School continues notable comeback

By Emily Richmond

Tuesday, March 4, 2003 | 11:22 a.m.

Being rated "adequate" may not be a typical cause for celebration, but it was enough for educators Monday at Fitzgerald Elementary School in North Las Vegas.

For the second consecutive year the struggling campus escaped the Nevada Education Department's list of schools "needing improvement" -- an achievement Clark County School District officials say is all the more remarkable given Fitzgerald's history.

Before last year Fitzgerald spent four straight years on the list, a record for any school in the state.

"It's been completely phenomenal what's happened at that school," said Marsha Irvin, superintendent of the Clark County School District's northeast region, which includes Fitzgerald. "This is a prime example of what happens when you have dedicated resources, a committed staff and parental involvement."

The state rankings, released Monday, were based on results from the Iowa Basic Skills Test administered in October. Thirty Clark County schools were deemed as needing improvement, up from four in 2002. The jump is due largely to the district switching from the Terra Nova to the Iowa exam, as well as tougher federal regulations for measuring student performance.

In previous years districts were allowed to count scores separately for special education students and students not proficient in the English language. The federal No Child Left Behind Act now requires the scores of almost all students be counted toward one total.

After Fitzgerald's second year on the list, the school was placed on probation and state education officials stepped in with extra funding and supervision. But the real turnaround for the school came in the spring of 2001, said Terry Owens, supervising consultant for the state education department's school improvement division.

The school got a new principal -- Yvonne Walker -- and teachers were required to reapply for their jobs, Owens said. Walker ended up keeping about 80 percent of the teachers, but there was a new attitude among the staff, Owens said.

"It was as though they all decided to start over fresh, as a team," Owens said. "Once they pulled together the enthusiasm made an incredible difference."

Teachers worked hard to spread the new attitude to the students and parents, said Tom Connors, currently a computer specialist at Fitzgerald.

"We went out and walked the neighborhood, handing out fliers, inviting people to get involved and making ourselves known," said Connors, who is in his third year at the school. "If we hadn't recruited those volunteers, I don't think we could have done it."

It was a challenge to convince the students that the teachers were in it for the "long haul," Fitzgerald behavior specialist Martha Slack said.

"A lot of these kids are not used to stability, it was hard for them to believe we were committed," Slack said. "Once they saw we were serious, they said 'Hey, if you're here for me, then I'm here for me.' "

Education officials stepped in with extra funding for staff training, remedial programs and tutoring. Volunteers, including members of the retired professionals group the Detroit Connection, are frequent visitors to the school, teachers said.

With help from area businesses including Santa Fe Station and the Palms, Fitzgerald launched weekend and after-school programs that quickly developed a following.

At one Saturday meeting of the math and science program, Connors took attendance and noticed a few unfamiliar faces.

"It turned out they weren't even our students, they just wanted to be involved," Connors said with a laugh. "Getting our students to come to school on a Saturday, that's an achievement. Having kids show up who don't even go to school here, that's really something."

Alasha Woods, who stepped in as principal of Fitzgerald in November, when Walker was forced to leave because of health problems, said she plans to continue building on her predecessor's successes.

"(Walker) created a team of believers, and we know it takes a team to educate a child," Woods said Monday. "We're going to keep moving forward in a positive direction."