K8 toomer preliminary proposal

www.k8toomer.com PRELIMINARY Page | 1

http://www.k8toomer.com/


Table of Contents

I . Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ 4

I I . The Case ................................................................................................................................................. 6

Rationale ......................................................................................................................................................... 6

Increase Enrollment and Retention ....................................................................................................... 7

Increase Student Performance Outcomes ............................................................................................. 7

Provide Programming/Models That Respond To Community Priorities/Needs .................................... 9

Position the Jackson Cluster for Reinvigoration and Success ................................................................ 9

Leverage Available Resources ............................................................................................................. 10

Why Toomer? ............................................................................................................................................... 10

The Community ................................................................................................................................... 10

Community Need ................................................................................................................................ 12

Community Participation .................................................................................................................... 14

I I I . Pre-K-8 Model .................................................................................................................................. 15

Pre-K-8 Model ............................................................................................................................................... 15

Model Elements ........................................................................................................................................... 15

1. Theme or focus for cross-curricular and supplementary programming .................................. 15

2. Longer day that includes character education for elementary grades .................................... 15

3. Increased input, expertise, and cooperation from the Local School Council ........................... 16

4. Non-profit board manages privately raised funds for the school ............................................ 17

5. Leadership................................................................................................................................... 18

6. Staffing model ............................................................................................................................ 18

7. Recruitment of Staff ................................................................................................................... 20

8. Additional assessment added for increased access to data and accountability ...................... 20

9. Universal Screener ..................................................................................................................... 20

10. Toomer’s Current Extended Day ............................................................................................ 20

11. Knowledge Management System/Hub of Learning .............................................................. 21

12. Responsive Classroom ............................................................................................................ 21

13. Admissions .............................................................................................................................. 21



14. Transfers ................................................................................................................................. 22

15. Toomer K8 Enrollment projections for the first five years ................................................... 23

16. Governance ............................................................................................................................. 24

Summary of PreK-8 Model ......................................................................................................................... 25

Stays the Same Under New Model .......................................................................................................... 26

IV. Research to Support PreK-8 ....................................................................................................... 26

V. Toomer Specific model elements .............................................................................................. 28

Parental Involvement ................................................................................................................................. 28

Toomer Partnerships .................................................................................................................................... 29

Toomer Community School Model Specifics ......................................................................................... 30

Leadership/Skills for Success ............................................................................................................... 31

Service Learning/Community Participation ........................................................................................ 31

Communications ................................................................................................................................. 31

VI. Faci l it ies and Operations at Toomer ...................................................................................... 32

Student Enrollment ...................................................................................................................................... 32

Atheltics Facilites ......................................................................................................................................... 32

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 33

APPENDIX I – BUILDING PLAN ..................................................................................................................... 34

APPENDIX II – LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL ..................................................................................................... 35

APPENDIX III– DEMOGRAPHICS .................................................................................................................. 37

APPENDIX IV– CENSUS DATA ...................................................................................................................... 38



I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - PRELIMINARY

School Name: Fred Armon Toomer Elementary Type: Pre-K-8 Community School Grade Levels Served: Pre-K-8 Ages Served: 4-14 Proposed Reorganization Date: July 1, 2014

TOOMER K8 Enrollment Goals

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

PK 66 66 66 44 44 44

K 68 68 70 70 72 72

1 60 60 66 70 70 71

2 60 60 65 66 70 69

3 44 44 60 68 66 67

4 47 47 45 58 67 66

5 47 47 48 48 60 65

6 50 49 49 52 62

7 47 46 46 52

8 45 45 46

TOTAL 392 442 516 564 592 614

The proposal herein describes an innovative plan for Toomer Elementary to expand, one grade per year, into a PreK-8 program starting with the 2014-2015 school year. The school is currently a traditional APS elementary school with students in grades PreK-5 serving the communities of Kirkwood, East Lake and Villages of East Lake as part of the Jackson Cluster. The Toomer PreK-8 configuration would not replace the need for the middle school it currently feeds (Coan Middle), but would provide an alternative that will ultimately lead to a stronger overall capture rate for APS’ traditional public schools in our area. The primary objectives of the proposed configuration include:



Greater consistency and vertical teaming to provide support from PreK-8th grade for the growing number of families who favor such an approach and seek a seamless school environment from early childhood through the middle school years.

Increase in high-quality educational innovations in the Jackson Cluster that will encourage greater enrollment of eligible middle school-aged students

Responsiveness to the school model elements sought by families of school-aged children in the target communities

Extension of specific programmatic offerings for students already enrolled in Toomer Elementary’s existing model, but currently unavailable at the middle school level

This model is intended to support and strengthen the Jackson Cluster and the communities served therein by introducing a community-driven school proposal to be piloted at Toomer. This pilot may, pending its successful performance, serve as a model for other schools in the cluster to increase enrollment and student performance through innovation. Coan Middle currently serves under 54.5% of the middle school-aged students from its primary attendance zones of East Lake, Kirkwood, Edgewood, Villages of East Lake and East Atlanta. (Atlanta Public Schools Redistricting Documents – Student by Attendance Zone). The plan will create a high-quality school option that complements the progress being made at Coan Middle. Moreover, the intention of this plan is to invite innovation and best practices into a region of APS that has endured significant challenges (school closures, redistricting from higher to lower performing schools at the secondary level, and the dramatic expansion of area charters) through small, community schools and authentic high-quality public educational options. It is not the intention of this plan to isolate the Toomer community from its neighbors at Whitefoord and Burgess-Peterson. To the contrary, we believe that some families in the East Lake, Villages of East Lake and Kirkwood communities may opt for the traditional 6-8 middle school model at a resurgent Coan Middle, joining their neighbors from East Atlanta and Edgewood.. By providing high-quality programmatic options to those families who are continuing to place their confidence in APS’ traditional schools, APS has the opportunity to send a strong signal that it understands that a change to the status quo is desperately needed in our area to retain more students and better serve them. Moreover, it is not the intention of this plan to create a large PreK-8 super campus wherein students from all elementaries and middle grades come together in a single facility (or larger groups of students are grouped by smaller grade spans—PreK-2 campus, 3-5 campus, etc.), as it is the intimate size and seamless consistency of the school model that weighs heavily in the overall request to pilot this particular strategy. Community members want fewer transitions between schools; more access to vertical teaming on the same campus; and small, familial atmospheres. The success of Coan Middle (a school this same community fought hard to keep) is also important to architects of this plan, and the current proposal is not intended to be at the detriment of that school. High-quality options that provide families authentic choice about the



manner of programming (rather than the quality of programming) are what is being advocated for with this proposal. This past year was a difficult one as the communities of East Lake and Kirkwood were merged at Fred A. Toomer Elementary School while simultaneously being moved from the Grady Cluster to the Jackson Cluster. This was quickly followed by the dramatic expansion of Drew Charter School’s elementary and middle schools and an addition of a high school. The result: an alarming 32.8% attrition rate at Fred A. Toomer. It comes as no surprise that the vast majority of families leaving the school are enrolling at Drew Charter. In conducting exit interviews with those parents, the seamless K-12 experience now available at Drew is the primary reason for their departure. To provide an attractive counterpoint to Drew, we are seeking to create our own version of this seamless experience as a PreK-8 model in a more intimate school setting that will feed into a resurgent Maynard Jackson High School.

