so it’s also common for us to pay them visits.

I’ll be honest with you—the Department of Education video has thrust us into the spotlight, and it hasn’t been very comfortable for me. I don’t do the spotlight well. But I do it because I want the same for every other poverty-stricken kid in America. I want people to see that these kids have potential, and when you commit to them and to collaboration among your teachers, and you think outside of the box, it’s endless what you can accomplish with these kids.

What inspired you to take on this challenge?

I’m a person of faith. I have a very strong belief in God. I sit in church, and they talk about the mission field, and I think, “I go to my mission field every day.” Some people go across the ocean to do mission work. I go across town. I believe this is what I was called to do, and I can’t imagine serving any other population. I feel very passionate about what I do. It’s very rewarding to empower kids who in the past might not have had hope for their future.

What is next for the school?

We just want to continue to get better at getting better. We won’t be satisfied with ourselves until we have 100 percent of our kids reading at grade level, and until we do that, we have to keep getting better and examining our practices, and looking at what our data is telling us, and putting systems in place to achieve that big audacious goal of 100 percent.

Plus, we’re committed to growing our parent support. We’ve progressed at this school from serving the academic child to serving the whole child, which means focusing first on meeting their basic needs—food, clothing, shelter, health care. Now we’ve begun to focus on another layer: helping to support their families so they can have better resources and be knowledgeable about how to better serve their kids. Specifically, we’re committed to growing our Parent University, and also, we’re in the discussion phase of a program that would offer family mentoring in conjunction with it. It would be other adults mentoring other adults, but we don’t know exactly what that looks like yet. Our goal is to work out the specifics for the next school year.

What fulfills you the most?

Anytime that I’m in a classroom and I see kids working at grade level who have overcome so much—I know the story behind the kids and their families and the situation they come from. When I see them in a classroom and I see the strong relationships they've built with their teachers and their peers, and I see them learning and achieving, that makes me go home at night and think, “This has been a good day.”

15 Principals, One United Voice

What happens when you pull together 15 principal from Arkansas, Indiana, New York, Montana, California, Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Tennessee, Kansas, and Idaho together for a meeting? One united voice begins to emerge working to improve the quality of education for children in America.

I was recently invited to Washington DC to participate in a round table discussion at the US Department of Education. We were privileged to meet with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Assistant Secretary of Education Deb Delisle, and senior staff members from the department. We visited about the reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act, Early Childhood, English Language Learners, the importance of an effective principal, accountability systems, and equity among high poverty schools.

Prior to attending the meeting, I was very reluctant to voice my opinion at the state or the national level. I had a preconceived notion that my opinion didn't matter and no one cared what a principal from Arkansas thought. I even told my assistant superintendent to permanently mark me basic in political advocacy on my principal evaluation. I never saw myself talking to political leaders.

When I received the invitation to attend Principal's at ED, I felt many emotions. I felt humbled and honored to be selected to be part of a prestigious group. I felt scared because I was traveling far away to a place where I didn't know anyone. I felt intimidated because I had never been placed in the political spotlight. I felt inadequate to speak to such important people.

My fears and insecurities began to melt away the first evening in DC. We had an informal dinner to meet our colleagues. My walls started coming down as we visited about our schools, our communities, and our personal lives. It became apparent that although we came from different backgrounds, served in different communities, led diverse staffs, taught children from all ethnic backgrounds and social statuses, we had many similar ideas on best educational practices.

The next morning, we gathered in the lobby of the US Department of Education. After clearing our security checks, we were ushered to the Secretary of Education's Conference Room. We had a packed agenda and it seemed overwhelming.

As the meetings started, I began to feel more comfortable. It was apparent by each and every employee of the US Dept of Ed how much they wanted to learn from us. Each person shared a little about what they did, but had questions for us. They fervishly took notes and engaged in dialogue to gather our thoughts and opinions on different topics. The day was spent with reciprocal learning happening around us...us learning from them...them learning from us.

The tight bond that was formed between the administrators came quickly. I was amazed that a principal from an Indian Reservation in the middle of Montana had the same beliefs about best practices that a principal from New York had. The perspective that each principal brought to the table was invaluable. The wealth of knowledge in the room that day was priceless; I learned so much from them. As the bond quickly formed, our voice became united and it grew stronger.

The time we spent with the US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, felt very natural. He entered into the room with his sleeves rolled up and was eager to learn from us. All of us had an opportunity to give feedback into what we wanted to happen with the reauthorization of ESEA. He gave us some insight and justification into his thoughts on ESEA and allowed all of us to give our opinions about what would make ESEA better for our students.

