Rock Island''s Earl Hanson School honored for achievements

Font Size:

| Thursday, October 23, 2003 10:56 PM CDT | () comments

Ann McGlynn

The students and teachers at Earl Hanson Elementary School in Rock Island could use demographics as an excuse for failure.

Seventy-one percent of the students come from low-income families. The number of them moving in and out of the building is higher than the state average. The students come from diverse backgrounds. But there are no excuses at Earl Hanson. Instead, there are people such as teacher Carol Schoening, first-year Principal Debra Desser, retired Principal Sheila Wildermuth and parent Lorene Pearson. They and the 400 students are ensuring positive results.

Hanson is one of 26 schools in Illinois to be honored as a Spotlight School. While

it has a high level of students from low-income families, one of the most

significant factors that goes along with educational failure, achievement is high.

The school's poverty level rose from 58 percent to 71 percent from 2001 to 2003. But during the same time period, test scores rose.

For example, the percentage of third-graders who can read well increased from 59 percent to 65 percent and math scores improved from 69 percent to 74 percent.

Fifth-graders also improved over the three years, from 58 percent reading at or above grade level to 62 percent. Seventy-five percent of the fifth-graders had good math scores in 2003, compared with 58 percent in 2001.

To be chosen a Spotlight School, at least 50 percent of the student body must come from low-income families. And at least 50 percent of the students must have met or exceeded state standards in reading and math during 2002 and at least 60 percent in 2003. The school also is required to meet the attendance, test participation and achievement requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Marilyn McConachie, the director of the project for Northern Illinois University, said schools that succeed have several components. Ultimately, however, success lies in the fact "they expect every child to excel and they find ways to make that happen. They don't just raise the bar, they coach every student how to get over it," she added.

"The conventional wisdom is that low-income students provide an excuse for poor performance," she said. "What we have here are schools that disprove conventional wisdom. For them, demographics are not destiny. Their students are extraordinarily more successful than students at comparable schools. What they're doing is special and they deserve to be praised."

Principal Desser turned her immediate praise to the staff when asked what makes the school perform so well.

"These people know their stuff," she said. "We have teachers who teach other teachers."

Carol Schoening is one of those. She has been at Hanson for 24 years. The school, she said, "is truly in my blood."

Room 202 is where she teaches. The room's motto is "Where Learning is Fun and Expectations are High."

As she pointed out the school's goals, displayed prominently at the entrance, Schoening spoke about one of the key ingredients in Hanson's effort to improve even more: Teachers ask the students what they think needs to be done to boost achievement.

Lorene Pearson is the mother of two students at Hanson and treasurer of the school's booster club.

The school staff is wonderful, she said. The booster club is there to support them and provide things and events for the students, she explained.

"We're a family school," Pearson added.

Retired Principal Wildermuth accepted the award that was given Thursday by the Illinois State Board of education. The complex process of improving student achievement requires a dedicated staff and simple hard work, she said. It takes leadership, a culture of success and focus.

"If you're not improving, you're falling behind," she added.

Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.