II. THE CASE

The model described herein is a template for a PreK-8, community-based public school that will grow an existing elementary program within Atlanta Public Schools to create a seamless pipeline of support and consistency to students in preparation for high school success. Part of the Maynard Jackson Cluster, Toomer Elementary currently serves students in PreK-5th grade from throughout the Kirkwood and East Lake communities. Amidst significant transitions in the past five years (including leadership changes at the school site and the district, reorganization of attendance zones and feeder patterns, and the closing of one community school now merged with Toomer), the school has made promising strides that demonstrate its capacity to model an education reform strategy that addresses many of the persistent challenges of the school (high attrition rates in upper grades, performance outcomes that diminish as students matriculate to upper grades, declining representation of community diversity in upper grades).

Rationale The primary impetus for piloting an education reform innovation at Toomer Elementary is to simultaneously leverage the school’s exceptional parent and volunteer support on behalf of students, provide a high-interest educational option in a community that is presently under-enrolled in traditional APS schools (thus maximizing facilities and resources), and create support strategies that address persistent challenges in the cluster.



Increase Enrollment and Retention At present, Toomer Elementary and Drew Charter elementary grades serve nearly 90% of the eligible population in the primary attendance areas they share (East Lake and Kirkwood). This percentage decreases in the middle school grades, with Coan Middle serving 54% of the zoned population from the redistricting demographic study. This figure does not include Reynoldstown as that community was added to the Coan Cluster as a result of the redistricting process. The decline in enrollment is compounded by significant mobility of families in middle school grades. The percentage of families with middle school aged children in the primary attendance areas is smaller than the average and suggests that in addition to choosing other schools (including other charters such as KIPP and Atlanta Charter Middle, private schools, and transfers to other middle schools within and outside of APS), families are actually choosing to leave the neighborhood rather than attend the community’s middle school. The average annual attrition rate over the past 4 years at Toomer has been over 30%, with nearly 33% of students in the 2012-2013 year having withdrawn, many to attend other schools of choice (charter or private schools). The strong performance of students at Coan Middle School on the 2013 CRCT (which had the highest value-added scores of any APS middle school serving 6th-8th grades last year), should incite many families to look to Coan as a option. However, with enrollment for the 2013-2014 school year at Coan about the same, and long waiting lists comprised of East Lake and Kirkwood families at Drew Charter (which cannot accommodate all of the East Lake and Kirkwood applicants for middle grades at this time due to such high demand) and waiting lists at other charter schools in APS with middle school programs, it is clear that the community is seeking other options to restore their interest (and trust) in APS middle grades programs.

Increase Student Performance Outcomes

The low student performance outcomes at East Lake Elementary, coupled with alleged misconduct of school staff with state assessments in the “cheating scandal,” left parents and students of the Villages of East Lake and East Lake with strong misgivings about APS before the school was closed and students (and some staff) were redirected to Toomer. This instability for the Villages of East Lake and East Lake residents, coupled with the challenges Toomer has faced in recruiting and retaining students from the community has led parents and other community stakeholders from the Villages of East Lake, East Lake and Kirkwood to organize with a plan that will engender greater consistency and support for all Toomer students. Because many Villages of East Lake and East Lake students came into Toomer with academic deficits (see table below for comparison of Toomer and East Lake CRCT scores from 2012, which demonstrates the disparity in preparedness for incorporated East Lake students), the seamless, more supportive approach of a Pre-K-8 model helps address this disparity and address the increased need for intervention and support at Toomer.



2012 CRCT Results For Toomer and East Lake Elementaries

School Name

Reading: % Did not meet the standard

ELA: % Did not meet the

standard

Math: % Did not meet the

standard

Science: % Did not meet the standard

Social Studies: %

Did not meet the standard

3rd Grade

East Lake 12.5 15.0 39.5 34.9 35.7

Toomer 7.4 11.1 29.6 27.6 13.8

4th Grade

East Lake 25.9 22.2 25.9 48.3 31.0

Toomer 6.5 6.5 29.0 16.1 25.8

Although the performance of Toomer students on the CRCT in 2013 ranks the school squarely in the middle of CRCT averages for APS elementaries (and much higher than that of schools with comparable student populations), performance outcomes must continue to improve at a more rapid rate. For students who have transitioned from East Lake and may have deficits around foundational skills (as suggested by the CRCT data above), as well as all students at Toomer who require additional support and intervention to meet academic and behavioral expectations, the PreK-8 model will position those students to thrive in a more supportive, consistent environment that has fewer transitions during critical developmental milestones. Toomer’s value-added data for the 2012-2013 school year increased vis-à-vis the previous year due to a leadership team that is striving to find solutions for students to reach their potential. Last year, Toomer added Saturday School funded by Zeist for children, employed two teaching coaches to mentor and assist teachers in the classroom, and pushed for greater teacher collaboration. These actions increased performance, but not to a level that meets the high expectations of school leaders and stakeholders. The leadership team again evaluated last year’s performance data and has already added new programs for the 2013-2014 school year. These include an extended day two times a week starting at the beginning of school, a universal screener to identify children in need of additional assistance, a knowledge management system for teachers to maintain and share their best practices, and two days of training on the responsive classroom to enhance school culture and cultivate the growing sense of pride and respect throughout the school community. This is a leadership team that is building capacity each year to more quickly respond to each student’s needs. See the section below under “Research” for more information about how a PreK-8 model may yield increased student performance outcomes.



Provide Programming/Models That Respond To Community Priorities/Needs In creating a PreK-8 model organized around central themes that have been identified by the community as priorities, the school is better positioned to meet the needs of the community and engender ongoing and increased support. The communities that comprise the current primary attendance zones (Kirkwood, Villages of East Lake and East Lake) enjoy strong neighborhood associations with education subgroups organized under those associations. This provides another means for community stakeholders to participate in community schools, and both organizations have significant support from community residents who may not currently have school-aged children, but are dedicated to the success of the neighborhood schools. Through informal surveys of community members, current and former Toomer parents and staff, and the work of each community’s education committee, the following priorities have been identified for the local public school that serves them (and are organized within the PreK-8 model proposed herein):

Meeting the capacity goals of the facility to more efficiently utilize human and financial resources to serve the school population.

Chinese/leadership/communications themes—stakeholders are committed to the Chinese language instruction and have complemented this with afterschool programming and partnerships.

Diversity that reflects the community—there is tremendous concern that the diversity of the community is not reflected in the upper elementary grades at Toomer or at Coan Middle. Responding to the needs and interests of parents to ensure they elect the public school option in their community and/or that the schools reflect the diversity that characterizes East Lake and Kirkwood is a significant concern for all parents.

Opportunity for parental and community involvement and leadership—parents and community members want to work as partners with APS and school leadership to empower the schools. As the path to meaningful stakeholder involvement is forged at Toomer, greater responsibility for the preservation of the model and school success is a critical component of the model described herein.

