Expectations, excuses and excellence

There was to be a clever tag line at the end of this essay in which I would brilliantly wrap up the point that students in public school systems perform better when we get private sector dollars and objectives thrown into the mix in such a way that it pushes aside a small part of a court- or federally-mandated status quo that continues to see more money produce fewer results.

And then in his e-mail explaining the unique advanced placement program at Northside High School, Martin Mahan succinctly outflanked my brilliant ending with a simple sentence about Northside students in the relatively new program: “They demonstrated that if we commit to raising the bar that our students will rise to the occasion.”

Mahan, now the director of secondary education for the Fort Smith Public School System, was principal at Northside High School in 2008 when NHS math teacher Kathy Rogers alerted him to the Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science (AAIMS) program. They briefly studied the program. Things like this have to be studied, because not all school administrators and educators appreciate being pushed out of their comfort zones.

The program was birthed in the private sector when Exxon Mobil Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp., the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and a few other folks had had enough with declines in the number of U.S. students in math and science classes AND the scores of the students in the courses. They created the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) and focused on targeting certain schools in six states — Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Virginia — with the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP).

NMSI officials plan to have the program in 350 high schools by the fall of 2012. Also, more than 6,000 teachers have been trained to help students improve their STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) scores and to encourage more students to enter STEM-related courses. (There is another point to be made about the greater chance for success with education programs pushed by private incentives and encouragement as compared to those pushed by state and federal academicians-bureaucrats. Maybe we save that point for another day.)

Mahan and Rogers applied for entry into the program, and in February 2009 officials with AAIMS welcomed NHS as one of 23 Arkansas high schools in the state program. What happened next was a series of what Mahan describes as “culture changing steps.” He named Kelly Bisby (English), Marquita Carty (math), Aimee Brinkley (science) and Colleen Adkins (counselor) as “AP Lead Teachers.”

Mahan and the teachers then identified and met with students “who demonstrated the work ethic needed to be in Pre-AP/AP classes.” Of that group, 90% enrolled in APTIP. But they didn’t stop there. They made it cool to be a part of the program. Banners were hung in halls identifying students in the program. APTIP students had special ID cards. The students created an AP t-shirt they agreed to wear on the 5th of each month “to identify the fact that our goal was to make 5’s on the AP test,” Mahan explained.

NHS admin and faculty hosted 12, 7-hour AP Saturday study sessions. They provided breakfast, lunch and door prizes. Attendance was voluntary and they averaged about 50% attendance. AP students created an “AP commercial” designed to encourage AP enrollment among junior high school students. The NHS Lead Teachers  conducted “vertical alignment meetings” with teachers and staff at Kimmons and Darby Junior High Schools “to create a foundation of students in Pre-AP courses” at the junior high level.

It worked.

In the 2009 school year, 186 NHS students enrolled in AP classes. That number increased to 285 in 2010 and up to 429 out of 1,400 in this school year. In 2009, 92 students scored a 3 or above in the AP classes, with 185 scoring a 3 or above in 2010. Literacy scores were up 10%. Math scores were up 5%. Overall, the NHS students posted the largest increases among participating students in the six states.

The six-state program produced excellent overall results. Between 2008-2010, there was a 97.7% increase in math, science and English AP exams in the 65 schools that tested. The passing rate was seven times that of the national average.

Mahan said “the attention associated with AAIMS has communicated to the state that NHS has outstanding students, excellent teachers, and a community of parents and supporters that are second to none.”

The NHS results are at the same time impressive and yet reflective of a simple truth. The thing is, Northside and Darby and Kimmons are schools with a greater minority population that often comes with socio-economic disadvantages — single- or no-parent households, lower incomes, and fewer opportunities in terms of travel, books in the home and other life experiences associated with improved learning. But Mahan and company proved that such disadvantages are no match for a healthy dose of encouragement, support and tough love — or, in Mahan’s words, “raising the bar.”

Gov. Mike Beebe made note of the overcoming of societal obstacles when on Aug. 30 he came to NHS to congratulate students, teachers and staff. Beebe told the students of how he was raised in tough economic conditions by a single mother who waited tables. They didn’t have much, but she had high expectations for her only child.

“There are no excuses for any of you,” Beebe sternly told more than 1,000 NHS students gathered for the celebration ceremony.

Which brings us back to Mahan’s initial point of the inverse relationship between expectations and excuses. Higher expectations crowd out excuses, which in turn makes room for excellence. It’s true in the classroom, workplace, when raising children or any other situation in which human performance is important.

Kudos to NHS students and faculty for their top performance, and in reminding us that we lower obstacles when we raise the bar.