Communicating a Shared Purpose

Jefferson Elementary is a school of 450 students on the east side of Sanger. It is located in an area that has historically been seen as “the wrong side of the tracks,” and, actually, that is a literal description as well. A rail line that served the fruit-packing facilities and processing plants—for decades a source of seasonal employment for much of the community—divides the city of Sanger. The neighborhoods on the east side of the tracks include some of the highest levels of poverty and needs in Sanger, and Jefferson was no exception. Jefferson’s student population includes 100 percent free and reduced lunch, 99 percent minority enrollment, and 60 percent ELs. In 2002, the state assessment data for Jefferson showed that only 3.3 percent of the ELs (fewer than nine students) had demonstrated proficiency or advanced proficiency in English language arts. Similar results could be found throughout the district, and it was mainly our failure to support the ELs that resulted in our designation as a PI district.

When Rich Smith speaks of the day he got the PI designation, he recalls feeling that, being only four months into his job as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, he had just signed on as first mate on the Titanic. Rich and I spent most of that day digging into data and seeking the whys behind our status. As we looked at the evidence, we saw blaring indicators that as a system we had failed to recognize and respond to most of our students’ learning needs. That day, we made a commitment to each other and to the students that the leaders of the district would find a way to build the structures necessary to support learning for all students, build the capacity to meet those learning needs, and believe that this work was necessary, not because of a compliance-driven label but rather because it was what our students deserved.

The district leaders committed to build awareness across the system of the current reality and to assess status, capacity, and focus. We focused on these questions: Who were the kids in our system who were not doing well? How were we responding to the needs of those children? What do we need (resources, data, professional