Position the Jackson Cluster for Reinvigoration and Success Because the current organization within the Jackson cluster has engendered neither superlative outcomes nor strong community involvement across the cluster, architects of this proposal feel strongly that a significant change that invites innovation is critical for stakeholders to re-imagine the potential and capacity of the schools. By increasing choice and capacity for success at Toomer (and ideally throughout the rest of the cluster with themed middle school programs and PreK-8 models that afford truly high-quality options), the cluster is positioned to enjoy greater community involvement and ownership, increased student outcomes and retention, and a stronger public education program. The under-enrollment of Coan Middle in a community that has enough eligible children to fill the facility speaks to the community’s need for significant change and better options. Although the improved outcomes at Coan under the



dynamic new school leader are promising, this in and of itself is unlikely to incite near-term increased enrollment given the high attrition rates in primary feeder schools such as Toomer at both the upper and lower grades, as parents – uncomfortable with the middle school feeder pattern - continue to opt for charter and private K-8 options. The entire district stands to benefit from the incorporation of true innovation and a focus on reinvigorating the cluster for success, and the model builds on APS’ focus on clusters and community involvement as a means of engendering more successful schools and students. We also strongly believe it will more quickly build a stronger feeder pattern for Jackson.

Leverage Available Resources The current under-utilization of both the Toomer and Coan campuses (especially in light of the number of eligible students who reside in the primary attendance areas for each school) perpetually positions the Villages of East Lake, East Lake and Kirkwood to lose their community schools. These communities have enjoyed an influx of families with school-aged children in the past ten years, despite poor student performance at the neighborhood schools. The closure of East Lake Elementary reinforced concerns about community schools being closed and students having to travel long distances to reach their schools. Any further reductions to the low enrollment numbers position the communities to lose their schools entirely, which would make them largely undesirable for families who value access to a high-performing community public school. As the waiting list numbers for Drew Charter show, under-enrollment is not the product of a lack of eligible students, but rather the product of a lack of faith in the traditional community schools. Responding to the community’s needs and leveraging innovative best practices will position all schools to increase enrollment and participation, maximizing the impact of available resources and space on behalf of the school-aged residents and their families.

Why Toomer?

As articulated above, Toomer is uniquely positioned to pilot innovation due to its strong stakeholder involvement (including the broad cross-section of constituents spearheading this initiative), and established reputation for raising academic outcomes. Moreover, Toomer has the physical room to grow in the current facility, as well as room to grow further in future years as student outcomes continue to rise. The leadership team and staff have developed a strong culture of innovation to meet the challenges of implementing a PreK-8 model make it a particularly strong choice.

The Community Fred A. Toomer is currently serves the Villages of East Lake, East Lake and Kirkwood Communities and children who have transferred to open spots where there is capacity.



The Villages of East Lake, East Lake and Kirkwood communities are delineated by the red line.

Although the Kirkwood neighborhood has a higher median income than other communities within the Coan district, the segment of Kirkwood that is served by Coan has an average median income of less than half the state average. More than 88% of families in Kirkwood identify as African-American or mixed race. More than 40% of adults in Kirkwood did not complete high school and another 32% have a high school diploma or equivalent as their highest level of educational attainment.

Toomer Zone 2012-2013



Median Income

% in poverty

% family households

Median age (years)

% not attained high school

% private school

City of Atlanta 49,981 28 43 33 23 10.1 K-12

Villages of East Lake, East Lake & Kirkwood

$39,129 22.9 47 38 40 0.7 K-12

School Options – The Villages of East Lake, East Lake & Kirkwood students The Kirkwood and East Lake Communities have a variety of school options for their children in addition to the traditional public schools. Students from these communities who have attended Toomer in the past continue to make up a significant portion of the student population at Drew while also seeking alternatives at other charter schools including Wesley International and Neighborhood Charter School. Former Toomer families have also opted for tuition-based alternatives such as the Ron Clark Academy, Decatur Public Schools, St. Thomas More Catholic School, The Friends School of Atlanta, The Waldorf School and The Lovett School. Other parents who never enrolled their children in APS public schools have selected those schools plus The Paideia School, Atlanta International School, The Westminster Schools, Woodward Academy and various Montessori schools.

Community Need At present, Toomer and Drew Charter K-5 serve just under 90% of the total elementary-aged population in Kirkwood and East Lake as cited in the APS demographics data. This year, Drew had a waiting list of more than 100 students in PreK-1st and 6th grades with an average of 4 applicants for each available seat. In fact, every grade level at Drew had a waiting list that averaged more than 2 applicants for each available seat, with waiting lists at 160 or above in three different grades. Applicants from Drew’s secondary focus area (East Lake/Kirkwood) were on the waiting list for seats in every grade. And although the high percentage of elementary students served at the two APS community elementary schools (Toomer and Drew) is promising, it’s the persistent attrition rate in the upper elementary grades that is not. At present, Coan Middle serves only 54% of the communities’ eligible students. Furthermore, with an average attrition rate at Toomer of nearly 35% over the last four years, it is clear that parents are finding options for their students outside of APS community schools for grades 2 and up. Families in Kirkwood, Villages of East Lake and East Lake are continuing not to choose Coan. Many families are choosing Drew as a middle school alternative because of its academic success with a similar student cohort.



95.0

92.6

98.9

100.0 100.0

97.8

88.0

90.0

92.0

94.0

96.0

98.0

100.0

102.0

6th Reading 7th Reading 8th Reading

2012- 2013 (% Meets / Exceeds)

Coan

Drew

57.6

81.5

74.1

95.1 95.9 97.8

50.0

55.0

60.0

65.0

70.0

75.0

80.0

85.0

90.0

95.0

100.0

6th Math 7th Math 8th Math

2012-2013 (% Meets / Exceeds)

Coan

Drew



Demographic Comparison of Community Middle School Programs (2012)

School Met AYP

% Free/ Reduced

lunch

% Black

% White

% Hisp-anic

% Asian

Coan Middle N 98 96 2 1 <1

Drew Charter School Middle Grades

Y 96 93 2 2 1

The PreK-8 model being developed is not dependent on any single person at a school, but rather it focuses on creating an alternative that will yield greater consistency, higher retention rates and stronger educational outcomes that will endure beyond the tenure of any single staff member or administrator.

Community Participation Over the last 14 years the communities of Kirkwood, Villages of East Lake and East Lake have greatly changed. As older residents moved or died, younger couples moved in and started families. At the same time, this has led to an increase in community activism resulting in the East Lake Neighbors Association and the Kirkwood Neighbors Organization strongly supporting parks through building playgrounds, creating master plans, ensuring renovations of our recreational centers, and the creation of new parks. Both communities have established security patrols to support the police and increased reporting of suspicious activity to reduce crime. East Lake Farmers Market, Kirkwood Annual Tour of Homes, East Lake Annual Garden Tour, family festivals such as the Kirkwood Spring Fling and the East Lake Collard Greens Festival, and movies in the park are relatively new events. There has been strong collaboration with the city on the rezoning of business districts and the creation of master plans for future development including the Pratt Pullman Yard and Memorial Drive Corridor. The communities lobbied successfully for the construction of a new fire station in Kirkwood. Engagement with the Kirkwood Atlanta Fulton County Library has been strengthened. The library now serves as a technology gateway for the community and boasts children readings, guest author readings, and support for student study and research. In short, stakeholders in our communities are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and work hard to improve all aspects of life in our neighborhoods. Our area schools are no different. This proposal was created with support from both Toomer and Drew parents who met over the summer months. In addition, the proposal has been discussed continuously at monthly Kirkwood Neighbors Organization meetings, at the East Lake Neighbors Organization meeting in June and at a special meeting of the East Lake Community Education Coalition that month. This was followed by holding coffees for parents with young children to discuss the merits of PreK-8.