If I had to sum up my experience with the Principals at ED with one word, I would say it was empowering. I entered the situation feeling like my voice was not worthy of being heard, but left feeling my voice was important and mattered.

The experience in Washington DC has opened  my world. I am now serving on several state level committees to improve education for Arkansas students. I have also begun to contact my state legislators and representatives to encourage policy makers to make decisions in the best interest of students. I've also been given the opportunity to address the Arkansas State Board of Education to discuss best teaching and leadership practices.

Although these experiences have taken me completely out of my comfort zone, I have been empowered to be the voice for children everywhere. I take comfort in knowing the other 14 administrators I became fast friends with are fighting the courageous battle with me...although we are miles apart. It was a great experience and one I would highly recommend to anyone.

Community Partners and Mentors

What role does the community play in the success of a school? A big one! Our school could not be what we are today without the wonderful partnerships we have with our community and local businesses. Our community partners play many roles in the success of our school. Many of our programs and achievement would not be possible without them. Many times, schools associate school/business/community partners with financial support. Let's be real; money is always welcome in a school, and we never turn it down. But the roots of our partnerships go much deeper than financial support. Let's take a close look at the various roles and supports community partners and businesses play in our school:

Mentors. One question I get asked often is "How can we support your school?" The answer is simple. If you have an hour to spare each week and like kids, we can use your help. Our community volunteers spend countless hours mentoring at risk students. Many of our students do not have positive adult role models in their lives. A lot of our students come from single parent families or are being raised by someone other than their parents. If they do have both parents living in the home, they often times do not get to see them on a regular basis. The parents work blue collar, shift work jobs limiting the amount of time they can spend with their children. We know by personal experience and mounds of research the importance of building relationships with students. We have seen countless lives being touched by personal relationships that are built within the walls of our school. What a blessing it is for our students to interact with successful business men and women. It helps give them a vision for their future, so they can begin to build a pathway to the lives they dream.

Reading Buddies:  Research tells us the importance of children reading books. Students need opportunities to hear good role models reading out loud, and they need audiences to practice their reading skills. Volunteers can help students be better readers by being a reading buddy to a classroom, small group of students, or individual students.

Resources:  When dealing with at-risk students at a high poverty school, resources become a vital need. The term "resources" often triggers the thought of financial support, but that is not the "resources" I'm referring to. Our partnerships have opened a world to our school. One personal vision I've had since becoming principal of Jones Elementary School is to be a school that meets the emotional, physical, academic, and familial needs of the child. Although academics are important, we know we have to help students and families overcome a lot in order for our children to succeed. We have many community, business, and non-profit organization partnerships to help our school connect resources to our students and families. Community Clinic of Springdale (federally funded health clinic) partners with us to provide a school based health and wellness center. Ozark Guidance (non-profit mental health facility) partners with us to provide two full time mental health specialists and a case manager. Springdale Police Department provides classes to our families and students on various topics. The police department also provided the Sandlot Program during the summer. They travel to schools, apartment complexes, and area parks to provide activities for students during the months of June to August. Fellowship Bible Church of NWA offers a "Life's Healing Choices" class to interested parents to help them deal with hurts, habits, and hangups. Our  colleges and universities partner with us to provide education to families about post secondary education opportunities for their children. They also offer a myriad of classes to parents. Northwest Technical Institute offers an adult education teacher to support our Springdale Family Literacy Program. This is not an exhaustive list...just some hi-lights of the impact of powerful partnerships.

Safety Safety is the number one priority of all educators. We know without a safe environment, children will not learn. It is not uncommon for our partners to be seen helping students cross the busy street in front of our school. Our fire department comes to help carry students (literally carry students) across the street when the perfect rainstorm comes and floods our road.Our district has forged a strong, solid partnership with the Springdale Police Department. It is not uncommon for patrol officers  to stop in and walk our building to ensure our school is safe. Along the way, they stop and visit children with strengthens the relationship between our students and the officers.

Live Event Learning: What better way for students to learn than bringing in the experts to show kids how reading, writing, and math are applied in real life situations?  Children are most engaged when business leaders and community members visit classrooms to talk about their jobs. It helps our children to begin to goal set beyond the classroom into their future.

School Decision Making: We meet with our community partners annually through a community focus meeting. I start by welcoming them to the meeting, share the vision/mission of the school, and set the purpose of the meeting. After my brief welcome, I turn it over to the experts of the school....the teachers. They walk through our strategic action plan with the focus group. They explain things our teachers and students are doing to increase student achievement. Each teacher is assigned a table of community members. Throughout the presentation, tables are periodically allowed to have small group conversations facilitated by the teachers. This allows for questions to be asked in a less intimidating situation. At the end, we ask the community focus group a couple of questions: 1.  What evidence did you hear or see that we are working towards the mission/vision of the school? 2.  What suggestions do you have to make our school better? The answers are shared with the teachers and taken into consideration when doing strategic planning for the next year.

