Is parent involvement the key to saving Warrington Middle School?
Leaders behind Warrington Middle School's turnaround efforts are hoping to get more parents involved as it approaches the school year that will either save the public school, force it to close or become a charter. This next year is so high stakes for the middle school because it went eight-straight years of earning a D or F grade. The Escambia County School District ran out of time for the school to earn a C and exit the turnaround program before State Board of Education granted a one-year extension this spring. "We'll lose that connection and we'll probably lose a whole bunch of children, truthfully. We'll lose a whole bunch to the streets," said substitute teacher Kimberly Mercy. "If you're going to close something that's maybe familiar to me (as a student), even though it may not be the best, OK, so then you're really telling me you don't care about me." Mercy, a Warrington Middle graduate turned ECSD substitute teacher, was one of the roughly 20 people in attendance at a community meeting held by school leaders Monday evening. Officials have held a series of meetings around the Warrington Middle community with the hopes of starting a dialogue with parents ahead of the fateful school year. Parent attendance has been slow going so far, however. The majority of Monday's attendance was school faculty and district officials with a few concerned community members like Mercy. The final meeting will be at 6 p.m. July 19, at Warrington Middle. "It's been slow. We've had a lot of community support. And the people that have spoken from the community have really talked about their desire for parents to know that we're here to listen to them, that we do want their voice," said new Principal Denny Wilson, whose position will need to be formally approved by the school board during its July 20 meeting. However, Wilson said a lack of attendance so far doesn't necessarily mean parents aren't engaged with their school or their students. Often they can be working, caring for other family members or have other responsibilities that keep them from engaging with the school at meetings like this, so school leaders are hoping to find new ways to connect with parents throughout the school year. "Coming to a meeting to me, I don't equate that to parental support," Wilson said. "They have the same hopes and dreams for their children as I did for mine. So I kind of redefine parental support as when there was a need or when there was something I needed them to engage with me, if they did that, then to me it's parental support." One of the first steps is to ensure that communication is not waiting until a report card or an end of a semester to inform a parent how their child is performing. School leaders also will continue community meetings as soon as they identify when and where parents want the conversations to take place, said James Mills, executive director for school turnaround and LSI's Applied Research Center. LSI, or Learning Sciences International, is Warrington Middle's new external operator, or consultant, for struggling schools. "It really is about listening to the community and making sure that one, that they feel welcomed in the school, two, that they're aware of the opportunities being put in place to support their students as well as themselves as families," Mills said. "The other part, and the piece that I think is really the most enlightening piece, is to listen to their experiences." One parent in attendance was Dara Hughley. Her daughter will be attending sixth grade at Warrington Middle this upcoming school year. She decided to attend the event to meet some of the faculty and learn what they expect from her daughter and what the school has to offer to her education. She said she was aware of Warrington's struggles but trusted her daughter. "I really believe if she puts forth her effort and works with the teachers, I think she'll be fine," Hughley said. "It's not always about the teachers. It's also the child, too. They have to put forth the effort and do what they're supposed to do." Previous coverage  Turnaround extension:After 8 years in 'turnaround' program, Warrington Middle has just one more year to improve  Principal pick:Warrington Middle School finds new principal to save struggling school from closing  Frustrations:School board members frustrated with stipulations for Warrington Middle's turnaround  In exchange for Warrington's one-year extension, the DOE added a number of stipulations if the school didn't earn a C on the 2020-21 statewide assessments. School grades are determined by both student proficiency and progress on the Florida Statewide Assessments each year. District officials went ahead with an effort to stratify those stipulations this summer because results aren't expected until the end of July and they wanted new staff already hired and in place for the beginning of the school year. The district likely will hire Wilson and it already has hired LSI. It also is in the process of hiring math and language arts teachers for the school year, 80% of whom have to have earned either a "highly effective" or "effective" evaluation and have at least three years of experience. School leaders will be at the state board of education meeting Wednesday to present the turnaround plan for Warrington Middle. The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. in Seminole. Belinda Donaldson, former school teacher and concerned community member, said she was most concerned about parent communication. She has attended the meetings and even asked a question about how school staff will reach parents when their students are slipping. "The most important thing is the parents," Donaldson said. "Some parents don't have transportation. Some parents don't have gas. ...They don't have a car. They can't walk, but how can we communicate with you to make sure you know we need to get your child here (academically)?" Madison Arnold can be reached at marnold@pnj.com and 850-435-8522.