III. PRE-K-8 MODEL

Pre-K-8 Model The communities wish to organize Toomer elementary school as a PreK-8 pipeline to high school success reducing transitions during critical development milestones, providing consistency in culture and expectations through middle school, and engendering a highly personal and familiar environment. Along with greater support and consistency, a PreK-8 model will address the challenges outlined above by providing a high-performing option designed to retain students through upper grades. Pre-Kindergarten Programming Maintaining the PreK program at the facility is a critical element of this plan. Research and practice have clearly demonstrated the positive correlation between PreK programming and long-term student success. Moreover, the PreK program at Toomer provides students in the community an introduction to the school without being penalized in the lottery for Drew. The Board’s steadfast support while facing State cuts to PreK is a testament to the efficacy of PreK instruction in the Atlanta Public Schools.

Model Elements The PreK-8 model advocated herein leverages research-proven strategies that have engendered superior performance in similar model schools. Furthermore, the model also includes components that are unique to Toomer that will encourage ownership from stakeholders.

1. Theme or focus for cross-curricular and supplementary programming The PreK-8 proposal for Toomer has incorporated feedback from stakeholders to determine an appropriate theme for programming. This will help lend consistency to cross-curricular approaches to planning as well as extracurricular and enrichment offerings. The point of the theme is to create an authentic means of student and stakeholder interest and participation as well as to integrate best practices around holistic, collaborative approaches to academic instruction that use consistency and backward-mapping as the foundation. (For specifics on the theme being proposed for the Toomer PreK-8 program, please see Section IV.

2. Longer day that includes character education for elementary grades In response to clear evidence across the country that demonstrates the importance of complementary character skills in long-term student success, one core element of the PreK-8 model would be increased instructional time for elementary grades (to align the start and end of the day for all students) that would be dedicated to character/ scholarship education. Because the school will start and stop at the same time for all grades (with the exception of PreK, which will continue to operate within the instructional day dictated by the Georgia Bright from the Start guidelines), elementary



students will have an additional 30 minutes integrated into their school day. This time will be dedicated to additional areas of academic need in the curriculum. Additionally, a portion of this time will be devoted to character/scholarship education programming (which will be chosen and implemented by the principal and his/her leadership staff with support from the Local School Council) in order to build and reinforce skills that are critical to long-term student success. Programming may range from established character education programs like Character Counts, to other initiatives related to the broad, overarching theme of leadership and communications. For example: o Enriched/stronger/more fully integrated Mandarin Chinese program, including

greater focus on Chinese culture. The after-school program taught by Manman Huang this fall will serve as a small example of how Mandarin instruction can be optimized at Toomer during the regular school day.

o Cross-curricular planning organized under common themes such as curriculum like History Alive!, creation of a “Neighborhood Story Project,” studying speeches from great leaders throughout history.

o Journalism elective for middle school students with a school newspaper, peer-to-peer counseling/mediation program, Student Government Association, annual service learning projects for each grade level, character development programming/curriculum for elementary students, addition of a speech elective for middle school students.

o Positive behavior support strategies that align with school values and reward/ recognize students for demonstrating such behavior.

As the efficacy of the model PreK-8 program at Toomer will be compared to the model being adopted by Centennial Place, the school days should be equal in length. The additional 30 minutes for elementary grades will be adopted from the longer school day dictated by the middle school program. The school day will start and stop at the same time for all grades (with the aforementioned exception of PreK) to allow for smooth operation with busing.

3. Increased input, expertise, and cooperation from the Local School Council In order to preserve the integrity of the model described herein, a greater level of autonomy at the school site level is warranted and will be pursued via the active participation of the Local School Council. This body, as dictated by state law, works collaboratively with the principal as a means of parent/community engagement in school site decision-making. In order to ensure this body is best positioned to provide meaningful collaboration and build on the success of Toomer’s current local school council model (one of the largest and most active in the Jackson Cluster), the PreK-8



model includes clear guidance on the role, terms, and requisite expertise needed from the body. This includes a revised listing of skill sets needed for Council members to collaborate with Toomer’s Principal during the process of adopting and optimizing the PreK-8 model. See Appendix II for details about these guidelines and how they will help contribute to improved engagement for parents and other stakeholders involved in the Local School Council at Toomer.

4. Non-profit board manages privately raised funds for the school Another key element that will help preserve the integrity of the model is the partnership with a not-for-profit board to manage and raise supplementary funds for the school site. Toomer may choose to partner with an existing board that is mission-aligned and supports the school or may choose to organize a board for the express purpose of supporting the school. It will be at the discretion of the Local School Council to choose the most appropriate board for this purpose; however, the not-for-profit board will be required to designate an account specifically for the Toomer PreK-8 model school and will be legally entrusted (through the language of agreements for any private funds raised) to allocate funds in accordance with the mission and model elements described herein. That is to say that the not-for-profit board will cooperate with the Local School Council and Principal in disbursing all funds privately raised for the school to further its mission and preserve the PreK-8 model (and any special elements the school adopts as described below).



5. Leadership

At present, Toomer is led by Dr. Nicole Jones who has served in this capacity while undergoing drastic changes at the school during each year of her tenure. She has effectively hired highly qualified staff members and realigned the mission to reflect the community and higher standards. This has resulted in an invigorated staff that is not afraid to take on new initiatives focused on creating lifetime learners. She has leveraged a number of district relationships as well as cultivated community engagement and partnerships on behalf of Toomer. Among the many tangible results of her outreach, these efforts resulted in additional funds for staff training this summer. While Dr. Jones was not involved in the development of this proposal, the architects of the plan believe her leadership bodes well for the Villages of East Lake, East Lake and Kirkwood communities as they undertake the expansion of Toomer to a PreK-8 model.

6. Staffing model In order to ensure adequate support for the model described herein, the planning team has developed and advocates for a specific minimum leadership staffing model for the school. Based on the FTE count for traditional schools, this model ensures that the increased responsibilities of the leadership team are appropriately distributed. Although class sizes will continue to be determined by the school district and relevant funding formulas (with the same class sizes, cuts, and increases allocated for the PreK-8 program at Toomer as its traditional counterparts that serve the same grades across two separate schools), the combination of two schools into one will necessarily prescribe increased leadership and administrative support for a larger campus serving a wider range of students than at a single elementary or middle school facility. This model includes a single principal for the site with three assistant principals who each take responsibility for a grade grouping (PreK-2, 3-5, and 6-8), rather than two site principals with a single assistant principal. This maintains the leadership team at four people, with three assistant principals in lieu of two principals. Additional strata of leadership will be designated to help create greater accountability and shared responsibility throughout the school that will contribute to a strong vertical teaming approach. It is also anticipated, because of the larger number of students, that staff who are currently shared amongst different campuses (like arts teachers and/or counseling staff) will be converted to full-time staff members to provide a consistent continuum of services for students throughout their tenure. Supplementary funds may need to be secured to ensure this element of the model and will be considered a priority.



The PreK-8 model will leverage the current “specials” teachers such as music and art. Also, the gifted teachers – pending an audit of their teaching certifications for specific age groups - will expand their duties to include middle school students as well. The additional “specials” classes each day will further increase the overall utilization of the facility. It is envisioned that two teachers will be hired for the first year. Dual-certified teachers will cover the four main subject areas. In addition, once 7th and 8th grades are added, advanced math and ELA classes will be offered to provide:

A robust ELA curriculum that builds on Toomer’s K-8 Communications theme

that will prepare students for AP English Language and Composition courses at

Maynard Jackson High School.