Financial: Our community partners do support our school financially. The biggest support they give us is for the Angel Tree that Wasn't Project. With the high poverty rate of our school, it is impossible for us to have an angel tree at Christmas. Who would take the angels? Several years ago, we started providing Christmas gifts, toiletry items, and food bags for all of our students. Our community and business partners have been invaluable with their support of this project.

There is no way possible to capture the importance of community involvement and partnerships in our school. They are an invaluable part of the culture of Jones Elementary. Everyone involved in the community partnerships benefit. The question is....who benefits the most? The students? The community partners? The teachers? The verdict is still out; each would say they are the greatest benefactor from the partnership. My challenge to the readers of this blog...if you are in education, what are the needs of your school? Who are some people in your community to help your school? If you are a community member, what resources can you provide to help the local school system?

Parent University of Jones

As educators, we focus a lot of effort in what we are going to do to ensure we are meeting the diverse needs of our students. Occasionally, we even have discussion about their post-secondary education. We talk to the students about what they want to be when they grow up; we talk to them about why it's important to learn to read, write, and do math. We've written vision statements, mission statements, and defined core beliefs for how students should learn and how teachers should behave. As all good vision, mission, and core belief statements have, we included terms such as life long learners, data driven instruction, and the list goes on and on. I'm not undermining the importance of the work we'd done, but there was a key piece that was missing.

I am of the firm belief that overall, parents love their kids. They do the best they can with what they know how to do. The problem becomes when parents have an empty tool belt and do not have the resources to be the parents we know they should be. This became glaringly apparent one day as I was having a conference with a parent. As we were discussing why her student was not succeeding in school, the solution seemed apparent. The parent just needed to read at home with the child. Simple enough, right? Just. Read. With. Your. Child. That should be happening in every American home as far as I was concerned. Then something happened....I started listening to the parent....I started asking probing questions.....I removed my judgmental glasses. What I began to realize was this parent did not understand what it meant to "read at home" with your child. 

I started interacting with parents through a different set of lenses. I started talking about what concerns they had; what they wanted to know more about; what dreams they had for their child; what fears they had; what concerned them. 

The key piece missing was we had not been serving the needs of the whole family. I began to realize how important it was to fill the parent tool belt with the hammers, wrenches, nails, and glue of life. I began to realize their dreams would not be built if not given the proper tools to do so.

So began this crazy idea of the Parent University of Jones. A parent committee (made up of parents, teachers, and administrators) began to meet and create the vision for this program. We studied the eight sectors of the community and brainstormed classes our parents could take. They ranged anywhere from basic banking skills, basic technology skills, gang education awareness, setting up a neighborhood watch program, health and nutrition, parenting classes, helping your child with reading and math, Pathways to Graduation, dealing with hurts/habits/hangups, immigration topics, post secondary opportunities, etc, etc. A survey was given to all the parents and the data was analyzed to see what classes our families were most interested in. We worked with partners within the community to provide classes for our parents to attend. With each hour a parent attends classes, they will receive 1 college credit. At the end of the year, parents with more than 4 college credits will have a "graduation."

Is this a lot of work? Yes. Does it take a lot of community involvement to make this happen? Ask and you shall receive. Jones Elementary is all about serving kids to the highest level. We feel honored and blessed to be able to serve the families to the highest level as well. 

Mindset

I get asked a lot of questions about our school. They include questions such as why do people work at Jones and never want to leave? How do you get to a culture of transparency? How do you get teachers to collaborate together to meet the demanding needs of high poverty students? What makes your school have a culture of excellence? These questions do not have simple answers; they are not easy to answer. I have reflected upon these questions many times....and I keep going back to one word....MINDSET.

 In the world our students live in, it's easy for them to get caught up in a grueling fixed mindset state of mind...I can't do this; It's too hard; I'm not smart enough; I've been dealt the hand I've been given and nothing is going to change for me now. As educators, we have to help our students move towards a growth mindset. A growth mindset exists when a person believes that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts; everyone has the ability to change and grow through application and experience (Carol Dweck).

