Joel talks with Carolyne about helping an urban school adjust to changes, from demographics to funding.
He asks about the changes Carolyne had to navigate, especially that the school lost its Title I funding.
Maury also qualified for an aftercare program. Carolyne says it was about four years into her time at Maury that the percentages flipped as more white and middle-class families moved into the area and they lost Title I status.
Carolyne says they were able to continue providing the high-quality level of intervention and services to students because of the additional support of the PTA. Not all PTAs want to spend money on intervention because the impact is on a specific subgroup of students.
They worked hard to raise money and launch a think tank and support the literacy lab for reading intervention.
Joel asks how Maury approached strategic planning, knowing they have to look two to three years down the road.
Carolyne says she looked at it through two lenses. The first was long-term planning, knowing they had to have a clear vision of what the school should look like in three to five years, keeping up with the research on what’s best for kids and learning. At the same time, every year they took a close look at how the families currently in the building were being served.
Being there for a long time, Carolyne was able to build relationships with some of the families who had been at Maury for years, while establishing relationships with the newer families.
The school went from 245 students to over 400 students while she was the principal.
Joel asks about a major misconception people have of urban schools.
Carolyne says she invites everyone to come to the school to see the amazing quality of teachers and the level of engagement of our parents.
Closing out the episode, Carolyne recommends listeners read the book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Read the full We Love Schools podcast episode about how to adjust to changes in an urban school district.