A clear path for Toomer students to take AP math once they matriculate to

Maynard Jackson.

As illustrated by the daily school schedule below, the proposed model will not only build on existing efforts to bolster group planning, but will also facilitate much higher levels of communication across grade levels. This purposeful liaising and communication is especially important for the 4th and 5th grade teachers with the 6th- 8th grade teachers to ease the transition to the middle grades and to share learnings, insights and challenges in a more intentional and direct way across the grade spectrum.

*Prior to arrival of students

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

7:30-8:00*

Prep Prep Prep Prep Prep

8:00-9:30 Instruction Instruction Instruction Instruction Instruction

9:30-10:30

10:30-11:30 Instruction Instruction Instruction Instruction Instruction

11:30-12:00 Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch

12:00-12:30 Prep Prep Prep Prep Prep

12:30-1:15 Instruction Common Team Meeting (Data Inquiry)

Instruction Prep Instruction

1:15-2:00 Instruction

Instruction

Instruction

2:00-3:00 Instruction Instruction



7. Recruitment of Staff

Toomer boasts an extensive outreach and vetting process to attract the highest quality teachers possible. The Leadership Team at Toomer screens candidates using a writing test, teaching practicum, and an extensive interview process that has proven to be highly successful. This has yielded dedicated teachers who are willing to go the extra mile for student success. This established process will allow us to recruit high-quality teachers for grades 6-8.

8. Additional assessment added for increased access to data and accountability The piloting of a new model within APS requires increased access to data to measure the efficacy of the model and to weigh the impact of this reorganization on student outcomes. Increased access to data not only facilitates accountability, it also provides staff with more plentiful, reliable and readily usable information to drive instruction, intervention and model revisions. To this end, the PreK-8 model community school at Toomer will adopt a nationally norm-referenced assessment that can measure longitudinal growth in each grade, as well as normative data. As APS has adopted the Performance Series Assessment, it is the intention of the model that students in every grade, starting in kindergarten, will participate in these assessments to provide reliable prescriptive data to inform interventions in grades that precede CRCT administration. Toomer had seen positive results implementing this system last year and look forward to its continued use to identify areas of concern early in the year.

9. Universal Screener

Starting this year, Toomer is implementing a Universal Screener as the first step in identifying the students who are at risk for learning difficulties. This can be given three times a year and will be extremely useful in working with children who transfer to Toomer mid-year. Those children typically arrive with little paperwork and may not be as quickly identified as needing additional support.

10. Toomer’s Current Extended Day

For those children who are struggling academically, Toomer has implemented an extended day for the 2013-2014 school year where students will focus on fundamentals to reach their full academic potential. This occurs two days per week for two hours per day with transportation included. The extended day provides a strong – and much needed - boost to the curriculum and is another innovative program that can roll forward with the expanded Pre-K-8 model.



11. Knowledge Management System/Hub of Learning

This past summer, Toomer implemented a knowledge management site to capture and warehouse all teachers’ lesson plans developed each month. The collaborative platform is accessible to every teacher within the school and will contribute to a pedagogic treasure chest for our teachers in future years. It will also provide early elementary and middle school teachers at the school with a holistic, longitudinal view of the instructional best practices taking place across the expanded grade continuum at Toomer in order to better inform their own teaching practices. Additionally, other pertinent materials related to teaching are continually added to the knowledge base for supplemental support. This is quickly becoming a best practice at the school and will enhance the quality of teaching within the PreK-8 model.

12. Responsive Classroom

This year Toomer is implementing Responsive Classroom, a research- and evidence-based approach to education that leads to greater teacher effectiveness, higher student achievement and improved school climate. If proven successful this year, the program will also be extended into the middle school grades. Responsive Classroom is a holistic school approach that instills a culture of respect among all stakeholders in the school (students, teachers, administrators). In addition, Toomer has weekly celebrations in each classroom where students praise other students on the success that they observe and the teacher also publically acknowledges those wins – large and small. This could range from praising a child who is now able to walk quietly to the lunchroom to celebrating children who have helped their peers overcome an academic stumbling block. Instilling a deep sense of pride and respect for fellow classmates is a mantra that will be extended to the 6th grade next year and to additional middle school grades in the years to come.

13. Admissions

As a traditional public school, Fred A. Toomer Elementary School has no exclusivity for children living in the Kirkwood, Villages of East Lake and East Lake areas. We are committed to these communities and their diverse population, which includes students with academic and socioeconomic challenges. Toomer’s door is always open to zoned students wanting to enroll no matter what day of the year it is.

Toomer offers several open houses and information sessions annually, hosted by the PTA and school administrators which allow prospective students and parents to get a sense of the



school as well as its faculty and administrators. Additionally, Toomer is also active in neighborhood functions and gatherings such as the Kirkwood Spring Fling, a neighborhood festival, and the Toomer Fall Festival, which includes an entire day of activities for area children. Through these events, pre-school and pre-kindergarten parents are able to meet other Toomer parents and faculty members in a casual setting and learn about the school organically.

The addition of the Villages of East Lake and East Lake neighborhoods within Toomer’s catchment area is new, offering new opportunities to market our school to a broader pool of prospective parents and students. Primarily, this broadens the geographical scope of how and where information regarding Toomer is disseminated, which includes shopping centers and area establishments frequented by the residents as well as neighborhood newsletters and organizations. Much of the outreach is parent-driven, with PTA representatives identifying pre-kindergarten and preschool feeders within the community and sharing information about Toomer with families at those schools. The parent role in outreach particularly helps to inform harder to reach families since current parents live and work with other parents who may be interested in the school.

In order to reach enrollment goals for middle school grades, it is important to reduce the attrition rates of our elementary school, the public school system, our neighborhoods and our city. It all starts at a very local level, and it is our belief that parents have more faith in a school system that is secure and allows a parent to understand and visualize the experience their young student will have going forward. Toomer, as a PreK-8 school, will create a neighborhood school option that allows for a single path over a 10 year period. This in part, will help to further enhance the sense of “community” at the school which, in turn, will help to retain current and incoming students, particularly as young families continue to settle into the Kirkwood, Villages of East Lake and East Lake neighborhoods.

14. Transfers

If Toomer is under-enrolled, parents can choose to enroll their child at Toomer Elementary School through the normal APS transfer process. The number of openings will be determined by APS.



15. Toomer K8 Enrollment projections for the first five years:

TOOMER PreK-8 Enrollment Goals

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

PK 66 66 66 44 44 44

K 68 68 70 70 72 72

1 60 60 66 70 70 71

2 60 60 65 66 70 69

3 44 44 60 68 66 67

4 47 47 45 58 67 66

5 47 47 48 48 60 65

6 50 49 49 52 62

7 47 46 46 52

8 45 45 46

392 442 516 564 592 614

TOOMER PreK-8 Classroom-Design Capacity (State Max)

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

PK 3 3 3 2 2 2

K 3 3 3 3 3 3

1 3 3 3 3 3 3

2 3 3 3 3 3 3

3 2 2 3 3 3 3

4 2 2 2 3 3 3

5 2 2 2 2 3 3

6 0 2 2 2 2 3

7 0 0 2 2 2 2

8 0 0 0 2 2 2

18 20 23 25 26 27

Toomer Elementary has a physical capacity of 690 students. As shown in the supporting layout diagram, the classrooms can be configured to adequately allow each grade level the proper amount of space to satisfy projected class sizes, while maintaining a supportive classroom environment. The enrollment model above outlines the projected classroom sizes based on historical data and projections for the immediate upcoming school year, taking into account current attrition rates. Pre-K thru 2nd grade will continue with 3 classes, with PreK decreasing to 2 classes in the



second year of the PreK-8 model implementation. There are currently two 4th and 5th grade classes, and this is projected to increase to 3 classes in year 3 of the PreK-8 model implementation. As 7th and 8th grade classes come on-line, it is projected there will be 2 classes in the first five years of the PreK-8 model implementation. The total number of students projected will fall well within the physical capacity of the school, but further allows for increased funding and better efficiency for the facility. Currently the projections from the APS demographic study show there will be approximately 1,798 children enrolled during the 2019-20 school year in East Lake, Villages of East Lake and Kirkwood. Drew capacity will be 1,276 students in this catchment basin and Toomer has a capacity of 690 according to the state’s maximum class sizes. From these demographic projections, there is capacity at Toomer to meet the future demand as a PreK-8 model.