It is my personal belief if teachers are going to help students transition from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, they must examine their own mindset about the students they teach and mentor. We begin every year by examining our own mindsets. Do we truly believe every child can learn at high levels with the right scaffolds and differentiated instruction? When a child hasn't learned a concept, do we throw blame at the student (I taught it but you don't care)? Or do we point the finger back on ourselves and reflect on what we did right, what we need to change, and what are we going to do differently to ensure what we are teaching is getting learned? The question we ask often is "If I taught it and they didn't get it, was it ever really taught in the first place?"

 I ask teachers at the beginning of the school year to think of a special child in their life. It could be their own children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, friends, special student, etc, etc. I ask them to think about the school and educational experience they want for that child. Do they want a teacher that is going to have high expectations for him/her? Or do they want the teacher that is quick to blame others and make excuses as to why the child isn't learning? As the mother of two young children, I know which teacher I want my child to have; one that can help grow my child into a 21st century learner despite any obstacles she brings. I want a teacher to help develop my daughter's growth mindset to instill the belief she can do anything if she works hard enough. I also know which school I want her to attend...a school where teachers embrace the concept of growth mindset and make it part of their day to day work. I want a school full of educators that focus on 95% solution and 5% problem. I want a school full of teachers that understand best teaching practices are cultivated through effort and a lot of hard work, and working together is better.

I challenge every person reading this blog to pick up a copy of Carol Dwek's Mindset. I encourage anyone in education to take a close, heartfelt look at their own  mindset. What do you truly believe about kids and their potential? Are you the kind of teacher you want your own child to have? If we could all shift our mindset from fixed to growth....then we could begin to help our students do the same. Wouldn't our world be a different, better place?

Breakfast in the Classroom

Any person that has ever been hungry knows how terrifically impossible it is to focus on anything but your growling stomach. I have been on long car trips with my husband (anyone who knows my husband knows he only stops when the car is on empty), and have been consumed by hunger pains. The radio fades to the background....his mouth is no longer making noises.....the arguments coming from the back seat no longer exist. I can only focus on one thing....how many more miles until I get food in my belly? Never mind the fact I had eaten three square meals the day before and breakfast that morning. We've all been there, haven't we?

For many of our students, hunger is their reality. Asking students to learn to read, write, and do math is an impossible feat when they are consumed by hunger. Many of our students rely on the two meals they receive at school as their sole source of nutrition. We know that 100% of our students eat lunch, but we only had a 50% rate of children eating breakfast. The reasons fewer students eat breakfast were many.....social time with friends, arriving at school too late, the stigma of being the kid that ate breakfast in the cafeteria. Trips to the nurses office from the start of the day to lunch time were great. Many students presented with belly aches; the cure being a package of crackers and a small container of juice.

When we were approached about a program called Breakfast in the Classroom, I was super excited. Upon entering school, students grab a breakfast and take it to their classroom. Regardless of their lunch status, all students eat without a charge. When the tardy bell rings, students open their breakfast sack and eat breakfast in their classroom. Students are no longer hesitant to eat breakfast in school. It is now socially acceptable to eat breakfast; it's part of the community and culture of their classroom. The process only takes 10 minutes from start to finish, but a lot is accomplished during that short time. Most importantly, we have increased breakfast participation to 98%; teachers are building classroom communities; table manners are explicitly taught; fraction lessons are occurring (cut your french toast stick into thirds). The nurse has reported a drastic decrease in the number of students being seen in her office for hungry bellies.

There was a small initial set up cost to get the program up and running; but within a year, it was 100% self sustaining. With over a 98% poverty rate, our nutrition department can bill the federal government for reimbursement of meal costs for students on free and reduced lunch. The other 2% of the meal costs are absorbed.

Breakfast in the Classroom was a relatively easy and cost efficient way to remove a large barrier from the learning of our students.

Removing Barriers to Learning

When people learn about the demographics of our school, they tend to draw conclusions. When they hear 98% of our students come from poverty and 80% of our students are English Language Learners, they shake their head and say "I'm so sorry." It's apparent to me the public holds no expectations for our students. They believe poverty is their life of destiny. I quickly continue to talk about our students and how awesome they are. We talk about their academic successes, rigorous and relevant lessons being taught, and how our teachers and students are using technology as a tool for learning. People are always taken back by the positivity our faculty and staff have for our students. Nine times out of ten, people want to know what we do to have the culture of excellence that exists at Jones Elementary. One of the things we do is think outside the box in how we need to remove the barriers to student learning. We know that for our children to succeed, we have to serve the whole child, not just the academic child. Here is Jones Elementary's list of ways we remove barriers to student learning:

1. School Based Health and Wellness Center - students can receive free medical and mental health services. These include vaccinations, acute care, chronic care, well child checks, acute mental care, individual therapy, family therapy,crisis management, and long term mental health services.
2. Parent University of Jones - we want to help parents become better resourced to support their families. Through various partnerships in the community, we offer a variety of classes for parents to attend throughout the school year. These include, but are not limited to: setting up a neighborhood watch program, basic banking skills, internet safety, gang education, health and nutrition, pathways to high school graduation, post secondary education, how to support your child at home with reading and math skills, dealing with life's hurts/habits/hangups.
3. Springdale Family Literacy Program - non-English speaking parents attend classes 4 days per week. They learn English in context of what their child is learning in the classroom. They spend 30 minutes per day in their child's room practicing the language they've learned in their class. They also have Parent Time twice a week which allows them to learn about topics they are interested in.
4. Breakfast in the Classroom - 100% of the students in our school eat a breakfast in their classroom free of charge. We have increased breakfast participation from 50% to 98% the last three years.
5. Systematic English Language Development - we know students need to have fluent, proficient control of the English Language in order to be productive citizens. 100% of our students receive ELD 30-45 minutes daily.
6. Home Library Program - books are not a priority when parents struggle to provide the basic needs for their families. Through some creative efforts and grant writing, our school will take our current home library project to scale. 100% of our students will receive 20-30 books to keep at home. Students choose books based on interest and levels.
7. Community Partnerships - it takes a village to serve the demanding needs of our students. Through multiple partnerships (business, non-profit organizations, civic, religious) we have a wealth of resources for our students. The most valued resource through these partnerships is human....our partners in education spend a lot of time in our school mentoring students, reading with students, and supporting the classroom teacher.
8. Quality after school program - Many of our students face empty houses when school is finished for the day. Through partnerships with the Walton Family Foundation and Camp War Eagle, 100 of our students attend a high quality after school program. The students engage in character building activities, service learning projects, and receive homework help. Before going home, each child is served a meal.
9. Food/clothing - we work with area agencies to provide weekend food bags to go home with the most needy students. Our school district also keeps a clothing closet we can access at any time for students that need clothing and shoes. A non-profit organization called Community Kids Closet holds two clothing drives a year for our most needy students. We keep a resource book handy to help families access rent, utility, legal aid, homeless shelters, and domestic abuse assistance. 

Jones Principal Receives National Recognition

Jones Principal Receives National Recognition

posted Oct 28, 2014, 12:29 PM by Lauren Taylor   [ updated Nov 3, 2014, 9:22 AM ]

Written by: Rick Schaeffer

Melissa Fink directs her staff daily to teach students whose background is high poverty. All but a very few of Jones Elementary students are on free or reduced lunch. As principal at Jones, Fink has earned several awards but she may be about to receive her highest recognition.

Laurie Calvert, Teacher Liason in the Office of Communications and Outreach at the United States Department of Education was in town Tuesday to observe Melissa for most of the day. She spent time in several classrooms in trying to determine the angle she would take in producing a video that will be made available to every teacher in the country. That’s right. EVERY teacher in the entire country.

Only four principals and/or teachers in the U.S. were selected. Why Melissa Fink?

“We have six categories we are trying to cover and the more we looked at her work, we discovered Melissa Fink could serve as an example in any of the six,” Calvert said while visiting Justin Minkel’s classroom at Jones.

How did she know about Melissa in the first place?

“I have had several opportunities to communicate with Justin Minkel and have a great deal of respect for his insights,” said Calvert. Minkel was one of four finalists for national teacher of the year a few years ago and is highly connected. “I was asking Justin for a teacher who would be good for this video and he kept coming back to his principal. We realized she was a perfect candidate.”

Candidate for what? What is the video about?

“It’s a video to encourage teachers to know that the changes being made in education are meaningful and progress is being made,” Calvert said. “We are reaching kids we never would have reached before and Jones is a perfect example. At Jones they believe that every child will succeed and they are doing what it takes to make sure that happens. They have high expectations for their students. It’s exciting to hear what some of these kids want to do.”

Calvert and her crew will return some time during the next two weeks to begin work on the video. Melissa and her staff will be ready.

“This is a great honor,” Fink said. “We are thrilled they chose Jones.”

https://sites.google.com/a/sdale.org/springdale-schools/home/-springdalestories-blog/jonesprincipalreceivesnationalrecognition

Principal Melissa Fink Goes Above and Beyond

Jones Elementary Principal Melissa Fink received a service award for going above and beyond. 

Although teachers and staff observe her daily dedication to go above and beyond in making Jones Elementary a place that supports students to live the life they dream, it is wonderful to see her recognized. She leads by example and inspires us all to do the same.