Coppin State University, an HBCU in Baltimore, adopted a troubled elementary school named Rosemont. Coppin and Rosemont are within walking distance from one of the areas in Baltimore in which I grew up.
I want to give some information concerning how that effort is turning out.
- Met Maryland State's Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) in all area for the years 2003, 2004
- 3rd and 5th grades average reading scored higher than Baltimore City Public School System�s average scores
- 5th grade reading scores exceeded the State of Maryland�s average scores
- 3rd and 5th grades average math scored higher than Baltimore City Public School System�s average scores
- 3rd and 5th grades average math scores exceeded the State of Maryland�s average scores
- 1st and 2nd grades scored above the National Average in reading and math on the Stanford 10 assessment
- One of the first schools in Baltimore City to have it�s Pre-Kindergarten program to be validated by Maryland State Department of Education
- Removal from Maryland State�s reconstituted list in 2003
- Double digit increased in standardized testing
- Reduced Discipline Referrals by 74%
- Reduced Suspensions by 50%
- Increased parent involvement by 75%
- Selected to showcase our school for our Coppin Professional Development Schools (PDS) on March 26, 2003 at a National PDS Conference in Florida
- Selected to showcase our school�s infussion of math for Coppin State University on January 4, 2005 at a National Math Conference in Georgia
- Received Grants from U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Chesapeake Bay Trust, Coppin State University, Goldsmith, TIMMS, and TEAMS, VH1
- Ben Carson Scholars recognized by Dr. Carson
- Ben Carson Reading Room constructed
This came out of Google's cache of an Afro American Newspaper article by Elijah Cummings:
I recently visited Rosemont Elementary School and learned how this school is putting the mission of investing in our children into good practice and making an overwhelming difference in students' lives. Just five years ago, this school was the lowest performing school in the State of Maryland. Today, its fifth grade reading and math scores on the Maryland State Assessment Exam have reached 87 percent and 80 percent proficiency levels respectively. These scores exceed the state average.
Now, Rosemont Elementary School proudly takes its place as one of the top performing schools in Baltimore.
During my visit to the school, I witnessed first-hand how the spirit of excellence is being instilled in the students. These young people are eager to learn and to grow.
If you ask Principal Sandra Ashe how the school made such an amazing turnaround, she will credit her students' hard work and the commitment made by teachers, parents and the surrounding community to educating these students. "Neglect is the primary cause of a student's failure," she proclaimed. "If you don't water a plant, it will wither and die. The same principle holds true for nurturing the minds of our young people."
Rosemont has developed effective partnerships with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and with Southwest Airlines' Adopt-A-Pilot program to teach science, technology, and math in creative and challenging environments. Coppin State University and the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute have also committed to provide mentorship programs and support services to help foster Rosemont's success.
Efforts to Close the Achievement Gap
Dr. Stanley Battle, president of Coppin State University, takes comfort in knowing that his "children" are close by. Nearly 120 ninth-graders enrolled in the Coppin Academy, Baltimore's newest public high school, occupy two floors of the university's library. They are just an elevator ride away from Battle's office.
In one room of the academy, Telisa Claiborne guides students in her English class through a discussion of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Down the hall, university students are wrapping up tutoring sessions with a group of freshmen--high school freshmen. Although Battle runs the campus, Coppin Academy is under the command of Principal William L. Howard.
The academy, which draws from a pool of Baltimore ninth-graders, is one of nearly a dozen such innovative school partnerships nationwide. Various studies have suggested that students, particularly African-Americans, may perform better in smaller, more personalized learning communities. In recent years, Black colleges and universities have proven increasingly willing to test that theory, launching early college high schools to educate and nurture minority students. The goal is that those students will continue to progress through high school and choose to attend college after graduation.
For many students, Coppin Academy is a dramatic change in environment from their troubled homes and impoverished neighborhoods. Howard and the instructors at the academy emphasize respect, manners, neatness and scholarship. Howard, a former Catholic school principal and guidance counselor, wants a lot for his students.
"I want them to be good people, well rounded, conscious of their heritage and able to speak to the homeless or to dignitaries with equal respect," he says.
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