Education Trust examines how the school attains such high achievement

BY HARRY FRANKLIN

State Editor

Columbus' Rigdon Road Elementary School's record of achieving at such a high level has attracted the attention of The Education Trust of Washington.

In fact, the national organization is sending a staff writer to spend today at Rigdon Road Elementary to evaluate how the school is able to attain such high achievement.

"We want to find common denominators and shed light on what they do," said writer Karin Chenoweth, who plans to write a 10- to 12-page report of her findings.

The 10-year-old organization focuses on schools across the United States with high percentages of minority students and high poverty levels, and it determines how they can improve the quality of education. Part of that includes seeing how some of those schools succeed.

Rigdon Road serves a 100 percent black student body, Principal Phyllis Jones said Wednesday. Ninety-two percent of the 220 students receive free and reduced lunches, an indication of a high poverty population.

Observation

Chenoweth said she plans to sit in on classes and interview the principal, teachers and staff members as part of preparing her report.

"She contacted us about a month ago," Jones said. "I've been corresponding with her by e-mail. We're doing a Japanese lesson study, giving teachers the opportunity to see their peers teach. Then we will talk about parts of the lesson we feel are good, then make changes. I asked how she would like to see this Cornerstone program and how our lesson studies are done by teachers. She said she would like to come.

"She told us they keep up with Georgia schools achieving against the odds."

Last year, Rigdon Road was named a National Blue Ribbon School, one of only six designated in Georgia and the only one so honored in the Muscogee County School District.

"We ranked second in Georgia among elementary schools, based on test scores and children meeting and exceeding expectations," Jones said.

She attributes that success to several things.

"We are a family here," she said. "It's all about teamwork and consistency. When our teachers come, they stay. We are teaching the Georgia Performance Standards, what students need to learn. We'll do whatever we have to do to make sure children are successful. We maintain that children can learn and will learn."

Jones' peers have said she is successful because of her enthusiasm, dedication and the way she encourages teachers, staff and students. She has been principal of the school 16 years and said she is excitedly awaiting completion of the new Rigdon Road Elementary behind the present school.

Chenoweth said Education Trust identified Rigdon Road as a school to look at by "spelunking for the data. We constantly look through state data, state reports."