16. Governance Toomer will fall within the traditional cluster school structure. The Principal will report directly to the Executive Director for the Jackson/Grady Cluster. While the Local School Council is intended to focus on the areas described in Appendix II these fall within the State Guidelines for a local school council.



Summary of PreK-8 Model

Under New Model Current Method Rationale

Privately-raised funds will be managed by a partner non-profit board with the cooperation of the principal and Local School Council

Privately-raised funds are received by APS and reallocated to principal

Ensures model fidelity is partially owned by advocates not employed by APS

School will serve PreK-8th grade

School serves PreK-5 Reduces transitions, provides seamless support, increases community engagement and support—see research

Local School Council seats will be staggered over 3-year terms with specific job descriptions for each seat

New members elected based on interest. Terms are specified as 1, 2 or 3 years (based on vacated seats from previous year), but no specific job descriptions or responsibilities are associated with each seat.

Creates greater consistency and ensures the body has the experience, expertise, and circle of influence needed to be an effective partner with the principal.

All rising 6th graders will choose to remain at Toomer or move to Coan.

A portion of Toomer’s rising 6th graders move to Coan, but a large cross-section choose other middle school options.

Provides a public school choice option for the community seeking a seamless K-8 experience, while allowing Coan students to choose specific programming that aligns with their goals and interests.

FTE counts for staff are aligned to enrolled population with one site principal, and an assistant principal for K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 (4 total leadership staff)

FTE counts inform supplemental staff and each school has one principal and one assistant principal

One site principal oversees all programming, but is able to delegate greater leadership to assistant principals who provide developmentally-responsive support to the designated grades.



Under New Model Current Method Rationale

Capacity of school will be increased to maximize facility use

Site is currently under capacity and under-utilized

Ensures maximum use of facility and creates economies of scale

Extended instructional time for K-5 allows dedicated time for character development activities, theme-related enrichment (ex. optimization of Mandarin Chinese program) as well as additional time for instruction as needed per grade.

K-5 school day is 30 minutes shorter than that of the middle school.

Affords consistency in start and stop times for the day, as well as time that can be dedicated to skill development critical for success (without cutting into current schedules)

Stays the Same Under New Model

School leadership is authorized to make the same decisions under APS.

School is governed by APS as a traditional public school.

Core curriculum and assessments (with the exception of the incremental assessment approach outlined above in Section III, 7) will be driven by APS rather than at school-site level.

All staff will be employees of APS and assigned to Toomer using the current process (or whatever future protocols may be enacted).

IV. RESEARCH TO SUPPORT PREK-8

Pre-Kindergarten, as affirmed by Atlanta School Board’s consistent funding of PreK while the state was cutting PreK budgets, is vital to the success of APS children. The long-term benefits of high-quality Pre-Kindergarten programs have been made clear in well-known longitudinal studies. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project is arguably the best-known study of the long-term effects of a high-quality pre-kindergarten education. The High/Scope Educational Research Foundation tracked a group of 123 African-Americans from age 3 or 4 through age 27 who were living in poverty at the start of the study. The study provided a comprehensive evaluation of the lasting impact of pre-kindergarten on the lives of those students. Comparisons with young people who did not take part in preschool revealed that the preschool participants were more likely to graduate from high school, earn as much as $2,000 more per month, own homes, have marriages that lasted longer, and were arrested less frequently. (1) Given the clear evidence for



the importance of high-quality pre-kindergarten programming, it will continue to be a vital component at Toomer Elementary following the implementation of the model proposed herein. Robert Offenberg’s study on K-8 schools in Philadelphia summarizes previous work expressing concern that middle grades schools need to be made functionally smaller in order to create better student-faculty bonds and create more effective relationships with parents. Offenberg states that small learning communities advocated by middle school specialists are attempts to re-create the learning environment found in K-8 schools. The Philadelphia study comparing middle grade student outcomes in K-8 and middle schools showed that even when controlling for socioeconomic (Title 1) status that, as a group, K-8 schools are more effective than middle grade schools serving similar communities. As a result, Philadelphia has converted its elementary schools into K-8 schools. (2) In the first year that students transition from elementary to middle school, a large and significant drop in overall student performance is seen. This is true for both math and language arts, is seen in both males and females, and persists through 8th grade. Most students make academic gains over time, but the most at-risk students often do not recover. (4) Offenberg makes the case that eliminating the middle school transition allows students to be more developmentally ready for the transition to high school and contributes to the higher performance seen in K-8 schools. (3) Providing an option that eliminates this school transition can ameliorate the drop in student performance. This is also confirmed in a more recent and broader study by Guido Schwerdt at Harvard University as “we do find clear evidence of a drop in achievement following the transition from middle to high school, but it is one-quarter the size of the drop with the transition from elementary to middle school. In middle school, the decline persists as long as they (students) remain in a middle school and even into high school; they don’t just have a one-time drop.” (6)

The case for providing a school option with fewer transitions during this critical period in

children’s lives also involves a public health perspective.

”Around puberty, there's an increase in dopaminergic activity within the socioemotional

system that increases reward-seeking. The problem is that the executive functions in the

prefrontal cortex, which are in charge of self-regulation and impulse control, don't finish

maturing until much later. This gap puts adolescence at increased risk for risky behaviors

(like smoking, alcohol or drug consumption, risky sex, delinquency, etc.). By avoiding

transitions during this risky time, children could stay connected to those they know and

who know them, any changes in behavior could be detected early on and nipped in the

bud, and the stress created by this transition could be avoided.” –J. Klevens (Early

Childhood Epidemiologist at the CDC – August 2013).



K-8 schools are the best environments for implementing best practices in the middle grades.

