Legislators hear ideas on helping three schools’ students

Thursday, March 2, 2000 | 10:41 a.m.

Booker, Fitzgerald and Madison elementary schools serve similar student populations, mostly poor and minority in makeup.

"Booker, Fitzgerald and Madison are making valiant efforts," state Superintendent of Schools Mary Peterson told a legislative study panel Wednesday. "But it does take additional resources. Your support will help bring about the changes you are looking for."

The three schools have been on the state's "needs improvement" list for two consecutive years, which led to probationary status. Schools earn a place on the list when more than 40 percent of fourth-graders score in the bottom 25 percent of those taking nationwide TerraNova basic skills test.

Yvonne Booker, who has a child enrolled at Booker Elementary, was supportive of the school but criticized the Clark County School District for failing to respond to complaints about building conditions.

The school, built in 1954, has problems with odors and rotten flooring in some classrooms, she said.

"If a room has an odor, it affects a child's ability to learn and a teacher's ability to teach," Booker said.

All three schools need to improve teacher retention and training, lawmakers were told.

This year at Fitzgerald, there are 24 new teachers. In 1998-99, 16 teachers were new to the school.

Fitzgerald Principal Leary Adams said that a few years are needed to establish staff continuity. Adams, who took charge in ss the nation that it's tough to attract male teachers," Foster said. "We have one male teacher, a male assistant principal, and a male custodian. We'd like to have more, but they're difficult to find."

The three schools will discover in the coming month whether TerraNova test results from October are high enough to take them off the "needs improvement" list.

Schools that continue on the list are subject to increased oversight from the state Department of Education.