David Hough argues that grade span does make a difference and advocates for K-8 ‘Elemiddle’

schools. He concludes that implementation of middle grades “best” and “promising” practices

account for higher student performance. While these practices can be implemented in schools

with different grade span configurations, his research has found they are better implemented in

K-8 schools. Hough reports that K-8 schools demonstrate higher student achievement, better

attendance, fewer behavior problems, lower subsequent dropout rates, and higher high school

graduation rates in the high schools that these students later attend. He concludes that

‘elemiddle’ schools show more positive teaching and learning outcomes than any other grade

span configuration. (2)

K-8 schools offer natural opportunities for developing leadership. Rather than re-establishing

themselves in a new social environment, older students have the opportuni ty to serve as role

models for and mentor younger students. Having additional ages housed within the same

school also allows siblings to remain together. Offenberg believes that a contributing factor to

greater student success in K-8 schools is the opportunity to be ‘top dog’. (3)

V. TOOMER SPECIFIC MODEL ELEMENTS

Parental Involvement

At present, Toomer Elementary has strong community and parental support that is continuing to grow each year in spite of the aforementioned attrition issue. More than half the families of enrolled students are PTA members and there is an extremely strong parent presence on the Local School Council. In short, parents at Toomer Elementary are consistently involved not only in the governance of the school and cultivating a family environment through a wide array of activities and initiatives, but are also organizing resources and programming to support student needs. Because of the high levels of involvement from stakeholders, there are myriad programs at Toomer that were founded or are maintained by parent volunteers. These include:

Teacher Support through luncheons for in-services and special occasions and $50 gift cards to defray a portion of the cost of teachers’ school supplies.

Student Support that include school supplies, scholarships to Toomer’s Cougar Clubhouse After-School Program, Student of the Month celebrations, sponsorship of Field Day, and funding for field trips.

Community Gatherings that include movie nights, school picnics, and promoting Toomer at the playgrounds and story time.



Facilities – Applying and working with Hands on Atlanta to continually improve the facilities. Activities include a community garden, painting classrooms and the exterior of the building, and providing mulch for the playground.

Fundraising Activities such as the Fall Festival, 6th Annual Spaghetti Auction, School Spirit Fundraiser, Box tops and the Spring Yard Sale.

Cultural Activities – The PTA funds activities surrounding Chinese New Year and Black History Month each year.

Community Outreach – Providing regular articles for the monthly Kirkwood Neighbors’ Organization and East Lake Neighbors Community Association newsletters as well as an active schedule of posts on various websites and social media platforms. Parent volunteers launched the Cougar Courier, a monthly online newsletter read over 1,000 times by current and prospective parents and community members, during the 2012-2013 school year. In addition, parents hosted a pavilion at the Kirkwood Spring Fling with over 30 teachers and parent volunteers in order to dialogue with community members and meet prospective parents.

Over the last seven years, the Toomer PTA has also supported after-school programming at the school. During the last three years, that program morphed and expanded into what is now known as the Cougar Club House offering a variety of after-school program. This is a fee-based program that provides scholarships on an as-needed basis to children enrolled at the school. The course offered build upon the skills the students learn each day at the school and have ranged from a cooking class to Mandarin Chinese to a course on how the brain functions taught by a pediatric neurosurgeon from Emory University. These types of extracurricular activities will be maintained and enhanced further with the PreK-8 program. Currently, there are 13 courses being offered for the Fall 2013 semester.

Last year, Toomer faculty initiated a number of academic clubs and special initiatives. This included Lego Robotics, the Toomer STEM Club, Helen Ruff Reading Bowl, Science Night, and the Spelling Bee. The school strives to provide outlets which make learning fun and tangible for all students. Toomer parents also partnered with the East Lake YMCA to provide an onsite after-school program that was replicated by Burgess Peterson Elementary School. This program is in its sixth year of operation. Toomer Partnerships Toomer continues to build on its strong base of partnerships, including the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy at the Atlanta Speech School, the Zeist Foundation¸ Target, The Temple, Emory University, Turner Field Club 755, a variety of Kirkwood businesses, the Kirkwood Neighbors Organization, East Lake YMCA, and Hands on Atlanta.



Toomer Community School Model Specifics Once Toomer’s leadership team and teachers are involved in the process to finalize and implement this proposal, some school model specifics may change. As currently structured (and based on community input), we are proposing a “theme” that unifies and leverages the highly innovative programming already so successful at Toomer (Mandarin Chinese, diverse afterschool programming, programs focusing on character building, high involvement of stakeholders, etc.). The communities want a Leadership theme. This focus will be manifest in three major areas of programming and focus that are critical for burgeoning leaders: 1) leadership/skills for success, 2) service learning/community participation, and 3) communications. Some the types of initiatives we envision under the broad, overarching theme of leadership and communications, include:

Enriched/stronger/more fully integrated Mandarin Chinese program, including greater

focus on Chinese culture. The after-school program taught by Manman Huang this fall

will serve as a small example of how Mandarin instruction can be optimized at Toomer

during the regular school day.

Cross-curricular planning organized under common themes such as curriculum like

History Alive!, creation of a “Neighborhood Story Project,” studying speeches from great

leaders throughout history.

Enrichment/electives programming within the school day that focuses on the three elements of leadership as defined herein—these may be funded through private philanthropy, organized by volunteers, and/or developed by the principal and staff. Examples of new elective programming that might be added within the school day to address this theme include:

o Journalism elective for middle school students (and school paper) o Peer-to-peer counseling/mediation program o Student Government Association o Annual service learning projects for each grade level o Character development programming/curriculum for elementary students o Addition of a speech elective for middle school students.

Positive behavior support strategies that align with school values and reward/recognize

students for demonstrating such behavior.

Afterschool programming that builds on this theme such as a Toastmaster’s Club and/or Service Learning Club.



New school values, chosen by students as part of their preparation to become a PreK-8 school, that clearly communicate the attributes of an effective leader (toward which each student will strive), as well as other artifacts and culture-builders (school songs, chants, celebrations) that build spirit around leadership.

Leadership/Skills for Success In this area, we will focus on engendering in each student the skills critical for successful leadership. These may be manifest in the school values, character development goals, positive behavior support guidelines, and other elements of the school culture and/or curriculum. Through a focus on what skills equip leaders to be successful, each student will begin to recognize and build those skills that will enable him/her to apply the academic skills developed. Examples of these skills include zest, optimism, grit, tenacity, honor, and teamwork. Part of the preparation of the school transitioning to the PreK-8 community school model will include stakeholders in collaboration with school staff a deciding collectively what these skills should be and the most effective means of engendering them through curriculum and culture.

Service Learning/Community Participation In the development of leadership skills, each student will be supported in active community participation and service. This may include clubs, electives, and projects dedicated to the service of others in the community, or even structured reflections within the curriculum on the impact of a particular act/character/invention/theorem on society. Through a school-wide focus on community participation and how actions, events and attitudes impact a community as a whole, students will begin to take greater responsibility for their own community and understand the impact that they can and do have on the world around them.

Communications Effective leaders must be effective communicators and to that end, a greater focus on communication will be an element of the leadership theme. This may be manifest in electives around communication (such as journalism or speech), after-school clubs and programming that deal with communications, and/or incorporation of a greater focus on effective communication into core content curriculum and instruction. In the Communications realm, we will continue to focus on optimizing Toomer’s robust and highly successful Mandarin Chinese program, which is available to students in all grades. Providing consistent access to a second language will not only build overall communication skills, but prepare students for the IB programming (and Mandarin Chinese course offerings) at Maynard Jackson High School.



VI. FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS AT TOOMER

The Fred A. Toomer Elementary school is a 66,593 sq ft. facility with 31 classrooms. The facility also has a media center, health clinic, gymnasium, auditorium, teacher lounge, 2 conference rooms, 3 administrative offices and a fully operational cafeteria. Three of the classrooms will be utilized for art, music and science classes. Exterior areas at the school include a playground, outdoor learning garden, and open fields for PE, recess and after school activities. The classrooms are divided into two separate wings of the building. The south wing consists of two stories with 19 classrooms which will house the PreK through 4th grade along with 2 classrooms designated for gifted student instruction. The north wing consists of 15 classrooms which will house 5-8th grades along with the music, art and science classes, and 2 classrooms for IEP instruction. The building is currently a PreK-5 traditional public school owned and operated by the Atlanta Public School system. The building will remain under the control of APS and no significant construction will be required to convert the building to the PreK-8 configuration outlined in this proposal. (Appendix I)

Student Enrollment Student enrollment at Toomer Elementary school has been under capacity for some time. The plan is to add one grade per year starting with the addition of the 6th grade in fall 2014, followed by 7th grade in fall 2015 and finally 8th grade in fall 2016. The facility has a design capacity of 636 students for grades PreK-8 based on the State of Georgia guidelines for classroom size and the anticipated school configuration utilizing 27 core classrooms. Student enrollment is not anticipated to reach full capacity by the 2018-2019 school year. Should demand increase, however, with the current APS class size waiver and repurposing of the 2 IEP classrooms, the school can accommodate more than 690 students.

Athletic Facilities Toomer is located on 10 acres with ample green space for lacrosse, soccer, and cross country. Additionally, Toomer has space to host basketball and volleyball either by retrofitting the cafeteria, sharing the adjacent Boys & Girls Club, or using the recreation center at Bessie Branham Park or the gymnasium at Crim High School (all within 1 mile of the school). Allowances will need to be made to accommodate this model as this is not the typical APS middle school standard, but Toomer’s facilities and surrounding resources already offer more than most charter schools in the district.



TIMELINE

PROPOSED TIME FRAME ACTION

August 2013 Submit Proposal

October 2013 Approval of PreK-8

October 2013 – July 2014 Promote New Structure of School

October 2013 – November 2013 Refine design of proposal to an action plan with staff

December 2013 Implement Action Plan

Write Job Descriptions

January 2014 Post Job Description

February 2014 Interview Candidates

March 2014 Hire Teachers and Assistant Principals

June 2014 Install Lockers/Facility Upgrade

July 2014 New Staff In-service

August 2014 Start of 6th Grade

REFERENCES 1. Schweinhart, Barnes, and Weikart, 1993). (Source: Excerpted from 8/9/2004 Education Week article). 2. David L. Hough. Grade Span Does Make a Difference. Institute for School Improvement Southwest Missouri State University. December 2004 3. Robert M. Offenberg. The Efficacy of Philadelphia’s K-to-8 Schools Compared to Middle Grades Schools. Middle School Journal. March 2001 4. Jonah E. Rockoff and Benjamin B. Lockwood. Stuck in the Middle: The Impacts of Grade Configuration in Public Schools. Journal of Public Economics. December 2010. 5. Tess Stovall & Deidre Dolan. Incomplete: How Middle Schools Aren’t Making the Grade, third way fresh thinking, September 2011 6. Guido Schwerdt & Martin R. West. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series: The Impact of Alternative Grade Configurations on Student Outcomes through Middle and High School, Harvard University and Ifo Institute for Economic Research and CESifo , Harvard Graduate School of Education July 2011



APPENDIX I – BUILDING PLAN



APPENDIX II – LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL Members of the expanded school council shall include:

1.) Parents or guardians of students enrolled in the school. Parent council members shall be

elected by, and from among, the group they represent.

2.) Business persons connected to or vested in the success of the Kirkwood and East Lake

neighborhoods.

3.) Two certified teachers, excluding any personnel in an administrative position.

4.) Fundraising specialist with ties to non-profit and for-profit organizations to develop and manage

the ongoing fundraising strategy and relationships.

5.) Academic achievement expert to assist the school in developing, executing and tracking

strategies to assist the school in reaching its performance outcome goals.

6.) Financial expert to establish and lead the financial reporting and yearly audit of all monies

cycled through the school, representative must be a CPA or have deep audit experience.

7.) Marketing expert to develop strategies to manage external communications and partnerships to

build and promote the Toomer brand and highlight the activities of the school.

8.) Community involvement representative responsible for coordinating and reaching out to the

local neighborhood organizations and coordinating support efforts with the broader educational

entities.

9.) Legal representative to advise the council on the legality of various matters.

10.) The school principal and assistant principal



Current LSC Roles Proposed LSC Roles Parent (6) Parent (3)

Business Person (2) Business Person (2)

Teacher (2) Teacher (2)

School Principal (1) Fundraising Specialist (1)

Academic Achievement Expert (1)

Financial Expert (1)

Marketing Strategist (1)

Community Involvement Representative (1)

Legal Representative (1)

School Principal (1)

School Assistant Principal (1)

Total Members (11) Total Members (15)



APPENDIX III– DEMOGRAPHICS

COMBINED EL/KWD STUDENT POPULATION PROJECTIONS - 2011

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

PK 156 156 156 156 156 156 156 156 156 156 156

K 174 182 176 184 185 180 178 174 171 167 166

1 150 172 181 176 184 184 181 179 175 172 168

2 163 149 169 178 173 180 180 177 175 171 169

3 153 167 152 171 179 175 182 182 179 177 173

4 161 150 164 148 166 173 170 176 176 173 171

5 132 158 147 161 145 162 168 166 171 171 168

6 192 190 190 196 186 182 200 207 207 212 209

7 200 186 184 184 190 180 176 193 200 199 204

8 200 196 182 180 180 186 176 171 188 195 193

TOTAL 1681 1706 1701 1734 1744 1758 1767 1781 1798 1793 1777

**Table taken from Redistricting Demographics Number.

Drew Charter - Updated Enrollment 2012

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

PK 66 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88

K 80 110 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132

1 84 110 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132

2 84 110 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132

3 88 110 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132

4 88 88 125 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132

5 88 88 125 125 132 132 132 132 132 132 132

6 96 96 100 125 125 132 132 132 132 132 132

7 96 96 100 100 125 125 132 132 132 132 132

8 96 96 100 100 100 125 125 132 132 132 132

TOTAL 866 992 1166 1198 1230 1262 1269 1276 1276 1276 1276

**2012 Drew Charter Application to Atlanta Public Schools



APPENDIX IV– CENSUS DATA

Toomer School Zone - Combined Census Tract Information 30317

Atlanta, GA (income) TOTAL Zipcode

Population: 8,969 Households: 3,977 Family households: 1,883 47.3%

Non-Family households: 2,094 52.7%

White Population: 3,006 34.3% Black Population: 5,450 62.1% American Indian 20 0.2% Asian 11 0.1% Multirace Population: 263 3.0% Other Population 22 0.3% TOTAL Population 8,772

Median household income: $39,129.50 Median house or condo value: $250,793.38 Median contract rent: $835.38 Unemployment: 7.0% Residents below the poverty level 22.9% Median resident age 38.2 Males 50.65% Females 49.35% Sourced July 15, 2013

http://www.city-data.com/#mapOSM?mapOSM[zl]=14&mapOSM[c1]=33.760667930947875&mapOSM[c2]=-84.31715011596678&mapOSM[s]=income3&mapOSM[fs]=false

Combined 2010 Census data for 30317 Zipcode http://www.city-data.com/#mapOSM?mapOSM[zl]=14&mapOSM[c1]=33.760667930947875&mapOSM[c2]=-84.31715011596678&mapOSM[s]=income3&mapOSM[fs]=false


http://www.city-data.com/zips/30317.html

K8 toomer preliminary proposal

Documents

Transcript of K8 toomer preliminary proposal